Cram (game show)
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Cram was a game show television program that aired on GSN for most of 2003. The show featured pairs of contestants who answered questions while trying to stay awake. Graham Elwood was the host and Berglind Icey (referred to simply as "Icey" on the show) was the co-host. Graham mentioned on one episode that he was given the job just because his name sounded like the name of the show.
Just before taping, the teams were sequestered in a Hollywood store front, and given stacks of books and magazines to study. The players had to stay awake for 24 hours, memorize the material, then compete on the actual game show.
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[edit] The Rant
To start, both teams were given 100 points. While all four players were inside large hamster wheels, each team had to talk about one of three articles they had been assigned to read. The winners of a coin flip could select one of three topics (two in the second season); the other team picked from the two remaining choices. Each player had to talk continuously for 20 seconds; stopping, stalling, or repeating information was a violation, and penalized the team 5 points. The team would try to include eight keywords or phrases related to the article, thus adding 10 points to their score. (Meanwhile, both teams had to continue walking inside the wheels.)
[edit] The Stunt Round
For round two, each team performed a stunt and answered a list question. The idea was that it is hard for people fighting off sleep deprivation to do two things at once. The stunts took various forms: demonstrating yoga positions, matching cuts of meat to a picture of a cow, or even firing hard candies at small chocolate bunnies. All of the physical aspects of the stunts were things that the contestants had been given to study overnight. (The bunny stunt might be taken from a book on how to use a slingshot, for example.) Each successful part of the stunt won 20 points for the team.
While the partners alternated playing the stunt, they also alternated answering a list question read by Graham. After he read the item, the partner had to give the relevant answer to score 10 points. Both parts of the round happened at the same time and never stopped, so one contestant might be assuming a yoga position and answering a question simultaneously if both her turns came up at the same time. The list had 12 items to name in 45 seconds.
[edit] The Riddle Round
After the stunt round, both teams had one last chance to add to their points. Starting with the trailing team, one partner climbed into an exercise bike or rower, and the other would get into a sidecar. The partner had 45 seconds to answer riddles posed by Graham, each for 30 points. The catch was that the exercising player had to meet a minimum threshold of physical output; 10 miles per hour on the bike, or 50 watts of power on the rower. If the red light was on, the exerciser had to work harder to turn the light green. Once the light was green, the rider could answer. A wrong answer meant that the output had to increase (3 miles per hour, 50 watts.)
In later episodes, several additional challenges would appear. In one game, the contestant could answer questions as long as his or her partner blew strongly enough into an anemometer (a device that measures wind speed); every incorrect answer resulted in the contestant having to blow harder into the anemometer. Another game, a form of which would later appear on the Comedy Central show Distraction, involved one contestant being able to answer a question only after downing a shot of lemon juice. For each incorrect answer, an additional shot was added to the requirement (for example, 2 incorrect answers = 3 shots required to answer.) In addition, a midget or a special guest was brought out to heckle the contestants while they were competing in the lemon juice round.
After both teams got to play, the team with more points won the game and $1,000. The losers divided $500.
[edit] The $10,000 Quiz
During the last segment, the two winners climbed into a bed onstage and donned blindfolds while the lights were dimmed. "Miss Pickwick," the resident sleep therapist (played by Andrea Hutchman), would read the team a series of bizarre facts during a commercial break, in addition to suggestions such as "you're getting soooo sleepy" to further mess with the contestants' minds. When the show came back from the break, their memory was tested over the facts Miss Pickwick had just read to them, assuming they didn't fall asleep.
On the sound of an alarm, a 60 second countdown started, and the team had to get out of bed and down to the stage. Before they could answer a question, they had to get all four feet off of the ground by means of either a small peg (called a "stump"), a pair of teeter totters, a pair of surfboards on springs, or a simple balance beam. After they did that, Graham would begin to read them a question from the list. If at any time a foot hit the floor, the team was buzzed, and Graham would start the question over. A right answer scored a point, a wrong answer lost a point, and five points won a total of $10,000. If the team could not get to five points, the team would split $200 per right answer.
[edit] Notes
Marc Summers guest-hosted a special April Fool's Day episode of Cram, with the hosts of GSN's other original series (Whammy!, Friend or Foe?, Russian Roulette, Lingo, and Summers' WinTuition) also trading places on their respective shows. Graham Elwood appeared on the show dressing up as Miss Pickwick.
For the show's 2nd half-season, special "Celebrity Cram" episodes were aired on Sunday nights, in which the teams were comprised of one contestant and one celebrity. The star power was barely mediocre, consisting primarily of classic TV stars, former reality show contestants, and hosts of other GSN original series.
[edit] Recording Location
GSN's Cram was taped at Hollywood Center Studios.
