Showoffs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Showoffs was a Goodson-Todman game show that aired on ABC for six months in 1975 from June 30 - December 26, with Bobby Van as the host and Gene Wood as the announcer.
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[edit] Premise
Two teams (colored red & blue) of three players (consisting of two celebrities & one civilian contestant) competed in a game of charades.
[edit] The Main Game
The main game had two formats in its six month run.
[edit] Format One
One team was isolated while two members of the other team acted out a series of words to their partner for sixty seconds. The actors can alternate in acting, and they can pass on a word if they were stuck, but they can do that only once each game. When time runs out, the isolated team was released from isolation, and acted out the same words acted out by the the first team. The team that guessed the most words in two minutes (60 seconds per team) won the round. The first team to win two rounds won the game. If the game ended in a tie, then a tie-breaker round was played in which both teams had 30 seconds to act out three words. The team that did it in the fastest time wins.
[edit] Format Two
The main game format was changed midway into the run. Now to win the game, the team would have to get a set number of words or more (usually seven). Extra rounds were played if the goal hasn't been reached yet. The tie-breaker was cut to two words in 20 seconds.
In either case, the contestant of the winning team won a $1,000 prize package for the game plus a chance to play the bonus round.
[edit] The Bonus Round
This also had two formats in the series.
[edit] Format One
In this bonus all four celebrities playing alternated turns acting out series of words to the winning contestant to guess for the next 60 seconds. Each correct answer was worth $1. When time ran out, then only one celebrity had 30 seconds to act out three words. Each word added a zero to the winning player's round one winnings meaning that getting one word was worth 10 times the money, two words earned 100 times, and all three won 1,000 times the money.
[edit] Format Two
In this revised bonus round, the winning contestant acted out a maximum of three words to his/her celebrity partners. The first two acted out for 10 seconds, and each one was worth $1,000. The winning player can choose to stop after any of the two were guessed or risk the money & continue. On the third & final word, the player acted it out for 15 seconds and if the celebrity partner guesses it, the civilian player wins the top prize of $5,000. If at anytime the celebrity partners don't get it when time runs out, the winning player loses half the money.
[edit] Episode Status
Reportedly, no episodes of the show exist. One episode is traded among tape traders in which Dr. Joyce Brothers injures herself.
The pilot (featuring Larry Blyden as host) is located at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. A clip was also seen during the VH-1 special - Game Show Moments Gone Bananas.
[edit] Notes
- Larry Blyden hosted the pilot. He was set to be the host for the series, but he died before the series even began.
- Showoffs was later revived on CBS as Body Language, with Tom Kennedy as the host.
