The Cross-Wits
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Cross-Wits, Crosswits | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Game Show |
| Creator(s) | Jerry Payne |
| Starring | Jack Clark, David Sparks |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 1025 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | SYN (1975-80, 1986-87) |
| Original run | December 15, 1975 – 1987 |
The Cross-Wits premiered on December 15, 1975, and lasted for five seasons until its cancellation on September 12, 1980. It was hosted by Jack Clark, with Jerri Fiala as hostess. Announcing duties were handled by John Harlan, Jay Stewart, and Jerry Bishop. The show was produced by Ralph Edwards Productions.
A second version aired in 1986 (w/out the hyphenated title of the earlier version, so it was known as "Crosswits) and was hosted by David Sparks.
The show was created by Jerry Payne.
This show pits two teams of three (two celebrities and one contestant) in a game of filling in crossword puzzles. Each word in the crossword puzzle is a clue to a master puzzle.
Contents |
[edit] Main Game
[edit] 1975 Version
At the beginning of each round host Clark announced the subject of the master puzzle. The contestant captain chose which position in the crossword puzzle to identify, and which star to play that position. Next, host Clark read a crossword clue to that word. If the star couldn't answer the clue, then the contestant could answer it, but if neither one answered it correctly then control went to the opposing team. Each correct awarded 10 points for each letter in the word (example: if the word was "SCIENTIST", then the word would be worth 90 points). After each correct answer (except for the last word), the contestant could either choose another position or solve the master puzzle (which only the civilian contestant could solve), in which case the team would be allowed a "7-second conference" before doing so.
A correct solve earned the player 100 points, and if the puzzle was solved on the very first clue (in which case, for reasons unknown, the conference time was shortened to 5 seconds), the contestant won a new car; originally, it could be won in any round when that round's first word was put on the board (and after the "seven-second conference"); later, it was changed so only the second game each day had the car, and the rules were changed so that a player going for the car had "five seconds to think it over" without talking to the celebrities, and instead of the player being behind going first in each round, whoever solved the first puzzle went first in the second one (to make sure nobody intentionally missed just to have a better shot at the car).
The game was played in an unmentioned time limit, and contestants received money in equivalent to their score, but the contestant with the most points/money when time expired won the game.
This version was taped before the era of computerized graphics. As a result, the gameboard was manually operated by the hostess (Jerri Fiala), and used tiles similar to Wheel of Fortune. Although, it did not use trilons like Wheel, it used lights similar and obviously had to be changed off-camera in order for the game to be played correctly.
[edit] 1986 Version
The game was played the same way as the previous version except for these changes:
- The game is played in three rounds with this scoring format:
- Round 1 - 5 points per letter, 50 points for the solution
- Round 2 - 10 points per letter, 100 points for the solution
- Round 3 - 20 points per letter, 200 points for the solution
- Contestants no longer receive money equivalent to their score.
This version's gameboard was totally computer generated.
[edit] The Crossfire Round (Both Versions)
The winning contestant played a bonus round called the Crossfire Round along with his/her choice of celebrity partner. They were shown one last crossword puzzle with 10 words, none of which were clues to a master puzzle. The host read rapid-fire clues to each of the 10 words. If they could solve all ten in 60 seconds or less, they won the grand prize.
In the 1975 version, each correct answer won increasingly valuable prizes, and solving all ten won the contestant won the grand prize, which was usually a car, but sometimes a trip or a fur coat. In the 1986 version, winning was worth a trip and a chance to win a car. Failure to win the bonus round on this version won a consolation prize package.
[edit] The Car Round ('86 Version)
The three celebrities who did not play the Crossfire Round were given boxes, each with the logo of one of three cars available to win. After choosing which car to play for, the contestant then chose a celebrity. If the chosen car matched that held by the chosen celebrity, the contestant won the said car.
For a time, the fourth celebrity was also a participant in the car round, and a corresponding fourth box was added to the mix; if chosen, it was worth $1,000 cash to the contestant.
For the first two taped episodes, the car round was staged differently: rather than holding boxes containing the names of the three cars offered, the celebrities held the keys to each of the three cars, and after one was chosen, that celebrity attempted to start the chosen car with his/her key.
[edit] Trivia
[edit] Pilots
George Fenneman did two separate pilots in 1966 for a similar series called Crossword, which featured two teams comprised of a celebrity guest and a regular contestant. The first pilot featured Carolyn Jones and Michael Landon, while the second pilot featured Tippi Hedren and Paul Lynde.
[edit] 1975
The first aired week on December 15, 1975 featured Ron Masak, Meredith MacRae, Conny Van Dyke and Greg Morris as guests.
A number of game show hosts appeared in this version (the revival also had game show hosts as guests). For one week during the fourth season, the celebrities were Allen Ludden, Peter Marshall, Art James, and Tom Kennedy, while a week during the final season featured Chuck Woolery, Allen Ludden, Dennis James, and Geoff Edwards.
During another week, hostess Jerri Fiala played the game as a celebrity, so Kitty Hilton (then-wife of veteran game show announcer Bob Hilton) filled in for her at the board.
All the episodes are assumed to be in the hands of the owners of the show, Warner Brothers, which owns Ralph Edwards Productions.
This run was taped at Metromedia Studios in Los Angeles, and its theme music used three different arrangements during its five year run.
[edit] 1986
The revival was taped at Studio 33 (now called the Bob Barker Studio) at CBS Television City in Hollywood, CA.
This version was the first game show to have a female announcer, Michelle Roth, who now works for the current version of Family Feud.
All the episodes of this run are known to exist. Repeats of this run of the show aired on The Family Channel (now ABC Family) for a brief time in 1993 as part of their afternoon game show block, and later resurfaced on the now-defunct American Independent Network in 1997 (albeit mislabeled in their online listings as the original version).
The celebrities on the first aired show were Kelsey Grammer, Leslie Charleson, Richard Moll and Cheryl Ann Wilson.
The theme music for the 1986-87 run was composed by Andrew Belling.
A number of stand-up comedians appeared as celebrities on this version before making it big in later years, among them Arsenio Hall, Rosie O'Donnell (who even showed a clip from this appearance on her talk show some years later), Brad Garrett, and Jenny Jones.
One week featured veteran game show hosts Tom Kennedy (who also appeared on the original version), Bob Goen, Peter Tomarken, and Jim Peck as celebrities, despite the fact that Peck's then-current gig was not a game show (he was working as the reporter on the 80s version of Divorce Court at the time) and the rest had just had their respective series cancelled.
[edit] Foreign Versions
There was a United Kingdom version of Crosswits which premiered in 1985 (a year before the US revival debuted) and ran until 1998. It was hosted first by Barry Cryer, then by Tom O'Connor. (See Crosswits (UK Version) for more details). It was produced by Tyne Tees and aired on ITV.
In Poland, the show was called Krzyźówka Szczęścia. This version even had a live band playing the theme tune.
