Chain Letters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chain Letters | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Created by | Mark Maxwell-Smith |
| Starring | Jeremy Beadle (1987 - 1988) Andrew O'Connor (1988 - 1989) Allan Stewart (1989 - 1991) Ted Robbins (1993 - 1995) Vince Henderson (1996) Dave Spikey (1997) |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Tyne Tees |
| Running time | 30 minutes (inc. comms) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original run | 1987 – 1997 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Chain Letters is a Television game show produced by Tyne Tees Television. The show was filmed at their City Road studios in Newcastle Upon Tyne and broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom between 1987 and 1997 every weekday morning usually airing from 9:25 am straight after TV-am/GMTV. Three contestants competed to win money by changing letters in words to form new words. Its original host was the late Jeremy Beadle, followed by Andrew O'Connor, Allan Stewart, Ted Robbins, Vince Henderson and Dave Spikey.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] Round 1 - Chain Letters
The first round was entitled Chain Letters. Each contestant was given a hidden four-letter word (from a choice of four) and 45 seconds to make as many changes as possible, with prize money of £5 offered for every new word made. All words in the Chambers English Dictionary were permitted, though proper nouns were not. A contestant was not allowed to make two consecutive changes in the same letter position. For example, a contestant, having changed BALL to HALL, would then not be permitted to change HALL to CALL, FALL, et cetera.
[edit] Round 2 - Booby Trap round
Round two was entitled the Booby Trap round. Each contestant was invited to choose one of four four-letter words, followed by a letter in the word that they would like to change. The opposing contestants would then secretly predict on an electronic pad the word that they think the contestant is going to change to. If the contestant in play then chooses a word which none of their opponents have picked, they win money, and restart the process - winning double the amount of the previous win with each subsequent change. (Players may only make a maximum of 3 changes.) However, if a contestant is caught out with a word their opponent picked, their opponent wins the money instead.
[edit] Round 3 - Tie the Leader
The final round involved (in the initial set-up) a five-letter word, before the host asked general knowledge questions to which the answer was a new four-letter word, with only one letter difference from the previous answer, as highlighted by the computer, or, alternatively, a five-letter word, where a plus sign (+), to one side of the word, was highlighted, or a three-letter word, where a minus sign, (-), to the other, was displayed. General knowledge questions were fired at a contestant, whose answer fit one of these three criteria, as highlighted by Wordsworth. Contestants competed on the buzzer to win either £10, £20, (£30 in later series) or £40, or to tie the leader, depending on when the buzzer was pressed.
In later series another round appeared before Tie the Leader which in 1995 was called the Chaingang then in 1996 & 1997 it was Add a Letter.
[edit] Round 4 - Superchain
Only the contestant with the highest amount of money at the end of the game went on to compete in the Superchain, the other contestants going home with the money they had accumulated up to that point or, in later series, a CD player.
In the Superchain, the show-winner was given a four-letter word, before the computer highlighted one of the letters within the word, inviting them to change the letter and make a new word. Each change was worth £50, ten in a minute won £1000.
[edit] External links
- Chain Letters at UKGameshows.com
- Chain Letters at the Internet Movie Database
