Definition (TV series)
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Definition was a Canadian television game show, which aired on CTV from 1974 to 1989, and filmed at its flagship studio of CFTO-TV in Scarborough, Ontario. The show was hosted by Jim Perry, with veteran Toronto weatherman Dave Devall as announcer, positions they both held for the all of the show's run.
Nick Nicholson and Roger Muir, the producers of The Newlywed Game, created the series.
Like Wheel of Fortune, Definition was essentially a variation on the word game Hangman. Two contestants appeared on each show, each paired with a celebrity guest, although in 1985 celebrity guests were discontinued and the show's format was changed to two-contestant teams. The contestant/celebrity pairs would take turns guessing letters in a phrase for which Perry had offered a pun as a clue.
Definition was one of the longest-running game shows in Canadian television, and made host Perry a household name during the 1970s and 1980s in the same manner as his U.S. counterpart Bob Barker. Perry hosted Definition concurrently with hosting several American game shows, including Card Sharks and Sale of the Century, as well as another Canadian game show, Headline Hunters. Between 1978 and 1981, Perry hosted three game shows at once, Card Sharks, Definition and Headline Hunters, and was the first emcee in North American television to simultaneously host three different game shows.
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[edit] Rules
The challengers began the game one with one teammate "giving away" a letter to their opponents. The usual strategy involved "giving away" a rare letter, such as Q, Z or X. However, the longer a puzzle went unsolved, the more difficult it would become to safely choose a letter that wasn't in the phrase.
If the giveaway letter did not appear in the puzzle, then the other teammate would "take a letter" that he/she believed was in the puzzle. A correct letter at this point would give that team a guess at the puzzle. If no guess was given, or an incorrect answer was given, then the opposing team would get control of the puzzle.
In the event that one team gave away a letter that was in the puzzle, the other team would get a free guess at the puzzle. Right or wrong, that team would then get another turn.
The first team to solve two puzzles — later changed to three — won the match and the champion would meet a new challenger. If teams won five consecutive games, they were dubbed five time champions and could compete for bigger prizes such as a refrigerator.
In the bonus game, the team was given another definition, with letters revealed in alphabetical order until the team was able to solve the puzzle. Once the puzzle was solved, the non-celebrity player received $10 for every unrevealed letter. If the team could not solve it, they still received $10.
The show, while popular in Canada, was also sometimes mocked for the cheapness of its prizes, which were usually small kitchen appliances, pen and pencil sets, or other small courtesy gifts. Only the show's annual championship tournaments offered the types of expensive prizes, such as a car or a resort vacation, that were commonplace on American game shows.
In later years, at least one puzzle per episode was selected from viewer mail.
[edit] Theme music
The show's theme song was taken from an instrumental jazz piece by Quincy Jones, "Soul Bossa Nova". It was sampled by the Canadian hip hop band Dream Warriors in their 1991 hit "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style", and was later also used as the theme music for Mike Myers' Austin Powers movies.
Later seasons of Definition used a new arrangement of the song which was not as readily recognizable.
[edit] Adaptations
A British version of Definition aired on the ITV network from 1978 until about 1986 produced by HTV West and was originally hosted by Don Moss and then by the late Jeremy Beadle.
[edit] External links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj-5IF5hKPI Opening act to an episode of Definition.
