| Rhyme and Reason | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game show |
| Created by | William T. Naud |
| Presented by | Bob Eubanks |
| Narrated by | Johnny Jacobs |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | July 7, 1975 – July 9, 1976 |
Rhyme and Reason is an American television game show that aired on ABC from July 7, 1975 through July 9, 1976. Bob Eubanks hosted the show, with Johnny Jacobs serving as announcer.
Contents |
The show consisted of two players and a panel of six celebrities.
The object of the game was to get the celebrity to say a word the player had written down. Before each round of play, the contestant would see two sentences (e.g. There once was a man/Who lived in a box). Then, using an electronic pen, they'd write down — on a screen in front of them — a word which rhymed with the last word in the second sentence (the home audience was shown the contestant's word, but the panelists were not). Once the words were written, one player (alternating turns) called upon one celebrity to devise a second part of the poem, hoping the last word he/she used would match his/hers; doing so earned that contestant two points. If the celebrity guessed the opponent's word, the opponent won one point. If the celebrity said neither word, the opponent chose another celebrity. Celebrities' off-color answers (particularly those given by frequent panelist Jaye P. Morgan) were often censored by the sound of a rubber duck.
Play continued on a poem if necessary until all six celebrities had attempted to match; if all failed, Eubanks introduced a new poem. If both contestants used the same word, only the player who chose that celebrity scored two points. The first player to score three points won the game and $250. The first player to win two games (therefore, winning $500) would play for $5,000.
The winning player and a celebrity partner of his/her choice played for $5,000. Two lines were again shown to the player, who had to come up with three rhyming words in 30 seconds. The lines were then read to the celebrity, who had to come up with three separate rhymes for the last word in the line. Matching on each word won the contestant $1,000 and all three awarded the $5,000 grand prize. Champions retired after playing five bonus rounds.
Rhyme marked Eubanks' return to daytime television, six months after ABC cancelled The Newlywed Game. Regulars on the show were Nipsey Russell and (husband and wife) Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall. Some critics consider the series to have been expressly designed for Russell's talents as "comedy's poet laureate".
First placed on the schedule at 2:30 PM (1:30 Central), it was beaten by NBC's The Doctors. On December 30, the series moved to 1:30/12:30, which had been the home for Let's Make a Deal since 1964 (1968 on ABC). Rhyme inherited the vastly-changed competition at that timeslot from Deal, which now featured 60-minute versions of Days of our Lives and As the World Turns, two very popular serials.
Needless to say, Days and Turns overwhelmed Rhyme and the series ended its run two days after its first birthday. Its replacement would last nine times as long and would become television's most popular game within a year – Family Feud.
The show's theme and cues were provided by Score Productions. The main theme song was called "Hilltop" and composed by Charles Fox.
The pilot featured a hodgepodge of music, including an instrumental version of the Amboy Dukes hit Journey to the Center of Your Mind as its theme song and the opening notes to Perrey and Kingsley's The Savers (originally used on The Joker's Wild) as a reveal cue, as well as recycling the game win cue from Eubanks' previous series, The Newlywed Game.
Rhyme is believed to be destroyed as per network practices of the time. The pilot exists on video, and the finale was discovered on audio tape in January 2011.