A Kin to Win

A Kin to Win
Genre game show
Directed by Ralph Mellanby[1]
Presented by Jimmy Tapp
Country of origin Canada
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1 (on CTV)
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel CFCF-TV/CTV
Original run 2 October 1961 – c. May 1964

A Kin to Win was a Canadian television game show initially produced in Montreal in 1961 then aired on the CTV network in 1962. Jimmy Tapp was the programme's host.[2]

Production

The series was produced by a Canadian subsidiary of NBC, led by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir. Episodes were recorded in Montreal in the studios of CTV affiliate CFCF-TV at a cost of $2500 (CA$) apiece.[3][4]

Premise

Each round of the game consisted of a competition between two families. Fathers of each family acted as team leaders, coaching the other family members. Quiz questions were posed to the players. When answered correctly, they earned a symbol to be added to a square board. A family won after successfully placing four symbols in a row, receiving a designated Prize Chest and proceeding to a bonus prize round known as the Big Plus. The winning family proceeded to a new round, competing against another family.[4]

Broadcast

Initially, the series was broadcast locally in Montreal on CFCF-TV in the early evenings (6:00 p.m.) starting on 2 October 1961.[5] The series was also broadcast on CJSS-TV in Cornwall, Ontario.[6][7]

Distribution through the full CTV network began from 14 January 1962 and continued until July 1962. Episodes were seen on weekday afternoons at varying times depending on the market (e.g. 1:30 p.m. in Toronto, 4:00 p.m. in Ottawa and Montreal).[8][9] A weekly Sunday evening episode was also broadcast, typically at 7:30 p.m.[10]

CTV did not renew the series for the 1962-1963 national schedule although episodes continued to be broadcast locally on CFCF-TV at least until May 1964.[11]

According to Ross Bagwell, an NBC programme developer who worked on A Kin to Win, the series was a forerunner of the American-based game show Family Feud.[12]

Reception

Jeremy Brown, television critic for the Toronto Star, deemed the debut on CTV to be "boring, trite, badly paced, lacking in suspense and incredibly bland."[13]

References

  1. ↑ Wedge, Pip (September 2007). "Mellanby, Ralph (1934-)". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  2. ↑ Wedge, Pip (November 2004). "Tapp, Jimmy (1918-2004)". Canadian Communications Foundation. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  3. ↑ Nolan, Michael (2001). CTV, the network that means business. University of Alberta. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-88864-384-1.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "New game pits family against family". Ottawa Citizen / TV Weekly section. 13 January 1962. p. 15. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  5. ↑ Dube, Bernard (18 September 1961). "Dial Turns". Montreal: The Gazette. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  6. ↑ "Listings for Wednesday, October 18". Ottawa Citizen TV Weekly. 14 October 1961. p. 10.
  7. ↑ "CFCF-TV 12 advertisement". Montreal: The Gazette. 8 November 1961. p. 26.
  8. ↑ "CFCF-TV 12 advertisement". Montreal: The Gazette. 17 January 1962. p. 26.
  9. ↑ "Television Programs". Ottawa Citizen. 25 April 1962. p. 46. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  10. ↑ "TV Week (listings)". Toronto Star. 13 January 1962. p. 21.
  11. ↑ "Programmes de télévision". Les Chutes de Shawinigan. 29 April 1964. p. 5.
  12. ↑ Gibson, Mike (16 July 2008). "Production Numbers". Knoxville, Tennessee: Metro Pulse. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  13. ↑ Brown, Jeremy (15 January 1962). "Religion and CTV". Toronto Star. p. 18.

External links