All-Star Blitz
| All-Star Blitz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Merrill Heatter |
| Directed by | Jerome Shaw[1] |
| Presented by | Peter Marshall |
| Narrated by | John Harlan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
The Prospect Studios Hollywood, California |
| Running time | 25 mins. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC |
| Original run | April 8, 1985 – December 20, 1985 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Hollywood Squares PDQ and (All-Star) Baffle The Last Word |
All-Star Blitz is an American game show that aired on ABC from April 8 to December 20, 1985, with reruns airing on the USA Network from March 31 to December 26, 1986. Peter Marshall was the host and John Harlan was the announcer for the series, which was produced by Merrill Heatter Productions, in association with Peter Marshall Enterprises.[1]
Main game
Two contestants, one usually a returning champion, competed to uncover and solve hidden word puzzles with the help of a four celebrity panel. The puzzles, which varied in length from two to six words, were concealed behind a grid of six monitors above the panel, and each monitor had four corners with a star on each corner. There were twelve stars in all, displayed in four vertical rows when played from top to bottom, and each celebrity was responsible for three stars.
The object for the contestants was to light the stars around the monitors. To begin play, the home audience was shown how many words were in the puzzle and four of the twelve stars were randomly lit (originally just two). The contestant in control, usually the challenger, chose a celebrity and a row (top, middle, bottom). The star in that position was lit, and Marshall then asked a question to the chosen celebrity. The contestant either had to correctly agree or disagree with the given answer, in much the same manner as Hollywood Squares and Battlestars. Choosing correctly allowed the contestant to keep control and pick again, but making a wrong decision passed control to the opposing player who could choose another star.
Once four stars were lit around a monitor, its part of the puzzle was uncovered and the contestant who did so chose to either guess, and risk losing control if incorrect, or continue playing. Each part of the puzzle could only be uncovered with a correct agree/disagree choice, meaning that a celebrity could potentially have to answer multiple questions as control passed back and forth.
Play continued on a puzzle until one player solved it or all six monitors were uncovered, with the player who uncovered the last monitor winning the game by default.
The first contestant to solve two puzzles won the match and a prize package, and went on to play the Blitz Bonanza. Rather than featuring models, celebrity guests often modeled and demonstrated prizes while being described by the announcer, which would be preceded by a message on the game board monitors describing the prize(s).
Each episode of All-Star Blitz was played to a time limit. If time was called during a puzzle, the contestant in control was given the option of whether or not to guess the puzzle. Choosing not to guess ended the game, and the solution to the puzzle was revealed. Guessing incorrectly gave the option to the opponent. Regardless of the decision and its outcome, play resumed on the next episode with either a new puzzle or, if one of the players guessed the puzzle correctly and won the match as a result, the Blitz Bonanza starting the day's proceedings.
Blitz Bonanza
In the Blitz Bonanza round, the champion was given one final puzzle to solve and was told how many words it contained (later, only the panel and the home audience were shown this information[2]). In order to reveal the puzzle pieces, the champion spun a large wheel which controlled the light borders on the game board's six spaces. As the wheel spun, the light would move around from space to space and once it stopped, the lit space would be uncovered. The champion did this a total of four times, with the object being to light four of the six spaces. It was possible, however, for the light to land on a space that had already been uncovered; if this happened, it was regarded as a "wasted spin" and play continued.
If less than four of the six spaces were revealed after four spins, the champion was given the option to leave the board as it was or give up the prize package he/she won in the main game for a fifth and final spin. Once the champion used up all the remaining spins, he/she and the four celebrities were given ten seconds to come up with a solution to the puzzle. A correct guess by the contestant won a cash jackpot that started out at $10,000. Originally, for each time the jackpot went unclaimed, $5,000 would be added to it and once it reached $25,000, it froze there until somebody won it. Later, the jackpot increased by $2,500 for each unsuccessful attempt and was capped at $20,000. If the contestant was unsuccessful, every correct guess by a celebrity won the contestant an additional $250. Contestants could play the Blitz Bonanza four times before being retired.
Broadcast history
All-Star Blitz originally aired on ABC at 11:00 AM EST, replacing Trivia Trap and followed by the long-running Family Feud. However, the series found itself facing strong competition from the first half of the powerhouse The Price is Right on CBS and Wheel of Fortune on NBC.
In June 1985, two months after All-Star Blitz premiered, Family Feud was cancelled, and All-Star Blitz moved up a half-hour to the 11:30 AM EST slot formerly occupied by Feud. However, now competing against the second half of Price, as well as Scrabble on NBC, ratings did not improve and All-Star Blitz ended its run on December 20, 1985.