Catchphrase (U.S. game show)

Catch Phrase
Genre	Game show
Created by	Steve Radosh
Directed by	Marty Pasetta
Presented by	Art James
Narrated by	John Harlan
Theme music composer	Marc and Ray Ellis
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	65
Production
Running time	approx. 22-26 minutes
Production company(s)	Pasetta Productions
Distributor	Telepictures Corporation
Broadcast
Original channel	Syndication
Original run	September 16, 1985 – January 10, 1986

Catch Phrase is an American game show which ran from September 16, 1985 through January 10, 1986 in syndication. The object of the show was to solve "catch phrases", which were animated picture puzzles designed to represent objects or sayings. Art James was the host of the show, his last game show hosting job before he retired from television, and John Harlan was the announcer. The program was created by Steve Radosh and produced by Pasetta Productions, with Telepictures distributing.

Although Catch Phrase did not succeed in its American run, the format found success in other countries. The British Catchphrase premiered two days after the American series came to an end in 1986 and aired weekly until 2002 on the ITV network, which brought the series back in 2013. In Australia, the show premiered in 1997 on Nine with former Aussie Wheel of Fortune host John Burgess presiding, and was known as Burgo's Catch Phrase from 1999 until it ended in 2002.

Gameplay

Two contestants competed, one usually a returning champion.

Each catch phrase was drawn on a large screen by the show's computer. Once there was enough information on the screen for the contestants to solve a catch phrase, a bell rang to alert them that they could buzz in and answer. If either player buzzed in before the bell rang, the other player was allowed to see the remainder of the catch phrase and given a free guess. If a player gave a wrong answer, the other player got a chance to guess.

Correct answers added money to a bank. To determine how much money would be added to the bank for a correctly solved catch phrase, a randomizer was used. Nine dollar values would be displayed, with the largest inital value being $200, and the challenger was given the opportunity to set the amount by stopping the randomizer.

Answering correctly gave the contestant that did so a chance to solve the Super Catch Phrase, a completed picture concealed behind nine squares. To pick a square, the contestant was given control of the randomizer and stopped it with his/her buzzer. The square that the randomizer stopped on was then removed from the board, and the contestant was given five seconds to study the puzzle and take a guess. If the contestant did so, he/she won the money in the bank and the round ended. Otherwise, play continued until someone solved the Super Catch Phrase. If the Super Catch Phrase went unsolved after all nine squares were revealed, the solution was given to the players and the bank rolled over into the next round.

The process repeated several times during the show as time permitted, and each subsequent round's catch phrases were played for higher stakes. If time was called in the middle of a round, the remaining squares in the Super Catch Phrase were revealed and the first player to buzz in and solve it won the bank.

The contestant in the lead when the game was completed won and advanced to play for a bonus prize. Both players got to keep whatever cash they won, and the losing player also received parting gifts.

Bonus Round

In the bonus game, the winning contestant faced a twenty-five square board, with each square concealing a catch phrase and marked with a letter from A through Y. The board was laid out in a five-by-five grid, and the champion had to make a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line by solving catch phrases The catch phrase hidden behind the letter M, in the center of the board, was always the most difficult. The champion was given sixty seconds to complete the line.

Two prizes were offered in each bonus round, and were awarded based on the completed line. If the champion made a line that did not pass through the M box, he/she won a prize with a usual minimum value of $5,000. This prize was usually a trip, but sometimes could be a merchandise prize like a player piano.^[1]

If the champion managed to complete the line with the M box, he/she won a prize that was worth significantly more than the first one. Often a car or an extravagant trip, the larger prizes were valued at at least $10,000.

Champions could return for five consecutive days. If a champion won on all five of those days, he/she was awarded an additional bonus prize on top of whatever he/she had won to that point. Originally, this prize was an automobile or another large prize like those that could have been found in the bonus game. Within the show's first two months on air, this changed to a $10,000 cash bonus.^[2]

Overall, contestants on Catch Phrase could accumulate a total of $75,000. Host Art James made it a point to remind contestants and the viewing audience of this at the beginning of every episode.^[3]

Mascot

The mascot for Catch Phrase was a robot named Herbie, who was gold colored and wore a blue bandanna around his neck. On occasion he would appear in catch phrases performing some action that was part of the solution to the puzzle (e.g. carrying a piece of paper with "FISHER" written on it, the solution being Carrie Fisher). Herbie's design, right down to the blue bandanna, was replicated in the British series' mascot "Mr. Chips", with the difference being Mr. Chips having a bright red nose while Herbie did not have an easily visible nose.

2006 pilot

In 2006, a pilot was taped for a possible syndicated revival of Catch Phrase, called All-New Catch Phrase. Hosted by Todd Newton and produced in association with Granada USA, the pilot ultimately did not sell.^[4]

International versions

Country	Local name	Host	Network	Years aired
Australia	Catch Phrase	John Burgess	Nine Network	1997–1998
	Burgo's Catch Phrase			1999–2001 2002–2003
Greece	Bρες тη φράση Vres ti Frasi	Miltos Makridis (1998–2000) Joyce Evidi (2000–01)	Mega Channel	1998–2001
Indonesia	Tebak Gambar	David Chalik	RCTI	2001–03
Poland	O co chodzi?	Agenieszka Wróblewska	TVN	2000
United Kingdom	Catchphrase	Roy Walker Nick Weir Mark Curry Stephen Mulhern	ITV	1986–99 2000–02 2002 2013–present
	Family Catchphrase	Andrew O'Connor	The Family Channel	1994 (only 50 episodes were produced for the short-lived series)
Vietnam	Đuổi hình Bắt chữ	Xuân Bắc	Hanoi Radio Television	2004–present
	Catchphrase	Art James Roy Walker	Thanhhoa Radio Television	1985-1986 1986-1999
	Đuổi hình Bắt chữ	Phạm Hải Anh Elvis Phương Lương Huy Trung Đức		2000-2002 2002 2013-present

External links

• Catch Phrase at the Internet Movie Database
• Catch Phrase at TV.com

References