Family Feud

Family Feud
Genre	Game show
Created by	Mark Goodson
Directed by	Paul Alter (1976–90) Marc Breslow (1988–93) Andy Felsher (1990–95) Lenn Goodside (1999–02) Ken Fuchs (2002–present) Hugh Bartlett (2013–14)
Presented by	Richard Dawson (1976–85, 1994–95) Ray Combs (1988–94) Louie Anderson (1999–2002) Richard Karn (2002–06) John O'Hurley (2006–10) Steve Harvey (2010–present)
Narrated by	Gene Wood (1976–95) Burton Richardson (1999–2010) Joey Fatone (2010–15) Rubin Ervin (2015–present)
Theme music composer	Score Productions (1976–95, 2002–03, 2008–present) Edd Kalehoff (1994–95) John Lewis Parker (1999–2008)
Country of origin	United States
Production
Producer(s)	Howard Felsher (1976–95) Cathy Dawson (1976–85) Gary Dawson (1984–85, 1994–95)
Running time	22–26 minutes: ABC (1976–85) CBS (1988–92) Syndicated (1977–94, 1999–present) 42–44 minutes: ABC specials (1978–84) CBS (1992–93) Syndicated (1994–95)
Production company(s)	Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions (1976–82) Mark Goodson Productions (1982–2002) FremantleMedia (2002–present)
Distributor	Viacom Enterprises(1977–85) LBS Communications (1988–95) Tribune Entertainment (1999–2007) 20th Television/Debmar-Mercury (2007–present)
Release
Original network	ABC (1976–85) CBS (1988–93) Syndicated (1977–85, 1988–95, 1999–present)
Original release	July 12, 1976 (1976-07-12) – June 14, 1985 (1985-06-14) (ABC daytime) September 19, 1977 (1977-09-19) – September 6, 1985 (1985-09-06) (Syndicated) July 4, 1988 (1988-07-04) – September 10, 1993 (1993-09-10) (CBS daytime) September 19, 1988 (1988-09-19) – September 8, 1995 (1995-09-08) (Syndicated) September 20, 1999 (1999-09-20) – present (Syndicated)
Chronology
Related shows	100 latinos dijeron Celebrity Family Feud ¿Qué dice la gente?

Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson where two families compete to name the most popular responses to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.

The series premiered on ABC on July 12, 1976, and ran as part of its daytime schedule until June 14, 1985. A revival was launched by CBS on July 4, 1988, and ran until September 10, 1993. Three separate editions for syndication were also produced. The first aired from September 19, 1977 to September 6, 1985. The second aired from September 19, 1988 to September 8, 1995. The third, and most recent, syndicated series premiered on September 20, 1999, and is currently airing.

The ABC network version of the show and the first syndicated series were hosted by Richard Dawson. Ray Combs hosted the CBS series and the first six seasons of the accompanying syndicated version, then was replaced by Dawson for the remainder of the latter show's run. The 1999 syndicated series has been hosted by Louie Anderson (1999–2002), Richard Karn (2002–06), John O'Hurley (2006–10), and Steve Harvey (2010–present). Announcers for the series have included Gene Wood (1976–95), Burton Richardson (1999–2010), Joey Fatone (2010–15), and Rubin Ervin (2015–present).

The series has spawned multiple regional adaptations in over 50 international markets outside the United States. Within a year of its debut, the original version became the number one game show in daytime television; however, as viewing habits changed, the ratings declined. Harvey's takeover of the 1999 syndicated series increased its Nielsen ratings significantly and eventually placed it among the top five most popular syndicated programs in the country. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Feud third in its list of the 60 greatest game shows of all time.

Gameplay

Each episode of Family Feud features ten contestants from two different families competing to win cash and prizes, with five members apiece representing each family. The original version of the show began with the families being introduced, seated opposite each other as if posing for family portraits, after which Dawson would interview them.^[1]

Each round begins with a "face-off" question that serves as a toss-up between two opposing players, with the host asking a survey question that was previously posed to a group of 100 people. (Example: "Name the hour that you get up on Sunday mornings.")^[2] A certain number of answers are concealed on the board, starting with the most popular. Only answers that receive two or more responses can appear on the board. The first player to buzz in gives an answer; if it is the most popular, his/her family immediately wins the face-off. Otherwise, the opponent responds as well and the higher-ranked answer wins. Ties are broken in favor of the player who buzzes in first. If neither player's answer is on the board, the other eight players have a chance to respond, one at a time from alternating sides, until an answer is found. The family that wins the face-off may choose to play the question or pass control to their opponents.^[2]

The family with control of the question now tries to win the round by guessing all of the remaining concealed answers, with each member giving one answer in sequence. Giving an answer not on the board, or failing to respond within the allotted time, earns one strike. If the family earns three strikes, their opponents are given one chance to steal the points for the round by guessing any still-concealed answer; failing to do so awards the points to the family that originally had control.^[2]

Answers are worth one point for every person in the 100-member survey who gave them. The winning family in each round scores the total points for all revealed answers to that question, including those given during the face-off but excluding the one used to steal (if applicable). The number of answers on the board decreases from round to round, and certain rounds are played for double or triple value. The first family to score 300 points wins the game and advances to the Fast Money bonus round for a chance to win a cash bonus. Until 1992, both teams received $1 per point scored.^[1]

On the first two editions of Feud, the game continued as normal until one family reached the necessary total to win. On the current series, if neither team reaches the goal in four rounds, one last face-off is played for triple value and the top answer is the only one displayed.

The 300 points rule has been in place for most of the series. However, when the original series premiered, the goal was 200 points. For the last season of the original daytime and syndicated series, the goal was increased to 400 points.^[3] The first several seasons of the current series did not have a set point goal. Instead, four rounds were played, with the last for triple points and only one strike, and the family with the most points after the fourth round won the game.

Fast Money

Two members of the winning family played Fast Money for a chance at a cash bonus.

To start the round, one of the two players is asked a series of five survey questions in rapid fire fashion and had to answer them within a set time limit. The limit was originally fifteen seconds, but was extended during the final season of the 1988 syndicated series to twenty seconds and has remained at that length for the current series. The clock does not start until after the first question is asked and passing on a question allowed, with any passed questions revisited after all five were asked if time permitted.

Once all five questions are answered, or if time expired before that, the first player is shown how many people in the survey, if any, had given his/her particular answers. After the total score from the five questions is tabulated, the board is cleared and the second player takes his/her turn. The same five questions are asked with the same rules, but the second player is not allowed to repeat an answer the first player gave (indicated by a buzzer) and is given twenty-five seconds (originally twenty) to complete the round. If, between the two of them, the players score at least 200 points, the family wins the bonus. If not, they are given five dollars per point scored as a consolation prize.^[2]

The grand prize for winning Fast Money has varied over the course of the series. When the series aired in daytime, families played for $5,000.^[4] The syndicated series' grand prize was $10,000 for much of its existence. In 2001, the prize was doubled to $20,000 at the request of then-host Louie Anderson.^[5]

Returning champions

When Family Feud premiered on ABC, the series was subjected to network rules as to how much a family could win. Once any family reached $25,000, they were retired as champions.^[6] The accompanying syndicated series that premiered in 1977 featured two new families each episode because of tape bicycling (a practice then common in syndicated television).

The CBS revival series and its accompanying syndicated series both featured returning champions. The limit was five days.^[7] For a brief period in the syndicated series' final season (the Dawson season), there were no returning champions. For these episodes, two new families competed in this first half of each episode. The second half featured former champion families from the original Family Feud series, with the winner of the first half of the show playing one of these families in the second half.^[8]

The current series featured two new families on each episode for its first three seasons. When Richard Karn took over as host, the returning champions rule was reinstated with the same five-day limit starting with the 2003–04 season (the second season).^[9] Starting with the 2009–10 season, a family that wins five matches wins a new car.

Bullseye game

In June 1992, the CBS daytime edition of Feud expanded from thirty to sixty minutes and became known as Family Feud Challenge. As part of the change (see below), the producers added a new round at the start of each game called Bullseye. This round determined the potential Fast Money stake for each team.^[10] Each team was given a starting value for their bank and attempted to come up with the top answer to a survey question to add to it. In the first half of the show, the families were staked $2,500 and that amount doubled in the second half to $5,000.

For the remainder of the CBS daytime series, as well as on the syndicated series beginning in September 1992, a total of five face-off questions, played as normal, were asked and each one was worth more than the one before. For the first half of Family Feud Challenge, the first question was worth $500 and each subsequent question was worth $500 more, with the final question worth $2,500. In the second half of the show, as well as on the syndicated series, the first question was worth $1,000 and each subsequent question was worth an additional $1,000 up to $5,000 for the last one. The team that eventually won the game played for their bank in Fast Money, with a maximum of $20,000 available ($10,000 in the first half of the daytime series).

When Richard Dawson returned as host of the series in 1994, the round's name was changed to the Bankroll round and was played twice, corresponding with the syndicated show's expansion to sixty minutes.^[11] The Family Feud Challenge format was used, with $2,500 given to each team to start the first half and $5,000 to start the second half, but only three questions were played and one player from each family was designated to play the round. The questions were worth $500, $1500, and $2,500 in the first half and doubled in the second; the maximum total bank was $7,000 in the first half of the show and $14,000 in the second half.^[12]

The Bullseye round temporarily returned during John O'Hurley's last season as host of the current Feud series. It was played the same way as it had been on the 1990s syndicated series, with five questions worth from $1,000 to $5,000, and each family was given a $15,000 starting stake.

Hosts and announcers

The ABC and first syndicated versions of Family Feud were hosted by Richard Dawson. As writer David Marc put it, Dawson's on-air personality "fell somewhere between the brainless sincerity of Wink Martindale and the raunchy cynicism of Chuck Barris".^[13] Dawson showed himself to have insistent affections for all of the female members of each family that competed on the show, regardless of age.^[13] Writers Tim Brooks, Jon Ellowitz, and Earle F. Marsh owed Family Feud's popularity to Dawson's "glib familiarity" (he had previously played Newkirk on Hogan's Heroes) and "ready wit".^[1] The show's original announcer was Gene Wood,^[14] with Johnny Gilbert and Rod Roddy serving as occasional substitutes.^[15]

In 1988, Ray Combs took over Dawson's role as host on CBS and in syndication with Wood returning as announcer and Roddy, Art James, and Charlie O'Donnell serving in that role when Wood was not available.^[15] Combs hosted the daytime series until its 1993 cancellation and the syndicated series until the end of the 1993–94 season. Dawson returned to the show at the request of Mark Goodson Productions for the 1994–95 season, the series' last.^[16]

When Feud returned to syndication in 1999, it was initially hosted by Louie Anderson,^[1] while Burton Richardson took over as the new announcer.^[17] Richard Karn was selected to take over for Anderson when season four premiered in 2002,^[1] and when season eight premiered in 2006, Karn was replaced by John O'Hurley.^[1] In 2010, both O'Hurley and Richardson departed from the show; comedian Steve Harvey was named the new host for season twelve,^[18] and a pre-recorded track of former 'N Sync member Joey Fatone's voice was used until 2015,^[19] when Rubin Ervin, who has been a member of the production staff as the warmup man for the audience since Harvey took over, became the announcer.

Production

The first four versions of the show were directed by Paul Alter and produced by Howard Felsher and Cathy Dawson. For the 1988 versions, Gary Dawson worked with the show as a third producer, and Alter was joined by two other directors, Marc Breslow and Andy Felsher.^[15] The 1999 version's main staff include executive producer Gabrielle Johnston, supervising producers Kristin Bjorklund and Brian Hawley, and director Ken Fuchs; Johnston and Bjorklund previously worked as associate producers of the 1980s version.^[20] The show's classic theme tune was written by an uncredited Walt Levinsky for Score Productions. The themes used from 1999 to 2008 were written by John Lewis Parker.^[20] The production rights to the show were originally owned by the production company Goodson shared with his partner Bill Todman, but were sold to their current holder, FremantleMedia, when it acquired all of Goodson and Todman's works in 2002.^[20]

Broadcast history

Original series

Mark Goodson created Family Feud during the increasing popularity of his earlier game show Match Game, which set daytime ratings records in 1976, and on which Dawson had previously appeared as one of its most popular panelists. The show premiered on ABC's daytime lineup on July 12, 1976, and although it was not an immediate hit, before long it became a ratings winner and eventually surpassed Match Game to become the No. 1 game show in daytime.^[21] It remained the most popular daytime game show until Merv Griffin's game show Wheel of Fortune surpassed it in 1984.^[2] ABC periodically broadcast primetime specials based on Feud, in which celebrity casts from various TV series competed instead of ordinary families.^[1] The popularity of the daytime series inspired Goodson to consider producing a nighttime edition, which launched on September 18, 1977. Like many other game shows at the time, the nighttime Feud aired once a week; it expanded to twice a week in January 1979,^[2] and finally to five nights a week (Monday through Friday) in the fall of 1980.

However, the viewing habits of both daytime and syndicated audiences were changing.^[2] When Griffin launched Wheel's syndicated version, starring Pat Sajak and Vanna White, in 1983, that show climbed the ratings to the point where it unseated Feud as the highest-rated syndicated show;^[22] the syndicated revival of Wheel's sister show Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek as host also siphoned ratings from Feud with its early success. ABC decided that it would not renew Feud for the 1985–86 season, and a cancellation notice was issued for the syndicated version as well. The daytime series came to an end on June 14, 1985.^[2] The syndicated series aired its last new episode on May 17, 1985, and continued to air in reruns after that until September 6, 1985.^[2]

First revival

Three years after the original version ended, Family Feud returned to CBS with Combs hosting on July 4, 1988. Like its predecessor, the revival also had an accompanying syndicated edition which launched in September 1988.^[1] In June 1992, the network version expanded from its original half-hour format to a full hour, and was retitled The Family Feud Challenge;^[1] this new format featured three families per episode, which included two new families competing in the first half-hour for the right to play the returning champions in the second half. The Family Feud Challenge aired its final new episode on March 26, 1993, with reruns airing until September 10.^[23] The syndicated Feud, meanwhile, remained in production and entered its sixth season in the fall of 1993. However, it found itself in the same ratings trouble and needed to make some changes to stave off cancellation itself.

When this particular edition of Feud was in its developmental stages, Mark Goodson made it clear that he would not consider Dawson to host the new series, having lingering bad feelings over repeated clashes Dawson had with the show's production staff. Goodson, however, had died in 1992 and his son, Jonathan Goodson, was now in control of the production company. Thus, he was tasked with finding a remedy to the ratings issues. Despite his father's loyalty to Combs, Jonathan Goodson was willing to consider to make any changes necessary to improve the ratings of the struggling Feud.^[16] After meeting with his staff, Goodson decided the best move for the company was to ask Dawson, who was retired from show business, to replace Combs as host, which he agreed to do. Combs finished out the remainder of the season but, upset by the decision to replace him, he departed from the studio as soon as the final episode of the year finished taping.^[16]

A revamped Family Feud returned for a seventh season in September 1994 with Dawson in his role as host. The show expanded from thirty to sixty minutes, reinstated the Family Feud Challenge format, and did various other things to try and improve the ratings of the show such as build a more modern-looking set, feature families that had previously been champions on the original Feud, and have more themed weeks. Although Dawson did bring a brief ratings surge when he came back, the show could not sustain it long term and the revived Feud came to a conclusion at the end of the 1994–95 season.

Current series

After a four-year hiatus, Family Feud returned in syndication on September 20, 1999.^[24] After Karn took over the show, the format was changed to reintroduce returning champions, allowing them to appear for up to five days. However, even after Karn's takeover, Anderson-hosted episodes continued in reruns that aired on PAX Network.^[1] In O'Hurley's later days, the show's Nielsen ratings were at 1.5 (putting it in danger of cancellation), but when Harvey took over, ratings increased by as much as 40%,^[25] and within two short years, the show was rated at 4.0, and had become the fifth most popular syndicated program.^[26] Fox News' Paulette Cohn argued that Harvey's "relatability," or "understanding of what the people at home want to know," is what saved the show from cancelation;^[27] Harvey himself argued, "If someone said an answer that was so ridiculous, I knew that the people at home behind the camera had to be going, 'What did they just say?' … They gave this answer that doesn't have a shot in hell of being up there. The fact that I recognize that, that's comedic genius to me. I think that's [made] the difference."^[27]

During the Harvey era, Family Feud has regularly ranked among the top 10 highest-rated programs in all of daytime television programming and third among game shows (behind Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!); in February 2014, the show achieved a 6.0 share in the Nielsen ratings, with approximately 8.8 million viewers.^[28] In June 2015, Family Feud eclipsed Wheel of Fortune as the most-watched syndicated game show on television.^[29]

Reruns of the Dawson, Combs, Anderson, Karn and O'Hurley hosted episodes have been included among Buzzr's acquisitions since its launch on June 1, 2015.^[30]

The popularity of Family Feud in the United States has led it to become a worldwide franchise, with over 50 adaptations outside the United States. Countries that have aired their own versions of the show include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam, among others.

Reception

Family Feud won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show in 1977, and the show has twice won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host, once with Dawson (1978) and again with Harvey (2014).^[31] Feud ranked number 3 on Game Show Network (GSN)'s 2006 list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time,^[32] and also on TV Guide's 2013 list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.^[33]

Tara Ariano and Sarah D. Bunting, founders of the website Television Without Pity, wrote that they hated the 1999 syndicated series, saying "Give us classic Feud every time", citing both the Dawson and Combs eras; additionally, they called Anderson an "alleged sexual harasser and full-time sphere".^[34]

It was reported that the public responded negatively to several videos posted on the official Family Feud web site in September 2015 in which contestants on the current version gave sexually explicit answers to survey questions.^[35] Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center suggested that the responses are in line with sexual content becoming more commonplace on television.^[35]

Merchandise

Since the show's premiere in 1976, many home versions of Family Feud have been released in various formats. Milton Bradley, Pressman Games, and Endless Games have all released traditional board games based on the show,^[36][37] while Imagination Entertainment released the series in a DVD game format.^[38]

The game has been released in other formats by multiple companies; Coleco Adam released the first computer version of the show in 1983, and Sharedata followed in 1987 with versions for MS-DOS, Commodore 64, and Apple II computers.^[39] GameTek released versions for NES, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Panasonic 3DO, and PC (on CD-ROM) between 1990 and 1995.^[40] Hasbro Interactive released a version in 2000 for the PC and PlayStation.^[41] In 2006, versions were released for PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, and PC.^[42] Seattle-based Mobliss Inc. also released a mobile version of Family Feud that was available on Sprint, Verizon, and Cingular.^[43][44][45] Glu Mobile later released a newer mobile version of Family Feud for other carriers.^[46]

Most recently, in conjunction with Ludia, Ubisoft has released multiple versions of the series. The first of these was entitled Family Feud: 2010 Edition and was released for the Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC in September 2009.^[47] Ubisoft then released Family Feud Decades the next year, which featured sets and survey questions from television versions of all four decades the show has been on air.^[48] A third game, entitled Family Feud: 2012 Edition was released for the Wii and Xbox 360 in 2011.^[49]

In addition to the home games, a DVD set titled All-Star Family Feud was released on January 8, 2008 and featured a total of 15 celebrity episodes from the original ABC/syndicated versions on its four discs.^[50] It was re-issued as The Best of All-Star Family Feud on February 2, 2010.^[51]

References

Works cited

Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve & Wostbrock, Fred (1999). The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3rd ed.). New York: Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-3846-5. 

External links

• Official website
• Current Production website
• Family Feud (1976) at the Internet Movie Database
• All-Star Family Feud Special (1977) at the Internet Movie Database
• Family Feud (1988) at the Internet Movie Database
• Family Feud (1999) at the Internet Movie Database
• Celebrity Family Feud (2008) at the Internet Movie Database