Missing Links (game show)
| Missing Links | |
|---|---|
|
Host Ed McMahon. | |
| Created by |
Mark Goodson Bill Todman |
| Presented by |
Ed McMahon (NBC) Dick Clark (ABC) |
| Narrated by | Johnny Olson |
| Country of origin |
 United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | NBC: 135 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network |
NBC (1963-1964) ABC (1964) |
| Original release | September 9, 1963 – December 25, 1964 |
Missing Links is a Goodson-Todman game show hosted by Ed McMahon which originally ran on NBC from September 9, 1963 to March 27, 1964.
Game play
A panel of three celebrities faced a studio contestant who came in with an unusual story. He/she gave a statement with a blank at the end or near the end, and then each panelist tried to guess the missing word. A correct answer from one celebrity won $50 for the contestant (unlike most panel shows using this type of format), but an incorrect answer passed the turn to the next star. If all three missed, the host gave the starting letter to the answer and the round continued as before, with a correct guess earning $25.
Three guests played each day, with the final guest being a celebrity.
On the August 21, 1963 pilot, the guest predicted whether each word would be guessed or not. If the guest predicted that the word would be guessed, he or she earned $10 for each of six chances remaining. Predicting the word would not be guessed earned $10 for each wrong guess. On the last of six statements, each panelist took only one guess with the first letter revealed and a correct prediction earned $20 per incorrect guess or chance remaining, depending on the guest's prediction.
Broadcast history
Missing Links debuted on September 9, 1963 at 11:30 AM Eastern (10:30, Central), replacing The Price is Right in a scheduling shuffle with Concentration (which took Price's slot at 11:00/10:00) against Seven Keys on ABC and local programming on CBS.
On December 30, ABC swapped Keys out and introduced Dick Clark's first foray into game-show hosting, The Object Is. Both Links and Object were cancelled on March 27 of the new year, with Links replacing Object the following Monday on ABC and Clark becoming the show's host, This was Clark's only game show for Goodson-Todman productions, Ironically both Clark & Ed McMahon (who hosted the NBC Version) went on to host TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes on NBC from 1984 to 1992 together and also do the American Family Publishers commercials in 1993.
Links immediately ran into ratings trouble with NBC's replacement, Jeopardy!, and only slipped further when CBS debuted The Jack Benny Daytime Show (actually repeats of Benny's nighttime series, which was finishing its CBS nighttime run, and was soon to move to NBC) on August 24. Faced with very tough competition, Links bowed on Christmas Day 1964 after fifteen months.
Episode status
The series is believed to have been destroyed as per network policies of the era. The December 24, 1964 episode is held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.[1]