add site
services
publishers
database
health videos
toolbar
stats
live show
health store
more stuff
JOIN/LOGIN
| advertise add site services publishers database health videos
| | about toolbar stats live show health store more stuff JOIN/LOGIN |
Merv Griffin's Crosswords (commonly shortened to Crosswords) is an American game show based on crossword puzzles. The show was created by its namesake, Merv Griffin, who died shortly after beginning production on the series. Ty Treadway was the host,[2] and Edd Hall was the announcer. The series ran in daily syndication from September 10, 2007[3] and aired first-run episodes until May 16, 2008. Reruns continued to air in some markets until September 4, 2009, and can now be seen on FamilyNet. The show was produced by Yani-Brune Entertainment and Merv Griffin Entertainment, and was distributed by Program Partners. The show also airs nationally in Canada on Viva[4] and in New Zealand on Prime Television.
[edit] GameplayCrosswords initially pitted two contestants in direct competition, filling in answers in the day's crossword puzzle one at a time; the words were played one at a time in random order. The answer boxes denoting the number of letters (and any already-solved letters) in a word was shown with a crossword clue and a dollar value. After the clue was read, the contestants could ring in, with the order they did so denoted on the screens on the front of their podiums. The first contestant to buzz in had to give the answer and then spell it (spelling took precedence over the word given). If correct, they won the dollar amount for that word. If they had the wrong word or spelling, or ran out of time, they lost that amount (scores could go below $0) and the other contestant could answer if he or she had also buzzed in.
At the beginning of Round 2, three "spoiler" contestants joined the game and stood at podiums behind the two main contestants. Play continued as before, with the difference being that the spoilers could ring in for words with separate ring-in order monitors. However, the players in the front row had priority when answering; a spoiler could not answer unless the main players either failed to come up with a correct answer or did not buzz in. If a spoiler got a correct answer, they switched positions with one of the main players and assumed their money total and any prizes earned, with the player replaced becoming a spoiler. A spoiler had choice of podiums if both main players got the answer wrong or neither one rang in, but if only one player provided an incorrect answer the spoiler had to take that player's position. Any spoiler who gave a wrong answer was immediately locked out of the game and could not return until another spoiler correctly answered a clue or the other two spoilers also answered incorrectly. If a spoiler got locked out 3 times that spoiler is permanently eliminated from the game; if all 3 spoilers get eliminated from the game 3 new spoilers come in. The player standing at the podium with the highest money total when time ran out at the end of Round 3, regardless of whether their score was positive or negative (the latter occurred once during the show's run), won the game and whatever was in the podium, and advanced to the bonus round. The losing player and spoilers received a Croton watch with the show's logo on it. In the event of a tie, one final tiebreaker clue was played to determine the winner with all players and spoilers involved; the first to solve it correctly won the game. [edit] Special words[edit] Crossword GetawayIn the original format, one word in each the first two rounds was designated the "Crossword Getaway", with the contestant who solved that particular word having a trip placed in their bank. Trips were usually to resort destinations in California, Nevada, and Arizona. If a Getaway-designated word went unsolved, the prize was not awarded and gameplay continued without it. [edit] Crossword ExtraThe Crossword Extra was a bonus word played once in Round 1 and twice in subsequent rounds (originally once in each round, with the second word added following the removal of the Getaways). The player who correctly guessed the word the Extra was attached to was the only player who could answer and wagered all or part of their score on the word (up to $500, $1,000, or $2,000 (depending on the round) if they had less than those amounts). A correct answer added the wager, while an incorrect answer deducted it. In several episodes (five of which aired in double-run markets in late September 2007), there were alternate "Crossword Extra" rules. The Crossword Extra word was not part of the main puzzle (so it was truly an "extra" word) and announced before certain clues in each round (presumably to give players more incentive to buzz in). A correct Crossword Extra answer was worth $300 in Round 1 and $600 in Round 2 with no deduction for a wrong answer or no answer at all. There was no Crossword Extra in Round 3. [edit] ChangesBeginning with the episode aired November 1, 2007 there were changes to the special items. The Getaways were eliminated, with additional Extras being added (based on the original format). One Extra appeared in Round 1, but two Extras appeared in Round 2, and one or two appeared in Round 3. The Round 3 wagering maximum was also increased to the higher of $2,000 or the player's total score. For a short time, the Crossword Extra was known as the "Crossword Xbox 360 Extra" as a promotion for the Crosswords video game released on Xbox Live Arcade, which also added an Xbox 360 console to the bonus prize during episodes with this promotion. Beginning in late December 2007, players were allowed to bet up to $3,000 in Round 3 if they had that amount or less; this was added with the redoubling of the dollar amounts for Round 3. [edit] Bonus roundThe winning contestant attempted to fill in the remaining spaces of the show's crossword puzzle. The player had 90 seconds to fill all the spaces up by choosing words using the number and either down or across, and then answering and spelling the word. The round was played rapid-fire, with the contestant choosing the words in any order they wanted. There was no penalty for wrong answers, other than having to choose the word again or fill in the spaces using words in the other direction. If the player successfully completed the puzzle, they won a vacation and a cash prize (originally $2,000, later raised to $5,000). For a brief period of time, as part of a promotional deal with Microsoft, players also won an XBox 360 as part of the bonus round package (the promotional agreement also resulted in Crossword Extras being renamed "Crossword Xbox 360 Extras").[5] In the "alternate Crossword Extra" episodes, players received $100 for each bonus round word they answered. Unlike Jeopardy! (in which a positive score is required to participate in the final round), the winner on Crosswords did not need a positive score to advance to the Bonus Round; if both players had a negative score at the end of the game, the one closer to $0 was declared the winner. In the event that the contestant won the main game with no money and lost the Bonus Round, they received a Croton watch. This only occurred once. [edit] MusicThe theme song was an updated version of "Buzzword", written by Griffin and arranged by Tim Mosher and Andy "Stoker" Growcott (credited as "Tim Mosher & Stoker"). The original version was used as a prize cue on Wheel of Fortune in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The bonus round music was an extended version of the theme from Starface, a GSN game show. [edit] SetCrosswords was originally planned to be recorded at the NBC Tower in Chicago, but instead recorded at Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood, California. [edit] Broadcast historyDuring the program's development, the series was originally known as Let's Play Crosswords[6] and later changed to Let's Do Crosswords.[7] On each episode, host Treadway used either phrase to begin the day's game. The Play title also appeared on some on-screen VCR displays and pre-programmed television listings. Griffin worked on the pilot, which had contestants building a cash jackpot that would be offered to the eventual winner, and the first week of the series' production, when he died;[8] in addition to his creator credit, he was listed posthumously in the show's credits as executive producer. The clues and puzzles used throughout the run were written by veteran crossword puzzle maker Timothy Parker, who also writes the USA Today crossword and was hand-picked by Griffin. Crosswords was sold to approximately 100+ markets and aired during the 2007-2008 season, usually placed in mid-morning or early-afternoon slots. In addition, the series was either packaged with other game shows such as Temptation (a one-season revival of Sale of the Century) in some markets while others aired an hour-long block (two episodes). [edit] Critical reviewsThe show's earlier episodes, with a top payout of just over $4,000, were on par with Game Show Network's earlier original programs (through 2002) – although these increased to a more respectable $10,000 range by the end of the run; despite the low clue amounts, some contestants won five-figure sums in the main game alone.[9] Further, Crosswords did not provide a "house minimum" for winning contestants, causing some to walk away with little to show for their efforts. [edit] RatingsInitial ratings for Crosswords were a 0.8 share, significantly less than the more-established games which have garnered at least 1.5 shares.[10] In November 2007, Crosswords hit the 1.0 mark and was reported to have been picked up for a second season in the November 26, 2007 issue of Broadcasting & Cable magazine,[11] with official confirmation coming on January 28, 2008.[12][13] [edit] Airings and rerunsSince Crosswords aired two episodes in some markets, the series taped "extras" (most all of which were of the original format) for the purpose of lacking repeats; this resulted in 45 weeks of shows being taped, however not all double-run (or even single-run) markets aired all 225 episodes. Because of the format's inexplicable lack of returning champions, the series was not shown in taping order (i.e., the first taped episode on September 10, the second on September 11, and so on – lacking repeats – through the 225th episode on July 18); this made it impossible for casual viewers to date rerun episodes (much like most original programs broadcast by Game Show Network) and were thus not able to determine whether one episode from a particular format was taped before or after another episode using the same format – indeed, the first episode ever aired was in fact the 27th one taped, with no discernible rhyme or reason as to why certain episodes aired when they did. The lack of returning champions also caused some odd scheduling in double-run markets – some affiliates aired an episode with the later format, followed by one using the "original" or "alternate" formats. Occasionally, stations aired an episode several times in a two-week span, while other episodes were reran in the second half-hour after already being shown in the first. [edit] Aborted renewalBefore production was slated to resume, however, in June 2008 Merv Griffin Entertainment and Program Partners announced that production of the series would be halted until at least early 2009,[14] with the cited reason being high production costs (although the general response to this statement was that nothing done or given away on the show could have caused such a thing).[15] Three-quarters of carrying affiliates had been ready to pick up Season 2. Many of the markets that were airing the show (including New York and Los Angeles, the two largest in the country) dropped Crosswords from their schedules, with the remaining markets (plus some that did not carry the series, including West Palm Beach, Florida CBS affiliate WPEC; sister station WFLX had carried Season 1) being given a choice from Program Partners through a "Daytime Plus" package – Season 1 repeats called "The Best Of Crosswords", Style by Jury (a Canadian reality fashion program), or Inside the Box (a 2006 pop-culture game show, also from Canada).[1] Most stations opted not to air the reruns and chose new syndicated programs from other providers to fill the programming gap – either game shows such as Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, or talk shows such as The Bonnie Hunt Show. Stations that chose to air the "Best Of" package began with an episode from the "alternate" format, although viewers quickly noticed that nothing was added ("Best Of" logo, production slate, episode number, recording date, original airdate, etc.) to distinguish this set of repeats from Season 1; this had the side effect of causing stations that aired Season 1 to show continuous repeats since the first-run episodes ended. On August 2, 2009 FamilyNet, a Christian-based family network, began airing Crosswords repeats on a daily basis in a two-hour afternoon block, plus an additional one-hour block in late-night.[16] Syndicated repeats under the "Best Of" label ceased on September 4, 2009. [edit] MerchandisingThree official tie-in books were released in paperback on October 16, 2007:
These puzzle books were edited by Timothy Parker, who supplied all the puzzles for the TV show and is puzzle editor for USA Today. It is unknown whether any of the puzzles used in the books were used in the series, but if this is the case then this would not hold true for at least 75 of the puzzles. Advertisements during 2008 shows announced that a Crosswords game was available through the Xbox Live Arcade. The Xbox 360 console was featured as part of the grand prize package and as a sponsor for the Crossword Extras, which for a time became known as "Crossword Xbox 360 Extras". A board game of the show was released by Hasbro in Fall 2008, with a DVD version also in the works.[17] Oberon Games released a downloadable PC game of Crosswords on February 11, 2008 and began selling it in retail chains later that year. In 2008, Electronic Arts released a mobile version of Crosswords which was available for download at the show's website. On November 19, 2008, THQ released a console version of Crosswords for the Wii. [edit] References
[edit] External links | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ↑ top of page ↑ | about thumbshots |
