Merv Griffin's Crosswords: Difference between revisions
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If the bonus round is not won on shows with the alternate Crossword Extra rule only, the contestant does receive an additional $100 for each correct word in the Bonus Round. |
If the bonus round is not won on shows with the alternate Crossword Extra rule only, the contestant does receive an additional $100 for each correct word in the Bonus Round. |
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The contestant does have a short window of time in which he or she can win the $2,000 and the trip after the time expires, provided he or she begins the answer ''before the timer flips to 0:00''. |
The contestant does have a short window of time in which he or she can win the $2,000 and the trip after the time expires, provided he or she begins the answer ''before the timer flips to 0:00''. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRW97XxHw74] |
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==Theme music== |
==Theme music== |
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Revision as of 07:09, 28 October 2007
| Merv Griffin's Crosswords | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Merv Griffin |
| Starring | Ty Treadway (Host) Edd Hall (Announcer) |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 40 (as of October 5, 2007) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes without commercials, 30 minutes with commercials |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | September 10, 2007 – present |
Merv Griffin's Crosswords is a syndicated game show created by its namesake, Merv Griffin, well known as the creator of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! During development, the show was originally known as Let's Play Crosswords, then Let's Do Crosswords.
Ty Treadway is the host,[1] and Edd Hall is the announcer. The show debuted on September 10, 2007.[2] It is distributed by Program Partners, which has announced that the show would be carried in 90% of the United States and will also air nationally in Canada on Canadian Learning Television. [1]
Griffin was working on the first week's production of the show when he died at the age of 82.[3]
Gameplay
Two contestants face each other to earn cash. A word from the day's crossword puzzle is shown with the number of letters and a clue shown. If the contestant buzzes in and gets the word and spelling correct, they win the dollar amount for that word. If they get it wrong, they lose that amount. Scores can go below zero.
In Round 1, the dollar values are $50 (for three-letter words only), $100 and $150 (for words of at least seven letters long). In Rounds 2 and 3, all dollar amounts are doubled.
Starting in Round 2 and continuing for Round 3, three "spoiler" contestants stand behind the two main contestants' podiums. If one of the main contestants get the word right, the spoilers are prevented from having a chance to answer. However, if one or both of the main contestants get the word wrong, or if they don't ring in within three seconds after a spoiler rings in, each spoiler who buzzes in can attempt the word in the order they buzzed in, until one gets it right. If a spoiler gets it right, they replace one of the two main contestants up front, and add the amount he/she just earned for that word to the podium he/she had just stolen. If only one main contestant rings in and guesses incorrectly, the spoiler must take their podium, otherwise, the spoiler can choose which podium they take over. If the spoiler gets it wrong, they are "locked out" from ringing in until either one of the other two spoilers replaces one of the contestants up front or all three of them give a wrong answer.
The contestant with the most money after the third round wins everything in their bank and goes on to play the bonus round. The other players get a Croton watch with the show's logo on it. In case of a tie, one final tiebreaker clue is played to determine the winner.
Special items
In both of the first two rounds, one word has a "Crossword Getaway" attached to it. If a player gets that word right, a trip is put in his/her bank. If the clue assigned for the Crossword Getaway is not answered correctly, it is not mentioned. Therefore, some shows will have one or no Crossword Getaways. To date, Crossword Getaway trips have been to cities in California, Nevada, and Arizona.
In all three rounds, one word in each round has a "Crossword Extra" that follows it. The Crossword Extra is not announced until the player gets the word correct. This is played like the Daily Double from "Jeopardy!" (which was a Merv Griffin-created game show). Here, the player risks as much of the money as they have in their podium as they want on the next word. In Round 1, if a player has $500 or less, he/she can bet up to $500; in Rounds 2 or 3, a player can risk as much as $1000 if he/she has $1000 or less at that point. This word is part of the main puzzle. If the player gets the word right, they add the amount risked to their podium, while a wrong answer (or no answer) subtracts the amount risked from their podium.
In some shows that aired in double run markets starting 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). The Crossword Extra was announced before the clue for the next word in the main puzzle that was designated as the Crossword Extra word was given (presumably to give players more incentive to buzz in). In round 1, the Crossword Extra was worth an additional $300, and in round 2, the Crossword Extra was worth an additional $600. There was no Crossword Extra in round 3. If the player got the word right, they added the specified amount to their podium. There was no penalty for an incorrect answer or for no answer.
Bonus Round
The winning contestant attempts to fill in the remaining spaces of the show's crossword puzzle. The player has only 90 seconds to fill all the spaces up by calling the number and either down or across and spelling out the word with the clue being shown as well. If all the spaces are filled in and spelled correctly before time expires, the contestant wins an additional $2,000 plus a trip. The Bonus Round trips are normally for tropical destinations such as Jamaica.
If the bonus round is not won on shows with the alternate Crossword Extra rule only, the contestant does receive an additional $100 for each correct word in the Bonus Round.
The contestant does have a short window of time in which he or she can win the $2,000 and the trip after the time expires, provided he or she begins the answer before the timer flips to 0:00. [2]
Theme music
The theme song is an updated version of "Buzzword", written by Griffin and arranged by Tim Mosher, which was used as a prize cue on Wheel of Fortune in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
References
- ^ Soapdom.com: Ty Treadway on the passing of Merv Griffin
- ^ Yahoo! Finance: Crosswords casting call
- ^ Thomas, Bob (2007-08-13). "Merv Griffin dies from cancer at 82".
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