Tic-Tac-Dough
Encyclopedia
Tic-Tac-Dough is an American television game show
based on the pen-and-paper game of tic-tac-toe
. Contestants answer questions in various categories to put up their respective symbol, X or O, on the board. Three versions were produced: the initial 1956–59 run on NBC
, a 1978–1986 run initially on CBS
and then in syndication
, and a syndicated run in 1990–1991. The show was produced by Barry & Enright Productions
.
Jack Barry, the co-producer, was the original host of the 1950s version, followed by Gene Rayburn
and then Bill Wendell
, with Jay Jackson
and Win Elliot
hosting prime time adaptations as well. Wink Martindale
hosted the network and syndicated version beginning in 1978, but left the program and was replaced by Jim Caldwell who hosted during the 1985–1986 season. Patrick Wayne
hosted the 1990–1991 version.
daytime television on July 30, 1956, hosted at first by co-creator and co-executive producer Jack Barry, who at the time also hosted Twenty-One.
Barry yielded Tic-Tac-Doughs hosting to Gene Rayburn later in the year. Rayburn was later replaced by announcer Bill Wendell on October 6, 1958. Wendell hosted the show until its demise on October 23, 1959, with the announcing taken over by Bill McCord
.
A nighttime version, produced in color, played for bigger stakes aired from September 12, 1957 to December 29, 1958. First hosted by former Twenty Questions emcee Jay Jackson, he was replaced by Win Elliot on October 2, 1958 for the duration of the show's nighttime run.
was canceled after network and sponsor executives discovered the game had been rigged, and when newspaper headlines exploded with confirmation that deposed Twenty One
champion Herb Stempel
's allegations of rigging on that show were true. The big money quiz shows began to sink in the ratings and disappear from the air as the scandal widened.
Tic-Tac-Dough did not go unscathed before its cancellation. A 1957 installment preserved on kinescope
, featuring U.S. military serviceman Michael O'Rourke winning over $140,000 during his run on the show, became one key subject of the federal grand jury investigating the quiz fixing. That run occurred during Jay Jackson's tenure as host. Jackson was never implicated in any wrongdoing himself, and he had left the show well before the quiz investigations began, but he never again hosted a television game show. The same could not be said for Tic-Tac-Dough producer Howard Felsher
. Felsher was in charge of all facets of the show's production, including picking the contestants. One of them, sixteen year old Kirsten Falke, auditioned as a folk singer. This led her to the offices of Tic-Tac-Dough producer Felsher, who would provide young impressionable Kirsten with the answers and hints to win on the show and a promise to showcase her talent and sing. "I botched it up", retorted Kirsten. She requested her categories in the wrong order and, as a result, walked away with a paltry $800. A grand jury
subpoenaed Kirsten Falke to testify, and producer Howard Felsher implored her to lie. Felsher admitted to congressmen that he urged roughly 30 former show contestants and all of his production staff to lie to the grand jury, and that he had himself lied under oath. Felsher also estimated that about 75% of the nighttime Tic-Tac-Dough run had been rigged. Felsher was fired in the fallout of the quiz show scandals by NBC, but would later resurface as a producer for Goodson-Todman Productions in the 1970s and 1980s.
The daytime show was unaffected, and host Gene Rayburn's career was completely unscathed. After Tic-Tac-Dough, Rayburn went to Goodson-Todman, where on December 31, 1962, he began his most famous hosting assignment on The Match Game
.
gave it a summer daytime run. The series ran from July 3 to September 1, 1978 and made way for daytime repeats of All in the Family
. On September 18, a previously-planned nighttime version premiered in first-run syndication, where it aired in some markets as a companion series to fellow Barry-Enright game The Joker's Wild
.
Wink Martindale
hosted Tic-Tac-Dough for its first seven seasons, then left on May 24, 1985 to host his new creation Headline Chasers
. Jim Caldwell took over as host on September 23, 1985 and hosted until the series finale on May 23, 1986. Jay Stewart
served as announcer for the first three years. Charlie O'Donnell
replaced Stewart in 1981. Occasional substitutes for those announcers included Johnny Gilbert
(including the syndicated premiere), Bob Hilton
, Mike Darrow
, John Harlan
, and Art James
.
In an interview, Martindale stated that while the CBS version began airing Barry & Enright Productions secured a spot to air a syndicated version that began in the fall. The CBS version ended due to poor ratings, but the syndicated version drew high numbers and as a result had an eight-year run.
From 1978 to the end of 1980, the show was recorded at CBS Television City
in Hollywood in studio 31 and studio 43 at different times.
From 1981 to 1984 and again for the final season from 1985 to 1986, the show was taped at KCOP (Chris Craft Studios). The 1984–1985 season was taped at The Production Group Studios.
Beginning around 1980, every Friday was "Hat Day", where Martindale would receive hats from viewers to show off at the end of the show. Some were winter hats, and some even dealt with the show (such as having a picture of a dragon on them). He also wore hats on the Friday shows of Las Vegas Gambit, which he was also hosting on NBC at the time, requiring Martindale to commute between Los Angeles and Las Vegas for over a year.
The gameboard, designed by Bob Bishop of Apple Computer, Inc., was driven by nine Apple II
computers, each one responsible for displaying a single box of the gameboard, and in turn controlled by an Altair 8800
system. It was one of the very first uses of computer graphics on a television game show.
, his final television theme song. This version was not a success and only ran until March 8, 1991. This version was recorded at Hollywood Center Studios
.
This version was the last television series produced by Barry & Enright Productions, as the company folded following Dan Enright's death less than two years later.
and Concentration
.
Criss Cross Quiz
ran on ITV
in the United Kingdom from 1957–1967, with Junior Criss Cross Quiz (a children's version without cash prizes) airing alongside the main program for the whole of its run. Jeremy Hawk
hosted the show until 1962, at which point Barbara Kelly
replaced him as host until the end of its run.
Germany's Tick-Tack-Quiz, hosted by Fritz Benscher, ran weekly on ARD
from 1958–1967. It ran again as a daily show using the 1990 format on RTL plus
in 1992 as simply Tic-Tac-Toe, and was hosted by Michael "Goofy" Förster. The 1992 German version was distributed by Reg Grundy Productions
.
Tic-Tac-Dough aired in Australia on the Nine Network
from 1960–1964 with Chuck Faulkner as host and was a Reg Grundy Production.
The gameboard on the original 1950s version used rolling bars (each containing the same nine categories) to display subject categories, with light boxes beneath them to display the X's and O's. The 1978 version used monitors to display the categories and markers. On the 1990 version, the entire board was computer-generated.
Like some television games, Tic-Tac-Dough used the rollover format, sometimes known also as "straddling". The matches were not confined to single episodes and could start or end at any point in an episode, and be carried over to the next. Sometimes, an entire episode would not be long enough to show one match. The contestant who won the game was crowned champion and could return until he or she was defeated. During the NBC run, a champion could retire from the show or play against another challenger, knowing that if he or she lost, the new champion's winnings would come out of the former champion's winnings. There was no limit on the length of reign (except in the 1978 daytime version, and in the 1990 version where a 15-game limit was imposed, but never reached). If at any point in a game it became impossible for either contestant to win, the game was immediately declared a draw, and the same two contestants would keep playing games until a game ended in a win.
On the 1950s version, the same nine categories were used for an entire episode regardless of the number of games played. On all other versions, nine new categories were used for each individual match and were replaced with new categories in the event of a tie game.
During the 1990 version, the pot reset to zero after each tie game. However, the outer box values increased by $500 and the center box by $1,000 for each tie game. On the two prior versions, the pot did not reset and carried over into the next round.
Losing challengers received $100 on the 1950s version, and $250 in all subsequent versions for each tie game before being defeated.
Eventually the Secret Category was replaced by the Grand Question, which added $1,000 to the pot with a correct answer.
At first, just one special category (starting in the lower right box, later in the lower center box) was used per game. Eventually, two appeared each game (one in the upper center, the other in the lower center at the start), then three of these appeared per game (in the upper center, center right and lower center boxes to start the game). The categories then shuffled like normal categories, though special categories never shuffled into the center box.
Other special categories used included:
in the original series (like most 1950s game shows). The bonus round was introduced in the 1978 version. The winner of a match was given the chance to "Beat the Dragon". Three different formats were used: one for the network version, one for syndication, and one for the 1990 version.
For a time in 1983, two members of the studio audience were invited onstage to play a special "Dragon Finder" game whenever the bonus round was won or a contestant stopped early.
Instead of uncovering the board immediately to find the dragon, two members of the audience were invited to expose where the dragon was hidden behind the remaining numbers. The contestants took turns choosing the remaining numbers on the board to uncover the dragon. Originally, finding the dragon was worth a flat $250. Later in the game's run, $50 was added for each unsuccessful pick. At that time, each audience member who played received a Dragon Finder cap, which was introduced on a Friday "Hat Day" the week before that began.
For the first of their symbols a contestant found, they received $500. Each one found after that doubled the pot. If the contestant completed the Tic-Tac-Dough, they won the value of the pot and a prize. Finding the dragon slayer resulted in an automatic win, with the contestant receiving double the pot (or $1,000 if the dragon slayer was found on the first pick) and the prize. Sometimes finding the dragon slayer was the only way to win. As before, finding the dragon at any point ended the round and cost the contestant everything.
Beginning about seven weeks into the run, the dragon and knight described their purpose in a short rap song as they were introduced by host Wayne.
:
defeated 43 opponents to win eight cars and take home $312,700, including over $200,000 in cash, a record at the time. In one game, he broke the record for winning the biggest pot in a match, which reached $36,800 after four tie games against challenger Pete Cooper.
The most money won in a match was $46,900, which was won by Randy James as the game's challenger. The match ran for six straight episodes before Randy finally won the game (and the record-setting pot).
compilation on home video. The 1978–1986 syndicated version is currently held by Sony Pictures Television
.
Episodes from the 1978–1986 version have been rerun on CBN
, USA Network
and GSN
. The 1990–1991 version has also been rerun on USA.
The Ideal Toy Company
released a promotional Tic-Tac-Dough board game
in 1978 (but had a copyright date of 1977, with a picture on it likely to be from the pilot episode) which had its main game play format faithful to the CBS daytime run, but used the "Beat the Dragon" bonus game from the syndicated version, with $200 and $350 cards in place of the TIC and TAC cards the show used. During the first two syndicated seasons, the game was awarded to all contestants on the show, win or lose.
In 1983, GameTek
, then known as the Great Game Company, planned a home video game version of Tic-Tac-Dough for the Atari 2600
, along with several other well-known game shows, but that year's Video Game Crash brought the project to a halt.
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
based on the pen-and-paper game of tic-tac-toe
Tic-tac-toe
Tic-tac-toe, also called wick wack woe and noughts and crosses , is a pencil-and-paper game for two players, X and O, who take turns marking the spaces in a 3×3 grid. The X player usually goes first...
. Contestants answer questions in various categories to put up their respective symbol, X or O, on the board. Three versions were produced: the initial 1956–59 run on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, a 1978–1986 run initially on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and then in syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
, and a syndicated run in 1990–1991. The show was produced by Barry & Enright Productions
Barry & Enright Productions
Barry & Enright Productions , was a United States television production company that was formed in 1947 by Jack Barry and Dan Enright.-History:Jack Barry and Dan Enright first met at radio station WOR in New York, where...
.
Jack Barry, the co-producer, was the original host of the 1950s version, followed by Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn
Gene Rayburn was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the popular American television game show Match Game for over two decades....
and then Bill Wendell
Bill Wendell
Bill Wendell was an NBC television staff announcer for almost his entire professional career.-Biography:...
, with Jay Jackson
Jay Jackson
Jay Jackson was an American radio and television quiz show host and announcer more familiar for a one-off, fictitious host he played on a legendary situation comedy than he was during his time as a real radio and television performer.Jackson was the master of ceremonies of the panel quiz show...
and Win Elliot
Win Elliot
Win Elliot, was an American television and radio sportscaster and game show host who was best-known for his long tenures as a play-by-play broadcaster of NHL New York Rangers and NBA New York Knicks games and host of Sports Central USA on the CBS Radio Network.Born Irwin Elliot Shalek in Chelsea,...
hosting prime time adaptations as well. Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
hosted the network and syndicated version beginning in 1978, but left the program and was replaced by Jim Caldwell who hosted during the 1985–1986 season. Patrick Wayne
Patrick Wayne
Patrick John Morrison, better known by his stage name Patrick Wayne , is an American actor, the second son of movie star John Wayne and his first wife, Josephine Alicia Saenz. He made over 40 films in his career, including nine with his father...
hosted the 1990–1991 version.
1956–1959
Tic-Tac-Dough premiered on NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
daytime television on July 30, 1956, hosted at first by co-creator and co-executive producer Jack Barry, who at the time also hosted Twenty-One.
Barry yielded Tic-Tac-Doughs hosting to Gene Rayburn later in the year. Rayburn was later replaced by announcer Bill Wendell on October 6, 1958. Wendell hosted the show until its demise on October 23, 1959, with the announcing taken over by Bill McCord
Bill McCord
William J. "Bill" McCord was an American radio and television announcer.Born in Colville, Washington, McCord moved to Spokane in the 1930s, where he began his broadcasting career. During World War II, he served as a pilot in the United States Army Air Corps, stationed in Riverside, California,...
.
A nighttime version, produced in color, played for bigger stakes aired from September 12, 1957 to December 29, 1958. First hosted by former Twenty Questions emcee Jay Jackson, he was replaced by Win Elliot on October 2, 1958 for the duration of the show's nighttime run.
Quiz show scandal
In August 1958, the cross-network hit game show DottoDotto
Dotto is an American television quiz show which aired on CBS from January 6 to August 15, 1958 and was hosted by Jack Narz. Although it quickly became the highest-rated daytime game show on television, its end came when it became the unexpected first casualty – and ignition – of the...
was canceled after network and sponsor executives discovered the game had been rigged, and when newspaper headlines exploded with confirmation that deposed Twenty One
Twenty One (game show)
Twenty One is an American game show which aired in the late 1950s. While it included the most popular contestant of the quiz show era, it became notorious for being a rigged quiz show which nearly caused the demise of the entire genre in the wake of United States Senate investigations...
champion Herb Stempel
Herb Stempel
Herbert Milton "Herb" Stempel is a television game show contestant and subsequent whistle blower on the fraudulent nature of the industry, in what became known as the quiz show scandals...
's allegations of rigging on that show were true. The big money quiz shows began to sink in the ratings and disappear from the air as the scandal widened.
Tic-Tac-Dough did not go unscathed before its cancellation. A 1957 installment preserved on kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
, featuring U.S. military serviceman Michael O'Rourke winning over $140,000 during his run on the show, became one key subject of the federal grand jury investigating the quiz fixing. That run occurred during Jay Jackson's tenure as host. Jackson was never implicated in any wrongdoing himself, and he had left the show well before the quiz investigations began, but he never again hosted a television game show. The same could not be said for Tic-Tac-Dough producer Howard Felsher
Howard Felsher
Howard Felsher was an American game show producer for many years. He produced such shows as Tic Tac Dough, Password, Password Plus, Super Password, He Said, She Said, Concentration, and most notably Family Feud...
. Felsher was in charge of all facets of the show's production, including picking the contestants. One of them, sixteen year old Kirsten Falke, auditioned as a folk singer. This led her to the offices of Tic-Tac-Dough producer Felsher, who would provide young impressionable Kirsten with the answers and hints to win on the show and a promise to showcase her talent and sing. "I botched it up", retorted Kirsten. She requested her categories in the wrong order and, as a result, walked away with a paltry $800. A grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
subpoenaed Kirsten Falke to testify, and producer Howard Felsher implored her to lie. Felsher admitted to congressmen that he urged roughly 30 former show contestants and all of his production staff to lie to the grand jury, and that he had himself lied under oath. Felsher also estimated that about 75% of the nighttime Tic-Tac-Dough run had been rigged. Felsher was fired in the fallout of the quiz show scandals by NBC, but would later resurface as a producer for Goodson-Todman Productions in the 1970s and 1980s.
The daytime show was unaffected, and host Gene Rayburn's career was completely unscathed. After Tic-Tac-Dough, Rayburn went to Goodson-Todman, where on December 31, 1962, he began his most famous hosting assignment on The Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
.
1978–1986
Almost two decades after its original cancellation, the game was reborn as The New Tic-Tac-Dough when CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
gave it a summer daytime run. The series ran from July 3 to September 1, 1978 and made way for daytime repeats of All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
. On September 18, a previously-planned nighttime version premiered in first-run syndication, where it aired in some markets as a companion series to fellow Barry-Enright game The Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild
The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times during the 1970s through the 1990s. Contestants answered questions based on categories that were determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine....
.
Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
hosted Tic-Tac-Dough for its first seven seasons, then left on May 24, 1985 to host his new creation Headline Chasers
Headline Chasers
Headline Chasers is a syndicated game show that ran daily from September 9, 1985 to September 5, 1986. The series was created, hosted, and produced by Wink Martindale with Johnny Gilbert as announcer...
. Jim Caldwell took over as host on September 23, 1985 and hosted until the series finale on May 23, 1986. Jay Stewart
Jay Stewart
Jay Fix , known professionally as Jay Stewart, was an American television and radio announcer known primarily for his work on game shows. One of his longest-lasting roles was as the announcer on the game show Let's Make a Deal, which he announced throughout the 1960s and 1970s...
served as announcer for the first three years. Charlie O'Donnell
Charlie O'Donnell
Charles John "Charlie" O'Donnell was an American radio and television announcer, primarily known for his work on game shows...
replaced Stewart in 1981. Occasional substitutes for those announcers included Johnny Gilbert
Johnny Gilbert
John L. "Johnny" Gilbert III is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from various eras, dating as far back as the 1950s...
(including the syndicated premiere), Bob Hilton
Bob Hilton
Robert "Bob" Wesley Hilton is an American television game show personality. He hosted The Guinness Game, a revival of Truth or Consequences and the 1990 revival of Let's Make a Deal, and announced on several other shows....
, Mike Darrow
Mike Darrow
Darow Myhowich , January 8, 1933 – December 7, 1996) was a Canadian-American television game show host best known for hosting the 1968-1970 ABC run of Dream House, the 1985-1988 Canadian-produced run of the Bob Stewart game show, Jackpot Darow Myhowich (stage name: Mike Darow), January 8,...
, John Harlan
John Harlan (announcer)
John Harlan is an American television announcer who has worked on numerous television projects for over 40 years, particularly game and variety shows....
, and Art James
Art James
Art James was an American game show host, best known for shows such as The Who, What, or Where Game and Pay Cards!. He was also the announcer on the game show Concentration....
.
In an interview, Martindale stated that while the CBS version began airing Barry & Enright Productions secured a spot to air a syndicated version that began in the fall. The CBS version ended due to poor ratings, but the syndicated version drew high numbers and as a result had an eight-year run.
From 1978 to the end of 1980, the show was recorded at CBS Television City
CBS Television City
CBS Television City is a television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of North Fairfax Avenue...
in Hollywood in studio 31 and studio 43 at different times.
From 1981 to 1984 and again for the final season from 1985 to 1986, the show was taped at KCOP (Chris Craft Studios). The 1984–1985 season was taped at The Production Group Studios.
Beginning around 1980, every Friday was "Hat Day", where Martindale would receive hats from viewers to show off at the end of the show. Some were winter hats, and some even dealt with the show (such as having a picture of a dragon on them). He also wore hats on the Friday shows of Las Vegas Gambit, which he was also hosting on NBC at the time, requiring Martindale to commute between Los Angeles and Las Vegas for over a year.
The gameboard, designed by Bob Bishop of Apple Computer, Inc., was driven by nine Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
computers, each one responsible for displaying a single box of the gameboard, and in turn controlled by an Altair 8800
Altair 8800
The MITS Altair 8800 was a microcomputer design from 1975 based on the Intel 8080 CPU and sold by mail order through advertisements in Popular Electronics, Radio-Electronics and other hobbyist magazines. The designers hoped to sell only a few hundred build-it-yourself kits to hobbyists, and were...
system. It was one of the very first uses of computer graphics on a television game show.
1990–1991
Another syndicated version premiered on September 10, 1990 with Patrick Wayne hosting and Larry Van Nuys was announcer (Art James filled in for two weeks). The theme music for this version was composed by Henry ManciniHenry Mancini
Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
, his final television theme song. This version was not a success and only ran until March 8, 1991. This version was recorded at Hollywood Center Studios
Hollywood Center Studios
Hollywood Center Studios is a company based in Los Angeles, California that provides stage facilities to television and movie production companies. Its sound stages, located at 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, California, are steeped in Hollywood history...
.
This version was the last television series produced by Barry & Enright Productions, as the company folded following Dan Enright's death less than two years later.
International versions
Tic-Tac-Dough is one of only three Barry-Enright game shows known to have foreign adaptations, the others being Twenty OneTwenty One (game show)
Twenty One is an American game show which aired in the late 1950s. While it included the most popular contestant of the quiz show era, it became notorious for being a rigged quiz show which nearly caused the demise of the entire genre in the wake of United States Senate investigations...
and Concentration
Concentration (game show)
Concentration was an American TV game show based on the children's memory game of the same name. Matching cards represented prizes that contestants could win...
.
Criss Cross Quiz
Criss Cross Quiz
Criss Cross Quiz was a quiz programme that combined the game Noughts and Crosses with general knowledge questions and aired on the ITV network from 1957-1967. It was produced by Granada Television....
ran on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in the United Kingdom from 1957–1967, with Junior Criss Cross Quiz (a children's version without cash prizes) airing alongside the main program for the whole of its run. Jeremy Hawk
Jeremy Hawk
Jeremy Hawk was a character actor with a long career in music halls and on London's West End stage...
hosted the show until 1962, at which point Barbara Kelly
Barbara Kelly
Barbara Kelly was a Canadian-born actress, possibly best-known for her television roles in the United Kingdom opposite her husband Bernard Braden in the 1950s and 1960s and for many appearances as a panelist on the British version of What's My Line?.-Early years:Barbara Kelly was born in...
replaced him as host until the end of its run.
Germany's Tick-Tack-Quiz, hosted by Fritz Benscher, ran weekly on ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
from 1958–1967. It ran again as a daily show using the 1990 format on RTL plus
RTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
in 1992 as simply Tic-Tac-Toe, and was hosted by Michael "Goofy" Förster. The 1992 German version was distributed by Reg Grundy Productions
Reg Grundy Productions
Reg Grundy Productions was the American wing of the worldwide television production company Grundy Worldwide, which was founded by Australian television producer Reg Grundy. Reg Grundy Productions was responsible for the production of two highly-successful daytime game shows on NBC during the...
.
Tic-Tac-Dough aired in Australia on the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
from 1960–1964 with Chuck Faulkner as host and was a Reg Grundy Production.
Gameplay
The goal of the game was to complete a line of three X or O markers on a standard tic-tac-toe board (with the reigning champion always mounting X's). Each of the nine spaces on the gameboard featured a category. Contestants alternated choosing a category and answering a general interest or trivia question in that category. If they were correct, they would get an X or O in that square; otherwise, it would remain unoccupied. The center square, being of the most strategic importance, involved a two-part question, with the contestant given ten seconds to think of the two answers needed to win the square. After each question, the categories would shuffle into different positions (in the 50s version and early in the 1978 run, the categories would shuffle after both contestants had taken a turn). In the 1990 version, contestants hit their buzzers to stop the shuffling themselves.The gameboard on the original 1950s version used rolling bars (each containing the same nine categories) to display subject categories, with light boxes beneath them to display the X's and O's. The 1978 version used monitors to display the categories and markers. On the 1990 version, the entire board was computer-generated.
Like some television games, Tic-Tac-Dough used the rollover format, sometimes known also as "straddling". The matches were not confined to single episodes and could start or end at any point in an episode, and be carried over to the next. Sometimes, an entire episode would not be long enough to show one match. The contestant who won the game was crowned champion and could return until he or she was defeated. During the NBC run, a champion could retire from the show or play against another challenger, knowing that if he or she lost, the new champion's winnings would come out of the former champion's winnings. There was no limit on the length of reign (except in the 1978 daytime version, and in the 1990 version where a 15-game limit was imposed, but never reached). If at any point in a game it became impossible for either contestant to win, the game was immediately declared a draw, and the same two contestants would keep playing games until a game ended in a win.
Adding money
As questions were answered correctly, money would be added to the pot which went to the winner:| Version | Center Box | Outer Box |
|---|---|---|
| 1956–1959, NBC Daytime | $200 | $100 |
| 1957–1958, NBC Nighttime | $500 | $300 |
| 1978, CBS Daytime | $200 | $100 |
| 1978–1986, Syndicated | $300 | $200 |
| 1990–1991, Syndicated | $1,000 | $500 |
On the 1950s version, the same nine categories were used for an entire episode regardless of the number of games played. On all other versions, nine new categories were used for each individual match and were replaced with new categories in the event of a tie game.
During the 1990 version, the pot reset to zero after each tie game. However, the outer box values increased by $500 and the center box by $1,000 for each tie game. On the two prior versions, the pot did not reset and carried over into the next round.
Losing challengers received $100 on the 1950s version, and $250 in all subsequent versions for each tie game before being defeated.
1978 CBS differences
The CBS summer season had a few gameplay differences:- Jump-In Categories: If a category was signified with a black background, it would be played in the same manner as the Jump-In category (see "Special Categories" below).
- Shuffling: Early on, the categories would be shuffled at the beginning of the game and after both contestants selected a category, but this was changed midway through the syndicated version's first season so that categories were shuffled after each contestant's turn.
- Tie-Breaker: When a tie game occurred, a toss-up question was asked, and whoever rang in with the right answer won the game.
- Winnings Limit: Contestants retired from the show upon winning $25,000, the maximum amount for any contestant on a CBS daytime game show at the time.
Special categories
The use of special categories, which appeared in red boxes (red letters in the 1990 version), began on the syndicated version in 1980 with the Secret Category, a mystery category announced by the host after it was selected. A correct answer to that category doubled the value of the pot (and, on several occasions where a game went into multiple ties, sent the pot well over $10,000).Eventually the Secret Category was replaced by the Grand Question, which added $1,000 to the pot with a correct answer.
At first, just one special category (starting in the lower right box, later in the lower center box) was used per game. Eventually, two appeared each game (one in the upper center, the other in the lower center at the start), then three of these appeared per game (in the upper center, center right and lower center boxes to start the game). The categories then shuffled like normal categories, though special categories never shuffled into the center box.
Other special categories used included:
- AuctionContestants were read a question with multiple answers. Contestants took turns bidding on how many correct answers they could name until either a contestant deferred to his opponent or opted to name all the answers on the list. If the winning bidder fulfilled the bid, that contestant won the box. If not, the other contestant only needed to give one additional correct answer to win the box.
- Bonus CategoryA three-part question was asked, which, if answered correctly, gave the contestant another turn. More than once, a contestant obtained Tic-Tac-Dough without allowing their opponent a chance to play by selecting this category multiple times (after it had shuffled to another location). When that happened, the other contestant returned to play another game.
- Challenge CategoryThe contestant who selected this category could answer the question or challenge their opponent to answer. If the opponent challenged gives a wrong answer, the contestant who selected the category won the box, and vice-versa.
- Double or NothingIf the contestant answered the question correctly, they could either keep the box or try to earn a second box. If unsuccessful, the contestant lost both boxes. Later, contestants were required to take the risk. When this category was selected, the board did not shuffle after the first question was answered correctly.
- It's A DilemmaThe contestant heard the question and could ask for up to five clues; however, the opponent decided who answered the question. It was not a popular category and was usually picked only for a block or for the win.
- Jump-In CategoryContestants used the buzzers in front of them to ring in and answer the question. A correct answer won the box, but an incorrect answer gave the other contestant a chance to win the box by hearing the entire question. In the 1990 version, the category name was accompanied by a general subject or "Who?", "What?", "Where?", etc.
- Number PleaseThe contestants were asked a question with a numerical answer. The contestant who picked the category guessed the answer and the opponent guessed if the correct answer was higher or lower. If the opponent was correct, they won the box, otherwise the first contestant won. An exact guess of the number won the box automatically for the first contestant.
- Opponent's ChoiceThe contestant answered a question from one of two categories which were selected for them by the opponent. When Jim Caldwell hosted, one category contained one question while the other category contained two.
- Play Or PassThe contestant had the option to skip the first question and answer a second.
- SeesawA question with multiple answers was read to both contestants. Contestants alternated giving correct answers until one contestant gave a wrong answer, repeated an answer, or could not think of an answer and the opponent won the box. The box could also be won by giving the last correct answer.
- ShowdownContestants were asked a two-part question, using the buzzers to ring in. The first contestant to ring in answered one part of the question. The other contestant answered second. If one contestant was right while the other was wrong, the contestant answering correctly won the box. Otherwise, additional questions were asked until the box was awarded in this manner.
- Take TwoThe question had two clues. The contestant could answer after the first clue, but to receive the second clue he or she had to first give the opponent a chance to answer.
- Three to WinA series of buzz-in questions was asked to both contestants, with the first to answer three correctly winning the box.
- Top TenA question with ranked answers was asked of both contestants. The contestant who chose the higher-ranked answer won the box. Renamed Top This during the Caldwell season.
- Trivia ChallengeA question with three multiple-choice answers was asked. The contestant chose to answer first or defer to their opponent. Regardless of who started, if a contestant was incorrect, his/her opponent could choose from the remaining answers. If the opponent also guessed wrong, the box remained unclaimed. Renamed Trivia Dare during Wink Martindale's final season.
1978 Bonus round ("Beat the Dragon")
There was no bonus roundBonus round
A bonus round or bonus game, known in the industry as an end game, is a special round in a game show or similar contest. The bonus round usually follows a main game as a bonus to the winner of that game...
in the original series (like most 1950s game shows). The bonus round was introduced in the 1978 version. The winner of a match was given the chance to "Beat the Dragon". Three different formats were used: one for the network version, one for syndication, and one for the 1990 version.
CBS Bonus round
On the CBS daytime summer run, the bonus round had four Xs, four Os and one dragon hidden inside the 9 monitors. The Xs and Os were shuffled around so that one of the symbols formed a "Tic-Tac-Dough". For each X and O a contestant revealed, $150 was added to the pot. The contestant always had the option to take the cash and end the game, as finding the dragon ended the round and lost all the money. Finding the "Tic-Tac-Dough" line won the game, and the contestant kept the accumulated money and won a prize package.Syndication Bonus round
On the syndicated run, the squares contained the words "TIC" and "TAC", and six dollar amounts: $50, $150, $250, $350, $400, and $500 (soon after $100, $150, $250, $300, $400, $500). The remaining box concealed the dragon. The object was for the contestant to accumulate $1,000 or more. If successful, the contestant won the cash and a prize package that usually consisted of furniture, trips, jewelry, and/or appliances, totaling anywhere between $2,000 and $4,000. The same prize package was at stake for the entire show until won. The contestant automatically won by uncovering "TIC" and "TAC" (at which point the contestant also had his/her cash total amended to $1,000). However, if the contestant found the dragon, the game ended and the contestant forfeited the prize package and the accumulated money. The contestant could stop at any time, take the money and forgo the prize package. For a brief period in 1983, a contestant had to accumulate exactly $1,000 or find TIC and TAC, but this was quickly removed.Dragon Finder
For a time in 1983, two members of the studio audience were invited onstage to play a special "Dragon Finder" game whenever the bonus round was won or a contestant stopped early.
Instead of uncovering the board immediately to find the dragon, two members of the audience were invited to expose where the dragon was hidden behind the remaining numbers. The contestants took turns choosing the remaining numbers on the board to uncover the dragon. Originally, finding the dragon was worth a flat $250. Later in the game's run, $50 was added for each unsuccessful pick. At that time, each audience member who played received a Dragon Finder cap, which was introduced on a Friday "Hat Day" the week before that began.
1990–91 bonus round
The short-lived 1990–91 syndicated series used a bonus round that was similar to the 1978 CBS bonus round, but with several notable differences. One was that the contestant chose between X and O as their symbol for the round and hoped to complete a "Tic-Tac-Dough" line with that symbol. In addition, an armored knight dubbed the "dragon slayer" was added to the board. While, other than those changes, the primary objective was the same, it was not always possible to complete a Tic-Tac-Dough with a contestant's chosen symbol due to both the shuffling and distribution of the symbols (4 of one, 3 of the other in some cases, 5 of one and 2 of the other at others).For the first of their symbols a contestant found, they received $500. Each one found after that doubled the pot. If the contestant completed the Tic-Tac-Dough, they won the value of the pot and a prize. Finding the dragon slayer resulted in an automatic win, with the contestant receiving double the pot (or $1,000 if the dragon slayer was found on the first pick) and the prize. Sometimes finding the dragon slayer was the only way to win. As before, finding the dragon at any point ended the round and cost the contestant everything.
Beginning about seven weeks into the run, the dragon and knight described their purpose in a short rap song as they were introduced by host Wayne.
Winning a car (1978–1986)
If a contestant was fortunate enough to win five Tic-Tac-Dough matches in a row, he or she would win a new automobileAutomobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
:
- 1978 — Chevrolet ChevetteChevrolet ChevetteThe Chevrolet Chevette was introduced in September, 1975 and manufactured for model years 1976-1987 based on GM's worldwide T platform and superseding the Vega as Chevrolet's entry-level subcompact...
($3,800) - 1978–1979 — Buick SkylarkBuick SkylarkThe Buick Skylark was a passenger car produced by the Buick division of General Motors. The model was made in six production runs. In each run, the car design varied dramatically due to changing technology and tastes, as well as new standards implemented over the years.-1953–1954:Introduced to mark...
($5,200) - 1979–1980 — Buick CenturyBuick CenturyBuick Century is the model name used by the Buick division of General Motors for a line of full-size performance vehicles from 1936 to 1942 and 1954 to 1958, and from 1973 to 2005 for a mid-size car....
($5,300) - 1980 — Buick Skylark ($5,400)
- 1980–1981 — Buick Century ($6,500)
- 1981–1984 — Chevrolet Chevette ($5,600, $5,800, $6,100)
- 1984–1985 — AMC EagleAMC EagleThe AMC Eagle is a compact-sized four-wheel drive passenger vehicle that was produced by American Motors Corporation . The AMC Eagle line of vehicles inaugurated a new product category of "sport-utility" or crossover SUV....
($12,500) - 1985–1986 — Mazda GLC ($10,500)
Record winnings
The 1978 syndicated version of Tic-Tac-Dough never had a winning limit. Defending champions continued to play until they were defeated. Several contestants defeated ten or more opponents, and some were able to win over $100,000 in cash and prizes, setting game show records at the time. Over the course of nine weeks on the show in 1980, Thom McKeeThom McKee
Thom McKee is a former United States Navy officer who was a long-running contestant on Tic Tac Dough, an American game show, in 1980. He set a number of game show records for the time, appearing on forty-six episodes of the series and winning $312,700 in cash and prizes...
defeated 43 opponents to win eight cars and take home $312,700, including over $200,000 in cash, a record at the time. In one game, he broke the record for winning the biggest pot in a match, which reached $36,800 after four tie games against challenger Pete Cooper.
The most money won in a match was $46,900, which was won by Randy James as the game's challenger. The match ran for six straight episodes before Randy finally won the game (and the record-setting pot).
Episode status and reruns
Some NBC-era episodes hosted by Jack Barry are located at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City. An episode of the Jay Jackson-hosted primetime version has been available as part of a public domainPublic domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
compilation on home video. The 1978–1986 syndicated version is currently held by Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
.
Episodes from the 1978–1986 version have been rerun on CBN
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
, USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
and GSN
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
. The 1990–1991 version has also been rerun on USA.
Home versions
The first home editions of Tic-Tac-Dough were produced in 1956 by the Transogram Company. These versions, based on the Jack Barry-hosted version of the show, featured a gameboard with rotating categories that operated similarly to the board on TV. Four editions were released altogether: two regular editions and two "Junior Editions" with questions geared for younger contestants. The game proved popular even after the quiz show scandals and the cancellation of the show. By 1960, the games were re-released without any references to Barry or the show as 3-In-A-Row Home Quiz.The Ideal Toy Company
Ideal Toy Company
Ideal Toy Company was founded as Ideal Novelty and Toy Company in New York in 1907 by Morris and Rose Michtom after they had invented the Teddy bear in 1903. The company changed its name to Ideal Toy Company in 1938...
released a promotional Tic-Tac-Dough board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
in 1978 (but had a copyright date of 1977, with a picture on it likely to be from the pilot episode) which had its main game play format faithful to the CBS daytime run, but used the "Beat the Dragon" bonus game from the syndicated version, with $200 and $350 cards in place of the TIC and TAC cards the show used. During the first two syndicated seasons, the game was awarded to all contestants on the show, win or lose.
In 1983, GameTek
GameTek
GameTek was a video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida well known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing rights to Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune...
, then known as the Great Game Company, planned a home video game version of Tic-Tac-Dough for the Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
, along with several other well-known game shows, but that year's Video Game Crash brought the project to a halt.
External links
- The American Experience: Quiz Show Scandal
- Joseph Stone, Prime Time and Misdemeanors
- "The Big Fix", Time, 19 October 1959