Whew!
Encyclopedia
Whew! is an American
game show
that aired on CBS
from April 23, 1979, until May 30, 1980. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy and announced by Rod Roddy
.
The game was created by Jay Wolpert
. Production was initially credited to the Bud Astin Company, then later changed to Jay Wolpert Productions in association with Burt Sugarman
Inc.
The designated charger is then given 60 seconds to progress his or her way up the six levels of the board by choosing one of the five spaces on a level and correcting a blooper, a factual statement with an incorrect word creating a pun (e.g., "The B&O
was the first American passenger smell", with train as the correct answer). After the blooper was read, the contestant must correct the incorrect part of the statement (marked out in underline on the board's trilons) to progress to the next level. If the charger chooses a space concealing one of the blocks placed earlier, a five-second penalty is incurred and counted down by Kennedy and the audience and sometimes the blocker. If the charger reveals all five spaces on a level and cannot progress ahead, the row is exhausted and the contestant moved up to the next level automatically. If the charger believes that there will not be enough time to complete all six levels, he/she could call for a Long Shot. The clock would then be stopped and the charger would move to level six and select one of the three bloopers. However, calling for a Long Shot was not without risk. In addition to any block that was already placed on the level, the blocker was allowed to place one secret block on another blooper on level six if a Long Shot was called.
The charger wins the round and the money earned if they successfully clear all six levels within the time allotted, or if they successfully complete a Long Shot by correcting one blooper on level six. Otherwise, the blocker wins the round. Regardless of who wins the round, the charger is credited with the money attached to the bloopers that he/she corrects, while the blocker is credited with the money attached to the blocks that the charger encounters. Although the money earned is not used as a score to decide the match, it does serve a purpose during the bonus round.
The main game is played in a best-of-three format; the contestants switch roles for the second round, and if a third round is needed, the current champion (or the player who did not win the coin toss) chooses roles for the tie-breaker. The first player to win two rounds wins the match, and progresses to the bonus round, the Gauntlet of Villains, for a chance at a $25,000 grand prize. Their opponent received a consolation prize.
If the contestant successfully cleared the gauntlet, he or she won the grand prize of $25,000 and retired (the CBS daytime winnings limit was $25,000 at the time). Otherwise, they earned $100 for every villain cleared, and returned on the next game. Originally there was no formal limit on how many matches a contestant could win, but after a contestant won seven matches as champion until he beat the Gauntlet, a five-match limit was implemented soon after.
If the contestant either responded incorrectly or failed to answer within the two second time limit, the correct response was shown on a screen within the caricature.
reruns at 10:30 AM, the hour-long game show The Price Is Right
was moved to 11 AM where it continues to air in most markets to this day. Its actual run time, with commercials, was 25 minutes; the remaining time (in between the show and The Price Is Right) was taken up by the five-minute CBS Mid-Morning News with Douglas Edwards
. Whew! went up against The Hollywood Squares for its entire run and the latter show easily beat out Whew!.
Whew! was taped in Hollywood, California at CBS Television City
, with production alternating between Studios 31 and 33.
After the final episode of Whew! aired, the series was replaced the following Monday by repeats of Alice
, which aired until September 17, 1982, when it was replaced by Child's Play
the following Monday.
Later during the Celebrity format, the format was changed so that matches could not straddle into multiple episodes. Each episode began with a new match, and if the main game was won in two rounds, the champion would play a third round for additional money (and in turn additional gauntlet time) with a random selection of blocks, suggested to have been made by the Villains.
, the current copyright holder of the Whew! program and format.
. Original recordings of the theme are presumed to have been lost.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game show
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...
that aired 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...
from April 23, 1979, until May 30, 1980. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy and announced by Rod Roddy
Rod Roddy
Robert Ray "Rod" Roddy was an American radio and television announcer. He is primarily known for his role as an offstage announcer on game shows. Among the shows that he announced are the CBS game shows Whew!, Press Your Luck and The Price Is Right. On the latter two, Roddy appeared on camera on...
.
The game was created by Jay Wolpert
Jay Wolpert
Jay Wolpert is an American television producer and screenwriter.His first television appearance came as a contestant on the original version of Jeopardy! in 1969. He competed in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions that year and won....
. Production was initially credited to the Bud Astin Company, then later changed to Jay Wolpert Productions in association with Burt Sugarman
Burt Sugarman
Burt Sugarman is an American television producer best known for producing the 1970s game show Celebrity Sweepstakes, and The Richard Pryor Show.He also produced The Midnight Special and The Wizard of Odds in the 1970s....
Inc.
Main game
Two contestants (or during the later half of the run, two teams of a civilian and a celebrity), were told the categories for the first two rounds of play, and were designated as either the blocker or the charger by the current challenger (or a person decided by coin toss if there was no champion). The blocker, while the charger was in a soundproof booth, placed six blocks on the game board, consisting of a 5×5 matrix of 25 spaces (with ascending values from $10 to $50) with an extra row of three additional spaces at the top (worth $200, $350 and $500). No more than three blocks could be put on any of the first five levels, and only one block could be put in the sixth level.The designated charger is then given 60 seconds to progress his or her way up the six levels of the board by choosing one of the five spaces on a level and correcting a blooper, a factual statement with an incorrect word creating a pun (e.g., "The B&O
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
was the first American passenger smell", with train as the correct answer). After the blooper was read, the contestant must correct the incorrect part of the statement (marked out in underline on the board's trilons) to progress to the next level. If the charger chooses a space concealing one of the blocks placed earlier, a five-second penalty is incurred and counted down by Kennedy and the audience and sometimes the blocker. If the charger reveals all five spaces on a level and cannot progress ahead, the row is exhausted and the contestant moved up to the next level automatically. If the charger believes that there will not be enough time to complete all six levels, he/she could call for a Long Shot. The clock would then be stopped and the charger would move to level six and select one of the three bloopers. However, calling for a Long Shot was not without risk. In addition to any block that was already placed on the level, the blocker was allowed to place one secret block on another blooper on level six if a Long Shot was called.
The charger wins the round and the money earned if they successfully clear all six levels within the time allotted, or if they successfully complete a Long Shot by correcting one blooper on level six. Otherwise, the blocker wins the round. Regardless of who wins the round, the charger is credited with the money attached to the bloopers that he/she corrects, while the blocker is credited with the money attached to the blocks that the charger encounters. Although the money earned is not used as a score to decide the match, it does serve a purpose during the bonus round.
The main game is played in a best-of-three format; the contestants switch roles for the second round, and if a third round is needed, the current champion (or the player who did not win the coin toss) chooses roles for the tie-breaker. The first player to win two rounds wins the match, and progresses to the bonus round, the Gauntlet of Villains, for a chance at a $25,000 grand prize. Their opponent received a consolation prize.
The Gauntlet of Villains
In the Gauntlet of Villains, the winner of the main game is faced with a path lined with 10 wooden caricatures of stereotypical villains. The player must progress down the path in the time limit given by correcting bloopers as in the main game. At the beginning of the round, the player was given a base time of 60 seconds to clear the gauntlet. One second was added for each $100 the player won in the main game; for example, a player who won $370 received 3 more seconds (amounts were rounded down).If the contestant successfully cleared the gauntlet, he or she won the grand prize of $25,000 and retired (the CBS daytime winnings limit was $25,000 at the time). Otherwise, they earned $100 for every villain cleared, and returned on the next game. Originally there was no formal limit on how many matches a contestant could win, but after a contestant won seven matches as champion until he beat the Gauntlet, a five-match limit was implemented soon after.
If the contestant either responded incorrectly or failed to answer within the two second time limit, the correct response was shown on a screen within the caricature.
Broadcast History
Whew!s debut at 10:30 AM was part of a morning lineup shuffle at CBS. In order to make room for the game show and daytime All in the FamilyAll 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...
reruns at 10:30 AM, the hour-long game show The Price Is Right
The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
was moved to 11 AM where it continues to air in most markets to this day. Its actual run time, with commercials, was 25 minutes; the remaining time (in between the show and The Price Is Right) was taken up by the five-minute CBS Mid-Morning News with Douglas Edwards
Douglas Edwards
Douglas Edwards was America's first network news television anchor, anchoring CBS's first nightly news broadcast from 1948–1962, which was later to be titled CBS Evening News.-Early life and career:...
. Whew! went up against The Hollywood Squares for its entire run and the latter show easily beat out Whew!.
Whew! was taped in Hollywood, California 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...
, with production alternating between Studios 31 and 33.
After the final episode of Whew! aired, the series was replaced the following Monday by repeats of Alice
Alice (TV series)
Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job...
, which aired until September 17, 1982, when it was replaced by Child's Play
Child's Play (game show)
Child's Play is an American television game show in which adult contestants tried to guess words based on definitions given by children. The Mark Goodson-produced series debuted on CBS from September 20, 1982 at 10:30 AM Eastern/9:30 AM Central...
the following Monday.
Celebrity Whew!
Starting November 5, 1979 through the rest of the show's run, celebrities were assigned as partners to either contestant. The teams of two (one celebrity and one contestant) alternated Charging duties between levels, placed three of the six blocks each on the board from top to bottom instead of the other way around, and each took half of the Gauntlet of Villains bonus round.Later during the Celebrity format, the format was changed so that matches could not straddle into multiple episodes. Each episode began with a new match, and if the main game was won in two rounds, the champion would play a third round for additional money (and in turn additional gauntlet time) with a random selection of blocks, suggested to have been made by the Villains.
Episode status
All episodes are presumed to exist in the possession of Burt SugarmanBurt Sugarman
Burt Sugarman is an American television producer best known for producing the 1970s game show Celebrity Sweepstakes, and The Richard Pryor Show.He also produced The Midnight Special and The Wizard of Odds in the 1970s....
, the current copyright holder of the Whew! program and format.
Theme
The theme song was composed by Alan ThickeAlan Thicke
Alan Thicke is a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is best known for his role as Jason Seaver, the patriarch on the ABC television series Growing Pains.- Early life :...
. Original recordings of the theme are presumed to have been lost.