History Series / Blackout

''Blackout'' is a cult classic whose brevity can be chalked up to bad timing and stiff competition — it replaced ''[[{{Pyramid}} The $25,000 Pyramid]]'' on January 4, 1988 and faced not only the still-popular ''SaleOfTheCentury'' on Creator/{{NBC}} but also a massive outcry from viewers toward the network for killing off the Dick Clark-hosted game. The resulting low ratings caused ''Blackout'' to be canned on April 1. The show was then replaced with a final 13 weeks of ''Pyramid'', which would be canned (for good this time) on July 1st in favor of Ray Combs' ''FamilyFeud''.

[[spoiler:Creator/{{CBS}}]] GameShow hosted by [[spoiler:Bob Goen and produced by]] JayWolpert, whose other major contribution to the game show world [[spoiler:was ''{{Whew}}'' Thankfully, the game this time around]] is[[spoiler:n't as]] unnecessarily complicated.

[[spoiler:{{CBS}}]] GameShow hosted by [[spoiler:Bob Goen and produced by]] JayWolpert, whose other major contribution to the game show world [[spoiler:was ''{{Whew}}'' Thankfully, the game this time around]] is[[spoiler:n't as]] unnecessarily complicated.

In the event of a tie, there would be a sudden death round where the leading player would have the option of describing the single word (for ten seconds) or censoring three seconds of the description. Again, every duplicated key word would allow the opponent to mute out an extra second of the playback. Since neither teammate could hear the description, the wrong word would automatically lose.

''Blackout'' is a cult classic whose brevity can be chalked up to bad timing and stiff competition — it replaced ''[[{{Pyramid}} The $25,000 Pyramid]]'' on January 4, 1988 and faced not only the still-popular ''SaleOfTheCentury'' on {{NBC}} but also a massive outcry from viewers toward the network for killing off the Dick Clark-hosted game. The resulting low ratings caused ''Blackout'' to be canned on April 1. The show was then replaced with a final 13 weeks of ''Pyramid'', which would be canned (for good this time) on July 1st in favor of Ray Combs' ''FamilyFeud''.

''Blackout'' is a cult classic whose brevity can be chalked up to bad timing and stiff competition — it replaced ''[[{{Pyramid}} The $25,000 Pyramid]]'' on January 4, 1988 and faced not only the still-popular ''SaleOfTheCentury'' on {{NBC}} but also a massive outcry toward the network for killing off the Dick Clark-hosted game. The resulting low ratings caused ''Blackout'' to be canned on April 1 and replaced by the return of daytime ''Pyramid''... which itself lasted another 13 weeks before it was canned (for good this time) on July 1 in favor of a ''FamilyFeud'' revival starring Ray Combs.

* BonusRound: The Clue Screen — While one member of the winning team viewed the incoming clues on the screen (up to six), the other would have his / her back to this screen and would have to await a cue (“solve it!”) before turning around to see all of the accumulated clues at once. The cycle would repeat until they either ran out of time (70 seconds) or gave five correct answers, which would win $10,000.
* Personnel:
** TheAnnouncer: JohnnyGilbert for most of the run, with JayStewart filling-in for the last two weeks (presumably so Gilbert could come back in for the final run of ''Pyramid'' that replaced it)
** GameShowHost: Bob Goen.
** StudioAudience
* LosingHorns: A virtual staple of Wolpert-produced game shows. Here, bizarre "electronic" ones were used for bonus losses.
* ShowTheFolksAtHome: Only used for the sudden-death word.
* SoundproofBooth: The contestants wore headphones when needed. But, instead of going into a booth, the seat and table half the contestant sat at literally slid backwards instead.

* AnimatedCreditsOpening: Jay Wolpert seemed to like animated intros; this one has a demonstration of the game mechanic at a restaurant table with a fast-talking lady (actually a sped-up recording of Wolpert's wife).
* PornStache: Goen. He got rid of it by the time he took over ''WheelOfFortune''.
* ThisTropeIsBleep: The Game.

In each round, two celebrity/civilian teams had to successfully fill in the four blanks of a sentence with clue words. One team had its celebrity record 20 seconds of themselves describing one of the words in the puzzle, while the other player wore headphones so they couldn't hear it. However, once the description is played back to the contestant, the other team could hold down a plunger in front of them known as the "Blackout Button." The Button allowed its user to mute out up to seven seconds of the description, hopefully removing enough key information to prevent the contestant from guessing correctly, since doing so would earn their team $100 and a chance to solve the puzzle. (An extra second of Blackout time would be accorded for each duplicated key word). Teams alternated giving, censoring, and solving until a team solved two puzzles, which gave them the chance to play for $10,000 in the bonus round.

* BonusRound: The Clue Screen — While one member of the winning team viewed the incoming clues on the screen (up to six), the other would have his / her back to this screen and would have to await a cue (“solve it!”) before turning around to see all of the accumulated clues at once. The cycle would repeat until they either ran out of time (70 seconds) or give five correct answers, which would win $10,000.

In each round, two celebrity/civilian teams had to successfully fill in the four blanks of a sentence with clue words. One team had its celebrity record 20 seconds of themselves describing one of the words in the puzzle, while the other player wore headphones so they couldn't hear it. However, once the description is played back to the contestant, the other team could hold down a plunger in front of them known as the "Blackout Button" to mute out up to 7 seconds of the description, hopefully removing enough key information to prevent the contestant from guessing correctly, since doing so would earn their team $100 and a chance to solve the puzzle. Teams alternated giving, censoring, and solving until a team solved two puzzles, which gave them the chance to play for $10,000 in the bonus round.

''Blackout'' is a cult classic whose brevity can be chalked up to bad timing and stiff competition — it replaced ''[[{{Pyramid}} The $25,000 Pyramid]]'' on January 4, 1988 and faced not only the still-popular ''SaleOfTheCentury'' on {{NBC}} but also a massive outcry toward the network for killing off the Dick Clark-hosted game. The resulting low ratings caused ''Blackout'' to be canned on April 1 and replaced by the return of daytime ''Pyramid''...which itself lasted another 13 weeks before it was canned (for good this time) on July 1 in favor of a ''FamilyFeud'' revival starring Ray Combs.

* BonusRound: The Clue Screen — 70 seconds, five topics. One team member looked at a screen filling with clues; when he or she thought the shown clues were enough to solve the puzzle, he or she commanded their partner to guess from the clues listed. Getting all five within the time allotted won $10,000.

** TheAnnouncer: Johnny Gilbert for most of the run, with Jay Stewart filling-in for the last two weeks (presumably so Gilbert could come back in for the final run of ''Pyramid'' that replaced it)

* SoundproofBooth: The contestants wore headphones when needed, but instead of going into a booth, their half of the podium slid backwards.

* SoundproofBooth: Inverted; the contestant remained at his/her seat wearing headphones while the description was being recorded, but the desks the contestants sat at was rigged so that the contestant's side of the desk could slide backwards

* SoundproofBooth: Inverted; the contestant remained at his/her seat wearing headphones while the description was being recorded, but the desks the contestants sat at was rigged so that the contestant's side of the desk could move backward.

** TheAnnouncer: Johnny Gilbert for most of the run, with Jay Stewart filling-in for the last two weeks.

* SoundproofBooth: Inverted; the contestant remained at his/her seat wearing headphones while the description was being recorded, but the desks the pairs sat at were rigged so that they could be split apart.

[[spoiler:{{CBS}}]] GameShow hosted by [[spoiler:Bob Goen and produced by]] JayWolpert, whose other major contribution to the game show world [[spoiler:was ''{{Whew}}!'' Thankfully, the game this time around]] is[[spoiler:n't as]] unnecessarily complicated.

* PornStache: Goen. He got rid of it by the time he took over ''Wheel''.

* ThisTropeIsBleep: The Game. [[spoiler:[[TheGame Which you just lost.]]]]

* HeyItsThatGuy: Bob Goen was a host of ''Entertainment Tonight''. Fifteen months after ''Blackout''[='s=] demise, he became host of the daytime ''WheelOfFortune'' when it moved to (surprise, surprise) CBS.
* HeyItsThatVoice:
** Johnny Gilbert, who is ironically associated with the show this replaced and got replaced by.
** Jay Stewart had previously announced on ''SaleOfTheCentury''. This was his final announcing work prior to his 1989 suicide.

In each round, two celebrity/civilian teams had to successfully fill in the four blanks of a sentence with clue words. One team had its celebrity record 20 seconds of themselves describing one of the words in the puzzle, while the other player wore headphones so they couldn't hear it. However, once the description is played back to the contestant, the other team could mute out out up to seven seconds of it with the titular plunger known as the Blackout Button. If the contestant could guess the word from the radio edit, their team earned $100 and a chance to solve the puzzle. Teams alternated giving, censoring, and solving until a team solved two puzzles, which gave them the chance to play for $10,000 in the bonus round.

Describe Series.{{Blackout}} here.

[[spoiler:{{CBS}}]] GameShow hosted by [[spoiler:Bob Goen and produced by]] Jay Wolpert, whose other major contribution to the game show world [[spoiler:was ''{{Whew}}!'' Thankfully, the game this time around]] is[[spoiler:n't as]] unnecessarily complicated.

Nice job blacking out there.

* AnimatedCreditsOpening: Jay Wolpert seemed to like animated intros; this one has a demonstration of the game mechanic at a restaurant table with a fast-talking lady (actually a sped-up recording of Jay's wife).
* [=~Hey, It's That Guy!~=]: Bob Goen was a host of ''Entertainment Tonight''. Fifteen months after ''Blackout''[='s=] demise, he became host of the daytime ''WheelOfFortune'' when it moved to (surprise, surprise) CBS.
* [=~Hey, It's That Voice!~=]: Johnny Gilbert, who is ironically associated with the show this replaced and got replaced by.

* PornStache: Goen.

''Blackout'' is a cult classic whose brevity can be chalked up to bad timing and stiff competition — it replaced ''[[{{Pyramid}} The $25,000 Pyramid]]'' on January 4, 1988 and faced not only the still-popular ''SaleOfTheCentury'' on {{NBC}} but also a massive outcry toward the network for killing off the Dick Clark-hosted game. The resulting low ratings caused ''Blackout'' to be canned on April 1 and replaced by the return of daytime ''Pyramid''...which itself lasted another 13 weeks before it was canned (for good this time) on July 1 in favor of a ''Series/FamilyFeud'' revival starring Ray Combs.

->''"'''Blackout''' — it's not your [[SoOkayItsAverage average]] game show!"''

* ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs: ''[[{{Pyramid}} The $100,000 Pyramid]]'' meets ''[[{{Password}} Super Password]]'' and whatever Jay Wolpert is on when he devises these shows, given his track record.

** Jay Stewart had previously announced on ''SaleOfTheCentury''. This was his final announcing work prior to his 1989 suicide, partly because his chronic back pain had almost entirely ended his career.

[[spoiler:{{CBS}}]] GameShow hosted by [[spoiler:Bob Goen and produced by]] Jay Wolpert, whose other major contribution to the game show world [[spoiler:include ''{{Whew}}!''. Thankfully, the game this time around]] is[[spoiler:n't as]] unnecessarily complicated.

{{CBS}} GameShow hosted by Bob Goen and produced by Jay Wolpert, whose other major contributions to the game show world include a [[{{Whew}} televised version]] of {{Calvinball}}. Thankfully, the game this time around isn't as unnecessarily complicated.

* AnimatedCreditsOpening: Jay Wolpert seemed to like animated intros; this one has a demonstration of the game mechanic at a restaurant table with a fast-talking lady.

''Blackout'' is a cult classic whose brevity can be chalked up to bad timing — it replaced ''[[{{Pyramid}} The $25,000 Pyramid]]'' on CBS' daytime lineup at the beginning of 1988 (January 4), which led a massive outcry toward the network for killing off the Dick Clark-hosted game. The resulting low ratings caused ''Blackout'' to be canned on April 1 and replaced by the return of daytime ''Pyramid''...which itself lasted another 13 weeks before it was canned (for good this time) on July 1 in favor of a ''Series/FamilyFeud'' revival starring Ray Combs.

->''"'''Blackout''' — it's not your average game show!"''

''Blackout'' replaced the long-running ''[[{{Main/Pyramid}} $25,000 Pyramid]]'' on CBS' daytime lineup at the beginning of 1988, which led a massive outcry toward the network for killing off the Dick Clark-hosted game. The resulting low ratings caused ''Blackout'' to be canned after 13 weeks and replaced by the return of daytime ''Pyramid''...which itself lasted another 13 weeks before it was canned (for good this time) in favor of a ''Series/FamilyFeud'' revival starring Ray Combs.

* SoundproofBooth: Inverted; the contestant stays at their seat wearing headphones while the description is being recorded, but the desks the pairs sit at are rigged so that they can be split apart.

* [=~Hey, It's That Guy!~=]: Bob Goen was a host of ''EntertainmentTonight''. Fifteen months after ''Blackout''[='s=] demise, he became host of the daytime ''WheelOfFortune'' when it moved to (surprise, surprise) CBS.
* [=~Hey, It's That Voice!~=]: Johnny Gilbert, who is ironically associated with the show this replaced.
** Jay Stewart had previously announced on ''SaleOfTheCentury''. This was his final announcing work prior to his 1989 suicide.
* ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs: ''[[{{Pyramid}} The $XXX,XXX Pyramid]]'' meets ''[[{{Password}} Super Password]]'' and whatever Jay Wolpert is on when he devises these shows, given his track record.

''Blackout'' replaced the long-running ''[[{{Main/Pyramid}} $25,000 Pyramid]]'' on CBS' daytime lineup at the beginning of 1988, which led a massive outcry toward the network for killing off the Dick Clark-hosted game. The resulting low ratings caused ''Blackout'' to be canned after 13 weeks and replaced by the return of daytime ''Pyramid''...which itself lasted another 13 weeks before it was canned (for good this time) in favor of a ''FamilyFeud'' revival starring Ray Combs.

* ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs: ''[[Pyramid]]'' meets ''[[{{Password}} Super Password]]'' and whatever Jay Wolpert is on when he devises these shows, given his track record.

* ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs: ''[[{{Pyramid}}Pyramid]]'' meets ''[[{{Password}} Super Password]]'' and whatever Jay Wolpert is on when he devises these shows, given his track record.

* ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs: ''[[{{Pyramid}} The $100,000 Pyramid]]'' meets ''[[{{Password}} Super Password]]'' and whatever Jay Wolpert is on when he devises these shows, given his track record.