Line #29 Series/ScrabbleShowdown


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scrabblejustinshowlogo.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:It's ''Scrabble'' like you've never seen it before! Except for [[Series/{{Scrabble}} that other show]]...]]
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5	Another original game show on Creator/TheHub, following in the footsteps of ''Series/FamilyGameNight''. This time, it's the crossword game you've played all your life, but never quite like ''this''... or quite like ''[[Series/{{Scrabble}} that]]'', either. ''Scrabble Showdown'' features two teams of two competing in various ''TabletopGame/{{Scrabble}}''-themed minigames for a chance at a trip anywhere in the world. Multiple games were used, much like ''Family Game Night'' (in fact, one of their rounds, ''Scrabble Flash'', was brought in for this show), so things were varied. The games in Round 1 and 2 included:
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7	* '''''Scrabble'' Knockout:''' The inverse of the '80s Scrabble Sprint. The team is shown a word with three extra letters inserted, and the parent tells the kid which ones to remove, one at a time. If the kid picks a correct letter, the screen freezes and they have to hit a plunger to reset and replay the word. The faster time to solve five words, or the most solved in one minute, wins the round.
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9	* '''''Scrabble'' Babble:''' Kinda like ''Series/{{Pyramid}}'' and the "Turnabout" bonus round from ''Series/{{ChildsPlay\|1982}}'', in that a parent is shown a word with one letter missing; they have to decide on a fitting word and describe it for the kid without saying it. Once they get the word, they get a word with one more letter until they hit seven letters total. Whichever team gets five words faster or the most in a minute wins.
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11	* '''''Scrabble'' Scream:''' One team member unscrambles part of a word, and the other has to unscramble the rest to make a complete word- all while screaming. Again, the faster time to solve five words or the most words solved in one minute wins.
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13	* '''''Scrabble'' Slam:''' One player hits a button to set the clock at a random time from 10-30 seconds, but none of the players knows how much. A four-letter word and a spare letter appear on a screen, and each team member uses the button to "slam" the spare onto one of the letters to form a new word, passing control to the next player in line. The player in control when time runs out is eliminated; last team standing wins the round.
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15	* '''Speedword:''' Used only in one episode, it bears no relation to the 80s Speedword (which was just a generic SpeedRound). Instead, five letters are displayed on three rows of connected tracks (three spaces each on top/bottom rows, two on the middle). The parent calls out a three-letter word, and the kid has to spell it on the bottom row by sliding the letters. Both teams use the same set of letters, and the second team is isolated while the first one plays. The faster time to make four words, or the most words formed in 60 seconds, wins the round.
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17	The winner of each game gets a prize and two bonus tiles to use in the final round. If a game ends in a tie, both teams get the prize and one tile.
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19	Round 3 is '''''Scrabble'' Flash''', where one team is isolated while the other uses five oversized ''Scrabble Flash'' cubes to make words of three or more letters. They score one point per letter; high score wins a prize and two bonus tiles.
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21	The final round, '''''Scrabble'' Lightning''', is similar to the Crossword round in the '80s series. First, 16 ''Scrabble'' tiles are placed onscreen and some are randomly flashing; this is the amount of bonus tiles a team has collected. They hit their buzzers to stop the randomizer and are awarded the total value of all the tiles they light as a head start. A scrambled word appears on an oversized ''Scrabble'' gameboard and a punny clue is given. The first team to buzz in and answer correctly gets the board's value of that word (which can be doubled or tripled if a letter is on a double or triple word score space). The first team to reach 100 points, or the team in the lead when time is called, wins the game and a trip to the destination of their choice anywhere in the world.
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23	The show had big names working on it behind the scenes; [[Series/ShopTilYouDrop Pat]] [[Series/TheJokersWild Finn]] co-produced through his "Rubicon" production company; serving as producers were game show [[AscendedFanboy Ascended Fanboys]] Mandel Ilagan (who created the pricing game "1/2 Off" for ''Series/ThePriceIsRight''), and John Ricci Jr. (who created his own pilot, ''Combination Lock'', and frequently works with [[Series/{{Debt}} Wink]] [[Series/HeadlineChasers Martindale]]), plus Cindy Clark (daughter of Creator/DickClark); Sande Stewart, son of the legendary Creator/BobStewart, and Steve Ryan, creator of ''Series/{{Blockbusters}}'' and the rebuses for ''Classic Series/{{Concentration}}'', served as creative consultants. The show ran for 30 episodes, from September 2011 to April 2012.
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26	!!GameShowTropes in use:
27	* BonusRound: ''Scrabble Lightning''.
28	* BonusSpace: The "Bonus Scrabble Tiles" and the double/triple score spaces in ''Lightning''.
29	* HomeGame: At least half the minigames were based off ''Scrabble'' variants sold by Hasbro.
30	* Personnel:
31	** TheAnnouncer: Randy Thomas (she normally does VO work for award shows and was the voice of the Hooked on Phonics "1-800-ABC-DEFG" commercials).
32	** GameShowHost: Justin Willman; a magician who had previously hosted ''Cupcake Wars'' on the Food Network, and The Hub's ''[=HubWorld=]'' newsmagazine program, and would later host the 2014 Creator/DisneyChannel revival of ''Series/WinLoseOrDraw''.
33	* ProductPlacement: The show is all about ''Scrabble'' and its seemingly endless variants.
34	* SoundProofBooth: Used for ''Scrabble Flash'' and ''Scrabble Speedword''. The second team waits offstage while the first plays.
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37	!!This show provides examples of:
38	* ColorCodedMultiplayer: Red and blue, though it was primarily limited to the nametags the teams wore. (Compare that to the 80s series, which took the pink and blue color scheme from the game board and applied it liberally.)
39	* MinigameGame: Essentially this.
40	* MythologyGag: During ''Lightning'', the words would have their spaces on the board outlined by a red box before the letters popped in- much like how the words appeared in the 80s series.
41	* SceneryPorn: The set was pretty cool-looking, with lots of monitors, including bands that stretched across the perimeter and scrolled words, as well as ''Flash'' style cubes strewn about.
42	* ScrabbleBabble: Averted, like in the 80s show.
43	* SpinOff: The ''Scrabble Flash'' minigame was originally used on ''Family Game Night'', and was imported wholesale (it was removed from ''FGN'' as a result).

Context Series / ScrabbleShowdown