Line #12 Series/Wordplay


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wp87.jpg]]
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3	->''"Does Creator/DickShawn clean his acumen once a year?\
4	Has Creator/DorothyLyman ever found a hoodoo hiding in her garage?\
5	If Creator/RichardMoll acted avuncular, would a lady slap his face?\
6	We'll find out the answers to these questions and a lot more as we play America's funniest new game show, ''Wordplay''!"''
7	-->-- '''Charlie O'Donnell'''[='s=] opening spiel from ''Wordplay''[='=]s debut episode
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9	''Wordplay'' was a short-lived GameShow that aired on Creator/{{NBC}} from December 1986 to September 1987, and ended up being Tom Kennedy's final show. It was produced by Fiedler/Berlin Productions (who would later go on to produce ''Series/TreasureMall'', ''[[Series/BobsFullHouse Trump Card]]'' and [[Series/TicTacDough Wink Martindale]]'s ''TabletopGame/TrivialPursuit'') and Scotti-Vinnedge Television (best known for producing ''America's Top 10'').
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11	Two players competed to identify the definitions to obscure words (all certified as words by Webster's Dictionary) with the aid of a three-celebrity panel. The game board had nine different words, each worth an amount of money (how much depended on the round and how the game progressed- we'll get to that in a moment). When asked to identify a word, the celeb would give humorous stories, and three different definitions; if the contestant in control picked the right one, they won the money the word was worth. Here, a layer of strategy came in- with each successive word, the words on the board would be connected and therefore offer more money, but an incorrect choice gave the opponent a chance to choose from the remaining definitions. If the word chosen was connected to previously revealed dollar amounts, the contestant won the combined total of all connected money amounts; if both contestants chose a wrong definition, a block went up and all connections to it were dead. Whoever managed to get more money by the end of the game won and moved on to the "Double Definition" endgame.
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13	Not to be confused with the 2006 {{documentary}} film about {{crossword puzzle}}s.
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15	----
16	!! Game show tropes in use:
17	* BonusRound: ''Double Definitions'': Somewhat like the Gold Run from ''Series/{{Blockbusters}}'' and the endgame of ''Series/CatchPhrase''; the player must try to connect a line from one end of the 24-square board (four rows tall, six columns wide), with each square containing two definitions to a word (ie. "Political Family/Our Host" would mean "Kennedy"); doing so within 45 seconds won the player a ProgressiveJackpot that began at $5,000 and rose $2,500 every time someone didn't claim it.
18	* BonusSpace: One word in the main game was the "Bonus Word"; picking that word and guessing the correct definition won that player a trip.
19	* ConsolationPrize: If Double Definition wasn't won, the contestant got $100 for each correct answer given.
20	* DoubleTheDollars: For Round 1, each word was worth $25, $50, and $75; this would be doubled for Round 2 to $50, $100, and $150, and again for Round 3, to $100, $200, and $300.
21	* GameShowWinningsCap: Champions were retired after three wins.
22	* HomeGame: One was released during the show's short lifespan. Rights issues behind the game are one of the reasons the series isn't being reran.
23	* Personnel:
24	** TheAnnouncer: Charlie O'Donnell, best known for his work on ''Series/WheelOfFortune'', ''Series/TheJokersWild'', and ''Series/TicTacDough''.
25	** GameShowHost: [[Series/NameThatTune Tom]] [[Series/{{Password}} Kennedy]], in what turned out to be his final game show[[note]]he did host two pilots after this- 1988's ''Eavesdroppers'', and 1989's ''Star Play''- but neither were picked up[[/note]]. Panelist [[Series/{{MASH}} Jamie Farr]] filled in for a few episodes when Tom was feeling ill.
26	** StudioAudience
27	* ProgressiveJackpot: The Double Definition jackpot began at $5,000 and grew by $2,500 every day it wasn't won; the highest jackpot was worth $27,500.
28	* UnexpectedlyObscureAnswer: One of the main selling points was to identify obscure words.
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30	!! Other tropes in use:
31	* {{Bookends}}: For Tom Kennedy; this was his last game show, and it happened to be shot in the very same studio at NBC in Burbank where his first game show, ''Big Game'', was taped.
32	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: For at least the first episode (and possibly the first week), the bonus round was named ''Speedword''; they changed it quickly when someone remembered that fellow NBC game ''Series/{{Scrabble}}'' had already been using that term for a while.
33	* GrandFinale: The final episode had a running gag where for every word picked, panelist Marsha Warfield would read a letter addressed to her that just so happened to be about the word and its definition. During the final segment, Marsha handed over one last letter addressed to Tom, which he read out loud. "Dear Tom, from NBC... [[EndOfSeriesAwareness your show's been cancelled!]]" From there Tom gave a speech thanking the crew and viewers, and the credits ended with a graphic that read "Good-Bye Folks!"
34	* PerfectlyCromulentWord: ''The whole point''.
35	* {{Pilot}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhgd7oOAHg4 Taped in October 1986]], with [[Series/PressYourLuck Peter Tomarken and Rod Roddy]] as host and announcer, a different set and music, and a radically different game board layout (four rows and three columns with three blocks already in place).

Context Series / Wordplay