Short-lived
Game Show broadcast on
ABC in 1985, created by
Merrill Heatter of
The Hollywood Squares fame. Like that show,
All-Star Blitz involved celebrities and a puzzle board (referred to as the
Blitz Board). Four celebrity panelists sat under three stars each, and gameplay involved asking trivia questions of the celebs. Just like the
Squares, contestants could agree or disagree with the answers the celebs gave. Right answers lit up the stars over the celebs' head, and as the stars lit up, they also revealed portions of a word puzzle on the Blitz Board that comprised two to six words, which the contestants could opt to solve. Two puzzles won the game, a prize package and the right to play the
Blitz Bonanza endgame.
This work provides examples of:
- The Announcer: John Harlan voiced a variety of games over the years, but was most noted for Name That Tune.
- Bonus Round: The Blitz Bonanza. Here, the contestant spun a wheel to reveal up to four parts of the puzzle; if they landed on an already-revealed part of the Blitz Board, that spin was considered "wasted", and the contestant could take a fifth spin if they forfeited the prize package won in the main game. Solving the puzzle won a cash jackpot that started at $10,000.
- Catchphrase: "Hello, stars!" "Hi, Peter!"
- Creative Closing Credits: Bumpers, in this case- whenever the tiebreaker game or the Blitz Bonanza followed the commercial break, the Blitz Board would be used to say "(x) next up".
- Fan Remake: Done by Greggo and taken to conventions, frequently with anime stars; the format is the "four free stars" one, the Blitz Bonanza is randomized on the computer and stopped with a buzzer device (no budget or ability to haul a big wheel around), and all the payouts are in yen (as per most of his shows), with a prize for the Blitz Bonanza.
- Game Show Winnings Cap: Contestants who made it to the Blitz Bonanza four times retired undefeated.
- Game Show Host: Peter Marshall, doing pretty much what he did on The Hollywood Squares.
- Grand Finale: While never explicitly mentioned as such, there were hints throughout that it was the end of the line. The last two contestants only had time to play one puzzle, so it was decided that whoever won it would take home a prize package. That final puzzle, fitting for a finale, was SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST.
- Luck-Based Mission: The Blitz Bonanza. Depending on how the wheel spins went, you could end up with anywhere from one to four puzzle sections revealed.
- Pretty in Mink: This was one of the last game shows to offer real fur coats as part of its prize package. In true Merrill Heatter style, said coats were always from Dicker & Dicker of Beverly Hills.
- Opening Narration: "[Celebrities' names], all in the game that's just over their heads!" (theme song singer sings "All-Star Blitz" three times) "And here's the master of the Blitz Board, Peter Marshall!"
- Progressive Jackpot: Winning the Blitz Bonanza earned the contestant a jackpot that started at $10,000. Originally, it grew by $5,000 each time it wasn't won and topped out at $25,000; later on, the increment and maximum were cut to $2,500 and $20,000, respectively.
- Show the Folks at Home: The number of words in a puzzle. Peter Marshall mucked it up in the pilot's first bonus round, but the contestant didn't get the clue. Contestants in the main game were never told the number of words, and the champ got this clue in the Blitz Bonanza for only the first part of the show's run.
- Surreal Theme Tune: The Theme Tune originally featured some downright weird scatting (Hobba hum hobba heeba humba
"), but the majority of the show's run used a version that mixed out the scatting. The only part that stayed throughout was the repeated "All-Star Blitz!" chant (which, as mentioned above, was used in the intro). The original scat mix was apparently used for only one week.
