Merv Griffin's Crosswords
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| Merv Griffin's Crosswords | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game show |
| Created by | Merv Griffin |
| Starring | Ty Treadway |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 120 (as of November 30, 2007) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes without commercials, 30 minutes with commercials |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Syndication |
| Picture format | NTSC (480i), 720p & 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original airing | September 10, 2007 - present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Merv Griffin's Crosswords is a syndicated game show based on the paper-and-pencil pastime of crosswords. The show was created by its namesake, Merv Griffin, well known as the creator of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!. Ty Treadway is the host,[1] and Edd Hall is the announcer. The show debuted on September 10, 2007.[2]
It is distributed by Program Partners, which has announced that the show would be carried in 90% of the United States and will also air nationally in Canada on Canadian Learning Television. [3] The show also airs in New Zealand on Prime Television. During development, the show was originally known as Let's Play Crosswords,[4] then Let's Do Crosswords.[5]
Griffin was working on the first week's production of the show when he died;[6] in addition to his creator credit, he is listed posthumously in the show's credits as the executive producer. The show was originally planned to be taped in Chicago.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
A word from the day's crossword puzzle is shown with the number of letters and a clue shown. After the clue is read, the contestants may buzz in, with the order being noted on the screens on the podiums (similar to Split Second). If the contestant buzzes in and gets the word and spelling correct, they win the dollar amount for that word. If they get the word wrong and spelled incorrectly (even though if the word was right) or ran out of time, they lose that amount. Scores can go below zero.
| Length of Word | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 letters | $50 | $100 | $200 |
| 4 to 6 letters | $100 | $200 | $400 |
| 7+ letters | $150 | $300 | $600 |
- For all but one week of episodes in December 2007, Round 3 dollar values were the same as in Round 2.
At the beginning of Round 2, three additional "spoiler" contestants join the game and stand behind the two main contestants' podiums. For a short time, the host introduced the "spoiler" contestants; currently, the announcer makes the introduction to them. If one of the main contestants get the word right, the spoilers are prevented from having a chance to answer. However, if one or both of the main contestants get the word wrong, or if they don't ring in within three seconds after a spoiler rings in, each spoiler who buzzes in can attempt the word in the order they buzzed in, until one gets it right. If a spoiler gets it right, they replace one of the two main contestants up front, and add the amount he/she just earned for that word to the podium he/she had just stolen. (Money is still deducted from a score for an incorrect answer; thus a spoiler who takes over a podium due to an incorrect answer effectively posts no net change to the podium.)
- If only one main contestant rings in and guesses incorrectly, the spoiler must take their podium.
- If neither main contestant rings in, or if they both ring in and guess incorrectly, the spoiler can choose which podium they take over.
Because of this arrangement, an individual can win a substantial prize if he or she answers only one clue throughout the game. This has occurred on several shows.
If the spoiler gets a clue wrong, they are "locked out" from ringing in until either one of the other two spoilers replaces one of the contestants up front or all three of them give a wrong answer. A locked-out spoiler is distinguished by having the lighting on them darkened. Any contestant who loses their podium to a spoiler is relegated to the back row, and becomes a spoiler until they give a correct answer.
All five contestants may buzz in for any word, except when a spoiler is locked out; however, a main contestant's response always takes precedence over a spoiler's response. This is the evident reason why the response order of the spoilers is determined separately from that of the main contestants.
The contestant with the most money in their bank (whether they have $0 or less or not) after the third round wins everything in their bank and goes on to play the bonus round. The other players get a Croton watch with the show's logo on it. In case of a tie, one final tiebreaker clue is played to determine the winner.
[edit] Special items (original version)
In both of the first two rounds, one word has a "Crossword Getaway" attached to it. If a player gets that word right, a trip is put in his or her bank. If the clue assigned for the Crossword Getaway is not answered correctly, it is not mentioned. Therefore, some shows will have one or no Crossword Getaways. Crossword Getaway trips are usually to cities in California, Nevada, and Arizona.
In all three rounds, one word in each round has a "Crossword Extra" that follows it. The Crossword Extra is not announced until the player gets the word correct. This is played like the "Daily Double" from Jeopardy! Here, the player may risk any amount of money, up to and including the total amount in his or her bank, on the next word. In addition, in Round 1, if a player has $500 or less, he or she can bet up to $500; in Rounds 2 or 3, a player can risk as much as $1,000 if he or she has $1,000 or less at that point. This word is part of the main puzzle. If the player gets the word right, the amount risked is added to the player's podium, while a wrong answer (or no answer) subtracts the amount risked.
[edit] Special items (alternate version)
In five shows that aired in double run markets starting in late September 2007, there were alternate "Crossword Extra" rules. The Crossword Extra word was not part of the main puzzle (so it was truly an "extra" word). The Crossword Extra was announced before the clue for the next word in the main puzzle that was designated as the Crossword Extra word was given (presumably to give players more incentive to buzz in). In round 1, the Crossword Extra was worth an additional $300, and in round 2, the Crossword Extra was worth an additional $600. There was no Crossword Extra in round 3. If the player got the word right, they added the specified amount to their podium. There was no penalty for an incorrect answer or for no answer.
[edit] Special items (current version)
Beginning with the episode aired November 1, 2007, there were changes to the special items. The "Crossword Getaways" were eliminated, and additional "Crossword Extras" were added. There is still one Crossword Extra in Round 1, however, there are now two Crossword Extras in Round 2, and one or two in Round 3. Also, during Round 3, if a player has $2,000 or less when he/she finds a "Crossword Extra", he/she can bet up to $2,000. For a short time, the Crossword Extra was known as "Crossword X-Box 360 Extra". For one week in December 2007, players were allowed to bet $3,000 in Round 3 if they had that amount or less; this changed coincided with the redoubling of the dollar amounts for Round 3.
[edit] Bonus Round
The winning contestant attempts to fill in the remaining spaces of the show's crossword puzzle. The player has 90 seconds to fill all the spaces up by calling the number and either down or across and spelling out the word with the clue being shown as well. If successful, he/she wins $5,000 (originally $2,000) and either a trip or, for a short time, a tropical vacation. For a short time, an Xbox 360 system was included as a bonus round prize.[7]
In early episodes with the alternate Crossword Extra rule, players received $100 for each word they get if they don't clear the whole puzzle in time.
[edit] Theme music
The theme song is an updated version of "Buzzword", written by Griffin and arranged by Tim Mosher & Stoker. The original version was used as a prize cue on Wheel of Fortune in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
[edit] Future of the show
Initial ratings for Merv Griffin's Crosswords have been a 0.8 share, significantly less than the more established game shows, which have garnered at least 2 shares.[8] In the latest ratings for the show, Crosswords has hit the 1.0 mark and according to the November 26, 2007 issue of Broadcasting & Cable magazine, Crosswords has been picked up for a second season in 2008-2009,[9] which was officially confirmed on January 28, 2008.[10][11] The 2008-2009 season is expected to be paired with a syndicated version of Deal or No Deal,[12] although in some markets, Crosswords is packaged with Temptation, a revival of Sale of the Century, and other markets are airing double episodes (the series taped extra episodes for this purpose). There are rumors speculating that Temptation, even though it has ratings even lower than Crosswords, might be renewed in 2008.
[edit] Merchandising
Three official tie-in books have been released in paperback:
Merv Griffin's Crosswords Volume 1: 100 Easiest Puzzles
Merv Griffin's Crosswords Volume 2: 100 Easy Puzzles
Merv Griffin's Crosswords Volume 3: 100 Easy-to-Hard Puzzles
Advertisements during recent shows have announced that a new Crosswords game will be available through the Xbox Live Arcade in the near future. In addition, the console has gotten more tie-ins - with the console being part of the grand prize package, and as a sponsor for the Crossword Extras known as Crossword XBox 360 Extra.
Hasbro announced that it will be developing board and DVD games based on the show that are expected to be available in the fall of 2008.[13] Oberon Games released a downloadable PC game of Crosswords on February 11, 2008.
