Showoffs
| Showoffs | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Presented by | Bobby Van |
| Narrated by | Gene Wood |
| Country of origin |
 United States
|
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
The Prospect Studios Hollywood, California |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Production company(s) | Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | June 30 – December 26, 1975 |
Showoffs is an American game show which ran on ABC from June 30 to December 26, 1975. Bobby Van was host, with Gene Wood as announcer. The Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production involved two teams competing in a game of charades.
Two teams (the red and blue) of three players (consisting of two celebrities and one contestant, with each member wearing a sweater of the corresponding team color) competed. Because the team colors were indistinguishable on monochrome-only television sets (which were still somewhat common in 1975), the words "REDS" and "BLUES" were later placed on the front of each team member's sweater for the benefit of home viewers.
One team was isolated while two members of the other team acted out a series of words to their partner for sixty seconds. The actors could alternate in acting, and the guessing partner could pass on a word if he got stuck, but the team could do that only once per game. When time ran out, the isolated team returned to the stage, and acted out the same words as the first team. The team that guessed the most words in two minutes (60 seconds per team) won the round. The first team to win two rounds won the game.
If the game ended in a tie, then a tie-breaker round was played in which both teams had 30 seconds to act out three words. The team doing that in the fastest time won.
About halfway into the run (possibly in September), the method to win the game had changed. Now to win the game, the team had to correctly convey and guess a set number of words or more (usually seven).
Extra rounds were played if the goal had not been reached by the end of a full round. The tie-breaker was cut to two words in 30 seconds.
In either case, the contestant on the winning team won a $1,000 prize package plus a chance to play the bonus round.
All four celebrities alternated turns acting out a series of words for the winning contestant to guess during the next 60 seconds, with each correct answer worth $1. When time ran out, one celebrity chosen by the contestant had 30 seconds to act out three words.
Each word added a zero to the winning player's round one winnings - guessing one word correctly was worth 10 times the money, two words 100 times, and all three 1,000 times the money earned in the first phase. More than $10,000 could be won in this format.
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