Bumper Stumpers
Encyclopedia
Bumper Stumpers is a Canadian
game show
in which two teams of two players attempted to decipher vanity license plates. It aired on the USA Network
in the United States
and on the Global Television Network
in Canada
from June 29, 1987 to December 28, 1990. The series was produced by Global in association with Barry & Enright Productions
and Wink Martindale Enterprises, in cooperation with USA. It was created by Wink Martindale
, developed by Mark Maxwell-Smith, and was hosted by Al Dubois
with Ken Ryan announcing.
Reruns of the series were seen on Global from 1990 to 1995, and on Game Show Network
in 1994-95 and 2000.
Contestants were unable to buzz-in until after the clue was read. In later episodes, a green light between the top two monitors was lit during a jump-in round to indicate when contestants could buzz-in. Originally, the player who buzz-in and correctly identified the plate to solve could decide to either let his/her partner play or challenge their opponents to solve the plate. That rule was dropped after far more contestants opted to play rather than pass.
If a team could not solve the Super Stumper after all seven spaces were revealed, the opposing team had one final chance to solve it. If they missed, , another full game was played with a new Super Stumper. Later, if both teams missed the Super Stumper, the game shifted into a speed round in which a new Super Stumper plate was displayed, and the teams alternated turns (starting with the team who won the last jump-in) revealing spaces in the new plate until one team solved it.
Winning teams were retired after playing five bonus rounds (originally ten, with the two-loss format).
Hidden behind the letters in "STUMPER" were money amounts ranging from $100 to $500 plus one stop sign for every unsolved plate from the first half of the bonus game ($500 always goes first and each subsequent right answer added one of the lower money amounts to the board starting at $100 and ending with a second $500 space). The contestants called out letters one at a time and banked whatever money was hidden behind them. If they accumulated $500 or more, the money won was doubled; however, finding a stop sign ended the game immediately, although a team finding a stop sign kept whatever money had been uncovered up to that point.
Although the first half remained unchanged, the Final Stumper itself was altered a bit. A "WIN" square was added to the dollar amounts, which still ranged from $100 to $500 (only this time they were added in descending order after the "WIN"). This time, if a team uncovered a stop sign, they now lost the banked money. The team had the option to stop and take the money after each successful reveal. A team could win by accumulating $1,000 or more, or by finding "WIN". Doing either of these increased their total for the round to $2,000.
A tournament of champions was held near the end of the show's run and was played for a $10,000 grand prize.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
in which two teams of two players attempted to decipher vanity license plates. It aired on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and on the Global Television Network
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
from June 29, 1987 to December 28, 1990. The series was produced by Global in association with Barry & Enright Productions
Barry & Enright Productions
Barry & Enright Productions , was a United States television production company that was formed in 1947 by Jack Barry and Dan Enright.-History:Jack Barry and Dan Enright first met at radio station WOR in New York, where...
and Wink Martindale Enterprises, in cooperation with USA. It was created by Wink Martindale
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
, developed by Mark Maxwell-Smith, and was hosted by Al Dubois
Al Dubois
Al Dubois is a Canadian television personality, previously on CKMI's This Morning Live as a weather reporter and sports anchor. He hosted the popular game show Bumper Stumpers between 1987 and 1990 and Travel, Travel on CFCF until 2001. He was born in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.-External...
with Ken Ryan announcing.
Reruns of the series were seen on Global from 1990 to 1995, and on Game Show Network
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
in 1994-95 and 2000.
Main game
The goal of the game is to solve the Super Stumper, which is a plate with seven blank spaces. To start the game, the Super Stumper is revealed in the center monitor of a seven monitored game board. The host reads a clue for the Super Stumper and the first character of the Super Stumper is revealed.Jump-in
During a jump-in, both teams were shown two plates on the top two monitors. Dubois read a clue pertaining to one of these plates (usually someone or something to which the plate belongs). The first player to buzz-in chose which of the two plates was being referred to. If correct, the contestant's partner then has ten seconds to solve the plate. If incorrect, the opposing team could try to solve it. If neither team solved the plate, another jump-in was played. The winner of a jump-in earned a chance to solve the Super Stumper.Contestants were unable to buzz-in until after the clue was read. In later episodes, a green light between the top two monitors was lit during a jump-in round to indicate when contestants could buzz-in. Originally, the player who buzz-in and correctly identified the plate to solve could decide to either let his/her partner play or challenge their opponents to solve the plate. That rule was dropped after far more contestants opted to play rather than pass.
Super Stumper
The winners of each jump-in chose which of the remaining spaces to reveal. The team then had five seconds to solve the Super Stumper. Correctly solving the Super Stumper won the game; otherwise, another jump-in was played.If a team could not solve the Super Stumper after all seven spaces were revealed, the opposing team had one final chance to solve it. If they missed, , another full game was played with a new Super Stumper. Later, if both teams missed the Super Stumper, the game shifted into a speed round in which a new Super Stumper plate was displayed, and the teams alternated turns (starting with the team who won the last jump-in) revealing spaces in the new plate until one team solved it.
Winning the match
The match consisted of one game with the winning team receiving $500 (plus $500 for each Super Stumper not solved). The losing team retired after two losses. About three weeks into the show's run, the format was changed to a best two-out-of-three match with the winning team receiving $1,000. In either case, the winning team advanced to a bonus round for the chance to win more money.Winning teams were retired after playing five bonus rounds (originally ten, with the two-loss format).
Bonus round #1
This version was split into two halves. In the first half, a team had 30 seconds to solve seven license plates, with each correct answer increasing the odds of winning the bonus round. If the winning team solved all seven plates in 30 seconds or less, they automatically won $2,000. The team can pass plates if they so desire and can come back to those with the remaining time. If the team was not able to solve any of the plates, however, the bonus game ended immediately.Final Stumper
In the second half, the team played a round called "The Final Stumper" in which the seven monitors spelled out the word S-T-U-M-P-E-R. There were two versions of the Final Stumper.Format #1
Hidden behind the letters in "STUMPER" were money amounts ranging from $100 to $500 plus one stop sign for every unsolved plate from the first half of the bonus game ($500 always goes first and each subsequent right answer added one of the lower money amounts to the board starting at $100 and ending with a second $500 space). The contestants called out letters one at a time and banked whatever money was hidden behind them. If they accumulated $500 or more, the money won was doubled; however, finding a stop sign ended the game immediately, although a team finding a stop sign kept whatever money had been uncovered up to that point.
Format #2
Although the first half remained unchanged, the Final Stumper itself was altered a bit. A "WIN" square was added to the dollar amounts, which still ranged from $100 to $500 (only this time they were added in descending order after the "WIN"). This time, if a team uncovered a stop sign, they now lost the banked money. The team had the option to stop and take the money after each successful reveal. A team could win by accumulating $1,000 or more, or by finding "WIN". Doing either of these increased their total for the round to $2,000.
Bonus round #2
The team was given 30 seconds to solve up to five license plates. If they solved at least four out of five, they won $200 plus a chance to solve up to three more plates should they choose to continue the round. Upon solving each of the three new plates, the team doubled their money (hence, the most a team could win was $1,600). If the contestants attempted to solve a plate and failed, or did not solve at least four of the five original plates before time ran out, the game ended and no money was awarded.Bonus round #3
In the final bonus round, one member of the winning team was isolated offstage while the other member attempted to solve five plates in 30 seconds. Each plate was a clue to a puzzle, and each one solved earned $100. After time expired, the plate-solving player could decide to keep the money won, or have his/her partner solve the master puzzle using the plates as clues. In either case, the isolated player was brought back out and given an attempt to guess the puzzle. If the plate solving player risked the money, correctly solving the puzzle tripled the money for a maximum total of $1,500; otherwise they won nothing.A tournament of champions was held near the end of the show's run and was played for a $10,000 grand prize.