Scattergories (game show)
Encyclopedia
Scattergories is an American game show on NBC daytime
hosted by Dick Clark
, with Charlie Tuna
as announcer, that aired from January 18 to June 11, 1993. The show was produced by Reg Grundy Productions
, now a part of FremantleMedia
, and was the second to last American game show to be produced by the company.
of the same name
.
After the list was complete or time ran out, the other team could challenge any word they believed to be unacceptable. If challenged, a panel of five judges voted whether or not the word was acceptable, with the majority vote ruling. If the word was unacceptable, the challenging team scored a point; otherwise the controlling team received an additional point.
Originally, Clark read the category and then the letter in play for the round and members of each team attempted to buzz-in and provide a word that fit both criteria. The team who won the toss-up scored a point and played the remainder of that half of the round. This was later changed to having the challengers play the first category and letter.
If both teams were tied at the end of round two, a toss-up similar to the one used to determine control at the beginning of the episode was played. The first team member to buzz-in and give an answer ruled valid by the judges won the game for their team.
After time expired or all five celebrities were played, any celebrities for which two acceptable words were not provided (or for which an unacceptable word was provided) was taken out of play. The celebrities' answers were then revealed and if their answer did not match either of the team's answers, that celebrity was captured and the team won $100. If the team captured three celebrities they won a jackpot that started at $4,000 and increased by $1,000 each day until won.
Originally, the winning team picked one of five cards, each containing the name of a different celebrity. The team won the jackpot if they had captured the celebrity whose name was on the card, or all five celebrities were captured. If they were unsuccessful, they won $200 for each captured celebrity.
, with both shows airing in the noon hour (EST); Scrabble in the 12:00 NBC death slot, Scattergories at 12:30 with the long running Days of our Lives
following. Both shows debuted and were canceled on the same day on NBC. Caesar's Challenge replaced Scattergories the following monday, which became NBC's last daytime game show to date.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
hosted by Dick Clark
Dick Clark (entertainer)
Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark is an American businessman; game-show host; and radio and television personality. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dick Clark Productions, which he has sold part of in recent years...
, with Charlie Tuna
Charlie Tuna
Charlie Tuna is the stage name of Art Ferguson , a radio personality based in Los Angeles, California currently working at KRTH-FM....
as announcer, that aired from January 18 to June 11, 1993. The show was produced by Reg Grundy Productions
Reg Grundy Productions
Reg Grundy Productions was the American wing of the worldwide television production company Grundy Worldwide, which was founded by Australian television producer Reg Grundy. Reg Grundy Productions was responsible for the production of two highly-successful daytime game shows on NBC during the...
, now a part of FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
, and was the second to last American game show to be produced by the company.
Main game
Two teams of four players competed in a battle of the sexes manner (four men vs. four women). The show was based on the board gameBoard game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
of the same name
Scattergories
Scattergories is a creative-thinking category-based party game produced by Hasbro through the Milton Bradley Company and published in 1988...
.
Round one
The team in control was given 15 seconds to name up to six items that fit a particular category and started with a specific letter of the alphabet. The team scored a point each time the team gave an acceptable word. However, no player could give two consecutive answers, and no word could be used as part of more than two answers.After the list was complete or time ran out, the other team could challenge any word they believed to be unacceptable. If challenged, a panel of five judges voted whether or not the word was acceptable, with the majority vote ruling. If the word was unacceptable, the challenging team scored a point; otherwise the controlling team received an additional point.
Originally, Clark read the category and then the letter in play for the round and members of each team attempted to buzz-in and provide a word that fit both criteria. The team who won the toss-up scored a point and played the remainder of that half of the round. This was later changed to having the challengers play the first category and letter.
Celebrities
If the controlling team named at least four items, the team chose up to four celebrities who provided prerecorded items that used the same category and letter in play. After the celebrity was chosen, their answer was revealed and the controlling team received an additional point if the celebrity's word did not match one already given by the team. However, if their answer matched, the controlling team lost a point.Round two
Round two was played just as round one, but acceptable words, challenges, etc. were worth two points each. The team with the most points at the end of round two won the game, received $500 and moved to the bonus round.If both teams were tied at the end of round two, a toss-up similar to the one used to determine control at the beginning of the episode was played. The first team member to buzz-in and give an answer ruled valid by the judges won the game for their team.
Bonus round
A category was announced at the beginning of the round and the celebrities, each now assigned a letter specific to them, provided two words in a pre-recorded video. The team received 25 seconds and began at the first celebrity and had to provide two words that fit the category and letter assigned to that celebrity. Play then moved to the next celebrity and letter.After time expired or all five celebrities were played, any celebrities for which two acceptable words were not provided (or for which an unacceptable word was provided) was taken out of play. The celebrities' answers were then revealed and if their answer did not match either of the team's answers, that celebrity was captured and the team won $100. If the team captured three celebrities they won a jackpot that started at $4,000 and increased by $1,000 each day until won.
Originally, the winning team picked one of five cards, each containing the name of a different celebrity. The team won the jackpot if they had captured the celebrity whose name was on the card, or all five celebrities were captured. If they were unsuccessful, they won $200 for each captured celebrity.
Broadcast history
Scattergories debuted as part of an NBC midday block with a revival of ScrabbleScrabble (game show)
Scrabble is an American television game show that was based on the Scrabble board game. The show was co-produced by Exposure Unlimited and Reg Grundy Productions. It ran from July 2, 1984 to March 23, 1990, and again from January 18 to June 11, 1993, both runs on NBC. A total of 1,335 episodes were...
, with both shows airing in the noon hour (EST); Scrabble in the 12:00 NBC death slot, Scattergories at 12:30 with the long running Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
following. Both shows debuted and were canceled on the same day on NBC. Caesar's Challenge replaced Scattergories the following monday, which became NBC's last daytime game show to date.