Shark Bytes

I think the choice "Scattergories" is the one to choose for saying it jumped with the 1993 version. They should make that clearer. They didn't change the game, except for the budget, but the new theme was lousy in comparison and the set was... well, crappy.

In 1984 I was a contestant on 'Scrabble'. I was told that 'Scrabble' was the most complicated game show on television, as it had nine computers needed to run the game. At first winning seemed like taking candy from a baby...until the final round. At that time the last round words were different for each contestant. They later changed the rules to make the words the same...thus, in my opinion offering a more level playing field and making things more equitable.

The 1984-1990 edition of Scrabble did not jump. Chuck Woolery was a goof-ball on the show. He was having just as much fun, if not more, as the contestants. I loved all the sound effects and set up the show had. From the board opening up (I thought the noise when the podium would move to the "BORNG!" noise when the board opened up were some of the coolest in television), to the sound of the letter being placed, to the "RING!" during the sprint round, this show had some awesome sound effects. I also loved the tiles, the stoppers, and the hanging sign that Chuck would poke fun at. The main game was fun because of the puns written into the clues (this show had some of the most creative writers in television), and when Chuck would pay out the bonus money. The bonus round was always exciting to watch. I have to say the finale week during March 1990 was one of the most memorable. The writers had many double entendres in their clues, I thought I was watching Match Game! Chuck was poking a ton of fun at them, and he also messed up a few times that week, as did the contestants. It was pretty funny. The revival in 1993 just didn't have it. The budget decreased, the sound effects and stage set up were cheapened, and Chuck got casual and a tan. Also by then daytime game shows were becoming a thing of the past. I miss game shows so much during the daytime. Now it's all boring soap operas, talk shows, and court shows. The 70's, 80's, and early 90's were great for daytime game shows. At least there is still The Price is Right.

I'm torn between Sang's 87+ second Sprint round and the Dolly Parton-related "appeTITe" puzzle. Speaking of the latter, on a season 2 episode of "Lingo" (also hosted by Woolery), one of the words the contestants had to guess was "current." I won't print the word that briefly appeared on the screen, but the C and T appeared first, followed by the U, then the N. I wonder if the same technician worked on both shows!

It never jumped! I don't get all these people saying the show was boring... OK, maybe there was nobody shouting "Big money! no whammies" or dressed like a road kill chicken, but it was hilarious. It had Chuck Woolery, the coolest Game show host ever because he never, for a moment, pretended that the show he was hosting was anything more serious than a game show. He was funny, charming, and just loads of fun. And the show revolved around word games with atrocious puns! Chuck Woolery AND atrocious puns! Heaven!

I was a contestant on Scrabble. I think the taping was in October 1987, and the show aired I think it was December 1, 1987, somewhere around there. I remember them telling us that they were up for renewal, and that if they didn't get picked up for another season, that we would not be paid even if we won money. They were running an ad in the L.A. times saying that Scrabble needed male contestants. They always had a guy, playing against a girl, and apparently they had a lot more women applicants then men. I started off in a group of about 60 men, from there they whittled it down to about 15. Then they wanted us to tell a joke or say something to show them our personalities. I told a joke that went. with, "A priest, a minister, and a rabbi, walked into a bar. they all ordered a drink, and the priest poured his on his hand. the other 2 said, hey what are you doing, and the priest said, getting my date drunk." Well that joke got me on scrabble. I went to NBC studios in Burbank for the taping, and ended up playing against an English professor from Utah. I lost the game, but won $1000. for getting a word on a pink square. I remember that the board that we looked at was like the one you saw on TV but fuzzy and hard to see. I lost the game when my clue was "He knows better" I was looking at the board and it looked like it was a 5 letter word, but it was really 6, the second and letter was E, and the last was S. The only thing I could think of was Jesus, but the answer was Genius. How embarrassing. Anyway they got picked up for another season and I got my thousand. oh yeah and the girl that beat me went on to be a 5 day champion and won about $25,000. damn I wish i could have seen that board clearer

This show jumped when contestants were required to fill in the missing letters when guessing a word in the "Crossword" phase; the theory was that money would be put into a pot for each letter given, with higher payouts for Bonus Squares (the pink and blue ones, arranged as on a Scrabble board), and the pot given to the winner of the game (instead of a fixed $500). The problem was that contestants were consistently misspelling words; Chuck Woolery, the host, said ON THE SHOW that he didn't like the rule change, and eventually the rules were changed back.

One word: SANG. "A type of training." BRRRRING! (--SIC was revealed) "Music." BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ! What a dumbass.

Scrabble was a fairly solid game, but the 1993 revival wasn't...cheaper payoffs, cheaper set, etc. Oh, and the spelling format that yielded the whole "mosquito" incident described above was actually intro'd in mid-1985, after the show had been on about a yr...wisely, they dumped it and went back to the original format after 2 mos.

If it starred Chuck Woolery, it Never Jumped. (Well, except Love Connection.) Best moment? Scrabble Sprint. One contestant clocked a total time of 9.9 seconds for all words. The other contestant was down to 0.1 second... and with no hesitation got the answer correct. What a heartbreaker, but that loss was nothing to be ashamed of!

I thought "Scrabble" kicked ass. Sure, the main game had its slow times, but nothing could top the "Bonus Sprint" round. There was always a sense of intensity with that round (exception: when one dolt on that show played the sprint so badly he allotted 89.9 SECONDS for FOUR WORDS...how shameful!). The 1993 version couldn't hold steam, but we can't blame NBC for trying. To the one who said why "Scrabble" lasted longer than one week - besides what I said - here's why. NBC's daytime game show schedule was strongest from 1984-1989. "Scrabble" aired with "Wheel of Fortune," "$ale of the Century," and "Super Password." All were kick-ass shows (of course not as good as The Price is Right, but that is a different story altogether) which worked well together. Also of note, "Scrabble" and "$ale" were created by the same person - Reg Grundy, so one had to complement the other. In 1989, the fallout began. Mark Goodson pulled "Super Password," "Wheel of Fortune" went to CBS, Grundy pulled "$ale," and "Scrabble" was left alone to suffer. It left a year later. So there you have it. By the way, I saw one poster talking about bringing "Scrabble" back to life. I've got news for you. The Game Show Network has decided to revive the classic word game and will put it back on television in 2003. Just be patient

Scrabble was the most boring game show ever made. Imagine Wheel of Fortune with one-word puzzles, slower action, and dumber contestants, and you've got Scrabble. I have no idea why this show lasted more than a week.

My all time favorite Scrabble moment (I was a teenager when I saw this one) began with the sprint round when one of the words was "TETONS". Nothing unusual about that, but after a commercial break Chuck Woolery made an aside comment about the meaning of "Tetons" by making the not-so-subtle reference to Dolly Parton. Then there was a clue of "Dolly Parton has an enormous one" that wasn't related to her "obvious" visual traits. Then the big surprise that got me and the audience in an extended and out of control laughing spell, was another clue shortly afterward. The clue was "It's a Consuming Desire". The actual word was "APPETITE", but the way the tiles lined up, first the player chose the "I", then came a "T", and then the other "T". Seeing the "T-I-T" on the screen after the earlier "Teton" definition and mention of Dolly Parton (and with a little "dirty mind" imagination, the clue for "Appetite" could fit this word as well), was just too much. For a couple of minutes the show's game play stopped until the laughter died down!! I wonder if the production crew was in a bit of a perverted mood that day and actually intended those three tiles to show up first, or whether it was just an amazing coincidence. That show was the "jump the shark" moment, but I still enjoyed the show before and after that day for its game play and it allowed a viewer at home to play along and try to guess the words before the players could.

Of this show I can only remember one episode. It was 'teen week' and was being broadcast during the Christmas break. My brother and I are watching this utterly vacuous airhead struggle with the clue "they whistle while they work..." We had TRAINS before they got the first letter on the board. Now I really don't know what was going on in this bimbo's head, but the revealed letters were the following: -rains. No brainer, right?? But then my brother said to me "she's gonna say BRAINS," and sure as shit as soon as he said this our little princess lets out a "tee hee, brains?" I didn't think people were that stupid.

1993 run (when it was paired with "Scattegories") I loved the original 1984-1990 version of "Scrabble." The clues were punny (pun intended) and the gameplay was just terrific. I didn't get a chance to see the 1993 version, but from all accounts, I guess I didn't miss much. The greatest moment in Scrabble history wasn't "Mosquito," IMHO. It was an episode (which also ended up on Dick Clark's "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes") where a contestant drew two P tiles from the rack and responded, "Well, Chuck, I guess I'll have to take a 'P.'" The audience (as well as myself) just about died laughing!