Wipeout (game show)
|
|
Wipeout was a short-lived U.S. game show, which aired in 1988 with Peter Tomarken hosting. It also later became a British game show of the same name, presented by Paul Daniels (1995-1997) and later Bob Monkhouse (1998-2003). The title comes from the fact that incorrect answers cause the contestants to lose their acculumlated prize money.
In the first round, there are three contestants, who start with no money in the bank. The round is made up of a series of screens, each of which has 16 possible answers to a question, 11 of which are correct, and the remaining 5 of which are incorrect, or Wipeouts. In each screen, one contestant starts, and has to guess one of the correct answers, and wins money if they do so. However, if they get an incorrect answer, they lose all the money they have accumulated. After a correct answer, a contestant can either play on, and guess again, or pass the subject to the next player along, who must guess an answer. This continues until either all the Wipeouts, or the correct answers, have gone, when the next screen starts.
After the first round, whoever has the least amount of money accumulated is eliminated, and any money accumulated so far is "safe".
The second round is a best of 3 competition, with a similar screen to the first round, but with 8 correct answers, and 4 Wipeouts. Each screen is preceded by an aunction, with the players bidding the number answers they can get right, with the winner having to get as many correct answers as they bid, and winning the screen if they do so. If they fail, then their opponent can win the screen by getting one correct answer, otherwise play passes to the first player to get an answer correct, and so on until someone gets a correct answer, and wins the screen. The first player to win 2 screen wins the round, and goes onto the final.
In the final, there is just one contestant, trying to win a prize. The familiar screen is present, with 6 correct, and 6 wrong answers. There is one minute available, and the player selects 6 answers, then must press a button. If all the answers chosen are correct, the contestantr wins, but if not the number correct is shown, so the contestant must work out the correct answers in the time available, to win the prize.
External links
- UKGameshows.com - Wipeout page (http://www.ukgameshows.com/index.php/Wipeout)