Rhyme and Reason

Infobox_television
show_name = Rhyme and Reason


caption =
format = Game Show
runtime = 30 Minutes
creator = W.T. Naud Productions
starring = Bob Eubanks
Announcer: Johnny Jacobs
country = USA
rating=
network = ABC
first_aired =1975
last_aired =1976|

"Rhyme and Reason" was an American television game show that aired on ABC from July 7, 1975 through July 9, 1976. Bob Eubanks hosted the show, with Johnny Jacobs serving as announcer.

Main Game

The show consisted of two players and a six celebrity panel.

The object of the game was to get the celebrity to say a word the player had written down. Before each round of play, the contestant would see two sentences (e.g. "There once was a man/Who lived in a box"), and, using an electronic pen, wrote a word down on a screen in front of them which rhymed with the last word in the second sentence (the home audience was shown the contestant's word, but the panelists were not). Once the words were written, one player (alternating turns) called upon one celebrity to devise a second part of the poem, hoping the last word he/she used would match his/hers; doing so earned that contestant two points. If not, the opponent tried another celebrity; if that celebrity successfully guessed his/hers, the opponent won one point. Play continued on a poem if necessary until all six celebrities had attempted to match; if all failed, Eubanks introduced a new poem. If both contestants used the same word, only the player who was in control at that time got points. The first player to score three points won the game and $250. The first player to win two games (therefore, winning $500) would play for another $5,000.

Regulars on the show were Nipsey Russell and (husband and wife) Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall. Some critics consider the show to have been expressly designed for Russell's talents as "comedy's poet laureate."

Bonus Round

The winning player and a celebrity partner of his/her choice played for $5,000. Two lines were again shown to the player, who had to come up with three rhyming words in 30 seconds. The lines were then read to the celebrity, who had to come up with three separate rhymes for the last word in the line. Matching on one word won the contestant $1,000, two words won $2,000, and all three awarded the $5,000 grand prize.

cheduling/Ratings

Six months after ABC cancelled "The Newlywed Game", Eubanks returned to daytime television on this game. First placed on the schedule at 2:30 p.m. Eastern/1:30 Central, it ran into trouble at first against NBC's "The Doctors." On December 30, it moved to 1:30/12:30, which had been the home for "Let's Make a Deal" since 1964 (1968 on ABC). "R&R" inherited the vastly changed competition at that timeslot from "Deal," which now featured hourlong versions of "Days of Our Lives" and "As the World Turns," two very popular serials. They overwhelmed "R&R," which ended its run two days after its first birthday. Its replacement would last nine times as long and would become television's most popular game within a year: "Family Feud."

Finale

On the last episode of the series, as the show progressed, the celebrities began destroying the set, as a gag. They broke seats, smashed light panels, tore down signage, and even broke Eubanks' emcee podium.

Mystery Packager

"R&R" was attributed to "W. T. Naud Productions," a company that apparently packaged only one other network show, "The Girl in My Life," which ran on ABC daytime from July 1973 through December 1974. Game show fans have speculated about the actual identity of Naud, who also worked on the production staff of NBC's "Blank Check," which concluded a six-month run immediately before "R&R's" debut. Because several people who worked on shows produced by Chuck Barris handled this program, some believe that Barris used "W. T. Naud" as a pseudonym. However, since the reveal music for the show was taken from "The Savers," the original theme song to "The Joker's Wild," hosted and packaged by Jack Barry, some have theorized that Naud was in fact Barry's former partner Dan Enright, who had recently returned from a professional exile in Canada. Enright and Barry would reunite during this period, to package new versions of "Break the Bank" and "Joker."

Music

The show's theme and cues were provided by Score Productions. The series pilot featured a hodgepodge of music, including an instrumental version of the Amboy Dukes hit "Journey to the Center of Your Mind" as its theme song and the opening notes to "The Savers" (originally used on "The Joker's Wild") as a reveal cue.

Episode status

The status of this show is currently unknown, but rumored to be destroyed. The standard practice of ABC at the time was to record over other shows, with "Rhyme and Reason" more than likely being one of the victims of this practice. The pilot episode is the only known episode to exist among traders.

External links

* [http://www.curtalliaume.com/rhymeand.html Game Show 75] Page on "Rhyme and Reason"