Countdown (American game show) - Revision history

TobyMcDonald at 18:22, 6 July 2024

2024-07-06T18:22:41Z

Dicto: /* Pilot Rounds */

2023-10-25T04:33:46Z

‎Pilot Rounds

Dicto: /* Pilot Rounds */ if points are awarded to both, I think the maximums should be like this; it seems since there is a cash prize for 9 letters, the points are not doubled

2023-10-25T04:30:47Z

‎Pilot Rounds: if points are awarded to both, I think the maximums should be like this; it seems since there is a cash prize for 9 letters, the points are not doubled

Dicto at 04:22, 25 October 2023

2023-10-25T04:22:05Z

Andres Sanchez: Hopefully this serves justice now that we have actual evidence, feel free to edit if something looks off but I just used what I got.

2023-10-25T01:41:06Z

Hopefully this serves justice now that we have actual evidence, feel free to edit if something looks off but I just used what I got.

TobyMcDonald at 15:55, 19 May 2022

2022-05-19T15:55:00Z

TobyMcDonald at 14:56, 1 August 2021

2021-08-01T14:56:51Z

Digifiend: /* Format */

2018-07-21T14:10:54Z

‎Format

JohnnyCanuck: /* Format */ opening up some links

2016-06-18T00:46:59Z

‎Format: opening up some links

JohnnyCanuck at 00:46, 18 June 2016

2016-06-18T00:46:41Z

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-An [[Wikipedia:United States|American]] adaptation of the British game show ''[[Countdown]]'', also called '''Countdown''', was planned to be aired on United States television beginning in September 1990. However, the show never made it on the air; only a pilot episode was ever recorded. The pilot was produced by the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company and hosted by [[Wikipedia:Michael Jackson (radio commentator)|Michael Jackson]], a [[Wikipedia:Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]]-based radio presenter (not to be confused with the pop singer of the same name).
+An {{w|United States|American}} adaptation of the British game show ''[[Countdown]]'', also called '''''Countdown''''', was recorded in September 1990. However, the show never made it on the air – only a pilot episode was ever recorded. The pilot was produced by the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company and hosted by {{w|Michael Jackson (radio commentator)|Michael Jackson}}, a {{w|Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California}}-based radio presenter (not to be confused with the {{w|Michael Jackson|pop singer of the same name}}).
-The concept for the show was not picked up after the pilot, apparently on account of producers thinking that its premise was too "brainy" to appeal to the general American public. (It was also for this reason that no [[numbers game]]s were featured at any point during the program.) No known attempts to bring the ''[[Des chiffres et des lettres]]'' format to North American television have been made since, and despite the absence of a ''Countdown'' equivalent on the continent, residents of the United States and Canada are currently not eligible to compete on the British show either.
+The concept for the show was not picked up after the pilot, apparently on account of producers thinking that its premise was too "brainy" to appeal to the general American public (it was also for this reason that no [[numbers game]]s were featured at any point during the program). No known attempts to bring the ''[[Des chiffres et des lettres]]'' format to North American television have been made since, and despite the absence of a ''Countdown'' equivalent on the continent, residents of the United States and Canada are currently not eligible to compete on the British show either.
 ==Format==
 The American version included no [[numbers game]]s or formal [[conundrum]]s, only [[letters game]]s and word-based puzzles. Additionally, instead of two [[contestant]]s competing one-on-one, two ''teams'' of two competed, with each team consisting of a regular player and a celebrity.
-The pilot included three letters rounds. Letters picks proceeded in the same manner as in the British version, with one of the regular contestants selecting nine letter tiles from two piles (one containing only vowels, the other only consonants). The player who chose the letter was the one on the team who was trailing in terms of points. All four contestants, including the celebrities, then had 30 seconds to create the longest word possible from some subset of the letters on the tiles. The ''Countdown'' [[clock music]] used in Britain in the early 1990s (composed by [[Alan Hawkshaw]]) was reused for the American pilot while its clock was ticking down.
+The pilot included three letters rounds. Letters picks proceeded in the same manner as in the British version, with one of the regular contestants selecting nine letter tiles from two piles (one containing only vowels, the other only consonants). The player who chose the letters was the one on the team who was trailing in terms of points. All four contestants, including the celebrities, then had 30 seconds to create the longest word possible from some subset of the letters on the tiles. The ''Countdown'' [[clock music]] used in Britain in the early 1990s (composed by [[Alan Hawkshaw]]) was reused for the American pilot while its clock was ticking down.
-Along the same lines as the modern British ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]'' episodes, all four contestants declared words at the end of the 30 seconds, but the scoring system differed in two notable respects: ''both'' teams received points, rather than only the winning one; and the score allotted to each team equalled the ''sum'' of the lengths of the words declared by its celebrity and its regular player (for instance, 11 points would be given if the regular player had a 7 and the celebrity a 4).
+Along the same lines as the modern British ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]'' episodes, all four contestants declared words at the end of the 30 seconds, but the scoring system differed in two notable respects – ''both'' teams received points, rather than only the winning one – and the score allotted to each team equalled the ''sum'' of the lengths of the words declared by its celebrity and its regular player (for instance, 11 points would be given if the regular player had a 7 and the celebrity a 4).
-During the third and last letters round, only eight letter tiles were selected, with the final tile here being a "wild card" that could represent any letter.
+During the third and last letters round, only eight letter tiles were selected, with the final tile here being a "wild card" that could represent any letter, similar to a blank tile in ''[[Scrabble]]''.
 Unlike any other known international versions of ''Countdown'', the American version was planned to include cash prizes as a regular feature – it was stated that any non-celebrity player who found a nine-letter word would receive a prize of US$25,000.
-The team who led after three rounds proceeded to a final bonus round, which used a system resembling the British version's [[conundrum]]s and [[Teatime Teaser]]s. A category or theme, such as "At the Movies", was revealed, and seven scrambled words of 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8 and 9 letters, were presented to the team, who then had 45 seconds to solve as many of these scrambles as possible. The solutions to all scrambles pertained in some way to the category. A bonus of US$200 was given for solving each scramble; getting all seven instantly augmented the prize money to US$10,000.
+The team who led after three rounds proceeded to a final bonus round, which used a system resembling the British version's conundrums and [[Teatime Teaser]]s. A category or theme, such as "At the Movies", was revealed, and seven scrambled words of four, five, six, seven, seven, eight and nine letters, were presented to the team, who then had 45 seconds to solve as many of these scrambles as possible. The solutions to all scrambles pertained in some way to the category. A bonus of US$200 was given for solving each scramble – getting all seven instantly augmented the prize money to US$10,000.
-==Pilot Rounds==
+==Pilot rounds==
-In the pilot episode Peter Trencher<!--lastname may be wrong--> played Andrea. The celebrities were {{w|Heather Thomas}} and {{w|Woody Harrelson}}, and the [[lexicographer]]s were Tony Pandolfo and Laurie Huggins.
+See [[Countdown (American game show) pilot|''Countdown'' (American game show) pilot]]
 ==See also==
+*[[Countdown in other countries|''Countdown'' in other countries]]
 ==External Links==
-{{YouTube|b7s4PNVjbWg|t=12s}}
+*[http://gameshows.wikia.com/wiki/Countdown_(2) ''Countdown''] on the U.S. Game Shows Wiki
-*[http://gameshows.wikia.com/wiki/Countdown_(2) Countdown in U.S. Game Shows Wiki]
+*[http://www.usgameshows.net/x.php?show=Countdown1990 ''Countdown''] on The Game Show Pilot Light
 [[Category:Countdown in other countries]]

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 ==Pilot Rounds==
-In the pilot episode Peter Trencher played Andrea. The celebrities were {{w|Heather Thomas}} and {{w|Woody Harrelson}}, and the [[lexicographer]]s were Tony Pendopo and Laura Huggins.<!--lastnames may be wrong-->
+In the pilot episode Peter Trencher<!--lastname may be wrong--> played Andrea. The celebrities were {{w|Heather Thomas}} and {{w|Woody Harrelson}}, and the [[lexicographer]]s were Tony Pandolfo and Laurie Huggins.
 {{Rounds-start|Andrea & Woody|Heather & Peter}}
 {{R-letters  |1 |MPCEHOVET|CHOMP <br> COVET|HOME <br> VOTE|COMPETE|  10|8  |  14}}

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 In the pilot episode Peter Trencher played Andrea. The celebrities were {{w|Heather Thomas}} and {{w|Woody Harrelson}}, and the [[lexicographer]]s were Tony Pendopo and Laura Huggins.<!--lastnames may be wrong-->
 {{Rounds-start|Andrea & Woody|Heather & Peter}}
-{{R-letters  |1 |MPCEHOVET|CHOMP <br> COVET|HOME <br> VOTE|COMPETE|  10|8  |  7}}
+{{R-letters  |1 |MPCEHOVET|CHOMP <br> COVET|HOME <br> VOTE|COMPETE|  10|8  |  14}}
-{{R-letters  |2 |RYIBRALOL|LIBRARY <br> LABOR|ALLOY <br> RALLY| | 22|18  | 14}}
+{{R-letters  |2 |RYIBRALOL|LIBRARY <br> LABOR|ALLOY <br> RALLY| | 22|18  | 28}}
-{{R-letters  |3 |NSOLTIDE''?''|SOLIT'''U'''DE<br> SOLIT'''U'''DE|SOLIT'''U'''DE <br> S'''A'''LTED|    *+A: DELATIONS<br>*+E: DELETIONS| 38|32  | 32}}
+{{R-letters  |3 |NSOLTIDE''?''|SOLIT'''U'''DE<br> SOLIT'''U'''DE|SOLIT'''U'''DE <br> S'''A'''LTED|    *+A: DELATIONS<br>*+E: DELETIONS| 38|32  | 46}}
 {{R-TTT |FINAL ROUND|Category: AT THE MOVIES|Each worth $200}}
 {{R-conundrum|FR|ENLI|c1time=1.5|c1sol=LINE|200 || }}
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 {{R-conundrum|FR|COOPERRJT|sol=PROJECTOR|800 || }}
 {{Rounds-start|Peter & Woody|Heather & Andrea|cont=}}
-{{R-letters  |1 |FTNUAWKAS|NUTS <br> SWANK|FAWNS <br> AUNTS|KAFTANS|  9|10  |  39}}
+{{R-letters  |1 |FTNUAWKAS|NUTS <br> SWANK|FAWNS <br> AUNTS|KAFTANS|  9|10  |  14}}
-{{R-letters  |2 |BRUOSCRIR|RIBS <br> CRIBS|CRIBS <br> CURBS|CIRROUS, *RUBISCO, *RUBRICS| 18|20  | 46}}
+{{R-letters  |2 |BRUOSCRIR|RIBS <br> CRIBS|CRIBS <br> CURBS|CIRROUS, *RUBISCO, *RUBRICS| 18|20  | 28}}
-{{R-letters  |3 |RSFDAEGE''?''|FEDERA'''L'''<br> GRADES|FAS'''T'''ER <br> GRA'''Z'''ED|    *+B: REBADGES, FEEDBAGS<br>*+C: DEFACERS<br>*+D: DEGRADES<br>*+E: DEGREASE<br>*+I: DISAGREE<br>*+M: DEFAMERS<br>*+N: DERANGES, GRANDEES, GRENADES<br>*+P: PRESAGED<br>*+R: REGRADES<br>*+S: DRESSAGE, SERFAGES<br>*+T: DRAFTEES, RESTAGED<br>*+U: GUARDEES| 31|32  | 54}}
+{{R-letters  |3 |RSFDAEGE''?''|FEDERA'''L'''<br> GRADES|FAS'''T'''ER <br> GRA'''Z'''ED|    *+B: REBADGES, FEEDBAGS<br>*+C: DEFACERS<br>*+D: DEGRADES<br>*+E: DEGREASE<br>*+I: DISAGREE<br>*+M: DEFAMERS<br>*+N: DERANGES, GRANDEES, GRENADES<br>*+P: PRESAGED<br>*+R: REGRADES<br>*+S: DRESSAGE, SERFAGES<br>*+T: DRAFTEES, RESTAGED<br>*+U: GUARDEES| 31|32  | 44}}
 {{R-TTT |FINAL ROUND|Category: COLLEGE|Each worth $200}}
 {{R-conundrum|FR|OMRD|c2time=1.5|c2sol=DORM| |200| }}
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 {{R-conundrum|FR|FEOOPSSRR|c2time=28.5|c2sol=PROFESSOR| |'''10,000'''| }}
 {{Rounds-end}}
 ==See also==

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 ==Format==
-The American version included no [[numbers game]]s or formal [[conundrum]]s, only [[letters game]]s and word-based puzzles. Additionally, instead of two [[contestant]]s competing one-on-one, two ''teams'' of two competed, with each team consisting of a regular player and a celebrity. During the pilot, these celebrities were actors [[Wikipedia:Heather Thomas|Heather Thomas]] and [[Wikipedia:Woody Harrelson|Woody Harrelson]].
+The American version included no [[numbers game]]s or formal [[conundrum]]s, only [[letters game]]s and word-based puzzles. Additionally, instead of two [[contestant]]s competing one-on-one, two ''teams'' of two competed, with each team consisting of a regular player and a celebrity.
 The pilot included three letters rounds. Letters picks proceeded in the same manner as in the British version, with one of the regular contestants selecting nine letter tiles from two piles (one containing only vowels, the other only consonants). The player who chose the letter was the one on the team who was trailing in terms of points. All four contestants, including the celebrities, then had 30 seconds to create the longest word possible from some subset of the letters on the tiles. The ''Countdown'' [[clock music]] used in Britain in the early 1990s (composed by [[Alan Hawkshaw]]) was reused for the American pilot while its clock was ticking down.
@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 ==Pilot Rounds==
 {{Rounds-start|Andrea & Woody|Heather & Peter}}
 {{R-letters  |1 |MPCEHOVET|CHOMP <br> COVET|HOME <br> VOTE|COMPETE|  10|8  |  7}}
@@ Line 50: / Line 51: @@
 ==External Links==
+{{YouTube|b7s4PNVjbWg|t=12s}}
-*[http://gameshows.wikia.com/wiki/Countdown_(2)]
+*[http://gameshows.wikia.com/wiki/Countdown_(2) Countdown in U.S. Game Shows Wiki]
-*[http://www.usgameshows.net/x.php?show=Countdown1990]
+*[http://www.usgameshows.net/x.php?show=Countdown1990 Countdown in The Game Show Pilot Light]
 [[Category:Countdown in other countries]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:41, 25 October 2023
Line 17:		Line 17:
	The team who led after three rounds proceeded to a final bonus round, which used a system resembling the British version's [[conundrum]]s and [[Teatime Teaser]]s. A category or theme, such as "At the Movies", was revealed, and seven scrambled words of 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8 and 9 letters, were presented to the team, who then had 45 seconds to solve as many of these scrambles as possible. The solutions to all scrambles pertained in some way to the category. A bonus of US$200 was given for solving each scramble; getting all seven instantly augmented the prize money to US$10,000.		The team who led after three rounds proceeded to a final bonus round, which used a system resembling the British version's [[conundrum]]s and [[Teatime Teaser]]s. A category or theme, such as "At the Movies", was revealed, and seven scrambled words of 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8 and 9 letters, were presented to the team, who then had 45 seconds to solve as many of these scrambles as possible. The solutions to all scrambles pertained in some way to the category. A bonus of US$200 was given for solving each scramble; getting all seven instantly augmented the prize money to US$10,000.

		+	==Pilot Rounds==
		+	{{Rounds-start\|Andrea & Woody\|Heather & Peter}}
		+	{{R-letters \|1 \|MPCEHOVET\|CHOMP <br> COVET\|HOME <br> VOTE\|COMPETE\| 10\|8 \| 7}}
		+	{{R-letters \|2 \|RYIBRALOL\|LIBRARY <br> LABOR\|ALLOY <br> RALLY\| \| 22\|18 \| 14}}
		+	{{R-letters \|3 \|NSOLTIDE''?''\|SOLIT'''U'''DE<br> SOLIT'''U'''DE\|SOLIT'''U'''DE <br> S'''A'''LTED\| +A: DELATIONS<br>+E: DELETIONS\| 38\|32 \| 32}}
		+	{{R-TTT \|FINAL ROUND\|Category: AT THE MOVIES\|Each worth $200}}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|ENLI\|c1time=1.5\|c1sol=LINE\|200 \|\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|LASIE\|c1time=5.75\|c1sol=AISLE\|400 \|\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|KIETTC\|c1time=8.15\|c1sol=TICKET\|600 \|\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|CPOORPN\|c1time=10.5\|c1sol=POPCORN\|800 \|\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|EMANEIT\|sol=MATINEE\|800 \|\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|EEEMPIRR\|sol=PREMIERE\|800 \|\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|COOPERRJT\|sol=PROJECTOR\|800 \|\| }}
		+	{{Rounds-start\|Peter & Woody\|Heather & Andrea\|cont=}}
		+	{{R-letters \|1 \|FTNUAWKAS\|NUTS <br> SWANK\|FAWNS <br> AUNTS\|KAFTANS\| 9\|10 \| 39}}
		+	{{R-letters \|2 \|BRUOSCRIR\|RIBS <br> CRIBS\|CRIBS <br> CURBS\|CIRROUS, RUBISCO, RUBRICS\| 18\|20 \| 46}}
		+	{{R-letters \|3 \|RSFDAEGE''?''\|FEDERA'''L'''<br> GRADES\|FAS'''T'''ER <br> GRA'''Z'''ED\| +B: REBADGES, FEEDBAGS<br>+C: DEFACERS<br>+D: DEGRADES<br>+E: DEGREASE<br>+I: DISAGREE<br>+M: DEFAMERS<br>+N: DERANGES, GRANDEES, GRENADES<br>+P: PRESAGED<br>+R: REGRADES<br>+S: DRESSAGE, SERFAGES<br>+T: DRAFTEES, RESTAGED<br>+U: GUARDEES\| 31\|32 \| 54}}
		+	{{R-TTT \|FINAL ROUND\|Category: COLLEGE\|Each worth $200}}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|OMRD\|c2time=1.5\|c2sol=DORM\| \|200\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|DTYSU\|c2time=4.15\|c2sol=STUDY\| \|400\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|LIAFNS\|c2time=7\|c2sol=FINALS\| \|600\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|YRIBLRA\|c2time=8.75\|c2sol=LIBRARY\| \|800\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|IITTONU\|c2time=12\|c2sol=TUITION\| \|1,000\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|YOOSTIRR\|c2time=40.75\|c2sol=SORORITY\| \|1,200\| }}
		+	{{R-conundrum\|FR\|FEOOPSSRR\|c2time=28.5\|c2sol=PROFESSOR\| \|'''10,000'''\| }}
		+	{{Rounds-end}}
	==See also==		==See also==

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:55, 19 May 2022
Line 28:		Line 28:
	*[http://www.usgameshows.net/x.php?show=Countdown1990]		*[http://www.usgameshows.net/x.php?show=Countdown1990]

−	[[Category:Countdown in other ~~languages~~]]	+	[[Category:Countdown in other countries]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-An [[Wikipedia:United States|American]] adaptation of the British game show [[Countdown]], also called '''Countdown''', was planned to be aired on United States television beginning in September 1990. However, the show never made it on the air; only a pilot episode was ever recorded. The pilot was produced by the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company and hosted by [[Wikipedia:Michael Jackson (radio commentator)|Michael Jackson]], a [[Wikipedia:Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]]-based radio presenter (not to be confused with the pop singer of the same name).
+An [[Wikipedia:United States|American]] adaptation of the British game show ''[[Countdown]]'', also called '''Countdown''', was planned to be aired on United States television beginning in September 1990. However, the show never made it on the air; only a pilot episode was ever recorded. The pilot was produced by the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company and hosted by [[Wikipedia:Michael Jackson (radio commentator)|Michael Jackson]], a [[Wikipedia:Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]]-based radio presenter (not to be confused with the pop singer of the same name).
-The concept for the show was not picked up after the pilot, apparently on account of producers thinking that its premise was too "brainy" to appeal to the general American public. (It was also for this reason that no [[numbers round]]s were featured at any point during the program.) No known attempts to bring the ''[[Des chiffres et des lettres]]'' format to North American television have been made since, and despite the absence of a ''Countdown'' equivalent on the continent, residents of the United States and Canada are currently not eligible to compete on the British show either.
+The concept for the show was not picked up after the pilot, apparently on account of producers thinking that its premise was too "brainy" to appeal to the general American public. (It was also for this reason that no [[numbers game]]s were featured at any point during the program.) No known attempts to bring the ''[[Des chiffres et des lettres]]'' format to North American television have been made since, and despite the absence of a ''Countdown'' equivalent on the continent, residents of the United States and Canada are currently not eligible to compete on the British show either.
 ==Format==
-The American version included no [[numbers round]]s or formal [[conundrum]]s, only [[letters round]]s and word-based puzzles. Additionally, instead of two contestants competing one-on-one, two ''teams'' of two competed, with each team consisting of a regular player and a celebrity. During the pilot, these celebrities were actors [[Wikipedia:Heather Thomas|Heather Thomas]] and [[Wikipedia:Woody Harrelson|Woody Harrelson]].
+The American version included no [[numbers game]]s or formal [[conundrum]]s, only [[letters game]]s and word-based puzzles. Additionally, instead of two [[contestant]]s competing one-on-one, two ''teams'' of two competed, with each team consisting of a regular player and a celebrity. During the pilot, these celebrities were actors [[Wikipedia:Heather Thomas|Heather Thomas]] and [[Wikipedia:Woody Harrelson|Woody Harrelson]].
-The pilot included three letters rounds. Letters picks proceeded in the same manner as in the British version, with one of the regular contestants selecting nine letter tiles from two piles (one containing only vowels, the other only consonants). The player who chose the letter was the one on the team who was trailing in terms of points. All four contestants, including the celebrities, then had 30 seconds to create the longest word possible from some subset of the letters on the tiles. The ''Countdown'' clock music used in Britain in the early 1990s (composed by [[Alan Hawkshaw]]) was reused for the American pilot while its clock was ticking down.
+The pilot included three letters rounds. Letters picks proceeded in the same manner as in the British version, with one of the regular contestants selecting nine letter tiles from two piles (one containing only vowels, the other only consonants). The player who chose the letter was the one on the team who was trailing in terms of points. All four contestants, including the celebrities, then had 30 seconds to create the longest word possible from some subset of the letters on the tiles. The ''Countdown'' [[clock music]] used in Britain in the early 1990s (composed by [[Alan Hawkshaw]]) was reused for the American pilot while its clock was ticking down.
 Along the same lines as the modern British ''[[8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]'' episodes, all four contestants declared words at the end of the 30 seconds, but the scoring system differed in two notable respects: ''both'' teams received points, rather than only the winning one; and the score allotted to each team equalled the ''sum'' of the lengths of the words declared by its celebrity and its regular player (for instance, 11 points would be given if the regular player had a 7 and the celebrity a 4).
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 During the third and last letters round, only eight letter tiles were selected, with the final tile here being a "wild card" that could represent any letter.
-Unlike any other known international versions of Countdown, the American version was planned to include cash prizes as a regular feature – it was stated that any non-celebrity player who found a nine-letter word would receive a prize of US$25,000.
+Unlike any other known international versions of ''Countdown'', the American version was planned to include cash prizes as a regular feature – it was stated that any non-celebrity player who found a nine-letter word would receive a prize of US$25,000.
 The team who led after three rounds proceeded to a final bonus round, which used a system resembling the British version's [[conundrum]]s and [[Teatime Teaser]]s. A category or theme, such as "At the Movies", was revealed, and seven scrambled words of 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8 and 9 letters, were presented to the team, who then had 45 seconds to solve as many of these scrambles as possible. The solutions to all scrambles pertained in some way to the category. A bonus of US$200 was given for solving each scramble; getting all seven instantly augmented the prize money to US$10,000.
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 ==See also==
-*[[Countdown]] (British)
+*''[[Countdown]]'' (British)
-*[[A Word or 2]] (South African), the first English-language adaptation of Countdown outside Britain that made it to air
+*''[[A Word or 2]]'' (South African), the first English-language adaptation of ''Countdown'' outside Britain that made it to air.
-*[[Letters and Numbers]] (Australian), a later English-language adaptation
+*''[[Letters and Numbers]]'' (Australian), a later English-language adaptation.
 ==External Links==

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 The American version included no [[numbers round]]s or formal [[conundrum]]s, only [[letters round]]s and word-based puzzles. Additionally, instead of two contestants competing one-on-one, two ''teams'' of two competed, with each team consisting of a regular player and a celebrity. During the pilot, these celebrities were actors [[Wikipedia:Heather Thomas|Heather Thomas]] and [[Wikipedia:Woody Harrelson|Woody Harrelson]].
-The pilot included three letters rounds. Letters picks proceeded in the same manner as in the British version, with one of the regular contestants selecting nine letter tiles from two piles (one containing only vowels, the other only consonants). The player who chose the letter was the one on the team who was trailing in terms of points. All four contestants, including the celebrities, then had 30 seconds to create the longest word possible from some subset of the letters on the tiles. The ''Countdown'' clock music used in Britain in the early 1990s was reused for the American pilot while its clock was ticking down.
+The pilot included three letters rounds. Letters picks proceeded in the same manner as in the British version, with one of the regular contestants selecting nine letter tiles from two piles (one containing only vowels, the other only consonants). The player who chose the letter was the one on the team who was trailing in terms of points. All four contestants, including the celebrities, then had 30 seconds to create the longest word possible from some subset of the letters on the tiles. The ''Countdown'' clock music used in Britain in the early 1990s (composed by [[Alan Hawkshaw]]) was reused for the American pilot while its clock was ticking down.
 Along the same lines as the modern British ''[[8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown]]'' episodes, all four contestants declared words at the end of the 30 seconds, but the scoring system differed in two notable respects: ''both'' teams received points, rather than only the winning one; and the score allotted to each team equalled the ''sum'' of the lengths of the words declared by its celebrity and its regular player (for instance, 11 points would be given if the regular player had a 7 and the celebrity a 4).