Hollywood Squares (1986)


Aired
Pilot, December 12, 1985 Syndicated, September 15, 1986-June 16, 1989 (reruns aired until September 8, 1989)
Run time
30 Minutes
Host
John Davidson
Sub-Hosts
Joan Rivers Jim J. Bullock ALF Shadoe Stevens
Announcer
Shadoe Stevens
Sub-Announcers
Richard Stevens (1987, 1988) Howard Stern (1988)
Origination
NBC Studios, Burbank, California (1986); ABC Television Center, Los Angeles, California (1987); Fox Television Center, Los Angeles, California (1987-1988); Stage 37, Universal Studios, Hollywood, California (1988-1989)

This is chronicling the 1986 version of The New Hollywood Squares.

Game Format[]

Two contestants, almost always a woman playing Os/naughts (called circles in the show) and a man playing Xs/crosses, took turns picking a star and following the traditional tic-tac-toe/naughts-and-crosses strategies, for which square to select. The star was asked a question and gave an answer. The contestants had the choice of agreeing with the star or disagreeing if they thought the star was bluffing. If the contestant's judgement was right, he or she got the square; otherwise, the other contestant got the square, unless that caused the opponent to get three in a row. In that case, the opponent had to win the square on his or her own. A contestant could also win by capturing five squares on the game board, thus preventing draws.

On rare occasions, a star would not know the correct answer to a question, but would be unable to come up with a plausible bluff. In such instances, the contestant would be offered the chance to answer the question to win or lose the square as above. Usually the contestants declined, in which case they incurred no penalty and the same star was asked another question.

For the first season, each game was worth $500 with a bonus of $100 per square if time ran out in the middle of a game. Beginning in season two, the third and subsequent games were worth $1,000 with $200 given for each square claimed when time ran out. If time had run out with the contestants tied, one more question was asked to one celebrity. If the contestant agreed or disagreed correctly, they won the money for one square and the match. If not, their opponent automatically won. This was also done on occasions where there was no tie, but there was only enough time for one question in a game. The contestant who finished with the most money won the match and went on to the bonus round.

Secret Square[]

The second game of each show was a "Secret Square" game. The Secret Square was revealed to the home audience at the start of this game; if a contestant chose this square and successfully claimed it, he/she won a prize (usually a trip).

Bonus Round[]

Five cars, each of the same brand/make, were displayed on the stage for the entire week. The champion chose one of five keys from a small cereal bowl and then chose the car they thought the key would start. The contestant also chose a good luck celebrity to sit in or stand beside the car (sometimes more, usually all nine celebrities on Friday episodes or episodes with an automatic car win).

Once the car was chosen, the champion went inside the chosen car alongside a good luck celebrity of his/her choosing (all nine on Friday shows or when a champ was retiring) and on the count of three to turn the key. If the key started the car, the champion won the car and retired from the show; otherwise, he/she returned to play on the next show with the same key and one fewer car to choose from. If the champion won five days in row and didn't win the car after the first four, he/she won the car that was left.

Since the cars were replaced every week, if a champion's reign managed to straddle weeks without having won a car, the lowest valued cars for the new week were eliminated from consideration for the champion depending on how many prior attempts were made and they were then given a choice of keys from the remaining cars.

For the final season, the car round was changed. The champion first chose a car, then one of the nine celebrities. Each held a key, with five of the celebrities holding keys that would start any one of the five available cars and four holding dud keys that did not start anything. If the champion failed to start the car, it was not eliminated from the round, but was available again if the champion returned the next day. However, the five-day limit was removed and a champion was able to stay until either winning a car or being defeated.

The cars that were available on the show included: Ford (on the pilot), Cadillac, Isuzu, Hyundai, Toyota, Jeep, Volkswagen, Buick, Mazda, Lincoln, Mercury, Merkur, Chevrolet and Renault.

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End-of-Show Disclaimers[]

"Celebrity guests are briefed as to question subject material prior to program." - (1986-1987, 1988-1989)

"Celebrity guests are briefed as to questions and/or related subject material prior to program." - (1987-1988)

Trivia[]

John Davidson's process from former panelists to host also mirrors to DeRay Davis for when he was a former panelist of the original MTV2 version of Hip Hop Squares before he became the host of his version of Hip Hop Squares on VH1 from 2017 until 2019.

The show became infamous for its April Fools prank played on John Davidson in which two "contestants" (they were actually stunt people) got into a fight after the so-called Ms. Circle "O" (Annie Ellis) caught the so-called Mr. X (Greg Barnett) cheating by peeking behind John's card. It ended by having the fake Ms. Circle push the fake Mr. X off the contestant area after which the audience said, "April Fools', John!" After the commercial break and John's explanation, the two real contestants (with one of them going for the car automatically since this was his final day on the show) came aboard and the game played as normal (the contestant going for the instant car win pretended to be sick), but only two games and the tiebreaker were played that day.

During one of the weeks, a record of four cars were given away in one week; during that week the Renault GTA convertible was the car that was won those four times.

The New Hollywood Squares was the first game show ever to go on the road for special weeks. It went to Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida and the Club Med Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas.

To celebrate the 100th episode of The New Hollywood Squares, there was a very special "Announce-Off" between Shadoe Stevens and his brother Richard Stevens. Richard Stevens became the main announcer for a few months before his brother returned.

Stations[]

Stations that aired this included:

New York - WABC (1986-88) and WPIX (1988-89)
Los Angeles - KHJ (now KCAL)
Chicago - WLS (1986-87), WMAQ (1987-88), WPWR (1988-89)
Philadelphia - KYW
San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose - KGO (1986-87), KPIX (1987-88) and KBHK (1988-89)
Boston - WCVB (1986-87), WNEV (now WHDH) (1987-88) and WFXT (1988-89)
Fort Worth/Dallas - KXAS
Denver - KMGH
Mesa/Phoenix - KPNX (1986-88) and KTSP (now KSAZ) (1988-89)
St. Paul/Minneapolis - KSTP (1986-87) WCCO (1987-88) and KMSP (1988-89)
Miami/Fort Lauderdale - WPLG (1986-88) and WTVJ (1988-89)
Daytona Beach/Orlando - WESH
San Diego - KGTV
Cincinnati - WLWT
Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto - KXTV (1986-87), KOVR (1987-88) and KXTV (1988-89)
Seattle - KING and KOMO
St. Louis - KPLR (1986-87), KMOV (1987-88) and KDNL (1988-89)
Cleveland - WKYC
Pittsburgh - WTAE
Indianapolis - WISH
Baltimore - WBAL
Kansas City - KMBC and WDAF
Milwaukee - WISN (1986-88) and WCGV (1988-89)
Norfolk - WAVY
Rochester, NY - WOKR (and now WHAM)
Des Moines - WHO
Madison - WISC and WKOW
La Crosse - WXOW
Eau Claire - WEAU
Honolulu - KHON
Louisville - WAVE
Schenectady/Albany, NY - WRGB
Tuscon - KOLD
Pensacola, FL/Mobile, AL - WEAR
Detroit - WXON (now WDWB and WMYD) (1986-87), WDIV (1987-88) and WXON (1988-89)
Grand Rapids - WWMT
Albuquerque - KOB
Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York - WHTM
Hartford/New Haven - WVIT
New Orleans - WWL
Salt Lake City - KSL
Selma/Montgomery, AL - WAKA
Amarillo - KAMR
Columbus, OH - WSYX
Washington, D.C. - WRC
Tampa/St. Petersburg - WXFL (and now WFLA)
Portland - KATU (1986-88) and KPDX (1988-89)
Spartanburg/Greenville/Anderson/Asheville - WSPA
San Antonio - KSAT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - WBRE and WNEP
West Palm Beach - WPTV
Green Bay - WLUK and WBAY
Flint/Saginaw/Bay City/Midland - WEYI
Toledo - WNWO (and back-then WDHO)
Shreveport - KTBS
Fresno - KSEE
Syracuse - WSTM
Atlanta - WSB
Tri-Cities - WJHL
Las Vegas - KVBC (now KSNV)
Waco/Temple/Killeen, TX - KWTX
Fort Myers/Naples - WINK
El Paso/Las Cruces - KTSM
Springfield, MA - WGGB
Wichita Falls/Lawton - KFDX
Lubbock - KJTV
Bangor - WABI
Butte - KTVM
Rockford - WREX
Johnstown - WJAC
Oklahoma City - KOCO
Dayton/Springfield - WDTN
Charleston, WV - WCHS and WSAZ
Richmond - WWBT
Omaha/Council Bluffs - WOWT
Roanoke/Lynchburg - WSLS
Davenport, IA - WOC (now KWQC)
Spokane - KREM
Baton Rouge - WBRZ
Columbia, SC - WOLO
Greenville, NC - WNCT
Fort Wayne - WANE
Sioux Falls - KELO
Peoria/Bloomington - WMBD
Yakima, WA - KAPP
Kennewick, WA - KVEW
Binghamton - WICZ
Traverse City/Cadillac - WGTU & WGTQ
Boise/Caldwell/Nampa - KTVB
Fort Smith/Fayetteville - KHBS & KHOG (and back-then KFPW & KTVP)
Knoxville - WTVK (and then later WKXT and now WVLT)
Buffalo - WGRZ
Cape Giradeau-Paducah - KFVS
Huntsville/Decatur - WAAY
Burlington/Plattsburgh/North Pole - WCAX
Terre Haute, Ind. - WTWO
Rochester/Mason City/Austin/Albert Lea - KTTC
Salisbury/Dover - WMDT
Sherman/Denison/Ardmore/Ada - KXII (1986-88)
Champaign/Urbana - WAND
Savannah - WTOC
Wheeling/Steubenville - WTRF
Binghamton - WBNG
Rhinelander/Wausau - WJFW
Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Iowa City/Dubuque - KGAN
Jefferson City/Columbia, MO - KRCG
Calgary, AB - CFCN
Edmonton, AB - CITV
Hamilton, ON - CHCH

Merchandise[]

Board Game[]

Video & Computer Games[]

Ad Description[]

Cancelled Merchandise[]

GameTek was going to release a full size arcade game based on this 1986 version in 1989, but the project never got off the ground and the game was cancelled.