When Jamie Farr sings, does he hit a
or a high C?
Does Marsha Warfield prefer a
steak or a Porterhouse?
And does Jimmy Aleck like his steak
done?
We'll find out the answers to these questions and a lot more as we play television's funniest new game show...
And here's the star of Wordplay, that man of many words....
Tom Kennedy!
Broadcast History
Airdates: December 29, 1986-September 4, 1987, NBC
Host: Tom Kennedy
Substitute Host: Jamie Farr
Announcer: Charlie O'Donnell
Origination: NBC Studio 4, Burbank
Packager: Scotti Brothers/Syd Vinneage Productions in association with Fiedler-Berlin Productions and Rick Ambrose Productions
Main Game
Two
contestants competed, with a three person celebrity panel. A 3x3 game board was
shown,
with 9 squares representing words from Webster's 3rd Edition Dictionary, with
the middle row one square above the rest (as shown in the picture). The champion
would choose a word, and each of the three celebrities 
would
give their definition of the word (usually with hilarious results). 
The
contestant would then try and choose the correct answer. If they were correct,
they'd win the amount behind the word. 
If
their guess was incorrect, their opponent got the chance to answer correctly.
The challenger then picked the same way. Three rounds were played (six
words). In round one, the words could be worth $25, $50, and $75, in round
two they doubled, and in round three they were 
doubled
again. Also, if the word was connected to any dollar amounts already showing,
those dollar amounts were added as well,
but a "block" was placed on the board if neither player got a word
correct, which would mean no connections could be made to that box. One word of the day was the bonus word, where if a player picked that
word and got the right definition, they won a trip. 
The player with the most money at the end of the game won the game.
Double Definition
The
winner of the game played the Double Definition round, for a cash jackpot that
started at $5,000 and increased by $2,500 each time until won. 
A
board was shown, this time with 24 connected boxes, 6 boxes in each row. The 
player
had 45 seconds to make their way across the board. A player would choose a
number and two definitions were shown,
both pertaining to a common word. If they were correct, they'd choose another.
If they passed (no limit on guesses per square), a block
would go up, blocking their path,
and they'd have to work around it. $100 per word was earned, and making their
way across the board won the cash jackpot. Champs could stay on for a limit of
three days. 
Facts
-Wordplay was Tom Kennedy's last game show, which included You Don't Say!, Name That Tune, Password Plus, and The Nighttime Price is Right.
-Wordplay replaced the long running soap, "Search for Tomorrow," which had transplanted over to NBC from CBS
-Jamie Farr, Klinger on MASH, and frequent Wordplay celebrity, subbed for Tom Kennedy because Tom was "delirious."
-Wordplay was loosely based on two older game shows, "Oh My Word," and "Take My Word For It," both hosted by Jim Lange.
-Peter Tomarken hosted the Wordplay pilot with the late Rod Roddy announcing
-Syn Vinneage is now the head of FremantleMedia North America