Whew! is an American game show that airs in syndication. The previous version aired on CBS from April 23, 1979, until May 30, 1980. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy and announced by Rod Roddy. The current version of Whew! was launched in 2023.
The game was created by Jay Wolpert. Production was initially credited to the Bud Austin Company, then later changed to Jay Wolpert Productions in association with Burt Sugarman Inc. The current version, with John Ricci as the host, and Jim Carter as the announcer. This show is produced by Lady Luck Television in association with Jay Wolpert, and The Television Programming Source Inc.
Gameplay[]
Main Game[]
In this new version of Whew!, there is no returning champion. The game is played for 3 rounds. In each round the gameboard consists of five rows ("levels") of five squares each, with values ranging from $50-$250 in $50 increments, and a sixth level of three squares with values of $1,000, $1,750, and $2,500. Two contestants are told the categories for the first two rounds of play at the start of the match. A coin toss is held before taping each episode. The winner of the coin toss decides whether he/she would play as the Charger or the Blocker for the first round, and the other contestant takes the other role. The Charger is led offstage to a soundproof booth, and the Blocker then places six blocks on the board. No more than three blocks can be placed on any of Levels 1 through 5, and no more than one on Level 6.
The Charger is then brought back onstage and given 60 seconds to advance through all six levels by correcting "bloopers"—factual statements with one word changed to create a pun. (Example: "The B&O was the first American passenger smell", with "railroad" as the correct answer.) Both contestants are to be advised that the more money a blooper riddle is worth on any given level, the harder it will be for The Charger to solve. The Charger starts on Level 1 by choosing one of its squares; if a blooper is hidden there, it is revealed on that space's trilon and read out. The incorrect word is marked with an underline, and becomes the only part that the Charger needs to correct. A correct answer allows him/her to move to the next level. Uncovering a block incurres a five-second penalty, which gets counted down by the host and the audience (and sometimes the Blocker as well) before the Charger can continue.
If the Charger believes that he/she will not have enough time to clear all six levels, and if he/she has not yet reached Level 6, he/she can call a Longshot. The clock stops, the Charger immediately advances to Level 6, and the Blocker hides one secret block on that level in addition to any that may have already been placed there. The Charger then selects one square and attempts to correct its blooper if one is to be hidden there. The Charger wins the round by either clearing all six levels or successfully completing a Longshot. If the Charger runs out of time, or either hits a block or fails to correct a blooper after calling a Longshot, the Blocker wins the round. Only the winner of each round gets to keep all the money that person has gathered along the way for that round. The Charger is not allowed to call for a Longshot after reaching Level 6 or during the five-second penalty for hitting a block, but can do so at any other time, even while the host is reading a blooper riddle. And if the Charger reveals all of the spaces on a level without a correct answer, he/she is forced to immediately either stay on the level and go back and correct one of it's missed bloopers until he/she does so successfully, or call for the Longshot right then and there regardless of how much time is left on the clock.
Both contestants will be credited to receive the amount of money attached to their blocks and charges throughout the game, but every time a player wins a round, he/she scores points for winning each of the 3 rounds in the game ascending as follows, a win of Round 1 is worth 100 points, a win of Round 2 is worth 200 points, and a win of Round 3 adds 300 points to the contestant's overall game points total. After Round 1 the contestants trade roles with their opponents for the second round, and at the start of Round 3, the host reveals the category for the blooper riddles in Round 3 and ask the player who has the least amount of points scored at that point if he/she wants to charge or block in Round 3. After all three rounds are played, the contestant who scores the most points for rounds won in the game wins the match, keeps all the money that person has gathered along the way during the game, and advances to the show's signature Bonus Round "The Gauntlet of Villains". But if at the end of the game both contestants tie with the same amount of points scored, there will be a sudden death toss up tie breaking blooper where both contestants stay in their round 3 roles and will have toss up buzzers standing by their podiums, and see one tie breaking toss up blooper. As soon as either contestant thinks he/she can correct the blooper, they will buzz in hitting their buzzer. The person who buzzes in first will get to answer. If that player is correct he/she will win the game and that contestant's money earned, but if not his/her opponent will win the game and their money. The runner-up in the game will receive a consolation prize.
Bonus Round: The Gauntlet of Villains[]
This new version of the show has a new top prize of $100,000. To start, the winning contestant determines how much of the big money he/she will be playing for in this round by playing an opening part similar to the first part of a "Big Question" Bonus Round once done by the original "You Bet Your Life" where before the Bonus Round is played, the winning contestant looks at a wheel with numbers 1-10 and will pick which ever number from 1 to 10 he/she wants to hit on the wheel to play for $100,000 in cash, and then spins the wheel. If the wheel lands on the number he/she selected, the contestant will play "The Gauntlet of Villains" round for $100,000 in cash. If the wheel lands on a number one away from his/her number (Example: If the contestant picks 3 but the wheel lands on 2 or 4) he/she will play that round for $50,000 in cash. But if the wheel lands on any other number, the contestant plays "The Gauntlet of Villains" for $25,000 in cash. Then, that contestant will stand at the beginning of a path lined with 10 wooden caricatures of stereotypical villains, each with one arm raised as a barrier. He/she will have 75 seconds (1:15) to reach the end of the path by correcting bloopers. If the contestant either responds incorrectly or fails to respond within two seconds, the correct answer will be shown on a small screen embedded in the current villain's chest and the host will read a new blooper. A correct response will lead to the villain's arm being lowered so that the contestant can advance to the next one. In this round the bloopers are only read aloud by the host, and are not displayed to the contestant.
The contestant will win the jackpot of either $25,000, $50,000, or $100,000 as determined by the number wheel spin at the start of the Bonus Round for completing the Gauntlet of all 10 villains and beating them before time runs out, or if not, $500 for each villain he/she gets through and beats plus the money that person won in the Main Game. The villains in The Gauntlet, from start to finish: 1. Alphonse the Gangster 2. Bruno the Headsman 3. Mr. Van Louse the Landlord 4. Nero the Fiddler 5. Count Nibbleneck the Vampire 6. Frank and his little friend Stein 7. Kid Rotten the Gunslinger 8. Jeremy Swash the Pirate 9. Dr. Deranged the Mad Scientist 10. Lucretia the Witch