Games - Lingo

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	Games - Lingo

Lingo is an American television game show that GSN produced along with other companies. Versions of Lingo have also existed in other countries.

Broadcast history

The first US attempt at airing Lingo was in 1987, it was produced by Ralph Andrews (in association with Bernstein/Hovis Productions) in Canada for syndication in the US. This version of the show has become somewhat controversial, with allegations that the cash-strapped producers didn't pay some winning contestants their prizes. Despite the show's checkered run, versions of Lingo were subsequently produced in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Quebec, France, Sweden and, most notably, The Netherlands.

On August 5, 2002, Game Show Network started airing the first episodes of its version of Lingo. The first 20 episodes were recorded in The Netherlands, on the set of its Dutch counterpart; subsequent episodes were produced in the US. Three more seasons, each consisting of 65 episodes, began in December of 2002, December of 2003, and August of 2005 respectively. A fifth season will premiere on April 3, 2006. GSN is currently holding back ten unaired Hawaiian-themed episodes from the fourth season.

Hosts and co-hosts

The host for the 1987 version was Michael Reagan, son of then U.S. President Ronald Reagan, with Dusty Martell as co-host. The host for the last five weeks was executive producer Ralph Andrews with a new co-host, Margaux Mackenzie.

The host for the current version is game show veteran Chuck Woolery. Co-host Stacey Hayes joined the show in the third season; in early episodes of that season, there was a second co-host but that role was quickly eliminated. Shandi Finnessey, Miss USA 2004, took over as co-host for the fourth season, and will be returning for the forthcoming fifth season.

How the game is played

Original 1987 Version

Main Game

The game is played between two teams. At the start of the game, each one gets a "Lingo" card with 25 spaces on it. The champ's card contains even numbers, and the challenger's contains odd numbers. Seven numbers on each card are automatically covered at the start of the game (The challenger's number get covered by red circles while the champion's numbers are covered by blue circles). The team in control (beginning with the challengers) is shown the first letter of a five-letter mystery word, after which they must try to guess the word and spell it out. After each guess, a square is placed around letters that are in the correct position, and a circle is placed around letters that are not in the correct position (but are in the word). If the team fails to identify the word within five guesses, fails to answer at anytime within their time limit, or gives a misspelled or nonexistent word, the other team gets a chance to guess; if there is more than one letter unrevealed, one of those letters is revealed, and the team is given five seconds to make a guess. If there is only one unrevealed letter in the word, it is not revealed, but during the five seconds of thinking time, the team is allowed to confer. By the way, if the team in control guesses the word on the first try, they win a $1,000 bonus.

The first team to solve the word gets a chance to pull two lingo balls out of a hopper in front of them. Eighteen of the balls are labeled with numbers corresponding to the numbers on the board. Three of the balls are red; if one of these is pulled out, the team loses their turn. Also in the hopper are three prize balls (one of them being a jackpot ball which starts at $1,000 and increases by $500 every game the jackpot isn't claimed) which can only be claimed if the team won the game. The first team to make a lingo wins the game, $250 (along with the prizes from the prize balls) and the right to play in the final "No Lingo" round. Later in the show's run, the prize was $500 for a vertical or horizontal Lingo, $1,000 for a diagonal Lingo, and $2,000 for a Double Lingo (two lines completed with the same ball).

No Lingo

The winning team plays a bonus round called "No Lingo" (there's a very good reason for it which will be explained later). The team is shown another Lingo card, with sixteen numbers automatically covered before the start of the round, arranged in a star shape along the diagonals, middle row and "N" (middle) column; the center space, where the free space is on a normal bingo card, was left uncovered. The contestants were given $500 to start. They're shown another five-letter mystery word in which first two letters are shown. Each time the team misses the word, one draw is added (increasing the danger of making a lingo), and missing the word entirely gives the team seven pulls. After the draw is completed, if the team avoids making a "lingo", their money is doubled to $1,000. They can either take that $1,000 and quit, or go on and try to double their money to $2,000 this time (this option is offered to them each time a draw is completed during the round). Also in the hopper this round is a gold ball which, if drawn, was an automatic win at that level — the prize is doubled on the spot, and a new word is played unless the team elects to stop and take the money. (The gold ball was also returned to the hopper when drawn.) The numbers on the card were all even numbers, and all the even numbers from 1 to 75 (37 in all) were present on balls in the hopper, so a number drawn might not be on the card at all. (In the main game, the numbered balls always represented numbers present on the card.)

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