...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Chain Reaction

159 statements
30 feature instances
4 referencing feature instances

Chain Reaction	type	TVTItem
Chain Reaction	label	Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction	page	ChainReaction
Chain Reaction	comment	Game Show franchise created in 1980 by Bob Stewart (of Password and Pyramid fame) for NBC and hosted by Bill Cullen. In this game, two teams — in true Stewartian fashion, each composed of two celebrities and a civilian — competed to form a chain of eight words. Each chain consisted of words that had some relation to the next word in the chain. For example, a completed chain would be TWIST ANKLE BRACELET CHAIN GANG WAR STRATEGY CHESS - an ankle is something that often gets twisted, an "ankle bracelet" is a piece of jewelry, bracelets have a chain, etc. Given the first and last word of each chain, the teams would attempt to guess the missing words, which were revealed one letter at a time. The winners then proceeded to a Bonus Round dubbed Instant Reaction, which was more of a cousin to the Pyramid format of using a long clue to describe a word, except the celebrities from the winning team constructed the clues one word at a time. This Bonus Round was later adapted into its own game, a short-lived format called Go.The series was revived as The New Chain Reaction on USA Network and Global in Canada (where this incarnation taped, in Montreal to be specific) from 1986-91 with teams of two contestants each. At first, this version was hosted by Blake Emmons, a Canadian television personality and Country Music singer. Blake Emmons was a contestant on The Joker's Wild during Bill Cullen's tenure, and lasted only a few months as host of Chain Reaction before being replaced by Geoff Edwards (who had previously hosted a number of Stewart series and pilots; his most recent hosting gig up to that point was Starcade, plus the unsold 1985 Stewart pilot $50,000 A Minute). Because of CanCon laws, Chain Reaction had to feature a Canadian personality on camera, and as a result announcer Rod Charlebois appeared on-camera in every show for the rest of the run. This version simply offered another chain as its bonus round. 1988 saw the two-member teams dropped for solo players, and the final season became a tournament for a top prize of $40,000, resulting in a rename to The $40,000 Chain Reaction.In 2006, GSN (formerly the Game Show Network) revived the format with Dylan Lane as host. The rules stayed mostly the same, except the teams were always three men vs. three women. The format also included a small four-word "speed chain" after each solved chain, as well as a betting format in Round 4. In Round 4, contestants bet certain amounts on whether or not they would get the chain word right; unfortunately, this often led to contestants whittling away their lead on stupid guesses. This version also saw the return of Instant Reaction, but with slight rule changes. Additionally, all chains were now composed of two-word phrases or compound words instead of words with an abstract relation to each other. For instance, a completed chain might have CHAIN REACTION TIME TABLE TENNIS BALL GAME SHOW, forming the phrases of "chain reaction", "reaction time", "time table", "table tennis", etc.GSN revived the format again in 2015 with another new host, Mike Catherwood (best known as the host of Loveline); this version seemed to hearken back more to the USA era, with a similar logo and format (the Speed Chains were dropped, and the contestant teams were reverted back to two players; the betting element in Round 4 was still present, however); because of the lack of a third contestant, Instant Reaction was dropped again, this time for a new endgame called the Superchain (see below). In 2021, the show was revived a second time, again with Lane as the host, and Mike Richards as showrunner. Three-person teams were restored, but Instant Reaction was not; instead, the bonus round had the winning team try to solve three short chains within 60 seconds.There had been other versions of the format for countries outside the United States, including a French-Canadian one in Quebec called Action Reaction (taped on the same set as the Emmons/Edwards run), an Italian one called Reazione a catena, and a British version called Lucky Ladders on ITV.Not to be confused with the film starring Keanu Reeves.
Chain Reaction	fetched	2023-06-29T05:44:46Z
Chain Reaction	parsed	2023-06-29T05:44:46Z
Chain Reaction	processingComment	Dropped link to Idiotest: Not a Feature - ITEM
Chain Reaction	isPartOf	DBTropes
Chain Reaction / int_1467a30c	type	Unexpected Gameplay Change
Chain Reaction / int_1467a30c	comment	Unexpected Gameplay Change: Instant Reaction had nothing to do with the front game. But, it still makes some sense, given the idea that you have to form a question by making a chain of words. Reazione a catena shoehorned in a round based on the unsold 1996 quiz show pilot Combination Lock, which was even further removed than the 1980 bonus round.
Chain Reaction / int_1467a30c	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_1467a30c	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_1467a30c
Chain Reaction / int_1495fd65	type	Theme Tune Rap
Chain Reaction / int_1495fd65	comment	Theme Tune Rap: A milder example with the first GSN version.
Chain Reaction / int_1495fd65	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_1495fd65	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_1495fd65
Chain Reaction / int_1ba8eb64	type	Visual Pun
Chain Reaction / int_1ba8eb64	comment	Visual Pun: The first GSN run had the word graphics literally linked by chains.
Chain Reaction / int_1ba8eb64	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_1ba8eb64	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_1ba8eb64
Chain Reaction / int_1c79ae8c	type	Those Two Guys
Chain Reaction / int_1c79ae8c	comment	Those Two Guys: Geoff and Rod from the USA era.
Chain Reaction / int_1c79ae8c	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_1c79ae8c	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_1c79ae8c
Chain Reaction / int_1e7c47ab	type	Stealth Pun
Chain Reaction / int_1e7c47ab	comment	Stealth Pun: Possibly; the 2015 GSN run's bonus round was named the "Superchain"- and the USA era (of which the 2015 run was partially modelled after) utilized the NBC-era theme, which as stated was recycled from Supertrain (and yet, didn't use that theme).
Chain Reaction / int_1e7c47ab	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_1e7c47ab	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_1e7c47ab
Chain Reaction / int_26ac510e	type	Mythology Gag
Chain Reaction / int_26ac510e	comment	Mythology Gag: The first GSN run had a blue and yellow color scheme, much like the NBC run; the second GSN run has a modernized version of the later USA-era logo and a similar color scheme.
Chain Reaction / int_26ac510e	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_26ac510e	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_26ac510e
Chain Reaction / int_405f6f52	type	Recycled Soundtrack
Chain Reaction / int_405f6f52	comment	Recycled Soundtrack: The theme for the first two versions had previously been used on, of all things, Supertrain. It was, in turn, recycled by Stewart for an unsold 1982 pilot called Twisters, used as the sound for the puck going up and down the shuffleboard.
Chain Reaction / int_405f6f52	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_405f6f52	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_405f6f52
Chain Reaction / int_47696b0	type	Progressive Jackpot
Chain Reaction / int_47696b0	comment	Progressive Jackpot: For the USA-era endgame, it would be worth a base of $3,000 plus $1,000 for each day it wasn't won; the base was dropped to $2,000 when the show switched from two-member teams to solo players. The highest the jackpot got was $16,000.
Chain Reaction / int_47696b0	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_47696b0	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_47696b0
Chain Reaction / int_5f7e03b7	type	Girls vs. Boys Plot
Chain Reaction / int_5f7e03b7	comment	Girls vs. Boys Plot: Each episode of the 2006 GSN version saw three guys going against three girls (except for one week in which the teams consisted of three teachers against three students from the same school).
Chain Reaction / int_5f7e03b7	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_5f7e03b7	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_5f7e03b7
Chain Reaction / int_5fcb3c79	type	Golden Snitch
Chain Reaction / int_5fcb3c79	comment	Golden Snitch: In the GSN runs, $100-$200-$300, with a $500 betting limit in round 4. The 2021 GSN version takes it further by increasing the limit for the last word of round 4 to $1,000.
Chain Reaction / int_5fcb3c79	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_5fcb3c79	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_5fcb3c79
Chain Reaction / int_632f6b5b	type	Guest Host
Chain Reaction / int_632f6b5b	comment	Guest Host: Geoff Edwards hosted the original version for a short time so that Bill Cullen could fill in for Allen Ludden on Password Plus.
Chain Reaction / int_632f6b5b	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_632f6b5b	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_632f6b5b
Chain Reaction / int_6849cb29	type	Retired Game Show Element
Chain Reaction / int_6849cb29	comment	Retired Game Show Element: For the first season of the USA/Global run, any team that stayed for five days retired undefeated and earned a $5000 cash bonus.
Chain Reaction / int_6849cb29	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_6849cb29	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_6849cb29
Chain Reaction / int_68d43ebc	type	Game Show Host
Chain Reaction / int_68d43ebc	comment	Game Show Host: Bill Cullen, Blake Emmons, Geoff Edwards, Tim Vincent (for the 2006 pilots only), Dylan Lane, and Mike Catherwood.
Chain Reaction / int_68d43ebc	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_68d43ebc	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_68d43ebc
Chain Reaction / int_794cff5	type	Transatlantic Equivalent
Chain Reaction / int_794cff5	comment	Transatlantic Equivalent: Several foreign versions have aired. The United Kingdom had Lucky Ladders, based on the USA Network format, from 1988 to 1993 on ITV, via Anglia. The Canadian province of Quebec had Action Réaction from 1986 to 1991; this was taped at the same station the USA run did, so they shared the set and graphics. Indonesia had Kata Berkait ("Hooked Word") from 1995 to 2001. Italy has Reazione a catena: L'intesa vincente ("Chain Reaction: The Agreement Winner"), which debuted in 2007. Turkey has Kelime Zinciri ("Word Chain"), which debuted in 2012.
Chain Reaction / int_794cff5	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_794cff5	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_794cff5
Chain Reaction / int_8e0430ab	type	Non-Standard Game Over
Chain Reaction / int_8e0430ab	comment	Non Standard Game Over: In the GSN runs, if a team lost all of their money in round 4, they were immediately out of the game, giving the other team the win.
Chain Reaction / int_8e0430ab	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_8e0430ab	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_8e0430ab
Chain Reaction / int_92420773	type	Thematic Theme Tune
Chain Reaction / int_92420773	comment	Thematic Theme Tune: The first GSN version had a vocal theme song that explained how the game worked.
Chain Reaction / int_92420773	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_92420773	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_92420773
Chain Reaction / int_95496a1d	type	The Announcer
Chain Reaction / int_95496a1d	comment	The Announcer: Johnny Gilbert during the NBC run, Rod Charlebois during the USA run.
Chain Reaction / int_95496a1d	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_95496a1d	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_95496a1d
Chain Reaction / int_a65288e2	type	Ascended Extra
Chain Reaction / int_a65288e2	comment	Ascended Extra: Rod Charlebois, who would play a quick round with Geoff Edwards at the end of each show. His ascension was mostly due to CanCon laws. Also, before getting to host the USA run, Geoff Edwards had been a Guest Host while Bill Cullen was over on Password Plus subbing for an ill Allen Ludden.
Chain Reaction / int_a65288e2	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_a65288e2	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_a65288e2
Chain Reaction / int_b1fbb55b	type	Game Show Winnings Cap
Chain Reaction / int_b1fbb55b	comment	Game Show Winnings Cap: The NBC run had champions playing until reaching ten matches or until defeated. The USA/Global era had the limit lowered to five matches. Both GSN runs were one-and-done.
Chain Reaction / int_b1fbb55b	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_b1fbb55b	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_b1fbb55b
Chain Reaction / int_b4eff8a8	type	Epic Fail
Chain Reaction / int_b4eff8a8	comment	Epic Fail: September 22, 2006 saw a team completely bomb the bonus round, to the point one member openly tries to quit. Watch the carnage here. The March 28, 2022 episode had a team that managed to score absolutely nothing in the first three rounds. Before round 4, both teams had $100 added to their score just so the trailing team could at least try to stay in the game. They bet all they had on the first word of the round, missed it, and immediately gave the game to their opponents.
Chain Reaction / int_b4eff8a8	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_b4eff8a8	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_b4eff8a8
Chain Reaction / int_b89ed08a	type	Obvious Rule Patch
Chain Reaction / int_b89ed08a	comment	Obvious Rule Patch: The NBC version had five Instant Reaction payout structures. The second format had contestants start with $1 and add a half-zero for each correct response, but was changed when the most money won from this in the first week was $1,000. The first GSN version began its bonus round with seven correct answers doubling the team's bank and ten correct answers tripling it. After six weeks of people stinking it up, the requirements were lowered to five (doubling) and seven (tripling). The first GSN version also altered its Instant Reaction format multiple times in order to keep the contestants from playing loose and fast with the "alternating words" rule. If a team enters round 4 with no money on the third GSN version, both teams have $100 added to their score to ensure the trailing team has something they can wager.
Chain Reaction / int_b89ed08a	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_b89ed08a	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_b89ed08a
Chain Reaction / int_c3943bf3	type	Pilot
Chain Reaction / int_c3943bf3	comment	Pilot: One for the Cullen version, taped October 27, 1979; here, only two celebrities were present, competing alongside two married couples, and Instant Reaction offered a possible $100,000 payout (the prize started at a penny, and was multiplied by 10 for each correct answer). The 2006 version also had three pilots, hosted by Tim Vincent of Access Hollywood (he would later host some of the 2009 $1,000,000 Pyramid pilots); these pilots had your standard audiovisual differences (including an oddly-comical logo), two betting rounds (to facilitate this, each team started with $1,000 banks), the teams were "three-of-a-kind", Hot Potato style (as compared to the "battle of the sexes" the series had), and returning champions were in place.
Chain Reaction / int_c3943bf3	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_c3943bf3	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_c3943bf3
Chain Reaction / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
Chain Reaction / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: After celebrity guest Joyce Bulifant couldn't get the word "pyramid", Bill Cullen remarked "Well, the nighttime version's been canceled."
Chain Reaction / int_c75df49a	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_c75df49a	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_c75df49a
Chain Reaction / int_ca3a77a4	type	SuddenDeath
Chain Reaction / int_ca3a77a4	comment	Sudden Death: If a tiebreak was needed in any GSN version, the teams played Speed Chains in an alternating format; the first team to solve theirs while having the other team not solve theirs won the game. This was the only situation in which the Speed Chain cropped up in the Catherwood run.
Chain Reaction / int_ca3a77a4	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_ca3a77a4	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_ca3a77a4
Chain Reaction / int_d3435454	type	Bonus Round
Chain Reaction / int_d3435454	comment	Bonus Round: The NBC and first GSN run had Instant Reaction (only named in the NBC run), where the players chained together words, one at a time, to make a question. This was taken from an unsold Stewart pilot called Get Rich Quick! (1977), and spun off into Go (1983-84). The USA run merely had another chain with a Progressive Jackpot linked to it; the team/player was shown the first word in a chain and the initial letter of the other words. One at a time, the player(s) would guess at the next word in the chain. For each wrong guess, the next letter would be filled in and a letter deducted from their account. If the team could finish the chain before running out of letters the team won the jackpot. If not, they (or he/she) won $100 per word, including the one at the top. The $40,000 season eliminated the endgame entirely. The 2015 GSN run replaced Instant Reaction with the Superchain, in which the winning team has 45 seconds to complete seven pairs from a common starting word for $5,000. Up to three letters from each word would be shown. The 2021 GSN run gives the winning team 60 seconds to solve three chains of 4, 5, and 6 words (2, 3, and 4 words to solve) in the same way as the main game for $10,000. Unlike some of the other more recent GSN fare (we're looking at you, Idiotest, Emogenius, America Says, among others), this isn't an upgrade to $10,000, it's an extra $10,000.
Chain Reaction / int_d3435454	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_d3435454	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_d3435454
Chain Reaction / int_d35193cc	type	Bonus Space
Chain Reaction / int_d35193cc	comment	Bonus Space: In the Cullen version, if a word had a plus sign next to it, it was worth double the normal value. For the first USA/Global season, the middle word in the second chain had a dollar sign (or early on, an asterisk) next to it; if a contestant managed to guess it, $250 went to their team. The "Speed Chains" in both Lane runs on GSN (and the Vincent pilots). Available to the side that solved the last remaining word in the first three chains, it carried the value of one word in that round. It's a four-word chain; the first and last words are given, and the first letter of each of the remaining two words. The team has 7 seconds to confer before they must answer, and they earn the money if they solve both words (no partial credit for just one). Averted in the Catherwood run; these were only used if Sudden Death was needed.
Chain Reaction / int_d35193cc	featureApplicability	-1.0
Chain Reaction / int_d35193cc	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_d35193cc
Chain Reaction / int_d5a66181	type	Color-Coded Multiplayer
Chain Reaction / int_d5a66181	comment	Color-Coded Multiplayer: NBC/GSN 2021: Blue and yellow teams. USA/GSN 2006: Red and blue players/teams. In the latter, the girls' teams are red, the guys' are blue.
Chain Reaction / int_d5a66181	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_d5a66181	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_d5a66181
Chain Reaction / int_d9ee7048	type	Spin-Off
Chain Reaction / int_d9ee7048	comment	Spin-Off: Go used the NBC bonus round as its main game.
Chain Reaction / int_d9ee7048	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_d9ee7048	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_d9ee7048
Chain Reaction / int_e2d457	type	The Ditz
Chain Reaction / int_e2d457	comment	The Ditz: Many contestants from the first GSN run weren't the sharpest tools in the shed, often failing to guess the right word with only one letter missing (and at least once when the word was fully exposed) or composing a sentence in the bonus round. The latter wasn't just because they gave dumb clues or answers, but sometimes the clue givers would mess up or giggle uncontrollably, wasting time for the contestant trying to guess the answers, and at least one team won a whopping $0 in the bonus round as a result.
Chain Reaction / int_e2d457	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_e2d457	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_e2d457
Chain Reaction / int_name	type	ItemName
Chain Reaction / int_name	comment
Chain Reaction / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Chain Reaction / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Chain Reaction / int_name
Chain Reaction / int_name	itemName	Chain Reaction

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Game Show / int_52807a43
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Progressive Jackpot / int_52807a43
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Recycled Soundtrack / int_52807a43
Chain Reaction	hasFeature	Thematic Theme Tune / int_52807a43

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.