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Whew!

184 statements
34 feature instances
18 referencing feature instances

Whew!	type	TVTItem
Whew!	label	Whew!
Whew!	page	Whew
Whew!	comment	Game Show created by former Jeopardy! contestant Jay Wolpert, and one of his first works after leaving Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions. Hosted by Tom Kennedy, the show premiered on CBS on April 23, 1979.The rules... oh, boy. (Whew!) Stay with us here. In each round, one contestant played an offensive role (the "Charger"), and the other played defense (the "Blocker"). The board had five "levels" of five boxes each with dollar amounts from $10 to $50, plus a sixth with three worth $200, $350 and $500. The Charger's goal was to advance up the board in 60 seconds by correctly solving "bloopers" — clues containing a humorously-incorrect statement (e.g., "Bob Barker is the host of The Price Is Too Damn High", with the correct answer being The Price Is Right). If the Charger answered incorrectly, they could try another clue in the row.Before the Charger started to play, though, the Blocker hid six "Blocks" on the board (no more than three in a row on the first five levels, and no more than one in the sixth row), which imposed a five-second penalty if hit. If the Charger was running out of time and hadn't yet reached the sixth level, they could call a "Longshot" and skip right to that row — however, the Blocker got to place an extra block using one of three "secret buttons". The Charger won the round either by advancing through all six levels, or by calling a Longshot and then finding/correcting a blooper. If the Charger ran out of time, or called a Longshot and then either missed a blooper or hit a block, the Blocker won. Games were played best-of-three, with the players switching roles each round and the champion deciding who played which role in the third round if needed.On November 5, 1979, the format was slightly altered to use teams of one contestant and one celebrity. This venture, appropriately called Celebrity Whew! and originally promoted to run for three weeks, ended up remaining until the show's end on May 30, 1980. Among those who participated were Trish Stewart, Jamie Farr, Gary Collins, Mary Ann Mobley, Robert Vaughn, Marcia Wallace, John Saxon, and Betty White.Whew! was initially aired against NBC's All-Star Secrets, which Whew! handily outperformed. NBC then moved The Hollywood Squares into the timeslot- with Squares winning the ratings battle decisively (although Squares would end a month after Whew! did). Its cancellation left CBS with only one game show — The Price Is Right — from June 1980 through January 1982, when Tattletales returned to the network's daytime schedule.In September 2021, after being absent from the airwaves for four decades, Whew! began airing on Buzzr.
Whew!	fetched	2024-02-03T09:01:07Z
Whew!	parsed	2024-02-03T09:01:07Z
Whew!	processingComment	Dropped link to Averted: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Whew!	processingComment	Dropped link to DudleyDoRight: Not a Feature - ITEM
Whew!	processingComment	Dropped link to Showoffs: Not a Feature - ITEM
Whew!	processingComment	Dropped link to SmurfettePrinciple: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Whew!	processingUnknown	Averted
Whew!	processingUnknown	SmurfettePrinciple
Whew!	isPartOf	DBTropes
Whew! / int_25b5600	type	Captain Ersatz
Whew! / int_25b5600	comment	Captain Ersatz: Mr. Van Louse, of Snidely Whiplash. Count Nibbleneck, of Dracula. Frank and Stein, of Frankenstein's Monster and Igor. Kid Rotten, of Billy the Kid. Dr. Deranged, of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. Alphonse the Gangster, of Al Capone.
Whew! / int_25b5600	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_25b5600	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_25b5600
Whew! / int_2937826d	type	Hurricane of Puns
Whew! / int_2937826d	comment	Hurricane of Puns: They flew fast, freely, and furiously here, including one about an announcer named "I Beg Your" Pardo.
Whew! / int_2937826d	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_2937826d	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_2937826d
Whew! / int_32e69b5f	type	Dastardly Whiplash
Whew! / int_32e69b5f	comment	Dastardly Whiplash: Mr. Van Louse the landlord, dressed in a black suit and top hat, with a sinister mustache, holding eviction papers in his hand.
Whew! / int_32e69b5f	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_32e69b5f	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_32e69b5f
Whew! / int_38c493f1	type	End-of-Series Awareness
Whew! / int_38c493f1	comment	End-of-Series Awareness: The last show had a final Block configuration (composed by the Villains, as per the format) of $20 and $40 on Level 2, $30 on Levels 3-5, and $350 on Level 6 - resulting in what was either a finger with the $350 space as its green nail, or a penis. In either case, Tom seemed to notice what they were going for.
Whew! / int_38c493f1	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_38c493f1	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_38c493f1
Whew! / int_3a4f1e40	type	Celebrity Edition
Whew! / int_3a4f1e40	comment	Celebrity Edition: The show switched to two celebrity-contestant teams in November 1979, but unlike many other examples of this trope Celebrity Whew! didn't really suffer all that much - other than the aforementioned "no straddling" alteration, the only real change was that the teams split duties in Charging, Blocking, and running the Gauntlet.
Whew! / int_3a4f1e40	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_3a4f1e40	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_3a4f1e40
Whew! / int_4e3d253b	type	Downer Ending
Whew! / int_4e3d253b	comment	Downer Ending: Randy Amasia, a high-profile member of the online game show community, was a contestant on August 27-28, 1979 and searched for years for his second episode (in which he won the $25,000 in his first attempt at the Gauntlet). Just hours before a copy was secured, he died of throat cancer. Both of his episodes circulate as master copies, but his first day also circulates from its original broadcast. The person who taped it, a co-worker of Randy, then forgot to tape the second episode (with the $25,000 win); Randy stated years later that he felt it wasn't a coincidence that said co-worker quickly became a former co-worker.
Whew! / int_4e3d253b	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_4e3d253b	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_4e3d253b
Whew! / int_4eddbc06	type	Animated Credits Opening
Whew! / int_4eddbc06	comment	Animated Credits Opening: Done by none other than Hanna-Barbera. A young lady dodges the Gauntlet's characters in what appears to be a Scooby-Dooâ€“style haunted house, eventually reaching a large pot of gold. A word bubble comes out of her mouth, which turns into the show's logo before dissolving to the same logo on-set.
Whew! / int_4eddbc06	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_4eddbc06	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_4eddbc06
Whew! / int_4f4372e9	type	Early-Installment Weirdness
Whew! / int_4f4372e9	comment	Early-Installment Weirdness: During the premiere episode, Tom uses a classic Sony ECM-51 microphone for the first few minutes, placing it in a holder located on the side of the charger's podium after the game started; not only does the mic disappear after the first segment, but Tom is never shown using it again for the remainder of the series. For the first week, the level 6 boxes were red instead of green. The first Gauntlet win was also accompanied by a unique cue; it would be changed to the show's theme before long.
Whew! / int_4f4372e9	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_4f4372e9	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_4f4372e9
Whew! / int_5f91efd9	type	Creative Closing Credits
Whew! / int_5f91efd9	comment	Creative Closing Credits: The crew members' names were enclosed in comic-strip Speech Bubbles in the shape of the show's logo.
Whew! / int_5f91efd9	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_5f91efd9	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_5f91efd9
Whew! / int_7cc8d769	type	Sore Loser
Whew! / int_7cc8d769	comment	Sore Loser: If the contestant won the Gauntlet, the villian's monitors would say something like "We went easy!", "Cheater!", or "The IRS is coming!"
Whew! / int_7cc8d769	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_7cc8d769	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_7cc8d769
Whew! / int_86981d3e	type	Lifelines
Whew! / int_86981d3e	comment	Lifelines: The Longshot.
Whew! / int_86981d3e	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_86981d3e	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_86981d3e
Whew! / int_8a6b9333	type	Blinking Lights of Victory
Whew! / int_8a6b9333	comment	Blinking Lights of Victory: When a contestant won the $25,000 bonus round, all of the lights in the studio would flash and blink, including the cyclorama background which would shift from red to blue.
Whew! / int_8a6b9333	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_8a6b9333	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_8a6b9333
Whew! / int_8bb6d274	type	Comeback Mechanic
Whew! / int_8bb6d274	comment	Comeback Mechanic: The Longshot. No matter how many Blocks or wrong answers the Charger ran into, this call would let him/her jump straight to Level 6 for a chance to win the round by finding and correcting one last blooper (this could not be done if the Charger got to Level 6 on his/her own without calling Longshot; if that happened, the Charger had to either correct the blooper or suffer the Block; also, it could not be done while under the 5-second penalty of a Block [that penalty applied no matter how little/much time was on the clock, so if the Charger called a square with less than 5 seconds left, and it was a Block, it was an automatic loss]).
Whew! / int_8bb6d274	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_8bb6d274	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_8bb6d274
Whew! / int_8e0430ab	type	Non-Standard Game Over
Whew! / int_8e0430ab	comment	Non-Standard Game Over: If the Charger couldn't correct any bloopers on the sixth Level with any time remaining, the Blocker automatically won the round.
Whew! / int_8e0430ab	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_8e0430ab	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_8e0430ab
Whew! / int_9d12bbc1	type	Foreshadowing
Whew! / int_9d12bbc1	comment	Foreshadowing: One of the snarks the Gauntlet of Villains showed after a contestant didn't complete the run was "Try Password". A little over a year later, host Tom Kennedy would become the host of Password Plus. Actor and singer Bobby Van appeared on a show to surprise his wife Elaine Joyce who was a celebrity player that week. Van previously hosted Showoffs in 1975. Tom Kennedy would host its revival, Body Language, in 1984.
Whew! / int_9d12bbc1	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_9d12bbc1	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_9d12bbc1
Whew! / int_a0396574	type	Rogues Gallery
Whew! / int_a0396574	comment	Rogues Gallery: The Gauntlet of Villains, consisting of Alphonse the Gangster, Bruno the Headsman, Mr. Van Louse the landlord, Nero the Fiddler, Count Nibbleneck the Vampire, Frank and Stein, Kid Rotten the Gunslinger, Jeremy Swash the pirate, Dr. Deranged the mad scientist, and Lucretia the witch.
Whew! / int_a0396574	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_a0396574	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_a0396574
Whew! / int_b01abe4f	type	Catchphrase
Whew! / int_b01abe4f	comment	Catchphrase: "I want to introduce you now to ten of the most [disparaging description] who ever stood between a [champ's occupation] and his/her money. And here...they...are!" "Giving me the level and the money amount...CHARGE!!" "TIME'S UUUUUUP!" Tom, the audience, and the blocker(s) would chant "5! 4! 3! 2! 1!", whenever the charger hit a block.
Whew! / int_b01abe4f	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_b01abe4f	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_b01abe4f
Whew! / int_b1fbb55b	type	Game Show Winnings Cap
Whew! / int_b1fbb55b	comment	Game Show Winnings Cap: Any player who beat the Gauntlet retired immediately, as CBS had a $25,000 winnings limit in effect at the time. A five-Gauntlet limit was added sometime between mid-June and late July 1979 (shortly after Howard Wilson managed to win seven matches, and won the Gauntlet on his seventh try, leaving with $32,750).
Whew! / int_b1fbb55b	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_b1fbb55b	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_b1fbb55b
Whew! / int_b5049d76	type	Added Alliterative Appeal
Whew! / int_b5049d76	comment	Added Alliterative Appeal: Often used by Tom to describe the Gauntlet of Villains: "imbalanced imbeciles," "treacherous troglodytes," and so on.
Whew! / int_b5049d76	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_b5049d76	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_b5049d76
Whew! / int_bad20f4e	type	Whammy
Whew! / int_bad20f4e	comment	Whammy: Downplayed. When the Charger hit a block (indicated by one of the Villains holding a stop sign they had to wait five seconds before getting to select another value on that Level. The Blocker, meanwhile, was awarded the amount attached to it.
Whew! / int_bad20f4e	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_bad20f4e	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_bad20f4e
Whew! / int_bb48f8ba	type	Timed Mission
Whew! / int_bb48f8ba	comment	Timed Mission: 60 seconds in the front game, 60 seconds plus one second for every $100 earned from Charging and Blocking in the Gauntlet.
Whew! / int_bb48f8ba	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_bb48f8ba	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_bb48f8ba
Whew! / int_c2cedc1c	type	Big "NO!"
Whew! / int_c2cedc1c	comment	Big "NO!": After at least one Gauntlet win, the Villains' monitors displayed "OH NOOOOOO!!!!!"
Whew! / int_c2cedc1c	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_c2cedc1c	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_c2cedc1c
Whew! / int_c3943bf3	type	Pilot
Whew! / int_c3943bf3	comment	Pilot: Three were taped in December 1978, though aside from some audiovisual differences (more colorful set (including lights on the Charger's podium to count down the five-second penalty following a block being hit), some different music, and the bloopers not being underlined) it was largely identical to the aired show. Clips appeared in CBS debut promos, and Pilot #3 was uploaded by Wink Martindale in January 2020, and aired by Buzzr in September 2021.
Whew! / int_c3943bf3	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_c3943bf3	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_c3943bf3
Whew! / int_d2c0e2ed	type	Schmuck Bait
Whew! / int_d2c0e2ed	comment	Schmuck Bait: Any Charger who ran the clock down to less than five seconds, then picked a square instead of calling a Longshot, took a big chance on falling victim to this. If they hit a Block, they lost the round. Any Charger who cleared Level 5 with too little time to pick, hear, and answer a blooper on Level 6 and didn't call a Longshot was nearly guaranteed to lose the round.
Whew! / int_d2c0e2ed	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_d2c0e2ed	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_d2c0e2ed
Whew! / int_d302b1c5	type	Run the Gauntlet
Whew! / int_d302b1c5	comment	Run the Gauntlet: The Bonus Round, what else?
Whew! / int_d302b1c5	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_d302b1c5	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_d302b1c5
Whew! / int_d3435454	type	Bonus Round
Whew! / int_d3435454	comment	Bonus Round: The Gauntlet of Villains. Tom would ask a series of rapid-fire bloopers, and each correct answer awarded $100 and one step past each Villain (a series of cartoonish characters); a wrong answer meant that "Villain" displayed the correct answer on their "Telly Belly". (The contestant also had to respond within two seconds, or the answer would come up automatically.) Getting past all ten Villains in the given time awarded $25,000. The contestant received 60 seconds, plus one more for every $100 earned in the main game. The theoretical maximum, assuming the contestant only answered and blocked the highest-valued bloopers, at one per level, was 75 seconds ($750 in the two rounds they would have won, or $1,500). In April or May 1980, near the tail end of the series, the format was adjusted so matches wouldn't straddle between episodes. To help this, players who won the first two rounds then played a third round against the house for additional money/Gauntlet time. The six Blocks were placed by the Villains, with a seventh added on Level 6 if the Longshot was used.
Whew! / int_d3435454	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_d3435454	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_d3435454
Whew! / int_d406fabc	type	Sound Proof Booth
Whew! / int_d406fabc	comment	Sound Proof Booth: While the Blocker placed Blocks on the board, the Charger sat behind a scenic flat wearing headphones that played white noise.
Whew! / int_d406fabc	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_d406fabc	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_d406fabc
Whew! / int_d968ce1c	type	Snarky Inanimate Object
Whew! / int_d968ce1c	comment	Snarky Inanimate Object: The Villains' screens displayed mocking comments both before and after the Gauntlet, whether the contestant won or lost. Averted in the case of contestant Stephen Matthews; during his original appearance in October 1979, after winning a match, Stephen dislocated his knee by jumping from his excitement. When he returned to play the Gauntlet in January 1980, the Villains' commented with "How's the Leg?" and after winning the $25,000 "No Jumping!"
Whew! / int_d968ce1c	featureApplicability	-1.0
Whew! / int_d968ce1c	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_d968ce1c
Whew! / int_dd91f8d8	type	Audience Participation
Whew! / int_dd91f8d8	comment	Audience Participation: The audience joins in on counting the time down when a block is revealed.
Whew! / int_dd91f8d8	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_dd91f8d8	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_dd91f8d8
Whew! / int_e63fa5f9	type	Red/Green Contrast
Whew! / int_e63fa5f9	comment	Red/Green Contrast: The blocker was designated with a red octagon and the charger was designated with a green arrow. Those symbols appeared on the game board accordingly.
Whew! / int_e63fa5f9	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_e63fa5f9	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_e63fa5f9
Whew! / int_f11e5ede	type	Miracle Rally
Whew! / int_f11e5ede	comment	Miracle Rally: If the charger contestant was running short on time, he/she could call a Longshot and stop the clock, skipping to the top row. If the charger didn't hit a block, he/she could win if the question was correctly answered.
Whew! / int_f11e5ede	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_f11e5ede	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_f11e5ede
Whew! / int_f3626b09	type	Mercy Kill
Whew! / int_f3626b09	comment	Mercy Kill: If a contestant used up all five spots on a Level and didn't correct any bloopers, s/he automatically moved on to the next Level. Although this may seem like rewarding failure, using up all five spots (especially if three were Blocks) led to a higher chance of forcing the contestant to use the Longshot.
Whew! / int_f3626b09	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_f3626b09	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_f3626b09
Whew! / int_f870d50	type	Consolation Prize
Whew! / int_f870d50	comment	Consolation Prize: Rather nice if you lost to a champion â€” dining room furniture, refrigerators and color TVs were among the fare. Ergo, even a losing contestant could get a nice $500-$1500 payday.
Whew! / int_f870d50	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_f870d50	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_f870d50
Whew! / int_name	type	ItemName
Whew! / int_name	comment
Whew! / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Whew! / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Whew!	hasFeature	Whew! / int_name
Whew! / int_name	itemName	Whew!

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

Whew!	hasFeature	Animated Credits Opening / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Blinking Lights of Victory / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Blooper / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Bonus Round / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Comeback Mechanic / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Dastardly Whiplash / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Dr. Fakenstein / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Excited Show Title! / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Game Show / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Losing Horns / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Race Against the Clock / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Red/Green Contrast / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Run the Gauntlet / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Snarky Inanimate Object / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Sound Proof Booth / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Suddenly Shouting / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	That's All, Folks! / int_8d8660ea
Whew!	hasFeature	Whammy / int_8d8660ea

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