Bob Stewart Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Chain Reaction '79 Pilot
Crpilotlogo
Crlogo1
Crlogo2
Aired

Pilot, October 27, 1979
NBC Daytime, January 14, 1980 - June 20, 1980

Number of episodes
115
Run time
30 Minutes
Hosts
Bill Cullen, Geoff Edwards (sub-host)
Announcer
Johnny Gilbert
Origination
NBC Studios 2 and 4, Burbank, California

Chain Reaction, the game show where one word leads to another.

Game Format[]

Two teams of three (consisting of two celebrities and one contestant) competed to guess words that connect to each other above and below in some way. All the connected words make up a chain.

Main Game[]

The chain consisted of eight words or phrases. The top & bottom words were revealed at the start. The player on the team in control chose which position to reveal a letter (either above the previously revealed word or below the previously revealed word). When the letter was revealed, the player had five seconds to guess the word. The last letter of each word was not revealed; when that happened, each player would get one last shot at it. Should the player on the team in control say the form of the word, the guesser had one last chance to say the exact word.

A correct answer kept control of the chain, but an incorrect word or not being able to guess passed control to the opposing team. Each correct answer also earned points according to how many letters were in the word, if the word was marked with the plus sign ("+"), the value of the word was worth double. The chain continued until one team reached 50 points, or if the chain was completed. When the latter happened (and it usually did, mostly on the first chain), another chain was played. The first team to reach 50 points won the game, $250 to the contestant, and the right to play Instant Reaction for $10,000. The losing player won $5 a point.

Pilot Rules[]

The game was pretty much the same except for the following:

  • Married couples played with a single celebrity partner. One spouse played one chain and the other played another.
  • The chain board turned around to reveal another chain but in the other direction.
  • The word boxes were backlit boxes instead of digital displays. Plus, the top & bottom slots were red while the rest were blue.
  • Instead of plus signs ("+"), the last word (the one remaining unsolved word) was the double scoring word. This format would later be used in the 1986 revival.
  • Losing couples won their final score in dollars plus a parting gift.

Instant Reaction[]

The Instant Reaction bonus game went through three versions plus one from the pilot, but they were all played the same way, and offered a grand prize of $10,000 to the championship contestant.

In the bonus round, the two celebrities from the winning team were shown a word, a phrase, or a name on their secret screens; their job was to get the contestant to say the answer by constructing a question. The catch was that they had to make that question by adding one word at a time. Giving more than one word, uttering part of the answer or conveying the essence of the answer disqualified it. To finish the question, one of the celebrities had to hit a bell in front of them, allowing the contestant to come up with an answer. Each correct answer brought the winning contestant closer to the big money, and completing the round within a time limit won the grand prize.

The idea of constructing questions using one word at a time was used once before in a failed pilot called Get Rich Quick!. Later, this idea became its own game show called Go.

Version #1[]

The winning team started with one dollar, and had 60 seconds to win $10,000. Each correct answer added a half-zero to the pot; so two correct answers was worth $10, four was worth $100, six was worth $1,000, and eight correct answers won the $10,000.

This version lasted just the first week, even after a very funny first bonus game where only $10 was won.

Version #2[]

The winning team now had 90 seconds to win $10,000, but the winning contestant could only receive the dollar if he/she could say the first correct answer. This time, after that, each correct answer added a full zero to the pot and after the fourth right answer, each answer was now worth $1,000 until they reached $5,000. And then the final answer was worth $10,000.

This version was blamed for having the contestants win too much money. So they scrapped it in favor of one more version.

Version #3[]

This version was a simple one, for each correct answer was worth $100, and getting 10 answers in 90 seconds or less won $10,000. Later the $250 prize for winning the game was discontinued and the $5/point for losing players was changed to consolation prizes. (In one episode, a losing contestant won $500 with the parting gifts by spotting an audience member saying one of the answers.) Because of this, the winning team was given $100 to start with each correct answer being worth $100 more. So nine correct answers in 90 seconds was required to win the $10,000 grand prize.

Pilot Version[]

In the pilot, instead of playing for $10,000, the winning team (consisting of one celebrity and a married couple) played for $100,000. They had 60 seconds to win it.

They started at one penny, and each correct answer moved the one off to the left meaning that the first two correct answers were worth a dime (ten cents) and one dollar respectively. The next five correct answers added a zero to the stake, so a total of seven correct answers was needed to win the $100,000 grand prize.

Returning Champions[]

In the series, contestants could remain as champions for 10 matches. The champion limit for the pilot is unknown.

Nipsey's Poems[]

Pilot[]

If one word leads to another,
Then the chain reaction is right.
But if that word leads you nowhere,
The next word can lead to a fight.

Premiere[]

One word can lead to a lot of words,
which causes a big distraction.
But if we can get the proper words,
we got a chain reaction.

Merchandise[]

An online game semi-based on the show was once available through Sony's official site at The Station.

Production Slate (1979 Pilot)[]

Chain Reaction Pilot Production Slate

Ticket Plug (1980)[]

Chain Reaction Ticket Plug

Trivia[]

Stewart later developed and expanded the bonus round from Chain Reaction into another short-lived NBC daytime game show Go.

International Versions[]

Main Article: Chain Reaction/International

Photos[]

Episode Status[]

See also: Chain Reaction/Episode Guide

See Also[]

Chain Reaction (1986)
Chain Reaction (2006)
Chain Reaction (2015)
Chain Reaction (2021)

Link[]

Chain Reaction's formerly official online site at The Station

Video[]

Chain_Reaction_ticket_plug,_1980

Chain Reaction ticket plug, 1980

Jackpot_&_Chain_Reaction_promo,_1987

Jackpot & Chain Reaction promo, 1987

Chain_Reaction_(1980)

Chain Reaction (1980)

Chain_Reaction_(1980)-0

Chain Reaction (1980)-0

Chain_Reaction_(1980)_-_02_(1_15_1980)

Chain Reaction (1980) - 02 (1 15 1980)

Advertisement