Headline Hunters
Headline Hunters was a Canadian game show that appeared on CTV from 1972 to 1983. It was originally created by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir[1] (creators of The Newlywed Game, Spin-Off, Definition, Guess What, and others). It was hosted by Jim Perry, who hosted two other Canadian game shows (Eye Bet and Definition) and several American game shows concurrently with its run. It also features Dave Devall as the announcer. It was a Glen-Warren Production for the CTV Television Network.
During the final broadcast, Perry applauded the long-running show for promoting news literacy. Perry carried many of his pet phrases with him on his later American game show, Sale of the Century, which he would host for six years.
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[edit] Object
The idea of the game was for contestants to identify a newsmaker or event from clues given in the form of headlines, a format inspired in part by CBC Television's Front Page Challenge.
[edit] Rules
The game featured three players competing against each other. Host Jim Perry gives one or more categories of an identity (person, place, thing, event, etc.), fact or fiction; and the announcer, Dave Devall, gives a clue to the identity in the form of a news headline. The first player to buzz in with the correct identification earned the at-stakes points. However, an incorrect identification locks the player out of the rest of the identity and deducts the at-stakes points (though no player's score was allowed to go below zero). For each additional headline given, the point value is reduced accordingly. Each round has four different identities and five headlines for each identity. An unlimited number of rounds were played in the game before a times-up buzzer would sound.
[edit] Point Values
| Identity One | Identity Two | Identity Three | Identity Four | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headline One | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 |
| Headline Two | 50 | 100 | 200 | 300 |
| Headline Three | 40 | 50 | 100 | 200 |
| Headline Four | 30 | 40 | 50 | 100 |
| Headline Five | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
[edit] Hidden Headline Word
There was one word in one of the answers that was chosen by the producers as the night’s hidden headline word. The first player to guess the identity featuring that word won a bonus prize, theirs to keep regardless of the game's outcome.
[edit] Special guest
The 400-point identity in the third round of identities is dedicated to that episode's special guest. The guest reads each headline instead of the announcer. Also, the identity can be either the name of the guest or something that is associated with the guest; either one is considered an acceptable response. After the identity has been played, the special guest is brought out to be interviewed by Jim Perry.
[edit] Deadline set of Headlines
One more identity was played in the same format as before except the headlines start at $500 and reducing by $100 per additional headline until five headlines are revealed or the identity is correctly guessed.
[edit] Winning
The player with the highest point total following the Deadline wins the game and a set of bonus prizes.
[edit] Rapid Round
The champion played the Rapid Round for additional cash. The champion is given 60 seconds to identify as many identities as possible from a set of "Quickie Headlines", one headline for each identity. The champion can pass if the identity is not known. Each correct identity earns $10 with a potential total in excess of $150 to $200.
[edit] Night of Champions
At the end of each season, the nine highest scorers of that season would compete against each other in a tournament-style format. The top three winners would then compete in a "Night of Champions", where the winner would take home two special bonus prizes including a trip, a car, a boat, etc.
[edit] Quickie Headline
At the end of each episode, Perry asked a "Quickie Headline" to the home audience, for which the answer appeared during the end credits.
[edit] References
- ^ Hevesi, Dennis. "E. Roger Muir, 89, Dies; Backed Howdy Doody", The New York Times, October 28, 2008. Accessed October 28, 2008.
