Three's a Crowd (game show)

*Three's a Crowd*
Three's a Crowd
Also known as	All-New 3's a Crowd
Created by	Chuck Barris
Directed by	John Dorsey
Presented by	Jim Peck ; Alan Thicke
Announcer	Johnny Jacobs ; Randy West
Theme music composer	Lee Ringuette; John Nordstrom II
Country of origin	United States
Production
Producer	David M. Greenfield
Running time	approx. 22–26 minutes
Production companies	Chuck Barris Productions ; (1979–1980); The Gurin Company; (1999–2000); Game Show Network Originals ; (1999–2000)
Original release
Network	Syndicated
Release	September 17, 1979 –; February 1, 1980
Network	GSN
Release	November 29, 1999 –; April 2000

Last updated November 14, 2024

Three's a Crowd (sometimes spelled 3's a Crowd) is an American television game show. It was created by Chuck Barris and originally packaged by Chuck Barris Productions. The first version aired in syndication from September 17, 1979, to February 1, 1980, hosted by Jim Peck. The show featured a host asking questions of a man, then his wife and secretary, to determine which of the latter two knew him better. The show was met with negative reception for its format, leading to the demise of both it and other shows created by Barris. A revival for Game Show Network, titled The All-New 3's a Crowd, aired on Game Show Network between 1999 and 2000. Hosted by Alan Thicke, this version instead a friend or family member instead of a secretary.

Syndicated version

The original version of the show aired in first-run syndication starting in 1979. Hosted by Jim Peck, with Johnny Jacobs as announcer, it bore many similarities to Barris' The Newlywed Game . The show featured three teams, each composed of a male contestants, their wives, and their secretaries. The game started with the men answering three pointed questions, usually referencing their wives and secretaries in ways that would lead to potential marital discord.^[1]

The secretaries then were brought back to answer the same questions, followed by the wives. Whichever team — wives or secretaries — matched the men's answers more often equally split a $1,000 prize (if the teams were tied, all parties split $500). The men received an announced prize for their participation.

Broadcast history

According to Barris in his first autobiography, The Game Show King, the protests against the show—as well as the sometimes-evident lack of fun the contestants seemed to be having on it—prompted him to retreat from television production entirely.

At the time, Barris's company had four other shows on the air: revivals of both The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game , the still-running syndicated The Gong Show and its spin-off The $1.98 Beauty Show . Barris wrote that "The public backlash from Three's a Crowd not only caused the program to be canceled, but it took three other TV shows of mine with it. I went to my house in Malibu and stayed there for a year." Indeed, it was largely due to the backlash from Three's a Crowd that ratings for all of his other shows—including the still-popular The Gong Show—declined and were removed from the air by the start of the next television season.^[2]

The series was replaced on February 4, 1980, by a revival of the 1960s game show Camouflage , also produced by Barris. Unlike its predecessor, Camouflage was a weekly series – something that worked against it, as the weekly syndicated game show had largely gone by the wayside in favor of daily "strips" (the only other game shows not produced by Barris at this time that were still airing weekly were The Nighttime Price Is Right , which was wrapping up its final season, and Match Game PM and Joker! Joker! Joker! , both of which ran until 1981). Three's A Crowd was the last original format Barris tried; the rest of his productions were either revivals of old shows (as Camouflage and a second Barris revival of Treasure Hunt were) or his previous efforts (The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and The Gong Show were all revived during the 1980s).

Barris would spend the next several years at home, where he would use his spare time to write a mock biography, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, in which Barris imagined himself as an assassin for the Central Intelligence Agency during his game show career (Barris had applied for work with the CIA but abandoned that career path before entering when he broke into television). Confessions of a Dangerous Mind would later be adapted into a 2002 film of the same name.

GSN version

This version was hosted by Alan Thicke. The wives-secretaries pairings were replaced by pairings such as girlfriend-best friend, girlfriend-mother and such. Just as often, a woman would be the central subject with the pairings altered appropriately.

Round 1

As in the original, the middle people were asked three questions about their significant others. The significant others were asked the same questions when they returned altogether. Each time they or either one match, they get 5 points.

Round 2

The tables were turned as the significant others were asked three questions about their mate. The middle people were asked the same questions when they returned altogether. Each time either one or both significant others match, they get 10 points.

Round 3: Fast Match Round

Each middle person was given four words/phrases that may or may not relate to them. They must answer with one of three possible choices such as, "Be There", "Wouldn't Dare", "No Fair"; "I Win", "I Lose", "It's a Draw" etc. (so, in other words, choice A would be a "Yes" answer, choice B would be a "No" answer, and choice C would be a "Maybe" answer) Before they answer, each significant other must lock in their predictions to how their mates will answer. Once again each match is worth 10 points. For a possible grand total of 85 points.

Originally, the middle person makes the choice of an answer after locking in their answer; in Season 2 the person now holds the card (like in the first round) to show the answer after they locked it in.

Unlike the original, the significant others do not work as a team. The significant other with the most points at show's end won $1,000; sudden-death was played if there was a tie. The central characters, as before, received an unannounced prize for participating.

Critical reception

In his book What Were They Thinking?: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History, David Hofstede ranks the show at number 94. He wrote that it "offered the chance to watch a marriage dissolve on camera years before Jerry Springer ", and noted that it received backlash from the United Auto Workers (UAW) and National Organization for Women (NOW).^[3]

Related Research Articles

The Gong Show is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1980 and 1988 to 1989, and was revived in 2017 for broadcast on ABC. The show was created and originally produced by Chuck Barris, who also served as host for the NBC run and from 1977 to 1980 in syndication. Its most recent version was executive-produced by Will Arnett and hosted by Tommy Maitland, a fictional character performed by Mike Myers. The Gong Show is known for its absurdist humor and style, with the actual competition secondary to the often outlandish acts presented; a small cash prize has typically been awarded to each show's winner.

Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. Two families compete on each episode to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.

Charles Hirsch Barris was an American game show creator, producer, and host. Barris was known for hosting The Gong Show and creating The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. He was also a songwriter who wrote "Palisades Park", recorded by Freddy Cannon and also recorded by Ramones. Barris wrote an autobiography titled Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which was made into the film of the same title starring Sam Rockwell and directed by George Clooney.

Dating game shows are game shows that incorporates a variety of matchmaking systems and services in the form of a game with clear rules. Human matchmaking is involved only in selecting the game's contestants, who are usually selected more for the amusement value than any concern for their happiness or compatibility. The audience sees only the game; an important feature of all dating game shows is that the contestants have little or no previous knowledge of each other, and are exposed to each other only through the game, which may include viewing a photograph or at least knowing the basic criteria for participation.

The Newlywed Game is an American television game show. Newly married couples compete against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally created by Robert "Nick" Nicholson and E. Roger Muir and produced by Chuck Barris, has appeared in many different versions since its 1966 debut. The show became famous for some of the arguments that couples had over incorrect answers in the form of mistaken predictions, and it even led to some divorces.

The Dating Game is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it continued in syndication for another year (1973–1974) as The New Dating Game. The program was revived three additional times in syndication afterward, with the first from 1978 to 1980 as The All-New Dating Game, the second from 1986 to 1989, and the third from 1996 to 1999.

<i>Sale of the Century</i> American game show

Sale of the Century is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being the short-lived game shows Letters to Laugh-In and Name Droppers. The series aired until July 13, 1973, and a weekly syndicated series began that fall and ran for one season.

The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. Contestants answer trivia questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's title refers to the game's slot-machine mechanism also having jokers, which may be used to represent any category.

Tattletales is an American game show produced by Goodson-Todman Productions in association with Fremantle. The program had two runs on the CBS daytime schedule between February 1974 and June 1984. It was hosted by Bert Convy, with several announcers including Jack Clark, Gene Wood, Johnny Olson and John Harlan providing the voiceover at various times. Wood was the primary announcer during the show's first run, and Olson was announcing during the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Jacobs</span> American game show announcer (1916–1982)

John Byron Jacobs was an American television announcer, often for Chuck Barris productions—namely, The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game.

<i>Split Second</i> (game show) American game show

Split Second is an American game show that was created by Monty Hall and Stefan Hatos and produced by their production company, Stefan Hatos-Monty Hall Productions. Three contestants compete to answer three-part trivia questions to win cash.

<i>Tic-Tac-Dough</i> American television game show

Tic-Tac-Dough is an American television game show based on the paper-and-pencil game of tic-tac-toe. Contestants answer trivia questions to put up their respective symbol, X or O, on a tic-tac-toe board. Three versions were produced: the initial 1956–59 run on NBC, a 1978–86 run initially on CBS and then in syndication, and a syndicated run in 1990. The show was produced by Barry & Enright Productions. However, the rights to the format are controlled by NBCUniversal.

James Edward Peck is an American television and radio personality based in Milwaukee and is perhaps best known for his time as a game show host.

The Family Game is an American game show that ran on ABC for six months in 1967. Geoff Edwards was originally to host the (unrecorded) pilot, but was dropped at the last minute and was replaced by producer Chuck Barris. Although ABC bought the series, they mandated that someone other than Barris be the host; Bob Barker, then hosting Truth or Consequences and also began hosting the Miss USA & Miss Universe Pageants on CBS that year, was selected without a screen test or pilot.

The Parent Game is an American game show that ran in syndication from 1972 to 1973. The show was hosted by Clark Race, a Los Angeles radio personality, with Johnny Jacobs as the announcer. The answers were commented by child psychologist Dorothy Thompson, who did not appear in-studio.

Barris Industries, Inc. was an American game show production company that was founded by Chuck Barris.

Weakest Link is an American television game show that made its debut in 2001. It is an adaptation of the British television series of the same name.

Barry & Enright Productions was a United States television production company that was formed in 1947 by Jack Barry and Dan Enright.

Camouflage is an American television game show originally produced in 1961–62 and revived in 1980.

Second Honeymoon is a Canadian game show that was hosted by Wayne Cox. Wink Martindale created and produced the show with his then-business partner Jerry Gilden, and radio personality Doc Harris was the announcer.

References

↑ Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve; Wostbrock, Fred (1999). The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3 ed.). Facts on File, Inc. p. 225. ISBN 0-8160-3846-5.
↑ "This Game Show Could Have Gotten Someone Murdered But Four Game Shows Were Cancelled Instead". Medium.com. 16 May 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
↑ Hofstede, David (2004). What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 13–14. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[eotvgs-1] Schwartz, David; Ryan, Steve; Wostbrock, Fred (1999). The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows (3 ed.). Facts on File, Inc. p. 225. ISBN 0-8160-3846-5.

[2] "This Game Show Could Have Gotten Someone Murdered But Four Game Shows Were Cancelled Instead". Medium.com. 16 May 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2024.

[3] Hofstede, David (2004). What Were They Thinking: The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. Back Stage Books. pp. 13–14. ISBN 0-8230-8441-8.

[1]

[2]

[3]