Every Second Counts (American Game Show)
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''Every Second Counts'' is an American comedy television game show that premiered in syndication on September 17, 1984. The series lasted one season and aired until September 1985. ''Every Second Counts'' was a production of
Group W Productions The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for Broadca ...
and Charles Colarusso Productions.
Bill Rafferty William Rafferty (June 17, 1944 – August 11, 2012) was an American comedian and impressionist who hosted the game shows '' Every Second Counts'' (1984–1985, syndicated), ''Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show ...
hosted ''Every Second Counts'' with
Johnny Gilbert John Lewis Gilbert III (born July 13, 1928) is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from variou ...
announcing. Actress Debbie Bartlett served as the show's hostess for the first half of the season, then left the series in early 1985 to join the cast of ''
The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...
'' and was replaced by Susie Carr. ''Every Second Counts'' lasted only one season in America. Rafferty stated in an interview that certain Westinghouse/Group W executives apparently did not like the show; in addition, some cities, including the country's top-rated TV market of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, did not air it at all. The format proved far more successful in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, airing from 1986 to 1993.


Gameplay

Three married couples competed in a game of answering questions, with the goal of earning seconds that would later be used in the bonus round at the end of the show.


Main game

The game was played in two rounds, with the wives playing the first round and the husbands the second. In each round, three sets of questions were played. Each of these questions were either true/false or this-or-that, and in the latter case the players were presented with two humorous answer choices before the first question was asked. (E.g., "chew it" if an item was a brand of chewing
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
, or "screw it" if it was a type of screwdriver.) Each set consisted of nine questions, asked in order from left to right. Answering correctly added seconds to the couple's total, with incorrect answers locking them out for the remainder of the set. Each set ended once either all nine questions were asked or all three couples had locked themselves out, whichever came first. Questions were worth two seconds each in the first round, and four in the second. The couple with the most seconds at the end of two rounds won the game and advanced to the bonus round. During the last question set in the second round, it was possible for the leading couple to win the game by default if both of the other couples locked themselves out first. If this happened, Rafferty continued to ask questions until the leading couple completed the set or gave a wrong answer. If the game ended in a tie, one final question set was played between the tied couples; as soon as one couple missed a question, their opponents won the game.


Bonus round

Using their accumulated time, the winning couple played the bonus round for a series of prizes of increasing value. Four levels of prizes were available, each requiring a different number of correct answers. The prize on the fourth level was always a car. All questions in this round had three answer choices. At the beginning of each level, the couple chose one of two categories and the husband and wife alternated answering the questions. If they gave the required number of correct answers before time ran out, the clock was stopped and they advanced to the next level. Four answers were needed to clear the first level, five for the second, six for the third, and seven for the fourth. If the couple cleared the fourth level before time ran out, they won all the available prizes. Otherwise, they won the prizes for the levels they had cleared, plus $100 for each correct answer given on the current level when time ran out. ''Every Second Counts'' did not feature returning champions.


International versions


References


External links

* (1984–1985 US version) * (1986–1993 UK version) * {{IMDb title, id=0372715, title=Los Segundos Cuentan (1990–1991 Spain version)
clip from Los Segundos Cuentan

(1987–1989 New Zealand version)
1984 American television series debuts 1985 American television series endings First-run syndicated game shows 1980s American comedy game shows Television series by CBS Studios