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''Figure It Out'' is an American children's panel game show that aired on
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
. The original series, hosted by Summer Sanders, ran for four seasons from July 7, 1997, to December 12, 1999. The show was revived in 2012, with Jeff Sutphen as host, with the revival airing from June 11, 2012, to July 16, 2013. The series was originally recorded at Nickelodeon Studios at
Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...
in
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. The revival episodes were filmed on stage 19 at
Paramount Studios Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production and distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount Global. It is the sixth-oldest film studio i ...
in
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. Children with special skills or unique achievements compete as contestants on the show while a panel of four Nickelodeon celebrities try to guess the predetermined phrase that describes the contestant's talent. The series is a loose adaptation of ''
What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...
'' and '' I've Got a Secret'', both established panel shows created by
Mark Goodson Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions. Early life and e ...
and Bill Todman. Shortly after the series aired its last first-run episode, ''Figure It Out'' began airing repeats on Nick GAS until the network ceased at the end of 2007 (2009 on
Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...
). Several episodes of the Sanders-hosted series also aired in 2012 as part of The '90s Are All That, a 1990s-oriented rerun block that aired on TeenNick.


Gameplay

Each episode has two sets of three timed rounds (originally all 60 seconds in length, for the revival series, rounds two and three were played for 45 seconds), in which the panel takes turns asking yes-or-no questions to try to guess the contestant's talent. For every "yes" answer, the panelist's turn continues. Once a panelist asks a question with a "no" answer, their turn ends and the next panelist's turn starts. If at any time a panelist cannot think of a question on their turn, they may pass their turn to the next panelist. Each time a panelist mentions a word that is part of the phrase that describes the secret talent, the word is turned over on a game board displaying the puzzle. This game board was referred to as Billy the Answer Head during the original series run and is known simply as the "It" Board in the show's later adaptation. This game board shows which words of the phrase are guessed, along with blanks denoting words that the panel did not solve.
Prepositions Adpositions are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (''in, under, towards, behind, ago'', etc.) or mark various semantic roles (''of, for''). The most common adpositions are prepositions (which precede their complemen ...
and articles, such as "of" and "an," are provided automatically. During the very early episodes of the show, synonyms of words that were on the board were accepted by the judges (e.g.: A panelist revealing the word "song" by saying the word "carol" and another episode featured a panelist revealing the word "tossing" by saying the word "throw"). This was later changed to a panelist having to say the exact word in a contestant's talent in order for that word to be revealed on the board. The contestant wins a prize after each round that their talent remains unguessed. The prize for winning the third round is a trip. In Season 1, prizes consisted mainly of leftover props from then-defunct Nickelodeon shows such as ''Double Dare,'' ''Legends of the Hidden Temple'' and ''Global Guts.'' Merchandise prizes (such as a
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...
) and gift cards for stores including Kids Foot Locker,
Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1948 in Washington, D.C.; its first store was built in April 1948, with i ...
, and Loew's began to appear as prizes during later seasons. If Round 3 ends with at least one word left unrevealed, each panelist takes one final guess as to what the contestant's talent is (any correct words given during the final guess are revealed, as during the game). The game ends when a panelist either guesses the secret talent or if no panelist guesses the secret talent correctly after the "last guess" stage. During each Round, the panelists receive one clue as a hint to one of the words of the secret phrase. The clue usually takes the form of physical objects - such as dates to indicate a clue about calendars - sounds (rarely used), the clue-cano (seasons 4-6), featured messy clues erupting out of the clue boxes all over the panel, making them just as messy as a sliming, especially in the Sutphen era which made the panel cautious when opening the clue boxes or pantomime (the "Charade Brigade" (Season 1-4), "Clue Force 3" (Seasons 5-6), usually two or three cast members that act out a word from the phrase during Round 3) with "Clue Force 3" pictionary was sometimes used instead of pantomime. At the start of the second and third rounds, a recap of two or three clues are shown on the monitor next to the contestant and host. At the end of the game, after the secret talent is revealed, the contestant demonstrates or displays their skill and discusses it with the host and panel.


Secret Slime Action

In each game, from the start of round 2, a randomly selected member of the studio audience plays for a prize (a merchandise prize, such as a Nintendo 64 or a mountain bike in season 1 or a ''Figure It Out''-branded article of clothing in seasons 2-6). If at least one or more panelists perform the Secret Slime Action, those panelists will be slimed by the end of round 3 especially when one of the panelists tries to break the rules and get a second chance (during season 1, the secret slime action could be triggered anytime after the end of round 1, including between rounds and when the contestant is performing their secret) and the audience member wins that prize. "J", the regular announcer for the original show, would disclose what the Secret Slime Action was for each episode in which he appeared. The action designated as the Secret Slime Action is typically simple and almost guaranteed: touching a clue, looking to the left, which was reflexive, as clues were commonly wheeled out on a small track from a tunnel to the panel's left; using the phrase "Are you..." or "Is it...", looking to the audience behind the panel, who was sometimes used for clues, saying " I don't know," which panelist Danny Tamberelli was notable for saying out loud whenever he got confused, having a certain name, and even ''being'' a panelist. For example,
Steve Burns Steven Michael Burns (born October 9, 1973) is an American actor, musician and television host. He portrayed a fictional version of himself as the host of the children's television series ''Blue's Clues'' from 1996 until 2002, for which he was ...
(from ''
Blue's Clues ''Blue's Clues'' is an American interactive educational television, educational children's television series created by Traci Paige Johnson, Todd Kessler, and Angela Santomero, Angela C. Santomero. It premiered on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block ...
'') was slimed because the Secret Slime Action was "having a blue dog," Alex Heartman (from ''
Power Rangers Samurai ''Power Rangers Samurai'' is the eighteenth season of the children's television series ''Power Rangers'', which is based on the Japanese ''Super Sentai Series''. The season was the first to be produced by Saban Capital Group, SCG Power Rangers, a ...
'') was slimed because the Secret Slime Action was "wearing a red unitard to work", Jade Ramsey (from ''
House of Anubis ''House of Anubis'' is a mystery television series developed for Nickelodeon based on the Dutch–Belgian television series '' Het Huis Anubis''. The series was created by Hans Bourlon and Gert Verhulst and premiered on Nickelodeon on 1 Jan ...
'') was slimed because the Secret Slime Action was "having an identical twin sister",
Ryan Potter Ryan Potter (born Ryan Kenichi Hagimoto; September 12, 1995) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as the lead of the Nickelodeon action comedy series ''Supah Ninjas'' (2011–2013). As a voice actor, he voiced Hiro Takachiho, Hiro Ham ...
(from '' Supah Ninjas'') was slimed because the Secret Slime Action was "being a supah ninja", and in the second game of the first episode of the 2012 Revival, the entire panel was slimed because the Secret Slime Action was "wearing underwear". Some Actions are logically not able to be forced, such as "thinking about coconuts" or "thinking about mushroom soup." Especially in the latter seasons, a successful Action has mostly been a foregone conclusion - the variables have only been when it will be triggered, and by whom (not necessarily a panelist). When the Secret Slime Action is triggered, all play stops (including the clock) while the panelist is slimed, the action is revealed, and a replay of the sliming is shown, after which gameplay resumes. The host knows of the action and sometimes tricks the panelists into performing it by making them say or touch something (in one episode, the action was "touching your head." Sanders touched her head and said, "Have you done something with your hair?," which caused the panel to touch their heads in reaction).


Word of Honor

In the 2012 revival, prior to each game, one word of either the first or second contestant's secrets may be designated as the "Word of Honor." Should the panel guess this word, the contestant is slimed. As the contestant is slimed, gameplay and the clock are paused. Once the Word of Honor was revealed, either by a panel guess or the contestant filling in unguessed words, it would be out of play for the rest of the show.


Panelists

Either three or all four panelists are taken from Nickelodeon shows airing at the time. Regulars during the original run included '' All That'' cast members
Amanda Bynes Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress. Bynes began her career as a child actor, appearing on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series '' All That'' (1996–2000) and its spin-off series '' The Amanda Show'' (1999–2002). ...
, Lori Beth Denberg, Kevin Kopelow and Danny Tamberelli (who also starred in the Nickelodeon program '' The Adventures of Pete & Pete''). Bynes (occasionally), Kopelow and Tamberelli were notorious for frequently asking silly questions and acting goofy, while Denberg was the serious panelist, who asked well-thought out questions, and frequently was the one to guess the secret phrase, during the final guesses. The only four panelists who appeared on every season of the original run of the show were Kopelow, Bynes, Tamberelli, and Irene Ng (from '' The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo''). The first seat on the panel was usually reserved for an adult panelist, either an adult actor from a Nickelodeon program (usually Kopelow) or a non-Nickelodeon celebrity (such as Taran Noah Smith of ''
Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...
''). In several episodes, CatDog, rendered in CGI, and Cousin Skeeter, a puppet character, were panelists. In Seasons 5 and 6, the first seat was not reserved for an adult, but Matt Bennett from ''
Victorious ''Victorious'' (stylized as ''VICTORiOUS'') is an American sitcom created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon, debuting on March 27, 2010, and concluding on February 2, 2013 after four seasons. The series revolves around aspi ...
'' and Ciara Bravo from ''
Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013, featuring the band Big Time Rush portrayed as a fictional version of th ...
'' regularly appeared in the first position. Other guest panelists included
Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known by his stage name Coolio, was an American rapper. He was best known for his single "Gangsta's Paradise" (1995), which won a Grammy Award, and was credited for changing the cours ...
, Colin Mochrie (regular on ''
Whose Line Is It Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. The three major versions of the show are the original 1988 British radio programme (from which all subsequent versions are ada ...
''), and professional wrestlers
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...
, The Giant and "Hacksaw"
Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best-known for his time in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he won the first ...
. In one episode of the second season, for the first half, Lori Beth Denberg hosted the show and Summer Sanders was in her place as a panelist.


Production

Production on the original version of ''Figure It Out'' started on March 24, 1997, and ended a month later, at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida, with a planned 40-episode order. In 2013, Sutphen confirmed via Twitter that no new episodes of the revival of ''Figure It Out'' would be produced.


Format changes

* Season 3 (fall 1998) — The series became ''Figure It Out: Family Style,'' featuring two or three contestants who were related, typically parent-child or siblings. Sometimes on the 2nd half, the panel can have a family member of the contestant. Sometimes, the Charade Brigade can have family members of the panelists and the host. ''Figure It Out: Family Style'' also features Little Billy. If the panelists figured out the contestants' secret, then Little Billy (a miniature version of Billy the Answer Head with hair and on wheels) would come out. Summer reads a question about the family's talent and then each panelist will try to guess one (impossible) answer. If they cannot figure it out (no panel ever did since they simply treated it as a free-for-all most times by guessing answers intended for comedic response), then the answer in Little Billy would reveal and which gives the family another chance to win a prize (usually the ''Figure It Out'' apparel used for the Secret Slime Action Rounds). For certain episodes, J's mother, Joanne Dumas filled in as the show's announcer. * Season 4 (fall 1999) — The show was re-titled ''Figure It Out: Wild Style'' and focused solely on talents involving animals; in addition, Billy the Answer Head was reshaped into various animals. During these episodes, the panelists went wild with hair, wigs and make-up, sporting a different, distinctive look. Sometimes, instead of J himself doing the narration work, some episodes would instead be narrated by J's dog (voiced by J). This is the only ''Figure It Out'' season that does not include Lori Beth Denberg, as she had moved on to work on '' The Steve Harvey Show''. During these episodes, seven different panelists such as Steve Burns, Shane Sweet, Erin J. Dean, Christy Knowings, Irene Ng, Kevin Kopelow and Kareem Blackwell permanently replaced Denberg in the chair she always sat in. This season also featured recurring panelist appearances from legendary animal expert and TV personality, "Jungle"
Jack Hanna Jack Bushnell Hanna (born January 2, 1947) is an American retired zookeeper and director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Commonly nicknamed "Jungle Jack", he was director of the zoo from 1978 to 1992, and is viewed as largely respons ...
, who would be holding an animal in the first half, before having the animal taken backstage so he had a chance to be slimed with the rest of the panelists. * Season 5 (summer 2012) — The show reverted to its original title and Jeff Sutphen took over as host. Elle Young took over as the announcer. The set, host, panelists, theme music and logo were all modified to serve Nickelodeon's contemporary audience. Gameplay was also slightly modified to include the Word of Honor component and to shorten the lengths of rounds two and three (originally, all rounds were 60 seconds; in the newer version, rounds two and three are 45 seconds). Also, Billy the Answer Head was changed to the "It Board," the Clue Express was renamed the "Clue Coaster" and the Charade Brigade was changed to "Clue Force III" featuring Lorenz Arnell, Gevorg Manoukian and Julia Srednicki. * Season 6 (fall 2012 and summer 2013) — The show was brought back after the long gap in the summer. The style of the show stays the same, but with some changes, such as a fifth seat and slime spewer added to the panel desk for the child panelist who won a summer contest to appear for one entire episode (the fifth panel desk was gone before and after the winning child's episode).


Famous contestants

On April 7, 1998, future
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
singer/songwriter
Hunter Hayes Hunter Easton Hayes (born September 9, 1991) is an American multi-genre singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is proficient at more than 30 instruments. Hayes released his Hunter Hayes (album), self-titled debut alb ...
was a contestant on ''Figure It Out'' when he was six years old. His talent was playing the accordion and singing. Sam Roberts, Podcaster, WWE Personality, and host of ''Jim Norton & Sam Roberts'' on
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...
, appeared on an episode in Season 2. His talent was flipping quarters off his ankle. Marcus Stroman of the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
was a prize winner in episode 13 of Season 1. Gentry Haukebo,
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
rap artist better known as 1oK, was a contestant and prize winner in an episode during the show's fifth season. Her talent was being a shovel racing champion. Julia Srednicki, character designer for '' OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes'', was a member of the "Clue Force 3" during the final two seasons hosted by Jeff Sutphen.


References


External links

* {{All That 1990s American children's game shows 1990s Nickelodeon original programming 1997 American television series debuts 1999 American television series endings 2012 American television series debuts 2013 American television series endings 2010s American children's game shows 2010s Nickelodeon original programming Nickelodeon game shows American panel games American television series revived after cancellation American English-language television shows Television shows filmed in Florida Television shows filmed in Los Angeles