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Family Feud

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This article is about the American gameshow. For the Australian gameshow, see Bert's Family Feud. For rivalries between families, see Feud.
Family Feud
Image:FeudUSLogos.jpg </small>
Genre Game show
Running time approx. 0:30 (per episode), 22 minutes without commercials
Creator(s) Mark Goodson & Bill Todman
Starring John O'Hurley
(2006–present)
Richard Karn
(2002–2006)
Louie Anderson
(1999–2002)
Ray Combs
(1988–1994)
Richard Dawson
(1976–1985; 1994–1995)
Country of origin Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
Original channel ABC, CBS & syndication
Original run July 12, 1976–present (with intermittent arrests in production)
No. of episodes ABC: 2,311
Syndicated 1977-1985: 976

Family Feud is a television game show that pits two families against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey-type question posed of 100 people. The format, which originated in the United States, has been exported to many countries. See Family Fortunes for the UK version of the show.

Contents

[edit] Broadcast / show history

[edit] With Richard Dawson (ABC/Syndication 1976-1985)

The original version of Family Feud debuted on ABC on July 12, 1976 at 1:30 P.M. EST, replacing Bob Eubanks's "Rhyme and Reason". Its ratings were initially low, and ABC moved the show to 11:30 A.M. Eastern Time in January 1977, where it competed against Bob Barker's The Price is Right on CBS and Chuck Woolery's Wheel of Fortune on NBC. It aired in that time slot until June 1980, at 12:00 noon ET until October 1984, and again at 11:30 A.M. ET until its cancellation in June 1985. A nighttime syndicated version debuted in September 1977; it originally aired as a weekly series before expanding to two nights a week in January 1979 and to five nights a week in September 1980. Goodson spun off the idea for Feud from a feature on one of his other game shows, CBS's Match Game. The first half of the "Super Match" round of Match Game included the results of a studio audience survey where audience members gave their answers to a fill-in-the-blank phrase. The top three responses to that phrase were concealed on the board, and the contestant won more money by choosing a more popular answer. Family Feud was spun off from this very same survey concept, although fill-in-the-blanks were not used in "Feud". Rather, questions like "name a popular brand of cereal" were incorporated instead. It was hosted by British comedian Richard Dawson, who co-starred in Hogan's Heroes and was a panelist on Match Game.

Family Feud was the highest-rated daytime game show for two seasons (1977-78 and 1978-79) until CBS's The Price Is Right surpassed it. It was also the highest-rated syndicated game show from 1978 until 1984, when Wheel of Fortune took over the top spot. In May 1978, during the height of the show's popularity, ABC aired the first in a series of All-Star Family Feud prime time specials where teams of celebrities -— often the cast members of a television show — played the game to raise money for various charities. The show won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Game Show in 1977, while Dawson won the Daytime Emmy for Best Host in a television Game Show in 1978. Richard Dawson's hosting style was seen as very unusual: for example, he kissed the female players on the lips for luck (with their pre-show permission), and gave some of the people in the audience lollipops from a special "lollipop tree" (introduced during the 1982-83 season) at the end of each family podium. The lollipop tree also served as a bonus tree for the fifth contestant at the podium- if a player picked a lollipop with a black stem, they would win $100 for themselves.

The original set of Family Feud was decorated in a "Whitman Sampler" country motif at the suggestion of the show's director Paul Alter. With a large oval shaped light blue score board with flashing white lights containing a rotating trilon survey board (included a Ferranti-Packard computer board) and a with a color scheme consisting of wood/brown, orange, yellow, & beige it gave the show a sort of warm "down-home" feeling that matched the name and format as if the families were "feudin" in the old hillbilly tradition. Both families posed (like an old family portrait) inside "family rooms" at the open of each show that were located behind the family podium and had a sliding door that closed after they came out and down to their podium bearing the competing families name. The original Family Feud theme music and faceoff cues were more elaborate versions of camping and car prize cues from The Price Is Right complete with fiddle, harmonica, banjo, electric guitar, tamborine and a mouth harp. The original 1976 & 1988 Family Feud themes are the most widely recognized gameshow soundtracks to date.

Dawson's sense of humor could be at times quite biting and sarcastic or viewed by some as downright inappropriate at times. If a "dumb answer" was given, Dawson was always quick to let the family member and the audience know about it by poking fun at it with sarcasm, usually resulting in laughter from the audience and or Dawson himself. On one particular show during the Fast Money round, the first question was "During what month of pregnancy does a woman begin to look pregnant?" and the contestant answered "September" resulting in thunderous laughter from the audience and Dawson losing his composure for a good three or four minutes. This particular taping has been nicknamed "September Baby" by many fans. On another show, an Asian family was not ready to answer a question when Dawson asked, so he yelled gibberish Chinese at the family until they turned around and answered. This personable style made him very popular with fans of the show. In later episodes, Dawson (not a fan of the show's strike buzzer sound) had the sound effect duration reduced from about a half a second to sometimes just a split second. During the Fast Money round, he would sometimes shorten the "our survey said" in Fast Money to just "Survey!?". Dawson was/is beloved by millions of fans and the contestants, but was known behind the scenes as a control freak, having an inflated ego and frequently clashing with and, finally, barring Feud producer Howard Felsher from the set.

The last ABC daytime episode aired on June 14, 1985. An episode with Dawson delivering an emotional farewell speech at the end of the show was to be the finale, but the run was cut short prematurely. This show wasn't aired until December 31, 1999; as part of a marathon on Game Show Network. The syndicated nighttime edition of Feud continued for three months afterwards, before wrapping up in September after eight years. (Viacom, the show's syndicator, offered reruns to stations, including WOR-TV in New York, for one year after that, packaged as The Best of Family Feud. Due to WOR's status as a superstation, those markets where a local station did not pick up the reruns still got the show.) In its nine-year existence, 2,311 network daytime shows, 976 syndicated evening half-hour shows, and 17 ABC primetime hour-long specials (1978-1984) had been produced, with $1,557,150 given away to charity on 170 celebrity specials on the daytime and nighttime shows, and $14,833,000 won by contestants. This was the first longest-running game show ever to be aired on ABC, the current syndicated version is the second.

[edit] With Ray Combs (CBS/Syndication 1988-1994)

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On July 4, 1988, on Independence Day, the new version of Family Feud premiered on CBS (replacing a brief revival of The $25,000 Pyramid), with a new host, comedian Ray Combs. A new syndicated primetime edition with higher stakes premiered two months later. The show generally stayed the same from the previous format, except lowering the target score back to $300, and omitting the play/pass option (The family member with the highest answer automatically got control of the board), in addition, the original set was retained but revised with a new a color scheme and the original 'Feud theme was remixed with synthesized drums. Ray Combs is the only 'Feud host to date that carried a cordless hand-held microphone (beginning in 1990) and was known for saying "What did the/our survey say?" in Fast Money, instead of the trademark "(our) survey said!". Combs overall hosting style seemed very enthusiastic and combined with the set's new makeover, gave the show a renewed interest. Ray's humor was not as biting and sarcastic as Dawson's although he did have his moments. Unlike his predecessor, Combs kept his lips to himself and did not kiss the female contestants (save for the occasional exception). Despite the inevitable comparisons to Richard Dawson, Ray Combs immediately found an audience for himself and made the show his own. In recent years, Ray Combs has become almost as equally identified with the show as Richard Dawson and the Combs era is now considered by many fans to be a part of the 'Feud's "golden age".

[edit] The Bullseye Round (1992-1994)

On June 29, 1992, the CBS daytime version became known as Family Feud Challenge, and expanded to one hour. The new format used a "challenge" format where two challengers played a round for the right to face the champion from the previous show, a preliminary "Bullseye" round was added in which contestants tried to build up the amount of money they could win in Fast Money from an initial bank. One at a time and starting with the team captain, the players were asked a series of five Family Feud-type questions; only the number one answer was accepted. During the first half of the Family Feud Challenge, families started with a $2,500 bank. The first question was worth $500, the second $1,000 and so on up to $2,500 for the fifth question; thus, the maximum jackpot for any one team was $10,000. During the second half of Challenge, question values were doubled and families built on a $5,000 bank for a possible jackpot of $20,000. The Bullseye was played prior to the first question.

The Bullseye was added to the half-hour syndicated version in the fall of that year, when it became known as The New Family Feud. The dollar values were the same as in the second half of the CBS Challenge format.

The CBS Family Feud Challenge aired repeat episodes from March 29, 1993 until it left the air on September 10 of that year. It was the last CBS network show to air in its time slot; the network then returned that hour to its affiliates for local or syndicated programming.

The syndicated version continued for one more season with Ray Combs as host. At the end of the 1993-1994 season, Jonathan Goodson (who became chairman of Mark Goodson Productions following his father’s death in 1992) replaced Combs with original Feud host Richard Dawson, in an effort to boost the syndicated version's declining ratings. (Combs' replacement would be one of the many factors that resulted in his 1996 suicide.) On Combs’ last show (aired on May 27, 1994), the winning family got 77 points in Fast Money (with the second player not getting any points), and Combs himself walked out of the set during the credits.

[edit] Richard Dawson's return (Syndication 1994-1995)

Image:Familyfeud1994.jpg

Richard Dawson would return to host in 1994, the syndicated show was expanded to one hour, though some stations chose to air only the second half as a stand-alone 30-minute program. It used a format similar to that of the Family Feud Challenge, with two new families competing in the first half. The winning team would play a family from the original ABC version in the second half. The "Bullseye" round was retooled and renamed the "Bankroll" round. It was also shortened from five questions to three (given the fact that the number of contestants on each team was shortened from five to four, the only time this has been used), valued at $500/$1,500/$2,500 in the first round and $1,000/$3,000/$5,000 in the second. This reduced the maximum possible "Fast Money" jackpot to $7,000 in the first half and $14,000 in the second. The set was dramatically redesigned as well. Replacing the rotating gameboard was a super-imposed video screen that the viewers saw on TV, although the electronic Ferranti-Packard flip-dot computer board (previously used during Fast Money) was used in the studio. The warm colored, country scheme that served the show for the better part of eighteen years was replaced with a darker, mechanical country scheme while retaining the overall shape of the previous sets (albeit trimmed down). The theme music was also updated. A techno-like jazz version of the original theme was recorded. Richard was back, a little heavier, a little older, but a lot more humbled. He stopped telling most of his biting and sarcastic jokes, and when speaking, was at times hard to hear. He also chose not to kiss the female contestants this time around (a promise he made to his daughter). Dawson originally asked the producers to drop the Bullseye/Challenge format and have it "become the Feud again," wanting to get rid of some other things that he didn't like, as witnessed on the E! True Hollywood Story. This possibly could account for the set change. Although the Bankroll round was simply the Bullseye round re-tooled, this may have been a compromise between Dawson and the show's Producers. The ratings initially improved with Dawson back as host, but in large part due to the O.J. Simpson trial pre-empting the daily broadcast in many cities, Dawson's return only lasted one season. The show's official second run ended on September 8, 1995, after seven seasons. This run of the show remains the last daytime network game show other than The Price is Right to air. Some fans in the years since Dawson's comeback have conjectured that this version may have lasted longer than one season if the show reverted to the 1988 gameplay format and/or retained the Combs era set (as it was actually Dawson's original set with a makeover).

[edit] With Louie Anderson (1999-2002)

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In 1999 a third version premiered in syndication with host Louie Anderson. The set and theme music were completely changed. The familiar "Feud" theme was dropped all together in favor of a hipper, more modern "party" theme. The set was updated with a more contemporary "nighttime" look dispensing with the country motif of the previous sets, and following the trend in Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, which both by now had switched to video screens for the game board, used a video screen showing the 1994-style board shown to home viewers only, replacing the traditional survey board, which could be transitioned quicker as inserts did not have to be replaced between rounds. A second major change occurred as the family's score readouts were moved from the main backdrop to the contestant's modernized podium. The faceoff podium was also modernized, and had a solid blue ring in light, but kept the traditional faceoff buzzer sound. A slightly modified version of the strike buzzer was also use (this is still used on the current version). It differs from both the Dawson and Combs strike buzzers. The change to a "contemporary" style set with a completely different theme song combined with the rule changes in the gameplay alienated many of the show's most loyal and die-hard fans.

Louie Anderson wanted to bring Richard Dawson on his first show for his "blessing" and to have sort of a "passing of the torch" but Dawson declined. (E!THS:Family Feud) In the beginning, Anderson seemed to have fun, but very quickly began to appear tired and disinterested in hosting the show. This was evident when the sketch comedy show MADtv parodied Anderson's bored disposition in a Family Feud spoof. Anderson's original goal was to be so successful as Family Feud host that people would forget who Richard Dawson even was. (E! THS: Family Feud) This did not happen. Although Anderson did find an audience (mostly people who were either too young to remember or had never seen the Dawson or Combs era shows), he was not very popular with the majority of long time fans of the show. Although he did win over many people's respect when it was learned that during a post 9/11 firefighters week tournament in late 2001, that Louie paid the money for the Tourney's winnings out of his own pocket (E!THS:Family Feud). Anderson was also responsible for increasing the grand prize to the current $20,000 from the $10,000 grand prize that dated all the way back to the Dawson/Combs syndicated shows (due to the increase popularity of prime time game shows). Despite his endeavors, Family Feud 's ratings were slipping and in the spring of 2002, Anderson was replaced by Richard Karn.

[edit] With Richard Karn (2002-2006)

For Richard Karn's debut in the fall of 2002, slight revisions to the set were made. While retaining the overall design of Anderson's set, they dispensed with the mechanical blue and silver color scheme and it was given a warmer, wood/brown color scheme with brighter lighting and a revised backdrop that changed colors and larger family name screens. To the pleasant surprise of die-hard 'Feud fans, they briefly revived the 1988 remix of the original theme music (albeit edited) during the middle of the 2002-2003 season. The original face-off cue also returned remixed with a techno beat.

In the fall of 2003, (Karn's second season) a remixed version of the Anderson era party theme music was brought back. This was met with mixed feelings. Many people felt the Combs era theme did not fit in with the current set design and direction of the show while the many die-hard fans were once again disappointed. During the Karn years, the set saw slight revisions each season (mostly changes in carpet/floor colors including a black and white checkerboard floor color used for NASCAR week and for sometime after) until his last season in 2005-2006 when the most visible changes occurred. The backdrop was changed again using square blocks surrounding the game screen with the changing colors background. The family name screens and backdrops were also revised. The wood/brown color scheme remained with slight revisions.

As host, Richard Karn was the first 'Feud emcee to dress less formally (not wearing a coat or tie sometimes) appearing in more modern business-casual wardrobe. Karn's hosting style has been described as bland, but has been described as superior to that of Louie Anderson's. Though Karn would rarely poke fun at the "dumb" answers given by some family members (sometimes just ignoring them) against the "tradition" of the show's past hosts. Richard Karn became known for phrases like "take first blood" for the family that wins at the end of the first round and adding drama to the double and triple rounds by shouting "I'M GONNA DOUBLE/TRIPLE THE POINTS!!!" followed by a roar, cheering and applause from the audience. The "DOUBLE/TRIPLE THE POINTS!!!" spiel still happens on the current version with John O'Hurley (although very infrequently in early episodes of the season) and has been met with annoyance from the long time "purist" fans of the show as Family Feud's previous hosts (and the studio audience) did not make a "big deal" of the double and triple dollar/point value rounds.

[edit] With John O'Hurley (2006-Present)

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On March 28, 2006, a press release from FremantleMedia (who currently owns Family Feud's rights) stated that John O'Hurley was named as the show's fifth host starting September 11, 2006, and the show was revamped with a new look to celebrate the show's 30th anniversary.

The show set is now in a theater-in-the-round stage, placing the current-era game screen inside a "classic" style board complete with flashing lights. The set is somewhat of a throwback to the Richard Dawson years with an updated look. The podiums are back with the classic design including a return to "plunger" style face-off buzzers similar to the ones used in the first season (1976-77) with Richard Dawson. Three new video screens have replaced the traditional "eggcrate" displays, with their positions similar to the "classic" board. During the first few episodes, the family scoreboard was gone from their podiums. They soon brought them back with the video screen scoreboard still intact. Therefore, giving two ways of keeping score. Also, the face-off podium lights up with rows of white lights (similar to the Dawson years), but the podium lights do not flash, while the game board lights do "point" towards the family which buzzed in (similar to the Ray Combs era). One side of the border surrounding the lights also lights up when someone rings in at the face-off (if one looks closely). The family rooms are back (complete with poses), and while the original opening sequence has returned (though slightly reworked), the theme is a remix of the one from the Richard Karn era. The logo also received another makeover.

On November 14, 2006, Fremantle Media awarded the rights of Family Feud to Santa Monica, CA based Debmar-Mercury as a result of Tribune's financial troubles. This means that the company would be able to negotiate barter deals and good slots to air the show since as of the 2006/2007 season, some markets, such as Memphis, TN, don't even air Family Feud . However, the FreeMantle Media slate production company will remain intact. [1]

Although built at the same Carpenter Shop at CBS Television City in Hollywood, the new set was built just a few months after the Gameshow Marathon version of the Feud set, which is currently being stored.

[edit] Gameshow Marathon

In 2006, Family Feud was the last of the seven game shows used in the CBS series Gameshow Marathon. Ricki Lake served as host and Rich Fields was the announcer for the entire seven-episode program. The Family Feud episode--which was the "Championship Game" for the series' tournament--used a set modeled after the original Dawson-era set. However, the giant trilon was replaced by a huge plasma screen showing a replica of the Dawson era survey board (the person responsible, Todd Robinson, once ran Game Show Presentation Software and created games based on the Dawson and Combs Feuds). Even the Dawson era strike "font" style was replicated although the current sound effect was used.

[edit] Host contenders

In addition to the four regular hosts, there were additional contenders for the hosting spot as well.

  • In 1976, Geoff Edwards was approached by Mark Goodson and offered him the job to host. Edwards though was still under contract with Bob Stewart Productions, Chuck Barris Productions and NBC, and was unable to accept the job.
  • In 1988, Joe Namath was slated to host the show, but when producers discovered Combs, Namath was soon replaced.
  • In 1999, Dolly Parton was Anderson's main challenger for the hosting job. Richard Dawson was also offered the hosting job for the current season, but elected not to host.
  • In 2002, Mark Curry from Hangin' with Mr. Cooper auditioned for the job.

Substitute hosts include Sammy Davis, Jr., who guest hosted one round during the Richard Dawson era, and Caryn Lucas, the show's contestant coordinator, who temporarily replaced Dawson for part of one episode when he suffered broken ribs. Producer Howard Felsher also hosted one round due to a judging disagreement between him and Dawson. In 1989, former Feud contestant Viet Pho hosted a round under Ray Combs' supervision.

[edit] Announcers

Gene Wood was the original announcer of Family Feud, from July 1976-June 1985 and July 1988-September 1995. Johnny Olson (of The Price is Right fame) announced the pilot, Johnny Gilbert substituted once during the Dawson era in the spring of 1981 (including one episode when Richard met his second and current wife as a contestant). Rod Roddy (also of The Price is Right fame) filled in during the Combs era during July 1991, and Art James also served as a fill-in announcer during the Combs era during November 1989. Burton Richardson has been the show's regular announcer since 1999.

[edit] Other production staff

Gabrielle Johnston, a Goodson-Todman staffer since the 1970s, is currently the show's executive producer, years after she was the show's associate producer, of the 1980s revival. Kristin Bjorklund is a current producer, and was also an associate producer of the 1980s revival, while Lauri Chryss is the an associate director. Previous staff members included Howard Felsher, a Goodson-Todman staffer since the 1960s, was the show's original executive producer (before being a producer in the 1980s revival), along with Cathy Hugart Dawson, who was the show's original producer, and Georgia Purcell. Chester Feldman, who was a creative consultant for Goodson-Todman in the 1970's, was the show's executive producer in the 1980s revival.

[edit] Production company

Originally, this show was billed as a Mark Goodson/Bill Todman production, but after Todman's death in 1979, the unit was simply known as Mark Goodson Productions, and was announced as such on Family Feud beginning in 1982, the second after Child's Play. Also, on the ABC version, the production company had ran The Family Company before CBS had ran The New Family Company, many years ago. Currently, the production company for Feud is called Feudin' Productions.

[edit] Episode status

The recordings of all episodes are believed to still exist. The Game Show Network currently airs the '70s Dawson and the Combs syndicated version. At least one of the Richard Dawson pilots is also known to exist. The Family Feud Challenge was aired for a short time on GSN, as was the 1994 Dawson version (GSN is currently not allowed to air this version on account of a special Goodson-Todman contract). The i network (formerly PAX) rerun the 1999 Anderson version until 2004, when it began showing episodes of the 2002 Karn version. On September 4, 2006, the i network dropped the Feud from its lineup.

[edit] Theme song

The original theme song for the Family Feud, simply named "The Feud", was a more elaborate version of a hillbilly-type prize cue heard on The Price Is Right. Composed by Robert Israel for Score Productions, the theme played at a lower tempo for the first season, then adjusted to a much higher tempo in 1977 then finally "balanced" around 1979. It was re-mixed(with synthesized drums) in 1988 for the Ray Combs version, and for Dawson's 1994 return (the opening to which can frequently be heard as a Showcase cue on The Price Is Right) the theme was revamped with jazz instruments.

In 1999, John Lewis Parker orchestrated the current "party" theme, complete with a portion of the original Robert Israel theme in the opening. This theme was remixed in 2002 and again in 2006 - these versions do not feature the sample from the original theme.

The 1988-1994 Feud theme from the Combs version was brought back for the latter part of Richard Karn's first season (2002-2003). It was remixed by Score Productions in 2003 to have a techno beat similar to the current theme, but this version was never used on the air except in its face-off incarnations.

[edit] Recording locations

In the Dawson version from 1976-85, Family Feud was originally taped at the Vine Street Theater, and later at the ABC Television Center in Los Angeles. From 1988-95 in the Combs version (CBS/Syndicated) and Dawson version (1994-1995), it was taped at CBS Television City. On the syndicated Combs version in 1993, it was taped in Opryland. The current version initially taped at CBS Television City, then at NBC Studios in Burbank, California, and finally at Tribune Studios, in the fall of 2003.

[edit] Rules

Representatives of the family (a total of five members on each team; in 1994 there were only four members) are posed questions that have already been answered by 100 people. An answer is considered correct if it is one of the concealed answers on the game board. The game board originally had 12 spaces, but usually three to ten answers were used per question. Since 1994, only up to eight answers (six in double or triple value rounds starting in 1999) were used since the game was played on the electronic display board; in 1994, audience members simply saw the game played on the board used during Fast Money, but since 1999, a monitor was integrated into the studio, and the game board appears on the monitor. (From 1999-2003, the entire game board was raised to allow the host to appear through the board for his entrance. Large video monitors for the family names and the game board since 2003, with the 2006 version having the family name screens lowered only after the family moved downstage.) More points are given for answers that had been given by more people in the survey (one point per person); answers must have been given by at least two of the 100 people in order to be included on the board. Since 1992, when the Bullseye round was introduced on the Combs version, matches are played for points instead of money.

Examples of questions might be "Name a famous George", "Tell me a popular family vacation spot", or "Name something you do at school."

The participants aren't asked questions about what is true or how things really are. They are asked questions about what other people think are true. As thus, a perfectly logical answer may be considered incorrect because it failed to make the survey (e.g.: for the question about Georges, George Jones was a popular country singer, but if his name was given by less than two people, it would be considered "wrong").

However, the questions often result in funny distortions by contestants, who give off-the-wall answers. A classic example is (as mentioned earlier): "Name the month a pregnant woman begins to look pregnant," to which one contestant replied "September" (which resulted in Dawson completely losing his composure for a good three minutes). Another example was when contestants were asked, "Name a question, such as, 'How old are you?', that you might answer with a lie." The contestants didn't pay attention to the second half of the question and instead 3 contestants answered, "18, 50, and 39", respectively. Yet another example was during a fast money round, the first question was "Besides tuna, name a type of canned sea food," to which the woman, after much stumbling, finally blurted out, "Chicken of the Sea"! During an episode of the 1988-94 edition, the host, Ray Combs, asked the question, "Name a word you'd use to describe your wife," to which a contestant answered, "Wet." The humor didn't even sink in for Combs until he repeated it for the audience and the entire crowd broke into loud laughter. Another instance involved the question, "Name one of the miracles of Jesus Christ," when one of the competing families was demonstrably Jewish.(The male competitors in the family were all wearing yarmulkes.) In the Karn version, a contestant was asked to "name something you feel before you buy it," and answered "Excited." In the British version of the show, a question was "Something you wouldn't try, not even once," to which a contestant replied "Sex on a train!" In a 2003 episode, a question asked contestants to name characters on The Andy Griffith Show; it was clear that one family — through their answers — had never seen the show.

[edit] Main game

Two family members face off to see which family will gain control of that particular question. Traditionally, they greet each other with a handshake before the question is read. Whoever guesses the more popular answer in the survey has the option to play the question or pass it to the other family (except during the 1988-1995 version, when they were automatically given control of the board). If neither player gives a valid answer, the next member of each family gets a chance to answer with control again going to the family giving the most popular answer. If both answers are worth the same amount of points, control goes to the player that buzzed in first.

The family in control then attempts to give all the remaining answers on the board. Starting with the next family member in line, each gets a chance to give one answer. The family gets a "strike" if they give an answer that is not on the board or fail to respond. (There is no firm time limit, but the host has the discretion to impose a three second count if time is short or the contestant appears to be stalling.) Three strikes cause the family to relinquish control of the board and the other family then gets the chance to steal the cash in the bank if they correctly guess one of the remaining answers. Except in the 1988-1994 version, the entire family may confer before the answer is given. (In that version, each of the four members of the family were asked their opinion, and the head of household was then told, similar to a Super Match on Match Game, to either select one of those four or their own.) Any remaining answers are then revealed; per tradition, the audience yells each unrevealed answer in a choral response.

From 1992 until 1995, and from 1999 until 2003, if the family steals the cash in the bank by guessing one of the remaining answers, the value of an answer that "stole" would also be added to the bank.

[edit] Scoring format

Questions are played for double and triple points toward the end of the game. The number of double and triple-point questions in the game has varied over the years:

Daytime Version

From To Goal Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6+
7/12/1976 3/4/1979 200 Single Single Double Double Double
3/5/1979 3/18/1979 300 Single Single Single Double Triple Triple
3/19/1979 1981 300 Single Single Double Double Triple Triple
1981 1984 300 Single Single Single Double Triple Triple
1984 1985 400 Single Single Single Single Double Triple
1988 300 Single Single Single Double Triple Triple
1988 1990 300 Single Single Double Triple Triple Triple
1990 1992 300 Single Single Single Double Triple Triple
1992 1993 300 Single Single Double Triple Triple
1992 1993 300 Single Double Triple Triple Triple

Syndicated Version

From To Goal Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6+
1977 200 Single Single Double Double Double
1977 1984 300 Single Single Single Double Triple Triple
1984 1985 400 Single Single Single Single Double Triple
1988 300 Single Single Single Double Triple Triple
1988 1990 300 Single Single Double Triple Triple Triple
1990 1992 300 Single Single Single Double Triple Triple
1992 1994 300 Single Double Triple Triple
1994 1995 300 Single Double Triple Triple
1999 2003 -- Single Single Single Triple Tiebreaker++
2003 Present 300 Single Single Double Triple Triple++ Triple++
  • From 1999 - 2003, the team in the lead after round four automatically won the game, regardless of their score. If necessary, a one-answer survey tiebreaker was played (similar to a 1992-1994 Bullseye round question).
  • As of 2003, Round 5 and subsequent rounds offer only the #1 answer presented on the survey board, also similar to the Bullseye round. The team that identifies this answer automatically wins triple the value of the answer and the round. Teams play until one scores 300 points.

[edit] Fast Money round

The winning family goes on to play Fast Money and chooses two family members to play the round. One family member leaves the stage and is placed in an isolation booth, while the other is given 20 seconds (15 seconds prior to 1994) to answer five questions. If he or she can't think up an answer to a question, he or she may pass. Except in the earliest episodes, a contestant can revist a passed question at the end, time permitting. The number of people giving each answer is revealed once all five answers are given or time has expired (whichever comes first). The player earns one point for each person that gave the same answer; at least two people must have given that answer for it to score. When revealing the number of people giving the same response, the host often gives says the familiar phrase, "Survey said!..." or "Survey says!...".

Once all the points for the first player are tallied, the second family member comes back on stage and is given 25 seconds (20 seconds prior to 1994) to answer the same five questions. The host will ask for another response should a duplicate answer be made.

If one or both family members accumulate a total of 200 points or more, the family wins the top prize; if they score less than 200, they earn $5 for every point (Example: 198 x $5 = $990). From the show's beginning until 1992, the top prize a family could win in Fast Money was $5,000 on both the ABC and CBS daytime versions, $10,000 on the syndicated versions, or the amount accumulated in the Bullseye or Bankroll round. The top prize has been $20,000 since 2001. It was increased to $50,000 for a lucky home viewer for Gameshow Marathon.

[edit] Returning champions

From 1976 until 1985, on the ABC daytime show, champions could stay until defeated or reach the limit of $25,000, per the limits imposed by ABC (this was raised to $30,000 in 1984). On the syndicated nighttime version of the era and the Louie Anderson version from 1999-2002, there were no returning champions; two new families appeared on the show nightly and daily,

From 1988 until 1995, and again since 2002, all versions featured returning champions (for a limit of 5 times, which is similar to Jeopardy! until 2002; limit was lifted in 1992 on the syndicated run), which resulted in returning for a tournament of champions, see below.

During the 1988-1994 edition, there was a winnings limit of $50,000. During Richard Karn & John O'Hurley's tenure as host, this limit was increased to $100,000.

[edit] Tournament of Champions

[edit] 1988-94 version

The 1988-94 version carried special tournament for the four highest winning families from certain periods of time returning for a Winner-Take-All Tournament of Champions. These were held rarely at first for both the CBS and the syndicated versions.

The main game rules applied, but if a family reached 200 points in Fast Money, $5,000 went into a jackpot that started at $25,000, and went up to potentially $55,000 on the CBS version. Likewise, on the sydnicated version, the jackpot started at $50,000 and went up $10,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $110,000. If the score was less than 200, nothing was added to the jackpot as the $5 a point rule was discarded for the tournament. Each semifinal was best-of-three games, with the first family in each one to win two games advancing to the finals, which was also best-of-three. There was no Fast Money round played during the finals. The scoring was similar to the 1984-1985 season (1-1-1-1-2-3) or the Combs' regular CBS/Syndicated version from late 1989-1990 (1-1-1-2-3) in the finals, with the first family to reach $400 winning the game instead of $300. The first family to win two out of three games won everything in the jackpot in addition to what they won in the regular game.

No more of these were done on the sydnicated version after the second season. The CBS version, however, continued doing them, but in mid-1990 started doing them every month, with the top four money-winning families of the previous month returning. The maingame point goals for winning a semifinal and a final game were the same, but the match format was changed from best-of-three to a one-game match for both the semifinals and the finals. Thus, the potential maximum was lowered to $35,000.

[edit] Current version

The current syndicated version began doing tournaments in 2002. The first occurred in May 2002 with the Family Circle Tournament of Champions, with eight winning families returning in a single-elimination tournament. The jackpot started at $50,000, and went up $20,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $170,000. For this particular tournament only, if Fast Money wasn't won, $5 a point was added to the jackpot. Each game was played to 300 points except for the finals, which required 500 points to win the game and the jackpot. The winning team for this tournament won a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, and tickets to the Family Circle Cup women's tennis tournament in nearby Daniel Island, in addition to the money. The runners-up for this tournament won a trip to Jamaica.

This version, however, did not do tournaments on an occasional basis again until three years later, May 2005. Again, eight families were brought back, but this time consisted of either families who previously lost their first game (for the tournament that was held in May 2005 and May 2006), or previously winning families but not necessarily focusing on the higher winning families of the past (for the Tournament held in February 2006). The differences at this point for the tournaments were that the jackpot started with nothing (except for the February 2006 Tournament of Champions, which started at $10,000), losses in Fast Money don't add anything to the jackpot (like the 1988-1995 version), and the championship game was played to 400 points. Trips were sometimes also awarded to the jackpot-winning family, like Hawaii during the February 2006 tournament and Mexico during the May 2006 tournament. Again, no Fast Money was played in the finals.

[edit] Special weeks

Special-themed weeks have been prominent during "sweeps" weeks during the show's long history, through all eras. Among them were soap opera stars playing against each other; pro wrestlers also played for a week (with a special "Beauties Vs. Beasts" opening in which Gene Wood would imitate a referee going out onstage); stars from Baywatch; and even a week of game show hosts competing against each other in 1983, featuring on one team, Jim Perry, Bob Eubanks, Nipsey Russell, Betty White and Bill Cullen; and on the other team, Bert Parks, Jim Lange, Tom Kennedy, Leslie Uggams and Peter Marshall. In 1980, members of the Kansas City Royals and the Philadelphia Phillies squared off against each other in a 6-show series, to reflect the teams' 6-game World Series that was held shortly before taping (ABC held Major League Baseball rights, and aired Feud.). There was a week of The Price is Right vs. The Young and the Restless, (both aired back to back in CBS daytime, some stations only) played for charity in November 1991. In September 1993, a special week of shows was also filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, using certain set/game elements that would later be seen on the syndicated 1994-95 version.

RTL, which produces Feud (through FremantleMedia), has featured in recent years as sweeps weeks cast members of Survivor, even though they weren't allowed to use the name in the US (RTL holds international rights to the show, but not US rights, which is also the case with many Mark Burnett shows), figure skaters from the Stars on Ice Tour, and NASCAR, with Feud's "NASCAR week," taped during Pop Secret 500 weekend in late August 2004, airing in the week leading to NASCAR Championship Weekend in Homestead, Florida, featuring teams from all three national series.

During the NASCAR themed week, a Nextel Cup show car appeared on the stage, and NASCAR's own theme music played instead of the usual music as the teams lined up for the face-off.

[edit] Home versions

Main article: Family Feud (Home Game)

Milton Bradley made eight editions of the ABC version after 1976 which were given to contestants on the show. Each time Dawson plugged the game on the air, he made a point of dramatically tossing the (obviously empty) box off-stage. Pressman Games created two editions (similar to the MB editions) based on the CBS version: one from 1990 and one from 1993 with the Bullseye round called "The New Family Feud." Endless Games created three editions since 1998 (two from the current version of the show and one with the Bullseye round) with dry-erase boards to put answers on unlike the MB and Pressman versions in which players can slide out the answers to view.

The first computer version of Feud was released in 1983 for the Coleco Adam. Sharedata released versions for MS-DOS, Commodore 64 and Apple II computers in 1987 that were similar to the Adam version and based on the Richard Dawson era. A 1989 sequel, "The All New Family Feud," was based on the syndicated version of the Ray Combs era. GameTek released versions in 1990 for NES (similar to Dawson even though the package shows the Combs set), 1993 for SNES and Sega Genesis, 1994 for Panasonic 3DO and 1995 on CD-ROM (based on the 1992-1994 version, although the host resembles Dawson). Hasbro Interactive released a version from 2000 (featuring Louie Anderson) for the PC and Sony PlayStation. In 2003, Imagination Entertainment released a DVD game of Feud with Richard Karn.

Uproar.com has an online version of the show from 1999 (which includes the double round even though the show did not have it from 1999 to 2003). The most current version (released in 2005) was created by IWin.com and can be bought online or downloaded for a free trial from www.IWin.com; it is based on the Karn version and can be played by single or team players. IWin.com also released a Holiday Edition of the game that was made available on a limited basis. The success of the games prompted iWin.com to produce a Hollywood Edition and Online Party version. The Family Feud Online Party edition allows multiple players to play on a team against other players.

Seattle-based Mobliss Inc. also released a mobile version of Family Feud that is available on Sprint, Verizon, and Cingular.

In 2006, a PlayStation 2 version was released. Even though it has the current logo of the show, the first set used is the one from Richard Karn's last season.

[edit] International versions

Image:Family feud countries2.PNG Since 2001, Canal 13 in Argentina has had its own version. The show is called "100 Argentinos Dicen", and like most versions of Feud in Latin America, its set is a dead ringer to the Mexican version of the show.

The Australian version aired on the Nine Network from 1977-1984 and was hosted by Tony Barber, Daryl Somers and Sandy Scott (although during Tony's tenure as host, it aired on Seven). It was revived on the Seven Network in 1989 and aired until 1996. It was hosted by Rob Brough and then John Deeks. A celebrity version aired in primetime in 1990-1991. The Nine Network has revived the show as Bert's Family Feud, hosted by Bert Newton, for its ever-troubled 5.30pm slot leading into the news (5:00pm in Brisbane). There have also been a few announcers-- John Blackman (on the first version), Mark Malone (on the 1990s version), and Paul Khoury (the current version) The Nine Network has been suffering critical losses in its schedule throughout 2005, particularly from an underperforming Australian adaptation of The Price Is Right hosted by Larry Emdur which aired in the critical prime-time lead-in timeslot of 5:30pm (except in Brisbane where it aired at 5:00pm). It uses an LED board and is filmed by a camera on the ground.
Image:BertsFamilyFeud.JPEG

The Belgian version is called Familieraad. It's hosted by Jo de Poorter, and it airs on the Flemish-language VTM network.

A Brazilian version of Family Feud, hosted by Silvio Santos, began in June 2005 on SBT. Their version uses the logo seen on the current US version from 1999 to 2006, and their set is sort of a cross between the Richard Karn-era US Feud set and the 100 Mexicanos Dijeron set.

The Bulgarian version is called Semejni Vojni . It was cancelled in 2005 because of low ratings.

The British version of the show, which ran from 1980 to 2002, returning in 2006 on ITV, is called Family Fortunes; see this entry.

The French-Canadian version is called La Guerre des clans ("War of the clans").

Reg Grundy, who produces the Australian version of the show, also has produced Chile's version of the show, called Desafio Familiar ("Family Challenge").

A version in Colombia is called 100 Colombianos Dicen, which means "100 Colombians Say". It is hosted by Carlos Calero and airs on Caracol TV.

Estonia also has its own version of the show. It's called Rooside Sõda, and is hosted by Kristjan Jõekalda. It airs on TV3 Viasat.

The title of the French version, Une famille en or, means (literally) "a golden family" and (figuratively) "a family to treasure". TF1 first aired the show in the late 1980s.

The first German version was called Familien Duell ("Family Duel") and shown on RTL hosted by Werner Schulze-Erdel. The show was cancelled in 2003 after eleven years because of lower ratings in the relevant target group for advertisers. A new version started in February 2006 on RTL II with the new title 5 gegen 5 ("5 against 5"), which also serves as the title for the Swiss version. The host is Oliver Petszokat.

In Greece the show has had two incarnations; the first, broadcast in the beginning of the '90s decade was known as Kondres (Clashings) and was presented by Vlassis Bonatsos. The second, which aired at the end of the same decade, went by the name of Kondra Plake (a pun on "Kondres" and a cheap type of wood) and its host was Spyros Papadopoulos.

In India, there is a Kannada version of the show called Bangarada Bete ("Golden Quarry") on Udaya TV, part of Sun Network.

The Indonesian version is called Famili 100. Shown beginning from mid-1990s on Antv and then moved to Indosiar, it has went on to become one of the most popular game shows in Indonesia.

Japan had a show called the Asked 100 People Quiz ("クイズ１００人に聞きました”, "Kuizu 100 Nin Ni Kiki Mashi Ta") in the mid to late 70's.

Malaysia also has a version of the Feud, called Famili Ceria.

A Mexican version of this show was called 100 Mexicanos Dijeron, which means "100 Mexicans Said" and was shown on Telefutura in the USA from 2002-2006. It was produced by Televisa, the dominant network in Mexico, and was hosted by the square-jawed and ever-smiling Marco Antonio Regil. Now, the show has moved to the United States, still airing on Telefutura with the same host, but it has a new title, called "Que Dice la Gente?", also serving as the title for Venezuela's version of the show. Julio Cesar Palomera is the announcer for both shows. Strangely enough, Que Dice la Gente uses a set similar to the 2005-2006 US Feud set, while the Feud Set will be overhauled for 2006-2007.

In the mid-1990s, the Netherlands had a version of Family Feud on RTL4, titled Vijf Tegen Vijf. The show has since returned to the air, now on Talpa TV and hosted by pop singer Gordon.

In the early 1990s, a version of the Feud began airing on stations in Pakistan. The original emcee for the series was also a contestant on the Ray Combs version in 1991.

In Panama a version of Family Feud is on air from August 2006, and is called 100 Panameños Dicen (100 Panamanians Say) made by TVN. Rolando Sterling hosts.

The Philippines has its own short-run version of the show, shown in ABC 5 from 2001-2002. It's hosted by Ogie Alcasid, a Filipino actor and singer.

The Polish version is called Familiada (a merging of the words familia and olimpiada, i.e. "Family Olympics"). The host is Karol Strasburger, a popular actor.

Portugal is casting contestants for a version on RTP in 2006. It's called "Em Familia com Fernando Mendes", and is hosted by (as the title says) Fernando Mendes, formerly with O Preco Certo Em Euros (The Price is Right in Portugal)

Spain also has had a version of Family Feud, titled La Guerra de Familias ("The Family War").

A version of Family Feud has aired in Switzerland as of 2005. It is called 5 Gegen 5, meaning "5 Against 5" and is hosted by Sven Epiney.

Thailand has had its own version. It is called 4 Against 4 Family Games ("4 Against 4 Sundae" in special episode). hosted by Kanit Sarasin since 2002.

In Taiwan, China Television runs a version called 大家一起來 (dàjiā yīqǐ lái, "Everybody Come Together"), hosted by 趙樹海 (Zhào Shùhǎi). The first episode was aired on September 19th, 1983.

In Turkey, it is called Aileler Yarisiyor, meaning "Families Are Competing" and is hosted by singer/actor Erol Evgin. The show first aired on Kanal D around the same time Louie Anderson's Feud was just beginning.

A version in Venezuela is called Que Dice la Gente?, which asks "What Say the People?" This version is hosted by a female named Maite Delgado, and it airs on Venevision.

As of 2005, a version of Family Feud has aired in Vietnam.

Fremantle's website also lists Denmark, Finland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon (which ran on MTV, not to be confused with the music channel of the same initials), Norway, Russia, South Africa, and Sweden as other countries with versions of the show.

[edit] Before-they-were-stars

Kathy Najimy, before becoming an actress and voice artist (as Peggy Hill on King Of The Hill), played with her family on a 1981 episode of Richard Dawson's Feud. Her family returned on June 29, 2006 to play the Feud finale on Gameshow Marathon, playing against Brande Roderick's family (she appeared on the Feud in 2000 along with her Baywatch Hawaii co-stars). Najimy won the tournament and won $100,000 for her charity.

The 1981 clip featuring the Najimy family revealed that they needed three of the second player's five answers to win the Fast Money round. It also points out that Najimys recorded 230 points; in the Gameshow Marathon episode, the same result occurred as before, but their total was 202 points, 28 points fewer than they scored with in 1981.

Current host, John O'Hurley, was in fact a contestant on the original Family Feud with Richard Dawson in a special "Guys and Dolls" celebrity week in 1981.

Former New York Yankees catcher and current Oakland Athletics manager Bob Geren appeared on the show with the Geren family in 1989 while still in the minor leagues.

[edit] References in popular culture

  • Saturday Night Live has featured several sketches parodying Family Feud. The earliest known sketch, from 1978, featured the Coneheads as one of the families and Bill Murray in the role of Richard Dawson. Later sketches featured Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman as Ray Combs with Dysfunctional Family Feud.
  • National Lampoon's European Vacation featured the Griswold family competing on a game show called "Pig in a Poke", which was an obvious parody of Family Feud (only, the competing families had to wear pig costumes) and it featured John Astin as the Richard Dawson-like host who kissed female contestants.
  • In Living Color featured a Family Feud parody in which the Jackson Family played against the English Royal Family. The parody also included Ray Combs who portrayed himself.
  • Episodes of Mama's Family (with Dawson) and 227 (with Combs) have featured characters appearing as contestants on Feud.
  • In the stop motion animated series Robot Chicken, the Bloopers segment shows a quick blooper clip from Family Feud in which the host, kisses the two female contestants and offers the one male contestant a handshake, only to be pulled into a kiss with the man, which he weakly struggles to get out of. At the end of the clip, the blooper host jokingly comments, "A later host of the Family Feud would hang himself."
  • Sesame Street once featured Dawson as host of a Feud parody, "Family Food."
  • A television commercial for Old Navy clothing stores in 2002 featured another Feud parody, "Family Fleece". This starred actress Morgan Fairchild.
  • An episode of The Jetsons had the Jetsons face the Spacelys on "Family Fallout." The Jetsons won, but out of fear of getting fired, George trade prizes. The Jetsons won a washer/dryer set (which Jane wanted anyway), and the Spacelys won a lifetime supply of Cogswell's Cogs (the rival company of Spacely's Sprockets).
  • On the British satirical gameshow Have I Got News For You, team captain Paul Merton made a mocking reference to the perceived stupidity of many contestants on the UK version Family Fortunes. Also, the "uh-oh" sound heard on the British show when contestants gave an answer which was not among the answers given by the "hundred people surveyed" has become a common reference point in British popular culture.
  • A November 1979 episode of ABC-TV's Angie starring Donna Pescow featured Richard Dawson playing himself on the popular game show. The set featured on the episode was not the original Family Feud set at ABC studios but a mock-up created for the sitcom.
  • A May 2003 episode of NBC-TV's Watching Ellie featured Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Ellie trying to win a vacation by booking a faux family with her to appear on the show. Richard Karn played himself.
  • The Family Guy DVD of Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story shows a cutaway of Peter portraying a version of Richard Dawson. The cutaway shows him greeting with a contestant named Betsie, after he kisses on her cheek, he puts his hand under Betsie's shirt and touches her right breast, then the left one.
  • In the "Da Boom" episode of Family Guy, a group of highway people, upon finding the family doesn't have any food, and in fact, is looking for some themselves, refuses to let them pass until answering a Feud-style question ("Something one takes on a picnic"). The family's answer: potato salad. As the highway people look at a cloud (presumably waiting for a bell or buzzer), the family backs away and leaves.
  • In the beginning of the film Airplane II: The Sequel, every time a passenger goes through the security checkpoint, either the trademark bell, buzzer or ring-in sound from Family Feud can be heard.
  • Several episodes of the sketch comedy show MADtv featured cast member Will Sasso spoofing the Louie Anderson-era Feud, portraying the host as a miserably hopeless compulsive overeater, who often berated himself or the contestants during the game. Another sketch was spoofing the Karn era of feud with Lord of the Rings vs. Cold Mountain. Nobody knew who Richard Karn was!
  • The Showtime sketch comedy Bizarre made numerous references to Feud and Richard Dawson's constant kissing of contestants. In one sketch, host John Byner played Dawson as he was about to be married; the "I dos" were posted on a survey answer board. The sketch ended with Byner walking out of the Bizarre studio -- still in character as Dawson -- kissing practically everyone on his way out, including the camera and a stray dog sitting outside the studio door. In another sketch, Byner played a medical expert who showed the audience the "number one cause of herpes" -- a picture of Dawson.
  • One of the Homestar Runner cartoons (specifically, one of Strong Bad's E-Mails), Strong Bad is watching TV when the familiar buzzer is heard. He comments, "Survey says...you're an idiot."
  • The familiar "Strike" buzzer is used on other various TV and radio programs, particularly talk shows and the NFL pregame shows. The buzzer can also be heard on the new talent search program America's Got Talent, whenever all three judges have decided not to let a contestant go further in the competition.
  • In the first movie of the Lethal Weapon series starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, while Gibson is watching TV, you can hear Gene Wood reading the ticket plug from the Dawson version on the TV. In a deleted scene set shortly after, Gibson's character throws a beer bottle at his television screen while watching a happy family celebrate a Fast Money win.
  • In the movie Mallrats, Brodie (Jason Lee) refers to the game show host as Richard Dawson and tells him to go back to his podium until it's time to play The Feud.
  • The Australian television series Fast Forward spoofed that country's version of Family Feud in 1991. Steve Vizard portrayed host Rob Brough.

[edit] External links

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