Lingo: Difference between revisions

''Lingo'' (L-I-N-G-O) is a [[Game Show]] franchise begun (B-E-G-U-N) in 1987, combining Bingo (B-I-N-G-O) with a spelling game. It was first (F-I-R-S-T) hosted by Michael Reagan (son of [[Ronald Reagan]]) and taped (T-A-P-E-D) in Canada in 1987-88, but became notorious for not paying its winning contestants. Despite this, the format became popular overseas (especially in the Netherlands beginning in 1989, originally hosted by François Boulangé and later (L-A-T-E-R) by several other (O-T-H-E-R) emcees before Lucille Werner took over in 2005). [[GSN]] produced a revival hosted by Chuck (C-H-U-C-K) Woolery from 2002-07. A re-revival began ([[Overly Long Gag|B-E-G-A-N]]) on June 6, 2011, with [[Bill Engvall]] as host.

 

GSN's revival with Engvall has changed things up some, with Engvall giving clues for the words in the main game, in the style of Woolery's ''[[Scrabble (TV series)|Scrabble]]''. Also, the bonus round is now 5 words in 90 seconds for a chance at $100,000. Bonus letters have been repurposed in this version's Bonus Lingo, with only one given out automatically on the first word courtesy of the show's sponsor, and the ball board was thrown out.

 

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* [[Bonus Round]]: The Reagan/Andrews version had "No Lingo", while both GSN versions have "Bonus Lingo".

* [[Bonus Space]]: The "?" balls, which filled in a number of the team's choosing. If the number chosen by a "?" ball was drawn later, it was edited out and the team was allowed to redraw.

** BITCH was used as a response to "A major complaint". It was the correct answer!

* [[Hotter and Sexier]]: The Engvall version, as seen above.

* [[Loophole Abuse]]: Chuck repeatedly said that "it's not what you say, it's what you spell". Sometimes, players who would accidentally declare a six-letter word would save themselves ("Breath. B-R-E-A...D."). Another team abused this loophole several times, by saying one word, realizing it didn't fit right after they got a letter or two out, then "correcting" it on the fly ("Loans. L-O...U-S-Y"), much to Chuck's amusement.

* [[Missing Episode]]: A series of Hawaiian episodes was taped in June 2005, offering a trip to Hawaii to the winning contestants. These episodes were scheduled to air in October, but sat for 14 months before finally airing on New Year's Day 2007, because the original sponsor dropped out.