Scrabble 1990 Pilot

[@steadfastcoward]

I loved this show! Chuck Woolery was a funny, charming guy, which also was what made Love Connection a classic. Missed him when Pat and Vanna replaced him and Susan on Wheel Of Fortune as well.

[@terryleemangrumii8566]

R.I.P. Charlie Tuna

[@lobstertexas]

@0:59 "we'll play until one of our THREE players gets three words" .. hah. I mean.. I know it's a pilot and he's not a seasoned game show host, but did it not occur to them to do a re-take -- or did nobody catch him saying that? (Pro tip: It always helps when the host is aware of how many contestants there actually are :D)

[@mediadude08]

"Scrabble......get outta here kid." Best part of the whole video.

[@seymourfatboy]

Followed by the stopper sound effect. Hilarious!

[@DrummingWriterTrekfan84]

Another thing that didn't help steve edwards in this taping is that he had a horse voice. He probably had a mild cold or something. Too bad. I'd like to watch him host when he's well and with a clear voice. it probably just wasn't the best day for him to try out.

[@ArmHeavySoCal]

This is shorter pilot version. When I can see the full pilot version with former Good Day L.A. host Steve Edwards?

[@CartoonsAndGameShows]

It's a shame that this show isn't going on in some way, I'm sure Chuck could come back to host it.

[@scootover7]

I thought he retired from hosting gameshows, but would never love to see a revival of this show. Concentration is another show that should be brought back too since nbc doesn't want to sell the rights to GSN or Buzzr

[@marcpower4167]

@@scootover7 could be wrong, but I don't think he retired, he just hasn't been getting offers.

[@DrummingWriterTrekfan84]

I don't know if he retired but I know he currently lives in the middle of Texas. But that's all I know.

[@wschmrdr]

Maybe it's just me, but I really like this set, which was also used in 1993. Just wish they had the budget and not have a jackpot of $1000.

[@TheMisterJ]

I'd love to know where I can find the music library of Ray & Marc Ellis. I think they composed every piece of music for Reg Grundy's shows in the U.S.

[@danalong1237]

And Ray & Marc Ellis also composed music for Filmation from 1968 to 1982.

[@markjeffries3684]

In case people forgot, Chuck was still doing "Love Connection" for syndication, so he couldn't do this show. Unfortunately, 1990 was such a bad year for game shows in syndication that it would've been highly unlikely that stations would've been interested in the fall of 1991 for "Scrabble," even if wasn't a Q&A like all of the failed shows.

[@Daffyfan2006]

Yeah. That was around the time Pat Sajak left the daytime version of WOF to do his talk show. I guess a lot of game show hosts were doing that around this time.

[@17tubemaster]

I saw a webcast with Steve a few months ago and he said that Chuck was unavailable because he was committed to his syndicated talk show. That didn’t debut until the year after so either he’s confused or it didn’t get picked up in 1990 but did in 1991.

[@marcpower4167]

If he had both his talk show and love connection, that would explain it: he didn't want 3 jobs. He did briefly once before and that lasted only a few weeks cause it was too much for him. Not many hosts have had 3 simultaneous shows.

[@toddwacha5108]

@@marcpower4167 Exactly. Alex Trebek (RIP) for several months in 1991 did Jeopardy!, Classic Concentration, AND To Tell The Truth; the katter two shows on NBC, and Jeopardy! in syndication.

[@4jp]

"The category is 'they're history.' That means that all clues in the crossword will have something to do with "they're history.'" Thanks for clearing that up, Steve.

[@StrangerCoug]

I think the intro was outdated and cheesy. The set was nice, though.

[@CartoonsAndGameShows]

2:33 Anybody else get pissed when Steve says "Don't Ask Me"? Doesn't seem like proper game show host etiquette.

[@mrmatchgame]

I think Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W) was suppose to distribute it, Good looking show.

[@devares2006]

So, in short, it would've ended up on CBS stations.

[@andrewschroy6368]

DeVares Moore Being this was 1990, only KDKA in Pittsburgh and KPIX in San Francisco were affiliated with CBS as far as Group W stations went. KYW in Philadelphia and WBZ in Boston were still NBC back then, and WJZ in Baltimore was ABC... :-) Still, glad they got Chuck back for the 1993 revival. As I said, Steve Edwards was just as awful here as he was on the Get Rich Quick pilot 13 years before.

[@johnissoevil]

DeVares Moore Not necessarily, the CBS-Westinghouse merger didn't happen until 5 years later. Although, CBS affiliates KDKA and KPIX would've likely aired it, as they were owned by Westinghouse at the time.

[@KiddBloo86]

Is that my favorite Match Game panelist, Patti Deutch, in the opening?

[@someguy23475]

That's what I thought as well.

[@nextbarker2702]

Buzzer DOES have Concentration on the lineup Narz and Trebeks.

[@blarggrapids]

So they just kept that set in limbo for 3 years? Thanks for posting

[@watchdavefrye]

I think Steve Edwards just didn't have enough panache in hosting. They should have had someone else host it that was established.

[@MTCesquire]

D F I would've settled for someone with a hint of personality.

[@marcomacias3960]

I'm just glad they bought back actual tiles for the revival instead of those CGI ones

[@rodney1279TheFlip]

The 1990s Pilot was not that bad. Steve Edwards was a whole lot better in this pilot then the other on he did, "Get Rich Quick!".

[@amybeakley8804]

I remember this

[@lilbluefoxie]

it uses the same computer program to do the board graphics

[@georgemaster1995]

Steve Edwards is now one of the cast members/news personalities on Good Day L.A. on Fox 11(KTTV).

[@djcchs2004]

The opening of this show feel very different. It just two people talking. It doesn't feel like Scrabble at all. I glad they went back to the original when the show got picked up.

[@JayTemple]

I would have tuned out right then.

[@shawnquinn9534]

+DJ Whitaker Agreed, the intro is absolutely terrible. What were they thinking?

[@millenniumman75]

It sounds like actors Jerry Houser and Patti Deutsch.

[@willjarmon]

Might have sold with Rob Weller

[@mgsnv2]

Show more clips like this!

[@blindsportslover]

Call me crazy, but is that guy in the intro Paul Heyman? I swear it sounds like his voice.

[@ChrisMRose1]

The guy sounds like Jerry Houser (The Brady Brides)

[@AaronBruceLadner]

Cool!

[@samsticka]

Well, at least the board cube rotated to the other side for the Sprint Round.

[@amybeakley8804]

Chuck woolery. Was way better

[@chrismc410]

The powers-that-be agreed and brought him back

[@Richard74205]

This show, to me, was 50-50. Steve wasn't the best host around. But I've always associated Scrabble with Chuck. Just like Lingo, once he left, I basically left. The intro definitely wasn't the best. On the up side, at least everything worked on the set. Well, except for no physical tiles. But at least the Sprint round had the real board, not a computerized one.

[@OliveOyl12590]

I have NO idea what they were thinking with that horrible opening and I would have rather seem Marc Summers hosting the show instead.

[@johncraw8572]

The male in the intro is Jerry houser

[@Tubewings]

Man, this seems worse than what we ultimately ended up with in 1993, and most of that falls on Mr. Edwards. I don't know how they built up the Sprint Jackpot, but I hope it was better than having them guess the word on a Bonus Square.

[@blindsportslover]

Tubewings I know this comment is two years old, but that's exactly what they ended up with. The jackpot wouldn't increase unless you solved it on a special Square. It would've been fine if the starting jackpot was either $5,000 or $10,000.

[@Lupton2000]

Sounds like some of the music was reused as win cues for the 1993 version. I thought one time I saw a picture of the pilot with the set similar to the 1984-90 version but with darker colors.

[@sha11235]

Oh, this was a revival pilot of the Chuck Woolrey game.

[@kenman923]

Any relation to Geoff?

[@loutenore33]

hum strange this was just after nbc just froped it and they decided to do a piolit to early i think

[@wschmrdr]

Not at all. NBC cancelled the show due to going in a different network direction, so a syndie pickup sounded logical.

[@danbarker4857]

I guess Chuck was still doing LC, which is why he didn't shoot this pilot, but I don't think Steve did to bad with this.

[@TheEggplantThatAteChicago]

That opening is appalling. Steve Edwards, at least here, is competent but wooden.

[@bluebear1985]

I think I know why they couldn't go with Chuck for the pilot. He was still hosting "Love Connection" in syndication, and I think there's that rule that prevents a host from doing two different shows in syndication. That's what prevented Tom Kennedy from hosting "Break the Bank" in the 70s when it went from ABC to syndication, because he was still hosting "Name That Tune".

[@johnnyballenatl]

Rules were rules at the time, but not anymore! Now we have Steve Harvey with his talk show and of course Family Feud, both syndicated (meaning for Steve, arduous commutes between Chicago and Atlanta). But even though they passed on Scrabble '90, Group W did greenlight Chuck Woolery's short-lived talker; both that and Love Connection had to be on different stations in the same market.

[@paulc6944]

bluebear1985 I think it may have also had to do with 2 different sets of producers, doubt Reg Grundy/Group W and Leiber/WB were willing to work together at the time.

[@sha11235]

Hey, that's Wally Logan's voice.

[@misstee101]

what? I thought it was Charlie Tuna's voice

[@abcwatermark]

+Tunisia Tucker It IS Charlie Tuna. Unless sha11235 is referring to the voice opposite Patti Deutsch's in the intro.

[@joellafargue9882]

Two things: First, I would have loved to see the entire episode instead of just a clip; and second, a question: since this was a clip that I assumed never aired, did he actually win the money?

[@c3po626]

He did not, this was used with scripted acting, and a paid amount in wages for time and travel. To test the shows format.

[@digiblader1]

So this is what the 1993 version turned into.. set's pretty much the same and the cube actually turns, unlike the 1993 version.

[@terryleemangrumii8566]

If it did get syndicated, who would've distributed this?

[@StevenAndersonEnterprises]

Terry Lee Mangrum II Westinghouse (Group W) was to be the distributor. IIRC Scrabble was one of the few NBC game shows that Group W affiliate WBZ in Boston cleared for the schedule. It may have first been a program option for their stations,with national syndication as an afterthought

[@toddwacha5108]

Steve Edwards was too boring as a game show host. Chuck Woolery did this show justice.

[@Ian16545]

Steve should've stuck to _Good Day L.A._.

[@steve760]

I like him on GDLA. I just don't know about him hosting game shows. Never saw this pilot.

[@devares2006]

@@steve760, he hosted a lot of pilots, none of which made it to air.

[@BrandonSugiura]

This, out of all the pilots I have seen, was prob the worst one. The host... man needs to go the plot of the show looked boring and the intro .... really could you have done a hell of a lot better?