Star Words - Pilot #3

They made at least 3 of these! ;) Enjoy!

[@robertblack2752]

CNR must have been on every celebrity game show in the 70's-early 80's

[@ericvansickle4305]

Fun fact, in 1993, Bob Hilton was a news anchor at KGAN, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, CBS affiliate. He didn't last long, though, because he confronted a suspect heading into court because while off duty, he saw the defendant assault a mail carrier.

[@blind_t2]

Eric VanSickle if he’s still with us, I wonder what’s he up to these days.

[@johnnysama]

He runs a company called NovaGreenWorld, which is an environmental products supplier for commercial and industrial companies as well as municipalities.

[@gamesgalore4218]

I'm not surprised CBS chose "Press Your Luck" over this. "Press Your Luck" looked far more interesting than this.

[@johnnysama]

This looks like a fun game, but CBS did make the right call putting Press Your Luck on the air over this to replace Child's Play.

[@EdwynNSanchez]

johnnysama I say both Star Words and Press Your Luck are gold

[@gregoryjamesdilmore6224]

It could have been better,but,Nipsey Russell would have made a great gameshow host&he was always funny!

[@thepocketducks3148]

Better players than the previous pilot, but it doesn't make the game any more exciting or palatable. Nipsey Russell is still the best part of this show.

[@dakotareeves3939]

This is pilot episode #3 of "Star Words" (a short-lived '80s game show in the U.S.), hosted by Nipsey Russell & it originally aired in June '83. 🇺🇲 🇺🇲

[@Bigstaxx3381]

Nipsey was the man

[@Ian16545]

Now, I'm a fan of Nipsey's way with words as much as the next game show fan-but if only they tweaked this in some places to make it more playable, then this would've had a chance. 0:10 - A long time ago, in a game show studio, far, far, away...

[@pricemodel1983]

Oh wow this was taped the day I was born!

[@ff29h2]

Same!

[@garryjohnson3781]

10 days before my first birthday

[@dakotareeves3939]

On this third pilot episode of "Star Words", the two teams competing are April & Charles and Patty & Jeff.

[@benjaminkellog7311]

Two other shows just called. Scrabble wants its set back, and Match Game 90 wants to know who stole its "Match-Up" round.

[@digiblader1]

This version worked better than the other pilot that was shown on Buzzr.. but still, CBS made the right decision to pick Press Your Luck.

[@collegeslammer]

good thing they chose Tomarken over Russell.

[@christopherthompson3870]

Curious to ask... was it always so obligatory for Nipsey to get to do a poem, with each TV appearance he ever did? Was it a contractual requirement with producers that he had?

[@collegeslammer]

Buzzr should've had this pilot this year!

[@jeffboettcher2531]

OK, this was a different pilot than BuzzrPlus+'s Pilot A. Watched that one a little while back.

[@Yugi40]

Man! Will no one EVER win the bonus round on Star Words?! Bring the game show back!!

[@marcpower4167]

Bring it back? It never was....didnt get past the pilot stage.

[@marklamphear7531]

The opening theme from the 1985 nba finals

[@marcpower4167]

well this was better than the other pilot that's out there, but it still has its flaws. the bonus round is way too hard. 10 pairs in 60 seconds is very tough to pull off, 7 in 60 or 10 in 90 would be better.

[@andrewschroy6368]

Or 8 in 75, even.

[@Sammy4549]

Are the contestants on these pilots actual contestants, or just employees of the studio playing as such?

[@justinjorgensen1001]

Actual contestants. Sometimes the show don't get picked up, but they still get whatever they win

[@marcpower4167]

@@justinjorgensen1001 it varies, it some cases they hire actors, there are also cases where they don't get the announced prize but still get paid based on how well they did. In some cases they "rig" pilots to show the network possible situations. You can do with a pilot but obviously not a series.

[@hansel2001]

Great game. Bring it back!

[@bigblue9996]

A combination of Match Game and Tattletales

[@DesmondShannon87]

That's exactly my thoughts

[@barbarossalewis3633]

bigblue999 thats why it did not air cause tattletales was still on. at that time and even though MARK GOODSON made this they dont need two of them on the air btw the tote board is simliar to PASSWORD PLUS

[@mauricesnell5886]

This game show is a combination of "Super Password" and "Tattletales." Too bad it didn't last long.

[@gaffneyrailroading1982]

Apparently, it didn't get picked up. In fact, this got passed over by CBS in favor of "Press Your Luck."

[@miamidolphinsfan]

CBS did the right thing. This video should be burned.

[@gsnman]

I know April was a contestant on The Price is Right in 1975.

[@IvoryM1986]

I also know that April was a player on Child's Play from April 28-May 2, 1983(from the early stages of the Turnabout end game era), and she was on the Puzzlers pilot a few years earlier but wasn't sold.

[@andrewschroy6368]

And on one of the Puzzlers pilots, too.

[@JayJayinNYC]

Yeah she's a known plant.

[@port566]

@@JayJayinNYC Maybe the older lady on Tic-Tac-Dough should look at her stem! :-)

[@chuckers40]

With a few tweaks in the format and set, It could've worked. It has a catchy theme, good concept, great stars.

[@JoeyLamontagne]

Charles allen jr But it was against Press Your Luck. PYL wins

[@jgarrison1309]

This would be a fun game to play at home... with three or four couples but not on television. It's too slow.

[@illustriousrocket4476]

This is a fairly fun game, but it doesn't really stand well on its own in this form. It feels like a segment from a larger show. For it to be a show on its own it would need some fairly significant changes to the way it's executed.

[@jasonbeard4713]

I think, in this format, it could have lasted two years, tops. The challenge to its longevity would be finding contestants who were intelligent enough to give and decipher clues. I'm glad I stumbled upon this alternate. It has a format similar to Password, yet not in that stratosphere.

[@deputay]

Ha! You made my day! Ha!

[@malicool1304]

tattletales meets the match game hollywood squares hour

[@benjaminkellog7311]

I can't believe I was actually entertained by an entire show based on word association (that wasn't Match Game). I liked how the players were quick to identify reasonably common pairings and play them when necessary, but I can sense had this gone to a full series, some of the associations could have become incredibly Dadaist, which would have ruined the play-along element. The bonus round was great, although I feel they missed some opportunities for tricky clues. I wonder what they would have done with a clue like "elephant god."

[@port566]

"Elephant god" could be Ganesha, a Hindu god.

[@supersaver87]

I find it funny that this pilot has the exact same lineup of celebrities and contestants as the one Buzzr aired.

[@jprogman]

The clue givers in the main game should give different tone or empathis when giving the two words. Like on Password where the clue givers sometimes sing or act their clues.

[@kelperdude]

Infidelity and 'other woman' is a match. I didn't like the judging.

[@jasonbeard4713]

Not necessarily. It could be with a man. They needed a response which is as close to the clue as possible.

[@juliaz12345]

Goodness...The only appeal to this show is Nipsey Russell...And he sucks as a host. I would have given up after the first pilot, but three pilots of this madness?

[@Bigstaxx3381]

juliaz12345 wow

[@marcpower4167]

I wouldnt say he sucks but I agree he's not an ideal host. The host is supposed to be the guy who keeps the game running. Being funny is okay but it shouldn't overwhelm the game. Nipsey is better as a panelist vs. a host. I do think he'd have been great on you bet your life, because under that format, the host is the show.

[@RogersRoyal]

Sadly, I don't like the game show. Its kinda limited with the whole you have to use these five words and that's it concept. I can see why it never made it past pilot stage.

[@port566]

It might be interesting if there were a hodgepodge game show that takes good failed pilots like this, and uses that concept as a round on a rotating basis. Do that with about 10-20 failed pilots and it might work.