Whew!

Whew!
Premiere	April 23, 1979
Finale	May 30, 1980
Creator	Jay Wolpert
Host	Tom Kennedy
Network/Provider	CBS
Style	25-minute game show
Company	The Bud Austin Company, Jay Wolpert Productions, Burt Sugarman Productions
Seasons	1
Episodes	247
Origin	USA

Whew! is a game show that aired on CBS.

The show pitted two contestants---one was the charger, the other the blocker. The charger is sequestered offstage. The blocker faces a game board of squares (with a category denoting the material to be played) comprised of six levels: the first five levels each have five squares from $10 to $50 while the sixth level has three squares of $200, $350 and $500. The blocker now places six blocks anywhere on the board, only one block on level six and at least one block per level or up to three on any one level on the others. The charger now comes out and in the time limit of 60 seconds picks squares which contain a "blooper" (a statement with the key element deliberately incorrect--e.g.: The big annual event in Pamplona, Spain is running with scissors. The incorrect term will be underlined.) The charger starts at level 1 and must correct one blooper to advance to successive levels. If the charger uncovers a block, a five second penalty is assessed and he/she must stay on that level until he/she corrects a blooper.

The charger wins the game and scores the money from correcting the bloopers by making it to the top in the time limit. The blocker wins if the charger runs out of time. If the charger sees that time is running out, he/she may call a "Long Shot." Time is stopped and the blocker now secretly places a block in a square on level 6. The charger must uncover a blooper on level 6 and correct it to win the game. If a block is uncovered, the blocker wins the game and scores money in the amount of each successful block. (Long shots cannot be called on level 6 during timed play or when a block is being timed down.)

Players switch places in game two. The player winning two games is champion and plays a bonus round for $25,000. He/she must run the "Gauntlet Of Villains," ten cut-out cartoon ne'er-do-wells with a monitor in their belly. Starting with the first villain, the player must correct a blooper in order to advance to the next villain. (If an incorrect answer is given, the correct answer is displayed on the villains' monitor.) The player has 60 seconds plus 1 second for every $100 won in the main game to run the gauntlet with $100 per correct answer awarded. Running all ten villains wins the $25,000. The villains are Alphonse the Gangster, Bruno the Headsman, Mr. Van Louse the Landlord, Nero the Fiddler, Count Nibbleneck the Vampire, Frank & Stein, Kid Rotten the Gunslinger, Jeremy Swash the Pirate, Dr. Deranged the Mad Scientist, and Lucretia the Witch.

Whew! was the last daytime game show to run 25 minutes, with a news capsule from CBS following it. In November 1979, celebrity team captains were employed and the show rebranded Celebrity Whew! In this format the team winning two rounds played against the house, as the Gauntlet of Villains place the blocks on the board, with a seventh block on level 6 in case the Long Shot is called. The Hanna-Barbera studio created the animated opening for the show.

Whew! was doing fine at its 10:30 AM Eastern time period, outperforming NBC's All-Star Secrets. Then NBC canceled All-Star Secrets and moved The Hollywood Squares in its place where it handily beat Whew!, even when it went to a celebrity edition.

Whew! made its first appearance on TV since 1980 on September 6, 2021 when the diginet Buzzr started replays of the series.

Crew

Member
Announcer
Rod Roddy

Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale				#
CBS
Season One	April 23, 1979	May 30, 1980				247

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series

DVD Releases

There are no DVD releases for this show.