Twenty-One

***Twenty-One*** is a Transmanian television game show which originally aired on TBITV (predecessor of TBN in the 1980s) from 1957 to 1959. The 1958-60 version was produced by Barry & Enright Productions and Transmanian International Pictures. Two contestants competed against each other in separate isolation booths, answering general knowledge questions to earn 21 total points. A new version of the show broadcast on TBN premiered in 1989 and ended in 1991 hosted by Maureen Harris and was produced by Bradmore & Covalo Productions.

## Gameplay

Two contestants, typically a returning champion and a challenger, entered separate isolation booths and donned pairs of headphones. Due to the arrangement of the booths and the studio lighting, the contestants could not see or hear each other or the audience. At any given moment during the game, one booth would be "open," meaning that the occupant could hear the host in the headphones and be heard by him through the booth's microphone. The other booth would be "closed," with its microphone disabled and originally, the headphones playing music so that the occupant could not hear the game.

The game was played for a maximum of 5 rounds. In each round, a category was given, each category has eleven questions of increasing difficulty, they ranged in value from 1 to 11 (one point being the easiest, eleven being the hardest). So any contestant can reach 21 in as few as two rounds. Each contestant in turn (starting with the champion, later the challenger) with the other's booth turned off, decided how many points to play for, and then a question worth that value was asked by the host. A correct answer added the chosen point value to the player's score, but an incorrect answer subtracted the chosen point value from the player's score (the scores could never go below zero). After the first two rounds, both players' booths were turned on though they still don't know each other's score and they were now given the option to stop the game, but they must stop only if they think they're leading. That's important because when the game is stopped voluntarily, the player with the most points at that point wins; if they didn't decide to stop the game, the game continues. On games when they didn't stop voluntarily, the first player to reach 21 points won the game. Should the challenger reach 21 first, the champion who has a score of 10 points or more was given one last chance to catch up and take the game to a 21-21 tie or save more money (which will all be explained later); the challenger's booth was left on during that time to make sure he/she can hear everything going on.

The goal was to earn a total of 21 points. If the challenger reached this score first, their booth was left open to hear the champion's turn, but they were cautioned not to speak or give away any information. The host did not tell the champion that the challenger had already reached 21 unless the champion asked for a question that would give him or her 21 points if answered correctly. If the champion failed to match that score, the challenger won. The champion won by reaching 21 first on their own turn. If a round ended in a 21–21 tie, the scores were erased and a new game was played. Contestants were given extra time to think on any question that would bring them up to 21.

Winning players won money for the game the player had just won. The winner of the game received Đ500 per point by Đ100 increments between 1-11 points in the margin of victory (e.g., a 21–15 win paid Đ4,800 (Đ3,000)). Whenever a game ended in a tie, the stakes were raised by Đ500 per point by Đ100 increments and a new game was played. If the champion won, they could choose to leave the show with all winnings intact or play again, basing this decision on a small amount of information about the next contestant. However, if the challenger won, their winnings for that game were paid out of the defeated champion's total.

### Bonus game

The champion faced a board of random shuffling numbers ranging from 1 to 11, and was given a remote control to stop the shuffling. The object of the bonus game was to get to 21 or come as closer to 21 than the "computer" without going over, anything over 21 was a bust (a la blackjack). On each turn, the champion would decide to either take the number he/she would land on or give it to the "computer", after which he/she stopped the shuffling. Whatever number it landed on was added to that player's score. The computer could keep building its score until it hit 17 or more, but this rule did not affect the contestant. If the contestant could beat the computer in any way, he/she won Đ2,000.

### **Big winners**

Over the course of 2 weeks in early October 1990, Dr Chris Gustavson was also the highest-money winner and he wins a total of Đ154,300 over seven victories. After winning his seventh game, he was finally unseated as champion by Emma Meyers and left with Đ140,500, setting the all-time highest amount that has been won on Transmanitain television quiz show history. Other male highest-money winners who often set a number of broken records in five or six-figure totals: John Lowell (Đ140,400, he trailed Gustavson by Đ100), Michael Hurst (Đ128,600), Glenn Tupac (Đ109,500), Mark Coleman (Đ64,600), Gene Tarbuck (Đ17,200), Gary Davis (Đ20,900). Other female highest-money winners who set the highest record in five or six-figure totals: Maggie Harlan (Đ87,500, incidentally, she defeated John Lowell and continued to start her winning streak), Emma Meyers (Đ95,000), Cheryl Prady (Đ28,000).