Winning Lines

***Winning Lines*** is a Transmanian light entertainment lottery numerical quiz show that aired from 2000 to 2001. Based on the format of the same-titled British game show created by David Briggs, Steven Knight and Mike Whitehill for Celador Productions and developed in Transmanitain by Big Synergy Productions. It ran for two seasons and 26 episodes.

## Production & broadcasting history

The show's pilot was taped in December 1999.

## Format

### Round 1

Fourty-nine contestants took part; each was assigned a two-digit number from 01 to 49. The host asked a series of six mathematical questions, each with a numerical answer, and the contestants had five seconds to enter their answers on numerical keypads. For each question, the contestant who entered the correct answer in the shortest time advanced to the next round. The other 43 contestants were eliminated at the end of the round and left with no money.

### Round 2: Sudden Death

As in the British version called **Looking After Number One**, each contestant carried their number from Round 1 with them into Round 2. A series of mathematical questions are asked that were answered by a number belonging to one of the contestants still in play at the time. If a contestant buzzed in and correctly answered with an opponent's number, that opponent was eliminated; a contestant who correctly responded with his/her number remained in the game. An incorrect answer eliminated the contestant who gave it. If no one buzzed in on a question, Host revealed the correct answer and the contestant with that number were eliminated. When only one contestant remained, he or she won Ð2,500 and advanced to the bonus round, while the other five each received Ð1,000.

### Bonus Round: The Wonderwall

The winner had three minutes to answer as many questions as possible, using 49 answers numbered 01–49 as displayed on three projection screens. Each correct answer earned more money, with 20 correct answers earning 1-ha.

Seated in front of the Wonderwall, the contestant was given 15 seconds to study the answers before the round begins. As in the British version, the contestant had to call out the number *and* correct answer to be given credit. The contestant could also freeze the timer twice for 15 seconds each (called "pit stops") and look over the board again; however, he/she was not allowed to answer during the pit stop. The contestant could also pass on a maximum of two questions. The correct answer was announced and removed from the board when the contestant responded (whether correct or incorrect), but not if he/she passed.

Giving an incorrect answer gave the contestant a strike. A button near the contestant's seat lit up once either two strikes had been earned or the three-minute timer reached its final 15 seconds, whichever came first. He/she could press this button at any time to "bailout," ending the round and keeping all money earned to that point. If the contestant ran out of time or accumulated three strikes without bailing out, he/she lost all winnings from the Wonderwall and left with only the Đ5,000 won in the main game.

As in the British version, instead of the three screens in the studio, home viewers were shown a screen that continually scrolled from side to side and automatically jumped to the right place when a correct answer was given (either by the player or by the host in the event the player was incorrect).

The RT version offered an at-home game similar to the UK version. The second digit from each of the Round 1 winners' numbers and the second digit from the number of the final correct answer given during the Wonderwall were shown at the end of the show. Home viewers who could make up their own home or cell phone number from these digits, without the area code, were eligible to enter a drawing for Đ25,000.