Tic Tac Dough (1979 Transmanian game show)

1983 Tic Tac Dough logo with 1981 TBN logo used for slate broadcasts.

### Based on

*Tic Tac Dough* created and produced in the United States by Barry & Enright Productions

### Written by

C. James Brown
Nicole Lynn Baker (nee Ryan)

### Composer(s)

Hal Hidey
Stephen Hauber

## Production

### Executive producer(s)

Scott Springsteen
Dan Enright
Lou Steinwitz
Nicole Ryan (1979-82, 1983-86)
Ron Greenberg

### Production location(s)

Senbai Television Studios
Rixterri

### Running time

26-30 minutes (1979-80)
30-35 minutes (1980-1985)
35-40 minutes (1983-88)

### Production company(s)

Barry & Enright Productions
CTRS Entertainment

### Distributor

Columbia Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television

## Release

### Original network

ATN
TBN

### Original release

April 1979 - December 1982
September 1983 - 1987

***Tic Tac Dough*** (known as ***(The New) Tic Tac Dough***) is a Transmanian television game show of the American version of the same name based on the paper-and-pencil game of tic-tac-toe. Contestants answer questions in various categories to put up their respective symbol, *X* or *O*, on the board.

## Gameplay

The goal of the game was to complete a line of three X or O markers on a standard tic-tac-toe board (with the reigning champion always mounting X's for use and going first). Each of the nine spaces on the gameboard featured a category. Contestants alternated choosing a category and answering a general interest or trivia question in that category. If they were correct, they earned an X or O in that square; otherwise, it remained unclaimed. The centre square, being of the most strategic importance, involved a two-part question, with the contestant given 10 seconds to think of the two answers needed to win the square. After each question, the categories shuffled into different positions (Originally, the categories shuffled only after both contestants had taken a turn). If at any point in a game it became impossible for either contestant to win with a line (a so-called "cat game"), the match was declared a draw and a new game started. The process continued until the deadlock was broken, however long it took to do so. This meant that a match could take multiple episodes to complete, which happened quite often. *Tic Tac Dough* used a rollover format to enable this to take place smoothly. This meant that a match could start at any point in an episode, continue until the time was called, and then resume play on the next episode where the game began with the same categories in play.

The gameboard was made up of nine Apple II systems connected to individual computer monitors to represent each game screen, all linked to a central Altair 8800 computer, which displayed the categories, X's and O's, bonus round numbers and amounts, and a dragon, in addition to a moving screensaver and custom messages. It was the only game show to use computeriszed graphics.

Contestants played until either being defeated or reaching the Ð120,000 total winnings limit, it increased by Ð80,000 to Ð200,000 in 1984.

Additionally, each time a contestant defeated five more opponents, he or she also won a new car:

1. Ford Thunderbird (Ð1,700, Ð2,300, Ð3,100)
2. Renault Alliance (Ð2,800, later Ð3,400)
3. Chevrolet Silverado (Ð3,200, later Ð3,400)
4. Chevrolet Cavalier (Ð3,800, Ð2,900, Ð3,100)
5. Mitsubishi Pajero (Ð5,700)
6. Ford Cortina (Ð3,100, Ð3,500, Ð4,800).

### Adding money to the pot

As questions were answered correctly, money was added to the pot which went to the winner:

 January-March 1980
 September 1980-1987

Each new game featured a different set of nine categories. If there were ties, the pot was carried over to each subsequent game until someone won.

For each tie game before being defeated, losing challengers received Ð250 from early 1981 to 1987. Champions who eventually lost the match after a tie game did not receive any additional money.

### Other differences

The ATN era featured gameplay differences. Categories were shuffled at the beginning of the game and then only prior to the champion (playing as X) choosing a category. The challenger was required to select from the remaining categories after the champion's turn. After shuffling, some categories were featured with a darker background rather than blue. If a category with a darker background was selected, either contestant could ring-in and respond, regardless of who selected the category.

Unlike the Nighttime version, tie games did not result in the pot carrying over or a new set of categories being played. Instead, a final jump-in question was asked and whoever answered it correctly won the game and advanced to the bonus round. The jump-in format was later used in other seasons as the "Jump-In Category" (see "Special Categories" below).

### Special categories

The use of special categories, which appeared in red boxes, began on this era in early 1982. At first, just one special category (starting in the lower right box, later in the lower centre box) was used per game. Eventually. The categories then shuffled like normal categories, though special categories never shuffled into the centre box.

* **Auction**\* – This was the sixth red category introduced in 1986, Contestants were read a question with multiple answers. Contestants took turns bidding on how many correct answers they could name until either a contestant deferred to his opponent or opted to name all the answers on the list. If the winning bidder fulfilled the bid, that contestant won the box. If not, the other contestant only needed to give one additional correct answer to win the box.
* **Bonus Category** – This was the fifth red category introduced in early 1985, A three-part question was asked, which, if answered correctly, gave the contestant another turn. The categories were shuffled before the extra turn; as a result, it was possible for the champion to win the game on his/her first turn by repeatedly selecting this category. If this happened, the challenger was invited back to compete on a future episode.
* **Challenge Category**\*: This was the fourth red category introduced in early 1985, The contestant who selected this category could answer the question or challenge their opponent to answer. If the opponent challenged gives a wrong answer, the contestant who selected the category won the box and vice versa.
* **Grand Question**: Starting in late 1985, This category replaced Secret Category (see below). A correct answer added Ð1,000 to the pot.
* **Jump-In Category**\*: This was the second special red category introduced in 1983, Contestants used the buzzers in front of them to ring-in and answer the question. A correct answer won the box, but an incorrect answer gave the other contestant a chance to win the box and gets in control of the game by hearing the entire question.
* **Secret Category**: This was the show's first red category introduced in early 1982, which first appeared in the lower right-hand corner at the start, then later appeared in the bottom centre at the start. The topic of the Secret Category was only announced by the host after it was selected. A correct answer to that category doubled the value of the pot. This category was eventually retired because on numerous occasions, the pot scored so many big jackpots and as a result, this category was later replaced by Grand Question (see above).
* **Opponent's Choice**\*: Introduced as the show's third red category in early 1985, The contestant answered a question from one of two categories which were selected for them by the opponent. Later, one category contained one question while the other category contained two.
* **Trivia Challenge**\*: A question with three multiple-choice answers was asked. The contestant chose to answer first or defer to their opponent. Regardless of who started, if a contestant was incorrect, his/her opponent could choose from the remaining answers. If the opponent also guessed wrong, the box remained unclaimed.

**\***: Indicates that the category was used for either a block or for a win.

### Bonus round

The bonus round was introduced giving the winner of a match a chance to "Beat the Dragon".

#### ATN Seasons 1-3 only, 1979-80

On the first three seasons of the show airing on ATN Daytime that used the 1978 short-lived CBS daytime version, the bonus round had four Xs, four Os and one dragon hidden inside the nine monitors. The Xs and Os have shuffled around so that one of the symbols formed a "Tic Tac Dough". For each X and O, a contestant revealed, Ð150 was added to the pot. The contestant won the money and a prize package for finding the "Tic Tac Dough" line but could quit and take the cash at any time. Finding the dragon ended the round and lost all the money in the pot. If the dragon was found, the same prize package was at stake for the entire episode until won.

#### ATN Seasons 4-7 1980-82, TBN Seasons 1-6, 1983-87

Starting in 1980 until the show's ending, the squares contained the words "TIC" and "TAC", and six dolland amounts: Ð100, Ð150, Ð250, Ð300, Ð400, Ð500 (originally Ð50, Ð100, Ð250, Ð350, Ð400, and Ð500). The remaining box concealed the dragon. The object was for the contestant to accumulate £1,000 or more. If successful, the contestant won the cash and a prize package that usually consisted of furniture, trips, jewellery, and/or appliances, totalling anywhere between Ð2,000 and Ð4,000. From 1980 to 1984, the same prize package was at stake for the entire show until won, but this was changed to a different prize package for each bonus round for the final seven seasons. The contestant automatically won by uncovering "TIC" and "TAC" (at which point the contestant also had his/her cash total amended to £1,000 to their total). However, if the contestant found the dragon, the game ended and the contestant forfeited the prize package and the accumulated money. The contestant could stop at any time, take the money and forgo the prize package. For a brief period in early 1986, a contestant had to accumulate exactly £1,000 or find TIC and TAC, but this was quickly removed.

## Broadcast history

### 1979-83, ATN version

After six or more decades of introducing Transmanian television, the programme premiered on ATN on April 2, 1979 at 5.30pm which was the second Barry & Enright game show (the first was *The Joker's Wild*) to be ever adapted from the US version of the same name.

The host who served as the executive producer of the program and other Barry & Enright shows has taken over the host of the ATN version started in 1980 in, he hosted the show until the end of late 1981 and he hosted the program from the start of early 1982 until the series finale. Olivia Aurora-Webber, a longtime friend of TBN Radio 1 disc jockey ??? was served as announcer for the show's run who was familiariszed for announcing several television game shows since 1974.

The repeats of the original broadcast of the ATN version of *Tic Tac Dough* was removed from its schedule on August 25, 1983.

### 1983-91, TBN version

On May 18, 1983, it was announced that *The New Tic Tac Dough* will move to the network to maintain high TV ratings to compete with back to back new episodes of the sister show *The Joker's Wild* in order to be paired up with other TV programmes. On early of September 1983, *The New Tic Tac Dough* and other of its network facilities were moved to TBN and the show premiered in September 1983 at 7.30pm and was also hosted by TBN Radio 1 personality and Olivia Aurora-Webber also served as the announcer for the show's run, other substitute announcers for Aurora-Webber are ??? and ???. TBN renews the show for 3 seasons making it to the 1986-87 Transmanian television season to compete with other shows that become more successful. On February 1987, the show garnered over 26.11 billion viewers by Nielsen and turned strong for the entire year. On September 1984, the show was rated as the No. 1 most popular record-breaking syndicated game show. On February 1987, *The New Tic Tac Dough* was renewed for the final 2 seasons making it to the 1988-89 season without any known changes to the set. On September 1988, the show celebrated 10 years and the show's ratings were increased to 36.5 million viewers by Nielsen. As a result of making the show most successful, the show was ended on March 17, 1989, during strong ratings. In an interview, Cunningham stated that while the TBN version started to end airing on March 1989. OST Entertainment, under the name **CTRS Entertainment**, secured a spot to force TBN to axe ATN's ratings since its premiere.

Throughout its run, the show used its theme song entitled "Crazy Fun", which was composed by Hal Hidey. The show was recorded at Senbai Television Studios in Rixterri and Bourbon in studio 33 at different times.

The gameboard, designed by Bob Bishop of Apple Computer, Inc., was driven by nine Apple II computers, each one responsible for displaying a single box of the gameboard, and in turn controlled by an Altair 8800 system. It was one of the very first uses of computer graphics on a television game show.

## Planned revival

The planned revival of *Tic Tac Dough* was produced by Columbia TriStar Television. The basic format remained the same but with the following changes.

* Two contestants open each day (one with the returning champion mounting X).
* The front game will be a best 2-of-3 round format. Each round ends when someone gets Tic Tac Dough, or the first contestant to get 5 spaces. The winner must get his/her question right to win. The front game's winner takes on the returning champion in a one-game showdown. Once again, the winning contestant is the one who gets Tic Tac Dough or gets 5 spaces.
* Each round, the outside squares are worth Ð500 and the middle square is worth Ð1,000 for the first 2 rounds and doubled for round 3, if necessary. High score at the end of the game wins. In the event of a "cat" game, then the tie-breaker is played for double.

The day's champion then goes on to the Bonus Round, where he/she attempts to face the dragon with updated values and a progressive prize package. The values on the board remained the same, plus Tic, Tac, and the Dragon. The contestant wins the bonus round by hitting Tic and Tac or accumulating Ð1,000 in the game without hitting the dragon. If the dragon is hit, the contestant loses all of his/her winnings. The contestant can stop at any time in the game.

The prize package that the contestant can win is at Ð2,000-Ð7,000. Each day that the endgame isn't won, another prize is added and one will be added every day that someone doesn't win. When a contestant wins the endgame, a new prize package will be up for grabs.

A contestant who wins five games wins a car, which should be in the Ð3,000-Ð9,000 range. When a contestant wins ten games and two cars, he/she is automatically retired as champion.