Wouldn't it be nice if everyone had a Blackout Button? Well today, (celebrity 1) and his/her contestant partner (contestant 1) and (celebrity 2) and his/her contestant partner (contestant 2) all have Blackout Buttons, right here on...

Broadcast History: January 4, 1988-April 1, 1988, CBS daytime
Host: Bob Goen
Announcer: Johnny Gilbert, Jay Stewart
Executive Producer: Jay Wolpert
Packager: Jay Wolpert Enterprises and Taft Entertainment


The main game

Pat Harrington describing a wordCrystal Bernard blacking out the description2 contestants and 2 celebrities play in this word game of puns and elaborate descriptions. One word in the puzzle is given to a player. One player on a team will give a 20 second description of the word. After the description is recorded, the opposing player will "blackout" (censor) 7 seconds of the recorded speech. If a key word is repeated, 1 second is added to the blackout time. If the 2nd player on the team can give the correct word after the blacked out description is given, the contestant wins $100 and has a chance to solve the puzzle. The puzzle is a pun with 4 blank spaces. A puzzleThe solved puzzleThe solved word is placed at the bottom of the screen. Play continues for 4 words or until the pun is solved. The first team to solve 2 puzzles goes to the Clue Screen. If both teams are tied at 1, a tie-breaker is played. The tie-breaker is a single word, described for 10 seconds by one player and blacked out for 3 seconds by the opposing team. If the describer's team guesses the word right, they advance to the Clue Screen. If not, their opponents win.


The Clue Screen
The Clue Screen

Crystal Bernard giving cluesContestant facing Clue Screen

The Clue Screen had nothing to do with the main game. One player on the winning team saw clues every 2 seconds up to a total of 6 clues pertaining to a specific person, place, or thing. $10,000 winnerOnce that player thought his/her partner could solve the puzzle, he/she yelled "SOLVE IT!". At that time, the partner would turn around, see the revealed clues, and guess at the topic of the puzzle. If 5 correct answers are given in 70 seconds, the contestant wins $10,000. If the team is unable to give 5 correct replies, the contestant is given $250 for each puzzle solved.


Did you know...

* ..."Blackout" is the last show Jay Stewart announced?
* ..."Blackout" replaced and was replaced by the same show, "The $25,000 Pyramid"?
* ..."Blackout" is Jay Wolpert's last network daytime game show?
* ...the gossiping voice in the open of Blackout is actually a slightly sped up recording of Jay Wolpert's wife?
* ..."Blackout" and "Hit Man", 2 of Jay Wolpert's creations, aired their final episodes on April 1? No April Fools here. The "Hit Man" finale was in 1983. "Blackout" had its in 1988.


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Some information is courtesy of The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows, Second Edition.
Sounds and pictures from "Blackout" are (c) 1988 Jay Wolpert Enterprises and Taft Entertainment.
No challenge to ownership is implied.