''To Say the Least'' is an American

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from October 3, 1977 to April 21, 1978. The show was produced by

Heatter-Quigley Productions Heatter-Quigley Productions was an American television production company that was launched in 1960 by two former television writers, Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley. After Quigley's retirement, the company became Merrill Heatter Productions. H ...

, hosted by

Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to: Politics *Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21 *Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...

and announced by Kenny Williams. This was Kennedy's third NBC show to debut in the span of one year; his first, ''

50 Grand Slam ''50 Grand Slam'' is a game show from Ralph Andrews Productions that aired on NBC from October 4 to December 31, 1976. Tom Kennedy hosted the show, with John Harlan as the announcer. It premiered and ended on the same day as the show that preced ...

'', was canceled after a 13-week run in December 1976 and was replaced by a daytime version of ''

Name That Tune ''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...

'', which was canceled in June 1977 after 26 weeks. It initially fared well in the Nielsen ratings against

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

' ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

'' and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

The Better Sex ''The Better Sex'' is a television game show in the United States where men competed against women in a "battle of the sexes" format. The Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production ran on ABC from July 18, 1977 to January 13, 1978. The show had two hosts ...

'', but when ''

The $20,000 Pyramid ''Pyramid'' is the collective name of a series of American television game shows that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The original series, ''The $10,000 Pyramid'', debuted on March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequ ...

'' took over the noon slot on ABC in early 1978, the ratings began to suffer, and ''To Say the Least'' was cancelled in April of that year, with reruns of ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the United ...

'' taking its former time slot.

Format

Two teams, one consisting of men and the other women, competed. Each team consisted of one civilian player and two celebrities. The object of ''To Say the Least'' was to guess the identity of subjects in as few words as possible. For each subject, one team member played while the other two were placed in isolation. Both onstage players were shown a clue of six to ten words and the subject to which it referred. The players alternated choosing one word at a time to eliminate from the clue. At any time, either player could challenge the other team's offstage players to guess the subject, at which time they were brought back onstage and shown the clue. If the clue was reduced to a single word, the teammates of the player who eliminated the next-to-last word were forced to guess. A correct answer won the game, while a miss awarded the win to the opposing team. The first team to win two games won the match, with $100 and a prize package awarded to the civilian player.

All-Star Game

The winning contestant advanced with all four celebrities to play the All-Star Game for a chance at a cash jackpot. Each of the celebrities stood behind one of four numbered doors on stage, assigned in random order, and the contestant was given the subject and a clue. The contestant eliminated all but three words in the clue, after which it was shown to the first celebrity so he/she could guess. A correct response won $100 for the contestant. One more word was then eliminated, and the second celebrity then took a guess that awarded an additional $200 to the contestant if correct. Regardless of the outcome of these two guesses, the contestant removed one more word and the remaining two celebrities were given a chance to guess, one at a time. If either of them guessed correctly, the contestant won a cash jackpot that started at $2,000 and increased by $1,000 for every game it went unclaimed. Contestants remained on the show until they either lost two matches or played seven All-Star Games, whichever came first. Any contestant who won four consecutive matches received a new car.

Episode status

One episode is held at

The Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, dedicated to ...

References

External link

''To Say the Least'' on IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:To Say The Least 1977 American television series debuts 1978 American television series endings 1970s American game shows NBC original programming English-language television shows Television series by MGM Television Television series by Heatter-Quigley Productions