NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Definition (TV series)

Definition was a Canadian television game show, which aired on CTV from 1974 to 1989. The show was hosted by Bob McLean for its first season and by Jim Perry thereafter. Nick Nicholson and Roger Muir, the masterminds behind The Newlywed Game, created the series. Veteran Toronto weatherman Dave Devall was the announcer. Perry is the best known host associated with Definition and is his most successful television project of his career. A game show involves members of the public or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, playing a game, perhaps involving answering quiz questions, for points or prizes. ... CTV is Canadas largest privately-owned English language television network. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... James Edward Perry (born November 11, 1934, in Camden, New Jersey) is a former television game show host, singer and performer in the 1970s and 1980s. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Newlywed Game was an American television game show where newly-married couples answered questions to find out how well the husband and wife knew each other. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Dave Devall is the long time weatherman at television station CFTO in Toronto, Ontario. ...

Like the later Wheel of Fortune (which Perry coincidentially appeared on as a celebrity player in 1980), Definition was essentially a variation on the word game Hangman. Two contestants appeared on each show, each paired with a celebrity guest. The contestant/celebrity pairs would take turns guessing letters in a phrase for which Perry had offered a pun as a clue. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Hangman is a paper and pencil guessing game for two players. ... A Specimen of typeset fonts and languages, by William Caslon, letter founder; from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... It has been suggested that dajare be merged into this article or section. ...

Each match is a two-out-of-three games affair. The challengers begin game one with one teammate "giving away" a letter to their opponents, usually a letter like Q, Z (also called "Zed") or X. If the giveaway letter does not appear in the puzzle, then the other teammate then "takes a letter" that he/she believes is in the puzzle. A correct letter at this point gives that team a guess at the puzzle. If no guess is given or an incorrect answer is given, then the opposing team gets control of the puzzle.

In the event one team gives away a letter that is in the puzzle, the other team gets a free guess at the puzzle. Right or wrong, that team gets another turn.

The game ends when one team solves the puzzle. Two out of three games wins the match and the champion meets a new challenger. In the bonus game, the team was given another definition, and when they solved it, the non-celebrity player received $10(Canadian) for every unrevealed letter(letters were revealed in alphabetical order). If the team couldn't solve it, they still received $10. In later seasons, the celebrity/contestant pairings became two-contestant teams, with the same rules applying.

The show, while popular in Canada, was also sometimes mocked for the cheapness of its prizes, which were usually small kitchen appliances, pen and pencil sets, or other small courtesy gifts. Only the show's annual championship tournaments offered the types of expensive prizes, such as a car or a resort vacation, that were commonplace on American game shows. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The word appliance has several different areas of meaning, all usually referring to a device with a narrow function: One class of objects includes items that are custom-fitted to an individual for the purpose of correction of a physical problem, such as prosthetic and orthotic appliances. ... A ballpoint pen A pen is a writing instrument which applies ink to some surface. ... A selection of coloured pencils. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Resorts combine a hotel and a variety of recreations, such as swimming pools A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation. ...

Each day a viewer-sent puzzle is played, which involves puzzles with clues pertaining to that puzzle sent in by viewers.

The show's theme song was taken from an instrumental jazz piece by Quincy Jones, "Soul Bossa Nova". It was sampled by the Canadian hip hop band Dream Warriors in their 1991 hit "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style", and was later also used as the theme music for Mike Myers' Austin Powers movies. Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory and marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. ... Quincy Jones on the cover of Back on the Block (1989). ... Soul Bossa Nova is an instrumental, composed by and first performed by jazz composer, arranger and producer Quincy Jones. ... Sampling may refer to: Digital sampling of audio Sampling (information theory) Sampling (music) Sampling (signal processing) Sampling (statistics) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Hip hop music (also referred to as rap or rap music) is a style of popular music which came into existence roughly the mid 70s but became a large part of modern day pop culture in the late 80s. ... The Dream Warriors are King Lou and Capital Q, a pair of Toronto-based alternative rappers. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mike Myers as Austin Powers. ... Mike Myers as Austin Powers in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. ... Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ...

Definition was among the longest-running game shows in Canadian television, and made host Jim Perry a household name during the 1970s and 1980s in the same manner as his U.S. counterpart Bob Barker. Perry hosted Definition concurrently with hosting several American game shows, including Card Sharks and Sale of the Century, as well as another Canadian game show, Headline Hunters. Between 1978 and 1981, Perry presided over three game shows at once: Card Sharks, Definition and Headline Hunters; the first emcee in North American television to simultaniously host three different game shows. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Card Sharks was an American television game show in which contestants guessed whether a playing card was higher or lower than the card that preceded it. ... Sale of the Century is an international television game show format that has screened in several countries in various incarnations since 1969, but is most reknown in Australia, where it aired for 21 years and has returned under a new title, Temptation, in mid-2005. ... Headline Hunters was a Canadian game show that appeared on CTV in the 1970s. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

A UK version of Definition aired on ITV from 1978 until about 1986 produced by HTV West and was originally hosted by Don Moss and then by Jeremy Beadle. ITV (Independent Television) is the name given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. In England, Wales and southern Scotland, the channel has been rebranded to ITV1 by ITV plc, the owners of the... Current ITV Wales logo Current ITV West logo HTV Group plc is a television company, the ITV contractor of Wales and the West of England, owned by ITV plc. ... Jeremy Beadle Jeremy Beadle (born April 12, 1948) is a British television presenter, writer and producer, born in Hackney, London. ...

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