The $40,000 Chain Reaction (USA, Episode 2)

[dougmorrisontheair]

Staying above CITY...









V- (ding) -I.

[Deleted]

Vice

[dougmorrisontheair]

Another great guess -- referencing part of the Grand Theft Auto series. But VICE is incorrect. Back to Tony.

[tmann3x]

I would like to give myself a letter under Pikachu's.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Champ's going to leave V-I alone for the moment and he's taking...









(ding)

...the letter J below PIKACHU'S.

[tmann3x]

Jukebox?

[dougmorrisontheair]

JUKEBOX is right!









(ding; audience applause)

Well -- let's see if that starts the comeback trail. Michael still has $4000. Tony's now up to $1250. Tony, chain's still yours.

Jill Manas Fan
tmann3x

[tmann3x]

I'm gonna give Michael a letter with jukebox.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Giving this one to Michael. Under JUKEBOX...









(ding)

...the letter is H.

[Deleted]

(mutters under his breath, "What in the blue hell is Pikachu's Jukebox?")

I'll go with "hit".

[dougmorrisontheair]

(mutters under his breath, "Wait for the host to recap the chain when the round's over. It'll all make sense then.")

Nope -- not HIT. Tony, back to you.

[tmann3x]

For myself, a letter with jukebox please.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Staying under JUKEBOX...









... H- (ding) -E.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Annnd -- fellas, I just noticed, the dollar sign's still in the fourth link. Could we lose that, please?









Thanks. No bonus money available in this round, Tony and Michael. Sorry about that. Tony, you're still guessing H-E under JUKEBOX.

[tmann3x]

Hero?

[dougmorrisontheair]

That's it -- HERO.









(ding; audience applause)

Tony moves up to two large. Michael still has four large. Takes five large to win the game. Chain's still yours, Tony.


Jill Manas Fan
tmann3x

[tmann3x]

I'm gonna give Michael a letter with city.

[dougmorrisontheair]

*Giving* the third letter above CITY to Michael. Let's see how this works.









(ding)

V-I-R.

[Deleted]

Virginia

[dougmorrisontheair]

That's it -- VIRGINIA.










(ding; audience applause)

And with that...

Jill Manas Fan
tmann3x


...Michael, given our scoring system the rest of the way, the next right solution will put you over the top -- even if the chain's not completed. Tony, you'll need to solve the rest of the chain to narrow the score and force Missing Link games to decide the championship.

Michael, your call.

[Deleted]

For myself, I'll take a letter over "Virginia".

[dougmorrisontheair]

Going to try to win it here...









(ding)

...with a W.

[Deleted]

West!

[dougmorrisontheair]

He says WEST with confidence. If he says right, he's the new champion.















































(dings; audience applause; win music plays)

We have a new champion.

Congratulations, Michael, you win with $5500. You also got the bonus earlier. So you're $6750 to the good -- with a bonus round to come. First, let's recap the chain and fill in a gap at the same time.













"Pikachu's Jukebox" was a musical segment in the long running "Pokémon" anime franchise; if I'm not mistaken, it started in the second season here in the U.S. and left not long after the third. "Jukebox Hero" is the title of a hit song by the rock band Foreigner. A famous comic book hero is...










(ding)

...Batman. In the TV series "Batman", the title character was played by Adam West. West Virginia is one of the 50 states in America. And Virginia City is in Nevada; a fictionalized version of Virginia City, Nevada was the setting for the long-running Western TV series "Bonanza".

That's our chain. And we have to say goodbye to our birthday celebrater, Tony. But we ice your cake with another $2000. You're taking home our great thanks and $17,250. One more time, a nice hand for Tony Lane.

(audience cheers) (board rotates as part of the theme plays)

Michael, before you play the money chain, you need some pennies to take with you to said money chain. We're going to play a Missing Link game to see how many pennies you get to take with you. First, we spot you four pennies.








(ding)

In a moment, we're going to spot you the top and bottom links of this three-word chain -- as well as the initial letter of the link in the middle. That's the missing link.

A correct guess with just that first letter means you take all four pennies into the money chain -- where you could parlay them into $40,000.

(audience cheers)

However, each time you wrong, we give you the next letter -- which costs you a penny. You'll keep playing until you're right -- or your down to one penny. If you're ready, let's set up your Missing Link game.







(ding)

And this chain starts with GAME and ends with BIKINI. Missing link starts with an O. For a potential $40,000 chain reaction, what is that missing link?

[Deleted]

over?

[dougmorrisontheair]

I -- see where you're going with that. Bombs have been dropped *over* Bikini Atoll -- but that's not it. That'll cost you a penny.







(ding)

O-P.

[Deleted]

There's a game called Operation, but I don't know what that has to do with a bikini.  I'll still say operation.

[dougmorrisontheair]

OPERATION is right.







(ding; audience applause)

You figured out the first part -- a famous board game being Operation. "Operation Bikini" is the title of a movie set in the World War II era. If I'm not mistaken, Frankie Avalon was in that movie.

In any event, Michael, the three cents go in the bank. Find out if Michael can turn a three-penny operation into a $30,000 chain reaction -- after this.


(theme plays; audience applause)

[NOTE FROM DOUG: Michael's bonus round will start later tonight. As I type this, my Olivia Newton-John birthday party @dougmorrisgames on Twitter is nearing an end. So, please indulge this host in one more ONJ commercial break -- until about this time next year. ]

[dougmorrisontheair]

(Doug in pre-recorded audio as theme plays)

If you'd like to be a contestant on The $40,000 Chain Reaction, call toll free 1-800-555-40CR. That's 1-800-555-4027.

(audience applauds)

We're back -- and so is Michael. He won $6750 earlier.

Just before the break, he managed to save three pennies in a Missing Link game. Now, Michael, you'll try to parlay those pennies into $30,000.

(audience cheers)

You win the 30 grand by successfully completing one more chain. Key word is "successfully."  In this chain, we only spot you the top link -- which is...










(ding)


...TOPIC. Notice we've also spotted you the first letter of each of the remaining links. You also have seven free letters available to you. Each time you give a wrong guess, it will cost you a letter. Each time you correctly solve a link, the money in the bank multiplies by ten.










(ding)


And here's how all that money piles up. First right answer is for 30¢. Next one is for $3 -- then $30 and so on to the possible top payoff of $30,000.

(audience cheers)

Two big things to keep in mind. If you make a wrong guess and you're out of free letters, the game ends. Also, if you use a free letter that reveals the link in its entirety, we can't credit you with a right answer -- putting the $30,000 out of reach.

But, as long as you have at least one free letter at your disposal, keep playing because you can still make money if you don't go all the way. Now, let's bring back your bonus chain.









(ding)


And let's get to work on that next link down starting with S. What do you think is in that link under TOPIC?

[Deleted]

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