The $40,000 Chain Reaction (USA, Ep. 26)

[grapebuy789]

I'll take a letter under Oysters, please.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Next letter for Frank...









(ding)

...R-O-C-K -- and all I can say is there's at least one more letter after the K.

[grapebuy789]

Rock Bottom?

[dougmorrisontheair]

Not ROCK BOTTOM -- so we go back to Nels.

[nelson17]

A letter under oysters I'll take it

[dougmorrisontheair]

(impersonating certain SW character) Mmm -- using Yoda's strategy, I see.

(scattered laughter from crowd)









(ding)

(Doug still in character) R-O-C-K-E you are taking, Nels.

[nelson17]

Rocket I'll take it

[dougmorrisontheair]

Not ROCKET -- but I hear oysters are the official delicacy of NASA. (scattered laughter from crowd) Frank, your board again.

[grapebuy789]

Let's take a letter under Oysters, please.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Frank, you're taking...









(ding)

... R-O-C-K-E.

[grapebuy789]

Rockefeller

[dougmorrisontheair]

There we got it -- ROCKEFELLER.










(ding; audience applause)

I could hear about half of Louisiana scream out Rockefeller -- since Oysters Rockefeller is a famous New Orleans dish.

Frank, you've narrowed the score. You could tie the ballgame. How do you play it?


nelson17
grapebuy789

[grapebuy789]

I'll take a letter under Rockefeller, please.

[dougmorrisontheair]

Frank goes for the tie...









(ding)

...with a C.

[grapebuy789]

Center!

[dougmorrisontheair]

CENTER is right.










(ding; audience applause)

And with that, get a load of what's about to happen.


nelson17
grapebuy789


The score is tied at 3750. The game is 5000. The remaining link is now worth $1500 -- $750 for the right answer and the other $750 for completion of the chain.

So the player who completes *this* chain wins the game. Frank, who gets that first letter; you or Nels?

[grapebuy789]

Give it to me Doug!

[dougmorrisontheair]

Frank goes for the win...









(ding)

...with an S.

[grapebuy789]

Square!

[dougmorrisontheair]

If it's SQUARE, you are still our champion.















































(dings; audience applause; win music plays)

That's it.

Nels, believe it or not, there's good news for you in this. I'll explain after we recap the chain.









The late comedian Minnie Pearl was a cast member of "Hee Haw" and a regular performer of the Grand Ole Opry. Pearl oysters are saltwater clams. You could order Oysters Rockefeller at a New Orleans restaurant. A good number of NBC programs are based at Rockefeller Center in New York City. You could try to capture the center square on "The Hollywood Squares". And the Square Deal was a program from President Theodore Roosevelt's administration.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, here's the situation. When both of our players guessed ROCK under OYSTERS, we should've been onto something. We're getting some indications that Oysters Rock is a nickname for Oysters Rockefeller. It's possible that we should've sounded the cuckoo bird at some point along the way.  Obviously, we didn't.

Then, some of you might remember the NBC news program "Rock Center" anchored by Brian Williams. "Rock Center" is obviously short for Rockefeller Center.

So, the best thing to do is let Frank proceed with Missing Link and the final chain. Nels, we will see you on our next show for a rematch with Frank.

Sound good?

[dougmorrisontheair]

(board opens as part of the theme plays)

I hear no objections -- so, rematch it is for the next show. Nels, by the way, your total for today is $5000 -- including bonus money from earlier.







(ding)

As Nels looks forward to winning more money on the next show, Frank, let's play Missing Link. We just spotted you four pennies. Your objective here is to hang on to as many of those pennies as you can.

Shortly, we'll spot you the top and bottom links of this three-link chain -- and the initial letter of the link in the center. Solve that missing link with just that first letter -- and all four pennies join you in the final chain -- which could be parlayed into $40,000.

(scattered cheers)

For each additional letter you need, it costs you a penny -- and reduces your potential winnings.

If you're ready, here's the Missing Link game for today.







(ding)

This chain starts with POLICE WOMAN and ends with SPRAY. To save all the pennies, what is that missing link that begins with a P?

[grapebuy789]

Pepper!

[dougmorrisontheair]

PEPPER is right.







(ding; audience applause)

On the TV series "Police Woman", Angie Dickinson played Sgt. Anderson -- who was nicknamed "Pepper". Pepper spray can be used to control riots.

 

There go the four pennies in the bank. Let's see if they can evolve into $40,000. Final chain of the day for Frank -- after this.

(theme plays; audience cheers)

[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)

Frank Sartori so far has won $12,790. He's looking to do a lot better than the $40 he won in the last bonus game. So let's put him to work in this final chain.

Frank, as you know, in the final chain, we only spot you the top link...










(ding)

...which is RESTRICTED. We also spot you the initial letter of the remaining links. We also spot you seven spare letters to use as you need them.

Each wrong guess costs you a spare letter. Each right guess multiplies the money in the bank by ten.

Give us six right solutions -- and we'll give you $40,000.

(audience cheers)

Good luck, Frank. We're all rooting for you here. Under RESTRICTED, your next link starts with A.

[grapebuy789]

Area!

[dougmorrisontheair]

AREA is right on.









(ding; audience applause)

An area that only authorized people can enter is a restricted area.

Just like that, four pennies become four dimes. Let's go for four dollars. Under AREA, there's a C.

[grapebuy789]

Code!

[dougmorrisontheair]

That's it -- CODE.









(ding; audience applause)

210 is the area code for San Antonio, Texas...

...even if I'm part of a generation that remembers 512. Anyhoo, Frank, four bucks in the bank. Let's make it $40. Under CODE, there's a B.

[grapebuy789]

Blue!

[dougmorrisontheair]

Wow -- BLUE is right.









(ding; audience applause)

A hospital's indication that a patient requires immediate resuscitation is code blue.

That could've been code black or code breaker. But BLUE swells the pot to $40. Still have all seven spare letters. Next link under BLUE starts with a C.