Figure It Out
|
Figure It Out contestant Brett Noble milks a dairy goat with his toes on August 4, 1999 at Nickelodeon Studios, Florida. |
Figure It Out was a television
game show hosted by
Summer Sanders that originally aired on
Nickelodeon and is now shown on
Nick Games and Sports (Nick GAS). Kids with special skills or unique achievements compete as contestants on the show while a panel of four Nickelodeon celebrities compete against the clock as they try to guess the predetermined phrase that describes the contestant's talent. This show can be considered a loose adaptation of the classic game shows
What's My Line? and
I've Got a Secret.
As with most other Nickelodeon shows,
Figure It Out was filmed in front of a live studio audience at
Nickelodeon Studios at
Universal Studios in
Orlando, Florida.
|
Picture of Billy the Answer Head. |
The game is composed of two sets of three one-minute rounds per episode in which the panelists take turns asking yes-or-no questions to try to guess the contestant's talent. Each time a panelist mentions a word that is part of the phrase that describes the secret talent, the word is turned over on Billy the Answer Head, a board that shows which words of the phrase have and have not been guessed. The contestant wins a prize after each round that his or her talent remains unguessed. After the third round, each panelist is given one final guess as to what the contestant's talent is. The game ends either when a panelist guesses the secret talent or if no panelist guesses the secret talent correctly after the "last guess" stage.
During each round, the panelists receive one clue as a hint to one of the words of the secret phrase. The clue can take the form of physical objects, such as dates (the fruit) to indicate a clue about calendars, sounds (rarely used), or pantomime (the "Charade Brigade", two or three cast members, only appearing in round 3, who act out a word from the phrase).
Another aspect of the game show is the "Secret Slime Action." In the second round of each game, a member of the audience is revealed; that member stands to win a piece of merchandise, typically a Figure It Out-branded article of clothing (In the first season, it was a prize, such as a
Nintendo 64 or a mountain bike). If at least one celebrity panelist performs the Action (and is subsequently "slimed") by the third round. The Secret Slime Action is typically a simple and almost guaranteed action; actions such as touching a clue, looking to the left (which was reflexive, as clues were commonly wheeled out on a small track from the contestants' left), using the phrase "are you..." or "is it..." and having a certain name were all used as actions. Some actions were even intrinsically unenforcable, such as thinking about a particular subject; especially in later episodes, a successful Secret Slime Action was mostly a foregone conclusion, and the variables were only when it would be triggered, and by whom.
At the conclusion of the game, after the secret talent has been revealed, the contestant demonstrates or displays his or her skill and talks about it with the host and the panelists.
Either three or all four panelists were taken from popular Nickelodeon shows at the time. Regulars on the panel included
Amanda Bynes and
Lori Beth Denberg, then of
All That, and
Danny Tamberelli of
The Adventures of Pete & Pete, the latter of whom was slimed especially often. The first seat on the panel was usually an older panelist, either an older actor from Nickelodeon, a non-Nickelodeon celebrity, or (see below) a member of the contestant's family.
Due to the popularity of the show, two
spin-offs occurred.
Figure It Out Wild Style featured solely talents involving animals; during these episodes, Billy the Answer Head was reshaped as an animal.
Figure It Out Family Style featured 2 contestants that were related, typically parent-child or sibling-sibling; sometimes the panel would be surprised by seeing the aforementioned contestant's relative jump into the game. Figure it out family style also featured "Little Billy." If the panelists figured out the contestants' secret, they would bring him out. The panelists had to guess the one (impossible) question on Little Billy therefore giving the contestant another chance to win a prize (usually Figure it Out apparel).
*Name that Thingy
*Name that Critter
*The Last Laugh
*Lightning Letters
*Drench Bench
*Little Billy
*The Secret Panel Match Up
The Slime Spewer slimes the panelist(s) who perform the famous, Secret Slime Action. This sound can be heard on the Figure it Out site on the
Nick.com site under Nick Gas.
* Host
Summer Sanders was actually slimed twice during the show's run. Once as a panelist (where she was slimed four times in succession) and once as a surprise during her normal hosting duties at while closing one of the other episodes. Unlike her sliming as a panelist when she was wearing a jumpsuit, when Summer was slimed as the host she was in normal clothing (t-shirt, sweater vest, denim mini skirt and white
Converse sneakers). After the sliming, Summer said on-air, "Yugh, very funny guys, now my new outfit is ruined."
* When
Steven Burns of
Blue's Clues was a guest on the show, the secret slime action was "Having a Blue dog", which he did have on
Blue's Clues. However, he was slimed about 3/4 of the way through the 2nd round.
*
CatDog from the eponymous Nickelodeon show was once a panelist. He had to be made in CGI and was slimed (dumped on an empty chair) with CG slime.
* In one episode,
Cousin Skeeter from his eponymous show appeared as a panelist.
* Several episodes of
Figure It Out: Family Style included family members of the contestant. In order to get a 'yes' answer, the family member/panelist asked things such as "Am I your favorite uncle/aunt/cousin/etc. On the show's recap board after the round in which family member/panelist is slimed, it reads: (insert name here) is (contestant's) favorite slimy uncle/aunt/cousin/etc.
*
What's My Line?*
I've Got A Secret*
Global Guts*
Double Dare*
Legends of the Hidden Temple*
Get the Picture*
What Would You Do?*
Nick GAS: Figure It Out
