I'll start off by saying that this version of Boggle is not related to the 1994 Family Channel version hosted by Wink Martindale which utilized an interactive phone game during certain parts of that show which, in my opinion, immediately makes it feel dated. The Winker did a great job of hosting, but that version of the show was more like the 1980s TV version of Chuck Woolery's Scrabble which was virtually nothing like the board game it was based upon. It's a bit confusing, but that's showbiz, folks! The version I'm reviewing is the 1987 pilot hosted by Bill Rafferty, who got his big break doing goofy interviews for NBC's Real People in the early 1980s. After hosting the syndicated game "Every Second Counts" from 1984 to 1985 (which ran in the UK for 7 years), the syndicated version of "Card Sharks" from 1986 to 1987 (he was offered the daytime version which then went to Bob Eubanks, but passed) and then the short 1987 daytime revival of "Blockbusters" (which ran off and on for nearly 15 years in the UK) and then he flew to Netherlands to film this pilot where a current version of the game was a big hit over there and he even got to use their set which was pretty decent. The show used the regular 4 by 4 (16 random letter) board and two pairs of contestants would have to the first couple to come up with a large word scrambled among the 16 letters. In the second round, called Pressure Boggle, the couples would have to come up with as many words (against the clock) as they could (for $10 a letter) as long as the letters were somehow linked together. After two rounds, the winning couple would advance to the bonus round. This is where things changed a bit. Now the couple was given a chance to play through 3 boards (the first for $5,000, the second for $12,000 and the third for the big prize of $25,000) and after two letters would be revealed the players would have to pick numbers corresponding to the letters on the board hopefully finding enough letters. Apparently, there would be three 'bombs' hidden and if a players chose a number with a bomb behind it, they would have to roll a die with the letters BOGGLE on each side and hopefully not spell out that entire word before winning the grand prize. They could also stop at any time if things got a little too risky and come back the next day and try again as this would not be a self-contained type of a show. Rafferty was an energetic and unique host with his pronounced Queens, New York accent and a little wit to boot but the show failed to sell (It was a Ralph Andrews Production, and he was always last among the big players in the game show market). However, the Netherlands version ran until 1996 so who knows what could have been if it had brought to series as that same year of 1987 another Andrews Production based on calling letters called "Lingo", taped in Canada on the cheap, and hosted for a time by President Reagan's adopted son Michael, spent a single season in syndication. However, game show wizard Bob Boden brought it back to life on GSN in 2002 when he became Programming Chief and tapped Chuck Woolery (ah, the sweet circle of life) to host, and that version lasted six seasons. I would welcome a revival of this version of Boggle if it were done correctly and had a host who did try to turn the show into a chucklefest (see: Harvey, Steve) but that's illegal now or something, ain't it?
