The Who, What or Where Game

In the late 60s and early 70s, NBC had a solid daytime game show lineup, with Concentration, Sale of the Century, Hollywood Squares, the original Art Fleming version of Jeopardy! and the show that came along in December 1969 to give viewers the perfect quiz show companion, The Who, What or Where Game. I remember watching that show, which was also referred to as "The 3Ws" and it turned out to be a hit, thanks to its challenging questions and strategy in trying to outbid each other for the chance to answer a question in a category. Like Jeopardy, there was a final round called "Pot Limit", where contestants bid any of their winnings on the final question. The announcer was Mike Darrow, who earlier hosted Dream House, and substituted for James on one episode when he was ill. Unfortunately, The 3Ws was one of several long-running shows purged by NBC when Lin Bolen took over as vice president of daytime and wanted to give game shows a fresh new look. It would have had a longer run.

In the 90s, there was a semi-revival of The 3Ws, under the title "The Challengers", hosted by Dick Clark.

This review may contain spoilers.

I agree that "the 3Ws" was a perfect companion to "Jeopardy!" Contestants started with $125 and could wager up to $50 on a "who," "what," or "where" question in a stated category; questions were assigned odds of even money to 5-1 based on their difficulty. The person who bid the most on a "W" question got the right to answer it and either added the amount of their wager multiplied by the odds, or lost just the amount of the wager. In the final round, "Pot Limit," the wagering limit was waived, as it was when--in the regular game--two players bet the same amount on the same category and the question would then be auctioned off.

I actually liked the "3Ws" better than "Jeopardy!" I thought the questions much more challenging; I remember once, playing the home game, I answered a 5-1 question on the origins of the tune of "The Star Spangled Banner" (it's an English drinking song, "To Anacreon In Heaven"). While I also liked "Challengers," the semi-revival, I'd like to see the "3Ws" in its original format--like "Jeopardy!"--and with the stakes increased (start the contestants with $1250 betting money and let them wager up to $500, perhaps) to reflect inflation. There is a problem: "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel Of Fortune" air back-to-back in so many markets it might be difficult, except in the Central and Mountain time zones, to get "Jeopardy!" and "3Ws" together again. But that doesn't make me keep from wishing it would happen.