I had been a huge game show fan for years, but I when I saw Whew (1980?) I loved it so much I cut out a paper game board and created my own cartoon "villians" to hide in it.
about a month before Whew started started, Johnny Olson called down Tom Kennedy on TPIR as a "contestant" to promote Whew. It worked for me; I watched for the show to start and was a big fan. Wish it had lasted more than a year. Had trivia, comedy and strategy
@14DaveHunter I remember the first time I saw this show I was 9,and I asked my mother what is this show called and she said "WHEW" I thought she was aggrivated becasue I asked her that question,so I asked again and again she said "Whew" then I got mad and said "what is this show called" and she laughed and told me that's the name "WHEW"
Thank you for uploading this amazing clip. The quality is astounding considering the age of this video. I just watched the big win and remember how much fun it was at 8 years old to see this show on days school was canceled due to snow.
I wonder what the Villains had to say before Steven took them on. Usually, when Tom and a contestant went to the Gauntlet, the villains would have an intimidating message in their monitors.
@doubletrouble467 Oh, that's easy! 1. Alphonse the Gangster 2. Bruno the Headsman 3. Mr. Van Louse the Landlord 4. Nero the Fiddler 5. Count Nibbleneck the Vampire 6. Frank and his Little Friend Stein 7. Kid Rotten the Gunslinger 8. Jeremy Swash the Pirate 9. Dr. Deranged the Mad Professor 10. Lucretia the Witch
@doubletrouble467 That's a tie between Bruno, Nibbleneck, Jeremy and Lucretia. If you've ever seen the animated opening sequence, you'd know what I mean.
@patrickballoonman i saw what you mean. You really like bruno the headsman,count nibbleneck the vampire,jeremy swash the pirate and Lucretia the witch
How about this.... LeBlang said he wanted to break into broadcasting on the west coast. He's at FX now in an executive role. Amazing what a $25K win does for ya.
They should bring this show back with a batch of new villains to tangle with or mix up old ones with makeovers and some new villains. Any ideas for new villians?
And did you know notice after the contestant won the $25K, all the monitors in the background read "CALM DOWN". Wow. Where on earth did you find this?
This is the Best quality i've seen of Any Whew! footage yet! THis was my fave game show as a kid.I remember being so bummed when they canceled it in the summer of 1980. Too bad these have never been aired again.
I'm sure it was random. $25,000 in 1979 or 1980 would be like $125,000 today. That's a lot for a daytime show, so naturally anyone who won it would be very excited...hence "CALM DOWN" said by the villains. Got it?
God, I miss the heyday of TV game shows. Back in the days when grown men would scream like school girls at winning $25,000. Those were the days, man...
"Helluva Game Show" to quote Tom Kennedy when asked about his memories of Whew! Supposedly all the episodes exist someplace - nobody has posted a clean copy of the complete opening and closing theme.
Presumably, the entire series is in the possession of Burt Sugarman, executive producer/creator of "The Midnight Special", who's also the copyright holder of the program and format.
Exactly. And from what I've read, old Burt has placed a ridiculously high price on the broadcast rights. Higher than most networks are willing to shell out, and he's not willing to come down one penny. In short, when it comes to WHEW!, Sugarman is being a jerk and an idiot.
By the way, I noticed that in this version of the Gauntlet of Villains, the number of the villain came out of their mouth in a speech balloon. In the other clips on here (and the ones I remember watching when I was a kid), the numbers were on the items that the villains held. Just noticing. I never saw the Celebrity Whew either. I must have been out of town when school was on vacation or something. I can't imagine not watching this show when I had the chance, this was my all-time favorite.
Having big money being awarded will always generate this kind of excitement. Die hard game show fans will always jump around and/or scream when they win; especially $25,000. They may be excited and bubbly but not stupid by any means; except on TRESURE HUNT, DEAL OR NO DEAL, CAMOFLAGUE (1980), & SET FOR LIFE. As for Steve LeBlang, well he is just like Randy: excited, smart, and jolly. He had probably the fastest gauntlet time; either by short bloopers and Tom was fast in reading. Good contestant.
I've seen some pretty dumb contestants on The Price Is Right also (in addition to the ones you mentioned, not Whew!). But you're right, $25,000 in 1979 would be like $125,000 today. Not bad money for a daytime game show. I'd have jumped around and yelled too.
Cuz a $25,000 grand prize was a big deal back then. Hell, winning $10,000 on The Price Is Right was a big deal when they debuted Punch-A-Bunch and Grand Game.
Alan Thicke also wrote the original theme music for "Wheel Of Fortune" which was much better than the Merv Griffin one they use now because Griffin didn't want to keep paying royalties to Thicke.
I use to play this game with my family when I was a kid. I'm glad he won $25,000. We use to make up our own questions and bloopers on the show. I use to love watching the "Gauntlet of the Villains" when I was little. I was only 10 years old when I saw this show aired on T.V. I hope they post more Gauntlet of the Villains shows on YouTube.
I never understood this goddamn game.
MSoulPoet 4 days ago
I had been a huge game show fan for years, but I when I saw Whew (1980?) I loved it so much I cut out a paper game board and created my own cartoon "villians" to hide in it.
about a month before Whew started started, Johnny Olson called down Tom Kennedy on TPIR as a "contestant" to promote Whew. It worked for me; I watched for the show to start and was a big fan. Wish it had lasted more than a year. Had trivia, comedy and strategy
JBWiz 2 months ago
Why not "You got Lucky" or "Greed is an Evil Thing"?
CaptainOvide 6 months ago
I loved this show as a child. I thought it was a children's game, for adults.
14DaveHunter 6 months ago
What is the name of this game show
jblakecubsfan 6 months ago
@jblakecubsfan "WHEW!" It's no joke, that's the real name of it.
14DaveHunter 6 months ago
@14DaveHunter I remember the first time I saw this show I was 9,and I asked my mother what is this show called and she said "WHEW" I thought she was aggrivated becasue I asked her that question,so I asked again and again she said "Whew" then I got mad and said "what is this show called" and she laughed and told me that's the name "WHEW"
delideliver 3 months ago
Hey Oswego!! I live in Rochester NY.
yaywhewclips242 7 months ago
Thank you for uploading this amazing clip. The quality is astounding considering the age of this video. I just watched the big win and remember how much fun it was at 8 years old to see this show on days school was canceled due to snow.
bandsreunited 8 months ago
Calm Down, LOL!!!!
MrBennetzen 10 months ago
He flips the bird at the camera at 2:46.
MegastarLV 11 months ago 2
Anyone notice they forgot to "wake up" Dr. Demented when his turn came up?
HarlemHyena 1 year ago
At 1:52-1:53 when he sees the "Calm Down" I *SWEAR* he hits the gauntlet and says "To hell with you!" Can anyone make out what he said?
graperonto 1 year ago
@graperonto "to hell with ya" YEP- you are right
yolichka1 1 year ago
One of the most underrated game shows ever; this show should've lasted a lot longer!!!
juan833blue 1 year ago 3
@juan833blue I agree wholeheartedly! would love to see a new version if possible!
269848 9 months ago
how the f.. did you find this clear a clip??? it's like a studio master, if i don't know better...
blozier2006 1 year ago
Boy! I never seen the this show in 30 years! I was six when it's on air in Early 1980 during the secound week of winter break in kindergarden.
Shalady74 1 year ago
It's not his absolute happiness that's really impressive -- it's the rate of happiness per... um... what's the metric unit for Bad Hair again? :)
circuitfour 1 year ago
"calm down" Lol
Good for him !
xxxAlain 1 year ago
I wonder what the Villains had to say before Steven took them on. Usually, when Tom and a contestant went to the Gauntlet, the villains would have an intimidating message in their monitors.
patrickballoonman 1 year ago 2
do you know the name of the villains off of whew game show
doubletrouble467 1 year ago
patrickballoonman 1 year ago
@patrickballoonman thanks patrickballoonman,whose your favorite villian. my favorite villian is alphonse the gangster
doubletrouble467 1 year ago
@doubletrouble467 That's a tie between Bruno, Nibbleneck, Jeremy and Lucretia. If you've ever seen the animated opening sequence, you'd know what I mean.
patrickballoonman 1 year ago
@patrickballoonman i saw what you mean. You really like bruno the headsman,count nibbleneck the vampire,jeremy swash the pirate and Lucretia the witch
doubletrouble467 1 year ago
@patrickballoonman They're the only ones who attack the contestant. Or at least Lucretia's cat does in her case.
HarlemHyena 1 year ago
Is Whew! the biggest game show for CBS with $25,000 as its limit?
nextbarker 2 years ago
Did you know that there is a IRS man behind the screen stage.
hornerm5 2 years ago 2
$25,000 could buy 5 cars back those days
pacmannick 2 years ago 2
Man, this was a great, great game. Spent many a fine summer morning inside watching it (okay, one summer!).
ccie12933 2 years ago 2
How about this.... LeBlang said he wanted to break into broadcasting on the west coast. He's at FX now in an executive role. Amazing what a $25K win does for ya.
vincelavalle 2 years ago 7
They should bring this show back with a batch of new villains to tangle with or mix up old ones with makeovers and some new villains. Any ideas for new villians?
emlsox4life 2 years ago
MY CHEAP BOSS ? ?
kidfrombrooklyn66 2 years ago
Or a mean one like Ebenezer Scrooge? LOL!
emlsox4life 2 years ago
One should be based on John Simm's The Master from Doctor Who. Another should be based on Sylar from Heroes.
donmccullen 2 years ago
Benedict the Traitor, Adolf the Chancellor, Nikita the Premier, Saddam the Dictator, Richard the Castaway.
patrickballoonman 2 years ago 2
I like the Richard The Castaway one because this show was on CBS,like Survivor is now,LOL!!!
emlsox4life 2 years ago 2
And did you know notice after the contestant won the $25K, all the monitors in the background read "CALM DOWN". Wow. Where on earth did you find this?
Dodgerfn5 2 years ago 18
I think the villains show a bit of remorse.
StFidjnr 2 years ago
A woman just won the game...nice!
DJBiv788 2 years ago 2
YEEEAAAAAH!!! THAT'S GREAT!!!
PatrioticPirate 2 years ago
Would a show like this survive in this century?
carchavtube 2 years ago
I'm sure it would. They could replace Guiding Light with a game show like this.
Davidt33 2 years ago
It would be good w/ more money and such.
secondchance1977 2 years ago
it was the 80s today $25,000 is probably worth 500,000 back then that's how much it meant to them....But, hell, how should I know...I', 13.
GlobalMetroFilmsTV 2 years ago 2
Eh, I' 14 :)
secondchance1977 2 years ago 2
omigod. you have MADE my night. i never thought i'd see this show again. brings me back to being a dorky 9 year old home sick from school.
thelobsterjesus 3 years ago
he's a louder screamwe than randy amasia (R.I.P.)
MGHSHour2 3 years ago
Calm down??? What do those criminal minded villians know?
DJJamminC 3 years ago 5
He's gone nuts when he won.
discoweasel1977 2 years ago
This is the Best quality i've seen of Any Whew! footage yet! THis was my fave game show as a kid.I remember being so bummed when they canceled it in the summer of 1980. Too bad these have never been aired again.
1977Rocks 3 years ago
hes fast
TakerTombstone11 3 years ago
how ironic the villains say "clam down"
StFidjnr 3 years ago
That's calm down. How did they know?
Davidt33 3 years ago 2
I'm sure it was random. $25,000 in 1979 or 1980 would be like $125,000 today. That's a lot for a daytime show, so naturally anyone who won it would be very excited...hence "CALM DOWN" said by the villains. Got it?
HoustonRules 3 years ago
Comment removed
Hondo20132 3 years ago
I met Steve last night!!! That's so funny :)
uketasha 3 years ago
Really?
gameshowluvr86 3 years ago
God, I miss the heyday of TV game shows. Back in the days when grown men would scream like school girls at winning $25,000. Those were the days, man...
gameshowluvr86 3 years ago 4
Look AT the villains "Calm Down"
StFidjnr 3 years ago 2
"Helluva Game Show" to quote Tom Kennedy when asked about his memories of Whew! Supposedly all the episodes exist someplace - nobody has posted a clean copy of the complete opening and closing theme.
djackino 3 years ago
Presumably, the entire series is in the possession of Burt Sugarman, executive producer/creator of "The Midnight Special", who's also the copyright holder of the program and format.
Tyrone181 3 years ago
Is the theme to the show also held by Sugarman? It probably is, which is a total shame.
canbac21 3 years ago
Exactly. And from what I've read, old Burt has placed a ridiculously high price on the broadcast rights. Higher than most networks are willing to shell out, and he's not willing to come down one penny. In short, when it comes to WHEW!, Sugarman is being a jerk and an idiot.
aman1016 3 years ago
By the way, I noticed that in this version of the Gauntlet of Villains, the number of the villain came out of their mouth in a speech balloon. In the other clips on here (and the ones I remember watching when I was a kid), the numbers were on the items that the villains held. Just noticing. I never saw the Celebrity Whew either. I must have been out of town when school was on vacation or something. I can't imagine not watching this show when I had the chance, this was my all-time favorite.
HoustonRules 3 years ago
I just noticed that too - it must have happened when we were both back in school. :)
I never saw the Celebrity version either, but I have very fond memories of this show. And great music!
ccie12933 3 years ago
For added trivia, you should know that for Xmas, they decorated the gauntlet by coiffing all ten villains with Santa hats. Imagine that if you can.
patrickballoonman 3 years ago
OOOOOOH! Sort of like what they did with the whammies on the christmas episodes of Press Your Luck!
canbac21 3 years ago
God what a GREAT game show theme too!
nightfly776 3 years ago 12
Yeah, still one of my favorite themes. Man, I loved this show. :)
ccie12933 3 years ago 2
@nightfly776 It was composed by Alan Thicke, but he didn't preserve his recordings.
MegastarLV 11 months ago
@nightfly776 I LOVED this show. Surprised it went off so fast.
269848 9 months ago
$25,000.... that'd certainly pay for (at would still pay for in this state) state college.
wschmrdr 3 years ago
WOW! What a pristine quality clip. Thanks!
SuperGamer7 3 years ago 3
Having big money being awarded will always generate this kind of excitement. Die hard game show fans will always jump around and/or scream when they win; especially $25,000. They may be excited and bubbly but not stupid by any means; except on TRESURE HUNT, DEAL OR NO DEAL, CAMOFLAGUE (1980), & SET FOR LIFE. As for Steve LeBlang, well he is just like Randy: excited, smart, and jolly. He had probably the fastest gauntlet time; either by short bloopers and Tom was fast in reading. Good contestant.
gamshwfan 3 years ago 3
I agree
krazyknight00 3 years ago
Amen.
gameshowluvr86 3 years ago
I've seen some pretty dumb contestants on The Price Is Right also (in addition to the ones you mentioned, not Whew!). But you're right, $25,000 in 1979 would be like $125,000 today. Not bad money for a daytime game show. I'd have jumped around and yelled too.
HoustonRules 3 years ago
Where did you get this? This is of impeccable quality.
JimmySand9 3 years ago
Po-Portugese! AAAAH! AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!AAAAH!
lemonsters2008 3 years ago 5
LMAO!!! YES!! XD
gameshowluvr86 3 years ago
Randy was the most intelligent headmaster ever
- he play Whew! in 1979. Whew!
braingun64 3 years ago
Was this the fastest Gauntlet run? Cuz he started with 64 seconds, and he ended up with 12 seconds left for a total of 52 seconds.
darthchaosofrspw 3 years ago
Amazing seeing all these Whew! clips suddenly showing up.
darthchaosofrspw 3 years ago
he looks so happy- maybe he could donate some of the winning$ to lupus research.
LALupusLady 3 years ago
1979 pre celebrity edition, not 1980.
heine71 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Why do the contestants act like that?
He looks retarded imo
foreskin44 3 years ago
Cuz a $25,000 grand prize was a big deal back then. Hell, winning $10,000 on The Price Is Right was a big deal when they debuted Punch-A-Bunch and Grand Game.
darthchaosofrspw 3 years ago 2
That other guy act like that too. When Tom was reading the questions he just look odd
Like how a bug acts when theres a light on
foreskin44 3 years ago
Steven played Whew! in 1979 as he reached a
thousand-dollar milestone.
braingun64 3 years ago
They're happy to have won $25,000, dude!
And BTW, Steven (would that be LeBlang?) is not a retard.
gshowguy 3 years ago 3
It is indeed Steve LeBlang...and you're right, he's def no retard!
WhatsAYak 2 years ago
ROFLMAO!!! LOVE the scream!
gameshowluvr86 3 years ago
I'm amazed at the quality of this video...broadcast quality.
fatman50000 3 years ago 3
One thing about this theme song that it was WAAAAAAAAAYYYY ahead of it's time!!! Great theme music!!
tcidolfan 3 years ago
We can thank "Growing Pains" Alan Thicke..what a genius
KPCarter2000 3 years ago 2
Alan Thicke also wrote the original theme music for "Wheel Of Fortune" which was much better than the Merv Griffin one they use now because Griffin didn't want to keep paying royalties to Thicke.
HoustonRules 1 year ago
@HoustonRules Too bad he didn't preserve the original recording of the Whew! theme.
MegastarLV 11 months ago
@KPCarter2000 Too bad he didn't preserve the original recording of the Whew! theme.
MegastarLV 11 months ago
I love this show i Hope you have more of this the opening of the gauntlet of villian is the flourish part of the show.
KPCarter2000 3 years ago
Those villains are being ironic-- "CALM DOWN!" LOL. :-D :-D :-D
gshowguy 3 years ago
I use to play this game with my family when I was a kid. I'm glad he won $25,000. We use to make up our own questions and bloopers on the show. I use to love watching the "Gauntlet of the Villains" when I was little. I was only 10 years old when I saw this show aired on T.V. I hope they post more Gauntlet of the Villains shows on YouTube.
srf1969 3 years ago