Hollywood Squares

Hollywood Squares was an American game show created by Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley. Essentially a game of celebrity tic-tac-toe, the show was the second game show to be based upon that particular parlor game (Tic-Tac-Dough, a decade earlier, was the first). The show was famous for its celebrities and "zingers" and is still fondly remembered today.

Gameplay
Two contestants, a challenger and a champion, competed against each other. One contestant, usually a man, represented the letter "X", while the other, usually a woman, represented the letter "O". Facing them was a gigantic 3x3 panel of squares; in each square sat a celebrity. The player in control picked a celebrity, and the host read that celebrity a trivia question to answer. The celebrity first gave a cheeky "zinger" answer -- a funny answer used only for comedic purposes -- before giving what they thought to be the real answer. The contestant was to decide whether the celebrity was giving a right answer or a wrong one (referred to as a "bluff"). If they correctly agreed or disagreed with the celebrity, they got the square; if not, their opponent got the square.

On very rare occasion, the celebrity would whiff and not be able to give an answer; if this happened the contestant in control usually got the chance to answer themselves.

Just like in tic-tac-toe, whoever got three squares in a row won the round. If it was not possible to get three squares in a row (usually if both contestants had all but one square filled in such a way that three in a row was not possible), whoever claimed five squares on the panel won the round instead. If the contestant incorrectly agreed/disagreed with a celebrity, and their opponent claiming the square would've let them win by default, the square went unclaimed and the opponent had to earn it themselves.

In certain games, a "Secret Square" element was used; one of the celebrities was secretly picked to be the Secret Square, and if the contestant picked that celebrity and won the square, they won a special prize package.

General Info
The Hollywood Squares, a Merrill Heatter-Bob Quigley production, began its television run on NBC on October 17, 1966. The host -- referred to as "the master of The Hollywood Squares" -- was noted actor Peter Marshall in his first game show gig. Heatter-Quigley mainstay Kenny Williams served as announcer. A nighttime version premiered on NBC on January 12, 1968 and ended that September 13; a nighttime syndicated version began airing November 1, 1971.

The show was best-known not for its gameplay, but for its humor, namely the "zingers" given by celebrities in response to questions. Zingers were usually provided by the show's writers themselves, and the subjects of the questions (though not the questions themselves) and possible "bluff" answers were discussed with the celebrities before the show. The panel featured many lesser-known-but-still-well-known names in television and film, including The Dick Van Dyke Show's Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie, Charley Weaver (a fictional character created and played by actor Cliff Arquette), Joan Rivers, Rich Little, Jonathan Winters, Underdog actor Wally Cox, and more.

The strategically-important center square was occupied by a bevy of celebrities from the show's inception until October 14, 1968, when comedic actor Paul Lynde became the show's permanent center square. Lynde quickly become one of the most memorable panelists in game show history, always to be counted on for a zinger delivered in his typical manner and with his trademark outrageous humor. Lynde would wind up winning two Daytime Emmy Awards for his appearances on the show. He left the series in August 1979, but returned for the syndicated version's final season in 1980.

Despite being a ratings juggernaut, in 1976 NBC made the ill-advised decision to move the show to a different time slot to increase ratings. Instead ratings declined, resulting in several more timeslot changes before NBC finally pulled the plug on the series in 1980; the final daytime episode aired on June 20th. For the 1980-81 season, the syndicated version packed up its belongings and moved from NBC Studios to the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas; this version managed to scrape by one more season before finally calling it quits on May 22, 1981.

Daytime version

 * The daytime version used a "straddling" format; if time ran out when a game was in progress, that game was continued beginning on the next episode. Whoever won two games out of three was the champion.
 * Originally, whoever won a game received $100, and whoever won the match won an additional $300 for $500 total. This was later changed to $200 per game and $400 per match for a total of $800.
 * Whoever won five matches retired undefeated with $2,500 (later changed to $2,000), the Secret Square package (if not yet won), and a new car. Beginning in 1976, the bonus was doubled to $5,000 and an extra car (later replaced with $10,000) and luxury vacation.
 * The first game played on each episode was always a Secret Square game. If an episode began with a game already in progress, the next game would be a Secret Square game instead. Originally the Secret Square prize package totaled $1,000, the base amount was changed in later years. A new prize was added to the package each day it wasn't won.
 * Beginning in September 1976, a bonus round was played after the champion was decided. Each celebrity had an envelope with a prize inside; the champion picked a star, and whatever was in the envelope was what the champion won. The top prize was $5,000.

Nighttime versions

 * Both nighttime versions used a "self-contained" format; if time ran out when a game was in progress, a loud horn (what Marshall called the "tacky buzzer") sounded, and $50 was given to each contestant for each square they'd claimed on the board. Whoever had the most money was the champion, and won a bonus prize (a car until 1978).
 * The NBC nighttime edition had each game worth $300. The syndicated edition lowered this to $250.
 * The first two games on the NBC nighttime edition were Secret Square games. The prize for one was a trip, the prize for the other was a Pontiac Firebird (a speedboat was also offered on an episode). If the prize for the first Secret Square round was not won, it was carried over to the second round; if it still was not won, it went unclaimed.
 * The syndicated edition used the same Secret Square rules as the NBC primetime edition (with different prize packages worth around $2,500) until 1973, when a third Secret Square game was added. Each Secret Square game featured a different prize package worth between $2,000-$7,000. Beginning in 1978, only two Secret Square games were played. Until midway through the 1978-1979 season, the first two games played were Secret Square games; afterwards the second and third games played were Secret Square games.
 * The Secret Square was eliminated for the 1980-81 season; now whoever won a game won a prize or prize package.
 * The bonus round from the daytime version was used on this edition from 1978-1980. Now each envelope contained a prize over $5,000, one such prize being a car.
 * As stated before, the 1980-1981 season awarded the winner of each game a prize. If time ran out in the middle of a game, the prize was instead awarded to the player with the most squares currently on the board.
 * The winner of the most games won a trip and became eligible to play in a tournament with a prize package worth $100,000, featuring a dream home by Domes America, a Midas Midavan RV, and $20,000 cash. The winner of this tournament was Eric Lloyd Scott of Denver, Colorado, on the show's final episode.

Pilot
A black-and-white pilot for the series had been filmed for CBS in April 1965, hosted by Miss America emcee Bert Parks. The gameplay was largely the same, with $250 going to the winner of a match; whoever won two matches out of three won the game.

The pilot was fraught with problems, with taping not being finished until two in the morning. Audience members walked out and producers paid tourists from the Farmer's Mart to replace them and fill the audience. Neither NBC nor CBS was impressed with the pilot, least of all Parks as emcee, and a second pilot was shot with Sandy Baron as host. NBC finally picked up the series in 1966, and tapped Peter Marshall to fill the host's position.

Differences from the show

 * On the actual show, Mr. X sat in the left podium and Ms. Circle sat in the right. This was reversed in the pilot.
 * Instead of agreeing or disagreeing with the celebrities, contestants had to say whether their answer was "right" or "wrong." Doing so played a "victory" cue.
 * There was no Secret Square.

For the Kiddies
From January 9 to April 19, 1969, a children's version, Storybook Squares, aired on Saturday mornings on NBC. Marshall and Williams, now known as the "Guardian of the Gate", returned for this version, which featured panelists dressed up as characters from fairy tales and TV shows. A boy (Mr. X) and girl (Ms. Circle) played against each other on this version. Prizes were given to the winner of each game instead of money.

The Storybook Squares motif was brought back for several weeks during the 1976-1977 season of the daytime version.

Intro
The intro went as follows:
 * Over a shot of the flashing panel, Kenny Williams intoned, "One of these stars is sitting in the Secret Square, and the contestant who picks it first could win a prize package of over $[x],000! Which star is it?"
 * Williams then would introduce each panelist individually, with the camera providing a close-up of the panelist in their square as he said their name. Finally, Williams closed out with the center square, usually... "...or Paul Lynde, all in The Hollywood Squares!"
 * The camera would zoom out from the center square as the logo faded in on-screen, and stop at a full view of the panel. As the theme music kicked in, Williams would announce, "And here's the master of The Hollywood Squares, Peter Marshall!"

Theme

 * 1966-1969: An orchestration of "The Silly Song" by Jimmie Haskell.
 * 1969-1979: A new composition similar to the above entitled "Bob & Merrill's Theme", named after the show's creators, by William G. Loose. The theme perfectly captured the show's zany atmosphere.
 * 1979-1981: A disco reworking of "Bob & Merrill's Theme" entitled "The Hollywood Bowl", composed by Stan Worth.

Availability
Episodes of both versions are available on YouTube.
 * The whereabouts of the daytime version are largely unknown. Since NBC was known for wiping the masters of its series and using them for other shows, it is believed this series is one of those which have fallen victim to this practice.
 * After the syndicated version was cancelled in early 1981, stations which carried that version reran daytime episodes that had originally aired March 5-July 27, 1979 to fill out the rest of the season. These stations aired these episodes from April 13 to September 4, 1981.
 * It was initially believed that the NBC primetime and syndicated versions were also largely wiped, until 2002, when a search of NBC's vaults turned up at least 100 episodes of both versions. Many of these episodes were rerun on the Game Show Network (now GSN) from 2002 to 2003.

General Info
Two years after an unsuccessful pair up with Match Game, The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, had ended its short run, Orion Television, who had bought the rights to Hollywood Squares a few years prior, decided to try their hand at a standalone revival, titled The New Hollywood Squares. As had happened with The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, Peter Marshall was not asked to return as host; instead, producers opted for John Davidson, who had been a semi-regular on the original series and had even subbed for Paul Lynde on occasion. Radio DJ Shadoe Stevens was brought on as announcer, and by the end of the first season, he had even been given his own square in the bottom center position; in a unique twist, D'Shadoe did his announcing from his square.

This time around, panelists included the likes of "Weird Al" Yankovic, Dick Clark, Milton Berle, Roseanne Barr, and even the main puppet character from the television series ALF. Original series panelists such as Rose Marie and George Gobel also made return appearances. Celebrities rotated through the center square for much of the first season until Joan Rivers -- another original series panelist -- took the spot permanently in 1987. Jm J. Bullock, of Too Close for Comfort and ALF fame, served as another regular panelist. Bullock, Rivers and Stevens would sometimes serve as guest hosts whenever Davidson was unavailable. This iteration of the show is also remembered for its often-unorthodox atmosphere. Davidson, a professional singer, often sang songs for the panelist in question to complete. One episode aired in 1986 featured an entire round done in the style of the then-recent revival of Jeopardy! Fitness guru Richard Simmons and stand-up comedian (and future Family Feud host) Ray Combs were two of the celebrities who actually interacted with the audience (Combs in particular led the crowd in a rather off-key rendition of the Brady Bunch theme song). On the show's 100th episode, Shadoe Stevens and his brother Richard had an "Announce-Off", which led to Richard serving as announcer for several weeks before Shadoe returned. And on one memorable episode aired on April Fool's Day 1987, two stunt people hired to play contestants played a joke on Davidson and the panelists by getting into a heated argument, culminating in the female contestant actually shoving the male contestant off the stage.

Last but not least, this iteration of Hollywood Squares is notable for being the very first game show to go on road trips. Any given week, the show could switch locations from NBC Studios in California to New York's Radio City Music Hall, then move again the next week to Florida. Other game shows, most notably Wheel of Fortune, would follow suit.

However memorable this incarnation may be, it still failed to recapture the glory the original Squares had experienced, and a finale almost as memorable as the show itself aired in 1989; at the episode's end, the cast and crew sang "Happy Trails to You" and walked off the set.

Rule Changes

 * The rule changes made to Squares from The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (see that article for more details) were done away with.
 * Like the prior nighttime versions, each episode was self-contained. Whoever won the most money when time ran out won the match.
 * For the first season, each game was worth $500, with $100 given for each square on the board if time ran out in the middle of a game. Starting in season two, the third game and all games after were worth $1,000, with $200 given for each square.
 * Now only the second game in each show was the Secret Square game, played usually for a trip. The jackpot did not grow if it was not won.
 * A new bonus round was introduced for this version, the format of which being very similar to that of the 1970s game show Split Second.
 * The contestant played for one of five cars (actually displayed in the studio). Davidson presented the champion with a bowl of five keys. The contestant drew a key from the bowl and picked which car they thought the key started. After choosing a celebrity to stand beside them for good luck (all nine celebrities stood beside them on Friday shows or when the champion was retiring), the contestant got in the car and turned the key in the ignition. If it started, they won the car; if not, mocking "loser" music was played. If the champion made it to the bonus round a second time, the car they'd tried the first time would be taken out of the lineup.
 * If the champion made it to the bonus round five times, and had not won a car the previous four, they automatically won the car that was left.
 * Starting in the third season, each celebrity on the panel had a key; the champion now chose the celebrity instead of drawing a key from the bowl. Five of the celebrities held keys that started the five cars, the other four held dud keys that didn't start anything. If the champion did not win the car, it was no longer taken out of the lineup.
 * For the final season, the five-game winnings limit was removed; contestants could now stay until they won a car or they were defeated.

Intro

 * Again, over a shot of the flashing panel, all nine celebrities were introduced one at a time. Their square zoomed into the camera, D'Shadoe said their name, and their square returned to its position. On episodes where he had his own regular square, he always ended with himself.
 * After all celebrities were introduced, D'Shadoe intoned, "They/We are the New Hollywood Squares!" At this point, the camera cuts to the redesigned Hollywood Squares logo, now seen in-studio, and zooms out to reveal the full set, which (along with audience members) can now be seen in full camera view. "And now, here's your host, Joooooooooohn Davidson!"

Theme
A jazzy '80s-sounding theme by Stormy Sacks. The theme was rearranged in the third season.

Availability
All episodes are intact. USA Network reran these as part of its game show block from September 11, 1989 to June 25, 1993. Episodes can also be seen on YouTube.

Third version (syndication, 1998-2004)
In 1997, King World Productions (who'd bought the rights to the Hollywood Squares format in 1991) decided to put Squares back into production. This time, the show managed to get a significantly bigger name on its side -- actress-comedienne Whoopi Goldberg, who was brought on board as executive producer, alongside John Moffitt and Pat Tourk Lee as producers. Future America's Funniest Home Videos personality Tom Bergeron assumed hosting duties for this version, and Goldberg became the regular center square. Gilbert Gottfried, Martin Mull, Caroline Rhea and series co-writer Bruce Vilanch became series regulars, with Kathy Griffin and Everybody Loves Raymond's Brad Garrett among the semi-regulars, and D'Shadoe returning as announcer (though this time, he wasn't featured on the panel). The show premiered on September 14, 1998.

In 2002, Goldberg vacated her spot in the center square (literally -- the final week of shows that season saw Goldberg with increasing amounts of luggage in her square) as well as the role of executive producer. In addition, Caroline Rhea left to do her own self-titled talk show, Bruce Vilanch stepped down as series writer, John Moffitt and Pat Tourk Lee were fired, and Shadoe Stevens departed the show entirely, as the show went through something of a cosmetic relaunch for the 2002-2003 season. Now the show was given the nickname H2, meaning "Hollywood squared", and for the season the show decided not to employ a regular center square, leading to such personalities as Ellen DeGeneres, Alec Baldwin and then-American Idol judge Simon Cowell rotating as the center square. Jeffrey Tambor became the show's announcer for the 2002-03 season, replaced by the "world's fastest talker", John Moschitta, Jr. for the next one.

During this period of the show's run, the show aired two separate special game show-themed weeks, known simply as "Game Show Week" and "Game Show Week Part Two", in 2002 and 2003, respectively. The first Game Show Week featured such game show luminaries as Chuck Woolery, Bob Eubanks, Jim Lange, and Match Game panelists Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly on the panel, with Rod Roddy serving as the announcer, but the main attraction was the return of the master of The Hollywood Squares, Peter Marshall, who served as the center square that week. Things came full circle on the Thursday episode when Marshall and Bergeron traded places, putting Bergeron in the center square for the first time ever and marking Marshall's first time hosting Squares since 1981. Only Eubanks returned for "Game Show Week Part Two", but he was joined by Let's Make a Deal host Monty Hall and Just Men! host/Password stalwart Betty White, and D'Shadoe returned as the announcer.

Also during this period, the crew decided to take a cue from the Davidson version and play a prank on Bergeron on the panel for a show taped to air April Fool's Day 2003. Executive producer Henry Winkler (yes, the Fonz from Happy Days) hired two actors to play who he called "contestants from Hell". Mr. X was a loud, rude and overbearing contestant (played by E.E. Bell, best known as Bob Rooney on the sitcom Married... with Children), while Ms. Circle was an overemotional contestant who ended up breaking down in tears. An utterly-bewildered Bergeron sent the show to commercial after the contestant began crying, though unbeknownst to him, the camera was still running. At the end of it all, Winkler put Bergeron and the panel out of their misery by announcing over the intercom, "Hey, Tom... April Fool's." Gameplay resumed as normal.

Despite all these memorable moments, the show took a nosedive in ratings, and vanished from airwaves in June 2004, with reruns airing until September.

The Whoopi Goldberg Era

 * For the first season, two new contestants played per episode; there were no returning champions until season two, with the five-game limit reinstated. Once again, episodes were self-contained.
 * For the first four months, the first two games were worth $500, the third game was worth $1,000, and the fourth games onward were worth $2,000. If time ran out in the middle of a game, $250 was given for each square on the panel. These payoffs were later doubled.
 * On the earliest episodes, games two and three were Secret Square games. Initially both were played for different prizes, but after two weeks the prize from the first Secret Square game would carry over to the second if it had not been won. Starting in season two, only the second game played on each episode would be the Secret Square game, with the prize package now referred to as the "Secret Square Stash". A new prize was added to the "Stash" each day it wasn't won.
 * This era of the Bergeron Squares saw two different bonus rounds used.
 * The first was the endgame seen on the Marshall editions from 1978-1981, where the celebrities held an envelope that contained a prize inside. The contestant picked the celebrity, who opened their envelope; whatever was inside was what the contestant won. This was changed halfway through the first season; now once the contestant picked the celebrity and the envelope was opened, the contestant had to correctly agree/disagree with the celebrity's answer to a question in order to win it. If they failed, they won $2,500 as a consolation prize; this was largely dropped in season two.
 * Two months into the 2001-2002 season, a new bonus round was introduced. The champion still picked a celebrity, who still had an envelope, though this time instead of prizes each envelope contained a dollar amount between $1,000 and $5,000. Now, however, the celebrity would partner with the champion, who would attempt to answer as many possible multiple-choice questions as they could within one full minute, in what was unofficially dubbed "The Fastest 60 Seconds on Television" with a possible top prize of $100,000 (which was never won; the highest payout was $60,000). The champion could confer with the celebrity, but only the champion's answers counted, and each time the champion gave a correct answer they won what was in the envelope. Once the minute was up, the champion was given the offer to either quit and take the money they'd earned or risk it all on one final, double-or-nothing, non-multiple-choice question, with the subject of the question being revealed before the contestant made the choice; most champions instead opted for the money. Tom Bergeron is said to have hated this bonus round.

The H2 Era

 * All Secret Square questions now come with visual clues.
 * The "Fastest 60 Seconds on Television" bonus round was scrapped, with a variation of the bonus round seen on the Davidson version taking its place. Now the contestant was faced with a panel of nine keys, only one of which would win the day's prize. In 30 seconds, the host went down the line of nine celebrities on the panel, one by one, and read a true/false statement about them. The contestant had to correctly agree/disagree with the statements; doing so "captured" the squares. At the end of the 30 seconds, however many squares had been "captured" became the number of "bad keys" (keys that didn't win the prize) that would be removed from the panel. The host and champion went over to the panel, the champion picked the key they thought would win, and tried it out. If it was the right key, the prize was won; if not, the contestant still received $500 (later increased to $1,000; decreased back to $500 for the final season). If all nine squares were captured, the prize was automatically won by the champion.
 * Each time the same contestant made it to the bonus round, if won that day's prize, then a different prize would be up for grabs when next they returned. The five-prize structure in the 2002-2003 season went thusly:
 * Like the Davidson version's bonus round, the contestant tried their key in a car.
 * If the car was won, the contestant tried for $25,000 cash, in a safe.
 * If the cash was won, the contestant tried for a trip around the world worth over $30,000, in a steamer trunk.
 * If the trip was won, the contestant tried for $50,000 cash, again in a safe.
 * On the nonexistent occasion that the cash was won, the contestant tried for $100,000 cash, again in a safe.


 * For the show's final season, the prize structure was rearranged:
 * The contestant tried for a trip, in a steamer trunk.
 * If the trip was won, the contestant tried for $10,000, in a safe.
 * If the cash was won, the contestant tried for a luxury car.
 * If the car was won, the contestant tried for the $25,000 cash.
 * On the one occasion that the cash was won, the contestant tried for the trip around the world.


 * If the contestant failed to win the prize but made it to the bonus round again, an extra "bad key" would be taken off the panel for each previous attempt made. This was thrown out in the final season.
 * For the show's final season, the "straddling" format from the NBC daytime version was brought back. Now each game was worth $1,000, with whoever won two games out of three winning $2,000. No consolation money was awarded. Themed weeks, however, used the previous format.

Tournaments
This iteration of the show was notable for being the first version of Hollywood Squares to utilize regular, annual tournaments.
 * Starting in season two, each May featured an annual week-long Tournament of Champions, with the season's highest winners returning. The format changed each season:
 * Season two saw six five-game champions play the game as normal. The Secret Square was worth $2,500, which was added to the score. The pre-2001 bonus round was played with envelopes containing dollar amounts ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. The top two contestants in this tournament returned for a two-game final. The champion won $50,000 along with the money they'd accumulated over the course of the tournament.
 * Seasons three and four saw eight five-game champions play a semi-final game, with the top two contestants facing off on the Friday episode. Now the Secret Square was an actual prize, still added to the score. The champion won $25,000 and a trophy, and the bonus rounds now included a car as a potential prize (season three awarded a Jaguar, while season four offered a Mercedes-Benz). As season four saw the introduction of the "Fastest 60 Seconds on Television" bonus round, the winnings in said bonus round were added to the final score.
 * Season five saw eight contestants play a semi-final game, like before, only this time seven five-game contestants played with one other contestant chosen through a special "Close But No Cigar" elimination week beforehand. The nine-key bonus round was played for a $25,000 Bloomingdale's shopping spree for the first four days; the Friday episode saw them play for a cruise on the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2. The ultimate winner of the tournament played a variation of the Marshall bonus round, in which they picked a star with an envelope; now up to $50,000 was inside each envelope.
 * Season six saw the same as before, but now the winner of the tournament played the standard bonus round, with one of the "captured" celebrities being chosen by the player. As before, all nine held an envelope, but now up to $100,000 was inside each.
 * Also starting in season two, a College Championship was held annually until the 2003-2004 season. 14 college students competed in a week-long quarterfinal game, with the top four moving on to the semi-finals and the top two of that going on to the final game. The ultimate winner won a trophy for their university and a $25,000 savings bond (later changed to a car). Winnings from the Secret Square games and bonus rounds counted towards their score.
 * Season five saw the bonus round played for $25,000. In the quarterfinals, this was in the form of a savings bond; in the semi-finals, this was cash. The ultimate winner won a Jeep Wrangler.

Season One/Two

 * Zooming out of a CGI Hollywood sign, we see Whoopi Goldberg and Tom Bergeron driving down Hollywood Blvd. in a convertible. They pull up to a giant tic-tac-toe grid, with different Xs and Os changing within the squares, and they get out of the car, joining a crowd of dancers and partygoers as fireworks erupt in the Hollywood skies around them.
 * D'Shadoe then announces the celebrities one-by-one as their faces appear in squares superimposed over this landscape. He then rounds it out with, "And starring Whoopi Goldberg! With Tom Bergeron, your host!" as Whoopi and Tom are seen trying to hurry through the crowd to the studios.
 * D'Shadoe then intones, "All on Hollywood Squares!" Over a shot of the giant tic-tac-toe grid, the new "HOLLYWOOD squares" logo forms. We then cut to in-studio, where the scene is seen on a screen, and as we pan across the set D'Shadoe announces, "Now, here's Tom Bergeron!"

Season two's intro went largely the same, except shorter. The sequences with Whoopi and Tom were trimmed.

Season Three

 * Over yet another shot of the city of Los Angeles, a giant red CGI cube with black Xs and Os on all of its sides tumbles into frame. Each side flies off and stops a little ways away from it, and as D'Shadoe introduces the celebrities, their close-ups are seen in one particular side facing the camera; the cube would rotate as each celebrity was introduced.
 * The cube comes back together and spins some, stopping to reveal Whoopi Goldberg's close-up in one side as she's announced, and does it again to introduce Tom Bergeron, then as D'Shadoe intones "All on Hollywood Squares!" the cube zooms back to as "HOLLYWOOD" and "squares" slide in to form the redesigned logo.

Season Four

 * Fade in on a full view of the panel. One of the squares zooms in rotating from its position, with a futuristic "whoosh" sound (coincidentally, one of the sounds used to reveal the Secret Square to home audiences). The star in the square reveals a fact about one of the celebrities that episode, then asks "Which star is it?", in a manner similar to Kenny Williams' original introduction on Peter Marshall's edition.
 * Then, over different shots of the city of Los Angeles, the "cube" from the previous season comes back into frame, only instead of tumbling about and falling apart, it spins in place, stopping on each individual side to reveal a close-up of each celebrity as D'Shadoe introduces them, ending by doing the same for Whoopi Goldberg and Tom Bergeron. Then the square falls out of frame, and the logo from the previous season is formed.

Season Five/Six

 * Over a red background with a lighter starburst in the middle, we see various stars zooming into and out of frame, as well as various outlines of Hollywood Walk of Fame-style stars.
 * The "H" and "2" spin in from different areas of the screen, forming the new Hollywood Squares logo, as white silhouettes in the shape of spotlights appear on-screen. The announcer says, "From the celebrity capital of the world, it's Hollywood Squares!" At that point a white "limousine" silhouette pulls up, with a door opening and the letters in the show's title forming out of it.
 * "Starring..." The celebrities are introduced one by one, in square outlines. Spotlights wave back and forth as a transition between celebrities. The center square, as usual, is introduced last, in the middle of a nine-panel grid of silhouettes zooming into the camera.
 * The logo forms once more on-screen, and we cut to the center square as displayed on a screen in-studio. We pan across the set, and the announcer says, "And your host, Tom Bergeron!"

Theme

 * 1998-2002: A soulful tune called "I Love Hollywood" written by Jennifer May Mauldaur and Paul David Weinberg, with Whoopi Goldberg singing lead vocals. The theme was remixed in the fourth season.
 * 2002-2004: A Squares-specific reworking of Teena Marie's 1981 hit "Square Biz", entitled "Hollywood Square Biz", sung by Teena Marie herself.

Availability
All episodes are intact. Episodes have aired on GSN in the past. As always, the show can also be found on YouTube.