Contestants
try to identify subjects based on definitions given by children.One of the all-time
biggest Goodson-Todman
disappointments. The premise seemed to have unlimited possibilities,
the
kids were clever and adorable, but the game itself was derivative,
simplistic
and dull. At the time, Bill referred to this series as one of his
personal favorites, although that was probably more for publicity
purposes
than anything else. It does have its fans.
Two children seen
defining words
would later become familiar faces in film and TV. Actress and noted
party
girl Tara
Reid (American Pie, Urban Legend, Josie and
the
Pussycats, Taradise) and actor Breckin
Meyer (Garfield, Robot Chicken) could both be
seen
defining words on the show. Arguably the best remembered child
player
from the series, Sascha
Segan, is today a freelance journalist with his own website.
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Two pilot episodes, with rules and game play very similar to what eventually aired, were recorded on May 11, 1982. The pilot called the show a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production, but the show that aired became the first to be credited just to Mark Goodson Productions. (Todman had died in 1979.)
All episodes survive and have been seen on GSN: The Network for Games.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
Screen grabs, more facts and a Sascha Segan interview at Adam Nedeff's Bill Cullen's World
The Child's Play page on Wikipedia
Information about the slightly different pilot episodes at Mike Burger's Game Show Pilot Light