Family Secrets
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Family Secrets is an American game show where two families are asked questions that test how well they know each other, similar to The Newlywed Game. Ironically, this show was hosted by Bob Eubanks, who is best-known for hosting The Newlywed Game. Family Secrets was taped at Disney MGM Studios (currently known as Disney’s Hollywood Studios) in Orlando, Florida.
Gameplay
Two families (each one consisting of a mother, a father, and a child) are asked questions that test how well they know each other…at least in the first two rounds.
Round one has the children answer two questions about their fathers and two questions about their mothers, and the parents must match the children’s answers, with each match worth $100.
Round two has the parents answer two questions about their children, and the children must match the parents’ answers, with each match worth $200.
Round three has a question with a numerical answer. This question is about the average American family. Each family must come up with a number and write it down within ten seconds. The family whose guess is closest to the correct number wins $500. If both families are tied in terms of distance from the correct number, the family with the higher score wins the $500.
The family with the most money wins the game and a prize, and they move on to the bonus round for a chance to win a family vacation.
In the bonus round, the child of the winning family is given up to five categories, and without looking at his/her parents, he/she must choose which parent he/she thinks is more likely to answer a question correctly in each category. If the parents get three questions right before they get three questions wrong, the family wins the family vacation.
Why It Doesn’t Have America Talking
- This game show is one of many rip-offs of The Newlywed Game.
- Ironically, both The Newlywed Game and this show were hosted by Bob Eubanks, as mentioned above.
- The idea of a game show where teams (or families, in this case) answer questions that test how well they know each other is something that should be reserved for adult game shows, as it involves questions and answers whose contents are inappropriate for children, as well as arguments over wrong answers between team members, which is cringeworthy to watch on a game show involving children.
- The third round and the bonus round, while they can work just fine on other game shows, are completely different from the first two rounds. The third round has a numerical question about the average American family which the families’ guesses must be as close to the correct number as possible, and the bonus round is a trivia game where a child has to choose which parent is more likely to get a question right in each category, neither of which has anything to do with family members answering questions that test how well they know each other.
- The scoring is flawed, for more often than not, the family that wins the $500 in round three ends up scoring enough to win the game.
- The set looks bland and cheap.
- Many families failed to meet eligibility requirements, particularly a family identified as the Hansen family, who sparked controversy (explained below).
- Because of this, along with low ratings, the show ended up being cancelled after twelve weeks and replaced with the last daytime game show on NBC called Caesars Challenge the following Monday.
The Only Redeeming Quality
- Bob Eubanks does a good job hosting this show like he did in other game shows he hosted, like The Newlywed Game.
Controversy
Controversy was sparked when one of the families competing on the show turned out to not be an actual family. That family was identified as the Hansen family, which consisted of a ten-year-old girl named Sheena, her father named Ken, and the father’s live-in fiancée named Ingrid Norman who posed as Sheena’s mother. A May 1993 Chicago Tribune story reported that the family won $6,000 in prizes, including a Caribbean cruise, but Sheena’s real mother and Ken’s ex-wife, Annette DeSimone, discovered the deception and called up NBC and Dave Bell Associates, the companies behind the show, to get them to pull the episode, which was slated to air on May 27, 1993. Officials at both companies agreed to pull the episode and replace it with a rerun. The family’s episode went unaired, and they were not given their trip or money, but Sheena was given her prizes, which were a camera and a CD player.
Trivia
- Ken Hansen and Ingrid Norman got married on June 11, 1993, the day of the series finale.