Arte Johnson was the host of this Short-Runner Game Show on NBC, which ran from October 3, 1977, to April 21, 1978. Three contestants competed; given a list of four items, they had to "knock out" the odd item. A correct answer gave a player one of the eight letters in KNOCKOUT. That player could earn one or two additional letters by guessing what the three other items had in common. The first player to complete the word KNOCKOUT won a prize and advanced to the Bonus Round to win up to $5,000 in cash.
The bonus was played in two parts. In the first part, three items with a common bond were revealed to the winning contestant, one at a time, with the player having to identify the bond. Giving the correct answer awarded $500 on one item, $300 if two items were needed, and $100 if all three were revealed. In the second part, the player could increase his winnings tenfold by choosing one of the three hidden clues to a new bond.
Contestants stayed on until they won five games or lost two. This show was paired with To Say the Least.
Tropes in this game show:
- Personnel:
- Game Show Host: Arte Johnson
- Announcers: Jay Stewart, John Harlan
- Cold Open: Instead of theme music and an opening spiel, Arte opened the show by addressing the home viewers himself, and asked The Announcer who would be playing that day.
- Celebrity Edition: A pilot was filmed in January 1978 with two celebrity-contestant teams, but celebrities never did play on the series.
- Non-Appearing Title: The show didn't have an official logo or title graphic.
- Spelling Bonus: The object is to collect all eight letters in KNOCKOUT.
