YMMV / Merv Griffin's Crosswords

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• Fan Nickname: Crosswords, mainly since Merv had little to do with it.
• Growing the Beard: The many format and aesthetic changes the show went through during its run (when viewed in taping order, if you can figure it out) were all seen as positive — the clue value increases and Edd Hall introducing the Spoilers being prominent examples.
• Harsher in Hindsight: An official video posted on YouTube to promote the show had the staff and crew talking about how great the show was and anticipating a long run; at the end, the narrator stated that "Crosswords is sure to achieve the elite status of Griffin's other two franchises, and become the third jewel of his triple crown!" Instead, it was cancelled after one season and forgotten except by game show fans.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: The video also had Ty saying "the thing that sets Crosswords apart from some of the other game shows is... there is no resting here"; although in context he was referring to the game's lightning-fast pacing (which is debatable) and Spoiler mechanic, it implied that more than just a single week's worth of episodes were taped in a single day. Considering Ty never seemed to improve as host and the whole Out of Order business...
• It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: Crosswords never tried any holiday-themed episodes, celebrity specials, or tournaments in at least a feeble attempt to change things up and maybe get slightly better ratings. It did nothing for Sweeps minus the removal of the Getaways on November 1 (a Thursday), and even that didn't stick for very long. The only "special" kind of thing they ever really did was the week of February 4-8, 2008, when all of the contestants were from Chicago. Even though Ty made a big deal of this, Chicago-themed clues in the games themselves were nonexistent.
• Scrappy Mechanic: The Spoilers. They were added to the game in the second round and could steal either of the two main contestant podiums with a correct answer. One Spoiler could do nothing for the entire game and win by ringing in on the last clue and stealing the leader's score. This happened at least once.