Blackout is an American game show that was broadcast on CBS as part of its daytime schedule from January 4, 1988 until April 1, 1988. The program was created and produced by Jay Wolpert. The game features two contestants, each paired with a celebrity. Contestants attempt to solve word puzzles consisting of a sentence or short paragraph with four blank spaces. Players guess each missing word based on hearing clues recorded by their partner, but with the playback being muted or "blacked out" at certain places by their opponent. Bob Goen served as the host for Blackout. The show's original announcer was Johnny Gilbert, with Jay Stewart substituting for the final two weeks of shows with Johnny out due to illness. This was Stewart's final announcing job before his 1989 death. Gameplay Main game Two teams, each consisting of a contestant and a celebrity partner, played. One of the players was usually a returning champion and sat at a yellow desk with his/her partner, while the challenger's team played from a red desk. The object of the game was to solve word puzzles that consisted of a sentence or short paragraph with four blank spaces, usually incorporating a pun or play on words. Each blank represented a word, and the object of the game was for one of the players to guess the word based on clues provided by their partner, then use the words to complete the puzzle. A typical example: "The _ wasn't _, he just had a _ in his _." With the words "sick," "code," "spy," and "nose," the solution would be: "The spy wasn't sick, he just had a code in his nose." Play in the first round began with the red team. The celebrity was shown one of the four missing words and had 20 seconds to describe it, while the contestant donned a pair of headphones and his/her seat was moved forward to prevent him/her from seeing or hearing anything. The celebrity's description was recorded, and was played back for the contestant after time expired. Both members of the opposing team were able to hear the entire description. The celebrity of that team had control of a plunger known as a "blackout button," which he/she could press to silence ("black out") portions of the recording as it was played back. The blackout button could be used for a maximum of seven seconds, plus