Suvechha Sarkar
ABC’s ‘Celebrity Family Feud’ brings the high-energy fun of the classic game show as celebrities go head-to-head in a battle of quick thinking and hilarious answers. The end goal is to win money for their favorite charities. Hosted by the ever-charismatic Steve Harvey, the show kicks off season 11 with two exciting battles. In episode 1, titled ‘Taraji P. Henson vs. Jennifer Hudson and The Dan Patrick Show vs. The Rich Eisen Show,’ the competition is between Taraji P. Henson and Jennifer Hudson, which takes place in the first round. Later, it’s a battle of sports talk titans as The Dan Patrick Show takes on The Rich Eisen Show, promising plenty of laughs and surprising answers.
Two Superstar-led Families Kick Off the Game With Laughter and a Few Twists
The show commences with introducing the Academy Award Nominee, Actress, and Producer Taraji P. Henson and her family, who are playing for the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation. Their opponent is the Academy Award Winner, Jennifer Hudson, and her family, competing for the Jennifer Hudson Foundation. As Steve arrives on the stage, he announces that the celebrities are going to battle it out for $25,000 for their charities. He introduces Taraji, known for films like ‘Hidden Figures’ and ‘Think Like A Man.’ She is competing alongside her cousins, Jolon Shields and Tamara Allen, her sister April Henson, and her son Marcell Johnson. Their opponent is Jennifer, the host of ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’ and known for ‘Dreamgirls’, and is the youngest woman ever to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.
Jennifer is battling alongside her cousins, Razia Hutchins, Kelvin Mclin, son David “Doj” Otunga Jr., and nephew Marion Miller. With the introductions out of the way, Steven informs Taraji and Jennifer that there are the top 6 answers to the question that the show’s team has asked 100 women. They must answer what they would do if they discovered the diamond in their engagement ring was fake. Taraji presses the buzzer first and answers, “Give it Back,” which turns out to be the 6th answer- Throw at Him. However, when Jennifer answers wrongly about demanding a better one, the chance goes to Taraji’s team. Jolon provides “Call up your husband immediately” as the top correct answer to confront/yell. Tamara’s wrong response to pawn it brings one strike. April answers the second top one by saying “fake it till she makes it.”
Marcell and Taraji provide throwing the ring in the trash and breaking up as the correct top 3 and 4 answers. Since Jolon gives the wrong answer, the chance passes to Tamara. However, Steve cautions them that since they already have two strikes, they must answer the fifth one correctly or risk the J-Hud family stealing their chance. Tamara ultimately provides Cry as the correct answer. Right after, the host informs the teams that there are the top 8 answers for the next question. As Jolon and Doj step up, he announces the next question: to name the best R&B group of all time. Jolon answers the 3rd answer, Destiny’s Child, correctly, claiming the chance for his team since Doj bluntly states that he has no answers. After joking that there have been no R&B groups since Doj was born, the host asks Taraji’s team the question.
A Confident Lead Begins to Slip as Unexpected Questions Challenge Both Teams
Tamara, April, and Marcell provide En Vogue, SWV, and TLC as their answers, which are the correct ones. Since Taraji offers the wrong answer, the chance passes to Jolon, who accurately answers The Supremes as the top answer. After two more incorrect answers, the question passes to Jennifer, who also answers it incorrectly as Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells. Steve finally reveals the rest of the three correct answers: Salt-N-Pepa, The Shirelles, and Spice Girls. However, the Spice Girls earn objections from both Taraji and Jennifer since they point out that it is a pop group. By the end of the question, the former team’s point stands at 167, while the latter’s is at 0. Steve then calls Tamara and Marion forward and informs them that the point values are doubled for the following question’s top 5 answers.
Although Marion first provides Women as the correct 4th answer, Tamara snatches the turn for her team with the 3rd answer of Soup. Taraji quickly informs Steve that Tamara is a chef. While April provides Milkshake (ice cream) as the correct answer, Marcel earns one strike for the team with his humorous response of “Thighs.” It is soon followed by Taraji’s correct response of Steak, which is the top answer. However, Jolon and Tamara earn two more strikes for the team with the answers: a man and a mustache. Unfortunately, when Jennifer declares “Your Pocket” as the answer, it turns out to be wrong. In the end, it is disclosed that the remaining correct answer is Pudding. For the next question, it is now the turn for April and Kelvin. There are 4 top answers for the questions with triple point values.
April and Kelvin are asked to name a city where taking the train is easier than driving. This time, the latter presses the buzzer first to answer New York, which is the top response. Razia follows suit with the second top answer, Chicago. To their dismay, Jennifer, Doj, and Marion earn three strikes with their wrong answers: Philly, Atlanta, and Washington D.C., respectively. As the question passes to Taraji’s team, Steven informs that since there are two answers left on the board, if her team can give either one of the answers, they can steal their opponent’s chance and win the game. Sadly, when Taraji provides Detroit as her response, it is revealed to be the wrong one. No one expected the rest of the two correct answers to be London and San Francisco.
Team J-Hud Secures Victory After Razia Nails the Sudden Death Round Answer
Since none of the teams reached the target score, Steve announces it is time for the Sudden Death Round. For the same, he calls Marcell and Razia forward and explains that whoever gets the one answer correct shall win the game. For that, they have to answer about another way people say sexy. Razia wastes no time in declaring the answer “Hot,” which, to her delight, is the correct one, providing her team with the win. By the end, Team Taraji and Team J-Hud’s points stand at 265 and 432, respectively. After Steve informs the former team that the show is going to donate to their charity for their participation, he asks for two players to step forward for the Fast Money Round. Between Jennifer and Razia, the latter is the one to go first. She has 20 seconds to answer five questions.
Steven then announces the questions: (1) When an actor says it’s great just to be nominated on a scale of one to ten, how much do they mean it? (2) Fill in the blanks: Peach __, (3) Name something you bounce up and down on, (4) Name a kind of animal seen in the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ (5) Name the piece of chicken people usually grab first. One by one, Razia’s answers are as follows: three (9), Peach Cobbler (27), Bed (20), Tiger (0), and Thigh (5). According to the survey, Steve announces that she has managed to get 61 points with her answers. To win the round, Jennifer needs 139 points more. She gets 25 seconds for the same questions and provides the answers: one (23), Peach Pie (11), Beanbag (0), Crow (0), and Wing (10). However, her team’s total ends up being 105. Ultimately, Jennifer and her family walk away with $10,000 for the charity.
The Competition Heats Up With a Battle Between Two Sports Broadcasters
Right after, Steve welcomes the next two teams, which are none other than ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ team and ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ team. While the former are competing for the Boys & Girls Club of Milford, the latter are playing for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The first team contains the host, Dan Patrick himself, his team, Marvin Prince, Patrick “Seton” O’Connor, Paul Pabst, and the producer of the show, Todd “Fritzy” Fritz. Their opponent is the host of the ‘Rich Eisen Show,’ Rich Eisen himself, his team, T.J. Jefferson, Chris Brockman, Mike Del Tufo, and Jason “Jayfelly” Feller. Without wasting a second, Steve announces how their first question was asked to 100 men and has the top 8 answers. For that, they have to respond to the question as to what superhero they would like to be called in the bedroom.
Between Dan and Rich, who are facing the question first, the former quickly answers Superman, which turns out to be the top response. Since he decides his team is going to be playing, the same question is then asked of them. Marvin, Fritzy, and Seton correctly guess Aquaman, Incredible Hulk, and Iron Man as their respective answers. Although it is followed by Paul’s wrong response – Captain America, Dan, and Marvin once again pick up the pace with the accurate answers: Batman and Spider-Man. To their dismay, Fritzy and Seton’s wrong answers: Shazam and Wolverine pass the question to Rich, who correctly responds with Thor. Steve finally reveals that the remaining response is The Flash. As they move on to the next question, the host calls forth Mavin and Chris.
There are seven top answers for the next question, where the contestants have to give one good reason why they’re not nudists. Chris presses the buzzer first to declare his answer as “I’m Fat,” which matches the top response of being Too Flabby. As the game proceeds, T.J. promptly states that “not endowed” may be a reason why he wouldn’t be a nudist. It turns out that it is the top 4 answer. Although Mike humorously answers that he does not want to scare people by being a nudist, it is disclosed that it is a wrong response. While Jayfelly correctly responds that being shy is the reason, Rich’s wrong guess of being religious earns the second strike. Chris lists too much body hair as another of the correct answers, but the third strike arrives when T.J. wrongly responds that he may not be a nudist because too many kids are around.
Despite a Few Missteps, the Dan Patrick Show Team Gains the Victory
As the chance passes to Dan, he adds another correct answer to the list- Sunburn. In the end, Steve discloses the remaining two accurate responses: Get Arrested and Saggy Skin/Breasts. For the next question, T.J. and Fritzy are going to battle it out. With the top 6 answers on the board, they must name something a kid may be tempted to put on his teacher’s chair. While T.J. first provides a bug (frog/critter) as the top 5 answer, Fritzy grabs the chance with his Top 4 response, which is an apple. Seton and Paul quickly provide two more correct responses: Thumbtack and Whoopee Cushion, respectively. However, the team gets three strikes when Dan, Marvin, and Fritzy provide homework assignments, money, and love notes, which are the three incorrect responses back-to-back.
After the question passes to Rich, he also responds with “A Book” incorrectly. Steven announces that the remaining two correct answers are glue and gum. It is now time for Mike and Seton to face the question with triple point values and the top four answers. They have to name something that the older it is, the more valuable it is. To his delight, Seton bags the chance to play for his team by correctly answering Wine, which is the top response. While Paul’s following response of Vintage Automobiles turns out to be wrong, Dan’s impressive answer stating “My Wife” turns out to be the top 4 answer. Since Marvin fails to answer, it collects two strikes for the team. Fortunately, Fritzy and Seton provide the next two correct answers: Coins and a Piece of Art, snatching the victory.
Dan and Fritzy Win the Fast Money Round With a Perfect Team Effort
After informing the ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ team that the show is going to contribute to their charity, Steve announces it is time for Dan’s team to battle the Fast Money Round for $25,000. Dan and Fritzy volunteer to play the round, with the former going first and having to answer five questions within 20 seconds. Following this, Steve asks the following five questions: (1) When someone asks how many fingers I am holding up, how many are they holding up? (2) Tell me one thing you know about Dwayne the Rock Johnson, (3) Name something women wish men would surprise them with, (4) Name a US city with a lot of professional sports teams, (5) Name a kind of berry you’d find in a bowl of mixed berries.
Dan calmly provides answers to four of these questions: One (7), Wrestler (25), Flowers (36), and New York (32). Since he fails to answer the last one in time, he gets zero points for the same. To their delight, Steven announces that Dan has gained exactly 100 points, which means that Fritzy has to score exactly 100 more to win the round. In 25 seconds, Fritzy provides the following responses to the same questions: Three (31), Muscular (25), Jewelry (31), Los Angeles (32), and Strawberries. With just the first four answers, he manages to gain 119 points, leading to their victory once more. To their delight, the team succeeds in gaining $25,000 for their charity, Boys & Girls Club of Milford.
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