3rd Degree!

Hosts
Peter Marshall (Pilot) Bert Convy (Series)
Announcer
Bob Hilton Don Morrow (sub) Michael Hanks (sub)
Broadcast
Pilot: 1988 Syndication (Daily): 9/11/1989 – 9/7/1990
Packagers
Burt & Bert Productions Kline & Friends Lorimar Television
Distributor
Warner Bros. Television

"(insert team)/These people have a special relationship and our celebrities will try to find out what it is by giving them the "3rd Degree!" And here they are: (insert claims and the four celebrities). And now, ladies and gentlemen, welcome the host of our show, Bert Convy!"

3rd Degree! is a short-lived syndicated game hosted by Bert Convy and similar to the Goodson-Todman game shows What's My Line? and Make the Connection.

Premise

A panel of four celebrities (who were split into two teams (two men, two women)) faced a team of two or more contestants who have a special relationship between them. Two rounds were played for each civilian team; in each round, each team of celebrities had a limited time to question the contestants (giving them the third degree (hence the name of the show)). In the first round, each team of celebrities had one minute to question the contestants, and in the second round, the time was cut to 30 seconds.

When the time was up, Bert recapped the clues given via the questions asked, then the celebrity team in control then got to guess the relationship, that's when Bert Convy asked the question, "What's the relationship?" when they were getting close to the correct relationship. An incorrect guess won $250 to the contestants, and stumping the panel completely won an additional $1,000 for a total of $2,000.

Notable contestants

I Love Lucy writers Madelyn Pugh Davis and Bob Carroll, Jr. appeared as contestants on the show's premiere.
Michael Burger, then of Straight to the Heart, and David Ruprecht of Supermarket Sweep appeared on the show as contestants. They stumped the panel in their appearance for $2,000. One of the panelists disqualified (today called "recusal") herself due to the fact that she knows them.
Don Messick and Lucille Bliss appeared as contestants on the show and the panel knew after the first minute that they are voice stars from the Smurfs. Don and Lucille had to settle for parting gifts on the show, but did the voices of Papa Smurf and Smurfette when heading off to a commercial break.
Jean Vander Pyl & Henry Corden, the voices of Wilma & Fred Flintstone, were another famous pair of voice stars to make an appearance. They didn't stump the panel, but they did receive $500 for stumping them in the first round.
Thurl Ravenscroft, who did the voice of Tony the Tiger for Frosted Flakes cereal commercials, was a contestant on the show, and he and his teammate stumped the panel and won $2,000.
A team of four men, all of whom played the character Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th movies, were contestants and stumped the panel to win $2,000.
One team attempted to perform a magic trick by sawing Bert Convy in half.
Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin were contestants on the show and ran footage of Bigfoot that they spotted.
Disney songwriters Richard & Robert Sherman were contestants on the show. They would go on to stump the panel and win $2,000.

Pilot

Peter Marshall (of Hollywood Squares) hosted the pilot, but was forced out after Bert Convy left his other show Win, Lose or Draw to make room for new host Robb Weller. Marshall sued Bert and Bert Productions in retaliation, but when Convy was diagnosed with a brain tumor and later died, the suit was dropped. The show was once promoted by Marshall in an episode of the short-lived Marc Summers-hosted game show Couch Potatoes.