| Hosts | |
| Hal March (1968) Vin Scully (1969–1970) Dick Clark (1997) | |
| Announcers | |
| John Harlan (1969–1970) Burton Richardson (1997) | |
| Broadcast | |
 NBC Daytime: 3/31/1969 – 7/31/1970   | |
| Packagers | |
| Ralph Andrews Productions (1968–1970) Interactive Entertainment, Inc. Mark Phillips Philms & Telephision/ MTM Enterprises, Inc. (1997) | |
OPENING SPIEL (1968-1970): "(insert action and facts about Celebrity #1), (insert Celebrity #1)! And sitting next to him/her is (insert Celebrity #1's partner)! (insert actions and facts from Celebrity #2), (insert Celebrity #2)! And with him/her is (insert Celebrity #2's partner)! For our next/final introduction, (insert action and facts about Celebrity #3), (insert Celebrity #3)! And next to him/her is (insert Celebrity #3's partner)!" HAL/VIN: And my name is Hal March/Vin Scully, and welcome to IT TAKES TWO!
OPENING SPIEL (1997): Dick: Hi, I'm Dick Clark! Welcome to It Takes Two, the game where every answer is a number. And coming up on It Takes Two, (insert celebrities and contestants descriptions). Stick around, we'll be right back! (insert singing) Burton: And now, here's the man who has all the answers/numbers, Diiiiiiiiiick Clark!!!!!
It Takes Two was the number guessing game show where three teams estimated on a series of stunts and demonstrations.
Gameplay (NBC Version)[]
Three celebrity couples competed in this version. For each question, both spouses of each celebrity couple gave individual numerical answers which were averaged into their combined answer. After the celebrity couples gave their answers, a studio audience member guessed which couple was the closest. A correct answer won $100 for the audience member. By the fall of 1969, each win awarded a prize instead of cash. In 1970, audience members who won four prizes in a row also won a new car.
Veteran straight man Bud Abbott (of the comedy team Abbott & Costello) appeared as a special guest on one episode, reminiscing about his career with Lou Costello.
Gameplay (1997 Version)[]
A short-lived revival ran on The Family Channel in Spring 1997, hosted by Clark (who appeared on the NBC series with his wife) with Burton Richardson announcing.
The series was produced by Mark Phillips Philms & Telephision, with Phillips serving as Executive Producer. Rich DeMichele was Producer while Gary Jonke was the writer. Barry Glazer served as director.
Main Game[]
The game was basically the same, except there were now two civilian contestants on each team. Once again, both players on each team gave individual numerical answers to make one averaged answer. Each question was now worth money for the team who was the closest, and the team who was the second-closest team received half of the question's value (or ¾ for the first question, although early episodes had the second-closest team get $50 for the first question).
If a two-way tie occurred, both teams received the 1st or 2nd place money. If a three-way tie occurred, all three teams received the first-place money. If at any point a team hit the answer on the nose, a train whistle sounded, and in addition to the first place money, they also won a prize (usually a Yamaha WaveRunner). The team with the most money won the game, kept the cash, bonus prizes, and a chance to answer one last question called the "Brainteaser".
Scoring[]
| Questions | 1st Closest | 2nd Closest |
|---|---|---|
| Question #1 | $100 | $75 ($50 in early episodes) |
| Question #2 | $200 | $100 |
| Question #3 | $300 | $150 |
| Question #4 | $400 | $200 |
| Question #5 | $1,000 | $500 |
[]
The "Brainteaser" was a question that had to do with an act or demonstration that was already used during the show. In the main rounds, the team players wrote down their answers, but in this round, they gave verbal answers; their answers, however, were still averaged out. If the correct answer was within range higher or lower (either within 20% of their guesses, within the averaged numerical answer, or within their individual answers), they won a grand prize.
If the game ended in a tie, the tied teams got to answer the "Brainteaser" with the winners of that question receiving the grand prize.
Celebrity Guests[]
Many episodes featured a guest celebrity (sometimes from popular game shows) that came on to either perform a task related to a question or for a question related to their work.
- Vicki Lawrence appeared on the premiere for a question on ironing.
- Christina Ferrare of Home & Family stopped by on the second episode for a question about her modeling career; co-host Michael Burger also appeared, although unexpectedly.
- Rod Roddy and Janice Pennington of The Price is Right came by on the fifth episode for one of the questions, as well as the "Brainteaser".
- Betty White appeared for a question in the second week of the series.
- Ruta Lee of High Rollers fame stopped by to roll dice for one question: "How many times will Ruta roll sevens and elevens during the rest of the show?"
- Ed McMahon, Dick's co-host on TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes came by for two questions: one on his life as Johnny Carson's sidekick, the other on his American Family Publishers sweepstakes.
- Jon "Bowzer" Bauman of Sha Na Na appeared on an episode to play the piano for two questions.
- Ron Pearson of Shopping Spree came by to do some juggling for one of the questions.
Lyrics (1997)[]
It takes two, to do the tango.
It takes two, to tie a knot.
It takes two and all of you, to plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay… IT TAKES TWO!
Taglines[]
"Remember, it takes all of you to play It Takes Two. We'll see you the next time. For now, Dick Clark, (hand salute) so long." - Dick Clark
"This is Burton Richardson speaking." - Burton Richardson
Music[]
1997 – Mark Northam Lyrics by Mark Phillips
Inventor[]
Ralph Andrews
Studios[]
NBC Studios, Burbank, California (1968–1970)
CBS Television City, Hollywood, California (1974)
Hollywood Center Studios, Los Angeles, California (1997)
Rating[]
Merchandise[]
A board game was released as a joint venture between NBC and Hasbro in 1970 as part of their "bookshelf" series of games (alongside The Mating Game, Rhyme Time, Trivia, Chain Letters, Interpretation of Dreams, Mob Strategy: The Takeover Game, Vegas, and The World of Wall Street), all of which bear the famous Peacock logo. This is the only "bookshelf" game based on an aired TV game show, but oddly has no reference to the TV series at all.
Gallery[]
Episode status[]
- The fate of the NBC version is unknown, and only three episodes are known to circulate among collectors. The 1968 pilot is held by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
- There was an unsold pilot for CBS taped in 1974.
- The 1997 series is intact.