Family Feud was (and still is) a
game show originally run on
ABC and now in
syndication, with
reruns on the
Game Show Network.
The show involved two groups of five people (usually two families (hence the name), but there were also special celebrity shows in which the winnings were donated to charity) competing for a chance to get into the Bonus Round and win $5,000
The competitors would pair off, one from each family at a time, and the host would read off a question, which one of the competitors would buzz in and answer. The question would have previously asked to an anonymous group of 100 people, and the top n answers would be displayed (hidden) on the board. If the answer given matched one of the answers on the board, the answer would be revealed. If the answer was not the most popular response (or did not place at all), the losing partner would have a chance to guess.
The winning family would then get the choice to "play" (try and guess the remaining answers) or "pass" (dare the other team to do so).
The host would then go down the row to the rest of the family and have them make their guesses. If the given answer was on the board, a number of points were placed in the pot based on how many people gave that answer. If the given answer wasn't on the board, or if the contestant took too much time, the team received a "strike". If the team completed the board, they received all of the points in the pot. Three "strikes" meant that the other team got a chance to go into a huddle and give one answer. If that answer was on the board, the team was awarded all of the points up to that point -- the answer they gave didn't affect the score.
After one team received 300 points, they were eligible to play the Bonus Round. Two members were selected, and one was sent backstage. The onstage member was then given 15 seconds to give the most popular answers to 5 questions. The answers were then covered up, and the offstage member was called out to answer the same 5 questions. S/he was given 20 seconds to do this, since s/he wasn't allowed to duplicate an already given answer.
If the combined answers totaled over 200 points, the family would win 5,000. If not, they would receive $5 for every answer.
The show went through several incarnations. The original (and canonical) host was Richard Dawson, of Match Game and Hogan's Heroes fame. He was later replaced by Ray Combs (possibly due to Dawson's tendency to kiss every female contestant, which aggravated the censors.) The show was relaunched in the late 90's, boasting a shiny new computer-generated board and Louie Anderson as the host. Anderson was replaced with Richard Karn, late of Home Improvement, when the show was relaunched. I am informed that he, like the two before him, is a terrible host.
This show also spawned the catchphrase "Survey Says?". The host would shout this out during the bonus round to reveal the points for that answer, like so:
"'Name an appliance usually found in the kitchen', you said 'toaster'"
(Contestant usually giggles or blushes.)
"Survey says:" (points revealed) 23! Very nice."
I am informed that this show is/was so popular that it has spawned imitations all over the world. The UK version is called "Family Fortunes"; there is also a Spanish-language version shown in the US, called "100 Mexicanos Dijéron", or "100 Mexicans Said". The catchphrase, "L'inquesta dice", translates basically to "Survey Says", if not as much fun to say. What 100 Mexicanos has on the American version is random attractive women who hang on the host; Richard Dawson would be proud.