the lights were turned on in time with a loud alarm, often accompanied by icey making a loud noise such as banging trash can lids, running a chainsaw, or playing an electric guitar at full volume. a 60-second countdown started, and the team had to get out of bed and run across the stage to elwood. before they could answer a question, they had to get all four feet off the ground and onto a balance beam, a small stump, a pair of surfboards on springs, or a moving log. every time a player's foot or any part of their body touched the ground, a buzzer sounded and elwood would stop reading and start the question again from the beginning. however, players could answer at any time their feet were off the ground, without waiting for him to finish the question.