Fandango (game show)
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Fandango was the first TV game show to air on TNN, which is now known as Spike TV. It ran from March 8, 1983 - March 31, 1989, when it was replaced by Top Card. To date it's one of the longest running cable game shows on television.[citation needed]
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[edit] Cast
The host of the show was veteran country music singer Bill Anderson His co-host starting in 1987 was Blake Pickett. The announcer was the show's game board "Edgar, the Talking Jukebox", voiced by disc jockey Charlie Chase, who would later gain fame as the co-host of Crook & Chase Country Countdown.
[edit] Gameplay
[edit] The Main Game
Three contestants answer country music questions to win prizes.
[edit] Round One
1983 - Bill would ask a toss-up question worth 10 points to all three players. Whoever buzzed-in with the right answer would choose from one of nine categories. The center category was the "Star of the Day". That player would wager any of their score on that category, and would get the bonus question to themselves. (Making it, in effect, a Daily Double.) A right answer adds the points to his/her score, while a wrong answer deducts the wager. Later in the run, a "Secret Square" was shown to the home audience, and if chosen would double the wager to the contestant with a right answer. This continues until time expires or until all nine categories are used.
1987 - The game starts with a 10 point toss-up question. The first player to buzz-in and answer correctly gets the points and the right to choose from one of eight categories that were shown on "Edgar" for bonus points. The bonus questions are worth anywhere from 20-100 points. If the player answers the bonus question correctly, he/she gets the points; if not then the current 3rd place player (the player with the lowest score) has a chance to answer to steal those points. If the player with the lowest score misses, then the next player may steal the points. If there was a tie for lowest score, it became a toss-up between the players.
[edit] Round Two
In 1983, round 2 was nearly identical to round 1, but the toss-ups were worth 20 points.
Starting in 1987, round two was played the same way as round one except point values are now doubled .
[edit] The Final Question (Both Rounds)
Each round would end with one final question. Originally, it was played for 50 points in both rounds, and all three players would answer by writing their response on a card.
Starting in 1987, if the difference was less than 200 points between two or all three players, the final question was worth +/- 100 points. If a player lead by more than 200 points, then there was no final question, since the difference wasn't enough to catch the leader.
The player with the highest score at the end of the game is the winner, wins a prize & goes on to the bonus round.
From time to time, Edgar the Talking Jukebox would ask a toss-up question and a correct answer to Edgar's question wins a bonus prize for the contestant.
[edit] The Bonus Round ("Meet The Stars")
"Meet The Stars" was the bonus round where the champion tried to predict what answer a celebrity would give in a pre-taped interview. In 1983, it was the "Star of the Day", but starting in 1987, four different celebrities were shown. The host would read a question with two possible answers. The contestant would guess what answer the celebrity gave. ("What song is requested most by your fans?") If the contestant is correct, he/she wins a prize. A contestant may elect to stop and take any prizes won, or can continue to play. If a contestant is incorrect, all of the prizes are lost. If the contestant can correctly answer all four questions, he/she would win the grand prize of a vacation.
Beginning in 1987, the champion would choose the first three prizes by choosing among eight numbers on the board. If a contestant answered the first three questions correctly, hostess Blake Pickett would bring out a set of eight envelopes which had the names of the grand prizes on offer that week. Those grand prizes included cars, a boat, a fur coat, and vacations. The player then chose an envelope, and could then go for the grand prize, or trade in the envelope and choose another prize from the board without having to answer another question and end the game. If the player answered correctly, he/she would win the grand prize and retire undefeated. If a contestant won five consecutive days, he/she was automatically awarded the grand prize regardless of the outcome of the bonus round.
[edit] Trivia
- Fandango was one of only a handful of American game shows that was recorded outside of either New York or Los Angeles.
- Bill Anderson himself was the "Star of the Day" on at least two occasions. "Edgar" asked the questions for the bonus round when that happened.
