Fandango (game show)

Infobox Television
show_name = Fandango


genre = Game show
creator =
director =
developer =
presenter = Bill Anderson
starring = Blake Pickett
narrated = Charlie Chase as "Edgar the Talking Jukebox"
theme_music_composer =
opentheme =
endtheme =
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country = USA
language = English
num_seasons =
num_episodes =
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editor =
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camera = 30 Minutes
runtime =
network = Spike (TV channel)
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first_run =
first_aired = March 8, 1983
last_aired = March 31, 1989
related =
imdb_id = 0224478
tv_com_id =

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.

Cast

Veteran country music singer Bill Anderson hosted the show, and was joined by Blake Pickett as co-host beginning in 1987. Disc jockey Charlie Chase voiced "Edgar, the Talking Jukebox", who served as the program's announcer.

Game play

Main Game

Three contestants answer country music questions to win prizes.

Round One

1983 - Bill would ask a toss-up question to all three players worth 10 points. Whoever buzzed-in with the right answer would wager any or all of his/her score and choose one of nine categories. The center category was always the "Star of the Day". A correct answer would add the wager to his/her score and a wrong answer would deduct it. Later in the run, a "Secret Square" was shown to the home audience, and if chosen would double the wager for a correct 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.

From time to time, Edgar the Talking Jukebox would ask a toss-up question. A correct answer to Edgar's question wins a bonus prize for the contestant.

Round Two

1983 - Played identical to round 1, but toss-ups were worth 20 points.

1987 - Played identical to round 1, but all point values are now doubled.

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.

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.

If the contestant failed to match the first answer, then the contestant has the opportunity to have another chance at matching another celebrity at winning the first prize.

External links

* [http://70.85.192.194/~loogsla/gameshow/rules/fandango.shtml The Fandango rules page]
* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0224478/ Fandango Info @ imdb.com]