Triple Threat

"1987 Pilot: Today, award-winning entertainer Ben Vereen and his daughter Naja will be trying to win money for their teammate, a retired salesman, Si Kirk. as they challenge television star Scott Baio, his mother Rose and their teammate student Melissa Baxter on TRIPLE THREAT! The exciting new game show about music, movies and television. and now here's your host and the star of Triple Threat, Sam Riddle!"

"1988 Series: From Hollywood, it's TRIPLE THREAT! The exciting new game show about music, movies and television. Today (insert claim & celebrity) and his/her (insert celebrity family member's name) will be trying to win money for their teammate (insert contestant name) a (insert occupation) from (insert city & capital). As they challenge (insert claim & celebrity) and his/her (insert celebrity family member name) and their teammate (insert contestant's name) a (insert occupation) from (insert city & capital). Those are our teams for today and here's your host, the star of Triple Threat, Jim Lange!"

"Special: The hottest and most hippest stars today will be playing the exciting new game show about music, movies and television. Welcome from Family Ties, Tina Yothers will be trying to win money for her teammate Kevin Kennedy and his brother Bob. As they challenge Day by Day's Christopher Barnes and his temmates Donna Barracannon and her best friend Stephanie Varooney. Those are our teams for today, and here is your host and the star of this very special Triple Threat, Alan Hunter!"

"1992 BET Series: The exciting new game show about movies, music and television. And here's the man, your host and star of Triple Threat, Spencer Christian!"

The musical game show where two teams of three players representing three generations were tested of their knowledge of music, movies & television.

Main Game
The two teams in this version consisted of one celebrity guest, his or her relative, and a civilian contestant who played for cash. In all rounds, a song was played, and three toss-up questions connected to the song were asked. Each question had four possible answers which were revealed one at a time. A player could buzz-in to take a guess at any time, if there's at least one answer revealed. A correct answer won money for the team. An incorrect answer lost money, at which point the opposing team could take a chance to answer as the remaining answers were revealed. A team also lost money if they buzzed in before any of the answers were revealed; if this happened, all four answers were revealed and the opposing team was given a chance to answer. There was no penalty for an incorrect answer on a free guess.

Rounds 1 and 2
In the first two rounds, one player from each team representing his/her own generation faced off against each other. In the first round, the songs played came from their own generation and correct answers were worth $50 each, while in round two the songs were out of their generation and correct answers were worth $100 each. Three songs were played in each round, one song per pair of players.

Round 3 (Three/Free for All)
The final round of the game was the "Free for All" round, so called because all six players equipped with their own buzzers (as opposed to using the same one in the pilot) played this round and could buzz in on every question. A series of songs were played within a set time limit, with each question being worth $200. When time expired, the team with the most money won the game and advanced to the "Triple Threat Relay Round". If the game ends in a tie, one final question is played, and the team that buzzes in with the correct answer wins the game. If they are wrong, the opponents automatically win, however they still get a free guess.

Triple Threat Relay Round
The Triple Threat Relay Round was a bonus round played just like a relay race and it was played on a game board with 15 spaces divided into five columns. The middle three represented three recording artists who span three generations.

To start, the winning team was given information about the three musical artists involved in this round. Then they were given up to 13 song titles (15 in the pilot) one by one by host Lange. In turn, each player was given a song title and placed it on the board under the artist to which he/she believed matched the song title. Each artist had three song titles, while the remaining four/six went into the "Out of Play" columns on either side of the board (right side in the pilot). When the team placed three song titles under the correct artist, the chasing lights above the artist lit up. Each correct title was worth $100; however, if the team placed nine correct song titles under the three correct artists (three per artist) in 60 seconds or less, their main game winnings were tripled (effectively, they would win a cash prize worth double their front game score).

BET version
Gameplay was basically the same as the original version, but not without a few changes were made to the format. There were no longer celebrity guests on the teams, civilian families of three competed. In addition, the game was played for points & prizes instead of cash, and the winning family returned as champions to compete on the next show. Also incorrect answers caused all of the answers or the remaining answers to be immediately revealed. Having aired on BET, this version focused more on Black-oriented music, TV shows, and movies. Finally, it is not just regular songs that were played; music videos were, too.

Rounds 1 & 2
One member of each family representing their generation played each song. Correct answers added points (5 in the first round, and 10 in the second), while incorrect answers lost points and gave the opposing team to answer from the remaining choices.

Round 3 (Three/Free for All)
Using the same rules as before, all family members equipped with their own buzzers competed in the "Free for All" round, with each correct answer being worth 20 points. When the time was up at the end of the round, the family with the most points won a prize package and advanced to the Triple Threat Relay Round.

Triple Threat Relay Round
Aside from cosmetic changes to the board, the Relay Round was played the same as in the original version. On some episodes, players had to match movies to actors appearing in them. Correctly guessing all nine songs for all three artists won a trip to both Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Winning this round also caused the winning team to retire from the show.

Tournament of Champions
During the last week of this version, a Tournament of Champions was held; the winners won a trip to the Euro Disney Resort (now Disneyland Resort Paris), while the second place family won a trip to Walt Disney World.

Trivia
This was the last game show hosted by Jim Lange.

MTV VJ Alan Hunter sub-hosted the show in which the contestants & celebrities were all young people. In that day's round two, music videos were shown, but only two questions were asked instead of the usual three; the value remains. When the final round, the Three-For-All round ended, instead of the Family Feud win bell, the time's up signal from Whew! sounded. In that day's bonus round, the players would have to match movies to actors appearing in them.

Taglines
"This is Jim Lange saying, 'Remember to put a little music in your life.' We'll see you next time on Triple Threat. Bye-Bye." - Jim Lange (1988-1989)

"I'm Alan Hunter saying, 'Keep on Rockin!' See ya next time." - Alan Hunter (1988)

"This is Spencer Christian saying, 'Keep the rhythm. It runs in the family. Catch you on the flipside.'" - Spencer Christian (1992-1993)

Vimeo
Clip of the Main Game featuring Ken Kerchival & Neil Sedaka

Sam Riddle Pilot
Triple Threat pilot hosted by Sam Riddle (Part 1)

Triple Threat pilot hosted by Sam Riddle (Part 2)

1988-1989 Series
Intro plus promo for Win Lose or Draw

Clip of the Triple Threat Relay Bonus Round

Closing of the show

BET Version
A full episode of the BET version