Fandango

Host

Whisperin' Bill Anderson

Hostess

Blake Pickett (1987–1988)

Announcer

Bill Robinson as Edgar the Talking Jukebox

Broadcast

TNN (Daily): 3/8/1983 – 8/26/1988 (reruns aired until 3/31/1989)

Packager

Reid/Land Productions

Fandango was TNN (The Nashville Network)'s very first game show that tested contestants of their knowledge of country music.

Gameplay

Main Game

Three contestants answered country music questions to win prizes.

Round 1

1983 – Anderson would ask a toss-up question to all three players worth 10 points. Whoever rang-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" (Mystery Category on celebrity games). 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 continued until time expired or until all nine categories were used (the earlier was usually the one that happened).

The Bonus Category Board

The Bonus Category Board

The blue box indicates which category is the secret square aka "The Double Trouble Square".

And it has been selected.

The Contestant Area

These are the three contestants playing the game.

Host Bill Anderson asking a bonus question to Roslyn.

Here are the scores so far.

1987 – The game started with a 10 point toss-up question. The first player to ring-in and answer correctly earned the points and the right to choose from one of eight categories that were shown on "Edgar" for bonus points. The bonus questions were worth anywhere from 20-100 points in increments of 10. If the player answered the bonus question correctly, he/she scored the points; if not, whichever opponent currently had the lower score had a chance to answer to steal those points. If that player missed, then the last player could steal the points. If there was a tie for lowest score, it became a toss-up between the players.

These are the three contestants playing the newly modified game.

The red player is so far running away with it.

As you can see, Edgar is now a game board.

Here's what the board/Edgar looks so far.

From time to time, Edgar the Talking Jukebox would tell a bad joke which was actually a lead-in to the description of a prize which was what the next toss-up question would be worth. A correct answer to that question won that bonus prize for the contestant.

Round 2

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

1987 – Played identical to Round 1, but all point values were increased. Toss-ups were worth 20 points and the bonus questions were worth anywhere from 40-200 points (again in increments of 10).

The Final Question (Both Rounds)

When all the bonus categories were used or if time ran out (the latter is what usually happened), 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.

Contestant Joe having his answer checked.

These three contestants in 1988 are preparing to write down their answers.

Contestant Pam having her answer checked.

The player with the most points at the end of the game was the winner. If two or all three players are tied, one final toss-up question was asked. The winner won a prize and advanced 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 known as "Star of the Day", but starting in 1987, four different celebrities were shown. The host would read a question with two possible answers, and the contestant would guess what answer the celebrity gave. ("What song is requested most by your fans?") If the contestant was correct, he/she won a prize. The contestant could elect to stop and take any prizes won, or continue to play. If he/she was incorrect, all of the prizes were lost. If the contestant could 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 (most commonly number 7), 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.

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In either case, if a contestant won five consecutive days, he/she was automatically awarded the grand prize regardless of the outcome of the bonus round. Also, 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. Failure here won a consolation prize.

Celebrity Bonus Round ("Meet The Fans")

On celebrity games, the bonus round was called "Meet the Fans" where the winning celebrity would predict how a former contestant answered three questions. Each correct answer won the contestant a prize. There was no option to stop or play, since the contestant kept all the prizes, win or lose.

Here's a contestant playing Meet the Stars.

Here's Teddy Wilburn playing Meet the Fans, which is like Meet the Stars except that there's no risk involved, and the subject is a former contestant.

Here's Teddy again, hanging out with Susie & Bill.

Other Pictures

Here's Bill receiving a joke from Edgar the Talking Jukebox.

Here's a nice portion of the set.

Bill wants you to know, that there's more Fandango coming up.

In 1987, Blake Pickett joined the show as co-host/model.

With an altered format, comes a set change.

Artwork Logo

Inventors

Allan Reid & Elmer Alley

Taping Location

Opryland, Nashville, TN

Catchphrases

"Now, all you have to do is match four answers to some questions. We asked some country music stars: Questions about themselves. Now, on the fourth matching answer, you win the grand prize. But, on the first three matching answers, there are eight prizes behind the numbers on the bonus board. Now, if you select three numbers, then those will be the three prizes that you will be going for."

"Alright (contestant's name), way to go! And Blake has in her hand eight envelopes, they are numbered from 1 to 8, choose one and that will be your grand prize. And you chose number (name of number). Now, inside the envelope is the name of the grand prize. You can either tear up the envelope, and answer one last question; (celebrity's name) is your last star. Match (celebrity's name), and you got yourself the grand prize. Or, if you want to play it safe, you can give me the envelope in exchange of your choice of one of the five unclaimed prizes. They're not in the value of the grand prize, but whichever number you choose though, you get the prize, no strings attached. But remember, (contestant's name), if you give me an incorrect answer, then you lose all of the prizes that you have won so far. So, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna go for the grand prize, or are you gonna go back to the board? What's it gonna be?"

Merchandise

Trivia Book (1988)

In 1988, a paperback quiz book titled Fandango: The Ultimate Trivia Book was released by Reid/Land (the show's producers/packagers) through mail order only. This 200-page paperback contained questions taken directly from the Nashville Network program. Hosts Bill Anderson and Blake Pickett appear on the cover in a large picture of the set and also include several black and white pictures of Anderson and Pickett inside the book.

Links

Rules for Fandango

YouTube Videos

Contestant Joe Richard
First 8 minutes of a 1988 show
Second Half of an episode with a Meet the Stars Win