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Host
Lynn Swann
Announcer
Johnny Gilbert
Broadcast
Finish Line (2)
Unsold Pilots for ABC: 5/8-9/1990
Packager
Stewart Television Productions

"Roses are red, violets are blue, the rest of the rhyme is up to you! This is FINISH LINE! And here are today's guest stars: She can make you cry or she can make you laugh. From Mr. Belvedere, Ms. Ilene Graff! He came from L.A. for fun and frolic, the kid from Pittsburgh, Mr. Henry Polic! And our host, as a wide receiver, he caught every pass. But, when he got hit, he fell on...the grass! Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Lynn Swann!"

This version of Finish Line was an unsold game that involved poetry.

Gameplay[]

Two teams (consisting of one contestant and one celebrity) competed in a game of completing rhymes and describing and identifying subjects. The giver of the team playing was given three lines of a poem, the fourth was blanked out and (s)he had to come up with his/her own fourth line. The partner was given the entire poem with the giver's fourth line inserted, and (s)he had to guess the subject of the poem. A correct guess scored a point. The team in control played for 60 seconds. Each team played twice (the celebrities gave first and the contestants gave second) and the team with the most points at the end of round two won the game, the winning contestant receiving $50/point, and went on to play for another $5,000.

Bonus Game: Poetry in Motion[]

The winning team stood before a game board. On the board were six TV monitors (numbered 1-6) on six tracks (one on each track). For the next 60 seconds, the monitors moved slowly across the board towards the "Finish Line". On each monitor was a subject and a four-line poem. The giver recited the first two lines of the poem and then had to make up the final two lines. Then the receiver had to say what subject the poem was talking about. A correct answer stopped the monitor and moved on to the next one going from bottom to top. An incorrect answer kept the monitor going and the team had to stay on that monitor for as many poems & subjects as it took for them to stop it. Each correct answer won $100 to the contestant, but if the team stopped all six monitors before time ran out and at least one of them reached the Finish Line, the contestant won the $5,000.


The contestant who won both games or with the most money returned the next day to play again.

Celebrity Guests[]

May 8: Ilene Graff and Henry Polic II
May 9: Betty White and Brian Stokes Mitchell

An available ticket dated May 9 lists Betty White and David Graf as the guests. It's not currently known whether this indicates another pilot was shot or that Graf was replaced by Mitchell.

Trivia[]

A pair of thick black bars are visibly seen in this pilot.
Six months later, Swann would later go on hosting the NBC daytime revival of To Tell the Truth From October 29, 1990 until February 1, 1991 who was later succeeded by Alex Trebek. Additionally, he was also a panelist in the aired Richard Kline pilot.
A young unknown Andi Matheny was a contestant in the pilot, who would later go on to host Kwik Witz and Friends or Lovers.
In the audiovisuals department, the famous "cuckoo" noise and the cue from "The Winner's Circle" (which was also used on Sale of the Century {Perry} & the 90's pilot Body Talk with Vicki Lawrence) used in the bonus round called "poetry in motion" were borrowed from Pyramid.
A blooper reel with Swann flubbing the explanation of the bonus round "Poetry in Motion" can be briefly seen.
This was one of the last attempts at least for Bob Stewart to make an original game show.
At the end credits, it was called as "A Stewart Television Production" instead of "A Bob Stewart Production", "A Bob Stewart & Sande Stewart/Bob & Sande Stewart Production" or as "A Stewart Tele Enterprises Production".

Music[]

Main Theme - Talk Back by Graham Preskett

Studio[]

ABC Television Center, Los Angeles, CA

Links[]

The Finish Line (1990, Pilot #2) at The Game Show Pilot Light

YouTube Video[]

Full Pilot

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