Name That Tune Wiki
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Host
Peter Allen
Announcer
Charlie O'Donnell
Broadcast
Name That Tune 1990 Pilot
Unsold Pilot for Syndication: 1990
Packagers
Marty Paseta Productions
Orion Entertainment

This is chronicling the 1990 unsold pilot for a new version of Name That Tune.

Gameplay[]

Main Game[]

In this pilot, three contestants competed in this classic game of song identification.

The First Two Rounds[]

The contestants faced a game board with four categories and four notes next to each; for a total of 16 tunes. Each note represented a tune and each tune was worth money. The player in control picked a category and then the bands started playing a tune under that category. The first player to buzz-in with the correct title, s/he won the money for that tune. But buzzing-in with an incorrect title not only gave the opponent(s) a chance to steal with the tune resuming from where it stopped, but eliminated that player from the next tune (ala Face the Music). Certain tunes have bonus questions worth the same amount as the tune. After each tune, the note representing the tune pushed in. Correct answers also controlled the board and chose the next category. The rounds were played to time or until all the tunes were played.

Round 1[]

The board's 16 notes hid random money amounts from $100 to $200 in five dollar increments. After choosing a category, the player in control then chose a tune by number.

Round 2[]

Each category had a bank which started at $100 and grew by a dollar the longer a tune played. Not naming the tune at all carried the bank over into the next tune.


The two players with the highest scores moved on to Bid-A-Note with the third place player eliminated from the game; although all three contestants kept whatever money they won.

Round 3: Bid-A-Note[]

This was the played just like the previous versions. Host Allen read a clue to a song, and the contestants alternated bidding as to how few notes (from a maximum of seven) they needed to name that tune (as in, "I can name that tune in three notes"). Bidding ended when one contestant challenged the other to name the tune, or when one of the players bids one note. After bidding, Peter's hand would show up on split screen to play the notes himself, afterwhich the player had to name that tune. Correctly identifying the song scored that tune, while missing it gave it to the opponent. The first player to score three tunes wins the game. Should the challenged player miss the tune and the other player has scored two at that time, that player cannot win by default, s/he needs to name that tune correctly in order to win.

Bonus Round[]

This bonus round is basically, the Golden Medley. For the object of the game was to name seven tunes in 30 seconds and win $25,000 in cash. The champion stopped the clock by hitting a buzzer, which was a cue for the band to stop playing, and could either give an answer, or pass if he/she was not sure. Once all the tunes were played, the champion went back to play the passed tunes (if there were any). It is unknown if the champ of the day would receive a consolation prize for naming each tune or by failing to make the seven. But one thing's for sure, if the winning contestant can name all seven tunes before the 30 seconds ran out, s/he was $25,000 richer. Win or lose, the champion would return on the next show to play against two new challengers.

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