10 Seconds
Encyclopedia
10 Seconds is a television game show
that aired on TNN
from March 29, 1993 to March 25, 1994. The show was hosted by Dan Miller and announced by Don Dashiell. Miller and Dashiell were also the host-announcer team for Top Card
, the quiz show that 10 Seconds replaced on the schedule following its cancellation.
Nine categories were displayed. Each category was the clue to the title of a song, and each one hid a point value. The player in control chose a category, revealing how many points the category was worth. The higher the points were, the more difficult the song would be to identify. After a category was chosen Miller would tell the players the year the song was released, the singer's music style, whether the singer was a man or woman, and the song's peak position on the Billboard
music charts; if the song was a country song or pop song, the contestants were told of the peak position on either of those charts, while if the song reached the Billboard Hot 100
its peak position on that chart would be revealed.
Once all that information was revealed, it was up to the opposing player to decide how long the player would have to listen to the song. The opponent would choose a number of seconds between one and ten and the player in control would have that long to listen. After that time was up the player could either choose to answer or challenge the opponent to do so. Answering correctly won the points while failure to come up with a correct answer gave the points to the opposing player. Each amount of seconds could only be given once per round.
Two rounds were played. In the first round categories were worth between 10 and 50 points, in five-point increments, and it was possible for the same amount to appear multiple times on the board. In the second round, the point values doubled. In addition, the last category left on the board at the end of the second round was played for double its value for a possible 200 points.
In the event that a player was ahead by more than 400 points at the end of the second round, he/she was declared the winner. Otherwise, one more round was played.
Getting all nine songs before time expired won the jackpot, which started out at $1,000 and increased by $500 each day until it was claimed. Champions continued until defeated or the jackpot was won.
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
that aired on TNN
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
from March 29, 1993 to March 25, 1994. The show was hosted by Dan Miller and announced by Don Dashiell. Miller and Dashiell were also the host-announcer team for Top Card
Top Card
Top Card was a game show that aired on TNN and produced by Reid-Land Productions, replacing TNN's original game show Fandango. The show aired from April 3, 1989 to March 26, 1993 and was based on the card game Blackjack....
, the quiz show that 10 Seconds replaced on the schedule following its cancellation.
Maingame
Two contestants, one usually a returning champion, competed in a game of identifying songs.Nine categories were displayed. Each category was the clue to the title of a song, and each one hid a point value. The player in control chose a category, revealing how many points the category was worth. The higher the points were, the more difficult the song would be to identify. After a category was chosen Miller would tell the players the year the song was released, the singer's music style, whether the singer was a man or woman, and the song's peak position on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
music charts; if the song was a country song or pop song, the contestants were told of the peak position on either of those charts, while if the song reached the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
its peak position on that chart would be revealed.
Once all that information was revealed, it was up to the opposing player to decide how long the player would have to listen to the song. The opponent would choose a number of seconds between one and ten and the player in control would have that long to listen. After that time was up the player could either choose to answer or challenge the opponent to do so. Answering correctly won the points while failure to come up with a correct answer gave the points to the opposing player. Each amount of seconds could only be given once per round.
Two rounds were played. In the first round categories were worth between 10 and 50 points, in five-point increments, and it was possible for the same amount to appear multiple times on the board. In the second round, the point values doubled. In addition, the last category left on the board at the end of the second round was played for double its value for a possible 200 points.
In the event that a player was ahead by more than 400 points at the end of the second round, he/she was declared the winner. Otherwise, one more round was played.
Catch-Up round
In the third and final round, called the "Catch-Up Round", the trailing player had a chance to earn up to 400 points. A ten second medley of three songs were played and the player had to identify the artist behind each song. Each correct answer was worth 100 points, and a bonus of 100 points was given if the player got all three. If the trailer was able to catch and/or pass the leader, the leader was given his/her own ten second medley to try to regain the lead and win the game. Whichever player was ahead at the end of the Catch-Up round won the game and played the bonus round for a chance at a cash jackpot.Bonus round
In the bonus round, the winning player was given 60 seconds to name nine songs. As in the main game, clue-serving categories were given. However, players were not given any indication of where the song had placed on any Billboard chart. Each correct answer was worth a prize, and each prize increased in value as the player proceeded. If a player passed on a song or answered incorrectly, he/she was allowed to try again if time permitted.Getting all nine songs before time expired won the jackpot, which started out at $1,000 and increased by $500 each day until it was claimed. Champions continued until defeated or the jackpot was won.