Misconceptions you have had about game shows

[gameboy2000]

I would like to see some misconceptions that you have had about any game show. Here is one:

I thought that on game shows like Name That Tune and Scrabble, when they handed you money that you actually got to take that money home with you.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'gameboy2000\' post=\'185455\' date=\'May 6 2008, 05:35 AM\']
I would like to see some misconceptions that you have had about any game show. Here is one:

I thought that on game shows like Name That Tune and Scrabble, when they handed you money that you actually got to take that money home with you.
[/quote]

Well, that is true in the UK, since they're required to give you your winnings before you leave.  The checks Chris Tarrant hands out on "WWTBAM" over there are real and negotiable.

[Jeremy Nelson]

I used to think that you could cash the giant checks from Check Game, hence why they put the big red VOID on it when a player lost.

[ChrisLambert!]

I used to think Bob Barker was a nice man.

[comicus]

When I was seven I used to believe that the losers on Remote Control were being sucked into a hellish torture chamber from which they would never escape.  Think it had to do with my grandmother constantly telling me how "evil" that "damn MTV" was.

[SRIV94]

All shows were live.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'CountdownRound\' post=\'185494\' date=\'May 6 2008, 02:47 PM\']
When I was seven I used to believe that the losers on Remote Control were being sucked into a hellish torture chamber from which they would never escape.  Think it had to do with my grandmother constantly telling me how "evil" that "damn MTV" was.[/quote]You too huh?  Of course, my belief stemmed from a repeat of The Joker's Wild that mentioned the "Dead or Alive" category.  I incorrectly thought this referred to the contestants.

I also thought that the shows that USA reran were "new" shows.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'185495\' date=\'May 6 2008, 03:50 PM\']
All shows were live.
[/quote]
That one got me too...I remember watching Cosby's "You Bet Your Life", and wondering how they were able to use teaser clips from that episode, but during the intro.

The "Remote Control" backstage chamber piqued my curiosity too. Made me not wanna go on the show because I was morbidly scared about what lurked behind that wall.

Speaking of walls, I didn't realize that sets were all flash from the front, and all plywood on the opposite side.

When I was about 6 or 7, I looked through the TV listings, and found, in the middle of USA's lineup, a rerun of the sitcom "That Girl". I immediately thought it was a game show.

In 4th grade, a classmate told me that winners had to pay taxes on winnings, and immediately called shenanigans, not understanding such an asinine concept.

/Okay, I STILL don't understand such an asinine concept...

[Kevin Prather]

Back in the early days of Millionaire, I thought the hot seat rose up through the floor.

[Ian Wallis]

That the winner on Marshall's nighttime Hollywood Squares actually got to drive a new car off the studio parking lot home.  After all, he did hand them the keys

[Brig Bother]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'185491\' date=\'May 6 2008, 08:37 PM\']
[quote name=\'gameboy2000\' post=\'185455\' date=\'May 6 2008, 05:35 AM\']
I would like to see some misconceptions that you have had about any game show. Here is one:

I thought that on game shows like Name That Tune and Scrabble, when they handed you money that you actually got to take that money home with you.
[/quote]

Well, that is true in the UK, since they're required to give you your winnings before you leave.  The checks Chris Tarrant hands out on "WWTBAM" over there are real and negotiable.
[/quote]

Where did you hear that? No, it's quite common for contestants to get their winnings much nearer the time of broadcast. You don't tend to hear of many instances where people don't get paid if their show doesn't get shown, though.

[Casey]

When I was much younger, back in the early 80s, I thought that you would drive out to Hollywood and see signs outside of where the game shows taped, much like those of fast food restaurants.  It had never occurred to me that 1) more than one show would tape in a studio and 2) that shows weren't in production all year round.

[The Pyramids]

I used to think that the names of contestants on 'The Price Is Right' were drawn out of a hat.

[Jay Temple]

Besides the live thing, which I thought about all TV shows, I assumed that the people who selected contestants did so on the basis of who they thought would do the best on the show. Yeah, I know.

[Adam Nedeff]

[quote name=\'PaulD\' post=\'185519\' date=\'May 6 2008, 06:34 PM\']
I used to think that the names of contestants on 'The Price Is Right' were drawn out of a hat.
[/quote]
You and about 90% of the American viewing public. Since I moved out to LA, I've tried to rope friends who are either back in West Virginia or just moved out here from West Virginia into going to a TPIR taping with me while they're visiting. The conversation ALWAYS goes like this:

ME: Of course, when we get there, we still have about a five-hour wait until they let us into the studio.
THEM: Why do we have to wait so long?
ME: Oh, lots of reasons. Producer has to interview the first 300 people in line, among other things.
THEM: Why does he interview 300 people?
ME: So he can pick the nine who get called to be contestants during the show.
THEM: What?! They do a random drawing for that, don't they?

My misconception was that TV studios housed only one show, and that the set was built to conform to the way that the studio was designed. This led me to believe that "Play the Percentages" was housed in the weirdest studio in Hollywood, because the opening looks like Geoff is waiting in a basement for Jay Stewart to introduce him and he had to sprint upstairs to do the show.