Author Topic: Idle TTTT thought... (Read 4787 times)

ChrisLambert! · « **on:** January 05, 2004, 07:17:21 AM »

I'm starting to be of the opinion that Orson bean was every bit the unsufferable annoying comedian-first, panelist-later-if-I-still-have-time scenery-chewer on To Tell the Truth that Ms. Poundstone was decried for being in the '00-'02 version.

He may well be one of the main reasons I'm not sad to see the Collyer version disappear this week. This show really became something special in syndication when Garry took over and Orson split.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #1 on:** January 05, 2004, 09:22:25 AM »

My *memory* of Orson Bean on TTTT was as the occasional interloper on the 70s version, and in that role I remember him being very entertaining with his stories and his drawings on his vote cards. If he was on every day, though, I might have tired of the schtick a lot faster.

Kevin Prather · « **Reply #2 on:** January 05, 2004, 06:01:07 PM »

Can someone please remind me why Paula left TTTT?

inturnaround · « **Reply #3 on:** January 05, 2004, 06:11:30 PM »

[quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 06:01 PM\'] Can someone please remind me why Paula left TTTT? [/quote]
She was accused of child endangerment and lewd conduct and they chose not to bring her back.

She later plead no contest to the child endangerment charges (related to her driving drunk with her kids in the car), but the sex charges were dropped.

She's currently a semi-regular on the radio quizzer "Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me!". That show recently celebrated its 5th anniversary.

calliaume · « **Reply #4 on:** January 05, 2004, 06:17:35 PM »

[quote name=\'inturnaround\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 06:11 PM\'] [quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 06:01 PM\'] Can someone please remind me why Paula left TTTT? [/quote]
She was accused of child endangerment and lewd conduct and they chose not to bring her back.

She later plead no contest to the child endangerment charges (related to her driving drunk with her kids in the car), but the sex charges were dropped.

She's currently a semi-regular on the radio quizzer "Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me!". That show recently celebrated its 5th anniversary. [/quote]
I believe she was dropped from the show before the child endangerment charges were made, although shows featuring Paula were still airing in reruns when said charges came to light.

TwoInchQuad · « **Reply #5 on:** January 05, 2004, 09:35:57 PM »

And as for Orson-- well, he just gets even more cringe-worthy as the CBS run goes on... :^)

-Kevin

SRIV94 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 06, 2004, 01:41:02 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jan 5 2004, 08:22 AM\'] My *memory* of Orson Bean on TTTT was as the occasional interloper on the 70s version, and in that role I remember him being very entertaining with his stories and his drawings on his vote cards. If he was on every day, though, I might have tired of the schtick a lot faster. [/quote]
Maybe it's just me, but I never thought of Mr. Bean (not to be confused with Rowan Atkinson) being all that annoying. I thought he was rather witty on TTTT9x, although I probably could've lived without the "trolling for more applause" bit before the next panelist emerged. Otherwise, I never had a problem with him.

Doug

The Ol' Guy · « **Reply #7 on:** January 07, 2004, 12:36:17 PM »

I didn't think Bean was overbearing either, in the early days. It's just the classic GT panel chemistry plan - comparing it to Secret, Bean was the Henry Morgan (wag) of the TTTT panel, like Tom Poston was the Cullen (solid player, personable), as Dawson was for Match Game. It's a tribute to GT that hardly anyone matched their skill in creating tv panels so well balanced after the dry start with the first What's My Line?

chris319 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 07, 2004, 04:55:19 PM »

Orson took the game seriously; Paula did not. It's about as simple as that.

calliaume · « **Reply #9 on:** January 07, 2004, 05:28:29 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 04:55 PM\'] Orson took the game seriously; Paula did not. It's about as simple as that. [/quote]
Except for Meschach Taylor and John O'Hurley, I don't think any of the on-air talent took TTTT2K seriously. And the host's intent doesn't make much difference in game play.

It may be awfully hard to do a semi-serious panel show like TTTT again. Getting a commitment from a celebrity to appear regularly at this juncture usually means they're at liberty to do so; another way of saying they're on the B-list at best. A higher-wattage star is unlikely to appear regularly or play the game particularly well.

The Ol' Guy · « **Reply #10 on:** January 07, 2004, 05:53:14 PM »

The last show I thought came close to having the feel of a GT panel show was Relatively Speaking with John Byner some time back. The panel members, including Jamie Farr and Meredith MacRae, knew how to keep the egos in check and play the game for our enjoyment, not just theirs. The old pros were fun to watch. They know the fun is in the solving of the puzzle/problem, not hogging the spotlight. I won't give up hope that someone can't develop a good new panel game format somewhere down the road. And I thought O'Hurley was very good, too.

tvrandywest · « **Reply #11 on:** January 07, 2004, 06:48:30 PM »

Don't diss the Bean!

I thought Orson was witty and creative as hell. Even as a kid (whew, glad that's over) I thought his cute drawings on the voting cards were funny. Today he's still a class act. I think he has a couple of kids in the biz, but I would see him on sets where I worked with his daughter - first time in the 80s on KTLA stage 9 (can't remember the show), and most recently at "Weakest Link".

He's always been charming and very pleased to be recognized and remembered. Last time we talked about a pilot he hosted for Goodson, and how, after just once as a host, he preferred being cast as the guest/panelist. Why? Everything from carrying the mechanics of the game limiting his ability to joke around (a role he prefers), to something about thinking he walked funny! (He walks fine ;-)

Randy
tvrandywest.com

ChuckNet · « **Reply #12 on:** January 07, 2004, 07:04:12 PM »

Quote

Except for Meschach Taylor and John O'Hurley, I don't think any of the on-air talent took TTTT2K seriously.

Most of the male guest panelists were good players (Bryan Cranston, Richard Kind, Peter Bergman, et al.), as was later semi-reg Brooke Burns, but I agree that the others were basically clueless...and didn't the producers realize that booking a ventriloquist (Jeff Dunham) for the panel was just an invitation for said guest to do his schtick for most of the questioning periods? (As was pointed out on Mike Burger's pilot page review of that one panel game that used ventriloquists)

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

clemon79 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 07, 2004, 07:27:35 PM »

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 04:48 PM\'] Last time we talked about a pilot he hosted for Goodson, and how, after just once as a host, he preferred being cast as the guest/panelist.
[/quote]
Gee, that pilot wouldn't have been Concentration by any chance, would it?

ChuckNet · « **Reply #14 on:** January 08, 2004, 11:45:58 PM »

Quote

Gee, that pilot wouldn't have been Concentration by any chance, would it?

Gee, you think? LOL...anyway, Orson tried his best w/the format, which may have been the problem...he was making a joke after damn near EVERY wrong match ("Pig broom, used for sweeping up after pigs!")...granted, they were usually amusing, but kinda hurt the flow of the game.

ChucK Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")