Seeing a game show for the first time

[Card Shark]

[quote name=\'Adam Nedeff\' date=\'Jan 15 2004, 06:56 PM\'] During a break, I asked Alex about THE suspicion regarding the "High Rollers" finale. Alex, until that point had been the cordial, genial, warm and friendly guy he's been described as being when the J! cameras are off. When he heard my question, he turned into TV Alex, which surprised the hell out of me, and answered, "Not true" and didn't come back to my section. [/quote]
 Well, what did you expect? Did you expect him to say "Yes, I had had way too much to drink that day" in front of the entire audience?  Do you think he even remembers that day in 1980 when they taped it? I doubt it. But, I would love to have been a fly on the wall for that momen.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Card Shark\' date=\'Jan 16 2004, 06:59 AM\']
Well, what did you expect? Did you expect him to say "Yes, I had had way too much to drink that day" in front of the entire audience?  Do you think he even remembers that day in 1980 when they taped it? I doubt it. But, I would love to have been a fly on the wall for that momen. [/quote]
 Someone from our newsgroup did an interivew with Becky Price, HR78-80 co-host, and she disproved Trebek's drunkenness, saying he was just "goofy" IIRC.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 16 2004, 06:00 AM\'] Someone from our newsgroup did an interivew with Becky Price, HR78-80 co-host, and she disproved Trebek's drunkenness, saying he was just "goofy" IIRC. [/quote]
 I wouldn't call that "disproved", I'd call that "not throwing Trebek under the bus over a matter that isn't her business."

[GSWitch]

When Wheel came to George R. Brown Convention Center, I saw the Thursday & Friday finals episodes of College Week!

I wish I would've been there when Richard terrorized Pat Sajak!  He was the "male Rose" (Jamaica mistake $50,000 Treasure Hunt winner).

[Adam Nedeff]

OK, for the record, I didn't ask the question with the intent of being an ass. In fact, I used the term "urban legend" in my question thinking that Alex would be more receptive to it, and I was wrong. My thought process at the time was that either I'd get a chuckle and a "no" answer, a sarcastic "yes", or "yes" with an antecdote like so many that you hear in old showbiz documentaries. My mistake was thinking that Alex was a short comedian in a checkered hat named Morty, not Alex Trebek.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Adam Nedeff\' date=\'Jan 16 2004, 11:10 AM\'] OK, for the record, I didn't ask the question with the intent of being an ass. [/quote]
 Nobody's saying you were an ass. Just incredibly insensitive.

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jan 15 2004, 03:24 PM\'] From what I hear, the return of Academic Challenge last month, cancelled one year after your show, in Cleveland has been met with nothing but positive response. [/quote]
 I watch it every Saturday night as there's nothing else on TV at 6:30 PM.  It's a tolerable show even though it doesn't hold a candle to the original version.  It's too 21st century for my tastes.

I went to see It's Academic in 1994 or 1995, when my sister's best friend played for my alma mater.  My first impressions were "Wow, this set is really small" and "We have to sit on bleachers?!"  The pace was hectic, as WEWS taped 3 or 4 shows on a Sunday afternoon.  We'd be rushed into the studio, the game would be played, and we'd be on our way home.

I must agree with Chuckie Baby about TPiR.  When I attended two shows in October 2001, I was shocked as to how small 33 is and to how frigid it was in the studio.  TPiR was surreal because it was one of the two main reasons for going to LA.  The whole TPiR experience is one I'll never forget and can't wait to take part in again.

[bricon]

That would have been Bob Perlow, no longer with the show. Current warmup is named Tom Riles, who has also done some episodes of Funniest Home Videos.

 Question for you Brian...

Did Bob ever get into any real trouble for those prank calls (or CBS) ?
Surely caller ID or a phone operator could've traced those calls, and apparently he did call some of those Pennysaver ads more than once. (It's one thing to prank call someone once and get a cheap laugh, but more than once to me is just plain harassment)

Depends on your definition of "trouble"  I never cared for that bit, they made me very uncomfortable.   If I was a parent whose kid was a part of that, being told their kid was now dancing at an adult club (another bit that he did), I'd have raised holy hell.

[Don Howard]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Jan 16 2004, 01:25 PM\'] [quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jan 15 2004, 03:24 PM\'] From what I hear, the return of Academic Challenge last month, cancelled one year after your show, in Cleveland has been met with nothing but positive response. [/quote]
I watch it every Saturday night as there's nothing else on TV at 6:30 PM.  It's a tolerable show even though it doesn't hold a candle to the original version.  It's too 21st century for my tastes.

 [/quote]
 Oh, dear. Mike, what have they gone and done? And how is Adam Shapiro as a host?

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jan 16 2004, 02:35 PM\'] Oh, dear. Mike, what have they gone and done? And how is Adam Shapiro as a host? [/quote]
 The new Academic Challenge is reminiscent of the old show.  The set's too blue, with a blue backdrop with the Westfield Insurance (show sponsor) and Academic Challenge logos behind each team.  I'd rather have the brown and tan hexagons from the 70s and 80s.  There are also too many cutesy graphics for each round.  The round isn't just introduced like old times.  There's some accompanying graphics I don't like.

AC has gotten a great amount of publicity, between ads on WEWS and several write-ups in The Plain Dealer.  WEWS aired a half hour Academic Challenge retrospective the Sunday before AC's return.  (Got it on tape for those interested.)

Adam Shapiro...bleech.  A cardboard cutout of Adam Shapiro has more personality than Shapiro himself.  The second show had a number of gaffes, most importantly Shapiro skipping a question in the 2nd round.  This error wasn't caught until the 4th round.  It's partially Shapiro's fault but the judges and/or the producer should've caught this much earlier.

[vtown7]

I've been lucky enough to see 5 ("technically" 6) game show tapings in my young lifetime.

The first one was experienced filled - as I was playing as a contestant on Wheel in '97.  I was lucky enough not to be selected until the Thursday show, so I could soak up the experience.  I actually found that the set was a reasonable size.

I didn't get a chance again until I lived in Europe.  I saw the French game show "Questions pour un champion" this time two years ago, and I have to say it was my fave experience.  I got to see four shows being taped, and in between shows the audience (50 or so) got to get up and mingle around, have a bite to eat, wander onto the set, and take some pictures  I found that it was a very relaxed atmosphere.  I think they've got it figured out - very calm people that work there.  Although they did think it was bizarre that Canadians were in their audience!

I saw two BBC game shows in 2002 as well : Weakest Link (primetime) and Liar (soon to be in the US?).  WL was cool because I got to see Anne in person.  Also I had a bit of a rapport with the warm up guy (former host of UK Double Dare).  My only wish is that I would have brought something for Anne to sign.  Liar, taped at White City (more central to the city than Pinewood Studios) is a very nice atmosphere as well.  There's a full restaurant/bar there (so yours truly had a drink before the taping to loosen up) and they let you wander around somewhat after the show is done, talking to the contestants.

I finally saw TPIR this past summer (mid-July; and Rod was taping that day).  It's an experience unlike the others because you have to be there ridiculously early.  And the energy inside that studio is unlike anything I've ever seen.  I found that the set, like many others, was small!  I was lucky enough to ask Bob a question during the commercial which was a personal thrill.  I hope to go back again sometime in 2005.

And, the "technically" taping: Canadian Idol.  But that really doesn't count, does it?

Cheers,

Ryan