Hollywood Actors On Strike

[Adam Nedeff]

Somebody alert me when the networks finally give up on trying to make their late night shows still feel timely by rerunning the most recent episodes (two months after the start of the writers' strike) and instead go to the effort of showcasing interesting moments from years past.

This is EXACTLY how David Letterman's NBC show handled their strike. For four months in 1988, they really put some sincere thought into what reruns they aired and made that shutdown a greatest-hits collection: Larry "Bud" Melman greating tourists, the night Dave hosted the show from his house, all of the "Suit of _____" episodes.

The viewers know about the strike; they know that they're getting reruns anyway, so why not actually give some consideration to what reruns you're picking?

[Chelsea Thrasher]

Colbert and Corden are finally beginning to sprinkle in episodes from 2021 soon.  Not sure about the others.

The first problem is that at a certain point if you go too far back you get to the pandemic shows, and much as those are a fascinating time capsule, I can see wanting to distance yourself from those. 

Past that, for Colbert specifically, a LOT of his content and humor is political and specifically so, and I can see them not wanting to dip back into first run episodes from the 2016 election up through the pandemic. (And before that, the first year is widely considered to be the worst of the show's run).

For all of the shows but especially Corden and Fallon, a LOT of their episodes also rely on licensed material, music, etc. which would likely be an expensive pain in the ass to re-license. (and especially for Corden, the show's eventually dead regardless).

[BrandonFG]

This is EXACTLY how David Letterman's NBC show handled their strike. For four months in 1988, they really put some sincere thought into what reruns they aired and made that shutdown a greatest-hits collection: Larry "Bud" Melman greating tourists, the night Dave hosted the show from his house, all of the "Suit of _____" episodes.

Any idea whether the ‘88 reruns had any bearing on A&E rerunning the show a few years later?

[jjman920]

Colbert and Corden are finally beginning to sprinkle in episodes from 2021 soon.  Not sure about the others.

In the first couple of weeks of the writer's strike, Seth Meyers went back to 2020 and 2017. Haven't kept up since then.

[knagl]

Let's Make a Deal has been taping at the new studio since the first half of June; they have more tapings coming up this month. Anybody scheduled to be in the audience in the near future?

I am not, however if you're looking for some verification that they're recording new shows, their Twitter feed is active giving suggestions of items to bring to win some cash during the quickie deals for tomorrow's tape day.

https://twitter.com/letsmakeadeal/status/1681438920481857536

[MSTieScott]

That's actually disappointing. Not they're still taping episodes -- I'm glad they haven't had to shut down -- but that they're bringing back the Twitter quickie deals. This past season, the show hadn't done them, and I very much did not miss that scolding "Oh, you should have followed us on Twitter" lecture that came every time the audience member failed to produce the desired item.

[clemon79]

"What, you think I still use Twitter? Do I LOOK like I'm carrying a Tiki torch?"

[BrandonFG]

Dumb question: does anyone know whether any of the Monty versions advertised in advance to bring a hard-boiled egg or compact to the studio? Watching older episodes it does seem that some of the stuff people pulled out of their purses or pockets was a little too on the nose.

That said, doing all that - both on Twitter or through whatever medium 40-50 years ago - seems to kill any chance of spontaneity the show would want to provide and thus defeats the purpose in a way.

[Adam Nedeff]

Dumb question: does anyone know whether any of the Monty versions advertised in advance to bring a hard-boiled egg or compact to the studio? Watching older episodes it does seem that some of the stuff people pulled out of their purses or pockets was a little too on the nose.

Not really, but Monty did ask for certain things repeatedly. It was akin to the pricing games with "secrets"; there were certain items that Monty asked for a lot, and if you were a loyal viewer of the show you'd make it a point to bring a few of them. Since there's so little of the daytime show to refer to, it's hard to know for sure, but from what I can gather, "hard boiled egg" was one of those. Monty was also fond of coin deals--"I'll give you $50 for every dime you have"--and at least once, a contestant showed up with whole rolls of coins and made bank on the deal for it.

[JasonA1]

That said, doing all that - both on Twitter or through whatever medium 40-50 years ago - seems to kill any chance of spontaneity the show would want to provide and thus defeats the purpose in a way.

My wife's first exposure to LMAD was the newest version, and when she saw this segment, she wondered what it was all about. To her, it seemed disconnected and not worth taking a break for. When I explained it was from the original, under the credits to show "TV's top trader" couldn't stop dealing, even while the show was ending, she understood it...for the original version. The idea that the show has money for days, even for the stuff you carry around every day, hits a note that makes sense to me. Having a list of prescribed wacky items, less so.

I'd wager the only tip-off Monty's audiences had was watching previous episodes. I don't think the show's goal was to do unique quickie deals on every episode. We don't have a lot of the daytime version to go on, but I imagine being on five days a week, Monty would go back to the same wells time and again.

-Jason

[BrandonFG]

The idea of audience members paying close attention makes plenty of sense and crossed my mind. Thanks guys.

[Kevin Prather]

Monty was also fond of coin deals--"I'll give you $50 for every dime you have"--and at least once, a contestant showed up with whole rolls of coins and made bank on the deal for it.

Roll*s*? Holy crap, each roll would be $2500. I'd love to see the look on Monty's face when a quickie winds up being more than The Big Deal.

[clemon79]

Roll*s*? Holy crap, each roll would be $2500. I'd love to see the look on Monty's face when a quickie winds up being more than The Big Deal.

He eventually got smart and learned to say things like "up to one thousand dollars!" at the end. As the producer I imagine he only had to get burned once or twice to learn that lesson.

"You madam! Do you have an unpaid bill! I'll pay off an unpaid bill!"

"Yes, Monty, here's my home mortgage!"

"Fark."