Grandest host entrance

[ITSBRY]

Which show(s) do you think had the grandest host/hostess entrance?

For glitz, I'd vote for PYL.  The turntable moving into place in the background as PT entered was cool.

For class, I'd vote for TTTT90.  The big stair case where the panel and host entered was very classy, especially toward the end of the run when the panel wore black tie on Fridays.

ITSBRY
itsbry@juno.com

[tvwxman]

black tie was done once...the last friday...and didn't trebek wear white?

omigod, i just pulled a horan....

I'm going back to therapy.

[ITSBRY]

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Jun 18 2004, 10:02 AM\']black tie was done once...the last friday...and didn't trebek wear white?[/quote]
I MIGHT be wrong, but I'm fairly certain that Fridays were black tie during the last  several weeks of the run.  I have some episodes from this era, but admittedly I'm relying on memory here.  I was thinking that they even specially mentioned it on the air.

Can anyone confirm or am I just making that up?

ITSBRY
itsbry@juno.com

[Jimmy Owen]

Anytime a host had to walk (or stumble) down a long flight of stairs, like Jim Peck on TBS or Jack Narz on NYSI was pretty cool.  Of course you have to count the Bob Barker entrance as one of the grandest.

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 18 2004, 11:12 AM\'] Anytime a host had to walk (or stumble) down a long flight of stairs, like Jim Peck on TBS or Jack Narz on NYSI was pretty cool.  Of course you have to count the Bob Barker entrance as one of the grandest. [/quote]
 Grandest Bob Barker entrance I've seen is the 1986 prime-time specials where he comes out dressed in the tux...

Matter of fact, I feel so inspired I just might go to tpir.tv to download that opening clp.

[Chief-O]

Allen Ludden on P+.

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 18 2004, 11:12 AM\'] Anytime a host had to walk (or stumble) down a long flight of stairs, like Jim Peck on TBS or Jack Narz on NYSI was pretty cool.  Of course you have to count the Bob Barker entrance as one of the grandest. [/quote]
 Jim took my answers.  Walking down stairs is hardly grand or glitzy, especially if you slip. :-)  However, both Now You See It with Narz and The Big ShowDown immediately came to mind.

I know this thread's barely an hour old but lemme take it in a different direction.  What show had the least glitzy host entrance?  My vote's for Caesar's Challenge, specifically when the rotating cage accidentally dropped balls on Ahmad Rashad as he opened the show.

There's your double entendre for this Father's Day weekend.  Enjoy!

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Jun 18 2004, 09:24 AM\'] There's your double entendre for this Father's Day weekend.  Enjoy! [/quote]
Some would suggest that entire show dropped balls.

As for PYL, yeah, the set looked good, but Peter's entrance was about as subdued as it gets...he walks in from the wing. Big deal.

TTTT90 is a good choice for raw class, especially with that great remix of the classic theme.

For glitz, a nod needs to be given to the Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour...you can't beat that big-ass Close Encounters light board.

Really, anytime a big set is involved, it looks like a bigger deal than it is. Consider Go! O'Connell's entrance was just up a flight of stairs, but that set was so friggin' HUGE, it still looked like a big deal. I STILL can't figure out if that whole thing rotated to set up for the Jackpot Round.

Another vote for the "class" category (though it could well qualify for "glitz", too), would be Jim Perry's entrance on <echo>$ale Of The Century</echo> He would burst through when the door opened, and you knew he was raring to go and something was about to Happen.

Finally, my vote for "crap" goes to Tic Tac Dough. Making Wink walk out of that stupid little paneled doorway looked idiotic.

(Yes, you could give one to Debt, too, but everything from the disco pose to the bad suit was quite intentional.)

(Honorable Mention: I was just watching the clip of the open to Crosswits '86, courtesy Jimmy Coyne's site, and it amazes me how David Sparks entrance could suck all of the energy from that great theme and Michelle Whatsername's announce work. Herb Shriner couldn't have done it any better.)

[bandit_bobby]

The $25,000/$100,000 Pyramid.

[urbanpreppie05]

I always liked the opening to Wheel of Fortune- back in the shopping days (and early post-shopping days)- the tight shot of Vanna's beautiful visage, zooming out to see the rest of the set, and Pat (or Chuck, Bob or Rolf) running from behind the contestant's area, trying to beat the gold curtain from falling on them....

ah, memories.

[Neumms]

Match Game '73 was rather grand. The sign rises, the background light comes up and here comes Gene through the doors that had no other purpose but for him. The whole center of the set was made for that moment.

Barker's entrance is something, too. We must mention the hand-off of the microphone that adds to the whole thing, especially the 20-whatever years it was Janice doing it.

[adamjk]

The coolest thing about Bob's entrance is that thing he does with his hands as he walks out the doors. Also, I think it's cool when he enters through the audience, and slaps everybody's hands as he comes down the aisle.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jun 18 2004, 12:03 PM\'](Honorable Mention: I was just watching the clip of the open to Crosswits '86, courtesy Jimmy Coyne's site, and it amazes me how David Sparks entrance could suck all of the energy from that great theme and Michelle Whatsername's announce work. [/quote]
Roth.

Actually, it took me a while to realize that the announcer on that version of "Crosswits" was the same woman with the sultry voice on the old FNN "TelShop"--one of the things that made it different from the 5 million other shopping shows/channels that sprung up like weeds after HSN went public was that almost everyone but Todd Donaho were generally more low-key than the average HSN host (and this, of course, was still back in the toot-the-bike-horn days of HSN).  Michelle did most of her pitches in a very sultry voice, which, considering the fact that "TelShop" played on late-nights, was almost like having a porn tape running.  Note that I said "almost."

To get back on track, only one person could make a bad entrance down a staircase--Jim Caldwell on "Top Card," even with Blake Pickett behind him.  Of course, any time Jim appears, it's a bad entrance.

[TheInquisitiveOne]

I also have to tip my hat to the classic $ale of the Century entrance. It is amazing to see Jim Perry do that EVERY SHOW. The echo effect put in every time* Jay Stewart or Don Morrow says the title helped to make the show as big of a deal as it actually was (especially when $50,000+ was on the line that day).

*I could be wrong, but I think that the echo effect was accidentally taken out on one of the episodes I have.

Bob Barker's entrance is my absolute favorite - especially from 1980-1987, when the camera person would perform a very fast zoom out to a full shot of the doors.

Match Game gets the honorable mention. I always liked Gene Rayburn's entrances, especially when he was up to no good. Finally, I have to give props to Tom Kennedy's entrance during syndie Name That Tune. As soon as he walks on stage (or was it before? I forget), that huge $100,000 sign rises up from the ground.

Those were the days.

The Inquisitive One

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Jun 18 2004, 03:38 PM\'] Bob Barker's entrance is my absolute favorite - especially from 1980-1987, when the camera person would perform a very fast zoom out to a full shot of the doors.
 [/quote]
 Besides his "tux entrance" from '86, I do agree with you - especially in the days when Johnny Olsen was still alive and just the way he said Bob's name from at least 1980-1985 upon introducing him.....Dragging out "Bob" but real short on "Barker"...