Back from LA....

[Shredder]

If you don't want to read spoilers, avoid that section in my post .  I'll be posting spoilers from Familly Fued(three tapings), and TPIR.  Wich, BTW,  the show I attended will air on December 20th 2005.  Outside I said to my grandmother on the phone, 'I wonder if they'll be doing a Christmas show?'  And sure enough, we walk in, and not only is it cold enough to be Christmas, but there decorations where up all over the studio .

Gonna grab some lunch, err... Dinner, still on LA time..... and then I'll take a look at my notes and post a report .

[dzinkin]

Please read Eligibility Requirement #12 on this page before posting any spoilers.

[Shredder]

OK,  I have some time to type it out.  We'll start with Price..

2:30 AM  Decide to wake up a little earlier than planned in case I over sleep.  

4:00 Due to parents not getting up on time, we leave a bit later than planned.  But, the more experienced Driver of us three is taking us there,r so I can't complain and hope for the best.

4:20(or there abouts)  Arrive on line.  We find out later that we where number 113 in line.  I was planning to bring a walkman and gameboy to keep me occupied for the long wait.  The gameboy got used, the walkman didn't.  I found myself entranced by the conversation around me .  We where in front of two nice ladies who where around, or a bit older than my mothers age from Tennesse.  The other folk near us was a mother/daughter team who had been to the show 5 times already.  This was our first.  Needless to say, the time past surprisingly fast.

5:AM  Very wary of mentions that a rat was running up and down the line searching for food.  Keep a wary eye out.

6AM: Our tickets are numberd.  Come back at 7:10

7:10   Back in line, as stated earlier, we where number 113, 112, and 111.    Nice lady page comes over the michrophone to give out line instructions.  

This next part is rather blurred..... but sometime between 7:10-9Am, we get our tickets numbered.   The 1:!5 PM people stand in one line, the 4:!5 people in another.  We where number 87.  We had to be back around 10 Am, the 4PM people had to be back a round 12PM.  So, we decide to just wait out the time on the benches.

More time passes.    Our name tags finally get handed out around 11:20 or so.  I ask for my name to be xed out, as I'm to nervous a personality to be on TV, and I don't photograph well anyway .  My father is there just to be in the audience, and too tired from waiting in line since 3 AM to w ant to play.   So, that leave sjust my mother.  

The nice page lady eventually calls for all people with an X to come up to her for a special bench seating, and as we sit down, another 30 minutes or so passes.  By now, it's around 12 PM.  A good 8  hours has gone by surprisingly quick, the sun, surrounded by clouds, has long since risen.  As this time, I notice two people come out with a clipboard(Anyone know their names?)

I hear one say, "are they ready f or us?"  So, I stop the headphones figuring that these guys are the interviewers.  Funny, I always thought Roger(the producer?) did the interviewing.  Anyway, they ask us a quick few questions, probably just to make us feel like part of the group, and we get ushered over to the metal detecter after the first group of ten interviewees go through the process.  While we where waiting online at the last set of benches, we where theorizing on how they choose who they choose to come on down, and I don't think we nailed it .

Finally, around 12:30 or so, the line is finished interviewing, and it's time to go in!  Duiring this wait time, we notice some sets being wheeled in, and I asked a blonde page if those are the price sets.  She says she dosn't know, and they don't normally keep them on stage.  But, we later saw them wheeling in a set door, so it was probably a sitcom set(Ray Ramono, perhaps?)

Anyway, after being up for nearly 10 hours, waiting for this moment for at least 20 years, we're ushered in to the set.  The first thing we notice is Christmas trees.  While waiting in line, I speculated that we might be taping a Christmas show, and I turned out right .  The nice cool air and the thrill of being in the stage helps wake any sleepy audience members up ; ).

Now, I have to admit, since Rod died, I havn't been watching the show as much as I usually do.  So this was my first chance to hear the new announcer, Rich.  Very nice guy.  Don't know if anyone else heard this story, but he says the following.

He attended a taping of  TPIR during the Johhny Olsen years.  Johnny was doing the warmup act and gave Rich the chance t odo his job up on stage and call someone down.    He did just that, and Johnny hated his performance .  Needless to say, 20 years later and he's now sitting behind Johnny's Podium, heh.  So, he gave a few audience members the chance to call someone down, and the lucky people got to run down to the set.

Then, he asked for some dancers, and held an inpromptu dance contest.  After that, it was time to start the show!


Part two coming up next...well, maby not on this board.  Can I reveal behind the scenes tidbits, like what the announcer did during the reading of prize descriptions?

[cmjb13]

But no garland in contestant's row

Roger no longer chooses the contestants, Stan Blits does at the moment.

[Shredder]

Mods, I did my best to refrain from mentioning anything that happens with the pricing games, so if you feel something is a spoiler, please feel free to edit it out..




Other interesting things for those, like me, who where not in the know. Bob dosn't come out to speak to the audience before the show like Letterman and other hosts do. When The announcer goes off the stage, he starts the 'come on down' introduction, and out comes Bob.

Also, the TPIR Audience is LOUD. Like being in the middle of a baseball game cheering loud. The reason the contestants ask to hear prices repeated in the opening bid, and the reason why some people don't come down the first time their name is called, is because the announcments sometimes can't be heard. When it gets that loud, a cue card guy stands on the stage with the names of the contestants written out.

When the prizes are finished being announced, the announcer points back to Bob half a dozen times indicating that he's done, and Bob kicks in. Bob is also smooth as ice when he goes from cordial to talking to the audience, and as soon as he's done laughing at something someone says, he looks right at the camera and boom, back in character like nothing ever happend.

Bob received a plaque and a T-Shirt. One T-Shirt, for whatever reason, that stated some kind of bar the audience never heard of is celebrating it's anniversary this year, and the other was from the state of texas that said he was the sexiest man on television. He mentions this during a break.

I also noticed that one of the shows staff( I'm having a hard time remembering who the hell it is, but Bob goes to him for Stats on pricing games and every now and then he gets on camera), likes to stand just outside the cameras reach and watches each contestant intently. He's also lurking behind the wall during the showcase showdown to talk to any contestant that may win the game . Best seat of the house .

Anyone in the middle of the audience will get abad view if they play spelling Bee, Clock Game, Any Number, or any other game by the blue/red background where the showcase is held. There's two cameras that go there that block the view. You can just barley see in between the middle when Bob leans forward into view.

Two of the models, the African American lady and the Blonde, where always smiling on stage. However, the brown haired lady who has been on the show every now and then always seemed depressed and walked off stage the instant her bit was done.

Don't think this is a spoiler, but the winning contestants, wether pricing games, or showcase, get talked to by s how staff immiediatly after they get off the stage. When we saw some of the big winners emerge after the show, they have a sheet of papers to sign, plus an autographed photo of Bob Barker. They receive there prizes in three months and have to pay taxes on the prizes, wich most of us already know.

Oh, and for those wondering why contestants always come up on the stairs on the right side, the announcer says that it's because there's a bunch of camera cables that they don't want anyone to trip on, so they ask that people only come up on the one side. They also mention that the other cameras are setup for a nice face shot of the contestant as they come up, so they don't want to mess that up either....

Well, t hat's it for TPIR. If anyone wants to hear some non spoiler Familly Fued, Late Late Show, or Jay Leno info, LMK. BTW, as a Letterman fan, it was torcher to stay at a Leno taping. I smiled a bit, but that was all ..

Till next post!

[Jimmy Owen]

[quote name=\'Shredder\' date=\'Oct 20 2004, 04:18 PM\']If you don't want to read spoilers, avoid that section in my post .  I'll be posting spoilers from Familly Fued(three tapings), and TPIR.  Wich, BTW,  the show I attended will air on December 20th 2005.

[snapback]61511[/snapback]

[/quote]
 I'm presuming the date is a typo or are they taping shows more than a year in advance of airing?

[chris319]

Can I reveal behind the scenes tidbits, like what the announcer did during the reading of prize descriptions?

Behind the scenes, yes!

[sshuffield70]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Oct 20 2004, 07:21 PM\'][quote name=\'Shredder\' date=\'Oct 20 2004, 04:18 PM\']If you don't want to read spoilers, avoid that section in my post .  I'll be posting spoilers from Familly Fued(three tapings), and TPIR.  Wich, BTW,  the show I attended will air on December 20th 2005.

[snapback]61511[/snapback]

[/quote]
I'm presuming the date is a typo or are they taping shows more than a year in advance of airing?

[snapback]61533[/snapback]

[/quote]

......wondering if the show title was a typo.....never heard of "Family Fued".........

[Shredder]

[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Oct 21 2004, 08:46 AM\'][quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Oct 20 2004, 07:21 PM\'][quote name=\'Shredder\' date=\'Oct 20 2004, 04:18 PM\']If you don't want to read spoilers, avoid that section in my post .  I'll be posting spoilers from Familly Fued(three tapings), and TPIR.  Wich, BTW,  the show I attended will air on December 20th 2005.

[snapback]61511[/snapback]

[/quote]
I'm presuming the date is a typo or are they taping shows more than a year in advance of airing?

[snapback]61533[/snapback]

[/quote]

......wondering if the show title was a typo.....never heard of "Family Fued".........

[snapback]61583[/snapback]

[/quote]

Ehh, give me a break.  I was up for close to 24 hours when I typed that .  Feud...

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'Shredder\' date=\'Oct 20 2004, 06:20 PM\']Now, I have to admit, since Rod died, I havn't been watching the show as much as I usually do.  So this was my first chance to hear the new announcer, Rich.  Very nice guy.  Don't know if anyone else heard this story, but he says the following.

He attended a taping of  TPIR during the Johhny Olsen years.  Johnny was doing the warmup act and gave Rich the chance t odo his job up on stage and call someone down.    He did just that, and Johnny hated his performance .  Needless to say, 20 years later and he's now sitting behind Johnny's Podium, heh.  So, he gave a few audience members the chance to call someone down, and the lucky people got to run down to the set.

Then, he asked for some dancers, and held an inpromptu dance contest.  After that, it was time to start the show!

[snapback]61527[/snapback]

[/quote]
I wouldn't call it impromptu, given that the dance contest was part of Rich's warm-up when I went in June (and he told the same Johnny O. story, too).

Might as well ask a stupid question while I'm at it--while a typical warm-up might have two or three bits/stories/anecdotes, I would hope that there's more in the arsenal than just the two or three bits/stories/anecdotes utilized.  Or (cue scary organ music) are there?

Doug

[MSTieScott]

[quote name=\'Shredder\' date=\'Oct 20 2004, 06:20 PM\']Duiring this wait time, we notice some sets being wheeled in, and I asked a blonde page if those are the price sets.  She says she dosn't know, and they don't normally keep them on stage.  But, we later saw them wheeling in a set door, so it was probably a sitcom set(Ray Ramono, perhaps?)

[snapback]61527[/snapback]

[/quote]

No sitcoms tape at Television City. You saw sets for either The Young and the Restless or The Bold and the Beautiful, which are all stored out that way. Actually, they do wheel some of the Price backdrops in and out that way, too, but by the the time the audience has gathered on that final set of benches, all of the Price set pieces are inside.


[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Oct 21 2004, 12:24 PM\']Might as well ask a stupid question while I'm at it--while a typical warm-up might have two or three bits/stories/anecdotes, I would hope that there's more in the arsenal than just the two or three bits/stories/anecdotes utilized.  Or (cue scary organ music) are there?

[snapback]61595[/snapback]

[/quote]

I can't speak for all warm-ups, but Rich's is pretty much the same thing each time. Dance contest followed by audience members pretending to be the announcer leading into what you should and shouldn't do if you're selected as a contestant. Sometimes parts get cut short if another part took longer/Rich's intro came late/whatever, but there's really no significant difference from day to day. I remember reading that Rod's warm-up pretty much always followed the same script, too. Since the audience is filled with mostly new people every day, might as well go with what you know works, right?

--
Scott Robinson

[Shredder]

Some Pics from the trip..



Christopher Reeves Star Memorial


When in front of the Manns Chinese Theater, one of the ma ny costumed
people.  Camera dosn't show the fact that I lost three inches in the waist and
7 pounds since the diet started .


On the set of Cheers in a Hollywood Museum.  


In Norms Special seat...


Didn't come out very well, but the Bridge of the Enterprise D


The Infamous Star Wars Handprints at the MAnns Chinese Theater.

[sshuffield70]

May I offer three little letters?

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