Author Topic: $ale of the Century (Read 11857 times)

14gameshows · « **on:** January 31, 2005, 04:28:51 PM »

Was the Fame Game Board on a turntable? Reason asking is because when they went to do the Instant Bargains, they had a decent size setup with props and all. OR did they have all that ready behind the big doors? Also what was the purpose of Jim's podium? I know it displayed a (check) for a right answer and an "X" for a wrong answer? Did the Aussie version have the same thing?

clemon79 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 31, 2005, 04:45:23 PM »

[quote name=\'14gameshows\' date=\'Jan 31 2005, 02:28 PM\']Was the Fame Game Board on a turntable? Reason asking is because when they went to do the Instant Bargains, they had a decent size setup with props and all. OR did they have all that ready behind the big doors?
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Matt would know this better than a lot of us, having been there, but I'm fairly sure the minisets for the Instant Bargains were set up behind the big doors, but in front of the "shopping" area.

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Also what was the purpose of Jim's podium? I know it displayed a (check) for a right answer and an "X" for a wrong answer?

You're not gonna like this answer, but you deserve it: The "purpose"...was to look good on TV.

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Did the Aussie version have the same thing?

Dunno for sure. The Aussie set went over a few overhauls even before Barber left the show in 1991 (or so, put your hand down, Zach) so I'm sure it was possible at one point.

tvrandywest · « **Reply #2 on:** January 31, 2005, 05:11:56 PM »

[quote name=\'14gameshows\' date=\'Jan 31 2005, 01:28 PM\']Was the Fame Game Board on a turntable? Reason asking is because when they went to do the Instant Bargains, they had a decent size setup with props and all. OR did they have all that ready behind the big doors? Also what was the purpose of Jim's podium? I know it displayed a (check) for a right answer and an "X" for a wrong answer? Did the Aussie version have the same thing?

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The Fame Game board was NOT on a turntable. And yes, the purpose of Jim's podium being more than a big music stand for his paperwork was its appearance. (I love that answer, Chris!). Think - you rarely see hosts' or celebs' legs at their "home base"; even hosts with pretty legs!

Randy
tvrandywest.com

Robert Hutchinson · « **Reply #3 on:** January 31, 2005, 08:34:47 PM »

The point of Jim Perry's podium was for me to stare at it during commercial outros, trying to figure out the pattern(s) it was using.

ChuckNet · « **Reply #4 on:** January 31, 2005, 08:37:13 PM »

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I know it displayed a (check) for a right answer and an "X" for a wrong answer?

It also, on rare occasions, displayed a gold "?" when Jim needed to call for more information or ask the judge for a ruling.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

tyshaun1 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 31, 2005, 11:27:24 PM »

Me thinks that the Fame Game and Instant Bargain set were one in the same. When it was time for an IB, they would break away the Fame Game wall and the set would be behind it. I can recall some wider than normal shots of the Instant Bargains where you could see exactly where the setup was.

Tyshaun

Craig Karlberg · « **Reply #6 on:** February 01, 2005, 05:07:11 AM »

That display on Jim's podium sure looked cool, I wonder who was running that & how it was run. I'm thinking it was either computer-controlled or electronically via a remote location off-set. IIRC, there were other lights on it besides the red "X", the green "check mark" & the yellow(or gold) "?".

tvwxman · « **Reply #7 on:** February 01, 2005, 08:21:02 AM »

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Jan 31 2005, 05:11 PM\']The Fame Game board was NOT on a turntable. And yes, the purpose of Jim's podium being more than a big music stand for his paperwork was its appearance. (I love that answer, Chris!). Think - you rarely see hosts' or celebs' legs at their "home base"; even hosts with pretty legs!

Randy
tvrandywest.com

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Rule #1: Never argue with someone who has proven in the past to know way more than you do.

I'm about to break that rule.

I'm pretty sure that the instant bargain area/fame game board were in the same location on a turntable. There is a blooper out there that had Summer introducing a prize for an IB, when, for no reason, the turntable started revolving....and because the prize had 'instant cash', when the bell went off to announce that, she stuck her hand thru the little crevase that separated the turntable wall, and the wall behind jim's podium.

Again, I was never there, but i'm pretty sure this made it easy for setting up IB prizes without stopping production....

I've also checked a photo on ebay that has the whole set, and it looks like the fame game board is on the front end of a round area...turntable perhaps?

But one thing is for sure. Randy knows more than I do when it comes to game shows. Period.

sshuffield70 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 01, 2005, 10:01:23 AM »

IIRC, Jim would point to his right whenever an instant bargain came up and enter from the right. Also, when it was over, he went to his left. That would disprove the IB in the shopping area theory. I believe the turntable theory would be correct.

tvrandywest · « **Reply #9 on:** February 01, 2005, 11:10:09 AM »

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Feb 1 2005, 05:21 AM\']... But one thing is for sure. Randy knows more than I do when it comes to game shows. Period.

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Thanks, I appreciate that. But on my last visit to SOTC I might have developed a "contact high" standing so close to an intoxicated but still dear, respected and talented Jay Stewart. I simply don't recall that Fame Game flat being on a turntable during that last season in NBC Studio 3, but I never clawed every inch of that set as I have most others. I will be first to apologize for the error if sent a copy of a photo that shows otherwise.

Randy
tvrandywest.com

DrJWJustice · « **Reply #10 on:** February 01, 2005, 02:48:59 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jan 31 2005, 04:45 PM\'][quote name=\'14gameshows\' date=\'Jan 31 2005, 02:28 PM\']Was the Fame Game Board on a turntable?

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Did the Aussie version have the same thing?

Dunno for sure. The Aussie set went over a few overhauls even before Barber left the show in 1991 (or so, put your hand down, Zach) so I'm sure it was possible at one point.

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Chris, I've seen a brief clip of the Barber version of $otC. The original Aussie set was, as far as I can tell, a very close version of the 1st season US set. I can't speak for it being identical, though.

clemon79 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 01, 2005, 03:43:02 PM »

[quote name=\'DrJWJustice\' date=\'Feb 1 2005, 12:48 PM\']Chris, I've seen a brief clip of the Barber version of $otC. The original Aussie set was, as far as I can tell, a very close version of the 1st season US set. I can't speak for it being identical, though.

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Right, I've got a couple, and they _are_ very close, but none of the clips I have show a wide enough shot of the podium to be able to answer the OP's question with any degree of certainty.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #12 on:** February 01, 2005, 04:16:51 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jan 31 2005, 05:45 PM\']Matt would know this better than a lot of us, having been there, but I'm fairly sure the minisets for the Instant Bargains were set up behind the big doors, but in front of the "shopping" area.[/quote]
It's embarrassing to admit this, but I really don't have a specific enough memory of the details of how the stage was set up. Common sense tells me that most of the instant bargains were done at the big doors, with some sort of backdrop between them and the shopping area. But I don't have any memory at all about whether the Fame Game board would rotate out or not. My gut answer would be that it did not, that it was there for the whole show.

Several episodes are floating around, this shouldn't be too terribly hard to prove one way or the other, should it?

sshuffield70 said:

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IIRC, Jim would point to his right whenever an instant bargain came up and enter from the right. Also, when it was over, he went to his left.

I can't say with absolute certainty that Jim wouldn't point to his right for some sort of dramatic reason, to make the set appear larger than it really was or something. But I can assure you that all the "stuff" on the stage was to Jim's left.

jmangin · « **Reply #13 on:** February 02, 2005, 10:52:21 PM »

Instant Bargains/Ca$h were not played out behind the big doors.

At various points during the run, especially during the shopping format, a camera would take a shot from over the shoulder of the contestant so you could see Jim walking down from the instant bargain setup towards them, about to entice them with cash by laying it over their buzzer (so when they hit the buzzer to buy the item, they were also grabbing the cash).

So--roundabout way to say that instant bargans were at least set-up behind the "Fame Game" wall that was either pulled away or on a turntable.

I'll have a pic up by this weekend

JasonA1 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 02, 2005, 11:01:56 PM »

http://www.chris-lambert.com/SALE/sale3.jpg

Here's a pic. At the very least, we can tell the IBs were set up where the Fame Game board was. I had always thought this. I had always thought too that a turntable was there, but this I cannot prove. Somebody will.

-Jason