Contestant Mementos...

[uncamark]

When "WLOD" taped in Chicago in 1989, I saw contestants leaving the taping area at Navy Pier with those artist's palette name tags on them.  It was surprising to me, since I thought that those things would be too expensive to make to allow the players to take them home.

Since they weren't letting in any more people to watch by the time I got there, I stood about a half-mile away from the end of the pier where they were taping outdoors the Chicago-only local radio DJs show.  Didn't see a thing and didn't heard much other than the "5--4--3--2--1" and applause from the audience and occasionally Bob Hilton's voice during the taping breaks when the wind was blowing right--but I still had a good time.

[Matt Ottinger]

On QuizBusters, the contestant names are printed onto thin, flimsy sheets of plastic that slide into the podium.  For years, we kept all the names in an alphabetical file to reuse, no matter how unusual the name.  Finally this year, with budget cuts dipping into the knick-knacks we give away (key chains, pens and the like) we began letting the students keep their names after they lost and were out of the tournament.  From their reactions, you'd have thought these things were made of gold.  Some of the players even wanted me to autograph them.  So I certainly "get" the attitude among contestants that the personalized name tag is a nice memento.

[JMFabiano]

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 03:10 AM\'][quote name=\'SplitSecond\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 01:21 AM\']A nametag certainly makes a nice keepsake for a contestant, but those things cost money to make.
[/quote]
How stingy.  It can't cost that much to make a nametag.

But of course, we have to give away TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS instead.

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Well remember, that this comes from the home of the Half-Priced Super Match, and the Money Cards for the cost of your front game winnings ;-)  

And before anyone else gets started, to give away that $20,000 they have to DOUBLE THE POINTS, we know, we know.  And that's almost down to the "airplane food jokes" level.

[JMFabiano]

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 03:31 AM\']
Going off on a tangent here...but let's say I was offered either $1,000 or one of the jumbo checks from "The Price is Right"; I'd take the check.  How else am I going to get one of those checks?

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No offense, but that reminds me of the Squeal of Fortune segment on Sesame Street, where the Count passes up on all the prizes and decides, "I VANT DE PIG!"  Who am I to make fun, though, as had I won that $28,800 or $32,000, first thing I'd do is ask if they could take the cost of one of those giant decks of cards out of my winnings.

[wschmrdr]

I could understand how nameplates and nametags are expensive, and the production staff would rather recycle them.

I would think if you were on a game show, money aside, you'd want a momento that basically says "Hey look! I was on this show!", and it makes it extra specal. I'm not talking footage of your appearance, but something you can hold in your hand that you got from the show (a 9-year-supply of pantyhose doesn't count). It would make the whole thing just that much more memorable.

[SplitSecond]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 01:09 PM\']On QuizBusters, the contestant names are printed onto thin, flimsy sheets of plastic that slide into the podium.
[/quote]
That's pretty much how the name plates on Win Ben Stein's Money worked too.  They looked about as thick as a sheet of transparency paper.

[tvrandywest]

[quote name=\'SplitSecond\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 01:23 PM\'][quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 01:09 PM\']On QuizBusters, the contestant names are printed onto thin, flimsy sheets of plastic that slide into the podium.
[/quote]
That's pretty much how the name plates on Win Ben Stein's Money worked too.  They looked about as thick as a sheet of transparency paper.

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So the glamor is all on the living room side of the TV? Say it ain't so!!!!!

Randy
tvrandywest.com

[dzinkin]

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 06:13 PM\'][quote name=\'SplitSecond\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 01:23 PM\'][quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 01:09 PM\']On QuizBusters, the contestant names are printed onto thin, flimsy sheets of plastic that slide into the podium.
[/quote]
That's pretty much how the name plates on Win Ben Stein's Money worked too.  They looked about as thick as a sheet of transparency paper.

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So the glamor is all on the living room side of the TV? Say it ain't so!!!!!

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Only when you're not announcing, Randy.

(ducking)

[vtown7]

[quote name=\'SplitSecond\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 05:32 AM\'][quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 01:40 AM\']And Split's VALID point is that the money for giving away those props adds up, and it has to come from somewhere.
[/quote]
Let's just say it'd be a cold day in hell before anyone tried to dip into a show's craft services (i.e., lunch and snack) budget.

As a contestant coordinator, if a contestant who had been nice to me throughout the audition and taping process came up after their show and discreetly asked me if they could take home their nametag because it would mean a lot to them, I'd definitely sneak it away and let them keep it.  If an insolent jerk of a contestant was bitter because he didn't win the new car that was due him and complained that he didn't even get to keep the nametag, I'd tell him it was show policy not to hand out nametags.

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It's interesting that you point this out... in the morning of my Wheel session, when it came to have a Q&A, I blurbed out "Can we keep our nametags?" and everybody just laughed  I was actually really happy they said yes... the nametag is a great souvenir!

(And then I was lucky enough to win two shows when we taped in the afternoon so sure I was happy with the name tag but I'll admit that the cash wasn't too bad either...)

Cheers,

Ryan

[trainman]

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Feb 28 2005, 03:13 PM\']So the glamor is all on the living room side of the TV?

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I don't know how much glamour you think there is in my living room.  Unless you count the old Piedmont Airlines travel poster I have hanging on the wall, advertising fabulous and exotic Tampa.