The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: TimK2003 on February 08, 2022, 10:04:41 AM
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I was watching an old Kennedy NTT from the Kathie Lee Johnson years. And in those early years not only does Tom control part of the gameplay by spinning the wheel on Melody Roulette (as did Jim Lange and Dennis James), but during the Golden Medley, Tom also starts the :30 timer on the podium at the start of each song.
Pat Sajak (and all the other Wheel Hosts) have partially decided to outcome with their Final Spins.
Jim Peck stopped the Payoff Point bonus randomizer on The Big Showdown.
In the non-Wheel examples, the hosts only controlled some aspect that didn't necessarily affect the oucome of the ultimate winner (just bonus money and the occasuonal car giveaway). But Pat's (etal) final spin could either help or hurt a contestant's chance of winning the overall game.
What other shows allowed the host to physically affect the game -- either for side bonuses or for actual gameplay in situations similar to those aforementioned examples?
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The host of Jeopardy is in charge of when the "time's up" is sounded after any particular clue.
Jack Narz called for each letter to appear in the Semi-Final (then Qualifying) round of Now You See It.
Any game show where speed is a factor in reading questions can have a factor into how much a contestant can win (e.g. The Chase).
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Blankety Blanks with Bill Cullen selecting the doohickey and putting it in the gizmo
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The host of Jeopardy is in charge of when the "time's up" is sounded after any particular clue.
I don't know that this is universally true now:
“I have two red buttons, but they removed one,” Bialik said with a laugh. Unlike the contestants, who use clickers as a means to lock in answers, her signaling device is intended to alert “Jeopardy” producers if she’s confused about a clue or stumbles over words. “I accidentally hit the wrong one, so they took it away. They left my other emergency button in place. So I have a defunct emergency button.”
Source: https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/mayim-bialik-jeopardy-host-1235168705/
Sounds like she kept hitting the times-up signal by accident.
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Initially during the run of The Diamond Head Game, Bob reached into the treasure pouch and pulled out the bills. This was eventually changed to have the contestant do so based off an old clip I found from after the format changed.
Dennis James also stopped the letter randomizer on Beat the Odds.
I'd also throw out there all the What's My Line moderators. They were basically the primary judges, and even threw all the cards over when the panel was way off base.
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On Countdown, any time a contestant doesn't specify which spaces to pick the numbers from, Carol or Rachel pick them. And until recently, the host controlled when the clock started.
I assume that Jim Perry had the authority to cut the price on Instant Bargains down to some minimum specified in advance and on when to make the cuts and when to say "no sale." I'd assume Monty Hall had similar leeway when the plan for a deal called for a cash buyout offer, but something tells me that Wayne Brady is more likely to be taking those cues in his earpiece.
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I'd assume Monty Hall had similar leeway when the plan for a deal called for a cash buyout offer, but something tells me that Wayne Brady is more likely to be taking those cues in his earpiece.
In his Archive of American Television interview, Monty confirmed that he had discretion in those instances when he was the host; he mentioned that since it was his production company, he knew the budget and kept it in mind when determining how much cash to offer contestants.
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This one barely qualifies, but in the early episodes of Classic Concentration, Trebek would call out the numbers at his own pace to reveal the speed-up puzzle pieces one at a time.
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I assume that Jim Perry had the authority to cut the price on Instant Bargains down to some minimum specified in advance and on when to make the cuts and when to say "no sale."
This actually crossed my mind while watching not too long ago. It made me wonder when Jim had the authority to sweeten the deal with a few hundred bucks, as opposed to a Sale Surprise.
For the Showcase Showdown bonus spin, could we count Bob or Drew setting the wheel at .15 to ensure the wheel goes around once?
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For the Showcase Showdown bonus spin, could we count Bob or Drew setting the wheel at .15 to ensure the wheel goes around once?
No, but we could count that as a host blooper, since the wheel is supposed to start at .05 in those cases.
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For the Showcase Showdown bonus spin, could we count Bob or Drew setting the wheel at .15 to ensure the wheel goes around once?
No, but we could count that as a host blooper, since the wheel is supposed to start at .05 in those cases.
I got my numbers mixed up, but yeah .05.
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I think Jack Clark was not only the Keeper of The Cross Wits, I believe he also ran the :05/:07 "shot clock" when players were playing the clues.
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Union rules govern who may operate sound effects and stage electronics.
On Family Feud, taped at ABC, NABET local 57 granted a waiver to allow producer Howard Felsher to directly operate the "duplicate answer" buzzer in Fast Money due to the time element involved.
On Password Plus, taped at NBC, NABET local 53 refused to grant such a waiver for Alphabetics. Sound effects were cued by an array of three colored light bulbs operated by producer Bobby Sherman. The light bulbs were positioned in front of sound-effects engineer Geoff Cooper who operated the sound effect. The bell and buzzer were the actual devices; the "illegal clue" effect and the Alphabetics countdown came from MacKenzie carts.
The exception is if by necessity a performer must operate a device. I'm thinking of Switcheroo where a model operates the game board. I'm skeptical of any claims that an emcee operates a sound effect or a clock. It is more likely that an offstage operator does that.
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I'm skeptical of any claims that an emcee operates a sound effect or a clock. It is more likely that an offstage operator does that.
I can understand the skepticism. I had the Jeopardy! time's up podium button confirmed (and demonstrated for me) when visiting the set years ago before Alex's illness.
There's one episode of Name That Tune with Tom Kennedy in which Tom forgot to hit the button to start the Golden Medley clock. He explained the staff was keeping duplicate time offstage, and they rectified the error on camera by having Tom hit his button, and the contestant hitting theirs to stop it once the appropriate time had ticked away. (starts at 18:15 in the video linked below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Y96RokC1A
-Jason
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I'm skeptical of any claims that an emcee operates a sound effect or a clock. It is more likely that an offstage operator does that.
I can understand the skepticism. I had the Jeopardy! time's up podium button confirmed (and demonstrated for me) when visiting the set years ago before Alex's illness.
For all the episodes I've seen of Trebek hosting J!, I don't ever recall seeing him activating the time's up sfx, unless the directors really tried to hide it in camera shots. I have seen Jeff Probst numerous times hitting the button on R&R J! But I thought it was only because there weren't as many staffers on hand for that show (and under the guise of a different producer -- Scott Sternberg).
In some of the episodes of Bud Collyer's To Tell The Truth, I have seen him reach for the end-of-turn bell at his desk. I wonder if he received a cue offstage as to when to ring the bell.
And one of the more obvious ones i completely forgot about, as I consider them co-hosts...
Ruta Lee/Elaine Stewart were the dice rollers on the first incarnations of High Rollers. The contestant's fate was entirely in their hands in the main games.
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What is the justification for Alex operating the time's up sound effect? How is the time limit tracked? Is this the time limit to answer each question or the end of a round?
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What is the justification for Alex operating the time's up sound effect? How is the time limit tracked? Is this the time limit to answer each question or the end of a round?
I'm assuming the time limit is standardized, but if the players indicate to the host they have no intention of ringing in, "Chris? Not gonna ring in?", the host can move things along.
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Is this the time limit to answer each question or the end of a round?
It's the three tone "do-do-do" indicating that nobody else may ring in for that question.
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Is this the time limit to answer each question or the end of a round?
It's the three tone "do-do-do" indicating that nobody else may ring in for that question.
Nathan W. Pyle, creator of the Strange Planet webcomics, coined the term Ignorance Tone (https://imageproxy.ifunny.co/crop:x-20,resize:640x,quality:90x75/images/be55594ccfe2b2336a831fc2094a967e0e1997b32935db8018a595ad211ae695_1.jpg) in one of his comics. I propose we use that term for the "time's up" signal going forward.
ObThread: there is no standard time limit, it's an informal count in the host's mind. I think now it is tied in to the lockout mechanism, though I don't believe it always was. You'd have the tone sound as a contestant's lectern lit up and Alex would say "sorry, (contestant), not quickly enough". I also read somewhere recently that Mayim was getting the "ignorance tone" button confused with the "emergency stop" button on the lectern, which the host can press if there's an issue with pronunciation, a ruling, etc. Apparently, now she only has the "e-stop" button and the "ignorance tone" is controlled offstage by TPTB.
/Alien!Johnny: "Behold... PERIL!"
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The only times when the time's up signal was obviously being controlled by a human rather than a timer were when someone would give a wrong answer and Alex would essentially ask the remaining contestant(s) if they wanted to take a shot and the buzzer came almost immediately after they didn't make any move to go for it. Once in a while it would seem to come quickly after a clue where nobody went for it, but again if it didn't look like anyone was going to take a swing.
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Seacrest had control of the mouse during the Speed Round on Click.
I assume that Jim Perry had the authority to cut the price on Instant Bargains down to some minimum specified in advance and on when to make the cuts and when to say "no sale."
This actually crossed my mind while watching not too long ago. It made me wonder when Jim had the authority to sweeten the deal with a few hundred bucks, as opposed to a Sale Surprise.
I always thought they needed to increase the offers for champs who were going for the lot by a considerable margin. If you’re going for the lot, why would you buy an Instant Bargain with Jim adding $500? I know it’s not my budget, but the late game bargains needed to come with $3-5k in cash to make them moderately interesting.
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On Jeopardy! I suppose given three players with lockouts there is no risk of giving an advantage or disadvantage to a contestant by making the time limit arbitrary. IOW each player has an equal shot at ringing in before the time limit expires no matter how long or short the time limit may be.
On our show there were no lockouts so an arbitrary time limit could help or hinder a contestant, so it was kept as uniform as possible. If Bobby were quick on the buzzer with one player and slow with the other, there would be an obvious inequity and I'm sure Compliance and Practices would question it. Gawd forbid Allen Ludden would control the "time's up" effect.
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Well one of the most obvious is of course Win Ben Stein's Money- from the 2nd round on Ben actually played the game itself (and began round 2 with control of the board)..
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Union rules govern who may operate sound effects and stage electronics.
On Family Feud, taped at ABC, NABET local 57 granted a waiver to allow producer Howard Felsher to directly operate the "duplicate answer" buzzer in Fast Money due to the time element involved.
On Password Plus, taped at NBC, NABET local 53 refused to grant such a waiver for Alphabetics. Sound effects were cued by an array of three colored light bulbs operated by producer Bobby Sherman. The light bulbs were positioned in front of sound-effects engineer Geoff Cooper who operated the sound effect. The bell and buzzer were the actual devices; the "illegal clue" effect and the Alphabetics countdown came from MacKenzie carts.
The exception is if by necessity a performer must operate a device. I'm thinking of Switcheroo where a model operates the game board. I'm skeptical of any claims that an emcee operates a sound effect or a clock. It is more likely that an offstage operator does that.
Speaking of Password and ABC, ISTR an ep of Password or Password All Stars -- the Red, White & Blue set -- where Allen Ludden hit a randomizer button (which controlled a visible left/right arrow on his podium) to determine which team went first.
I don't know if it was used only during the Tournament of Champions tournament for charity or if that was used for normal All-Stars games or regular celeb/civilian play around that time as well.
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Speaking of Password and ABC, ISTR an ep of Password or Password All Stars -- the Red, White & Blue set -- where Allen Ludden hit a randomizer button (which controlled a visible left/right arrow on his podium) to determine which team went first.
I don't know if it was used only during the Tournament of Champions tournament for charity or if that was used for normal All-Stars games or regular celeb/civilian play around that time as well.
My quick survey of the very few YT episodes suggests that the randomizer was only in the tournament. (Or maybe it was added a little before the tournament, perhaps.)
But if one wanted to be dickis-- er, pedantic -- about it, one could argue that hitting a button to start a randomizer doesn't really "control" the game, since the randomizer is going to do its random thing no matter who presses it or when. :)
Here's the randomizer in action (at 3:08):
https://youtu.be/hW9S3XfWBoA?t=188
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But if one wanted to be dickis-- er, pedantic -- about it, one could argue that hitting a button to start a randomizer doesn't really "control" the game, since the randomizer is going to do its random thing no matter who presses it or when. :)
To that end, Chuckie Baby activating the Terminator on Greed.
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This one barely qualifies, but in the early episodes of Classic Concentration, Trebek would call out the numbers at his own pace to reveal the speed-up puzzle pieces one at a time.
An aside: It seems more exciting to me to open the doors at random. Opening them in order just looks like they’re giving it away. Has this struck anyone else?
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An aside: It seems more exciting to me to open the doors at random. Opening them in order just looks like they’re giving it away. Has this struck anyone else?
The reason they are opening the doors is because they are out of time and need someone to solve the damn puzzle already. The best way to accomplish that is to reveal it from top to bottom, left to right.
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Gawd forbid Allen Ludden would control the "time's up" effect.
Why? Would he press it early so he could beat traffic?
Here's a prime example except it was an unsuccessful pilot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcuIxSCGvdA
Any game where the host reads questions to time--say, Whew!, Weakest Link and the Blockbusters Gold Run--plays a big part of the outcome.
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Here's a prime example except it was an unsuccessful pilot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcuIxSCGvdA
Only unsuccessful thing I'm seeing here is Tiller's frame for the video.
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Here's a prime example except it was an unsuccessful pilot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcuIxSCGvdA
Only unsuccessful thing I'm seeing here is Tiller's frame for the video.
Speaking of which…
“Archives”? Of what, acquehension?