Misconceptions you have had about game shows

[urbanpreppie05]

On the intro to Kennedy TPIR, I thought the prizes in the doors were actually there when the show began not realizing they must have taped it and inserted it into the show. Or maybe they didn't.

Yeah, I thought that too. And that the stage was a few stories high, as they shot the Department store showcases in an actual building. Silly me.

/be nice if it came back though
//showcases the last few seasons have been pretty awesome

[MrBuddwing]

A poor thing sir, but my own - one that took me, literally, almost 40 years to find out:

On the original "Newlywed Game," when the lucky winning couple were shown their special grand prize, the one picked just for them, I'd always thought that it really was picked just for them.

But then I had occasion to correspond with a former contestant who'd appeared on the show with her husband in 1968.

She told  me that the four couples were given a list of possible grand prizes and asked to check off which ones they would like to win. Talking among themselves, they figured that the grand prize would likely be a boat, since they'd all checked off "boat." And sure enough, the grand prize *was* a boat. (Which my correspondent and her husband won; they ended up selling it so they could put a down payment on their house.)

When I found that out, I realized that, as a kid, I'd half-assumed that after the winning couple was declared, a bunch of stagehands were frantically moving the grand prize into place behind the couples so that it could be revealed just seconds later. In fact, they probably took their sweet time about it.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Gus\' post=\'185584\' date=\'May 7 2008, 04:59 AM\']
//When did "Woolery left Wheel" become a stock phrase here, anyway?
[/quote]
Since the late-ATGS days, c. 2002 or so. I know it became popular before we moved to Invision (or EZBoard for that matter).

[Neumms]

[quote name=\'MrBuddwing\' post=\'185609\' date=\'May 7 2008, 11:10 AM\']
When I found that out, I realized that, as a kid, I'd half-assumed that after the winning couple was declared, a bunch of stagehands were frantically moving the grand prize into place behind the couples so that it could be revealed just seconds later. In fact, they probably took their sweet time about it.
[/quote]

I did, too. I figured Bob's crazy long introduction to the prize--"brand-new, super-deluxe, high-powered. solid-state washer/dryer!"--was to buy time.

The other strange phenomenon was how on Match Game PM's sudden death tie-breaker, the players never had the same answer.

[MikeK]

Whenever a host (Bob Barker, Peter Tomarken, Jack Barry, etc.) mentioned that a player was going into that show's Hall of Fame, I really thought there was some sort of area in the studio which had plaques celebrating the best playings of games.

[Gus]

[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'185619\' date=\'May 7 2008, 12:13 PM\']
The other strange phenomenon was how on Match Game PM's sudden death tie-breaker, the players never had the same answer.
[/quote]
I can't say I wondered about that, just never thought about it, but I recall one episode where they come back from break and the audience and Gene are all nervously giggling, and he says something to the effect of "Hello... Now you at home may be wondering what's so funny... well while you're seeing this for the first time... this is the fifth time we've done this!"

[Jay Temple]

[quote name=\'Fedya\' post=\'185598\' date=\'May 7 2008, 08:56 AM\']
I thought everybody else liked game shows as much as I did.
[/quote]
The biggie! How'd I manage to forget that one?

More recently than the other things I mentioned: I assumed that shows with returning champions, like J!, aired ALL their shows in the order taped. (That's a double misconception. I thought we saw semifinal games in the order taped, and I thought the tourneys themselves were taped between the two regulation games that aired before and after.)

[aaron sica]

Pat Sajak's saying "We drew numbers to see who would start the game...", but they didn't draw numbers because the player farthest to the left always went first!

/Don't "whoosh" me
//I was only a child at the time

[whewfan]

Actually, they DO draw numbers to see who starts. Pat showed the actual numbers the players draw on one show (labeled 1,2 and 3 of course) Of course, to make things easy the player that draws the 1 always sits at the red podium, 2 at the yellow and 3 at the blue. Of course nowadays it makes no difference, considering the first two rounds are tossups.

[ChuckNet]

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' post=\'185633\' date=\'May 7 2008, 03:30 PM\']
Pat Sajak's saying "We drew numbers to see who would start the game...", but they didn't draw numbers because the player farthest to the left always went first!

/Don't "whoosh" me
//I was only a child at the time
[/quote]

That's OK, I used to take Pat's claim they "drew numbers" a bit too literally and thought they actually wrote down numbers, w/whoever wrote down the biggest one getting to start first. :-) Other misconceptions:

- Thinking the seat for the player who recieved clues in the Go bonus round really was hot, since Kevin O'Connell often referred to that player as being "in the hot seat"
- Also thought players who had money handed to them got to take it home
- Thought the doors that Bert and the celebs entered from on Super Password was an elevator
- Thought they were working railroad tracks into the Face the Music logo (it wasn't until it came back on FAM in 95 that I realized they were supposed to be piano keys)
- Thought those consolation prizes were being referred to as "party gifts" (my dad cued me in on what they were really saying, LOL)

Chuck Donegan (The Amused-By-My-Past "Chuckie Baby")

[Ian Wallis]

- Also thought players who had money handed to them got to take it home

After the bonus game one time, a contestant on Joker's Wild once tried to give the money back to Jack.  He said "you hang onto that"; she said "they told me I'd be getting a check".  Kind of a funny moment.

[JasonA1]

[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'185636\' date=\'May 7 2008, 04:28 PM\']
- Thought those consolation prizes were being referred to as "party gifts" (my dad cued me in on what they were really saying, LOL)
[/quote]

In a similar vain, I thought it was "California ignition" on all the cars for a while. Boggled my mind as a kid, but chalked it up to lack of car knowledge. :) Similarly, I thought the FAM interactive games were being hosted by a "Mark Semmith" when in fact the promos said they were premiering "March 7th."

-Jason

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'185642\' date=\'May 7 2008, 05:04 PM\']
In a similar vain, I thought it was "California ignition" on all the cars for a while. Boggled my mind as a kid, but chalked it up to lack of car knowledge. Similarly, I thought the FAM interactive games were being hosted by a "Mark Semmith" when in fact the promos said they were premiering "March 7th."

-Jason
[/quote]

Along those same lines, when I was very young (about 4 or 5) and I'd watch the Fast Money portion of the Feud, and Richard yelled "Survey Says" I thought Survey was some woman....

[ChuckNet]

In a similar vain, I thought it was "California ignition" on all the cars for a while.

Funny, I thought it was "California admission". :-D

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

[Joe Mello]

[quote name=\'whewfan\' post=\'185635\' date=\'May 7 2008, 04:19 PM\']Of course, to make things easy the player that draws the 1 always sits at the red podium, 2 at the yellow and 3 at the blue. Of course nowadays it makes no difference, considering the first two rounds are tossups.[/quote]
It makes some difference, as control still passes to the host's left between rounds.

Only unique misconception I can recall right now is that no one ever hit the $1500 space.  I thought Sweep was in a grocery store, too, but the bigger concern was that could I never figure out for the life of me where they put the audience.