You Make the Call!

[TheInquisitiveOne]

Hello there!

I wrote this because I wanted the opinions of many of you at the board. These could be hypothetical situations, but these actually happened. Think about these...

In an episode of Match Game PM, the \"Super Match\" was set to be played for $10,000. Naturally, Richard Dawson was chosen for this, and here was the puzzle:

Pall ______.

Gene Rayburn also took the time to spel the word as \"P...A...L...L.\" The contestant listened, and answered \"Bearer.\" Richard, however, probably did not and answered \"Newman.\"

Who is at fault? Richard for not exactly listening, or the contestant for not taking the Hollywood route and matching Richard? You make the call!

In the ABC version of \"Who Wants to be a Millionaire,\" a contestant was debating on which answer was the correct answer (it was relating to the U.N.; anyone who has the full question and choices please feel free to chime in). The question was for $500,000, and she eventually missed it, dropping back to $32,000. This was a somewhat controversial subject, since some were accusing Regis of goading her into answering the question. The contestant, at the same time, was swinging back and forth bewteen two possible choices. There was a time where she even considered quitting at this point.

Who is at fault here: Regis for (allegedly) pushing said contestant into an answer, or the contestant for not quitting on the spot (IMHO, she was not totally sure on her answer at all)? You make the call!

Have fun!

The Inquisitive One

[Matt Ottinger]

Richard's clearly at fault for the first one, not that it helps the contestant any.  Saying \"Newman\" isn't \"the Hollywood route\" it's the \"not paying attention\" route.  The contestant had no reason to assume that Richard was going to go that way.

Just as clearly, the contestant is always responsible for his/her own decisions in WWTBAM.  That's pounded into them by the coordinators.  Philbin's job is to create good television, not to be counsellor.

[Jimmy Owen]

Without rushing pall mall....., I mean, pell mell into a decision, I feel the contestant is always at fault when he or she loses.  Doesn't Gene say, \"Now what do you think will match Richard?\"  In the Regis case, since there is no time limit for deliberations, there is no one else to blame.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'TheInquisitiveOne\' date=\'Jul 5 2003, 07:45 PM\'] Gene Rayburn also took the time to spel the word as \"P...A...L...L.\" The contestant listened, and answered \"Bearer.\" Richard, however, probably did not and answered \"Newman.\"

Who is at fault? Richard for not exactly listening, or the contestant for not taking the Hollywood route and matching Richard? You make the call!
 [/quote]
I useta love these on Monday Night Baseball. Football, somewhat less so, but that's 'cuz I know baseball better.

Dawson, being the \"more experienced\" celebrity, has more of a responsibility to write down an answer the contestant can match. Therefore he has AT LEAST as much duty to pay attention to Gene as the contestant does, maybe more. Unfortunately, the fact that he didn't is unsurprising.

In the ABC version of \"Who Wants to be a Millionaire,\" a contestant was debating on which answer was the correct answer (it was relating to the U.N.; anyone who has the full question and choices please feel free to chime in). The question was for $500,000, and she eventually missed it, dropping back to $32,000. This was a somewhat controversial subject, since some were accusing Regis of goading her into answering the question. The contestant, at the same time, was swinging back and forth bewteen two possible choices. There was a time where she even considered quitting at this point.

Who is at fault here: Regis for (allegedly) pushing said contestant into an answer, or the contestant for not quitting on the spot (IMHO, she was not totally sure on her answer at all)? You make the call!

All prospective contestants are, I would assume (those of you who have actually had the Millionaire experience may correct me if I'm wrong) briefed fully on the rules of the game prior to taping. One of those rules is that the player may take as much time as they need to to answer a question, or to decline to do so and take the money they have won. If the contestant was cowed by Regis \"Hurry up, while I'm young!\" schtick and didn't stand up for her right to take whatever time she needed, that's totally her problem.

[pyrfan]

The contestant isn't always at fault. Gene didn't say, \"Now, what answer do you think will match Richard if he wasn't listening to me spell the word very clearly?\" Richard was absolutely to blame for the contestant's loss in that case.

As far as \"Millionaire,\" if I remember correctly, the reverse was true: Regis was trying to convince the contestant to walk with her $250,000 because it was clear she wasn't sure about her answer. And no matter what it sounded like Regis was coaxing her to do or not do, no one had a gun to her head. She could have taken the money and walked, but she decided to risk it. She's only got herself to blame.

Though it has nothing to do directly with the post, I definitely remember her shrugging off her husband when he tried to console her as they left the stage together and her snarky attitude toward Regis when she was interviewed later about the \"incident.\" It was one of the few times I was glad to see a contestant lose.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jul 5 2003, 08:00 PM\'] Doesn't Gene say, "Now what do you think will match Richard?"
 [/quote]
 Sure. But does Gene saying that imply \"Now, before you answer, take into account that Richard is a conceited dumbass who may or may not have been paying attention when I gave those very precise instructions about the spelling of the clue a few moments ago, even though that's an integral part of the program that he's currently being paid to aide us in recording for broadcast?\" 'Cuz that's what your argument is suggesting the contestant is supposed to know.

[Neumms]

On the Match Game question, I'd say it's the writers' fault for using a question with the potential to be that confusing. At least make it an audience match, where the spelling is plain to see.

Again, this doesn't help the contestant a whole lot.

Another topic for \"You Make the Call\" (sponsored by Mattel Intellivision, I trust) would be the judging on a question I hope someone else remembers better than I. I believe the contestant's answer was \"school,\" Brett and Charles said \"college\" and it matched, then Richard and someone else said \"driving school\" or something and it didn't match. Richard was truly pissed, and it was the loudest \"boo\" I think I'd ever heard. Can someone else fill in the gaps, and what did you think?

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Neumms\' date=\'Jul 5 2003, 10:31 PM\'] I believe the contestant's answer was "school," Brett and Charles said "college" and it matched, then Richard and someone else said "driving school" or something and it didn't match. [/quote]
 I don't know the original story, but going wholly off of your information, I don't have a problem with it. \"School\", when used by itself, is usually used to refer to a school of education, such as a elementary school or a high school. Using MG's fairly loose synonym rules, I can see where they would match that with \"college\". \"Driving school\", however, is a specific type of instruction, in no way related to the public or private school system (you, in the back, who is about to claim that Driver's Education is part of most school curriculae, sit the hell down), and is not a match.

[KrisW73]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jul 6 2003, 12:46 AM\'] [quote name=\'Neumms\' date=\'Jul 5 2003, 10:31 PM\'] I believe the contestant's answer was "school," Brett and Charles said "college" and it matched, then Richard and someone else said "driving school" or something and it didn't match. [/quote]
I don't know the original story, but going wholly off of your information, I don't have a problem with it. "School", when used by itself, is usually used to refer to a school of education, such as a elementary school or a high school. Using MG's fairly loose synonym rules, I can see where they would match that with "college". "Driving school", however, is a specific type of instruction, in no way related to the public or private school system (you, in the back, who is about to claim that Driver's Education is part of most school curriculae, sit the hell down), and is not a match. [/quote]
 The Finishing School Riot!

The question was like this:

\"Dumb Dora was so dumb- she wanted her pearls to get cultured, so she sent them to .\" (May not be the exact verbiage)

Contestant said \"School\"

Edward Asner said College
Brett and Charles both said something to the effect of school or college...now the fun starts...

Debralee Scott Said \"Finishing School\" BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT
Richard said \"Finishing School\" BZZZZZZZZZZZZZT

The studio almost broke into a riot at this point...
Richard protested loud and long about not matching to no avail.

Gene finally restored order and asked Patti Deutsch to she her answer, to which she quipped \"I'm scared\"
Finishing School BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT

IIRC the contestant was brought back...

[PeterMarshallFan]

Richard was definately at fault for that one. Remember the badly edited-in shot of Rayburn that was seen afterwards?

[vtown7]

IIRC, didn't CNR say \"scuba diving school\" and fought for his answer based on the answer containing \"pearls\"?

Also, the WWTBAM situation, could that have been Katy, the lady that kept gambling and took a record (?) 52 minutes for a question?

Thanks,

Ryan V.

[PeterMarshallFan]

I think it might be....I remember the ep. The question was \"Which of these countries joined the UN most recently?\" I know someone who went there, and they said she took over a half an hour to answer.

[J.R.]

If my memory serves me right. Her name was \"Kati Knudsen\"*. I recall watching that show and I was practially screaming at the TV for her to quit and walk. You had to admit, she had guts.

* - First person to make a Cottage Cheese Joke, I will personally send you a 8 hour tape of Benirschke WOF.

-Joe R.

[PeterMarshallFan]

[quote name=\'JRaygor\' date=\'Jul 6 2003, 07:03 PM\'] If my memory serves me right. Her name was "Kati Knudsen"*. I recall watching that show and I was practially screaming at the TV for her to quit and walk. You had to admit, she had guts.

* - First person to make a Cottage Cheese Joke, I will personally send you a 8 hour tape of Benirschke WOF.

-Joe R. [/quote]
 How does Chuck shop for cottage cheese?

He gets into one of his A U T O S and proceeds to D R I V E to CostCo. Other shoppers must have B A L L S to T O U C H the Knudsen's before he does.

Where's my tape?!

[BrokenWing]

Given that, IIRC, this episode occurred not too long before Richard's departure, when he was well into \"I'm so freaking bored here, I'm just going through the motions, I'd rather be spending this time on my own show where I'm the star\" mode, I wouldn't be surprised if he was thinking, \"Please don't insult my intelligence by telling me how to spell the question, do I look illiterate to you?\" and didn't bother to listen to Gene spell out P-A-L-L. In any case, it's clearly Richard's fault. Of course, things like that happen in the front game all the time, where one celebrity gives a stupid and clearly wrong answer to a question and it makes the difference between a tie and a loss. I think what's shocking here is that so many contestants put their faith in Richard and his often uncanny ability to pick the correct one of several possibilities to match the contestant. In the early years, you can see that Richard was proud of his ability to match, and when it's clearly got to the point where he didn't care anymore, it's for the best that he left.

Of course, I'm not a particular fan of Richard and never have been, so my opinion may be colored somewhat by that....but I wanted to slap him when he screwed up on that question and cost the contestant several thousand dollars.

As for the Millionaire episode, as others have said, it's entirely the contestant's responsiblity to take the money and run or risk it on a question he or she is not sure about. To suggest otherwise is like saying that it's Kennedy's fault so many people vote \"foe\" just because she points out each contestant's dirty secret from the past when they're at the trust box.

In regard to the \"school riot\" MG episode, it was clearly a rotten call on the part of the judges. Sure, \"school\" without a modifier implies an academic institution, but how is \"finishing school\" all that different from \"college?\" Moreover, if they granted Charles a match on \"scuba diving school\" (albeit after initially buzzing him for it), there's no case at all for buzzing the three \"finishing school\" answers.

Eileen