Author Topic: What's My Line? Live Show Returns (Read 23772 times)

Matt Ottinger · « **on:** February 02, 2005, 11:12:02 PM »

J. Keith and company are continuing their What's My Line? game live on stage in California for nine additional dates in February and March. Info here:

http://www.jkeith.net/

clemon79 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 02, 2005, 11:53:36 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Feb 2 2005, 09:12 PM\']J. Keith and company are continuing their What's My Line? game live on stage in LaBrea, CA for nine additional dates in February and March. Info here:

http://www.jkeith.net/

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And those aren't exactly nothing names they're getting to play with them, either. Not A-list, by any stretch, but you can do a lot worse than Mr. Blackwell and Greg Proops.

jdhernandez · « **Reply #2 on:** February 03, 2005, 03:50:55 AM »

....and this will be the first review of a very fabulous show!

As you guys and dolls may, or may not have read, What's My Line? - Live is back for more fun and games at the ACME Theatre!

This opening show was kind of a special occassion as February 2nd, 2005 marked the 55th anniversary of the premiere of WML? Wow, 55 years...how about that? In addition to it being the show's 55th tribute, there were some throwbacks which I enjoyed. Just like the original show, we had three contestants, and a mystery guest at the end. Also, a lot of the banter really harkens back to the classic shows, as well it should!

The celeb panel on the show were: Lee Meriwether, Patt Morrison, Wil Wheaton, and Carlos Alazraqui. Like Lemon said, those aren't exactly nothing names. As a matter of fact, as you guys may or may not see on GSn's Black and White Overnight block in a few days (I think Friday or Saturday), that Lee Meriwether was a mystery guest on the original show on September, 1954....one day after being crowned Miss America! That's her common thread with the original show. BTW, she still looks great! ;-)
The last half of the show was a real treat and had a nice surprise!

The last contestant of the night was a lady by the name of Jill Kollmar. If that name rings a bell for any of you, that's because she is Dorothy Kilgallen's daughter who also appeared as part of a duo of mystery guests! ("Dorothy's other children") She appeared on the show with her older brother while her mom was on maternity leave for one week in 1954, as well! After they played the game, they talked about old memories of the show, and how Jill would sometimes tease her mom for not getting one of the mystery guests right, or how she would downright tell her mom when she had an off-night! :-p I know some of you will agree with me on this, but it IS a treat to hear some of these stories about the good old days of television, or as Lee called it, "a real golden age of panel shows." By the way, Jill is now an interior decorator, which is not a typical odd-job by WML standards. =)
For those of you wondering, the mystery guest was Ed Begley, Jr. of St. Elsewhere and Six Feet Under fame....among other shows and game show appearances. The connection here? Ed Begler, Sr. was a guest on the syndicated version of WML? How about that?

As for the stage show, itself, everything seemed very well-done, including the live music on piano. J. Keith was a formidable host, and knew how to keep the show running well. He has a few "Daly quirks" that the original host had, including knowing when to call for conferences at, seemingly, the right times. Just like Mr. Daly, Mr. Van Straaten was pretty lenient at times, and would be generous with giving a "Yes" answer at times. In other words, this show is a throwback to the old show, and I recommend it very much. :-)

This is Jason Hernandez saying good night, and it's now time for ME to watch "What's My Line?"!

PS: The show's on La Brea Ave in Los Angeles, CA.... nine-double oh! 3-6! ;-)

Steve McClellan · « **Reply #3 on:** February 03, 2005, 04:10:18 AM »

[quote name=\'jdhernandez\' date=\'Feb 3 2005, 12:50 AM\']....and this will be the first review of a very fabulous show!
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Second, but who's counting?

http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?show...633&#entry66633

chris319 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 03, 2005, 04:28:37 AM »

I can make the March 9 show. SplitSecond, wanna come?

Clay Zambo · « **Reply #5 on:** February 03, 2005, 08:36:14 AM »

So did they work out the rights for this? It would seem not from the disclaimer on their website, but I'm surprised Fremantle hasn't whapped 'em with a lawyer stick.

So bummed I'll actually be in SoCal for two of those dates and unable to go to the show.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #6 on:** February 03, 2005, 11:05:41 AM »

[quote name=\'Clay Zambo\' date=\'Feb 3 2005, 09:36 AM\']So did they work out the rights for this? It would seem not from the disclaimer on their website, but I'm surprised Fremantle hasn't whapped 'em with a lawyer stick.[/quote]
That's the one weird thing in all this for me as well. Clearly, this project is being done with affection, and its continuing success suggests to me that Fremantle is missing an opportunity by not picking up J. Keith & Co. and dropping them as-is onto a cable channel. GSN might be too thick-headed to get it, but somebody ought to.

How sad is it that a handful of B-level celebs and comics understand a Fremantle property better than the so-called professionals that run the company?

NickintheATL · « **Reply #7 on:** February 03, 2005, 01:18:41 PM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Feb 3 2005, 12:05 PM\']How sad is it that a handful of B-level celebs and comics understand a Fremantle property better than the so-called professionals that run the company?

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Matt, how true. I always had fears that, given Fremantle's track record on revivals (for the most part), they always have to change the whole show to something slightly resembling it's former version. If they got their hands on WML?, they probably would introduce bonus stunts, clip chips, and all those other woeful features. But, I don't want to give them ideas. :-)

Back on topic: sounds like these people know what they're doing, they have no place to go but up! :-D

chris319 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 03, 2005, 10:23:07 PM »

Quote

How sad is it that a handful of B-level celebs and comics understand a Fremantle property better than the so-called professionals that run the company?

Wait a minute, is WML? a Fremantle property or a Viacom/CBS property? Either way, point well taken.

Speaking of Fremental, I understand they're doing less smirkin' there these days. Wanna buy a Ford?

Robair · « **Reply #9 on:** February 04, 2005, 01:34:10 AM »

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Feb 3 2005, 11:05 AM\']How sad is it that a handful of B-level celebs and comics understand a Fremantle property better than the so-called professionals that run the company?

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Ya know, we witness dozens of shows with celebrities dropping their guard and playing Texas Hold Em, and very soon we'll see them playing charades...if this live WML gets more media attention, we could see panel shows return in a big way -- and not through the proper channels. There's enough of the old guard TV panelists left that you could probably stage a pretty good East Coast offshoot of this in some off-Broadway theatre once a week or so. Betsy? Polly? Phyllis? Might be a nice idea for them. Perhaps some willing NYC impresario can pull it off.

zachhoran · « **Reply #10 on:** February 04, 2005, 07:52:03 AM »

[quote name=\'Robair\' date=\'Feb 4 2005, 01:34 AM\']
very soon we'll see them playing charades

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Wasn't Celebrity Charades supposed to premiere in January on AMC?

tyshaun1 · « **Reply #11 on:** February 04, 2005, 07:56:40 AM »

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Feb 4 2005, 07:52 AM\']Wasn't Celebrity Charades supposed to premiere in January on AMC?

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I'm sorry, Zach, but what the hell did this question have to do with this thr- Oh, never mind, it won't make a difference anyway.

Tyshaun

PYLdude · « **Reply #12 on:** February 04, 2005, 08:59:08 AM »

[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Feb 4 2005, 08:52 AM\'][quote name=\'Robair\' date=\'Feb 4 2005, 01:34 AM\']
very soon we'll see them playing charades

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Wasn't Celebrity Charades supposed to premiere in January on AMC?

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I'M SHOCKED! This may be the first time Zach Horan doesn't know everything about a game show! Not that anyone cared, anyway...

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #13 on:** February 04, 2005, 03:38:26 PM »

[quote name=\'tyshaun1\' date=\'Feb 4 2005, 08:56 AM\'][quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Feb 4 2005, 07:52 AM\']Wasn't Celebrity Charades supposed to premiere in January on AMC?[/quote]I'm sorry, Zach, but what the hell did this question have to do with this thr- Oh, never mind, it won't make a difference anyway.[/quote]
Robair commented about an upcoming celebrity charades game, and Zach very rightly wondered what happened to it since it was originally announced for last month.

I'm not sure who declared open season on Zach, but I'm personally getting a lot more tired of that than I am of Zach's off-the-wall but on-topic comments.

davemackey · « **Reply #14 on:** February 04, 2005, 04:10:50 PM »

[quote name=\'Robair\' date=\'Feb 4 2005, 02:34 AM\']Betsy? Polly? Phyllis?

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SOMEBODY PROP UP MRS. HART!