Game show "ironies" (if any)

[SamJ93]

I vividly recall at least two episodes during the '90s/early '00s in which a contestant played for a trip to the city where they lived. If he didn't stop tape and sub out the prize in those circumstances, he wouldn't have done it for the treadmill incident either and is full of it.

[PYLdude]

I do remember seeing how another show handled that situation, when Curtis Warren was on Sale of the Century; one of the instant bargains was a trip to San Diego; where he was living, so they offered him a trip to San Francisco instead. I don’t remember if he took the offer or not, pretty sure he did.

[TLEberle]

If you draw enough people from California that’s bound to happen, and a nice gesture on the part of the show, and could be written into their documents as an acceptable procedure.

[Kevin Prather]

If you draw enough people from California that’s bound to happen, and a nice gesture on the part of the show, and could be written into their documents as an acceptable procedure.

This. Plus the MSRP of the trip isn't an integral part of the game like it is on Price.

[BrandonFG]

Going back to the treadmill, they played 1 Right Price. For them to stop tape and replace the treadmill with...let's say a bedroom set, that would not only require a look at the inventory but also a new price tag. If it were a game like Bullseye or Master Key where you can win a nice prize but don't need to know its price to win, I would understand doing a swap.

But I imagine having to go to the inventory sheet or warehouse to find a comparable prize, plus find or create a price tag is way more work than the show wants, considering they pretty much still do things live on tape.

[Neumms]

They could always play the game as intended but announce that if the player wins, they’ll give them the price in cash.

[TimK2003]

My attempt at an actual irony is how Jeopardy getting cancelled probably ended up being the best thing that could've ever happened to Jeopardy in the long run.

And in the same vein:  When Woolery got fired from Wheel, you could probably thank Chuck's greed (no pun intended) for the show to tap Pat Sajak, which led to a nighttime syndicated version that continues to this day, despite Pat retiring of late.

[TLEberle]

Intend your puns! If you’re going to post here, own your commentary.

[TLEberle]

B is fine, but A and C aren't really viable. Based on modern production practices only, I'm guessing each contestant applied to the show with a specialty category (or few) in mind, and the producers had that prepared ahead of their tape date. Then, the contestants and material would be randomly matched the morning of taping. There probably wouldn't be time to write a brand new main game question, especially in the pre-internet days, and you're not supposed to do that once you know who's playing anyway. To the other point, the contestant shouldn't have to switch their expertise because of the show's negligence.

What SHOULD have happened is somebody checking the pool of games ahead of time and flagging that contestant X couldn't play in game Y, and/or the category with the Ferris Bueller question should have had a spare that they subbed in for just such a reason. Perhaps somebody saw it and rolled the dice that said player wouldn't get that main game question (which she ultimately didn't, but it was close).

This is still on the front page and somebody who uploaded his show onto Youtube answered the question--every contestant submitted three areas of expertise and the producers chose the "favorite subject," which means double naughty on the behind the scenes team as this definitely would have been avoidable with a different Double or Less question.

[JasonA1]

B is fine, but A and C aren't really viable. Based on modern production practices only, I'm guessing each contestant applied to the show with a specialty category (or few) in mind, and the producers had that prepared ahead of their tape date.

This is still on the front page and somebody who uploaded his show onto Youtube answered the question--every contestant submitted three areas of expertise and the producers chose the "favorite subject," which means double naughty on the behind the scenes team as this definitely would have been avoidable with a different Double or Less question.

I'm going to make an educated guess and assume the producers only prepared for the one subject of the three they accepted. (The other ways to avoid this mistake are also far easier to execute.) But that's great info nonetheless; thanks for sharing.

-Jason