[quote name=\'Sonic Whammy\' date=\'Jul 18 2005, 11:36 AM\']I don't know, you tell me if I'm going nuts, cuz it's all eating me alive.[/quote]
Nuts, sure. But aren't we all? After all, we *are* on the internet disussing game shows.
I'm going to take this in a somewhat different direction. When I was 19, I took a thousand bucks I didn't have, and flew out to L.A., just to try out for whatever was auditioning at the time. Made it to a TPIR taping (where I wasn't really interested in being a contestant, anyway) and a Hollywood Squares audition. Passed the written test; played the mock game (and, for those of you who've mentioned going to an audition and just having a great time, this mock game took the cake for that. By a longshot.) One of the highlights of my game show "career".
But I didn't get on. And I could have said, "That's it; I'm a failure, I'm not good enough for game shows." But I didn't. In fact, the trip had an interesting side effect. It stirred my passions in a number of ways. For one, it was the beginning of March, and I had no desire to leave SoCal and go back to Pennsylvania. I wanted to leave so little, that I went back, worked my tail off over the summer, saved up some money, and moved to the California coast later that year. I've been here for almost two years now, and I'm loving it. Were it not for that Hollywood Squares trip, this never would have happened.
A second effect of the trip was that it made me redouble my efforts to actually get on a game show. That same summer, I lost 100 pounds. The day before I moved out of Pennsylvania, I made the six-hour drive to NYC to audition for Millionaire. During the interview, I told them all about what I'd done. Then, when I arrived on the left coast, I got a call from my parents telling me that there was a postcard there from Millionaire. They liked me, they really liked me! A couple of months later, I was flying back to New York and winning $16,000. Now, I'm just waiting for the call from my second game show, and already training for my third.
The bottom line is, if you want to get on a game show badly enough, you can do it. You've just got to give the contestant coordinators what they want. Depending on the show, this may be a story of life experience, a particular brand of excitement, some good one-liners, or a specific style of play. Depending on where you're starting, it may take creating a new life experience, emphasizing a particular portion of your personality, or even a personality overhaul. And it may require learning a lot of stuff.
But it can be done. The question is only whether you're willing to make the sacrifices necessary. Bringing your current situation to the table, you may find that that's not the right thing to do. If that's the case, it's up to you to decide whether or not you want to change your situation to make it the right thing to do. Either way, it's entirely in your control. The process may not be fast, but it's doable. Shows like Wheel and J! aren't going anywhere. Other shows will come and go. If your priority is getting on and having fun, rather than making money, you'll have more options. But even if you're in it for the Benjamins, there are still opportunities out there, and while they may change, it doesn't look like the genre is going anywhere anytime soon.
But the first step is to eliminate any semblance of whininess and/or obsession. That's not what people at home want to see; any trace of it to a CC, and you're done. Just realize that it's all in your control. Give it enough effort and enough chances, and I'm confident you won't be disappointed. I won't lie to you; it can be a lot of work. But if you choose to go for it, you'll end up with memories that'll last a lifetime, maybe some extra spending cash, and who knows what else along the way. It's in no one's hands but your own. Take it or leave it. To quote Dick Clark: the challenge is yours.
