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The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: gameboy2000 on May 06, 2008, 06:35:46 AM

Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: gameboy2000 on May 06, 2008, 06:35:46 AM
I would like to see some misconceptions that you have had about any game show. Here is one:

I thought that on game shows like Name That Tune and Scrabble, when they handed you money that you actually got to take that money home with you.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: uncamark on May 06, 2008, 03:37:15 PM
[quote name=\'gameboy2000\' post=\'185455\' date=\'May 6 2008, 05:35 AM\']
I would like to see some misconceptions that you have had about any game show. Here is one:

I thought that on game shows like Name That Tune and Scrabble, when they handed you money that you actually got to take that money home with you.
[/quote]

Well, that is true in the UK, since they're required to give you your winnings before you leave.  The checks Chris Tarrant hands out on "WWTBAM" over there are real and negotiable.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Jeremy Nelson on May 06, 2008, 03:39:47 PM
I used to think that you could cash the giant checks from Check Game, hence why they put the big red VOID on it when a player lost.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: ChrisLambert! on May 06, 2008, 03:40:18 PM
I used to think Bob Barker was a nice man.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: comicus on May 06, 2008, 03:47:11 PM
When I was seven I used to believe that the losers on Remote Control were being sucked into a hellish torture chamber from which they would never escape.  Think it had to do with my grandmother constantly telling me how "evil" that "damn MTV" was.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: SRIV94 on May 06, 2008, 03:50:31 PM
All shows were live.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Dbacksfan12 on May 06, 2008, 03:53:48 PM
[quote name=\'CountdownRound\' post=\'185494\' date=\'May 6 2008, 02:47 PM\']
When I was seven I used to believe that the losers on Remote Control were being sucked into a hellish torture chamber from which they would never escape.  Think it had to do with my grandmother constantly telling me how "evil" that "damn MTV" was.[/quote]You too huh?  Of course, my belief stemmed from a repeat of The Joker's Wild that mentioned the "Dead or Alive" category.  I incorrectly thought this referred to the contestants.

I also thought that the shows that USA reran were "new" shows.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: BrandonFG on May 06, 2008, 04:07:06 PM
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'185495\' date=\'May 6 2008, 03:50 PM\']
All shows were live.
[/quote]
That one got me too...I remember watching Cosby's "You Bet Your Life", and wondering how they were able to use teaser clips from that episode, but during the intro.

The "Remote Control" backstage chamber piqued my curiosity too. Made me not wanna go on the show because I was morbidly scared about what lurked behind that wall.

Speaking of walls, I didn't realize that sets were all flash from the front, and all plywood on the opposite side.

When I was about 6 or 7, I looked through the TV listings, and found, in the middle of USA's lineup, a rerun of the sitcom "That Girl". I immediately thought it was a game show.

In 4th grade, a classmate told me that winners had to pay taxes on winnings, and immediately called shenanigans, not understanding such an asinine concept.

/Okay, I STILL don't understand such an asinine concept...
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Kevin Prather on May 06, 2008, 04:08:26 PM
Back in the early days of Millionaire, I thought the hot seat rose up through the floor.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Ian Wallis on May 06, 2008, 04:45:18 PM
That the winner on Marshall's nighttime Hollywood Squares actually got to drive a new car off the studio parking lot home.  After all, he did hand them the keys :)
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Brig Bother on May 06, 2008, 05:15:51 PM
[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'185491\' date=\'May 6 2008, 08:37 PM\']
[quote name=\'gameboy2000\' post=\'185455\' date=\'May 6 2008, 05:35 AM\']
I would like to see some misconceptions that you have had about any game show. Here is one:

I thought that on game shows like Name That Tune and Scrabble, when they handed you money that you actually got to take that money home with you.
[/quote]

Well, that is true in the UK, since they're required to give you your winnings before you leave.  The checks Chris Tarrant hands out on "WWTBAM" over there are real and negotiable.
[/quote]

Where did you hear that? No, it's quite common for contestants to get their winnings much nearer the time of broadcast. You don't tend to hear of many instances where people don't get paid if their show doesn't get shown, though.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Casey on May 06, 2008, 05:45:07 PM
When I was much younger, back in the early 80s, I thought that you would drive out to Hollywood and see signs outside of where the game shows taped, much like those of fast food restaurants.  It had never occurred to me that 1) more than one show would tape in a studio and 2) that shows weren't in production all year round.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: The Pyramids on May 06, 2008, 06:34:07 PM
I used to think that the names of contestants on 'The Price Is Right' were drawn out of a hat.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Jay Temple on May 06, 2008, 07:29:05 PM
Besides the live thing, which I thought about all TV shows, I assumed that the people who selected contestants did so on the basis of who they thought would do the best on the show. Yeah, I know.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Adam Nedeff on May 06, 2008, 08:31:51 PM
[quote name=\'PaulD\' post=\'185519\' date=\'May 6 2008, 06:34 PM\']
I used to think that the names of contestants on 'The Price Is Right' were drawn out of a hat.
[/quote]
You and about 90% of the American viewing public. Since I moved out to LA, I've tried to rope friends who are either back in West Virginia or just moved out here from West Virginia into going to a TPIR taping with me while they're visiting. The conversation ALWAYS goes like this:

ME: Of course, when we get there, we still have about a five-hour wait until they let us into the studio.
THEM: Why do we have to wait so long?
ME: Oh, lots of reasons. Producer has to interview the first 300 people in line, among other things.
THEM: Why does he interview 300 people?
ME: So he can pick the nine who get called to be contestants during the show.
THEM: What?! They do a random drawing for that, don't they?

My misconception was that TV studios housed only one show, and that the set was built to conform to the way that the studio was designed. This led me to believe that "Play the Percentages" was housed in the weirdest studio in Hollywood, because the opening looks like Geoff is waiting in a basement for Jay Stewart to introduce him and he had to sprint upstairs to do the show.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: MTCesquire on May 06, 2008, 08:54:23 PM
I used to think that contestants would win $35,000 grand total for making up the Pyramid twice in one show.  Wasn't until I saw season one eps of "The New $25,000 Pyramid" on USA that I realized it was really $10,000 for the first trip and $15,000 for the second for a TOTAL of $25,000.

I thought the name of the game board on Family Feud was called "the Feud".  Don't ask why, I'd never heard that word before Ray Combs' version premiered.  I was only 5 at the time.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: BrandonFG on May 06, 2008, 09:00:51 PM
[quote name=\'MTCesquire\' post=\'185529\' date=\'May 6 2008, 08:54 PM\']
I used to think that contestants would win $35,000 grand total for making up the Pyramid twice in one show.  Wasn't until I saw season one eps of "The New $25,000 Pyramid" on USA that I realized it was really $10,000 for the first trip and $15,000 for the second for a TOTAL of $25,000.
[/quote]

That one got me too.

Back when more shows aired on networks, I used to think that a show that aired at 10 or 11 in Virginia aired at 9 or 10 Central...and 7 or 8 Pacific. Wasn't familiar with a West Coast feed.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: TimK2003 on May 06, 2008, 09:27:01 PM
In the late 60s & early 70's, as a very young lad, I thought that Allen Ludden DID hear me when I shouted out the answers at home and he said something to the effect that, "I hear you at home!!"

I also thought that originally game shows were all done live.  When I found out that they were 'taped', I just thought that they taped one show each day, done the day before (based on the "Can you come back tomorrow?" theory)

I also thought that you won the actual ZONK that was behind the LMAD curtain, like the cows or the giant rocking chairs.  I also thought that the giant Reddi Whip was a REAL can!  

Then when I tried out as a contestant for a game show for the first time, I thought the auditions were done on the actual set with the actual host or at least the producers being there, not a small office in an ordinary office building with staff people who you never heard of before.

And the #1 game show misconception:

That "The Fun Factory" was indeed fun!

/Ditto with the Channel 43 Prize Movie Game.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: tvwxman on May 06, 2008, 09:50:40 PM
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'185532\' date=\'May 6 2008, 09:27 PM\']
Then when I tried out as a contestant for a game show for the first time, I thought the auditions were done on the actual set with the actual host or at least the producers being there, not a small office in an ordinary office building with staff people who you never heard of before.
[/quote]

Agreed. I was 6 years old when I sent a letter asking to be a contestant on Kids Week for "Card Sharks". I sent the letter to Jim directly. Ditto Allen for "Password Plus".

Gawd, I wish my mom had kept those letters!

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'185532\' date=\'May 6 2008, 09:27 PM\']
And the #1 game show misconception:

That "The Fun Factory" was indeed fun!
[/quote]
I know I'm in the minority here, but I enjoyed Fun Factory. I was, and still am, a HUGE Bobby Van fan.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: William_S. on May 06, 2008, 10:01:17 PM
Here's Mine.

Players who went below $0.00 (IE -$7500) They'd have to pay for it. heh I mean You lost now you have to pay for your failure! Or rather you do If you were a Simpsons character.

Backgrounds seem to go on forever. Then finding out it was just spotlights hitting a white wall.

And Yes I too thought about the "Hell wall," seeing the strange creatures abit from the hole scared the bejeevis out of me! Matter in fact, I think I remember one episode where after the contestant went "Off the Air!" They returned the seat with the Skeleton of the contestant. Now we're getting scary here!!

another one is that the Joker's Wild Had really big slot wheels.  This was before I knew about the wonderful technology of Slide projectors.

If a game show had a Big prize, and You won the Bonus round, You won that prize!! Such as On Chance of a Lifetime , I always thought You won the million after winning the bonus round. the $100,000 in Golden Medley.

And this one's the most messed up Misconception I had from Bullseye! That some old guy was behind the "Starboard" turning a crank to spin the Spirals and quickly replacing them with the categories,Money,Lightning,etc!


/That's worse than the one with the guy Who turns out the light in the refrigerator!! lol.
//Good Night!
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Jay Temple on May 06, 2008, 10:10:05 PM
[quote name=\'MTCesquire\' post=\'185529\' date=\'May 6 2008, 07:54 PM\']
I used to think that contestants would win $35,000 grand total for making up the Pyramid twice in one show.  Wasn't until I saw season one eps of "The New $25,000 Pyramid" on USA that I realized it was really $10,000 for the first trip and $15,000 for the second for a TOTAL of $25,000.[/quote]
I forgot about that one. I even assumed that they'd have a third game if the first two were split.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: TimK2003 on May 06, 2008, 10:36:51 PM
[quote name=\'William_S.\' post=\'185537\' date=\'May 6 2008, 10:01 PM\']
Here's Mine.

another one is that the Joker's Wild Had really big slot wheels.  This was before I knew about the wonderful technology of Slide projectors.

[/quote]

Count me in on that misconception as well.  I remember when Jack would ask "are they ready back there?" referring to the person(s) who changed the slides on the "giant"reels before they would start the bonus round.

For a while I thought that if they started the wheels up too soon, I'd see a silhouette of a stage hand caught on a spoke getting "spun to death".  What a bad time to "Face The Devil" had it ever been true! :-)
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Chief-O on May 06, 2008, 11:31:41 PM
[quote name=\'Adam Nedeff\' post=\'185526\' date=\'May 6 2008, 07:31 PM\']
This led me to believe that "Play the Percentages" was housed in the weirdest studio in Hollywood
[/quote]

I think some can say KCOP was one of the weirdest studios in Hollywood.

One of my main misconceptions----and I mentioned this at Golden-Road.net----was that "Price" was live. Believe it or not, I also kind of thought that about "Millionaire" back in the Reege days.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: bscripps on May 07, 2008, 01:02:37 AM
Maybe it's just me, but this one seems even dumber now than it ever seemed to me before...

The TPiR Giant Price Tag (tm) had (has?) a black circle on the left side of its face, representing the hole through which a string would pass on a real price tag.  When I was young, I always thought that black circle was a button Bob pressed to make the GPT rise up.  I dunno, I think it was because it looked about the same size and shape as the buttons on the "Ten Chances" board.

That, and I always thought there were two turntables on TPiR.  (But I write that one off to the staging of "Give or Keep"...games *have* to come 'round on the turntable!)
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Johnissoevil on May 07, 2008, 04:02:08 AM
On Dream House, behind the golden door, the picture of the house was actually a house, and winning contestants could go through the door and walk right to the house.  But here's my biggest one...

When Sajak took over on Wheel, I thought Chuck was just on vacation, and Pat was just filling in for him until he came back.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Gus on May 07, 2008, 04:59:59 AM
[quote name=\'Johnissoevil\' post=\'185577\' date=\'May 7 2008, 03:02 AM\']
When Sajak took over on Wheel, I thought Chuck was just on vacation, and Pat was just filling in for him until he came back.
[/quote]
Y'mean he's not coming back?!

/was -5 when it happened
//When did "Woolery left Wheel" become a stock phrase here, anyway?
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: bossjock967 on May 07, 2008, 07:13:38 AM
I thought Jack Barry looked like the devil on TJW.

Come to think of it... he really kinda does.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: DrBear on May 07, 2008, 08:50:27 AM
[quote name=\'Adam Nedeff\' post=\'185526\' date=\'May 6 2008, 07:31 PM\']
My misconception was that TV studios housed only one show, and that the set was built to conform to the way that the studio was designed.  [/quote]

Mine, too ... I once did a design of a TV station building (back in the day when TV stations did local stuff other than news) with separate rooms for news, sports, cartoon shows, outdoor show, Dialing for Dollars, movie host, etc.

Nothing specific about game shows, but I often wondered what was under the desks when they would put used answers or Password folders down those little slots. Did they have wastebaskets? Did they just pile up on the floor?

(And don't get me started on asking how the Lightning Round cards worked)
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: cmjb13 on May 07, 2008, 09:17:29 AM
I had thought Supermarket sweep was live and they really did total the groceries inside a few minute commercial break.

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.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Fedya on May 07, 2008, 09:56:48 AM
I thought everybody else liked game shows as much as I did.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: urbanpreppie05 on May 07, 2008, 11:25:54 AM
Quote
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
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: MrBuddwing on May 07, 2008, 12:10:56 PM
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.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: BrandonFG on May 07, 2008, 01:03:12 PM
[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).
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Neumms on May 07, 2008, 01:13:54 PM
[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.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: MikeK on May 07, 2008, 01:36:18 PM
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.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Gus on May 07, 2008, 01:40:43 PM
[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!"
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Jay Temple on May 07, 2008, 01:58:08 PM
[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.)
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: aaron sica on May 07, 2008, 03:30:36 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
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: whewfan on May 07, 2008, 04:19:34 PM
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.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: ChuckNet on May 07, 2008, 04:28:21 PM
[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")
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Ian Wallis on May 07, 2008, 04:50:52 PM
Quote
- 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.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: JasonA1 on May 07, 2008, 05:04:10 PM
[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
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: aaron sica on May 07, 2008, 05:05:45 PM
[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....
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: ChuckNet on May 07, 2008, 06:33:58 PM
Quote
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")
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Joe Mello on May 07, 2008, 06:40:15 PM
[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.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: JayDLewis on May 07, 2008, 07:10:00 PM
TPiR's Safecrackers safe was real.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Kevin Prather on May 07, 2008, 10:09:48 PM
I thought that the contestants on Supermarket Sweep actually took home all the groceries they bought.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Kniwt on May 07, 2008, 11:01:49 PM
OK, I'm really gonna date myself on this one, but here goes ...

Back when Dennis James was hosting the nighttime TPIR, there was some pricing game (perhaps it was Most Expensive) where the contestant would pick a price, and Dennis would always say, "We'll hold that one in abeyance and check the others."

I always wondered what a "beyance" could be.

Skip forward a couple of years, and I'm in high school taking my SATs. I'm in the vocabulary section, and there it is, right on the SAT: "abeyance." I went, "Oooooooh!"

Thanks to Dennis James, my SAT verbal score was a couple of points higher.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: William_S. on May 07, 2008, 11:17:00 PM
[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!


//I was only a child at the time
[/quote]

 the same was for Me with Teen WLoD.  When Marc Price would say we have a coin toss,...AND YOU WON!!! (referring to one of the teams). I was like "What just happened?! what coin toss, I didn't see a coin toss!"  this was before we knew about the whole "backstage decisions" deal.



/We all were!! :-p
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Joe Mello on May 08, 2008, 02:04:19 AM
[quote name=\'Kniwt\' post=\'185673\' date=\'May 7 2008, 11:01 PM\']Skip forward a couple of years, and I'm in high school taking my SATs. I'm in the vocabulary section, and there it is, right on the SAT: "abeyance." I went, "Oooooooh!"[/quote]
And then everybody probably looked at you weirdly for saying "Oooooooh!" :)

I had the same problem with astigmatism, if it makes you feel any better.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: MTCesquire on May 09, 2008, 03:18:07 AM
Just thought of another one.

When I was 5, I used to think the weekend editions of "Jeopardy!" were new episodes because the letters in the title would blink faster on the Saturday show than they would during the week because it was the weekend.  The next season the weekend edition lights blinked at the same speed as the weekday shows.  I then realized that weekend "Jeopardy!" was just repeats of the previous season.  Kind of disappointing, as I thought the show was unique iby being the only one that aired new episodes *six* days a week. :-)
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Kevin Prather on May 09, 2008, 11:34:04 AM
[quote name=\'MTCesquire\' post=\'185726\' date=\'May 9 2008, 12:18 AM\']
Just thought of another one.

When I was 5, I used to think the weekend editions of "Jeopardy!" were new episodes because the letters in the title would blink faster on the Saturday show than they would during the week because it was the weekend.  The next season the weekend edition lights blinked at the same speed as the weekday shows.  I then realized that weekend "Jeopardy!" was just repeats of the previous season.  Kind of disappointing, as I thought the show was unique iby being the only one that aired new episodes *six* days a week. :-)
[/quote]
Never wondered why the Friday champ never played on Saturday? :)
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: MTCesquire on May 09, 2008, 01:31:23 PM
[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'185735\' date=\'May 9 2008, 11:34 AM\']
Never wondered why the Friday champ never played on Saturday? :)
[/quote]

Well, that's the thing.  I noticed that the Saturday champ never showed up on the weekday eps so I figured that the weekday champ played Monday through Friday and the Saturday champ played exclusively on Saturdays.  Boy, I miss my childhood. :-)
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: DoorNumberFour on May 09, 2008, 02:25:13 PM
I always thought that, on WoF, when they said they drew numbers before the game, they meant that they did it at the top of the show before they started playing.

When I was younger, I always thought "Damn, I always miss it."
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Chuck Sutton on May 10, 2008, 12:36:42 PM
Early on in one of the Jeopardy Champsions,  I thought for the first week all the players watched all the shows.

On Friday I was dumbfouned when one player bet in Final Jeopardy when he had enough for a wild card already.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Kevin Prather on May 10, 2008, 01:07:40 PM
[quote name=\'Chuck Sutton\' post=\'185770\' date=\'May 10 2008, 09:36 AM\']
Early on in one of the Jeopardy Champsions,  I thought for the first week all the players watched all the shows.

On Friday I was dumbfouned when one player bet in Final Jeopardy when he had enough for a wild card already.
[/quote]
Hmm. Interesting. Not seeing the shows, I understand, but one would think they'd be briefed on what the wild card standing was.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: TLEberle on May 10, 2008, 01:14:35 PM
[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'185771\' date=\'May 10 2008, 10:07 AM\'][quote name=\'Chuck Sutton\' post=\'185770\' date=\'May 10 2008, 09:36 AM\']Early on in one of the Jeopardy Champsions,  I thought for the first week all the players watched all the shows.

On Friday I was dumbfouned when one player bet in Final Jeopardy when he had enough for a wild card already.[/quote]Hmm. Interesting. Not seeing the shows, I understand, but one would think they'd be briefed on what the wild card standing was.[/quote]Except they're not, for that very reason. Otherwise the players chosen to play Friday would have an enormous advantage.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Kevin Prather on May 10, 2008, 01:38:34 PM
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'185773\' date=\'May 10 2008, 10:14 AM\']
[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'185771\' date=\'May 10 2008, 10:07 AM\'][quote name=\'Chuck Sutton\' post=\'185770\' date=\'May 10 2008, 09:36 AM\']Early on in one of the Jeopardy Champsions,  I thought for the first week all the players watched all the shows.

On Friday I was dumbfouned when one player bet in Final Jeopardy when he had enough for a wild card already.[/quote]Hmm. Interesting. Not seeing the shows, I understand, but one would think they'd be briefed on what the wild card standing was.[/quote]Except they're not, for that very reason. Otherwise the players chosen to play Friday would have an enormous advantage.
[/quote]
Yeah, I suppose that makes sense.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Clay Zambo on May 10, 2008, 03:33:26 PM
[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'185594\' date=\'May 7 2008, 08:50 AM\']
Nothing specific about game shows, but I often wondered what was under the desks when they would put used answers or Password folders down those little slots. Did they have wastebaskets? Did they just pile up on the floor?
[/quote]

I don't know about the original Password, but Arte Johnson and Elaine Joyce just answered that question on "Plus."  (Okay, not *just* -- it was 20-something years ago; and not even "just" rerun; I'm behind in my watching from the DVR.)  They fall into little plywood drawers, each about the size of an index card box.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: tpirfan28 on May 10, 2008, 03:36:02 PM
I always thought the Pyramid trillions were automated.

EDIT:  Also, I thought winning the Pyramid endgame was ungodly difficult...this could stem from the first 25 or so episodes I saw that had absolutely no winner (various episodes, not all at once).
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: William A. Padron on May 10, 2008, 03:49:24 PM
One misconception that quickly came to my mind was when I first watched the Jack Narz-hosted version of Concentration as "A Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Production" with the G-T Programs copyright, I had assumed that the company purchased the game outright from NBC as the new owners.  What made it more confusing that the Milton Bradley home box game, issued with new editions even after the cancellation the network daytime show, was still bearing the copyright assigned to NBC on the side of the box.

It was until the age of the Internet that I finally understood that NBC simply licensed Concentration to the syndicator Jim Victory Television and Goodson-Todman to stage and produce the show out there in Los Angeles.  I even thought that the old mechanical game board even made the relocation to the updated new set as well.  It sure sounded a bit like it, perhaps rougher, while the trilons were moving.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: DJDustman on May 10, 2008, 07:27:03 PM
I always thought the NBC applause was just the same audience members attending Burbank over and over and over and over....
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Monarx on May 10, 2008, 07:30:32 PM
For a bit I believed the rumor that Alex Trebek was drunk on the last show of High Rollers... I kinda wish the legend wasn't proven false.  Ah well.

Also, I thought that the bonus round winners on Masters of the Maze would never come back from their "journey" due to the graphic effect thing.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: ChrisLambert! on May 10, 2008, 08:25:02 PM
[quote name=\'DJDustman\' post=\'185792\' date=\'May 10 2008, 07:27 PM\']
I always thought the NBC applause was just the same audience members attending Burbank over and over and over and over....
[/quote]

Yeah! OWWW!
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: SRIV94 on May 10, 2008, 08:35:17 PM
[quote name=\'ChrisLambert!\' post=\'185797\' date=\'May 10 2008, 07:25 PM\']
[quote name=\'DJDustman\' post=\'185792\' date=\'May 10 2008, 07:27 PM\']
I always thought the NBC applause was just the same audience members attending Burbank over and over and over and over....
[/quote]

Yeah! OWWW!
[/quote]
Well played.

Took me a long time before I realized there actually was an audience.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Johnissoevil on May 11, 2008, 12:25:29 AM
Here's another one I had as a child...

Back in 1982, I thought TJW was taped at the studios of both WCBS New York and WKBS Philadelphia (RIP).  This misconception continued into the Cullen run, now with me thinking it taped at WOR's studios.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: William_S. on May 11, 2008, 02:07:38 AM
[quote name=\'Johnissoevil\' post=\'185810\' date=\'May 11 2008, 12:25 AM\']
Here's another one I had as a child...

Back in 1982, I thought TJW was taped at the studios of both WCBS New York and WKBS Philadelphia (RIP).  This misconception continued into the Cullen run, now with me thinking it taped at WOR's studios.
[/quote]
That and  WPVI 6 in Philly. Back in the day. In the long ago, In the Before time !!
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: clemon79 on May 11, 2008, 03:22:13 AM
[quote name=\'Monarx\' post=\'185794\' date=\'May 10 2008, 04:30 PM\']
For a bit I believed the rumor that Alex Trebek was drunk on the last show of High Rollers... I kinda wish the legend wasn't proven false.[/quote]
Um, why?
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Scrabbleship on May 11, 2008, 08:24:42 AM
[quote name=\'SRIV94\' post=\'185798\' date=\'May 10 2008, 08:35 PM\']
[quote name=\'ChrisLambert!\' post=\'185797\' date=\'May 10 2008, 07:25 PM\']
[quote name=\'DJDustman\' post=\'185792\' date=\'May 10 2008, 07:27 PM\']
I always thought the NBC applause was just the same audience members attending Burbank over and over and over and over....
[/quote]

Yeah! OWWW!
[/quote]
Well played.

Took me a long time before I realized there actually was an audience.
[/quote]

The exact opposite of me. I thought every show had an audience.

This would be more of a generation gap issue from pre-Internet times, but I somehow thought that the (weekly) nighttime versions of 70's daytime games (Cullen Pyramid, MG PM, etc.) were strips. Luckily, old issues of TV Guide righted me before some of you guys would have!
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Veejay7 on May 11, 2008, 07:57:41 PM
When I was a wee young lad, I used to think TPIR had multiple turntables, and all the games were "at the ready" behind their own specific panel at all times!    Figured that out pretty quickly.

Old school-- also used to think the Concentration board was at least six feet tall.  It took a while to figure the rebus was only just over 3' by 4'

The miracle of television.. why can't things be as big and wonderous as they appear when you're 7?
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: aaron sica on May 12, 2008, 11:18:31 AM
[quote name=\'Veejay7\' post=\'185851\' date=\'May 11 2008, 07:57 PM\']
The miracle of television.. why can't things be as big and wonderous as they appear when you're 7?
[/quote]

Or 13......:) I was that age when my parents and I took a trip to Nashville and attended a taping of "Crook & Chase"...I was quite surprised to see how small the studio was in person.......Not nearly anywhere as big as it looked on TV...
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: pownster on May 12, 2008, 11:08:32 PM
When I watched "Wheel of Fortune" back in the early days here in Oz - when they still had the Shopping component - I used to think that the contestant had a choice of ALL the prizes on display.

And I could never understand why contestants were forced by the host to spend as much as their money on prizes as possible - I mean, wouldn't you just want to keep ALL THE CASH fof yourself to buy your own things?
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: ChuckNet on May 12, 2008, 11:45:22 PM
Quote
I used to think that contestants would win $35,000 grand total for making up the Pyramid twice in one show. Wasn't until I saw season one eps of "The New $25,000 Pyramid" on USA that I realized it was really $10,000 for the first trip and $15,000 for the second for a TOTAL of $25,000.

Apparently John Davidson wasn't cued in on this fact...on one ep, he told a contestant who won $10K in the first WC that doing the same in the 2nd one was worth a total of $35K, and on another ep, there was a champ who'd won $10K on the last show...she then won both WCs that day, and while wrapping up afterwards, John said she had a grand total of $45K.

Of course, there were a lot of other things about the game that John wasn't cued in on either, but I'll leave it @ that. :-)

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: ChuckNet on May 12, 2008, 11:49:41 PM
Quote
Or 13......:) I was that age when my parents and I took a trip to Nashville and attended a taping of "Crook & Chase"...I was quite surprised to see how small the studio was in person.......Not nearly anywhere as big as it looked on TV...

My first GS taping was WoF @ Radio City in 88...given the size of the stage, it accurately conveyed the depth of what the home audience saw, but that was a rare exception...I had the same shock upon seeing TPiR in July 97, not to mention it being apparent how much makeup Barker actually wore.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Jimmy Owen on May 14, 2008, 02:04:30 AM
On "The Price Is Right," the price doesn't always have to be right for a contestant to win, it just has to be closest.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: rigsby on May 14, 2008, 10:00:58 AM
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'185898\' date=\'May 12 2008, 10:49 PM\']not to mention it being apparent how much makeup Barker actually wore.[/quote]On a related note, back when I was much, much younger, I thought that was his actual hair color...
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: ITSBRY on May 16, 2008, 07:56:46 AM
We didn't get cable until around 85. After discovering game show reruns, I can recall being convinced that there was a law that said daytime shows (game shows and soap operas) could never be canceled, just replaced...and that cable was created  to "make room" for all the shows that were no longer on the networks. I specifically remember seeing Tic Tac Dough and Hot Potato reruns and thinking "oh wow, I thought this show wasn't on anymore...they've been making more episodes all this time?"

I think the logic behind this had something to do with knowing that there were federal laws that had something to do with game shows and the fact that TPIR and most daytime soap operas that were airing at the time had been on TV my entire life.

Just think about a world with endless episodes of Three's A Crowd! :)
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: SteveR on May 16, 2008, 10:20:38 AM
[quote name=\'pownster\' post=\'185893\' date=\'May 12 2008, 11:08 PM\']And I could never understand why contestants were forced by the host to spend as much as their money on prizes as possible - I mean, wouldn't you just want to keep ALL THE CASH fof yourself to buy your own things?[/quote]
They didn't HAVE to buy the ceramic dog.

While they couldn't turn it into cash, they did have the option of putting any or all of that round's winnings On Account and try to build up for one of the "big" prizes that were available on each show.

Only problem was, you had to win another puzzle in order to have access to your On Account money.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Ian Wallis on May 16, 2008, 11:07:33 AM
Quote
Only problem was, you had to win another puzzle in order to have access to your On Account money.

...and avoid Bankrupt.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Neumms on May 16, 2008, 11:13:18 AM
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'186142\' date=\'May 16 2008, 10:07 AM\']
Quote
Only problem was, you had to win another puzzle in order to have access to your On Account money.

...and avoid Bankrupt.
[/quote]

Wasn't the rule if you started buying, you had to keep buying until you had too little money left to buy any more?
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Ian Wallis on May 16, 2008, 11:24:36 AM
Quote
Wasn't the rule if you started buying, you had to keep buying until you had too little money left to buy any more?

Yes, but you could put the remaining money On Account at any time.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: clemon79 on May 16, 2008, 11:38:57 AM
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'186145\' date=\'May 16 2008, 08:24 AM\']
Yes, but you could put the remaining money On Account at any time.
[/quote]
Was it? That wasn't an all-or-nothing deal? I thought once you committed to spending, you had to spend down as far as you could, and then you could put the remainder On Account (or on a gift certificate.)
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: Ian Wallis on May 16, 2008, 12:13:03 PM
Quote
That wasn't an all-or-nothing deal? I thought once you committed to spending, you had to spend down as far as you could, and then you could put the remainder On Account (or on a gift certificate.)

I remember watching a couple of Woolery episodes where a contestant bought one prize, had a few hundred left and said "I'd like to put the rest On Account".  Chuck just reminded him that he had to win another round to claim it.

I also have an episode on tape from 1985 where a lady puts $107 on account.  I can go back and check, but I'm sure there was a $48 ceramic dalmation or something still available that the contestant didn't want to buy.  I think the lowest-value prize was always under $100.
Title: Misconceptions you have had about game shows
Post by: clemon79 on May 16, 2008, 12:59:18 PM
[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' post=\'186151\' date=\'May 16 2008, 09:13 AM\']
I think the lowest-value prize was always under $100.[/quote]
No. The dalmatian used to be the cheapie at $120 or so.