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The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Vahan_Nisanian on July 20, 2014, 09:09:27 PM

Title: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: Vahan_Nisanian on July 20, 2014, 09:09:27 PM
Here is the production slate for an episode from the 7th week; recorded on August 20, 1968. Anyone here know what #0076-0073 means?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Rrn6979s0
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: Matt Ottinger on July 20, 2014, 10:32:01 PM
Let's make some guesses.

It doesn't take a very close look at the slate to see that the 0076 number is unaltered, and the "7" and "3" seem to be the ones that change.  If you say this is from the seventh week, then a logical idea would be that the "7" represents the tape week and the "3" would mean the Wednesday show.

Of course that doesn't explain why the 0076 number is there at all.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: snowpeck on July 20, 2014, 11:45:44 PM
Of course that doesn't explain why the 0076 number is there at all.
Some sort of in-house number at CBS to identify the series is the only thing I can think of.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: Vahan_Nisanian on July 20, 2014, 11:57:43 PM
What's a network in-house number?
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: thomas_meighan on July 21, 2014, 12:02:32 AM
We'd probably need to see other WML? slates to be able to deduce the significance of 0076. The only other G-T slate I've seen from 1968 is for an episode of To Tell the Truth, #1545 with no further digits (starts at 2:12).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHD996onpJc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHD996onpJc)

Production on the syndicated series began July 9, 1968 and August 20 does indeed look to be the 7th taping session:
http://markgoodson.wikia.com/wiki/What's_My_Line%3F_(1968)/Episode_Guide (http://markgoodson.wikia.com/wiki/What's_My_Line%3F_(1968)/Episode_Guide)

Not related to the episode numbering scheme, but looking closely at the blue area behind the panel and host/contestant desk, I see that it's "textured" and doesn't *seem* to be just backlighting. Makes me wonder if they reused it from the CBS series.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: BrandonFG on July 21, 2014, 12:30:24 AM
What's a network in-house number?
Sounds like CBS (or the other networks) may have had their own system for numbering episodes.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: snowpeck on July 21, 2014, 01:13:49 AM
We'd probably need to see other WML? slates to be able to deduce the significance of 0076.
I have another episode on tape somewhere with a slate that's numbered 0076-1025. I don't know how much help that is though.
(http://i.imgur.com/YTdv1If.png)
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: NickintheATL on July 21, 2014, 01:19:23 AM
We'd probably need to see other WML? slates to be able to deduce the significance of 0076.
I have another episode on tape somewhere with a slate that's numbered 0076-1025. I don't know how much help that is though.
The 0076 is probably a production number that is used to keep track of stuff on the entire, overall production. The episode numbers are just like the numbering system they would use on daytime Price is Right, with the three digit week counter and the 1-5 number on the end.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: Vahan_Nisanian on July 21, 2014, 12:30:46 PM
On the subject of the original WML:

Given that the 1959-1967 episodes were recorded on Two Inch Videotape (Color Two Inch Videotape was what the show used from 1966-1967), it would be interesting if any production slates exist on the surviving kinescopes of those particular episodes.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: Steve Gavazzi on July 21, 2014, 01:46:18 PM
I'm probably going to regret asking this, but how does the recording medium make the slates for the 1959-1967 episodes any more or less interesting than the ones for the 1950-1958 episodes?
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: snowpeck on July 21, 2014, 02:03:07 PM
On the subject of the original WML:

Given that the 1959-1967 episodes were recorded on Two Inch Videotape (Color Two Inch Videotape was what the show used from 1966-1967), it would be interesting if any production slates exist on the surviving kinescopes of those particular episodes.
Slates in the traditional sense would not exist on kinescopes as they were typically recordings of the live network feed. And I don't know that the live shows were recorded on tape in the first place, let alone that the ones that were, were later wiped. West coast operations may have recorded the live feed to replay later that night, but like the kinescopes, that would have been a recording of the live network feed and probably wouldn't include a slate.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: JasonA1 on July 21, 2014, 03:38:05 PM
And any time I've seen a Daly What's My Line "master" (i.e. the unedited kinescope) it was always labeled/slated by its date of live transmission. Same for any of those shows of the era. (What's Going On, IGAS, etc.)

-Jason
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: jjman920 on July 21, 2014, 09:49:01 PM
I'm probably going to regret asking this, but how does the recording medium make the slates for the 1959-1967 episodes any more or less interesting than the ones for the 1950-1958 episodes?
My guess is that there were no slates on episodes from 1950-58 and if there were we would never ever see them as the episodes from 1950-58 were all broadcast live and only recorded on kinescope from broadcast.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: Vahan_Nisanian on July 21, 2014, 10:00:11 PM
1959 was when the show began doing pre-taped episodes, while continuing to do live episodes.

After doing two pre-taped episodes in July of that year, host John Daly returned from vacation, and brought up something about how the invention of videotape has helped him never miss hosting an episode of the show again.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: jimmo on August 25, 2014, 03:28:16 PM
And any time I've seen a Daly What's My Line "master" (i.e. the unedited kinescope) it was always labeled/slated by its date of live transmission. Same for any of those shows of the era. (What's Going On, IGAS, etc.)

-Jason

How would one even see a game show episode with a production slate, except perhaps at an academic institution such as the Paley Center or UCLA Radio & TV Library?

I thought all episodes of game shows in circulation are simply ones recoded off-air from GSN. Where may one obtain game show episodes with production slates included?

Thank you.

Jim
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: The Pyramids on August 25, 2014, 08:34:08 PM
I think 'The Best of Match Game' dvd that came out I'm '06 had slates.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: JakeT on August 25, 2014, 09:16:43 PM

How would one even see a game show episode with a production slate, except perhaps at an academic institution such as the Paley Center or UCLA Radio & TV Library?

I thought all episodes of game shows in circulation are simply ones recoded off-air from GSN. Where may one obtain game show episodes with production slates included?


Oh, on the contrary...so much of what is in circulation came from different collectors' private stashes, many who never had access to GSN...much was stuff that was recorded originally off-air while there were the gems that were copies made from studio originals, often including the production slates...

JakeT
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: Ian Wallis on August 29, 2014, 04:19:11 PM
Those of us with C-band satellite dishes were able to record "wild feeds" back in the '90s.  Most of those had slates.
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: Tim L on August 30, 2014, 08:11:01 AM

People that work at TV stations have copies of shows that were never returned to the production company after they were shown.  Others have connections within the TV industry that saved things..Other copies  get rescued from "dumpsters".  These copies, mostly on film and videotape, get sold on places like ebay or are traded among collectors..And what Ian Wallis said above..
Title: Re: Syndicated era What's My Line question
Post by: tvrandywest on September 01, 2014, 02:08:28 PM
Howdy all, and thanks to the member who e-mailed me about this mystery.

The last 4 digits are an expression of Goodson-Todman's long-used numbering system that is common to their shows and is really quite simple. In the example posted from November of 1970, "1025" indicates that this is the Friday show ("5") for week #102 for this version of WML. This is borne out by the fact that the show from the summer of 1968, when the show was yet to debut, logically is the Wednesday show from week #7. This numbering system is still used to this day on TPiR.

Tapes of syndicated shows were bicycled from station to station in those days. It took months for an episode to make the rounds to all the stations that individual copy was earmarked to be sent to. As such airdates, the usual way to identify an episode, could not be used.

The fact that the prefix "0076" is common to both episodes taped two years apart suggests that it is simply a production number - a number assigned to all episodes of this incarnation of WML. The "0076" is not used in the logging of the shows' panelists and contestants in GT's surviving paperwork from the show. I suggest it was used for simplicity When a station referred to a specific tape it need only use the 8 digits; no show name was necessary. So when a call came in that episode #xxxx-xxxx was damagaed beyond the ability to be aired or the show had some content being referenced, no show name was needed. It was simpler for a company that had dozens of tapes being mailed all around the world (WML, TTTT, IGAS, etc.)

My time on the set as a contestant and as a guest of Johnny O was around the summer of 1971. I can provide these reference points if it helps anyone:
Week #137 taped on 8/12/71
Week #139 taped on 8/26/71
Week #140 taped on 9/2/71
Week #141 taped on 9/9/71
Week #142 taped on 9/16/71

Thanks for the shout out!