The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: itiparanoid13 on June 30, 2006, 03:43:18 PM
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Dylan Lane, host of FuseTV's "F-List" and GSN's "Chain Reaction" was in a car wreck today a few minutes before his 1:30PM ET arrival time at Sony Studios in New York. The next tapings are apparently in a few weeks too (I heard 3+), which means GSN gets a new host or they push the August 1st starting date back, since one episode is taped.
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How about that for bad luck...best wishes to him.
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As much as I fear this new Chain Reaction already, my heart goes out to Dylan Lane. I hope it's not serious and I hope he comes out okay. God bless Dylan Lane.
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Here's to hoping for a speedy recovery!
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You think it's possible that GSN might just get a new host so they can get tapings in the can by the premiere date?
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OK, I just got done talking to Embassy Row. He's doing well and it was nothing too bad. Let's hope for a speedy recovery for him. And I think that might be an idea (possibly the best idea if he doesn't improve), BJ. But for now, let's just hope he gets better soon and see how he ends up doing. It's hard to pass 100% judgement after seeing one episode. I just can't see this debuting on August 1st.
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[quote name=\'itiparanoid13\' post=\'122997\' date=\'Jul 1 2006, 08:10 AM\']
OK, I just got done talking to Embassy Row. He's doing well and it was nothing too bad. Let's hope for a speedy recovery for him. And I think that might be an idea (possibly the best idea if he doesn't improve), BJ. But for now, let's just hope he gets better soon and see how he ends up doing. It's hard to pass 100% judgement after seeing one episode. I just can't see this debuting on August 1st.
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Hey, Showoffs had their host die on them three and a half weeks before the premiere date with no shows in the can and still got to air on time. This is television; anything can happen.
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I'm not sure we can compare what they were able to do in 1975 with what happens today. Back in 75 they were able to crank out five half-hour shows in three hours. Nowadays it takes three hours to get just one half-hour taped.
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and I have to admit that puzzles the daylights out of me. Admittedly, the last shows I saw taped were in 1979 (other than QB, which is also pretty much straight roll), and it was a standard 5-straight-in-one-afternoon deal. What are some of the things (other than perhaps occasional prop set-ups) that make some of today's shows so long in the taping? I would think it would be a real momentum-killer and crew aggrivator. Is it just early growing pains which eventually will work themselves out and lead to faster shootings, or what? I'd appreciate the insights from people closer to the business today. I have a couple of thoughts, but I'll hold off until I get yours. Thanks.
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[quote name=\'The Ol' Guy\' post=\'123036\' date=\'Jul 1 2006, 05:57 PM\']
and I have to admit that puzzles the daylights out of me. Admittedly, the last shows I saw taped were in 1979 (other than QB, which is also pretty much straight roll), and it was a standard 5-straight-in-one-afternoon deal. What are some of the things (other than perhaps occasional prop set-ups) that make some of today's shows so long in the taping?[/quote]
I'm hardly an insider, but didn't most shows in the 70s and 80s shoot live-to-tape? Would that have *anything* to do with it, the fact that most games feel like they must be "perfect", in that any spontaneous action (and potential bloopers) are re-shot?
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'123038\' date=\'Jul 1 2006, 06:08 PM\']I'm hardly an insider, but didn't most shows in the 70s and 80s shoot live-to-tape? Would that have *anything* to do with it, the fact that most games feel like they must be "perfect", in that any spontaneous action (and potential bloopers) are re-shot?[/quote]
I'm no insider either, but that appears to be it exactly. Which, of course, makes very little sense at all. Game shows don't need to look perfect, they need to look like they're happening in the moment. Only the most naive viewer would think that they're live anymore, but they should LOOK live.
I guess I can understand why the big prime-time spectacles want to look all slick and polished, but when you take these little cable originals and squeeze all the spontaneity out of them by overshooting and overediting, you're making a less interesting show and you're wasting time and money in the process.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jul 1 2006, 04:00 PM\']I guess I can understand why the big prime-time spectacles want to look all slick and polished, but when you take these little cable originals and squeeze all the spontaneity out of them by overshooting and overediting, you're making a less interesting show and you're wasting time and money in the process.[/quote]
Have I ever mentioned here about the Get Schooled Tour ToC two years ago?
It was just a bunch of interstitials in the midst of a Lingo marathon, each round being a race to two correct answers. Taping was supposed to start at 6:30 p.m., but they didn't have everything ready yet, so we ended up starting around 8. And Oh. My. FSM. did they tinker that thing to death. Whenever a winner was declared for a round and the other person would go sit down, they would do at least two or three takes. By the time the final round rolled around it was... Well let's just say when we left the building, the next morning's LA Times was sitting on their doorstep.
Can anyone tell me what could *possibly* possess the powers that be to put everyone through that?
P.S. As a semi-frequent audience member, I can say that most of the stalwarts (J!, Wheel, TPIR) go through fairly close to real-time, unless something breaks down or a ruling is needed, while Pyramid could best be likened to molasses. In February. In the Arctic. Left outside.
Take from that what you will. ;)
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It all depends on the show.
Wheel, Jep, Feud : A weeks worth in one day.
My ep of Weakest Link : 4.5 Hours.
Chain Reax should be done A LOT quicker than 3 hours. Short of a massive computer meltdown, there should be no excuse for this. Everything else : finding contestants with the right amount of pep ; host with least amount of mumbling ; audience with energy...should be taken care of before you press record.
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[quote name=\'Steve McClellan\' post=\'123044\' date=\'Jul 1 2006, 07:17 PM\']
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jul 1 2006, 04:00 PM\']I guess I can understand why the big prime-time spectacles want to look all slick and polished, but when you take these little cable originals and squeeze all the spontaneity out of them by overshooting and overediting, you're making a less interesting show and you're wasting time and money in the process.[/quote]
Have I ever mentioned here about the Get Schooled Tour ToC two years ago?[/quote]
MUST you remind some of us about how you did in Get Schooled? :-P
(I lost a nail-biter to Steve in a 2nd round match-up at the Pittsburgh Get Schooled event in 2003. At least Steve made us all proud by winning the ten large.)
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[quote name=\'Steve McClellan\' post=\'123044\' date=\'Jul 1 2006, 04:17 PM\']
As a semi-frequent audience member, I can say that most of the stalwarts (J!, Wheel, TPIR) go through fairly close to real-time, unless something breaks down or a ruling is needed, while Pyramid could best be likened to molasses. In February. In the Arctic. Left outside.
Take from that what you will. ;)
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You mean they didn't save time by taping all of the front games one after the other and all the Winner Circles all together too? I'm shocked. Donnymid was one of the worst game show tapings I have ever been to. Between audience members practically shouting out answers (they were high schoolers), to a warm-up guy who was not funny and l-a-m-e (wasn't Randy) and gameplay that was just terrible (discussed before), it damn near turned me off games for awhile.
Thinking about Showoffs in a previous thread; in '75 that game was tested, and retested and tested again. You knew everything in that studio was going to work. You knew every element of the game was going to work, because slighly talented producerlings weren't in charge. Maybe I'm stating the obvious here, but the actual performing (and thus recording) of the show was factored into the overall focus of the show. That's why they were able to do 5 shows a day. Today, it seems like the set is totally an afterthought because "we need a place to play the game". If 'Price' was a new show that started today, you think they would get it done in an hour? No, because there would be lots of stopdowns to move gee-whiz set pieces and monitors and fix one of the many varilites that would be on-set.
Josh
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'123038\' date=\'Jul 1 2006, 05:08 PM\']
I'm hardly an insider, but didn't most shows in the 70s and 80s shoot live-to-tape? Would that have *anything* to do with it, the fact that most games feel like they must be "perfect", in that any spontaneous action (and potential bloopers) are re-shot?
[/quote]
For better or worse, this probably started with Millionaire. I went to one of the summer of '99 tapings (Tuesday episode of week two, I believe), and it took at least an hour and a half to tape a half-hour episode. There were some issues because everybody was new at it, but mostly because the podium kept having to be wheeled on and off stage for the Fastest Finger question, so that Regis had a clear view of the prompter when he read the question.
He wasn't particularly happy about this (remember, he'd done nothing but live shows for the past ten years or more), and was obviously fuming about how long this was taking (and making comments to Gelman, who was also in the audience). I happened to be sitting right next to the prompter (his left), and deliberately avoided looking up at him while he read, to make sure he wouldn't goof it up and further delay the thing.
Honestly, I don't think anything else took that long to tape, short of mechanical glitches, until then.
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Maybe that's why I have some trouble with some of the newer shows. I've already lowered my expectations concerning brilliant celebrities and well-thought out formats, but you're right about one thing..a lot of the fun and danger of "anything can happen" tv has gone. In search of perfection (like Deal Or No Deal), too many shows are patch jobs with no authentic flow and reaction. It wasn't surprising to read a while back about someone grousing about Three Wishes visiting their town. When some of the key prizes/surprizes were unveiled, the producers asked for several re-takes until the citizens gave the level of excited reaction they were looking for. When tv games start feeling more like they're being played for fun at a terrific party with a couple of buzzed guests instead of coming out as perfectly packaged as Shindler's List...leaving the audience about as excited...they'll be more fun to watch. Hosting talent that's too raw and time prepping celebs also crossed the mind, but dammit, game shows are not competing with Crash for Oscars. If production is more important than entertainment...... ahh, I'm turning into a cranky old man (What is this with ranting lately? Must be contageous). I could be wrong about this, but one thing that saddens me is taking from the old People magazine article (and other stray talk) on Mark Goodson that he spent a lot of time in analysis feeling afraid of losing his touch and - more important - that his achievements weren't worthy of his incredible fortune...it makes you wonder how much of that came from so many snobs in the business belittling game shows in comparison to high-concept scripted drama? I wonder how often I've Got A Secret beat Studio One in the ratings? Make the show fun and entertaining with a sense of real-time excitement first, then elevate the production to the point where it doesn't overshadow the fun.
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'123047\' date=\'Jul 1 2006, 08:05 PM\']
It all depends on the show.
Wheel, Jep, Feud : A weeks worth in one day.
My ep of Weakest Link : 4.5 Hours.
Chain Reax should be done A LOT quicker than 3 hours. Short of a massive computer meltdown, there should be no excuse for this. Everything else : finding contestants with the right amount of pep ; host with least amount of mumbling ; audience with energy...should be taken care of before you press record.
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You basically hit the nail on the head. I can tell you what the issue was. The computer broke constantly. They didn't write enough bonus round words (Only 13, which was kind of dumb if you ask me). The male team of contestants talked over the host constantly. They had to redo simple cues constantly. We redid the opening at least 4 times. The most redos, about 6 or 7, was for Dylan saying "Congratulations ______ (for spoiler sake), you solved that chain. You get to play the first speedchain". The winning team didn't quite understand the mechanics of the bonus game as they messed up a lot. Tons of parts had to be refilmed.
The audience was also an issue. I was around a great group of TV workers and people who have been to many TV tapings. We understand how you're suppose to act. It took effort to get the rest of the audience to applaud or moan. When the stage manager has to tell the audience to moan if a team doesn't win the bonus round, that's a bad sign. I appreciate their efforts for perfection, but there needs to be a certain level of spontaneity.
I don't know if I mentioned this in the original post either, but on this version of the show, they WILL give you the last letter. I never saw the old version, but I believe that they wouldn't give it to you. Also, I figured that with Davies, the bonus round buzzer would have had some giant neon light pulsating through the center of the podium when you ring it. It's a simple bell you'd find on a hotel lobby desk. Just amazed me. Latest word is that Dylan is doing fine, so let's see how he does. I'm sure he would improve with time, but I'd rather see one of GSN's old hosts like Kennedy, Walberg, or Newton; someone with more experience; take this.
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By the way, someone who's been to more tapings, can you explain this to me?
On Thursday, the audience was mostly terrible, so they let a paid audience in on Friday. Sadly, the paid audience of actors got in first and the people who actually went out of their way to get tickets were stuck outside. I got in for other reasons, but that's beside the point. Do they usually let the paid actors in before the people who requested tickets? Based on Thursday, I sort of understand why they did it, but it still pissed me off a bit.
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[quote name=\'itiparanoid13\' post=\'123084\' date=\'Jul 2 2006, 07:15 AM\']
On Thursday, the audience was mostly terrible, so they let a paid audience in on Friday. Sadly, the paid audience of actors got in first and the people who actually went out of their way to get tickets were stuck outside.[/quote]
So that's why they were not let in? A friend of mine went and was quite angry when he was turned away. Maybe they should use a disclaimer when getting ticket online that they may or may not get in?
I don't know who is to blame for this: GSN, Embassy row, or TVtix.
Do they usually let the paid actors in before the people who requested tickets?
When I went to the rehearsal of Deal or no Deal (when it taped at CBS), since it wasn't an actual show, it seemed to be people who got their tickets online for free. For the actual tapings at CBS, they let the paid members in first, then people who received their tickets online (and even that seemed varied since people where getting them from different places) Sunset Gower also had a paid audience, but it seemed to be a mixture of free ticket holders as well. (I'm not sure of the audience loading procedure as I arrived during the middle of a taping.) It would make sense that the paid members take priority because the producers know they will provide the desired reaction.
While not totally applicable, I do recall a year or two ago, Price was shorthanded a few seats (I want to say at least 30). So they brought paid audience members in. But of course, that was after regular audience members were let in.
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[quote name=\'itiparanoid13\' post=\'123083\' date=\'Jul 2 2006, 07:04 AM\']I don't know if I mentioned this in the original post either, but on this version of the show, they WILL give you the last letter. I never saw the old version, but I believe that they wouldn't give it to you.[/quote]
Non-straddling game + caliber of contestants = yeah, they're gonna have to do that.
"Is it TAB? TAD? TAG? TAR? TAM?"
(You'll note I gave them some credit by using actual English words.)
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[quote name=\'itiparanoid13\' post=\'123083\' date=\'Jul 2 2006, 07:04 AM\']
They didn't write enough bonus round words (Only 13, which was kind of dumb if you ask me). [/quote]
Must...Avoid...Ranting...
I'm just finding it harder and harder to believe that Davies is responsible for this baby.
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I don't know if I mentioned this in the original post either, but on this version of the show, they WILL give you the last letter.
Oy. They didn't even do that on the cheap USA version.
--Jamie
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[quote name=\'itiparanoid13\' post=\'123084\' date=\'Jul 2 2006, 04:15 AM\']
Do they usually let the paid actors in before the people who requested tickets?[/quote]
The only shows I've been to that used paid audiences were Pyramid and H2, and in both cases, ticket holders were let in first, so they could send some of the paid people home and save a bit of coin.
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...ticket holders were let in first, so they could send some of the paid people home and save a bit of coin.
If it makes sense, it's not allowed.
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[quote name=\'Steve McClellan\' post=\'123137\' date=\'Jul 2 2006, 03:46 PM\']
[quote name=\'itiparanoid13\' post=\'123084\' date=\'Jul 2 2006, 04:15 AM\']
Do they usually let the paid actors in before the people who requested tickets?[/quote]
The only shows I've been to that used paid audiences were Pyramid and H2, and in both cases, ticket holders were let in first, so they could send some of the paid people home and save a bit of coin.
[/quote]
"Win Ben Stein's Money was taped in front of a live paid studio audience" as well. I got to see the show from someone giving away free tickets in front of Graumans Chinese Theater. Despite having to leave that area immediately to be able to make the taping at Hollywood Center Studios on time, I didn't see too many other 'tourists' there. It was at least a 90% paid audience.
Surprising since WBSM had a few seasons under it's belt, you'd think it would draw a helluva lot more people from the general public by then.
And yes, there is a big difference between sitting in an audience full of tourists or people coming on their own free will vs. an audience full of SAG members (TPIR audiences *not* included). Kinda like the difference between crowds for a Cubs game at Wrigley vs. crowds at a Wimbledon match.
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The Meredith "WWTBAM" taping I attended a couple of years ago got in two shows in about two hours. The only really noticeable dead time was when the AOL connection went down for Ask-the-Audience--the ATA cue kept playing for two minutes or so, Meredith joked about catchy the music was and they put up a "looks like we lost our connection" message on her prompter--until lo and behold, the stats came in!
It seems to me that "WWTBAM" can get in four shows in a day with ease, but I guess that's because they've been doing it for a while. There also wasn't any attempt to really smooth things out, but that could be because they're a syndicated show. Which is why all of the futzing over a cable show is hard to understand.
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Getting paid to attend TV shows?
Where do I sign up?
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[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'123820\' date=\'Jul 10 2006, 05:25 PM\']
Getting paid to attend TV shows?
Where do I sign up?
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Let me guess. You get paid $10 and a cookie?
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Actually, if somebody offered me $50 to sit in the audience for "Wait 'Til You Have Kids!!' again, I'd probably turn it down.