The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: tomobrien on April 02, 2007, 11:33:51 PM
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Just a reminder that Jack Narz is the special guest on "Stu's Show" this Wednesday, April 4 at 4:00 p.m. Pacific/7:00 p.m. Eastern. It's not as if he needs any introduction, but this is a man whose career goes back to the early days of TV...through the quiz show scandals and all the way up to "Beat the Clock," "Concentration" and "Now You See It." As always, you'll have the chance to phone in and ask Jack questions, and to answer trivia questions as well for free DVDs and tapes. It's at www.shokusradio.com this Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. Pacific.
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I know you guys have seem Tom and me pimping Stu's operation a lot in the last few weeks, but I want to tell you that tonight is different. I've been told that Narz feels somewhat forgotten for his place in TV history, and if that's the case, I think we have a duty to prove him wrong.
PLEASE make a point of tuning in tonight. If our membership turns out in numbers that I know we have, we could shatter Stu's listener records. You can spend some time hearing game show stories, you can call and ask questions about Concentration, Now You See It, Seven Keys and any number of other shows, you can even win some Shokus stuff. MOST importantly, you can help an old man realize that his life meant something to an awful lot of people, and I can't imagine anything better than that.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'149458\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 01:10 PM\']
MOST importantly, you can help an old man realize that his life meant something to an awful lot of people, and I can't imagine anything better than that.
[/quote]
Sadly, I'm here at work when the show is on, but damn, if I could find a way to do it, I totally would, especially for a guy like Jack Narz.
For me, this is a guy who is Up There on the favorite hosts list, and I don't think I realized that until just now. If I'd submitted a host's poll list, I'm thinking he'd be in my top 10 easy, maybe my top 5. (Clark, Cullen, Kennedy (Jack's brother, not the tedious former MTV employee, before someone decides to be a smartass)....yeah. He makes it easily.)
So if nothing else, I'm bummed that the show is on so freakin' early, and that I share an office. :P
So, yeah, let me echo Matt's sentiments. This is a guy whose hand I would love to shake at a GSC sometime, and I suspect I won't be getting that opportunity anytime soon, and this is a chance for a bunch of geeks to make a real difference for someone.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'149458\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 04:10 PM\']
I know you guys have seem Tom and me pimping Stu's operation a lot in the last few weeks, but I want to tell you that tonight is different. I've been told that Narz feels somewhat forgotten for his place in TV history, and if that's the case, I think we have a duty to prove him wrong.
[/quote]
Unfortunately, this doesn't surprise me...which is really sad. He was one of the pioneers of the genre. And unfortunately, "pioneer" in the game show genre means jack squat nowadays, since his name isn't Barker, Trebek, Sajak, or even Cullen (to an extent). He is one of the greatest hosts to ever grace the screen.
I won't be able to call in, but I definitely will attempt to listen in on this one.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'149460\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 04:48 PM\']
This is a guy whose hand I would love to shake at a GSC sometime[/quote]
Thanks to Steve Beverly (a phrase you don't hear too often around here), Narz and his brother are pretty much regulars at the event. Though I doubt he remembers, I've had the chance to speak to him privately on more than one occasion. A very sweet man, though far from being as sharp as he once was. Tom, on the other hand, looks like he could take over TPIR tomorrow.
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My single favorite Jack Narz moment was when he took over as host for most of that one Password Plus episode. Did he look like he'd been hosting it for years? No. What he looked like was someone who had made it a point to know the rules backwards and forwards before stepping behind that podium, if only as a lark for 10 minutes or so.
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Tom, on the other hand, looks like he could take over TPIR tomorrow.
Yeah, remember that Game Show Legends Week on "Today?" That rendition of "Name That Tune" was something else and then some thanks to Tom. In that week of H2 he did and other recent material, he had a slow moment here and there, but was still Tom through and through.
-Jason
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[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'149462\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 04:55 PM\']
Unfortunately, this doesn't surprise me...which is really sad. He was one of the pioneers of the genre. And unfortunately, "pioneer" in the game show genre means jack squat nowadays, since his name isn't Barker, Trebek, Sajak, or even Cullen (to an extent). He is one of the greatest hosts to ever grace the screen.
I won't be able to call in, but I definitely will attempt to listen in on this one.
[/quote]
As one of the threads a few weeks ago touched on, Jack is one of those emcees who was one heck of a personality, but got stuck with shows that were either short-lived (NYSI) or not-so-memorable syndicated shows that were overshadowed by their more familiar versions (Concentration, BtC,...). Not to mention, when was the last time GSN regularly aired a Jack Narz game show?
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[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'149470\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 04:21 PM\']
or not-so-memorable syndicated shows that were overshadowed by their more familiar versions (Concentration,
[/quote]
I could not disagree more here. If you grew up when I did and watched TV, Concentration was Jack Narz.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'149472\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 07:28 PM\']
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'149470\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 04:21 PM\']
or not-so-memorable syndicated shows that were overshadowed by their more familiar versions (Concentration,
[/quote]
I could not disagree more here. If you grew up when I did and watched TV, Concentration was Jack Narz.
[/quote]
I'm with you there. It seems to me that I saw the NBC Concentration a couple of times toward the end of its run, but I have no clear recollection of it, whereas Mr. Narz's version--now, THAT's Classic Concentration, as far as I'm concerned!
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[quote name=\'Clay Zambo\' post=\'149475\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 08:00 PM\'][quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'149472\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 07:28 PM\'][quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'149470\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 04:21 PM\']or not-so-memorable syndicated shows that were overshadowed by their more familiar versions (Concentration,[/quote]
I could not disagree more here. If you grew up when I did and watched TV, Concentration was Jack Narz.[/quote]I'm with you there. It seems to me that I saw the NBC Concentration a couple of times toward the end of its run, but I have no clear recollection of it, whereas Mr. Narz's version--now, THAT's Classic Concentration, as far as I'm concerned![/quote]
This is really interesting. It's one of my all-time favorite shows, and to me, Concentration is Downs and Clayton. The Knoxville market never picked up the Narz version, so as far as I was concerned, it didn't exist. Even then, I was TV savvy enough to know it was out there, but in my mind it was a minor incarnation.
I've always known that there is a generation among our membership that only knows Trebek's version, but it surprises me that there's a window where people think of Narz first.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'149478\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 05:25 PM\']
I've always known that there is a generation among our membership that only knows Trebek's version, but it surprises me that there's a window where people think of Narz first.
[/quote]
Totally. I was born in 1971, so I have no memory whatsoever of the NBC daytime version, but Jack's was one of the very first game shows I remember watching. That and Dealer's Choice.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'149478\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 07:25 PM\']
This is really interesting. It's one of my all-time favorite shows, and to me, Concentration is Downs and Clayton. The Knoxville market never picked up the Narz version, so as far as I was concerned, it didn't exist. Even then, I was TV savvy enough to know it was out there, but in my mind it was a minor incarnation.
[/quote]
In the same boat--I don't believe Chicago ever picked Narz's CONCENTRATION up either (the few times I watched it I was visiting relatives in New York). I knew Narz mainly for NYSI (but with grade school commitments I probably only saw NYSI a handful more times than I did Narz's CONCENTRATION).
Sorry I couldn't get in to the show either--I'm in transit when it's on.
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I think it's safe to say that not many people outside of this board will appreciate the following statement:
What a cool thing it was to talk to Jack Narz!
(and for me, Concentration will ALWAYS be Jack Narz, not Hugh, not Alex. Jack.)
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This is just a fantastic little interview. I hope Stu brings him back for another week. :)
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'149481\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 05:48 PM\']
I think it's safe to say that not many people outside of this board will appreciate the following statement:
What a cool thing it was to talk to Jack Narz!
[/quote]
Praise Gawd, someone offset Jamey Greek.
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Definitely a great interview.
I made the same mistake Stu did, though -- I mistook Connecti-Matt for Michi-Matt. But what's the difference, anyway? ;-)
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[quote name=\'dzinkin\' post=\'149484\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 09:01 PM\']
I made the same mistake Stu did, though -- I mistook Connecti-Matt for Michi-Matt.[/quote]
You're not alone. I lost the wager I had with my wife. I bet her that Matt O. would be among the first three calls (C-Matt was 2nd) and Bev estimated he'd be on closer to the end. I think it was 8:37 Eastern time when M-Matt made it through.
By the way, Jack wasn't the only one with tears in his eyes during that show. Bev offered me a Kleenex twice.
That show flew by! Shokus Radio is an around-the-clock treasure trove.
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'149481\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 08:48 PM\']
I think it's safe to say that not many people outside of this board will appreciate the following statement:
What a cool thing it was to talk to Jack Narz!
(and for me, Concentration will ALWAYS be Jack Narz, not Hugh, not Alex. Jack.)
[/quote]
IIRC, the Cleveland market only aired Concentration maybe only once or twice a week, and even then it was not much more than one season.
Gotta remember that in the mid 70's, there was a plethora of great syndicated game shows, and (if you were lucky) only 4 or 5 channels to cram them all into. I think most TV markets at the time denied their viewing audience at least one strong show. In Cleveland, it was Concentration.
Listening to Jack Narz tonight was fun, and I think (by Stu's color commentary) he was touched by all of us game show fans who were listening and calling in. I had wanted to call in and ask a few questions but wasn't able to .However, way back in 1999 at GSC9, we spent close to an hour talking with him on the phone in what could have been the first homage-paying event to him, so I can say I have had the pleasure to have spoken to him as well.
Now I need to pony up the money for a weekend in Beautiful Downtown Burbank in 3 months!! ;-)
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'149485\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 09:09 PM\']I lost the wager I had with my wife. I bet her that Matt O. would be among the first three calls (C-Matt was 2nd) and Bev estimated he'd be on closer to the end. I think it was 8:37 Eastern time when M-Matt made it through.[/quote]
There was over/under action on my phone call? Excellent!
Here's a couple sentences I never though I'd write together:
We made Jack Narz cry. We should be proud.
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Could someone maybe offer up a quick recap for those of us who weren't able to listen live and might not have time to listen to a rebroadcast or podcast or whatever?
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I just got off the phone with Stu, who's just come back from taking Jack home after the show. Jack is on Cloud Nine right now! He truly thought no one would remember him, so he was absolutely blown away by the calls that came in. He had a blast doing the show and, as you may have heard, even got a little choked up at times. (For those who sent e-mail comments, Stu's going to pass them on to Jack.)
Thanks to all of you who called in and listened...you really made Jack feel good, and made him feel that he's not forgotten.
(If you didn't catch the show today, it'll be rerun daily through next Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific, with the exception of Sunday, when it's on at 1 p.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Pacific.)
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Apropos of nothing, really, but:
Can anyone here get to the front page of shokus.com via Firefox and NOT have their browser crash on them? It crashes on me as soon as I try to scroll the page, but it works in IE, so I'm wondering if it's the page code that's funky or if it has something to do with Windows Vista.
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I've got this huge grin on my face now. It's such a nice feeling when you can make someone happy, especially a legend that is Jack Narz.
Even I got a little emotional listening to all the support everyone gave to Mr. Narz! Really blew my expectations away!
Great show!
EDIT: With you permission, Matt. I'd love to use your "We made Jack Narz cry. We should be proud." line as my signature!
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'149495\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 11:07 PM\']
Apropos of nothing, really, but:
Can anyone here get to the front page of shokus.com via Firefox and NOT have their browser crash on them?
[/quote]
I went to Shokus via Firefox and it worked fine for me, but I'm still using Windows XP.
Regarding your previous question: It was pretty much Stu attempting to tell us all about Jack Narz's biography, from his days as a boy being fascinated by the radio to Now You See It. I say "attempting" because the show was frequently interrupted by listener phone calls giving praise and questions to Narz!
It was really great and I hope you get a chance to listen to it very soon. :-)
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It's times like this when I wish I was older than 22, dammit.
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[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'149500\' date=\'Apr 5 2007, 01:07 AM\']
It's times like this when I wish I was older than 22, dammit.
[/quote]
You and me both, sir.
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[quote name=\'JRaygor\' post=\'149498\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 09:38 PM\']
I went to Shokus via Firefox and it worked fine for me, but I'm still using Windows XP.
[/quote]
'Kay. I suspect it may be Vista-related. I may try clearing cache in the morning and see if that helps at all.
Thanks!
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[quote name=\'dzinkin\' post=\'149484\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 09:01 PM\']
I made the same mistake Stu did, though -- I mistook Connecti-Matt for Michi-Matt. But what's the difference, anyway? ;-)
[/quote]
Let's start at the top and work down.
1. Full head of hair. Wonderful, lustrious, smooth as silk hair.
:)
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I've always known that there is a generation among our membership that only knows Trebek's version, but it surprises me that there's a window where people think of Narz first.
Add me to the list of people who think of Concentration as Narz's first. Although I was born in the '60s, I don't believe I ever saw the NBC version growing up...looking back, I can't figure out why. Anyway, I remember watching Narz's version almost from the beginning and thought it was a great version (too bad there's only one full episode floating around; I'd like to see more!) To me, Trebek's version just wasn't the same.
Although I was unable to listen to the show, I had the pleasure of meeting Jack at the GSC last year. He seemed like a very nice man, and even told me he has a grandson named Ian! Certainly one of the good memories I took away from last year's trip.
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'149504\' date=\'Apr 5 2007, 07:21 AM\']
Let's start at the top and work down.
1. Full head of hair. Wonderful, lustrious, smooth as silk hair.[/quote]
2. Meaner.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'149503\' date=\'Apr 5 2007, 02:44 AM\'][quote name=\'JRaygor\' post=\'149498\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 09:38 PM\']I went to Shokus via Firefox and it worked fine for me, but I'm still using Windows XP.[/quote]'Kay. I suspect it may be Vista-related. I may try clearing cache in the morning and see if that helps at all.[/quote]
Same with me. Firefox and XP, never had a problem.
You early adapters let the rest of us know when Vista's really ready, OK?
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'149509\' date=\'Apr 5 2007, 10:10 AM\']
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'149503\' date=\'Apr 5 2007, 02:44 AM\'][quote name=\'JRaygor\' post=\'149498\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 09:38 PM\']I went to Shokus via Firefox and it worked fine for me, but I'm still using Windows XP.[/quote]'Kay. I suspect it may be Vista-related. I may try clearing cache in the morning and see if that helps at all.[/quote]
Same with me. Firefox and XP, never had a problem.
[/quote]
For what it's worth, no problems with Firefox on Mac OS X either.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'149508\' date=\'Apr 5 2007, 10:08 AM\']
[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'149504\' date=\'Apr 5 2007, 07:21 AM\']
Let's start at the top and work down.
1. Full head of hair. Wonderful, lustrious, smooth as silk hair.[/quote]
2. Meaner.
[/quote]
Yes, but FWIW, without hair, you're still a successful talented guy who has a great on air gig. Without my hair, i've pretty much got nothing.
Signed, Connect-i-Samson.
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'149511\' date=\'Apr 5 2007, 10:46 AM\']
Signed, Connect-i-Samsonsuckup.
[/quote]
There, fixed that for you. ;)
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'149509\' date=\'Apr 5 2007, 07:10 AM\']
Same with me. Firefox and XP, never had a problem.
You early adapters let the rest of us know when Vista's really ready, OK?
[/quote]
I'll be straight-up: not yet. But it's not 100% Microsoft's fault, either...in fact, the majority of the problems I've had so far seem to come from ATI not being able to write a decent video driver despite almost a year of lead time. And I hear people on the NVidia side are having the same problem. The newest ATI driver seems to be a lot _better_, but it's not completely home yet. And for a lot of very obvious reasons Apple doesn't seem to be in too much of a hurry to get the iPod to 100% yet. (There's a little something for you folks who think Apple can do no wrong.)
(But I'm not gonna give you a rectum full of smoke and tell you that MS is completely blameless, either...there is a bug with DreamScene and Remote Desktop right now that I'm finding particularly maddening.)
So, yeah, it's fun to point the finger and bash Microsoft, because that's what the cool kids do and it helps the John Dvorak's sell magazines, but it's fairer to look at the big picture.
(And I knew it was a snake when I picked it up, of course. But it's still fun to watch it grow.)
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'149513\' date=\'Apr 5 2007, 11:20 AM\']
I'll be straight-up: not yet. But it's not 100% Microsoft's fault, either...in fact, the majority of the problems I've had so far seem to come from ATI not being able to write a decent video driver despite almost a year of lead time. And I hear people on the NVidia side are having the same problem. The newest ATI driver seems to be a lot _better_, but it's not completely home yet. And for a lot of very obvious reasons Apple doesn't seem to be in too much of a hurry to get the iPod to 100% yet. (There's a little something for you folks who think Apple can do no wrong.)[/quote]
I see much the same thing on the Apple side, actually -- some developers just aren't ready at the release of a new OS despite plenty of lead time, and some would have been ready were it not for Apple changing something at the very last second. That's definitely not a Microsoft-exclusive thing but Microsoft is obviously a bigger target.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'149495\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 11:07 PM\']
Can anyone here get to the front page of shokus.com via Firefox and NOT have their browser crash on them? It crashes on me as soon as I try to scroll the page, but it works in IE, so I'm wondering if it's the page code that's funky or if it has something to do with Windows Vista.
[/quote]
I've had problems with it before, and I run XP. That graphic on the front page (representative of their DVD covers) gives me fits.
IE is no problem (and thanks to you for convincing me to give Firefox a try. Much better).
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Jack Narz may only be the tip of the iceberg. There may be a lot of other old-timers in the game show biz who have no idea a community of adoring fans exists on this newfangled thing called the Internet. They would be genuinely touched if they knew how devoted these fans are.
For me Jack Narz dates back to Dotto and Video Village.
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Well, we ranked him 20th (http://\"http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=11528&hl=Marathon&st=165\"), ahead of names such as Combs, Summers, and Fleming, but behind Dawson.
Hopefully no one who reads that list in the future thinks that poll was an all-inclusive sampling of our members. Hell, I don't even think I voted for Dawson...but I couldn't find my list of hosts (only found my top 50 shows).
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'149478\' date=\'Apr 4 2007, 08:25 PM\']
I've always known that there is a generation among our membership that only knows Trebek's version, but it surprises me that there's a window where people think of Narz first.
[/quote]
I was there for all the Concentrations. The 60's version was OK, but what Goodson-Todman did to dress up the show in the 70's was WOW! with the neato mirrored set and new car center stage (and that Kalehoff music).
But there was enough tradition (the old logo, the mechanical puzzle and prize boards) to keep at least some continuity to what Bob Clayton had done just months prior.
I'll try to catch a repeat broadcast of Narz. He truly is one of the forgotten greats.
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what Goodson-Todman did to dress up the show in the 70's was WOW! with the neato mirrored set and new car center stage (and that Kalehoff music)
And surprisingly, that version and the updating were done on the slimmest budget. Well, cheap by G-T standards. I don't know if it was cheap by NBC New York standards.
I caught the Sunday morning repeat and Jack was magnificent, clearly touched by the affection he was receiving from his fans. Stuart still needs to switch to decaf and learn how to juggle the interviews and the calls ("We've got only 15 minutes left to cover 20 years ... wait! Here's a call!).