The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: PYLdude on September 06, 2016, 10:08:23 PM
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This showed up in my Facebook feed and I felt the need to share it. Recent Jeopardy teen tournament participant Kat Deabill wrote for theodysseyonline.com about the actions of some people regarding certain contestants' appearances.
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/stop-harassing-game-show-contestants
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Could we maybe not use phrases like "so canned" and replace them with something more pointed and accurate?
"You there! Internet commenter! Stop being an a-hole! Game show contestants are people too, stop being crappy in your comments, instead try being an empathetic human being for once in your life."
/done and dusted
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Could we maybe not use phrases like "so canned" and replace them with something more pointed and accurate?
Such as what?
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Poop, that was supposed to be "so called" instead of "so canned." My point is to call out people who deserve to be called out, whether or not the website is an aggregation of internet randomness.
/Don't be a jerk.
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See, this is the problem social media has. It's far too easy for some douchebag hiding behind a computer screen (I have taken to using the term "CheesepuffMike" to describe these people lately) to say something stupid and inflammatory that they wouldn't say in public to somebody.
I'll admit I've been critical of certain decisions made in the heat of the moment but I also believe that getting to that point where you passed all the tests necessary to break through, you've accomplished a lot more than so many others have. I'll still be more impressed that you made it there in the first place.
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OK, but there's a stout difference between criticizing someone who bid $420, or No Dealt $573,000 to someone who had a momentary slip of the tongue on TV. We can quibble about where on the spectrum empathy should take over. I've also discussed with friends when a particular contestant has a tic or vocal quirk that we find to be annoying (or, for example, Shari Mason's episode of $25,000 Pyramid was just on where she tried to litigate the pronunciation of "libra" as matching "library" in some made up dialect where they use unicorn farts to power their mass transit.)
There's that whole element, and then there's commenting in an unseemly way about a contestant's appearance. Don't be a CheesepuffMike -or- a Goofus. Just don't. It's a sad commentary that people have to told that.
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I work in a profession where I'm hated by a large portion of society because I took an oath to do my job. I get a lot of criticism both to my face and behind my back. People have filed complaints about my actions that I took during work. I've had anonymous people try to get me in trouble and get me fired.
None of that crap bothers me in the least. I'm totally confident in myself, my my job actions and in life. As long as I'm happy with & proud of myself and haven't broken any policies or taboos, I don't give a fark about what anybody else thinks about me.
Life's too short for me to concern myself with people who don't like me for any reason. There's plenty more people who like and respect me for who I am, what I've done and what I'll do in the future.
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I work in a profession where I'm hated by a large portion of society because I took an oath to do my job. I get a lot of criticism both to my face and behind my back. People have filed complaints about my actions that I took during work. I've had anonymous people try to get me in trouble and get me fired.
None of that crap bothers me in the least. I'm totally confident in myself, my my job actions and in life. As long as I'm happy with & proud of myself and haven't broken any policies or taboos, I don't give a fark about what anybody else thinks about me.
Life's too short for me to concern myself with people who don't like me for any reason. There's plenty more people who like and respect me for who I am, what I've done and what I'll do in the future.
Would that we all felt the same way.
To the previous point, there's gotta be a point where empathy isn't worth it. Especially if there's a guy going out of his way to be a dink on national TV like that Joseph guy from Price who bid two million dollars on an item because somebody copied his bid strategy (among other things). In that case, the guy is trying to provoke a response.
But at the same time, not every little thing a game show contestant does, good or bad, should be nitpicked as much as certain individuals seem to think it should be. Especially as the years go on. I remember seeing a comment from Tim Holleran on a video of one of his Sale wins from 31 years ago and (as I believe I've stated before) he's dumbfounded that people are still "obsessed" over it as they are.
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Life's too short for me to concern myself with people who don't like me for any reason. There's plenty more people who like and respect me for who I am, what I've done and what I'll do in the future.
Unfortunately, that isn't what Kat is referring to in her piece.
To use a real-life example: When TPIR taped on my birthday in 2007, Drew surprised me by bringing me out on stage right before Plinko. By sheer coincidence, that also happened to be the day in which the new daytime Plinko winnings record was set. Because of that, the clip was posted to YouTube (https://youtu.be/vuMir11YFPs?t=1s), complete with my little cameo.
A while back, out of curiosity (and knowing what I was getting myself into ahead of time), I scrolled through the comments on the video. As is always the case on YouTube, the comments were filled with an unsettlingly high number of poorly-thought-out remarks. As I perused them, one of my primary reactions was a sincere hope that Kristy the contestant never looked at them.
Most of the comments were about one of three topics:
1) HDTVs were comically expensive in 2007 compared to today
2) That P.A. sure is a geeky dweeb loser
3) Inappropriately sexual comments about Kristy's appearance
The comments about me, I didn't mind -- I'm used to reading idiotic, offensive comments on the internet; I was doing a silly voice anyway; and in many ways, I do resemble (and am) a socially awkward nerd. (However, I should clarify that I'm not defending or excusing those types of comments in general.) But put yourself in the contestant's shoes and read some of the things that these anonymous creeps said about her. She visited The Price Is Right to have some fun and win some stuff, not to have strangers make suggestive comments about watching her jump up and down.
Kat isn't talking about the commenters who criticize her for being on the show. She's talking about the commenters who criticize her physical appearance, often in highly inappropriate ways.
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The comments about me, I didn't mind -- I'm used to reading idiotic, offensive comments on the internet; I was doing a silly voice anyway; and in many ways, I do resemble (and am) a socially awkward nerd.
At this risk of going off topic here, I will say this to counter that lunacy. At the first Price taping I attended, which was in 2012, I was impressed at how thoroughly animated you were throughout the entire taping, from mouthing along the opening with George to cuing us in the audience saying "Yay!" every time we were to cheer (and you're perplexed looks to say, "What should he bid?"). Anybody who knows me knows I haven't been a fan of the show in the post-Barker, post-Roger era, but you're what made the taping worth it for me. Even someone who was not a "one of us" should have clearly noticed how much you loved your job, and that's something you so rarely see in most people.
I only wish that chasm between us that was an association with Golden-Road.net had not been there so I could have said hello to you without getting blacklisted by the higher-ups with the show.
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I work in a profession where I'm hated by a large portion of society because I took an oath to do my job. I get a lot of criticism both to my face and behind my back.
OH! I thought I was the only TV Weatherman here!
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Ah yes. The physical appearance people.
Had one of those. Said if I had questions about Twinkies and such I would've won the million. Laughed because of what did me in. Ass.
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Laughed because of what did me in.
What did you in?
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I think he meant his last question.
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It was a food question: what was Gandhi's last meal before becoming Enlightened.
/unless he meant hubris or greed. I don't know because I wasn't privy to it.
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No, I was wondering what the question was. Thanks. :)
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Oops...I knew that. :)
(http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/thumbs/video/12/393371.jpg)
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It was a food question: what was Gandhi's last meal before becoming Enlightened.
/unless he meant hubris or greed. I don't know because I wasn't privy to it.
"Well documented" hubris I believe was the phrasing. (Which wasn't originated by Chris L for the record)
It was at that moment I became grateful for the guys in post production. Five minutes of trying to talk yourself out of making a $19,000 gamble despite the gnawing feeling in your mind is not good television. :)
Seriously though, I know I'm looking like I'm stealing a lot of thunder from the original article and its author but I get where she's coming from to a certain point. And so do a lot of us who've gone through said process. I'm just a little more vocal is all.
(plus I kinda have been on the other side regarding my story about a certain young lady from Jeopardy's past...am I a hypocrite? Perhaps)
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Orange you glad you weren't on during the clock years?
/see, because orange is a food.
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Orange you glad you weren't on during the clock years?
/see, because orange is a food.
Yes. It certainly is. :)