Tag Archives: game shows

Final answer

Yesterday I mentioned I was doing something that scared me.  As it turned out, that ‘thing’ stretched into today as well.

I was a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Two days, you say?  The show only lasts a half hour.

You are correct.  I spent two days in holding, waiting to be selected to play the game.

Holding is a small room with couches and two windows.  You can’t use your cellphone or the Internet or have any contact with the outside world.  The game show producers keep all potential contestants sequestered there to eliminate any appearance or chance of cheating.

I did finally get to meet Meredith and play the show late this afternoon.  She is as nice as she appears; I made her laugh so hard at one point, they had to stop tape — that’s a personal point of pride.

I can’t talk about the questions I received or reveal the outcome of my game; all I’m legally able to say is “tune in next year” (which is when my episode will most likely air).

When I am notified of the air date, I’ll pass it along.

Everyone watching?  Now, that’s really scary.

Gamer

I accidentally watched Jeopardy! a few weeks ago.

Now I’m arranging my evenings around it.

What is it about stuffy, puffed up Alex Trebek and that big board of often obscure answers that draws me in, night after night?  I’ve practically ignored it the past 25 years –

What’s changed?

The show has, of course.  There are a few more bells and whistles than when I watched it long ago.  The category names and answers are often written with a sense of humor, too.

And did you know the show has a ‘Clue Crew?’  (Apparently they’ve been around for years.)  Three much younger correspondents travel the globe, shooting video clues — Jeopardy!’s attempt to inject more multimedia into the program.

But we know what they really are.

Host wannabes waiting for Alex Trebek’s inevitable retirement. Vultures circling his aging bones.  How are they gonna pick his replacement — a live-action round of Angry Birds?

You know, I might watch that, too.

I want my MTV

Yesterday I got a front row seat for some of the programming that has replaced music videos on MTV.

Did the ‘radio star’ really die for this?

I was background on the set of the MTV game show “Silent Library.”  If you haven’t seen it — because goodness knows I hadn’t before yesterday — six contestants vie for cash prizes trying to complete ‘Jackass’-style stunts. My role as background was to sit in the library set and read my book, unaffected by the craziness going on around me.

And it was totally whack.  These six guys, who started out full of energy and attitude, were by day’s end totally defeated by the challenges they had to perform.  Licking dirty dishes, getting a gigantic band-aid ripped off of their chest, getting a surprise pie-in-the-face from four clowns, having debris vacuumed into a domed helmet they were wearing — ridiculous!

It confirmed two things in my mind.

One,   I want to be a game show host.  The host of “Silent Library,” whose name is ‘Zero,’ did just that.  He sat off to one side and did as little as the background actors for the bulk of the program.  Then, at the end of the shoot, he stepped forward and recorded about 10 lines of dialogue.

I want that gig.

Second, I need to submit some show ideas to the networks.  Clearly they are hard up for programming and will buy pretty much anything.

Now is the time to make it big…if only to make those radio stars feel better in the great beyond.

It’s money

According to the Hollywood Reporter, “Cash Cab” on the Discovery Channel is being renewed for its sixth season.

Awesomeness.

If you haven’t watched this trivia-game-in-a-taxi, do.  It’s high energy and fun and uniquely New York City.  The host Ben Bailey drives the cab and asks the questions, and he’s super quick at both.

I’m not just speaking from a viewer perspective — I was lucky enough to play “Cash Cab” three years ago.

Yep.  I was a contestant…and it was a freaky experience.

When I got in the cab, I had no idea what was going on.  After I gave the driver the address, he said, “I’ll take you there, but first, we’re going to play…Cash Cab!!”

Multi-colored lights started flashing inside the cab.  I froze in my seat.

So…this is how I’m going to die, I thought.

The driver — Ben Bailey, as it turned out — got out of the cab and his female producer quickly jumped in.  She smiled and explained what was going on, and gave me the option to not play…but, hey, I like money.

So I played.  And I won $450.

When I arrived at my location, Ben handed me the cash and asked me to hop out and celebrate for the cameras.  (A van with the producers follows the cab through the city.)

I jumped out and did my best cash dance, while a cameraman circled around me.  (Of course, in New York City, the people just kept walking by.  No biggie.)

Then they took the money back, and I signed IRS forms right there on the street.  And I walked to the restaurant and had lunch with my friends.

Just another day in the Big Apple.