leafsfan17 wasn't the only member in attendance for the taping of today's episode -- I was there, too! If only I had known...
My friend Patrick and I got in line around 5:45 AM or so and were #125 and #126 respectively; we had our first priority numbers by 6:30 AM or so, and were told to be back around 8:30 AM, IIRC. I seem to remember being in Studio 33 by Noon or so, and the taping started earlier than the posted 1:15 PM start time; indeed, during the warm-up, Rich had commented that they were starting an finishing tapings earlier in recent days. A few other changes from when I attended my last taping in Feb 2008: While waiting in line, you're given a white card to fill out with your interests and "anything else you would like the producers to know about you", though we were told that the info on this card would not "make or break our chance to be a contestant". The warm-up seemed shorter than in previous years, as did our wait inside the studio, and they showed clips from Drew's previous shows to get us laughing.
Patrick and I didn't have much luck with our seats: we were in the section to the right, behind the producers' desk, and up toward the back, so the turntable was pretty much out of view for us. Also, the surprise if I would be called or not was ruined: I saw a chart of the audience seating on back of one of the cameras, with marks where the contestants to be called were sitting (the pages, no doubt, were watching where we sat by our numbers). Better luck next time, I guess! Now, onto the show...SPELLING BEE: Ironically, what most of us considered to be the height of the show was the
one game I couldn't see
at all from my seat, as the producers' desk had the little door/window closed!! That said, it
was an exciting finish going down to the 5th and final card. Obviously, I have no idea if I would've won or not, but I
would have won all three small prizes -- and three cards -- as I would've guessed $25 for that yoga mat.
In case anyone was curious, there is no break in taping between the 1st pricing game and IUFB #2; they just keep on going, keeping with the tradition of taping it as if it were a live show...IUFB #2: Carlos's T-shirt was a send-off of "Now...or Then" with Bob's pic on it; the wedges had the names of past and present (or "then" and "now") models and announcers. I believe some of the others in his group had similar tee-shirts, albeit with Drew's pic on it.
DOUBLE PRICES: $7194 looked much more logical than did $8205 for the price of the hot tub, namely the "94" ending. As for John, I remember seeing him in line, but he was quiet out there, so I wonder what he did/said during his interview. He was much more energetic after getting called down. Then again, I would be, too!
1 WRONG PRICE: My pick would have been the riding mower, but only because I thought it was
more expensive than $1750; I was a bit surprised to see the ARP of $1450.
Drew talked a little bit about his time in the Marines during one of the breaks, commenting that he was glad he never had to "do that in real life" (i.e. a war).SQUEEZE PLAY: By now, they had opened up the front "window" on the producers' desk, so I was able to see some of the Squeeze Play board, including the little plexiglass compartment where the extraneous digit is dropped. For me, that 0 stood out like a sore thumb, so I would have been 3 for 4 (maybe 4 for 4?) by this point.
Patrick and I were finally visible on camera during this act...STACK THE DECK: Carlos had 0, 1, and 5 as choices to complete $2_974 for the car's price; just as Drew was pushing the button for the reveal, I turned to Patrick and said "But maybe it's the 0!", and sure enough...During the following commercial break, Drew asked Carlos if he had considered the 0 and/or 5 as possibilities for the 2nd digit, or if he ruled these out thinking that they would only be the last digit.
MAGIC #: I agree with
jharvey79: this was indeed a forgettable show (I'll probably end up deleting my recording, despite the fact I was in the audience!), and the lineup was far from being my favorite: until I saw that Magic # was up as the last game. I've always been dying to see how they do the optical illusion for this game, and I'm there in person to see it, but then disater struck: from my seat, I could only see the
side of the prop! NOOOO!!!
I wonder if
leafsfan17 had a better view of the game's innards...In any event, I usually know to set the Magic # high, but I would have lost had I been up there: my guess would have been $2000, and I would have fallen short! Of course, being there in person on May 11, I didn't have the advantage of seeing Magic #'s last playing, in which a similar situation took place with regard to two high prices. I have to say that those "ladies' accessories" were a lot more expensive than I would have expected (not that the 'fridge was cheap!).
SHOWCASES: I was screaming $15,000-$16,000 for both of these showcases, and it was painfully obvious that we had a Double Overbid on our hands...So now we had a forgettable show with a sad ending!
Fifth time wasn't a charm for me, but I'm not giving up...
