Hi all,
Told ya it was a good one
Check out my pre-airing report on the Talk Is Right section for more. I am the guy in the blue T-Shirt giving David the advice in Cliffhangers, for what it's worth.
As I mentioned, this episode took roughly 3 hours to tape. Well worth it given the results. The length wasn't to the awful 'canned cheering' re-shoots mentioned at other tapings, but just logistical glitches:
- Drew's wires got stuck and couldn't be removed after he dropped in. This caused a very long delay. They tried to drop him again, and again the wires didn't come off. Then they taped a 'normal' entrance, which is why you cut to the audience as he walks in with his cape.
- Drew had trouble with his mouthpiece and makeup, and that caused another stopdown. I think you notice on the show that in the important parts of rules explanations, he makes sure to talk 'normally', which was very tough to do. (If only he'd care that much during regular show rule explanations).
- When Geoff introduces the contestant from home base, they originally wanted him to 'be' the announcer for that segment, announcing the name from George's podium. They tried for a looooooong time to get him set up correctly, but just couldn't get it, and the VERY frustrated stage manager finally moved him over to home base.
Those were the two major stopdowns, but moving the extra props after each game to adjust for lighting - staging took a while. This is FAR more a production than a usual taping.
After Yucky $even (we didn't notice the slime during taping!), they left Geoff on stage for quite a while, with Drew and Geoff having an extended, pun-filled conversation.
Shooting the promo shots took quite a while also, and the stage manager was visibly flustered by then, though Mike and Drew were taking it in stride.
I forget why, but there was another long-ish stop down after game #5. David actually had time to come back to us- second to last row behind George, (I was sort of surprised they let him), to give one of us the valet slip for our van, since he'd be a while with prize releases even if he struck out on IUFB #6, which it sure looked like he was going to do. He joked with the crowd near us that he was just 'getting maximum camera time' by losing the first five IUFBs.
I know some of you pick on George on this site, but don't do it today. George was THE glue that held the audience together during the taping. As an LFAT, I was grateful for the extra studio time, and seeing way more of 'how it's done' than usual (this was my 5th taping), but the length of the taping was clearly getting to some of the audience, understandably. Especially since most of the stopdowns involved Drew in makeup - repair, it fell almost completely to George to keep the audience 'up', almost like a pre-show warm up over and over. It got very conversational, with him telling stories, showing a surprisingly good knowledge of the history of the show, interacting with just about anyone who had anything to say, etc. My favorite bit was a lady who had been on the show in the 80s, and told George that she lost a Chevy Vega on the show. Then when Kristein lost the Cruze, George said, 'don't worry, that's like the Chevy Vega of 2013.' LOL! He also was running all over the place, with Squeeze Play, being the headless guy for the lawn equipment (which was a tongue twister he had to re-do a few times), etc. His 'goofiness', which some people see as over the top regularly, was perfect for this show. Mad, mad respect sir.
The stagehand who was literally the stage-hand for Punch a Bunch got... well... a big hand for his performance.
So, about David... after 38 minutes of nothing going right, the next 20 minutes were perfection. It's amazing all the little variables that have to go right for somebody to win. If Immanuel doesn't win IUFB #5, David doesn't get the last bid in IUFB #6... If everyone (especially Cira) doesn't give horrible bids on a random ring, forcing him into a correct $1 bid... If he doesn't get an un-loseable Cliff Hangers setup to get to spin last... If he doesn't get a 2/20 shot to come through and spin 95 to tie and eventually win... If Mary (who played it nervous and safe in Yucky Seven) doesn't play it nervous and safe again in the showcase...
Well, it all worked out, and that's my friend Jerod slapping David on the a$$ on national television.
About Cliff Hangers... there's two big edits there. After showing the prize, Drew says, "David, that's a sweet Honda, how about that?" David immediately says, "I wouldn't bloody ride that if you gave me a million dollars." David HATES motorcycles. Glad they edited that out, or it might be the last Honda bike ever offered. Then, on the third prize, he's been watching me give him 20 and 30 (he said 'you the man!" to me yay!!), so looks at me again for the fog machine. You see me on the show very clearly signing 50. But David, whose eyesight stinks, ALSO sees Jerod going '50' right behind me, and, trusting everything I say, tells Drew exactly what he thinks I'm saying- $500. I can't believe they edited that out!! We all fell the hell off our chairs screaming, and fortunately David gathered himself to change to the correct $50. PHEW! By the way, going 50 not 40 was just a bet-hedger since we had only lost $7 through two prizes.
For the showcase, when Mary passes, the $25,000 bid he gave from me was the lowest anyone around us was shouting. That's because a) it wasn't a Mini-S, and b) Mary got nervous and safe in Yucky Seven, and I was counting on her to do it again, which she did- her bid didn't even cover her car. When he bid $25,000, most people had $30,000+ bids they were screaming, and one guy in the row ahead of us yells at me, "you just lost your friend the showcase". Hmmm....
So, when Drew reveals David's price, we all know that if we hear Drew say $27,000 or higher, David wins, and we're ready to rush the stage. As soon as the 8 comes out of Drew's mouth, the next ten minutes are a complete blur. I know I yelled "HA" at the guy who told me I lost it for him as I ran by!! Going on stage at the end with a buddy winning is 99.9999999% as good as winning yourself. You cheer and bounce and shake Drew and the models' hands, then finally they ask you to go back to the audience. I took one extra moment to look around from the stage, knowing this would very likely be the only time I'll ever do so, and quite frankly it was an emotional moment.
Plus, of course, I don't have to pay any taxes. David is selling the bike and car. From his $44,000, he hopes to cash out after taxes about $10-15 K. Sounds awful from $44, but if someone told you you were guaranteed zero, and three hours later would have $10K coming to you, you'd take it every time!
This was the "morning" taping, and got out between 3-4 PM, and by the time we filed out of the studio, they had 99% of the special decorations already down. No matter what someone (cough) thinks, that was amazing work by the stage crew!
There were a few small re-shoots at the end, nothing significant. The Knotts Scary Farm tickets were a GREAT door prize- those are expensive! And they could be exchanged for one year for regular Knotts tickets.
All the details of the games, the zombie-pages, David winning it all, just everything- what an amazing day.
If I remember more I'll pass it on!
Cheers,
Jeff
