Stan Blits retired?

[GobGlom]

Until we hear first-hand from someone who has gone through this new process, I'm going to reserve judgement and not worry. Doing releases and other paperwork digitally isn't that unusual these days. I've gone places where I can fill out waivers and such well in advance of my appointment.

[FPGWillyT]

Do we know the full details yet on how contestants will be selected? We know that they have used the casting on location contestant calls and its worked well. This season...was done out of necessity.

7800 was NEVER about casting from the public at large.  Mark Goodson knew all too well about “audience participation” shows.  Someone we all know even wrote a paper in college about it.   Start thinking about the most memorable contestants and if you’re honest with yourself, you will realize no way do they pass a full-blown “casting”.  Yes, there is the “audition”, but there’s a huge difference. 

I’m more sorry for the “Roaders” who never got to experience Camp Bob (thanks for that Rob Rosa). 

[SamJ93]

7800 was NEVER about casting from the public at large.  Mark Goodson knew all too well about “audience participation” shows.  Someone we all know even wrote a paper in college about it.   Start thinking about the most memorable contestants and if you’re honest with yourself, you will realize no way do they pass a full-blown “casting”.  Yes, there is the “audition”, but there’s a huge difference. 

I’m more sorry for the “Roaders” who never got to experience Camp Bob (thanks for that Rob Rosa).

Dude...I hate to say it, but you need to stop living in the past and accept reality. Those days are long gone and they ain't ever coming back. You and I may prefer the "old days"...but they show isn't being produced for us, it's being produced for a general TV audience. Even if Mark Goodson himself came back from the dead to produce the show today, he would have no choice but to tailor the show to modern tastes.

Besides that, there's a free channel streaming old Barker episodes 24/7 now, and dozens more on YouTube as well. Why bemoan the current state of TPiR when you can relive it the way you remembered it pretty much any time you want?

[gamesurf]

Stan is the man, and I wish him a happy retirement. He’s wonderful at coaxing personality out of people and whomever replaces him will have massive shoes to fill. I’m grateful I was able to witness him do his thing and I’ll always treasure my autographed copy of “Come on Down!”

But anybody who thinks this will mean that in-line auditions are permanently dead is fooling themselves.

[tpiradam]

If the rumours are true I'm going to miss Stan. He had a huge presence at the show and whoever comes after has some very big shoes to fill. I wish him all the best for his retirement!

As for the way the show does things now I for one love it. I grew up with Bob and changing to Drew was a big adjustment for me. It worked out because everything about the show I loved was still there and still is today. The games, the prizes, the fun contestants and everything in between. For those who feel ill towards the way the show is now please keep your negativity to yourself and feel free to indulge in some classic TPIR on Pluto TV or YouTube.

Oh and I fixed the spelling of his name in the subject line. Not sure who Stan Blitz is.

[urbanpreppie0004]

I don't always agree with Willy, but I get WHY he and others are concerned. I'm still worried that they'll lean too much into the pre-screened contestants. But we have yet to see anything that shows that they will go 100 percent pre-screened. OR- maybe this is how the audiences will be selected in general?
At the same time though, they've been doing for a while now (even pre 49) and there hasn't been a marked change in quality- the actual stats on TPIR summaries prove it.

I do agree with others...that this an adjustment that is dealing with an evolving situation. Do you really, really think that they'll be able to do the big crowds and long queues like before?

[Roadgeek Adam]

Dude...I hate to say it, but you need to stop living in the past and accept reality. Those days are long gone and they ain't ever coming back. You and I may prefer the "old days"...but they show isn't being produced for us, it's being produced for a general TV audience. Even if Mark Goodson himself came back from the dead to produce the show today, he would have no choice but to tailor the show to modern tastes.

Besides that, there's a free channel streaming old Barker episodes 24/7 now, and dozens more on YouTube as well. Why bemoan the current state of TPiR when you can relive it the way you remembered it pretty much any time you want?

New here, aren't you? This level of bemoaning happens all the time and it drives people like me up a wall. Gained this site the reputation it has because of this. We're almost perfectly away from that save for some people.

[imhomerjay]

Dude...I hate to say it, but you need to stop living in the past and accept reality. Those days are long gone and they ain't ever coming back. You and I may prefer the "old days"...but they show isn't being produced for us, it's being produced for a general TV audience. Even if Mark Goodson himself came back from the dead to produce the show today, he would have no choice but to tailor the show to modern tastes.

Exactly. It is a product being used by CBS to sell ads. That’s the business. TV shows are produced differently, just like movies are different. Music is different. Literature is different. Being intractably stuck in the past is no way to be successful in the present.

[ntpir]

I'm in agreement with Willy. I think this is a terrible thing for the show to be doing. Some of you have said to wait and give this some time but as Willy already pointed out,  it seems like it already has. Every point he made is valid. Exorcism about memorable contestants. The second show I went to someone was picked and he was very well received here as an awesome LFAT (Yes, I used a term from the past. ) We would have missed him if it weren't for Stan. Guaranteed he wouldn't have been picked today. Thank you Stan for everything you did.  Thank you Willy for not backing down. The past can be used for success. There's nothing wrong with that.

[SeaBreeze341]

Personally, a mix of both is the best way.  That's my opinion.  Despite being more of a fan of the past than otherwise, change is inevitable.  I respect that.  I may not agree with it depending on what's changing, but I'm a fan of someone trying something different (with valid reasoning).

Changing everything (especially for sole reason of change) isn't great and could be a bad idea.  However, the polar opposite results in a stale product.  You have to respect some of the past but have to evolve and be creative.  There is a saying of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  There is also a saying of "Times change, people change."  I'm a fan of both, and IMO, it's necessary to mix both

[Roadgeek Adam]

Personally, a mix of both is the best way.  That's my opinion.  Despite being more of a fan of the past than otherwise, change is inevitable.  I respect that.  I may not agree with it depending on what's changing, but I'm a fan of someone trying something different (with valid reasoning).

Changing everything (especially for sole reason of change) isn't great and could be a bad idea.  However, the polar opposite results in a stale product.  You have to respect some of the past but have to evolve and be creative.  There is a saying of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  There is also a saying of "Times change, people change."  I'm a fan of both, and IMO, it's necessary to mix both

I'm perfectly okay with of 9 contestants, 1 or 2 is a planted by casting and the other 7 or 8 come from the audience. I just don't want to lose the "if you come to the show, you have a chance" approach.

[FPGWillyT]

Took a look at Page 1 of the “application”.  Preferred pronoun(s)? Education level obtained? That was just Page 1. Questions that were never asked before of any interview group I was a part of.  I get it, sorta.  Pre-panfemic attendance  at a taping probably dwindled to nothing, comparatively. 

[SteveGavazzi]

Guys, can we please calm down here?  We don't really even know what they're doing yet.

[imhomerjay]

Preferred pronouns aren’t a problem to be asked. That’s become far more common very recently and is a welcome sign of being accepting and considerate.

[LiteBulb88]

I get it, sorta.  Pre-panfemic attendance  at a taping probably dwindled to nothing, comparatively.

Pre-pandemic tapings had no problem filling their seats without using audience fillers. (Source: I went to multiple tapings pre-pandemic and asked about this very question while I was there.)