Nearly 2 months ago I wrote about my experiences of taping Who Wants To Be A Millionaire! There were quite a few details I left out because I didn't want to reveal anything that might even hint at how I actually did on the show. Now that my episodes have aired, I feel that I'm able to fill in the missing details. What follows is a sort of 'reverse spoiler' account. I am putting my additional recollections and thoughts in-line to with my original account. To highlight both the new details and to let those who have already waded through the original version to be spared having to go through it again - I've spoilerized the unspoiler portion of my account and all the spoiler information is actually exposed (does that make sense?). So if you are reading this and haven't yet seen my episodes or read the transcript, and you don't want the questions/answers or how I did reveled - don't think that by not clicking on the spoiler buttons - you will be safe - just the opposite is true - secrets are out in the open - so stop reading and come back after you have taken care of the other business first.
Spoiler
First and foremost I had a fantastic trip and it was a great experience - the actual result of the gameplay played truly a small portion of the whole experience so please do not try to read anything into the report regarding how I performed on the show - it is not there. I will give a blow-by-blow account of my actual experiences on the show (as best as I can remember) after the air date.
Tuesday - July 22 - the day before flying out of Austin to the NY area
As has already been reported (and documented with real, unphotoshoped photos) I had the opportunity to play with both TheConfessor and hermillion at Mother Egan's in Austin - meeting and spending the evening with two Millionaire millionaire's was the best send-off present I could have ever hoped for - and the best part is that they were such great folks. It was a fun evening and I enjoyed every minute of it. Meeting such great folks like Ed and Nancy along with all the folks on the bored who I have yet to meet in person has been beyond a doubt the best unexpected side-effect of being selected for the show. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if the only thing that being on Millionaire yields was me getting to meet and become a part of such a wonderful group of people - it has been worth it.
Tuesday - July 22 - the day before flying out of Austin to the NY area
As has already been reported (and documented with real, unphotoshoped photos) I had the opportunity to play with both TheConfessor and hermillion at Mother Egan's in Austin - meeting and spending the evening with two Millionaire millionaire's was the best send-off present I could have ever hoped for - and the best part is that they were such great folks. It was a fun evening and I enjoyed every minute of it. Meeting such great folks like Ed and Nancy along with all the folks on the bored who I have yet to meet in person has been beyond a doubt the best unexpected side-effect of being selected for the show. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if the only thing that being on Millionaire yields was me getting to meet and become a part of such a wonderful group of people - it has been worth it.
At that point I was glad that Ed suggested that I attend a taping before my show (see below), at least I would see a couple of episodes prior to the new rules and get a sense of how they work and when I should use them. Monday, I arrive home from work and my wife says a big envelope for me arrived - finally. I tear it open and go through the multi-page document. What's new? What changed? First few pages seem the same as the rules from the website (did I neglect to mention that I kept checking the rules page on the website, hoping to see a last update year more recent then 2007). Then I find it - the clock - first 5 questions 15 seconds from the time the last answer is reveled. 30 seconds for the next 5 and 45 seconds for the seconds for the last 5 - with the exception of the big one, all unused time gets added to that last question. It's hard to describe what I was feeling at that point - it seemed unbelievable short - would they change the question style or difficulty - will there be calculating questions anymore that I need the time to figure out the answer? Then I remembered - what's the story with the lifelines - 2 gone 50/50 and STQ - 2 new ones Ask The Expert and Double Dip - I was familiar with DD from the Super Millionaire and Ask The Expert left me with questions - could they google - is there a choice of experts (apparently not), what are they expert in? Other changes - a category tree - would I see it all at once? How specific would they be? So many changes, so little time. Flying in just two days and two days after that is my taping day. I did have a pair of aces in the hole, though. I was going to be spending tomorrow with Ed and Nancy - two huge, and I mean huge, winners - but could I share any of my new-found knowledge so I could strategerize? I got home early that day hoping to see if the rules had arrived and it was still not that late in NY (even with the 1 hour time difference) - I called to find out if these changes had to be kept under wraps. Of course the answer was - it's a secret you can't share it with anyone, not even family members. Drat. So, during my evening with Ed and Nancy I'm getting great but worthless advice and I can't say anything. I wanted to scream out - the rules have totally changed - Meredith will no longer prompt for FA - time is critical - lifelines changed - help me think through all this. But no, I smiled thanked them for their great advice and promised to take it to heart. I had briefly considered bringing the rules with me, 'accidently' dropping them on the floor with it folded to the significant sections and asking if they wouldn't mind picking it up and handing it to me - what's this, the new rules, a clock, new lifelines they would ask, astonished. But like Ralphie, I knew this plan would not be realized just as he feared he would never really get that coveted Red Ryder BB gun. That said, it was still a great evening - and I still got some really useful advice - but it sure was hard to keep my secrets.
Spoiler
.
Wed. July 23rd - travel day
My wife Leslie and my two youngest children Jason and Sophie pack up and I do some last minute 'boreding' before being driven to the Austin airport around 2:30 pm. Our flight was scheduled to leave late Wed around 5 pm to Philadelphia with a transfer in Chicago. Arrival time to Philadelphia was for the late evening (local time) and the plan was to take the rental car and drive to my sister's house on Long Island (not too far from JFK) - hoping to get there between 2 and 3 AM. I had some concern because that very day Hurricane Dolly was hitting Texas. Although Austin is a way inland it is not uncommon to get Hurricane related weather, in addition who knew what it might do the air traffic in general. Fortunately we were able to leave on time with no issues amid scattered clouds and showers. In Chicago we boarded on-time and taxied out to the runway. To make a short story long - after 3 hours we were still on the plane in Chicago, away from the gate and waiting for permission to take-off, getting periodic weather reports for the northeast corridor. Bob Juch had emailed me concerned about my flight because there were reports of tornados in New Jersey. We eventually arrived in Philly after 3 am and I pulled into my sister's drive a little before 6 AM.
While we were first getting on the Chicago/Philly plan we took our seats. Since there were 4 of us traveling we couldn't sit all in a single row and chose an 'L' shaped arrangement. A full row of three and the forth seat being the window right in front of our 'main' row. I took the lone window seat so I could do a little last minute studying - I opened my current study guide '15,003 Answers' and set to work when the person sitting next to me pointed to the name of one of the author's and said 'I know him, we live in the same town, he's a friend of mine and I've been to his house often.' It turns out that he was buddies with Hal Fittipaldi and was also somewhat friendly with Stanley Newman - the 2 authors of the book I was reading! Talk about a coincidence! We told him I was flying in to tape for Millionaire, a bit about my evening the night before with Ed and Nancy and I even asked him to ask Hal if he either knew or heard of either of them. He was a 'former' trivia buff, but was not really involved in anything for a long time, but he did toss some trivia questions my way - mostly presidential and military trivia.
Thur July 24th
After getting a bit less then 2 hours sleep I got up around 8 am. TheConfessor had a great suggestion that I should try to attend a taping of Millionaire because I have never been to one and this would get me comfortable with my surroundings and the general internal workings of the show. It had the added benefit of letting me see the new show in action - even though I had received the rules (just a couple of days earlier) it gave me the opportunity to see how they actually played out for real. So I had, several weeks earlier, applied for audience tickets for the Thursday show and had gotten them. The tickets said to come at 11:30 am but that it was first come, first serve and holding a ticket has no guarantee of admission. We took a train from L.I. into NY a little before 9 am, grabbed a quick bite at Penn Station and hoped on the number 1 subway to 67th street and arrived at the studio a little before 10:30 am. By that time they were already 'sold-out' for the first taping and had just started the stand-by line. There were already 6 people on the stand-by line when we joined them. The Millionaire staff outside that was responsible for handling the audience guaranteed us a slot for the 2nd taping by putting everyone on the standby line on a VIP list - so we wouldn't have to show up early for that. Since they were doing testing as well for the show and we wouldn't be able to test for the first session (which is done prior to the first taping) and my wife wanted to try the test - she was given an application and was entered for the 2nd test which was being done after the 2nd taping. A bunch of folks on the stand-by line decided to leave since they were mainly interested in taking the test and had been assured a spot in the afternoon. I wanted to see as many tapings as possible so we stayed and that put us 3rd and 4th on the standby line.
Wed. July 23rd - travel day
My wife Leslie and my two youngest children Jason and Sophie pack up and I do some last minute 'boreding' before being driven to the Austin airport around 2:30 pm. Our flight was scheduled to leave late Wed around 5 pm to Philadelphia with a transfer in Chicago. Arrival time to Philadelphia was for the late evening (local time) and the plan was to take the rental car and drive to my sister's house on Long Island (not too far from JFK) - hoping to get there between 2 and 3 AM. I had some concern because that very day Hurricane Dolly was hitting Texas. Although Austin is a way inland it is not uncommon to get Hurricane related weather, in addition who knew what it might do the air traffic in general. Fortunately we were able to leave on time with no issues amid scattered clouds and showers. In Chicago we boarded on-time and taxied out to the runway. To make a short story long - after 3 hours we were still on the plane in Chicago, away from the gate and waiting for permission to take-off, getting periodic weather reports for the northeast corridor. Bob Juch had emailed me concerned about my flight because there were reports of tornados in New Jersey. We eventually arrived in Philly after 3 am and I pulled into my sister's drive a little before 6 AM.
While we were first getting on the Chicago/Philly plan we took our seats. Since there were 4 of us traveling we couldn't sit all in a single row and chose an 'L' shaped arrangement. A full row of three and the forth seat being the window right in front of our 'main' row. I took the lone window seat so I could do a little last minute studying - I opened my current study guide '15,003 Answers' and set to work when the person sitting next to me pointed to the name of one of the author's and said 'I know him, we live in the same town, he's a friend of mine and I've been to his house often.' It turns out that he was buddies with Hal Fittipaldi and was also somewhat friendly with Stanley Newman - the 2 authors of the book I was reading! Talk about a coincidence! We told him I was flying in to tape for Millionaire, a bit about my evening the night before with Ed and Nancy and I even asked him to ask Hal if he either knew or heard of either of them. He was a 'former' trivia buff, but was not really involved in anything for a long time, but he did toss some trivia questions my way - mostly presidential and military trivia.
Thur July 24th
After getting a bit less then 2 hours sleep I got up around 8 am. TheConfessor had a great suggestion that I should try to attend a taping of Millionaire because I have never been to one and this would get me comfortable with my surroundings and the general internal workings of the show. It had the added benefit of letting me see the new show in action - even though I had received the rules (just a couple of days earlier) it gave me the opportunity to see how they actually played out for real. So I had, several weeks earlier, applied for audience tickets for the Thursday show and had gotten them. The tickets said to come at 11:30 am but that it was first come, first serve and holding a ticket has no guarantee of admission. We took a train from L.I. into NY a little before 9 am, grabbed a quick bite at Penn Station and hoped on the number 1 subway to 67th street and arrived at the studio a little before 10:30 am. By that time they were already 'sold-out' for the first taping and had just started the stand-by line. There were already 6 people on the stand-by line when we joined them. The Millionaire staff outside that was responsible for handling the audience guaranteed us a slot for the 2nd taping by putting everyone on the standby line on a VIP list - so we wouldn't have to show up early for that. Since they were doing testing as well for the show and we wouldn't be able to test for the first session (which is done prior to the first taping) and my wife wanted to try the test - she was given an application and was entered for the 2nd test which was being done after the 2nd taping. A bunch of folks on the stand-by line decided to leave since they were mainly interested in taking the test and had been assured a spot in the afternoon. I wanted to see as many tapings as possible so we stayed and that put us 3rd and 4th on the standby line.
Spoiler
As it neared 12:30 it wasn't clear if we would get into the first taping or not, but we made it along with only a few people behind us. As the last few into the studio, the audience was packed as we walked over the clear floor and the empty Hot Seat. At that moment I had my first real panic attack of this whole process. I looked at the empty seat, the packed studio and I was convinced that I was going to dissolve into a quivering bowl of jelly the moment it was my turn to get into the Hot Seat. I was convinced that there was no way I would be able to control myself from shaking violently during the entire time. After sitting down in the audience, taking in the set, getting involved in the warm-up, etc. I began to calm down and started to enjoy the experience.
How the taping went will have to wait until September.
How the taping went will have to wait until September.
Spoiler
After the taping finished, we had VIP slots for the second taping and my wife wanted to have a shot at the test. So, even though I had initially planned to return with my wife to L.I. after the first taping we decided to stay. A quick call to my sister to confirm that she would still be OK with watching Sophie and Jason until we got back early evening and we were back in line.
Spoiler
After the 2nd taping my wife went with the rest of the audience to take the test and I decided to wander over to Central Park and visit Strawberry Fields. I got back to the studio just when the testers who didn't pass were filing out - I didn't see my wife come out with everyone so I was momentarily optimistic that she passed - I did see some folks who had sat next to us at the taping and asked them if she passed - unfortunately the answer was no. A few moments later my wife emerged - it turned at that she stayed behind to ask about her wardrobe selection for being in the relationship seat the next day. We took the train back to L.I. and didn't get there to nearly 8:30 pm. I had to be at the studio the next day before 7:30 AM so I had pre-arranged to spend the night at one of my nieces who lives on West 56th and Broadway - just a short walk to the studio. The idea was that I wouldn't have to get up so early and I wouldn't be dependent on public transportation in case there were unexpected problems nor would I have to worry about traffic if I chose to drive. I got to my niece's place about 11:30 pm - and because I had only 2 hours of sleep in the last since Wednesday morning - I knew I would be able to fall asleep right away without any of the pre-night nerves that I heard keep folks awake into the wee hours. And I did - I slept soundly and got up around 6:30 am the next morning.
Spoiler
Friday - July 25th (the big day - maybe)
Walking to the studio with my rollerbag containing my various possible clothing options trailing behind me was an interesting experience. I was very excited yet very calm at the same time. It was a beautiful morning, very comfortable temperatures and very clear skies. One thought that popped into my head while walking to the studio and passing a number of people on the street was that if I were to stop each and every one of them and asked them to name a single contestant from Millionaire over the past 5 years, most likely none of them could come up with even a single name. This put the whole situation into perspective for me. Virtually no one in the world is going to even note that I was a contestant, let alone care how I do except people I know - and they know me and would be supportive. The TV audience out there who will see me, laugh at my performance, momentarily root for (or against me) and then forget about me as soon as the next contestant hit the hot seat. It was right then and there I knew I was going to do my utmost to enjoy the experience, have as much fun as possible, and have the time of my life regardless of the brief time I would be spending in the Hot Seat. I can honestly say from that point on, up to and including my stint in the chair and afterwards, I was never nervous or panicked - and I tried to take in as much of the whole experience as possible and I had so much fun.
When I got to the studio there were already a few contestants there for today's taping and the rest shortly joined us. About 10 minutes after arriving and pretty much at 7:30 on the dot, we entered the studio. We entered the studio and what happened next
Walking to the studio with my rollerbag containing my various possible clothing options trailing behind me was an interesting experience. I was very excited yet very calm at the same time. It was a beautiful morning, very comfortable temperatures and very clear skies. One thought that popped into my head while walking to the studio and passing a number of people on the street was that if I were to stop each and every one of them and asked them to name a single contestant from Millionaire over the past 5 years, most likely none of them could come up with even a single name. This put the whole situation into perspective for me. Virtually no one in the world is going to even note that I was a contestant, let alone care how I do except people I know - and they know me and would be supportive. The TV audience out there who will see me, laugh at my performance, momentarily root for (or against me) and then forget about me as soon as the next contestant hit the hot seat. It was right then and there I knew I was going to do my utmost to enjoy the experience, have as much fun as possible, and have the time of my life regardless of the brief time I would be spending in the Hot Seat. I can honestly say from that point on, up to and including my stint in the chair and afterwards, I was never nervous or panicked - and I tried to take in as much of the whole experience as possible and I had so much fun.
When I got to the studio there were already a few contestants there for today's taping and the rest shortly joined us. About 10 minutes after arriving and pretty much at 7:30 on the dot, we entered the studio. We entered the studio and what happened next
Spoiler
will have to wait until the end of September.
but I'll try.
The 5 of us scheduled for the day, Allyson, Patrick, Myra and Lyndsay file upstairs to our holding area. After going through a security check we are assigned lockers and relinquish everything other than our forms and clothes and anything we want to have with us that meets the approval of TPTB. Everything else, pens, wallets, etc go into the locker. I keep with me some photos and a small pewter frog with a tiny gold crown that my youngest, Sophie, had taken from home to give to me for luck. Although I'm known as Frogman on the bored, that nickname is not known to any of my family members, so I think it is pretty neat that this is the token that Sophie decides to give to me.
After quickly settling in, signing forms (with pens they give us and subsequently take away) and some brief initial meetings with our individual producers, a quick breakfast is made available of fruit salad and bagels, juices and coffee or tea. We then settle into our new home the green room. We are told it is called the green room (regardless of the actual color), because years ago, actors would hang around the room that the daily receipts were counted to both keep the accounting honest and to make sure that they would get paid. It was called the 'green room' because of the cash that was in there. If an actor was not on stage at any point, more than likely they would be in the 'green room'. True or not, I don't know, but it was a fun story and told with much authority so that we could go and spread the meaning.
We met with a large number of different folks in various shifts, the lawyer, the publicist, there was much excitement and a bit of nervousness when Michael Davis came to talk to us as well. This took up about 2 hours or so. There was not much mystery about what was discussed, the rules, do's and dont's of the publicity, what we can and can't talk about, etc. The big thing was the ability to ask questions about the game, especially the new rules and all the possibly situations and what would or wouldn't be allowed. You can't stop the clock by asking (even if you say pretty please), if there is an error or issue, play out the game and then try to address any concerns after the fact. All types of stuff - I noticed from being in the audience the day before that it took about 5 seconds for Meredith to say all the answers so that most contestants that were answering as soon as she finished saying the answers were already down to the single digits on the clock. I asked if we could interrupt as soon as we wanted to answer, thereby saving some extra seconds for the million dollar question. The general answer was that it would be allowed but probably be a bad move - answer too soon and miss a question and you wont get to use those seconds that remained. There were basically two types of questions I asked - some that were things I noticed either from the new rules or from watching the show the day before that I wanted to make sure that my assumptions were correct or not. The second was questions I actually knew the answer to, but thought that information would be useful for my fellow contestants. I didn't want to tell them that I was at the taping the previous day because I didn't want to induce any additional anxiety into the situation. I know if I didn't go to the previous taping and someone in my group had, I would have felt like that was something I should have done and kicked myself for not doing that. It was fun being in a situation that was uncompetitive against each other and everyone was rooting for each other.
After all the briefings were over and we finished all or more detailed meetings with our individual producers, we were marched as a group down to the actual studio to get comfortable with the set, and learn the mechanics of the day. It was a bit of a labyrinth from where the green room was to the set, going through various hallways, up and down stairs, jogs to the left and the right, etc. that I was reminded by the scene in This Is Spinal Tap, and at one point did a "Hello Cleveland" and everyone got my joke of being lost backstage.
On the set we practiced getting into and out of the hot seat, using the monitor as an anchor to rotate the chair into position, all the various symbols on the screen, how and when they would appear. They did some mock questions to show us how it would work. Where to look when the ATE came on (a special monitor behind Meredith), not to turn around or look at the other screens, etc. A few people were really nervous on the set and one was visibly shaking - having been there the day before, I got those jitters out of the system, having seen the game played all day the day before really help me feel comfortable and take the mystery out of the whole process.
Once we were done we wound our way back through the maze up to the green room where all the holdover contestants from the previous day were waiting. It turns out that they had booked so many people for the first taping day on Wednesday that no one scheduled for Thursday made it onto the show on Thursday, they were still going through Wednesday's group. So we had the entire Thursday lineup to go through to get our shot. I soon realized that there was a very good chance I would not be taping on Friday.
The group was fun and lively and a nice assortment of folks. One of the things I tried to do was some data gathering on why this group of folks were selected, what could I find out that might be useful in helping others get on the show. At one point I did ask if everyone had a video interview and the answer was unanimous with one exception. The exception turned to be someone who interviewed a year earlier in September before they started doing the video interviews, so it does appear that you don't get the call if you don't get the video - at least from my sample size of 11. There didn't seem to be any specific 'types' that were excluded. There were Mawg's, gender, age and racial profiles were all represented. As I've noted on other threads, they only real factor I sensed was that everyone had some story or situation where they had to act under pressure or appear before a crowd, be responsible for a lot of people or deal with strangers. I think the reason is that it is very intimidating to be on the show and I think they really are looking for folks who have a higher probability to be able to perform under pressure and not freak out. Of course this is all supposition on my part, but it seems to me to be as good of a guess as any.
On the wall in both the greenroom and the hallway were past contestants. Hermillion was there in both positions - prime real estate in both cases. I recognized 15QuestionsAway as well. I didn't notice any other BB'ers. At one point I point to Nancy's photo and said that I was lucky to have played trivia with both her and Ed (I explained who Ed was and gave a brief rundown of his adventure) the night before I flew out of Austin. It was a fun story to share and it was enjoyed (I hope) by the other contestants.
The handlers were fun and really nice. They kept playing the videos of the old shows and tried to see if we needed anything. The holdover's from yesterday were acing the shows answers until they spilled the beans that they had seen all of them the day before.
Lunch, for those who wanted to know. was NOT Turkey, but a variety of different Chinese food dishes that were uniformly excellent. Since we had changed into our 'show clothes' by this point, we basically covered ourselves with tons of napkins so not to drip the various sauces on our outfits. They even had fortune cookies, I joked that they could be cruel about the types of fortunes that were included inside the cookies that could really shake us up.
At one point they announced who the Expert for the day was going to be. It was a actor and radio talk show host who TPTB told us was very knowledgeable in general. It wasn't until later that I found out that that expert was not used (although I expect that expert will show up soon since their picture is in the expert promo - and no it was not a BB'er). I was OK with it but there were others who were visibly upset. The wanted someone like Bill Nye who was the first expert. I will only mention one specific person who was not at all pleased with the selection of the expert and that was Barbara, the famous disappearing contestant, and I mention it only because this closely aligned with one of the top-ten reasons for her disappearance. I also found out later that there were two experts that day, Sam Greenfeld and Ogi, neither of whom where the announced expert. Why the change I don't know, but I'm guessing there might have been some technical problem and that they had to find some substitute experts pretty quickly, which would explain having two separate exports in one day - of course this all is pure conjecture on my part, there was no announcement later in the day that the experts changed and it wasn't until I was down on the set at the end of the day did I see one of the two experts (my guests couldn't remember who the first expert was only that it wasn't Ogi and it wasn't who they announced to us). Either way, Barbara was not a happy camper on hearing who the expert is - so maybe that top-ten nailed it after all.
Trivia for a long time was the topic d'jour. Name all the sitting Supreme Court justices, that sort of thing. After a while of that some folks didn't want to hear another trivia question so we tried to come up with an activity that was not trivia related. Patrick came up with a candy toss game where a small basket was placed at the far end of the green room and we took turns trying to toss the small hard candies that they had provided into it. That lasted about 10 minutes until the fun basically wore off.
While all this was going on the phone, or more properly THE PHONE, in the green room to announce who next going to be brought down to the set. When the phone rang, everything stopped, the handler in the room would pick up, listen, nod and say OK and hang up. Everyone would wait breathlessly to see who would be next. Sometimes it would be just a message for another staff member and the room would groan, others it would be 'name' and that person would be lead from the room amid cheers and applause and lots of wishes of good luck and congrats. As the day wore on and the numbers dwindled, weariness started to take hold of me. By 4 pm I was really tired, even though I had a good night sleep the night before, it still was only about 6 1/2 hours, that coupled with the virtually no sleep I had the day before and the flying, waiting, flying driving started to take its toll. I took a quick nap (unintentionally), I just fell asleep sitting there and then woke myself up by my own snoring. It was after 5 pm at that point and the green room was down to just me, Myra and Lindsey - Patrick being the last to have departed.
During the day, during the various calls I joked (I'm sure not originally, either) that it was the warden and I couldn't decide if it was a reprieve or an execution.
At around 6 pm the phone rang.... Jay, you're up next. Myra and Lindsey wished me luck and I was escorted through the warren to the set, actually behind the set under the bleachers. I could see on the monitor that Allyson was up as I was being mic'ed. At that point I didn't know how much more time was left to the episode and which episode it was.
Allyson was already into her middle-tier set and the 3 questions that she ended up using lifelines for where stumpers for me to. Even though I had the quick 5 minute nap and I thought I was refreshed, I really wasn't. I had been in the studio for nearly 11 hours at this point and it had taken its toll, even though I tried my best to project an aura of confidence, excitement and enthusiasm, but in reality I was not ready to play. I wasn't sure where we were in the total taping cycle. Was this show 4 or 5, was that the 1st, 2nd or 3rd commercial break? If I got into the HS would I tank on the first question? I was really hoping I would make it on and get just 1 question before time would expire. That would give me my full category list and considering it was a Friday, a full weekend to study only 14 topics. What happened was Patrick takes the seat and I wait until the next break to sit on the on-deck bench. Patrick's 2K question comes up and it is on "circadian rhythm". I'm flummoxed, mainly because my own circadian rhythm has gone the way of Steve Martin's rhythm in The Jerk - totally useless. I know I've heard the term and the only thing my mind is reacting to is bio-rhythms - there were 3 cycles I recall, Didn't each have a scientific name, I'm thinking. My mind takes me back to a mall in our area 35 years ago where the arcade had this machine that would print your rhythm cycle and I convince myself that it is 1 month. Patrick goes for 1 day and I groan - but he's right and I'm wrong. Then I feel like a real idiot. Why, just a few days before, when I'm playing trivia with Ed and Nancy, they start telling stories of the experience with Grand Slam, and Ogi stories to boot. Ogi, the expert that I and everyone fell in love with. Ogi, who when he came up on the screen when I was in the audience caused me to smile internally because I knew who he was. Ed and Nancy talk to me about him. In my prep for being on the show I read his great article on 'Who Wants to Be a Cognitive Neuroscientist Millionaire?', yes that Ogi. Well just a few days before, one of the stories about Ogi was what he did trying get his circadian rhythms back on track. I mean it was handed to me on a silver platter - there it was, moments before Ogi was saving Allyson on the screen right in front of me. Ogi - Circadian rhythms stories told to me just days prior. I'm a consultant, I travel across time zones, I've read countless of articles in airline travel magazines on circadian rhythms. How could I not know that! Of course, once I saw the correct answer all this knowledge flowed in to my feeble mind and I felt like a real idiot. The rest of Patrick's stack I knew cold, a thin layer of balm on my fragile ego at that point. Time runs out, no sneak peak at my categories, no leg up on my quest for a million. In a weird sort of way I'm relieved. Even though I know I wouldn't be breaking any rules, in fact Meredith even implied that it would be silly not to study up on your stack if you end up in the HS and time for the day runs out, I had these sneaking feeling that it would somehow taint my run and that I might end up sabotaging myself. So I didn't have this bizarre moral dilemma to deal with.
As I leave for the day two questions are weighing on me - the May flower pun and the circadian rhythm question, two questions that if they came up during my HS stint would have been my downfall in the most painfully possible way, something I'm not sure I could forgive myself for screwing up. Of course all the other games I saw where I would not had used a single lifeline finds no hold in my mind, just my failures. My rational mind (which still sounds like an oxymoron when referring to myself) told me that it was because I was so tired and mentally dull - this wont be the case come Monday, it still was something I felt I had to contend with. So I contended with it by deciding that I would relax over the weekend and just not worry, que sera sera, that sort of thing. I was going to be on, I was going to enjoy myself and what happens, happens. I went upstairs, gathered my belongings, swapped my PAF from DadOfTwins to Bob_Juch by giving them the new paperwork and joined my wife, Sophie and Jason and all my other relatives outside the studios.
Spoiler
When the day ended, I rejoined my family and guests, it was late and most went our separate ways - we grabbed a quick bite to eat and took the train back to my sister's on L.I.
Saturday, July 26th
Slept in, relaxed most of the morning and went into the city and spent the day at the Museum of Natural History - which is loads of fun. Met my wife's Uncle, Aunt, my brother-in-law and sister-in-laws for diner in the city (my wife's uncle lives on the upper east side) and had a great evening.
Sunday, July 27th
Big electrical storms throughout the area, stayed put most of the day (my wife was feeling a bit under the weather) made a vain attempt to find a local NTN/Buzztime locale for lunch but their system was down due to the storm. Did really next to no trivia/studying the entire weekend - just relaxing and enjoying the time with family.
Monday, July 28th (Big day redux)
Since I didn't have to be to the studio until 10:15 am, I forgo'ed spending the night in Manhattan at my nieces and we decided to all drive in, in the morning - traffic was heavier than expected but I made it with minutes to spare. BTW, there is a really good garage with entrances on both 65th and 66th streets very close to Central Park West and just a block from the studio. If you get in before 10 am you can park for most of the day (to 6 I think) for under $20. Max rate for 24 hours was $35. I had three personal goals that I thought I could attain for the day: 1) Don't be a llama, 2)play well - don't make a bonehead decision, and 3) have the time of my life, regardless of the outcome of the game. I can't tell you if I met goals 1 or 2 or not, but I definitely met goal 3.
So I enter then studio and then and that's how I did.
Saturday, July 26th
Slept in, relaxed most of the morning and went into the city and spent the day at the Museum of Natural History - which is loads of fun. Met my wife's Uncle, Aunt, my brother-in-law and sister-in-laws for diner in the city (my wife's uncle lives on the upper east side) and had a great evening.
Sunday, July 27th
Big electrical storms throughout the area, stayed put most of the day (my wife was feeling a bit under the weather) made a vain attempt to find a local NTN/Buzztime locale for lunch but their system was down due to the storm. Did really next to no trivia/studying the entire weekend - just relaxing and enjoying the time with family.
Monday, July 28th (Big day redux)
Since I didn't have to be to the studio until 10:15 am, I forgo'ed spending the night in Manhattan at my nieces and we decided to all drive in, in the morning - traffic was heavier than expected but I made it with minutes to spare. BTW, there is a really good garage with entrances on both 65th and 66th streets very close to Central Park West and just a block from the studio. If you get in before 10 am you can park for most of the day (to 6 I think) for under $20. Max rate for 24 hours was $35. I had three personal goals that I thought I could attain for the day: 1) Don't be a llama, 2)play well - don't make a bonehead decision, and 3) have the time of my life, regardless of the outcome of the game. I can't tell you if I met goals 1 or 2 or not, but I definitely met goal 3.
So I enter then studio and then
Spoiler
Don't tell me you fell for this again? Don't you think that I would know that TPTB could click a show spoiler icon?
I enter the studio with Patrick, Myra and Lyndsay. Prior to Patrick being sequestered I ask him about the Chris Farely imitation, if he did it during his interviews? I thought that might have been 'his hook' since they had him do it twice (although at that time I didn't know they would ask for a repeat performance). He hadn't, it came up after he got the call and TPTB on the other end mentioned that he sounds a little like Chris Farley. In general, especially since I've now seen all my green room compatriots playing their games, I was surprised at how much info from the Meredith banter did not come up in our green room discussions.
By the time I entered the studio, those scheduled for today were on the set trying to see if they know how to sit down. I joke of course, it actually not that easy given the raised platform, using the monitor to rotate the chair, and as Patrick said when we went through the exercise he almost toppled backwards. Myra remarked on hearing that, 'well, I guess there is more than one way to leave with a million dollars'. I'm not sure I would want to go the fractured skull route myself but we all enjoyed the remark.
A quick breakfast of some fruit and a bagel and into the green room. Since I was on-deck on Friday, I was still officially on-deck, so after we were joined by the days scheduled contestants, it wasn't long before the phone rang calling me down to the set. Now my send-off was with a big round of applause given that larger number of contestants in the green room and I was well rested, alert and primed to play. By this time I had navigated that path to the set so many times it felt like home. I can't tell you what a big psychological difference it was to be in the studio now for 3 days, the comfort level was enormous.
Heading down to the set I had on me a number of personal items (all cleared by TPTB). In my mind they weren't good luck charms, instead it was a small way to have various family members with my in the hot seat. There was the frog from Sophie, the tie that Rachel made for me 15 years earlier. In addition, my shirt had my son's name, Jakob, written below the inside collar (neither my wife nor I could figure out why since the shirt is way to big for Jakob), but it felt like a small bond with Jakob. Finally, in my breast pocket was a photo of my mom, wearing a scarf that Sophie had knit especially for her. This was the most bittersweet part of my whole story and I've debated long and hard with myself on whether or not to tell it. My mom always wanted me to be on a game show since she knew how much I enjoyed watching them, even before I went to elementary school. On my first trip to LA, when I was in grad school, my mother insisted I try out for a game show - so I tried out for $ale of the Century. She was thrilled when I tried out for WWTBAM during the prime-time era, always asking if I passed the phone test and if they called during the waiting time (which never happened). Later when work took me to LA, I tried out for J!, passing the test but waiting the year and not getting the call (2 times) - she could never understand why they never called for her son to be on the show! My mom and my youngest, Sophie, share the same birthday, exactly 80 years apart. 6/19/1919 and 6/19/1999, respectively. This led to a very special relationship between the two of them. During the past year my mom was very ill. When I went to visit her in January, Sophie knitted her a scarf and put in a custom label saying it was made especially for Buzzy (her nickname that all her grandkids called her by) with love by Sophie. The photo I had on me was her wearing that scarf - it was so special to her. My mom passed away in mid-April. I ended up in NY from that time until mid-May. Knowing how much my mom wanted me to be on a game show, several weeks after her passing I found out that Millionaire was reopening auditions and I decided to try to get on syndieBAM. So I had my mom's photo over my heart when I headed to the hot seat. I'm not superstitious, I just wanted to have that photo with me so in some small way, have my mom with me when I finally achieved our joint dream of appearing on a game show.
It was when I was waiting for the show to start taping, I found out the expert for the day, former millionaire $500K winner, Lyn Payne. I felt comfortable because I knew about Lyn. Prior to finding the bored (in fact, the way I found out about the bored) was through another site, Television Without Pity that had its own WWTBAM discussion thread. On that board, one of my first posts was regarding Lyn. In reviewing the messages there, someone had posted that Lyn was in the green room with them waiting to go on. They commented on how smart she was, that she was a J! champion and knew the answers to everyone's questions before everyone else. I had posted asking how to find a transcript of Lyn's show. I remember reading it and reading her posts here on the bored. Another BOM contestant that I had 'sort of' encountered prior to my appearance was my expert! How cool was that!
Prior to the start of the filming, the audience marched in, all my family walked right next to me. Contact was forbidden, but I so wanted to give each one a hug, especially Sophie and Jason - but it was great to see them all. Mic'ed again, I went out and sat on the on-deck bench and Patrick comes and the next show taping starts. Patrick is doing well and I like his playing style. Split on the ATA leads to a successful DD. 50K and Lyn comes on. UAE question - I'm thinking either 5 or 7, leaning toward 5. I remember actually studying this several weeks ago and I'm pretty sure it was an odd number, but can't pull up the mnemonic I tried to use to remember the answer. Lyn goes with 5, PAF goes with 7, clearly not googled, Patrick splits the difference and walks with $25K - not bad, not bad at all. Go to commercial and I'm in the Hot Seat, across from Meredith.
What can I say about Meredith - I'm sorry but I do have to gush a bit at this point. She somehow has this magical power to just relax you and make you feel right at home. She see's I'm from Austin and seems thrilled, mentions that her son who is about to enter his HS senior year really wants to go to UT. A small but nice bond. She talks about the 10 kids and does what seems to be universal since everyone asks the same question, can you name them. I mention that I always get that question and I always answer going from oldest to youngest, but never the other way. Camera's on, the game is now afoot. As you can see they go with that as my intro to the world. You saw a photo of all my kids, but I didn't have that benefit, I had to do it without that visual crutch, and it is true, the HS drains all your knowledge from you - but I was determined not to blow this and I rattle off the names, as fast as I can hoping I don't screw up and forget anyone (I used my fingers to make sure I go to 10).
The game starts and before I know it I'm at $1000. Relieved that I didn't llama, I'm as happy as could be. The only trepidation I had is the country music category, I'm far from a fan and know very little about it, so I'm worried that it might be something like, who is Garth Brooks married to or name Shania Twain's biggest hit. Here I am, from Austin, TX (12 years now, but not a natural Texan) about to face a country music question. Relief flows through me when I see it, I know it cold, it is really easy, I do like Willie Nelson a lot and I like him a lot more now! I continue up the ladder, some I know before the answers are shown, some I know from the answers, then comes Baby Names and a laugh from the audience. All of a sudden I remember the 'Jinx of the Perfect Category' and how it felled so many contestants before me. Meredith mentions that this should be a good category for me. The kiss of death I had seen several times before and heard about (when the person who designs political ads didn't know the 3 am call ad). Will this be my waterloo? I had already decided my strategy was to use a lifeline if I wasn't sure so I wouldn't waste a lot of time on the clock needlessly - in retrospect maybe not the best strategy. The question comes up - which name was on the top ten in 2007 and 1907? 4 choices - Dorothy, Mildred, Elizabeth, Ruth. 8K, first instinct - Elizabeth, but what about Ruth? I'm pretty sure its not Mildred or Dorothy, but its 9 years since I've been in the baby naming business and one thing I know is name fads come and go pretty quickly. Sophie has a good friend named Ruthie but no Elizabeths. 4 baby names came up in the green room from Allyson and Lyndsay - all uncommon names. What about 1907, any special event, during that the year that could help me? Queen Elizabeth was born? No, she would be 101, no way. How about the candy bar Baby Ruth, it was from around then, there is a lot of trivia about Baby Ruth, Ruth Cleveland or was it Teddy Rosevelts daughter, no, that's not it. It's amazing how many ideas enter and leave you mind in the 5 seconds it takes for Meredith to read the choices, shades of 'An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge' but without the broken neck. No obvious answer, don't blow it, 8K, ATA may not be that useful for the tougher ones - burn it and hope for the best. So at 5 seconds into the timer I ATA.
It takes a lot longer for the ATA results to come in, when I was in the audience it took around 10 seconds or so, when I was in the HS, for some strange reason it was about 30 minutes, which they, out of mercy, edit down to appear almost instantaneously. While waiting and reviewing, I'm convinced it is Elizabeth and I just wasted a lifeline. The new graphics don't just show the answer, the play with your mind first, having the bars go in every direction before revealing the final answer. The problem with that, for me at least, I want to know the answer, what is the breakdown, what my next decision is going to be, do I go with the audience, burn another lifeline, what - just don't mess with my mind. Eventually the bars settle down - 287% go with what I now know as the right answer before I see the results - Elizabeth. 118% go with the choice - moron you just wasted a lifeline on a trival question. At least that is how I remembered it in the agonizing weeks after my taping when I thought back to what I considered my biggest mistake in the HS. At the time, I was relieved to know that my feeling on the correct answer was indeed correct and I had beaten the - this is a tailor made category for you - and the father of 10 doesn't go home with a thousand because ironically enough, he doesn't know baby names.
Next up, Cars and Trucks - 'dually' don't know the term, sounds like a double axle to me - choices give only double wheels, close enough, other choices seem bogus, go with the gut - and yes, on to 25K, the next key level.
Californication. I've already related why I now curse David Ducovny for witholding critical information, but at the time I don't make the connection with the departing Regis and Kelly Live guest. Leaning between RHCP and Green Day but don't know why. Can't blow this, plus this is something I know Leah will know. The good thing about practicing with your PAFs is you get a real sense of the type of stuff they know cold, and I know Leah will know this cold. No disrespect to Bob or Scott, but to get to use my niece on a question I know she can come through for me, the choice is obvious. Even though I know I'm going to pick Leah, I use the generic PAF and then say I'm picking Leah. This extends my time and lets me do just that bit of additional confirmation thinking. Leah comes through big time. Knows it without me even providing the choices - a great sign. 25K guaranteed, 2 lifelines left and time runs out.
I still can't believe how comfortable I feel in the HS. I really am not nervous in the least, I'm having a blast. There is this weird sense that I just belong there, that this is my natural habitat. Meredith is even nicer then I could have imagined and although I think I may have wasted a lifeline, I don't really regret it. Time to go up to the changing room, I take of my 'Jakob' shirt and change into a generic shirt and go down to finish the game. I'm excited and relieved. Happy and relaxed. I head down to the set knowing that whatever may happen, I've met all my goals - everything else is just gravy at this point (little did I know that it would literally be gravy).
This is getting fun, I know now I will be walking in with Meredith, hand-in-hand, just wow. Waiting for the 'next day' I'm at one side of the passageway and Meredith is across from me on the other side. We are both getting last minute info from our respective handlers and I noticed Meredith doing a little dance, maybe to relax or loosen her up I think. It is a fun little dance and then I hear her mention 'Elaine Benes'. I can't resist, I go into my own version of Elaine's infamous, horrible dance, kicks and all, Meredith notices it, laughs and says, 'exactly'. It was a great moment. Seconds later the light cue occurs we hold hands and stride up to the HS.
Meredith plays a cruel trick and has me name the kids but in reverse order knowing full well that is the way I don't do it. It is all in good fun and I nail it without a problem, rapid fire with no visual images as a crutch. We get to talk about Rachel's (Tzippy is what we call her at home) tie which is a treat (btw I will be posting some of her artwork, she is great and I'm not just saying that) So her tie that she made for me 15 years ago when she was 5 gets a great shout-out.
The game resumes - Canadian Cuisine - even when I was upstairs changing for 'the next day' I'm running through my mind what do I know about Canadian foods - not much. Although I lived for many years in Buffalo, NY and would travel up to Toronto quite often, nothing special comes to mind. I remember my first trip up there, going to a pub to get some real Canadian food - and finding out why I was warned that was not the best idea. In Toronto they have a great China Town. I also had some wonderful Indian food as well. To me good Canadian food is Asian food. So when the question comes up, I don't have a clue what poutine is. I look at the choices - bars have a lot of hard boiled eggs, there is also Scotch Eggs which I know about – not fried, but eggs are eggs. I know there is some trivia question I recently saw about a type of French dish with a fried egg. It might be fired eggs. How about French Fries, I remember the movie Diner serving Fries with gravy. I think of Belgium with their habit of putting Mayo on fries. No clue, time to ATE. I saw Lyn fail Patrick, but I know she is smart, she's a journalist, maybe she's traveled to Canada recently. She doesn't know but has a gut reaction to Fried Eggs. I remember Ogi's article, the mind pulls out info that you don't know it knew. If it was Fried Eggs I would feel like an idiot if I didn't go with it. I don't want my run to end and Lyn is really not sure - time to use the DD, down to a fifty-fifty shot, can't lose cash but I can lose future questions which I really don't want to happen. Go with Lyn's answer and then if it isn't right I get another shot. Fried Eggs - like the Oracle of Delphi predicting the fall of a great empire but not which empire - Lyn was right - I shouldn't follow her advice. I picked the wrong 'correct' answer from Lyn. Clock restarts, I'm thinking of French Fries, but wait, that word traditional leaps out me. What do I know about Quebec, a long and rich history, somewhat European, tradition, long standing, generation to generation type of thing. Fur trappers, wasn't that popular. Where do fur trappers work, woods, lots of mushrooms in the woods. Can't eat mushrooms plain, day in day out, fix it up with some cheese and gravy. A tradition starts, and is passed down from generation to generation. French Fries, sounds like a modern dish, take some fries and smother them with goop, something todays generation would do. What about Crepes, sounds French, had a lot of crepes when visiting Paris (when living in Switzerland), doesn't seem to fit, gravy on a crepe, no. It's a distracter. Fries - too modern. Gotta be Mushrooms. Final answer.
Thus ends my run. It is fries, well, c'est la vie. I gave it a good shot, I didn't know it but I was happy with my analysis. I met my goals, Meredith hands me my check and signals for Leslie, Jason and Sophie to come down on stage. Big hugs all around. 25K not bad. No major blunders, or so I thought at that moment. Played reasonably well, nothing to be embarrassed about. Go to the holding area under the seats, sign some forms including a release saying they could show Rachel's tie on TV. Leslie, Jason and Sophie are with me. It all seems so surreal. I'm not sure I fully comprehend what happened. We watch Myra and I want to yell out when she answers David Spade. I know it but I'm helpless in saving her. Moments later she joins us in the tiny room. Now the last of my green room buddy is up. Lyndsay is doing great and time ends. Time to go up to the locker, collect my things and say goodbye to Millionaire.
Spoiler
After the taping we had grabbed a bite to eat with my family and guests and went back to L.I. for our last night in NY.
Tuesday, July 29th.
We were flying out of Philly but not until after 7 pm - the idea was to get an early start and spend the day site-seeing at Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, and hopefully the Franklin Institute. We got a later start then we had wished for manly because the key on the car rental wouldn't turn. The dashboard 'key disabled lock' symbol/icon/thingy was flashing and we tried all the various steps of manually unlocking the car/locking the car with the key (not using the electronic signal), that it suggested to clear the system, with buttons pressed, moving the steering wheel, checking the gears, etc. All to no avail. We called the rental agency and they said that they couldn't get a replacement car to us but would send for a cab to take us (and our luggage) to one of their locales for a new car. While this was going on and we were at various ponts in the processes - the flashing light somehow went off and we were able to turn the key. No one is quite sure what was done to fix it, but we were off. The result was that we didn't get to Philly until close to 1 pm so we decided to forgo the Franklin Institute (hopefully to another time) and spend the time at all the sites near Independence Hall - (the Mint, Betsy Ross's house, the American Jewish Heritage Museum, the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall itself). We finished up just before 5 pm drove to the Airport. More flight delays (but not as bad as last Wed.) got us home at 2 am, exhausted but happy to be home with the rest of the family after one of the most memorable times of my life - not quite the top-ten (10 births and 2 weddings will never leave the top spots) but right up there, easily in the top 20.
Stayed tuned for the missing details....
---Jay (Tune In and Find Out on Sept. 29th, 2008)
After the taping we take some photos with the check, first at the table in the restaurant and then if front of the ABC logo on the outside of the studio. Everyone seems so proud of me, but already I'm doing a post-mortem. Did I play as best I could, what could I have done differently? What if I didn't ATA on Baby Names, would the audience have known Californication. I keep going back and forth, sure it would have been a resounding response for RHCP and no, not decisive at all and you still would have needed the PAF. Maybe a 50/50 split and I could have used the DD. In the midst of our celebration I was torturing myself for something I promised myself I wouldn't do, but I can't help it. Did I let down my family - they don't act that way, but I can't help thinking I did - I knew they were convinced I would get to a 6 figure amount. I know from all my studying and practicing that it was far from a given conclusion, but a possibility. I knew I even had the ability to llama out or leave well below 25K. I was happy with amount but I couldn't shake the feeling that somehow I failed them. And what about the bored. 25K, not bad but not outstanding - could I bear to show my face again - did I let them down?
I could only remember a handful of questions and could not remember the dollar values with the exception of the 25 and 50K ones. Maybe the Baby Names was the 1K question, I couldn't recall - if it was so easy why did I blow my lifeline?
That evening at my sister's house I go on-line. Time to find out what I can about Poutine. Invention date uncertain, one claim is the late 1950's, another places it in the 1960's, doesn't really take its current form until the 1970's and doesn't appear to gain widespread popularity in that region of Canada until the 1980's. It is a modern dish, I get a bit of satisfaction knowing that my analysis was actually accurate - even though it lead me to the wrong answer.
It takes some time to stop obsessing about the game. Even though I was obsessing about it, oddly it didn't diminish my joy about the experience. A couple of sleepless nights and things start to calm down. I'm no longer thinking about it every 38 seconds. Eventually life gets back to normal, but I can't shake the feeling that I had a chance and I blew it. Every now and then a reference to Poutine pops up. First on 'Wait, wait, don't tell me', then on the bored's QOTD. My sister goes up to Canada and calls me to tell me she is dining on Poutine as we speak... life goes on, but I can't fully put to bed my uneasiness.
Finally, air date, I watch day one. Surrounded at lunch with friends and co-workers and a resounding success. It was an 8K and not a 1K question for Baby Names. Hey, I didn't do too bad. I actually enjoyed how I played it. Yes I could have played it better, but I could have done a lot worse. It was great to see the show as it finally put my demons to rest for good. For the first time since I left the studio my nagging feelings have totally been obliterated and I feel really good about the whole experience, without qualifications. Record day two to watch after Rosh Hashanah. I enjoy watching my analysis, I played it as best as I could at the time, absolutely no regrets.
Like I said, my Millionaire experience was a thousand times more fruitful then I thought it could ever be. I've met some fantastic folks and had some never to be forgotten experiences. Got to dance with Radio City Rockettes and just when I thought it couldn't get any better, low and behold there was this most amazing portrait from Evil Squirrel. Amazing. I love it, and yes, I can be emotionally moved by a simple cartoon.
I have nothing but thanks and gratitude to everyone on the bored. Total strangers came through for me in ways I never thought could be possible.
Thank you all for giving me one of the greatest experiences of my life. Thank you!
---Jay
