My report
Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 6:18 pm
This is yesterday's news, but I promised a report, and a promise is a promise.
We took our sweet time getting to NYC the night before. Since we were driving ourselves down (getting reimbursed for gas & tolls), we could arrive when we wanted. First difference from the experience of 9 years ago..no orientation the day before in which all of the contestants met together with the showrunners to help select wardrobe, hand out per diem money, etc. No T-Shirts, either
We got in around 6:30pm. Wasn't all that hungry as we had a big lunch before leaving. Got our bearings and basically took it easy. I had to get up early, after all!
picked up by a fancy van with a kickass wheelchair lift and driven to the studio. Difference #2. I was taken to isolation upon arrival. No mingling with other contestants and their companions. Heck, Nancy wasn't evn allowed to be with me. She had to find a way to kill a few hours before she would be allowed in the studio. Luckily she was in NYC so she managed somehow to find something to do
Signed some papers, met some handlers, spend most of my time waiting with a young guy named Trevor who I enjoyed shooting the breeze with. Cool young man. They brought in lunch but I only et a half a sammich..good thing I wasn't that hungry as it was then time to go for the briefing/rehearsal.
We received instructions/advice/etc. from several production folks and we had 3 Fastest Finger runthroughs. Yours truly won the first two. I'll let you in on a secret: I took a dive of sorts on the third one, as I didn't want to have a target on my back. Oh, I answered it correctly..I just took my time punching it in.
Finally Michael Davies gave us the final briefing and pretty much told us that the questions on this episode were gonna be cake with chocolate frosting. (Unfortunately I didn't even get to lick the spoon).
Then it was back to isolation until showtime. Throughout rehearsal, they kept hammering at us to "show your excitement, whoop it up, be ALIVE out there". I don't recall those instructions 9 years ago, but as was quite evident, this ain't 2000 anymore. "Regis feeds off your energy!" Just before Michael Davies introduced us to the audience, we were again reminded to be full of excitement, energy, and enthusiasm! Well, I can't exactly jump up and down and do splits, can I? So I improvised. As I was introduced, I did what any self-respecting doof in a wheelchair would do..I did a 360.
And nearly took out the fastest finger monitor AND the wall behind it backing in to my spot.
Now THAT would've been excitement!
You saw what happened and I expounded in another thread on my adventures in brain flatulence with that second question. I came in second both times (honestly, between the fact that the carryover started at $1K and the first HotSeater's run seemed to take forever, I was amazed we even got the chance to HAVE a second ff), and it was done. If you noticed, just after the second ff winner was announced, I was looking up into the audience. That was me signalling to my wife "Honey, I missed it again!".
As we left the set, we had to have our pictures taken. As I was making my way to that area, I heard someone call "T-Bone!" It was the fantabulous hermillion. I wish I had gotten the opportunity to hang out a bit and spend some time chatting, but I was informed that the van was already waiting outside to take me back to the hotel once I had taken my picture. They took my photo, they handed me my stuff, I was escorted out. I won't say anyone was rude, they were quite nice and courteous actually, but once the taping was over, it was obvious that they were done with us.
We got back to the hotel, tried to score some last minute Broadway tix, but finding that all that was available was the revival of South Pacific at 80 bucks a pop, decided to decline, and went out to a nice dinner at a Mediterranean establishment. While dining, who should pass by on the sidewalk outside our window but the lady who won the first ff and her hubby.
Nice touch. All that was missing was the guy who beat me up and stole my lunch money in third grade. Sheesh.
I've been thinking. Mike Hardware wrote that he believes his story was all meant to be and took place according to a plan. I won't dispute that. It may be the other way around for me..this was NOT meant to be..for whatever reason, I was NOT meant to see that HotSeat. Maybe I would've driven right off that ramp and run over Regis. Maybe I would've gotten a question on the Beatles and MISSED it, earning the eternal ridicule of all who know me. Maybe I would've won a million dollars but blown it all on Underoos and put us into bankruptcy. Who knows? I'll deal with it, try to believe that there was a good reason this stuff happened, and get back to being the big doofus y'all know and (hopefully) love.
Thus ends my official report, transcribed the 21st of August, 2009.
We took our sweet time getting to NYC the night before. Since we were driving ourselves down (getting reimbursed for gas & tolls), we could arrive when we wanted. First difference from the experience of 9 years ago..no orientation the day before in which all of the contestants met together with the showrunners to help select wardrobe, hand out per diem money, etc. No T-Shirts, either
We got in around 6:30pm. Wasn't all that hungry as we had a big lunch before leaving. Got our bearings and basically took it easy. I had to get up early, after all!picked up by a fancy van with a kickass wheelchair lift and driven to the studio. Difference #2. I was taken to isolation upon arrival. No mingling with other contestants and their companions. Heck, Nancy wasn't evn allowed to be with me. She had to find a way to kill a few hours before she would be allowed in the studio. Luckily she was in NYC so she managed somehow to find something to do
Signed some papers, met some handlers, spend most of my time waiting with a young guy named Trevor who I enjoyed shooting the breeze with. Cool young man. They brought in lunch but I only et a half a sammich..good thing I wasn't that hungry as it was then time to go for the briefing/rehearsal.
We received instructions/advice/etc. from several production folks and we had 3 Fastest Finger runthroughs. Yours truly won the first two. I'll let you in on a secret: I took a dive of sorts on the third one, as I didn't want to have a target on my back. Oh, I answered it correctly..I just took my time punching it in.
Finally Michael Davies gave us the final briefing and pretty much told us that the questions on this episode were gonna be cake with chocolate frosting. (Unfortunately I didn't even get to lick the spoon).
Then it was back to isolation until showtime. Throughout rehearsal, they kept hammering at us to "show your excitement, whoop it up, be ALIVE out there". I don't recall those instructions 9 years ago, but as was quite evident, this ain't 2000 anymore. "Regis feeds off your energy!" Just before Michael Davies introduced us to the audience, we were again reminded to be full of excitement, energy, and enthusiasm! Well, I can't exactly jump up and down and do splits, can I? So I improvised. As I was introduced, I did what any self-respecting doof in a wheelchair would do..I did a 360.
And nearly took out the fastest finger monitor AND the wall behind it backing in to my spot.
Now THAT would've been excitement!
You saw what happened and I expounded in another thread on my adventures in brain flatulence with that second question. I came in second both times (honestly, between the fact that the carryover started at $1K and the first HotSeater's run seemed to take forever, I was amazed we even got the chance to HAVE a second ff), and it was done. If you noticed, just after the second ff winner was announced, I was looking up into the audience. That was me signalling to my wife "Honey, I missed it again!".
As we left the set, we had to have our pictures taken. As I was making my way to that area, I heard someone call "T-Bone!" It was the fantabulous hermillion. I wish I had gotten the opportunity to hang out a bit and spend some time chatting, but I was informed that the van was already waiting outside to take me back to the hotel once I had taken my picture. They took my photo, they handed me my stuff, I was escorted out. I won't say anyone was rude, they were quite nice and courteous actually, but once the taping was over, it was obvious that they were done with us.
We got back to the hotel, tried to score some last minute Broadway tix, but finding that all that was available was the revival of South Pacific at 80 bucks a pop, decided to decline, and went out to a nice dinner at a Mediterranean establishment. While dining, who should pass by on the sidewalk outside our window but the lady who won the first ff and her hubby.
Nice touch. All that was missing was the guy who beat me up and stole my lunch money in third grade. Sheesh.
I've been thinking. Mike Hardware wrote that he believes his story was all meant to be and took place according to a plan. I won't dispute that. It may be the other way around for me..this was NOT meant to be..for whatever reason, I was NOT meant to see that HotSeat. Maybe I would've driven right off that ramp and run over Regis. Maybe I would've gotten a question on the Beatles and MISSED it, earning the eternal ridicule of all who know me. Maybe I would've won a million dollars but blown it all on Underoos and put us into bankruptcy. Who knows? I'll deal with it, try to believe that there was a good reason this stuff happened, and get back to being the big doofus y'all know and (hopefully) love.
Thus ends my official report, transcribed the 21st of August, 2009.
