Davies, Vieira, WWTBAM -- NY Times Article

[TheConfessor]

There are some interesting quotes and insights in this article from today's NY Times. It's kind of funny that Michael Davies has forgotten that they no longer have $125,000 questions on WWTBAM. But the point he was making probably reveals a lot about who get invited onto the show.

=======

October 6, 2008
Who Wants to Host a Game Show? So Many
By JOANNE KAUFMAN

So you want to be a game show host? Get in line.

These days it seems as if every B-list actor is angling for the job. The latest crop includes the fellow who played Will Smith’s cousin on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (does Alfonso Ribeiro ring any bells?) and the guy who played Tim Allen’s sidekick on “Home Improvement” — this one is for the washer and dryer — anyone? Anyone? (Richard Karn).

For the networks, game shows are winners because they are inexpensive to produce, appealing to viewers and can be sold in the same format around the world. For actors, the job can be a good way to revive a flagging career — think of Howie Mandel, who had a failed talk show and a stalled acting career before starring in “Deal or No Deal” on NBC during prime time.

In the last year, Kevin Belinkoff, vice president for original programming at the Game Show Network, has been peppered with résumés from performers, some of them well known. Barely a day goes by without an agent or talent manager suggesting that he hire a client.

But picking a host (like being a host) is not that easy. Plenty of people with big followings — from the tennis player John McEnroe to Paul Reubens (a k a Pee-wee Herman) — have gone down to defeat in the game show arena.

“A bad host can ruin a good game,” Mr. Belinkoff said, “but a great host can’t rescue a game that’s flawed. Ultimately, the game is what’s important.”

Now that most networks have at least one prime-time game show and the format has become a staple on cable, “agents call and suggest people in a way they didn’t use to,” said Michael Davies, executive producer of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and chief executive of a company responsible for shows like “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” “Power of 10” and “Chain Reaction.”

The star-making power of game shows is well known — early in his career, Johnny Carson had two game shows, “Earn Your Vacation” and “Who Do You Trust?” — but it seems to have intensified in recent years. Regis Philbin was famous as half of the morning talk show “Regis and Kathie Lee” (now “Regis and Kelly”) but his profile rose exponentially when he became host of the prime-time “Millionaire” from 1999 to 2002. Mr. Mandel was something less than a household name before he rose to prominence in “Deal or No Deal,” which had its debut in 2005 and has made him a highly paid star.

But it is not just the potential payoff that has grown. So has the workload. “The demands on this generation of hosts have never been greater,” said Andrew Glassman, executive producer of GSN’s “Bingo America,” whose first host was Patrick Duffy, best known as Bobby Ewing on “Dallas.” For the second season, the mantle has passed to Mr. Karn. (GSN explains the handoff gingerly: “Richard is a perfect fit for all the exciting changes viewers will see,” adding, “Patrick Duffy was a terrific host and we loved working with him.”)

“The shows are much more complicated than in the past,” said Mr. Glassman. “There are complex stunts, there is expensive lighting and numerous music cues.”

If the lighting is more dramatic now, so are the games. “There wasn’t much back story on the shows of the ’50s and ’60s,” said Mr. Davies. “You asked contestants what they did and where they were from. But now as a host on a lot of shows you have to build a contestant’s back story and a conflict and that final moment of ‘Will they or won’t they?’ ”

Hosts, he said, must be mindful of the nuances that will add drama. “If we have a very successful businessman who’s taking a risk of $125,000 on ‘Millionaire,’ it’s not a big moment,” he said. “You put a teacher who’s a single parent in that exact same situation, and that’s a moment to be handled differently.”

Mr. Karn, who was the host of “Family Feud” before “Bingo America,” suggests that being a good game show host is being “the better part of yourself.” Barbara Bloom, senior vice president for daytime programming at CBS, likens a good game show host to a good cocktail party date. “They connect with you, they guide you through the event and stay by your side,” she said.

A background in broadcasting helps. “All the great TV game show hosts of the ’50s and ’60s — Monty Hall, Gene Rayburn, Bill Cullen, Garry Moore, Bob Eubanks, Tom Kennedy — they all got their starts in radio,” said Fred Wostbrock, co-author of “The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows.” “They were tremendous communicators. They were skilled ad-libbers.”

Meredith Vieira, a former correspondent on “60 Minutes” and a co-host of “The View,” said that being a broadcast journalist was great preparation for her job as the host of “Millionaire” since 2002. “As a reporter, you have to be a good listener and have the ability to ask the right questions to draw someone out,” she said. “That’s so much of what I do on the show.”

[MarleysGh0st]

“A bad host can ruin a good game,” Mr. Belinkoff said, “but a great host can’t rescue a game that’s flawed. Ultimately, the game is what’s important.”

Hear, hear!

Hosts, he said, must be mindful of the nuances that will add drama. “If we have a very successful businessman who’s taking a risk of $125,000 on ‘Millionaire,’ it’s not a big moment,” he said. “You put a teacher who’s a single parent in that exact same situation, and that’s a moment to be handled differently.”

<groan>

Meredith Vieira, a former correspondent on “60 Minutes” and a co-host of “The View,” said that being a broadcast journalist was great preparation for her job as the host of “Millionaire” since 2002. “As a reporter, you have to be a good listener and have the ability to ask the right questions to draw someone out,” she said. “That’s so much of what I do on the show.”

Excuse me, Meredith, but don't the APs have your chat topics all planned in advance? After having cast the contestants precisely because they have those chattable hooks?

[gsabc]

Meredith Vieira, a former correspondent on “60 Minutes” and a co-host of “The View,” said that being a broadcast journalist was great preparation for her job as the host of “Millionaire” since 2002. “As a reporter, you have to be a good listener and have the ability to ask the right questions to draw someone out,” she said. “That’s so much of what I do on the show.”

Excuse me, Meredith, but don't the APs have your chat topics all planned in advance? After having cast the contestants precisely because they have those chattable hooks?

Maybe the topics are set up, but she still needs to be able to get the people to talk about them. And I'm sure in some cases she manages to get more information out of the players than they gave the APs. Meredith's main function is to keep the players calm by making them feel comfortable, as if there weren't a thousand physical and millions of virtual eyeballs on them.

Do they let the players know which chat topic Meredith will bring up next? I hope so, because I know that I'd probably have forgotten that AP call entirely by the time I got to the taping.

[sunflower]

At least in my case, they rehearse with you over and over.

In the green room.

When you get backstage and they're doing your makeup.

When you're in the chair.

During the commercial break, if there is one.

All to make sure you say "the right thing". Of course then Meredith asked me a different question and I was temporarily flustered, because they spent so much time telling me that they weren't going to deviate from the "script" that I wasn't expecting it!

[MarleysGh0st]

Do they let the players know which chat topic Meredith will bring up next? I hope so, because I know that I'd probably have forgotten that AP call entirely by the time I got to the taping.

Absolutely! Did you see the article about Patrick Pugh that I posted last week, in which the APs insisted he'd do his Chris Farley impersonation on all three of his appearances?

[gsabc]

All to make sure you say "the right thing".

Oh, they don't want you to blurt out that you keep pickled dead hedgehogs in your basement? It would make for interesting TV, after all.

The preparation is good, though. Way back when I was on WoF, I had mentioned that I was a trivia fan in my self-intro. After winning the first puzzle, Pat asked me out of the blue where Superboy was raised. I gave the right answer, but distinctly remember thinking "Why the heck is he asking me that??" and my answering tone showed that a little. The reason didn't occur to me until long afterwards.

[frogman042]

As Sunflower said - they do rehearse you over and over with cues like if Meredith says x then that triggers this story and you practice saying that story in a particular way.

Meredith, although she has the summary sheet often goes off script asking about things that come out during the show and are not at on the sheet. Of all the responses I had practiced, none of those predefined bits of patter were actually recited on the air. Also, when I was in the audience, most of what Meredith says when she is talking 'to the camera' is scripted, but when she is talking to the contastant, the teleprompter simply reads - Meredith Ad-Libs.

Yes, everything is well prepped - but when Meredith talks to you, she is really talking to you and not following a script and often not even following the points on the contestants summary sheet.

Also, as I mentioned in my Recap - even though they had Patrick doing his Chris Farely 3 times now - he didn't do it for his two interviews when he tested (I asked him if he did it then and he said no, it only came up after he was contacted to be on the show). That's why I think it is less important to have a 'good hook' or be of a certain type then just simply projecting a sense self-confidence.

---Jay

[etaoin22]

For the networks, game shows are winners because they are inexpensive to produce, appealing to viewers and can be sold in the same format around the world. For actors, the job can be a good way to revive a flagging career — think of Howie Mandel, who had a failed talk show and a stalled acting career before starring in “Deal or No Deal” on NBC during prime time.......

The star-making power of game shows is well known — early in his career, Johnny Carson had two game shows, “Earn Your Vacation” and “Who Do You Trust?” — but it seems to have intensified in recent years. Regis Philbin was famous as half of the morning talk show “Regis and Kathie Lee” (now “Regis and Kelly”) but his profile rose exponentially when he became host of the prime-time “Millionaire” from 1999 to 2002. Mr. Mandel was something less than a household name before he rose to prominence in “Deal or No Deal,” which had its debut in 2005 and has made him a highly paid star......


“The shows are much more complicated than in the past,” said Mr. Glassman. “There are complex stunts, there is expensive lighting and numerous music cues.”

If the lighting is more dramatic now, so are the games. “There wasn’t much back story on the shows of the ’50s and ’60s,” said Mr. Davies. “You asked contestants what they did and where they were from. But now as a host on a lot of shows you have to build a contestant’s back story and a conflict and that final moment of ‘Will they or won’t they?’ ”

Hosts, he said, must be mindful of the nuances that will add drama. “If we have a very successful businessman who’s taking a risk of $125,000 on ‘Millionaire,’ it’s not a big moment,” he said. “You put a teacher who’s a single parent in that exact same situation, and that’s a moment to be handled differently.”......



A background in broadcasting helps. “All the great TV game show hosts of the ’50s and ’60s — Monty Hall, Gene Rayburn, Bill Cullen, Garry Moore, Bob Eubanks, Tom Kennedy — they all got their starts in radio,” said Fred Wostbrock, co-author of “The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows.” “They were tremendous communicators. They were skilled ad-libbers.”

.”

(1) So, if they were so inexpensive and Regis was so great, why not bring him back?

(2) Mr. Mandel was remembered at least in Toronto, and had the rating on some web site of #77 stand-up of all-time, but what makes him a success is his feel, and his avoidance of any sense of camp.

(3) I will make the assumption that for the purposes of talking to a reporter, Mr. Davies is inflating the numbers rather than missing the point, but the moment of truth for the YSM is from 4 to 8, or from 8 to 16. The MAWG business family man actually took more gas in the hot seat because he was, usually quite visibly, balancing off the risk of university tuition vs university tuition and a chunk of the mortgage. I think the audience evaluation more or less decided they did not want to see this.

(4) I strongly agree about the radio thing. Monty Hall, incidentally, did radio back in Winnipeg at the CBC after WWII. My late aunt was trying to make a go at being a "girl singer' on the radio as they used to say in those days, and always remembered him, afterwards.

[goongas]

So, if they were so inexpensive and Regis was so great, why not bring him back?

Davies asked Philbin at least two times if he wanted to host and he refused them. He thought it would take too much time to tape the episodes. This was still while the had the FF during the primetime show that slowed up taping quite a bit, and also before the question clock of course.

[peacock2121]

If I were to try out this year, I would hammer hard on how the money would change my life.


hammmer







hard

[peacock2121]

even if I had to make it up.




Maybe I'd use tears too.

[kayrharris]

Shouldn't be all that hard for some of us these days.

Just sayin'....

I can turn on the the southern charm or tears, depending on the circumstances, whenever necessary.