Great example last night on Game Show Network of why Garry Moore was maybe the best TV host ever, at least for that kind of show. The rerun was I've Got A Secret for January 14, 1959, back when the show was broadcast live. The second guest was a gent named Jack Mosely (sp?) whose secret was that using only his own lung power, he could inflate an inner tube until it burst. Naturally, he had to demonstrate this…but when he did, it took a lot longer than usual. Long past the allotted time for the stunt, Jack was still blowing into the thing, which had expanded to the point where it seemed ready to explode…but didn't.
On and on he went, with the audience getting hysterical — and, even on a black-and-white telecast, you could see that Mosely was turning eleven shades of fuchsia. Through it all, Moore kept up a witty, unscripted running commentary and resisted the shouts of his producer to cut the spot off. Special Guest Andy Griffith was still to follow but obviously, Moore reasoned that they had to play the act out to its pay-off. I suspect he thought — no doubt, correctly — "Not one person in America's going to change channels until that tube goes kablooey!" Instead, when a commercial became mandatory, Moore had Mosely pause and then, following the break, the inner tube inflation resumed, now with Andy G. joining Garry to do play-by-play. The tire finally went bang, knocking Mosely on his ass and prompting an incredible audience ovation. They never got to Griffith's "secret" but so what? It was good, fun live television…and honest.
Silly stuff, of course. But I couldn't help think that it would never happen on a TV show today…and I'm not even certain there's a host who could properly ad-lib and cope with all that spontaneity. It isn't just that we rely too much on precisely-edited videotape. It's that the star and format have to be protected at all times. They have to know exactly what's going to happen and have lines prepped for when it happens…and if it doesn't happen that way, they stop tape or edit. Even on a live program — say, an awards ceremony — any chance of surprise is kept to an utter minimum. Maybe the mania some folks have for watching live, televised police chases is because it's such a novelty to view something other than sports on TV where fate, as opposed to a producer, is in control. With all the "reality" shows around, it's only a matter of time before it dawns on someone that real, effective reality begins with allowing the unexpected to occur.