My buddy Len Wein and I are both fans of the TV game show, Deal or No Deal so today, we went over to watch the taping of an upcoming episode. A friend got me V.I.P. passes but it turns out we probably could have received much the same admission if we'd gone to this page and filled out the online application.
I think we had a good time, though we had plenty of complaints, including the sheer length of the session. We were there more than five hours for the taping of one one-hour show…and for much of that time, we were all treated like it would be a capital crime to leave early and a serious felony to go use the bathroom. The seats were enormously uncomfortable and the audio, at least where we were seated, was frustrating. We couldn't hear half of what was said by the contestants and host Howie Mandel, but the warm-up guy was way too loud. (I should write a sequel to this article about warm-ups at TV tapings. It used to be that they were hosted by someone connected with the show who'd answer questions and talk about how the program was done. Nowadays, the trend — and what they do on Deal or No Deal — is bring in someone to play games with the audience, getting people up to sing and dance, and awarding them t-shirts and other prizes.)
The Deal or No Deal games themselves were also rather boring. During a break, Mr. Mandel told the audience that during recent tapings, contestants had been experiencing a run of bad luck, going home with less than exciting sums. We saw the end of one game, a complete game with another contestant and the start of yet another game with a third contestant…and none of them seemed to be breaking that streak.
So what did we like? Well, we had a good view of the show's twenty-six prize models, so that was nice…though I could have done without the guys seated behind us who were speculating out loud on which one they'd pick if they were given their pick of having sex with any one of them. Amazingly, as of the time Len and I left, no one had given them that choice. I always love how men invent those little discussion games like that kind of thing ever actually happens.
I enjoyed watching how the show is done, studying the little technical details. It's slickly-produced and apart from the constant delays, done with great efficiency. The set, like all sets for TV shows, is smaller than it appears on your home Plasma screen and most of the twelve cameras are robotic and unobtrusive. There's a nice feeling of intimacy and audience involvement the way the stage is designed. Unlike most shows where sightlines aren't clear and you wind up watching much of the proceedings on a monitor, you can see almost everything from most seats and there are no monitors.
We also got to see The Banker as he walked up to take his place in the skybox. He's kind of an average-looking guy with reddish hair…and he has the easiest job in television. He just sits there while they tape and does nothing. (The "offers" that allegedly come from The Banker actually are from the show's producers.)
The thing I don't like about the program as I watch it at home is the heavy editing and the "pasted together" feeling it sometimes has. At the taping, one can see why this is. There are a lot of pick-ups (doing something over for the camera) and a lot of inserts where the audience is asked to "act" (applaud, moan at a bad break, etc.) when nothing is actually happening so that footage can be edited wherever needed into the show. I did a show once for ABC where we weren't allowed to do that. If you cut to a shot of the audience laughing, that had to be footage of them actually laughing at whatever they were represented to have laughed at. Either the rules have changed or NBC is more lenient on that count.
But all in all, it was an interesting field trip that makes me even more impressed with how the producers have made their game work. And that's pretty much all I have to say about it because I need to get back to work on something. Hey, Len! Did I leave anything out? If so, send me an e-mail I can post here.