Game Show Marathon - The Taping

The video montage detailing the history of Press Your Luck was quite thorough and I'm glad they gave the Michael Larsen incident the credit it deserved.  With Peter having passed away just a few weeks earlier, I was glad to see the montage contain one of his great hosting moments.

The taping clicked along at a good pace.  Ricki was definitely in the zone for this taping and had done her homework on how to host the show.  I nearly fell out of my seat when I heard the buzz-in for the first question--it was the actual sound used on the classic show.  Every detail seemed to match the '80s version, even down to the sound effects for earned and passed spins.

In Round One I got worried when Leslie hit two Whammys, but when he picked up the $4000 I thought it was a great time for him to pass.  Of course he did not and we saw what happened with that decision.  The atmosphere in the audience for Round One was more exciting than any other taping I've been at.  The crowd, most of whom were only familiar with the show in passing, went absolutely nuts, standing up and screaming at many points.  It was more like a wrestling match than a game show taping!

In between rounds, announcer Rich Fields entertained the crowd by putting on an impromptu talent show.  There was a surprising array of talent in the crowd, including a human beatbox, some great singers, and even a male Cher impersonator (I forgot his name though...) ;)

For the Round Two run at the board some of the audience had run out of gas a bit, but the game show fans I was with were going nuts.  I worried when Leslie whammy'd out that we'd have a boring ending but it turned out to be anything but that.  The spin battle that emerged between Tim and Kathy rivaled some of the best episodes of classic Press Your Luck.  When Tim hit $10,000+spin towards the end, we jumped to our feet and sensed a great comeback was at hand.  But with two spins left and such a small lead over Kathy, I shouted at him to continue for at least one more spin.  Unfortunately for him, a vast majority of the audience shouted for him to pass, and Kathy overtook him to pick up the win.

The taping took about 2 1/2 hours and clipped along at a good pace.  It wasn't as smooth as a clockwork Price is Right taping, but for a primetime show (and for a game as unpredictable as Press Your Luck), it went surprisingly well.  During the stop downs, the celebrities would chat with the audience.  Paige Davis and her dog actually went into the crowd to talk to people and meet and greet.  Brande Roderick was in a trance during most of the show; she was so caught up in the game she could barely take her eyes of the action!  Lance Bass texted on his phone during some of the taping, but did take the time to sing an impromptu chorus of his N'Sync hit "Tearing Up My Heart" with a group of crazed female fans. 

After the taping, fans and staffers had the opportunity to go down on stage and view the great board and set up close.  The board used on the taping was actually about 1/3 the size of the board used on the CBS version, but it had been built to the specs of the original board and looked fantastic.  Some of us got to take practice spins on the board--I whammy'd twice before finally hitting Big Bucks!

All in all it was an amazing taping and a treat to be a part of.  Here's hoping they try it again on Gameshow Marathon 2 (if and when...)