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Cash Cab

The answers are probably obvious, however, does anyone know the inner workings of Cash Cab? My guess is the "contestants" are pre screened and have signed the legal papers. Does the driver have a teleprompter as he does such a fine job sounding as if the questions are off the top of his head. They do an excellent job of pulling off picking up unsuspecting fares and asking them questions from point A to point B if, in fact, they are really driving through New York City.
 
I saw a youtube video that explained everything. There was even a tour of the cab with a trunk full of electronics for the hidden cameras, tape machines, microphones, etc. It was really neat. I'm sure you can find it if you look hard enough.
 
In some shots you can see that he is wearing an IFB in one ear, likely being fed the questions and answers through it.

At the end of the credits, I believe it mentions that the contestants are pre-screened for the show. What I would consider likely, though, is that they may not know when they will be picked up by the cab/appear on the show. Much along the the same vein as The Price is Right: everyone (aside from those disqualified or otherwise ineligible) are pre-screened before entering Studio 33 and could become a contestant, but do not know if they are going to actually be called to "come on down." This would preserve the element of surprise, making contestant reactions much more spontaneous.
 
They showed a special once about best-of's or FAQ-like things about the show. There is another cab following the Cash Cab, with 1 camera and (I think) the producer that feeds Ben the questions/answers and how many blocks away. There's either 3 or 4 cams in the Cash Cab. One thing the credits say is that the passengers/contestants don't know it's the Cash Cab until they're in the cab. The show doesn't wait to tell them till the end of the ride, like with HBO's Taxicab Confessions. I've never seen the cab go outside Manhattan (no outer boroughs, airports, etc.) for picking up passengers. I think they only used 2 different cabs (judging from the numbers in front and back) during the whole series.
 
Thanks for all the answers. Have to credit the producers as they have done a nice job.
 
Frank Ferreri said:
The answers are probably obvious, however, does anyone know the inner workings of Cash Cab? My guess is the "contestants" are pre screened and have signed the legal papers. Does the driver have a teleprompter as he does such a fine job sounding as if the questions are off the top of his head. They do an excellent job of pulling off picking up unsuspecting fares and asking them questions from point A to point B if, in fact, they are really driving through New York City.

North of the border, Discovery Channel Canada does their own version, with their version set in Toronto.
 
KentBrockman said:
They have won the Emmy for 'Best Game Show' for the past three years in a row... Not too shabby.
They wasted a lot of time last night that could have been spent showing clips of the shows and of the acting performances. Sure, a lot of the "wasted" time was about helping the less fortunate, but I think they could have done that more quickly.

I don't actully know what they showed during the first hour because I was watching "Scoundrels" and haven't had time to see the tape yet.
 
vchimpanzee said:
KentBrockman said:
They have won the Emmy for 'Best Game Show' for the past three years in a row... Not too shabby.
They wasted a lot of time last night that could have been spent showing clips of the shows and of the acting performances. Sure, a lot of the "wasted" time was about helping the less fortunate, but I think they could have done that more quickly.

I don't actully know what they showed during the first hour because I was watching "Scoundrels" and haven't had time to see the tape yet.

Was great to see Cash Cab and Ben win Sunday night. I couldn't believe how tall Ben looked next to the others onstage.

BTW, you might need that FF when you watch the first half. I was amazed at how sloppy the show was. Oh, and the first hour was even more Vegas-baby than the other hour. Just as in recent years, no time was made for In Memoriams (we've lost James Mitchell, Frances Reid, and Helen Wagner since the first of the year and none of them were even mentioned, although there were quick, fleeting glimpses of Wagner in the ridiculously-short ATWT 'tribute'). (At least ATWT got something...Another World got -0- during the 1999 Daytime Emmys--it was up to 3 of the actors to quickly add something AW-related to their presentations/introductions.) Anyway, the video screens on each side didn't always match up with many of the presentations. Regis was a surprise, compared to the way he usually is during his show and others (I'm hoping it was sloppy telepromptering/bad writing). You'll definitely need your FF for the ads--**all** the commercial breaks were wallowing in PSAs/charity stuff--maybe 10% was typical awards breaks and network promos--it kinda reeked of desperation to me, like they couldn't find anybody else to advertise during the awards. I'm happy about the Best Actor/Actress results. The big salute in the first hour was really redundant, as the object of the salute already was given a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy years ago. Nobody got any video time during mentions of the nominees, and none of the Best Dramas were given time to show video either. At least Best Drama went to a show other than one that has gotten it WAY WAY too many times lately (and I didn't have to put up with seeing their excuse for an EP either!!! 8) 8) ) It was sad to see how un-daytime the awards were this year. </rant> :mad: :p
 
Bluenoser said:
Frank Ferreri said:
The answers are probably obvious, however, does anyone know the inner workings of Cash Cab? My guess is the "contestants" are pre screened and have signed the legal papers. Does the driver have a teleprompter as he does such a fine job sounding as if the questions are off the top of his head. They do an excellent job of pulling off picking up unsuspecting fares and asking them questions from point A to point B if, in fact, they are really driving through New York City.

North of the border, Discovery Channel Canada does their own version, with their version set in Toronto.

And in addition to that, Quebec's V network has now added their own version of Cash Cab, called Taxi payant (Paying Cab). I haven't seen a whole episode, but it's a pretty good bet that their version comes out of Montreal.
 
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