Price Is Right 40th Anniversary Special has at least one major omission

[bpatrick]

IIRC, Bob was also the last host to use a hand microphone with trailing cord;
he did this, he said, because there were "dead spots" on the studio floor where
sound wasn't picked up well.

Someone mentioned five different game shows airing in access time in Seattle
in the '70s. That was not peculiar to Seattle; at the time, most stations "checkerboarded"
7:30/6:30 (meaning they carried a different show each night), although some "stripped"
(aired the same show Monday-Friday). In 1973 in Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville, for
example, WSPA (CBS) stripped "Beat The Clock" (with Gene Wood) and WLOS (ABC) stripped
"To Tell The Truth" at 7:30, while WFBC (now WYFF, NBC) carried "Let's Make A Deal" on
Monday, "Hollywood Squares" on Tuesday and Thursday, "Treasure Hunt" on Wednesday,
and the nighttime "Price" on Friday.

Most stations that checkerboarded tried to mix various types of shows, throwing in nature
shows ("Wild Kingdom" and "Wild Wild World Of Animals"), variety shows ("The Muppet Show"
and "Sha Na Na") and reality-based shows like "Candid Camera." Checkerboarding went out
about 1980; it was far less expensive to program the same show five nights a week and viewers
found it easier to remember one show at 7:30 rather than five.

 

[ixnay]

The person who kept NYC relevant as a game show location was Bob Stewart. He told CBS the '$10000 Pyramid' must be done in NY or it doesn't happen.

Eventually Stewart threw in the towel and shiows were moved west.

When? And what made Stewart finally blink?

ixnay

 

[Fenway1912]

The person who kept NYC relevant as a game show location was Bob Stewart. He told CBS the '$10000 Pyramid' must be done in NY or it doesn't happen.

Eventually Stewart threw in the towel and shows were moved west.

When? And what made Stewart finally blink?

ixnay

Partly because LA/Hollywood was cheaper to shoot than New York as there were less unions to deal with.

He fought and won to launch Pyramid in New York when it would have been much cheaper to do it at Television City instead of TV-50 (Ed Sullivan)
Dick Clark was by then LA bases and LA would have provided an ample celebrity pool.

The problem in New York with the unions was not NABET/IBEW but IATSE because outside of 30 Rock, the NY studios were old Broadway theaters.

The problem continues to this day - try doing a sports remote at Madison Square Garden and you will not believe the union rules. IATSE in NY is now controlled by the Russians of Brighton Beach and they can be terrifying when crossed.

 

[NorwoodBoundD]

If I recall correctly, I think they actually taped a few episodes of the $10000 Pyramid in Los Angeles in 1973.

 

[bpatrick]

I know that the '80s version of "Pyramid" on CBS was taped at
Television City. In fact, New York went for years without being
the home of a game show; "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" was
the first game show to be taped in the Big Apple since sometime
in the '80s.

Sort of off-topic, but it's rather noteworthy that all of CBS's
daytime programs (except "CBS This Morning") originate in LA;
I can remember a time when six soaps ("Guiding Light," "As The
World Turns," Edge Of Night," "Search For Tomorrow," "Love Of
Life," and "Secret Storm") originated in New York, not
to mention "Password," "To Tell The Truth," and--in the '70s--
"Pyramid."

I think the transition from NY to LA for CBS began in the 1972-73
season, with four new games (two of them new versions of games which had
previously aired on other networks): "TPIR," "Match Game,"
"Joker's Wild," and "Gambit," and one new soap ("Y&R") originating at
Television City; in 1974 the New York-based "Secret Storm" was replaced
by the LA-based "Tattletales."

 

[Ultimajock]

Sort of off-topic, but it's rather noteworthy that all of CBS's
daytime programs (except "CBS This Morning") originate in LA;
I can remember a time when six soaps ("Guiding Light," "As The
World Turns," Edge Of Night," "Search For Tomorrow," "Love Of
Life," and "Secret Storm") originated in New York, not
to mention "Password," "To Tell The Truth," and--in the '70s--
"Pyramid."

...wasn't Captain Kangaroo based in NYC as well? And wasn't CBS' morning newscast originating from Washington for a spell during that period?...

 

[bpatrick]

"Captain Kangaroo" did originate in New York; Jada Rowland,
who grew up playing Amy Ames on "Secret Storm," has some
horror stories about her encounters with animals that appeared
on "Captain": a llama once spat on her, and another (I don't remember
what kind) ate her purse.

If the "CBS Morning News" originated in Washington, I don't recall it;
it could have been in the Hughes Rudd/Sally Quinn era, since she writes
for "The Washington Post" and did so in the '70s as well.

A note about "Pyramid"'s origination point. "The Encyclopedia Of TV Game
Shows" lists these places (this is through 1992 so it doesn't include the
Donny Osmond version):

Ed Sullivan Theater, New York (1973-74)
Studio 31, CBS Television City, Los Angeles (fall 1973)
ABC Studio TV-15, New York (1974-80 and again in 1981)
Studio 33, CBS Television City (1982-88)
Studio 31, CBS Television City (John Davidson version, 1991-92)

 

[oldiesfan6479]

If the "CBS Morning News" originated in Washington, I don't recall it; it could have been
in the Hughes Rudd/Sally Quinn era, since she writes for "The Washington Post" and did
so in the '70s as well.

The first broadcast of the Rudd/Quinn-helmed Morning News in '73 originated at CBS NYC.
We have a clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89TwxJg5wKY

There was a remote from Washington during the 'cast. You can really tell the difference in
audio as this clip was recorded in NYC (15 kHz), with the remote on a 5 kHz Telco line.

 

[rnigma1]

The problem continues to this day - try doing a sports remote at Madison Square Garden and you will not believe the union rules. IATSE in NY is now controlled by the Russians of Brighton Beach and they can be terrifying when crossed.

Sorry to hear that, even though Capone crony Willie Bioff was mainly responsible for bringing the IA to Hollywood in the '30s. My ex-wife's current husband was a longtime IA man (a relative of his used to be the union president). He worked in the Midwest and had little or no interaction with mob types.

 

[Ultimajock]

If the "CBS Morning News" originated in Washington, I don't recall it;
it could have been in the Hughes Rudd/Sally Quinn era, since she writes
for "The Washington Post" and did so in the '70s as well.

...that's what I was thinking...

 

[johnnya2k6]

In fact, the use of electronic chyrons for the credits wasn't even adopted until around 1994 -- they still used the old credit scroll technique.

Nope; the change happened in 1996 (though I think they experimented it one time in 1988 or so).

 

[bpatrick]

Johnny O had two slightly different openings for the daytime and
nighttime "Price." He would say, "A fortune in fabulous prizes may
go to these people today (tonight) if they know when...'The Price
Is Right.'" After calling the first four contestants to "come on down,"
he would say, "and here's the star of 'The Price Is Right,' Bob Barker"
or "and here's the star of the nighttime 'Price Is Right,' Dennis
James."

 

[johnnya2k6]

Johnny O had two slightly different openings for the daytime and
nighttime "Price." He would say, "A fortune in fabulous prizes may
go to these people today (tonight) if they know when...'The Price
Is Right.'" After calling the first four contestants to "come on down,"
he would say, "and here's the star of 'The Price Is Right,' Bob Barker"
or "and here's the star of the nighttime 'Price Is Right,' Dennis
James."

Later on in the run, the opening spiel would begin with "Right now, an audience is sparkling with excitement, because..." followed by the rest.

Another difference is that on the nighttime shows, sparkling colored lights were shown in the open instead of the famous light border.

 

[bpatrick]

Although I wish the show had paid some homage to Bill Cullen,
his version is treated as if it was a completely separate show.
How often--if ever--do you hear any mention of the network
version of "Wheel Of Fortune" on that show? To listen to Pat
and Vanna, "Wheel" has been on only since the syndicated version
started in 1983; I've never heard Chuck Woolery or Susan Stafford
mentioned at all. Likewise, Trebek will change the subject if a contestant
mentions the Art Fleming version of "Jeopardy!" as if to say that the only
version that counts started in 1984--when it went into syndication and he
began hosting.

Cullen's "Price" may seem awfully static by today's standards, but it wasn't
without excitement in its own right: anyone here remember GSN's "Sunday Night
In Black And White" and the night they showed a Rolls-Royce up for bids on the
Cullen "Price"? Two players "froze," while the other two ran the bidding up to the
$30,000 range; you just hated to see either one of them lose. (I wouldn't be surprised
if the audience collectively stopped breathing, almost as they did when Michael Larson
was on "Press Your Luck.")

 

[ShawnHill1]

Although I wish the show had paid some homage to Bill Cullen,
his version is treated as if it was a completely separate show.
How often--if ever--do you hear any mention of the network
version of "Wheel Of Fortune" on that show? To listen to Pat
and Vanna, "Wheel" has been on only since the syndicated version
started in 1983; I've never heard Chuck Woolery or Susan Stafford
mentioned at all. Likewise, Trebek will change the subject if a contestant
mentions the Art Fleming version of "Jeopardy!" as if to say that the only
version that counts started in 1984--when it went into syndication and he
began hosting.

From what I read and heard, the non-acknowledgement of Wheel and Jeopardy! pre-syndication is by design thanks to its producers. I've seen recent interviews with Pat Sajak where he at least acknowledges that he's been the host of Wheel of Fortune since 1981. Even though the network version of Wheel has been off the air since 1991, anyone at least over the age of 30 knows good and well about Wheel's daytime history.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

To listen to Pat
and Vanna, "Wheel" has been on only since the syndicated version
started in 1983; I've never heard Chuck Woolery or Susan Stafford
mentioned at all.

Chuck Woolery was mentioned on the very first episode Pat hosted. He was mentioned again a few weeks ago when they had a 30th anniversary special.

 

[bpatrick]

I didn't see the 30th-anniversary "Wheel" special and probably
didn't see Pat's first show (that was 31 years ago, after all), so
thanks for the correction; if anyone else has heard Pat speak of
Chuck Woolery, how about letting me know?

I still maintain that Alex looks very uncomfortable at any mention
of Art Fleming; this may be my imagination. I know he's been quick
to point out in interviews that he watched Art when he still lived in
Canada, but that their styles are different (like it or not, it should be; I
think an emcee should be himself/herself). Someone pointed out on one
of these threads not long ago that on Alex's version of "Jeopardy!" the players
nearly always clear both boards; on the original show they rarely did because
Art would take up time kidding Don Pardo or the stagehands.

Back to "Price," Drew Carey will mention Bill Cullen from time to time;
I think the only time Bob ever mentioned Uncle Bill was when Bill appeared
to promote "Child's Play." (I always liked Steve Beverly's comment about the
night he and his daughter were watching an episode of Bill's "Price Is Right"
on GSN's "Sunday Night In Black And White"; his daughter, who had apparently
never heard of Bill, asked her dad, "Is that that Drew Carey guy?")

 

[Ultimajock]

I still maintain that Alex looks very uncomfortable at any mention
of Art Fleming; this may be my imagination. I know he's been quick
to point out in interviews that he watched Art when he still lived in
Canada, but that their styles are different (like it or not, it should be; I
think an emcee should be himself/herself). Someone pointed out on one
of these threads not long ago that on Alex's version of "Jeopardy!" the players
nearly always clear both boards; on the original show they rarely did because
Art would take up time kidding Don Pardo or the stagehands.

...plus, at the time the Trebek revival was rolled out, Fleming was notably vocal about his disapproval of the answers purposely being made less difficult to question correctly. I used to listen to Fleming's Trivia Spectacular program with Dave Strauss over KMOX Radio in St. Louis in the early '90s, and he was still passing comments about that as late as '92...