The Price Is Right

Dad and I did a very typical Los Angeles vacation "thing", and we went to a taping of The Price is Right!

The tickets said to be in line by 12:00pm, so dad and I got to the CBS lot around 11.  I wasn't sure how long the taping was going to take, so we grabbed some lunch at the Grove (which is right next door), and walked over and got in line.  Shortly after we arrived, we were brought onto the lot.

In line, we met a really sweet girl who was visiting from Virginia.  Her husband and two daughters were exploring the city while she went to her favorite show.  :)

They herded everyone into these lines under a big awning on the lot.  (shortly after this, I found out you weren't allowed to take any pictures at all...oops!)  It was here that a guy announced, "You all are here for the 4:05 taping, be sure to have your ID ready."  Dad and I (and about 50 other people in line) were like...um, what?  We thought we'd be there until 3:00 or so.  We didn't realize that it was going to take up our whole day!!  Thank goodness we decided to eat beforehand!!

While you are in line, you get a number (it is on a pink card--in the picture above, you can see the person holding it in the foreground).  There is a place on the card for you to put your name and address and phone number, just in case you are called to be on the show.  While you are waiting here, there are CBS personnel walking up and down the lines, taking your cards and printing your names on your nametags.

You also get your picture taken in front of a green screen, with everyone in your party.  They superimpose this onto a Price is Right background.  This picture can be yours for only $20!  (we didn't buy one)

You then go stand in another line, where they interview everyone that is going to be in the audience.  This is how they choose the contestants.  There is a producer, and he calls people up in groups of 14 people or so.  You get about 30 seconds (or less).  Basically, you say your name, where you're from, and what you do for a living.  If the producer finds you interesting, he might ask you another question.

So no, the selection process isn't random!  If you are in a group and you wear homemade shirts of some kind, you are more likely to get picked, but it isn't a guarantee.  Two of the 8 contestants had homemade shirts, the others were just wearing regular clothes.

After your interview, you are sent into ANOTHER line. This line is next to the side entrance of the CBS lot.  While we were waiting there, I recognized a few people that came in: Tatyana Ali (from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), Kenny Wormald (from the new Footloose movie), and his girlfriend Ashley Roberts (who is a Pussycat Doll).  The girls behind me were impressed that I recognized them!  What can I say?  It's my super power.  :)

After waiting in this line for a while, you are finally let into the studio, where you are seated.  We made friends with the 3 girls behind us, so we sat in our group of 5.

A couple of observations:
1.) In the studio, it looks like the 1970s threw up in there.  The colors are SO bright and gawdy, and there are literally flowers and peace signs all over the place. (they are muted in the picture below, if you can imagine)
2.) The studio is REALLY small.  They must use distorted lenses to make it look bigger on camera.
3.) When you watch the show, it looks like the seats are on a really steep grade, but they aren't at all.  We were just slightly higher than the row in front of us.  Think the ground-level seats in a movie theater.

The picture below is not from when we were there, but it will give you a good place to look.  Immediately behind Drew Carey is a flat area where no one sits.  The Price is Right dollar sign logo is on it.  We sat in the front left corner of that area.  Basically, in this picture, right over Drew's right shoulder.  There's a guy in red, and then a girl with long brown hair behind him...the girl is sitting where I was sitting, and my dad was sitting to my right.  So, when the show airs, you can keep an eye out for us!

The taping itself only takes about an hour and a half.  It is pretty true to the actual show time.  There is a stagehand guy who's sole job it is to tell the audience when to cheer and yell.  He stood up in front of everyone and would conduct us.  The best part was that he was a really nerdy looking guy.  He made me laugh the whole time.

George (the announcer) and Drew have a really funny chemistry together.  During filming, they run as live as possible.  There was one spot where they had to go back and re-film something for some reason, but for the most part, there wasn't a lot of cutting.  There were 4 cameras on stage, and it was fun watching them dance around each other.  There was also a boom camera on a jib that would fly around the audience and around the stage.

Everyone yells so loudly that you can't hear George announce the names.  So there are two stagehands up front that have the names on pieces of posterboard.  They show these names as George announces them.

During the commercial breaks, they take a break onstage as well, so the stagehands can reset the stage for the next games.  They do all of this behind a screen, so the games chosen are a surprise for the contestants and the audience.

It is actually better to watch the show on TV.  This is because there are SO many cameras on stage, you can't really see the games.  And, when they have games like Lucky Seven (click on the link to see what game I'm talking about), you can't see the numbers at all, because they are so far in the back of the set.

Dad and I had a good time.  It was definitely longer than we expected, and we were both happy that we had brought books to read in line.


Fun story: during one of the "commercial breaks", the show's producer Mike Richards (from Beauty and the Geek!), came out and talked about a special that he had just finished filming about the new Footloose movie.  He talked with Drew about how Kevin Bacon didn't do any of his own dancing in the original movie, and how Julianne Hough from Dancing With The Stars was in this one.  Drew asked him who the guy was in the new movie, and he didn't know, and it was kind of quiet.  So I yelled out, "Kenny Wormald!"  Drew and Mike looked over at me and said, "Who?"  And I said, "Kenny Wormald!"  Then Drew said to me, "How do you know that?"  I kind of shrugged, and he said, "You sit on your computer all day and stalk him, don't you?"

Well, that's not really true, but I do know a lot of celebrities.  Nothing like being made fun of by Drew Carey, I guess.  Later on, he mentioned Ohio, and I did a whoop, and said, "O-H!" and he said, "I-O".  So that made up for him making fun of me. :)

After the taping, we met Nick at Pink's Hot Dogs.  A long day, but very fun!

Next time any of you want to go to a taping, let me know.  It's a great time!