So closes the first week...
The first week of Whammy! has aired and again, thanks for the E-mails and kind words again on the boards. As always, I'd like to address some questions that have popped up...
In regards to tonight's episode, somebody noticed we only asked four questions. Ahh...while there were only four aired, five were indeed asked. We always ask five questions. However, if a show is running long and there happens to be a question where nobody earns any spins, that question may be edited out of the program for time's sake. You might have also noticed the lack of contestant interview as well despite the fact that we taped one.
Some people have asked what exactly my role is on the show. Well, I don't have one paritcular role. I've basically helped with a lot of different aspects...
One of which is the game board. Once we locked down on a design of the game board with our set designers and director, I along with game show stats guru David Hammett came up with a board configuration that would fit the show's budget and GSN's guildlines as well as create the best gameplay possible. One thing I made sure of was that we slipped in some nods to the old show by putting in such "homage" spaces as $470, $525, $1200, $1400, and of course $2000-or-Lose-1-Whammy. We also came up with some new spaces that had the spirit of the old show like $1000 or spin again as well as the new oddball $740 space. Because there were no real "corners" on the board, we couldn't to "Pick a Corner" However, I placed some 3-way "Move 1 Spaces" on the spaces where they reside in Round 3 to create a similar 3-choice dilemma including the classic situation of having a "Whammy" (or in this case "Double Whammy") pop up every now and then as one of the choices. It was a bit surreal doing this seeing how I had in a way been doing this for years coming up with board configurations of my own on Curt King's "Press Your Luck" computer program. In "Move 1 Space" cases, we made sure that there's always a dilemma for the contestant. For example, you'll never have a choice between $1200, $1500 or a prize. It just doesn't make sense because $1200 is obviously a wrong choice to make...
Another thing I've helped out with is coming up with Whammy ideas. It's been quite cool to see some of my Whammys debut this week and to see the reaction to them. One of my favorites that I came up with is the "Spelling Bee Whammy." Next to the *NSync Whammy, it's one that I feel best captures the "insult" feel of the old Whammys. Some others that have popped up this week that I've helped with creating are the Emeril Whammy, Judge Whammy, *NSync Whammy, and Pillow Double Whammy. There are a few others of mine which will be popping up later this season. :-)
There are other things which I've helped out which I'll eventually get into detail somewhere down the line. During the actual tape days, my roles include checking in with our prize coordinator and CBS Electronics on the board status. During the show, I'm over at the producer's table with Michael Weinberg and Kevin Belinkoff while on headset in communication with the booth where Bob Boden and Jeff Mirkin are. I run the computer that feeds Todd the questions during the question round. Also before the question round, Michael and I prep Todd with the notes about contestant interviews. During the spin rounds, I function as another set of eyes...keeping a close tally of what's hit and player totals of spins, dollars, and Whammys so that if there are any inaccuracies we can catch them as soon as possible. This also helps to make sure everything is right should there be any stopdowns due to technical malfunctions on the board. I'm also there as another set of eyes to provide a heads up if anything unusual in game play should pop up like a Whammy-out causing a win or a potential of a $0 tie at the end of the game. In the midst of all this, if Kevin is there at the table he and I usually play the "What would I have done?" game as to whether we'd press or pass if we were in the shoes of the contestant. Needless to say, it's a LOT of fun...Everybody just gets into a frenzy in the heat of the game. Not only is the audience screaming to press or pass but you've also got staffers and people in the wings also screaming too. Without a doubt, this is the most energetic show I've worked on and one where I get so wrapped up in the show that I forgot that this is all part of the job! :-)
So..that's a little insight as to what I've been up to Whammy-wise. In other stuff, things have been quite interesting. I'll have to speak in vagaries...but there's a been a bit of slight drama lately in the personal life. In the little spare time, I've had lately, I've been hanging out with Person X. Now, Person X was introduced to me through Person Y, a friend of mine. It turns out that Person Y has had some interest in Person X and has been a bit miffed about the time I've been spending with Person X. Now, I'm just friends at the moment with Person X and from what I gather Person X is just looking for friends. Still, I must say it's been a long while since I've met somebody whom I'm enjoyed spending time with or clicked with as Person X. But I'm not one to make a first move. Person Y has sensed my liking of Person X and through a little chatting online revealed that a several days ago he and Person X got together and that he sensed that there could be something more between the two than just a friendship. Yet, Person X has not called Person Y since. Confused? You won't after tonight's episode of SOAP! Oh...wait...sorry...Broke into my Rod Roddy impersonation there...Needless to say, I dunno what to make of all this and I'm a bit torn as to where I should go with this. I really like Person X as a new friend and I would love it if it did blossom into something more, but I don't want to jeopardize the great friendship we've built by being too pushy. Also, I don't want to hurt Person Y. Ack...Grrr...Can't this be easy for once?!? I just hate the fact that in Person X, here's somebody whom has almost everything I look for in a guy...but it could just be simply a friendship. Not that having a great new friend is bad...but geez, this cycle of "so close, yet so far away" situations is getting quite tiresome...In any case...stay tuned...
The first week of Whammy! has aired and again, thanks for the E-mails and kind words again on the boards. As always, I'd like to address some questions that have popped up...
In regards to tonight's episode, somebody noticed we only asked four questions. Ahh...while there were only four aired, five were indeed asked. We always ask five questions. However, if a show is running long and there happens to be a question where nobody earns any spins, that question may be edited out of the program for time's sake. You might have also noticed the lack of contestant interview as well despite the fact that we taped one.
Some people have asked what exactly my role is on the show. Well, I don't have one paritcular role. I've basically helped with a lot of different aspects...
One of which is the game board. Once we locked down on a design of the game board with our set designers and director, I along with game show stats guru David Hammett came up with a board configuration that would fit the show's budget and GSN's guildlines as well as create the best gameplay possible. One thing I made sure of was that we slipped in some nods to the old show by putting in such "homage" spaces as $470, $525, $1200, $1400, and of course $2000-or-Lose-1-Whammy. We also came up with some new spaces that had the spirit of the old show like $1000 or spin again as well as the new oddball $740 space. Because there were no real "corners" on the board, we couldn't to "Pick a Corner" However, I placed some 3-way "Move 1 Spaces" on the spaces where they reside in Round 3 to create a similar 3-choice dilemma including the classic situation of having a "Whammy" (or in this case "Double Whammy") pop up every now and then as one of the choices. It was a bit surreal doing this seeing how I had in a way been doing this for years coming up with board configurations of my own on Curt King's "Press Your Luck" computer program. In "Move 1 Space" cases, we made sure that there's always a dilemma for the contestant. For example, you'll never have a choice between $1200, $1500 or a prize. It just doesn't make sense because $1200 is obviously a wrong choice to make...
Another thing I've helped out with is coming up with Whammy ideas. It's been quite cool to see some of my Whammys debut this week and to see the reaction to them. One of my favorites that I came up with is the "Spelling Bee Whammy." Next to the *NSync Whammy, it's one that I feel best captures the "insult" feel of the old Whammys. Some others that have popped up this week that I've helped with creating are the Emeril Whammy, Judge Whammy, *NSync Whammy, and Pillow Double Whammy. There are a few others of mine which will be popping up later this season. :-)
There are other things which I've helped out which I'll eventually get into detail somewhere down the line. During the actual tape days, my roles include checking in with our prize coordinator and CBS Electronics on the board status. During the show, I'm over at the producer's table with Michael Weinberg and Kevin Belinkoff while on headset in communication with the booth where Bob Boden and Jeff Mirkin are. I run the computer that feeds Todd the questions during the question round. Also before the question round, Michael and I prep Todd with the notes about contestant interviews. During the spin rounds, I function as another set of eyes...keeping a close tally of what's hit and player totals of spins, dollars, and Whammys so that if there are any inaccuracies we can catch them as soon as possible. This also helps to make sure everything is right should there be any stopdowns due to technical malfunctions on the board. I'm also there as another set of eyes to provide a heads up if anything unusual in game play should pop up like a Whammy-out causing a win or a potential of a $0 tie at the end of the game. In the midst of all this, if Kevin is there at the table he and I usually play the "What would I have done?" game as to whether we'd press or pass if we were in the shoes of the contestant. Needless to say, it's a LOT of fun...Everybody just gets into a frenzy in the heat of the game. Not only is the audience screaming to press or pass but you've also got staffers and people in the wings also screaming too. Without a doubt, this is the most energetic show I've worked on and one where I get so wrapped up in the show that I forgot that this is all part of the job! :-)
So..that's a little insight as to what I've been up to Whammy-wise. In other stuff, things have been quite interesting. I'll have to speak in vagaries...but there's a been a bit of slight drama lately in the personal life. In the little spare time, I've had lately, I've been hanging out with Person X. Now, Person X was introduced to me through Person Y, a friend of mine. It turns out that Person Y has had some interest in Person X and has been a bit miffed about the time I've been spending with Person X. Now, I'm just friends at the moment with Person X and from what I gather Person X is just looking for friends. Still, I must say it's been a long while since I've met somebody whom I'm enjoyed spending time with or clicked with as Person X. But I'm not one to make a first move. Person Y has sensed my liking of Person X and through a little chatting online revealed that a several days ago he and Person X got together and that he sensed that there could be something more between the two than just a friendship. Yet, Person X has not called Person Y since. Confused? You won't after tonight's episode of SOAP! Oh...wait...sorry...Broke into my Rod Roddy impersonation there...Needless to say, I dunno what to make of all this and I'm a bit torn as to where I should go with this. I really like Person X as a new friend and I would love it if it did blossom into something more, but I don't want to jeopardize the great friendship we've built by being too pushy. Also, I don't want to hurt Person Y. Ack...Grrr...Can't this be easy for once?!? I just hate the fact that in Person X, here's somebody whom has almost everything I look for in a guy...but it could just be simply a friendship. Not that having a great new friend is bad...but geez, this cycle of "so close, yet so far away" situations is getting quite tiresome...In any case...stay tuned...
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