Inside the Studio

The Price Is Right adventure continues....

Have you ever been to a taping of a TV show?  Gina and I have actually previously attended a taping of the now defunct "Mohr Sports Show".  That was during "The Great Road Trip of 2002", which, when all was said and done, ended up being a 10 day road trip with my five kids and Gina...and it was freaking awesome.  But that's another story.

Anyway, what you see on TV is not what you see in the studio.  We did not sign any confidentiality forms or anything that we know of so I feel at liberty to disclose to you, my wonderful readers, the behind the scenes look at TPIR.  We walked up several flights of stairs.  Our anticipation and excitement was building with each step.  We were getting closer, and closer and closer until.....

Uh, wow.  Not quite what we expected.  We were somewhat underwhelmed.  It was considerably smaller than you would imagine.  The chairs are like movie theater seats and the ones that are in the middle towards the back are folding chairs.  They are on a small platform.

There are different colored sheer curtains with lights behind them.  Monitors hang from the ceiling that you can watch what is going on while they are taping.  There is an "applause" sign on each side of the audience.  Up on the stage there are two cameramen behind large cameras that are on rollers and one man holding a camera.  If you look up above the stage you can see some of the signage that is used during the show as well as some of the props.

We were able to sit towards the middle and if you are looking at the audience from the stage we are on the right side.  We sat next to the large Navy group wearing our blue t-shirts that said, "WE LOVE PLINKO" on them.

The pages direct everyone to their seats and after everyone was settled the announcer, Rich Fields, comes out to warm us up.  Everyone is energized and ready for the taping to begin.  The music starts, the camera is on and the taping has started!!  WOOT!!WOOT!!

Now because the noise level is tremendous inside the studio, they write the names of the contestants on cue cards.  Well, they write the names of the first few on cards. The rest of the names you have to listen very carefully otherwise you'll look around bewildered until someone else has jumped up and you see them screaming and waving their arms as they run down to contestants row. 

If you've ever watched TPIR you may wonder why other people seem so excited when someone else's name is called.  After spending 16 or so hours overnight with someone, you build a bond.  A California friendship.  It's a brotherhood/sisterhood of sorts, an extension of your family.

Nine people are called to be a part of contestants row so our odds of being called were about 1 in 36 since there are approximately 325 people in attendance that particular day.  Between each commercial break, Bob (we're on a first name basis) talks to the audience.  Some people raise their hands to be able to ask a question.  And some of those people should have taken their medication before the opened their mouths.  One guy raised his hand and said, "I want my wife to give me a pedicure every night" or some other crazy nonsense like that.  We were all thinking....whaaaattt??

TPIR changes sets and the camera moves with such ease and agility it's pretty amazing to watch even if you don't get called.  They roll out the big wheel when it's time to spin, other pricing games are rolled smoothly from one point to another.  It's just pretty cool to watch.

We did make a pact with all of our new friends that if they were called down to contestants row, made it up to the pricing game, were one of the two contestants to make it to the showcase showdown and won.....well we were going to join them at the end on stage to celebrate. 

So that brings me to the point of my story when I need to discuss who did get called up to contestants row.  I'll end the suspense for you now.  We did not get called up.  The only person we "knew" that got called up was Seattle Bob, but we sure had high hopes to the very end.

If you don't get called as a TPIR contestant all hope is not lost!  There is a door prize given away.  On that day that we were there the winner received a TPIR DVD and a $100 in cold hard cash.  After that, the magic of the afternoon was quickly fading and it's time for everyone to leave.

By the way, don't forget to check the board that's at the front of the audience.  It lets you know when your taping will air.  Our particular show aired 4/19/07. 

My TPIR adventure will always be one of our most cherished memories.  We all had such a fantastically awesome time, met some amazing people and had a fabulous adventure.  Let me know if you've had a chance to visit TPIR!  I'd love to hear about it.

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