Queen for a Day- rigged? And Other shows that used "applause meters"
Matt Kaiser
I understand Queen for a Day was rigged. The audience didn't actually
decided the winner, it was a panel of judges. The "applause meter", I
heard, was also rigged. The judges chose Queen for a Day based on the
sponsor's guidelines. Is this true?
I remember a "sort of" game show that aired in my area. (I don't know if
it aired nationally or not) It was called "The Dr. Fad Show". Dr. Fad
was an Asian American who hosted this show that showcased inventions
made by children and also had contests that involved strategy,
creativity, and a little science to solve. Also on the show was a
"surfer-dude" sidekick that served as the announcer.
In any case, the winner of the invention contest was decided by an
"applause meter". Although, I don't believe they used an actual meter.
In season one, they used a mechanical meter that appeared to be operated
by hand, and later, a digital graphic with numbers was used. Is it
possible that a panel of judges also decided the winner, and that the
"applause" was just there for the sake of applause?
I've always disliked shows that used "applause meters". What other shows
used these devices? The only one I can think of is "The Gong Show".
Brian Conn
In article <33716B...@erols.com>, Matt Kaiser <mat...@erols.com> wrote:
>
>I remember a "sort of" game show that aired in my area. (I don't know if
>it aired nationally or not) It was called "The Dr. Fad Show".
I think the guy's name was Ken Hakuna. And I know I saw it, so it at
least also aired in NYC or LA.
>
>I've always disliked shows that used "applause meters". What other shows
>used these devices? The only one I can think of is "The Gong Show".
The only other one that comes to mind is "Can You Top This?" with Wink
Martindale in 1970-ish.
BC
Jeremy Rogers
Matt Kaiser <mat...@erols.com> writes:
> I've always disliked shows that used "applause meters". What other shows
> used these devices? The only one I can think of is "The Gong Show".
According to the recent obituaries, the clappometer was first used by
Hughie Green in Opportunity Knocks. However, as he always used to say:
'X is the winner with the studio audience, but it is YOUR vote which
counts, and I mean that most sincerely".
Jez
--
CyberJohns
>I've always disliked shows that used "applause meters". What other shows
>used these devices? The only one I can think of is "The Gong Show".
I remember a show called CAN YOU TOP THIS? in which comedians competed by
trying to get the loudest applause.
C Alliaume
In article <33716B...@erols.com>, Matt Kaiser <mat...@erols.com>
writes:
>I understand Queen for a Day was rigged. The audience didn't actually
>decided the winner, it was a panel of judges. The "applause meter", I
>heard, was also rigged. The judges chose Queen for a Day based on the
>sponsor's guidelines. Is this true?
From Howard Blake's article "The Worst Program in TV History," which
appeared in "TV Book," edited by Judy Fireman (Workman, 1977). I'm
guessing Blake was the line producer or something, as he discusses his
employment in the article (he worked for the show twice, only to leave
both times after host Jack Bailey declined to consider making changes to
keep the game fresh).
"But we had our integrity, I'll have you know. Other audience
participation shows chose their contestants after intensive interviews,
wrote scripts for them to memorize, told them what answers to give the
quiz questions, rehearsed them thoroughly in *how* to give those answers,
and absolutely controlled who won and how much. None of this did we ever
do. No candidate for Queen was ever planted, prompted, or rehearsed.
Every candidate came from that day's walk-in audience. The Queen was
chosen entirely by audience applause and this was never faked, or
"sweetened," as the trade calls it, although that's easy to do. And it
was a strict rule that the Queen was to be treated like a queen during her
one-day reign and given everything the show promised her."
I very much doubt the applause meters were rigged -- if they were, the
show would have gone off the air during the quiz scandals in 1958-59.
(NBC did, in fact, drop the show, but that's because they were cleaning
out their entire schedule of game due to the "Twenty-One" fallout, and
also possibly due to low ratings. ABC picked it up and ran it for five
more years.) After 1959, networks always had Standards & Practices people
all over the set; it would have been impossible.
Also (and not to defend "Queen for a Day," which I consider one of the
sillier games ever), what purpose would rigging the show serve? The only
reason games were rigged was to make them work (such as "Twenty-One");
"Queen" worked fine without any rigging. It's an anachronism today (as it
was in the 1969 revival, which used an audience voting system, a la
"Celebrity Sweepstakes"), but it served its purpose in that era.
-- Curt Alliaume
CyberJohns
Considering the dysfunctionmania of t--- shows, why bring back QUEEN FOR A
DAY? Chances are the "princesses" competing for the title will out-trash
the average GERALDO guest.