"YOU'VE JUST WON.... A NNEEEEWWWW CAAAARRRRRR!!!!!"
Psh... I wish. But that was the hope, anyway!
For my first day off in 2011, I decided that instead of sleeping in and relaxing, I wanted to get up earlier than I do when I go to work, drive to CBS Studios and sign up to see a taping of The Price is Right. Ronny, ever the good sport, took the day off with me to participate.
I have always heard that seeing a taping of The Price is Right is something that you "must" do if you are in LA. Maybe it's just one of those things that out-of-towners think is glamorous and "cool," because I never really saw the appeal. But, I figured that I should see for myself what all the hype is about!
On the days that they tape TPIR, they have two tapings a day. One is at 12pm, the other at 4pm. In order to get into the noon show, you have to show up (no joke) no later than 6am. Since there was no way in hell we would get up that early for pretty much anything, we signed up for the 4pm show. CBS suggests you get there at noon. A few Google searches of other people's experiences recommends you show up at 8am.
Ugh.
So before we even showed up, we knew we were in store to wait a minimum of 7 hours before the taping would even start. We groggily showed up at 9am and received little pieces of paper that represented our spots in line (even at 9am we were 91 and 92. The guy who was first in line got there at 6am... crazy!!) We were then told to come back at noon. So luckily that gave us time to go to brunch. We went to Blu Jam, which I have always heard good things about but have always avoided because it's always SO crowded on weekends. I figured this sunny Monday morning was perfect. We had a lovely brunch, and Ronny gave it a 4-star Yelp review.
Our bellies full, we headed back to the Grove where we had to park. I convinced Ronny to let me go to Anthropologie for a bit, which he obliged to but I think it was only because Mario Lopez was just outside Anthro taping for that night's "Extra" episode. (Ronny's justification: "Who would pass up an opportunity to see AC Slater in person??!"). We watched him talk for a bit about how Charlie Sheen had bombed his first show on his comedy tour... ironically enough, Mario messed up a bunch of times himself and they had to keep re-doing it.
Around noon we headed back over to CBS (which is walking distance from the Grove shopping center). We then sat for about hour. Then they started lining us up, putting us in order of which we first arrived. After we were all in order, we each had to fill out a form with our names and social security numbers (to claim prizes I guess) and then wait in ANOTHER line to get our name tags. We were then shepherded to another long row of benches where we waited to get interviewed. We waited there for about an hour (it's now around 2:00 pm) before our group of about 15 people was called up to be "interviewed" by the show's producer. All this interview consists of is the producer going down the line, and saying "Hi Susan! What do you do?" and pretty much the crazier and louder you are, the more likely you are to get chosen as a contenstant. Obviously, Ronny and I weren't CRAZY enough, and neither was anyone from our group.
After that, we are herded around a corner to wait in ANOTHER line to then check our cameras, phones, all other electronic devices, and go through a metal detector. These security guards should be employed by the TSA - they caught EVERYTHING. I have never seen a more thorough bag search! I guess they have a lot to lose if someone uses their phone to look up the prices of bleach and dog biscuits.
Our only source of entertainment gone, we now had to sit on ANOTHER row of benches with nothing but a CBS magazine to entertain us. I read some of the articles (obviously, focused only on CBS shows) and I think Ronny was trying to count his eyelashes or something. Since we were in the 90s, of over 300 people, we waited for about 45 minutes before everyone filed in. THEN the TVs around us turned on, and we were able to watch a recent episode of TPIR, plus a short video about crazy contestants. That was another hour.
When we were finally herded into the actual studio, I got a kick out of how it is soooo obvious the studio hasn't been updated since the '70s. I mean... pastel rainbow curtains on either side of the stage. Flower-power flowers galore. It was fantastic. When we were directed to our seats, Ronny and I were excited to see that we were sitting 2 rows behind the "winners row" where people make their initial bids to get on stage. We thought it was cool, but soon realized how EXHAUSTING it would be, since we were constantly on camera, we had to be cheering and shouting out numbers constantly as well.
Unfortunately, my Bucket List good luck ran out and neither of us got called down. But either way, the actual taping of the show was a lot of fun. Drew Carey was really funny and personable, and told us long jokes and talked to the audience a lot when they were on commercial breaks. From the few times I've seen shows tape, the hosts usually completely ignore the audience when the cameras aren't rolling (I'm looking at you, Nick Cannon!) so it was actually quite nice . The energy in the room was crazy, though I'm sure it was mostly fueled by a lot of jealousy of people that came from all over the country hoping to get called down, and didn't.
Some of the prizes were totally ridiculous. One girl won an RV trailer, another won a dictionary set.
The girl that won the Showcase Showdown was really sweet. She had just gotten married, and they had just bought a house, so winning a new car and $10,000 plus some trips was really life changing for her. Her excitement was infectious and I was happy for her! (and laughed a little... I mean I'll take the 10k but really, who wants a Dodge Charger?).
And then, just like that... 70 minutes later it was over. Time to go wait in line to get our cell phones, and go home.
So like I said, the taping was a lot of fun, but the ridiculous amount of waiting
and waiting
and waiting
and waiting involved with getting into the taping was hardly worth it. If you were retired and had as much time in the world as you wanted, I would say HECK YES go see a taping (but try not to sit where you will be on camera a lot, or you might wear yourself out!). But if you're like me, and taking the 1 day off led to almost 100 emails in my inbox on Tuesday.. it's not the best use of time. But I'm really glad I did it! Now I can check it off and move on with my list. :)
Psh... I wish. But that was the hope, anyway!
For my first day off in 2011, I decided that instead of sleeping in and relaxing, I wanted to get up earlier than I do when I go to work, drive to CBS Studios and sign up to see a taping of The Price is Right. Ronny, ever the good sport, took the day off with me to participate.
I have always heard that seeing a taping of The Price is Right is something that you "must" do if you are in LA. Maybe it's just one of those things that out-of-towners think is glamorous and "cool," because I never really saw the appeal. But, I figured that I should see for myself what all the hype is about!
On the days that they tape TPIR, they have two tapings a day. One is at 12pm, the other at 4pm. In order to get into the noon show, you have to show up (no joke) no later than 6am. Since there was no way in hell we would get up that early for pretty much anything, we signed up for the 4pm show. CBS suggests you get there at noon. A few Google searches of other people's experiences recommends you show up at 8am.
Ugh.
So before we even showed up, we knew we were in store to wait a minimum of 7 hours before the taping would even start. We groggily showed up at 9am and received little pieces of paper that represented our spots in line (even at 9am we were 91 and 92. The guy who was first in line got there at 6am... crazy!!) We were then told to come back at noon. So luckily that gave us time to go to brunch. We went to Blu Jam, which I have always heard good things about but have always avoided because it's always SO crowded on weekends. I figured this sunny Monday morning was perfect. We had a lovely brunch, and Ronny gave it a 4-star Yelp review.
Our bellies full, we headed back to the Grove where we had to park. I convinced Ronny to let me go to Anthropologie for a bit, which he obliged to but I think it was only because Mario Lopez was just outside Anthro taping for that night's "Extra" episode. (Ronny's justification: "Who would pass up an opportunity to see AC Slater in person??!"). We watched him talk for a bit about how Charlie Sheen had bombed his first show on his comedy tour... ironically enough, Mario messed up a bunch of times himself and they had to keep re-doing it.
Around noon we headed back over to CBS (which is walking distance from the Grove shopping center). We then sat for about hour. Then they started lining us up, putting us in order of which we first arrived. After we were all in order, we each had to fill out a form with our names and social security numbers (to claim prizes I guess) and then wait in ANOTHER line to get our name tags. We were then shepherded to another long row of benches where we waited to get interviewed. We waited there for about an hour (it's now around 2:00 pm) before our group of about 15 people was called up to be "interviewed" by the show's producer. All this interview consists of is the producer going down the line, and saying "Hi Susan! What do you do?" and pretty much the crazier and louder you are, the more likely you are to get chosen as a contenstant. Obviously, Ronny and I weren't CRAZY enough, and neither was anyone from our group.
After that, we are herded around a corner to wait in ANOTHER line to then check our cameras, phones, all other electronic devices, and go through a metal detector. These security guards should be employed by the TSA - they caught EVERYTHING. I have never seen a more thorough bag search! I guess they have a lot to lose if someone uses their phone to look up the prices of bleach and dog biscuits.
Our only source of entertainment gone, we now had to sit on ANOTHER row of benches with nothing but a CBS magazine to entertain us. I read some of the articles (obviously, focused only on CBS shows) and I think Ronny was trying to count his eyelashes or something. Since we were in the 90s, of over 300 people, we waited for about 45 minutes before everyone filed in. THEN the TVs around us turned on, and we were able to watch a recent episode of TPIR, plus a short video about crazy contestants. That was another hour.
When we were finally herded into the actual studio, I got a kick out of how it is soooo obvious the studio hasn't been updated since the '70s. I mean... pastel rainbow curtains on either side of the stage. Flower-power flowers galore. It was fantastic. When we were directed to our seats, Ronny and I were excited to see that we were sitting 2 rows behind the "winners row" where people make their initial bids to get on stage. We thought it was cool, but soon realized how EXHAUSTING it would be, since we were constantly on camera, we had to be cheering and shouting out numbers constantly as well.
Unfortunately, my Bucket List good luck ran out and neither of us got called down. But either way, the actual taping of the show was a lot of fun. Drew Carey was really funny and personable, and told us long jokes and talked to the audience a lot when they were on commercial breaks. From the few times I've seen shows tape, the hosts usually completely ignore the audience when the cameras aren't rolling (I'm looking at you, Nick Cannon!) so it was actually quite nice . The energy in the room was crazy, though I'm sure it was mostly fueled by a lot of jealousy of people that came from all over the country hoping to get called down, and didn't.
Some of the prizes were totally ridiculous. One girl won an RV trailer, another won a dictionary set.
The girl that won the Showcase Showdown was really sweet. She had just gotten married, and they had just bought a house, so winning a new car and $10,000 plus some trips was really life changing for her. Her excitement was infectious and I was happy for her! (and laughed a little... I mean I'll take the 10k but really, who wants a Dodge Charger?).
And then, just like that... 70 minutes later it was over. Time to go wait in line to get our cell phones, and go home.
So like I said, the taping was a lot of fun, but the ridiculous amount of waiting
and waiting
and waiting
and waiting involved with getting into the taping was hardly worth it. If you were retired and had as much time in the world as you wanted, I would say HECK YES go see a taping (but try not to sit where you will be on camera a lot, or you might wear yourself out!). But if you're like me, and taking the 1 day off led to almost 100 emails in my inbox on Tuesday.. it's not the best use of time. But I'm really glad I did it! Now I can check it off and move on with my list. :)
Look Mom, I'm on TV!!
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