The Magic of Television!!!

Or not, as the case may be!

This whole game show thing ended up being a bit of a bust! Which isn't to say it wasn't intersesting or that I wouldn't go through it again, I only wish I had really understood what I was getting myself into to begin with.

The concept of the show, Infinity is thus: There are 2 teams of 2 unrelated contestants. Team One answers 5 questions, of which they must get 3 correct. After hearing the questions and Team One's answers, Team Two must predict if the first team has "passed" or "failed" in this task; if they predict right they carry on and it's there turn to answer questions, if not they are immediately eliminated. Hence a team who answers and predicts correctly can go on ad infinitum.

I got picked as a "contestant" for the pilot of the British version of the game, hosted by Jerry Springer. Now, being quite naieve in the workings of the business I thought this would still be a real game show (though I did know the "prizes" were limited). The first indication that something was arwy was when I pulled in to the parking lot: the guard asked if I was the talent. Hmmm? When I met the other contestants, the majority were struggling actors. Double Hmmm? They corralled and shuffled us from makeup to costuming (both shirts I took morayed on camera and then I had to have the collar top-stuck on the shirt I borrowed), and then there was a lot of sitting around and waiting. A lot.

We were finally allowed into the studio, and the audience, already a very rum bunch, was heckling the cute, but lame, warm-up guy. The first teams stood at their podiums, in either loop of the infinity symbol, which served double duty as the brightly lit count-down clock for the game.

The morning taping of the American pilot (with Mark Walberg) had run over by several hours, which wasn't surprising with the number of "holds" the AD was now calling. Jerry would ask the questions, teams would give their answers, there'd be a "hold" and the teams would be told to change their answers. It was all fixed. They wanted to massage the "story," show how a team could keep on winning and play for infinity. On the flip side it showed just how quickly other teams could be kicked off.

Originally conceived as a hour-long, mid-way through taping the producers decided to cut it down by half (really what game show in England is an hour anyway). Meaning that my part on the show would be cut. Yes, no screen time whatsoever. So there it was, I still got my consolation cash, but didn't get a chance to play - though it really wouldn't have been playing would it.

So there you have it, an experience, a story, a blog entry (or two). I did get to meet Yvette, the snotty showgirl from last summer's I Want To Be a Hilton, another of casting agent Randy's shows (great casting, poor execution), which I suppose counts as a CelebFlash. I got a few tips on how to get on other shows, and I think the casting guy liked me, so there's maybe hope there for a future show that needs a short, stocky, gay, British muscle guy.