Games People Play

My dear Stephen Rader and I seem to be on the same wavelength these days. Not that that's a bad thing - though I imagine if we weren't separated by a 1000 miles, there would be earthquakes, floods and mass destruction the likes of which have never been seen before. Of course, Stephen and I are often on the same wavelength - we love so many of the same things: Superheroes; Hot Men; Sex; Theatre; Movies; Game Shows... Yes, I said it. And I'm not ashamed. I love game shows. And you know you do, too.

Game shows have been around almost as long as television. They can be educational ("Jeopardy;" "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"); entertaining ("Truth or Consequences;" "Beat the Clock"*) or just downright ridiculous ("You're in the Picture") Hell, even the great Groucho Marx had a game show - "You Bet Your Life" ran from 1950 to 1961 and featured a "Secret Word" that would net contestants $100 if they uttered it during the course of being interviewed by Groucho.

As a child of the '60's and '70s (yes, I'm old, OK? Get over it, already) the game shows I grew up with were just a tad more more risque that. And probably the most risque of all them was "The Match Game," starring Gene Rayburn, Brett Sommers, Richard Dawson and Charles Nelson Reilly. It was the first time I can remember hearing such scandalous words as "tinkle," "willy" and "boobs" on network TV. It would be many years before we all found out that the panelists (which often included America's beloved foul-mouthed grandma, Betty White) were drunk half the time. Recently, I came across this "Match Game" clip which I had to share with Stephen, given our mutual love of Batman and all things queer:

Personally, I think "Devine" is the funniest answer, even if "Queer" is the definitive one. Of course, what does one expect from the second gayest game show panelist in TV history (though I'm still not sure why "Lovers" and "Married" were not a match, while "Fairies" was - ah, the 70's)? And speaking of the second gayest panelist in game show history, I tried my best to find a 'Best of Paul Lynde' clip from "Hollywood Squares," but no one seems to have made one...

Anyway... Game shows are still with us. Drew Carey has taken over for Bob Barker on "The Price Is Right" and Food Network goofball Guy Fieri hosts the newest incarnation of "Beat the Clock;" NBC's "Minute to Win It,*" in which contestants have 60 seconds to complete an outrageous stunt. If they complete all 10 of the increasingly difficult stunts, they win a million dollars. Fieri, with his 80's hairstyle and over-the-top attitude is an affable host, at best. Though on the one or three episodes of the show I've seen, no one has even come close to winning.

Of course, the whole game show mentality eludes me. Uncle P actually auditioned for "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" While I passed the initial test (which included questions like "Where Does Winnie the Pooh Live?" - The Hundred Acre Wood - and "Who was the first First Lady to be born in a hospital?"- Rosiland Carter), I was ultimately rejected - I suspect because I wasn't a lunatic who got a massive boner over the prospect of meeting Meredith Viera. In other words, I was smart enough, just not dorky enough. Sigh.

Of course, my personal favorite game show moments are the ones in which anxious contestants give the most ridiculous answers possible:

Oh, dear. Is it any wonder I haven't won thousands of dollars?

On a side note - full rehearsals for the JTMF production of Sordid Lives start tomorrow, so my posts may be shorter than usual, if they're there at all. I promise I'll keep you up-to-date (as if ya'll really care).

More nonsense, anon.
Prospero

The Sound of Silence

Sometimes, even someone as loquacious as I am, has nothing to say.

I've seen no new movies or TV shows this week; I haven't been to the theatre; no new superhero has tickled my fancy (how old fashioned a term is that?) and no news story has jumped out at me. There have been no new ultra-gay videos to share; no outrageous behaviors to report on; no music videos that made me lose my mind.

This weekend was spent painting (it looks like it's going to take 4 coats of the yellow in my kitchen - yikes!) and grocery shopping. I don't know about you, but grocery shopping always leaves me feel like I've been beaten with a sock full of nickels. Between the old folks who leave their carts anywhere they please (as if they were only people in the store), and the jerks who spend what seems like hours contemplating the minutest details of the Rice-A-Roni they are planning on serving, it's almost like a battle zone.

My only solace lies in the fact that that Sordid Lives has its first read-through on Tuesday. The first read-through of a play holds so much promise. In the case of a JTMF show, the first read-through is often an indicator of how successful the show will be. If the cast spends as much time laughing as they do reading, then we've hit our mark. And what a cast I have to work with, this year. Six of the funniest, most talented women I know; my Dear D; Doug, who seems to have become the JTMF go-to guy for comic drag; the talented and enigmatic Glen and two gentlemen who I don't know well (but will, soon). This is the kind of cast that makes a director so happy to be a director.

"Why, Uncle P, you've had such a non-eventful weekend!" Yes. Yes, I have. And sometimes that's a good thing. Life is about to get rather hectic for me, and you may see a noticeable decrees in the number of my posts. As always with any show with which I am involved, such is the case. I'll keep you updated on Sordid Lives as well as any movies, plays and new TV shows I come across. And you can always catch up on JTMF activity on our blog (which means yours truly now maintains three blogs - God help me!). And you should also watch for the first JTMF YouTube video soon. I'll be posting it here (along with the usual nonsense), soon.

And once again, for someone with nothing to say, I've managed to write far more than I thought I would, tonight. I suppose that's the trouble with actors and directors - we always have something to say, even when we think we don't.

Apropos of nothing, I'll leave you with this bit of 70's nostalgia from one of my childhood favorite Game Shows, The Match Game featuring the Flavor of the Decade, Ms. Betty White. Why? Because it made me laugh. And will hopefully do the same for you:

By the way, Q was the first non-Equity actress to play Emily Dickinson in The Belle of Amherst, which led to her Equity membership and the job she now holds as VP of a company which specializes in industrial films and live presentations for the pharmaceutical industry. If you didn't blink, you may have caught me in one of their vids.

Wow! For someone with nothing to say, I guess I said plenty.

More, anon.
Prospeo