User blog:Gameshowguy2000/When is a scandal not a scandal?

Most, if not all of us, remember Caitlin Burke's one-letter solve of "I HAVE A GOOD FEELING ABOUT THIS" from November 4, 2010 (yes, the night of the Charlie O'Donnell tribute). Well, out of all the videos of this particular puzzle posted on YouTube...there is one that is titled "Wheel of Fortune Scandal...lady solves 27 letter puzzle with just one letter".

I have a problem with that video'stitle...particularly one keyword, that being SCANDAL. Now, when we think of this kind of word, it harkens us back to the Quiz Show Scandals of the 50s and 60s...where the contestants were given the answers to the questions ahead of time.

And that led to something called Standards and Practices...which regulates game shows and has continued to do so since the scandals. One particular thing they do is to ensure that no contestants have any advance knowledge of the material used on the show...and yes, that includes Mr. Ben Stein of "Win Ben Stein's Money", where the co-host (be it Jimmy Kimmel, Nancy Pimental, or Sal Iacono) informs us home viewers, that going into Round 2 where he challenges the remaining two contestants to defend whatever remains of his $5,000 stash that he puts up at the top of his show, that "from this point forward, Ben has absolutely no advance knowledge of any of the questions to be asked".

Now, going back to said video...if this WERE even a scandal...Pat, Vanna, Harry, and the rest of the staff would ALL be out of a job, let alone be IN JAIL! Yes, that is what happened after the Quiz Show Scandals...Jack Barry, Dan Enright, and several other people were out of a job and even landed in jail, though the American public was willing to give Jack another chance when he hosted The Joker's Wild on CBS and in syndication...with the Standards and Practices in place. In addition to not being allowed any access to the material ahead of time, contestants were always accompanied EVERYWHERE, even the restrooms.

So before anyone even tries to suggest that shows like Wheel are rigged for this kind of solve, or Jeopardy! because of Ken Jennings losing on his 75th show (which I thought initially, but then I realized that it was just plain luck that Nancy Zerg, who beat him, got the Final Jeopardy! question right and he got it wrong), or EVEN that perfect Showcase bid on The Price Is Right from December 16, 2008 (just because he saw some of those prizes before), or EVEN Michael Larsen's Big Board memorization on Press Your Luck which propelled him to $110,237 in cash and prizes (just by taping the show and watching the patterns), or EVEN Watson toppling Ken and Million Dollar Masters and Ultimate Tournament of Champions winner Brad Rutter (all because Watson was just a plain ol' super-computer); remember these three words: STANDARDS (1) AND (2) PRACTICES (3)! They are the reason why game shows have been running for so long after the scandals! In fact, I suggest you buy or rent or borrow (from your local library) the movie Quiz Show and watch it to see what I mean.

OK, I've shared MY thoughts, now share YOURS! Gameshowguy2000 (talk) 05:43, October 27, 2013 (UTC)