There was a time I lived for game shows. The Price Is Right (back in Bob Barker’s day), Finders Keepers, American Gladiators (old school), Fun House, Double Dare, Press Your Luck, I’m Telling!, Legends of the Hidden Temple, $100,000 Pyramid, Couch Potatoes, MTV’s Remote Control, Win, Lose, or Draw, Teen Win, Lose or Draw (Hosted by Family Ties’ Skippy and this ep has Wil Wheaton!), Jeopardy!, and Family Feud. I’m sure there are even more than these that kept me glued to the boob tube as a kid.
The funny thing is, I knew my family could kill it on these shows (the ones not reliant upon pure luck, of course). We are a pretty smart group and were fairly agile at the time. I would watch Family Double Dare and know my family could clean house. Playing along at home, we would shout out the right answers before the families would even blink on screen. We were a gaming family (still are). We were clever (still are). We were competitive (still are). And we lived in Northern Indiana … how in the hell was a clan living in a cornfield twenty minutes from Michigan supposed to get on a show like one of these?
I would dream of the obstacle courses we would conquer and the trivia questions we would nail. Even if we couldn’t be contestants, just seeing a live taping would be amazing! But the chances of my family travelling to California to be part of a live studio audience? Nil.
So living in Atlanta and seeing FREE tickets to a live taping of Family Feud hosted by Steve Harvey a few weeks back, I jumped at the chance to be an audience member. And it was TOTALLY worth it.
Family Feud
First of all, the stage is SO much smaller than I thought. It was tiny! My younger sister, mother and I went together and nabbed seats in the third row. We had a fantastic view. Everything was so clean and shiny! They had a guy that warms up the audience because we do play an important part of the show. We clap. We oooh and aww. We smile. We encourage. So he would have us stand up and dance. He’d play some games with us. It was great.
During commercial breaks Steve Harvey himself would address us, telling stories about his life and taking audience questions. Can I just say – the man is HILARIOUS!!! I LOVE Steve Harvey.
Steve Harvey – comedian, actor, host, writer, and I’m sure a million other things to boot. (image from http://corp.gsn.com/shows/family-feud-steve-harvey)
I was watching one of the original Kings of Comedy for FREE! I was laughing so hard my face hurt. And he isn’t just a comedian who happens to host a game show. He has lived a life, folks! He would share these insights from his experiences that were just so awesome to hear.
We watched two episodes being taped that day to air at later dates. A childhood dream had finally come true. Maybe 25 years in the making, but a dream being fulfilled is always a cool thing. And who knows? Maybe my family will audition one day. We’ll finally make it to the small screen and demonstrate our mad game show skills to the world. Looks like I have my next childhood wish lined up already.
To be continued …
