The Conical Glass: Wait Wait 2: The Re-waitening

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Wait Wait 2: The Re-waitening

As previously mentioned, I was fanatical enough to shell out the big bucks to see both Berkeley "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" tapings. Last night's was positively brisk compared to Thursday's -- it only took about 90 minutes, vs. two hours. It was a historically themed program, and will air next time the show goes on vacation (Easter weekend, maybe?). The same three panelists -- Mo Rocca, Tom Bodett and Paula Poundstone -- were there. I wouldn't dream of giving any spoilers, but I will say that the "Not My Job" guest was Michael Pollan, the author of In Defense of Food and a professor at UC Berkeley. He and Paula had a spirited exchange about Ring Dings.

At one point, Peter Sagal made a reference to Julius Caesar being responsible for a "kick-ass salad." After the show, he had to rerecord that bit because the producer thought "kick-ass" was a bit too blue for the NPR listenership. He changed it to "great salad."

I was kind of surprised to see that the cast and crew of the show each had a couple of plastic water bottles up on the stage. This is Berkeley! Aren't we supposed to supply people with pitchers and glasses instead of those earth-killing bottles? For shame, Zellerbach!

This morning, I listened to the show we'd seen taped on Thursday. If you haven't listened to it yet, beware of spoilers ahead...

I was glad that so much of the Vermont Country Store exchange made it in, because it was hilarious. Since it ran a bit long, a couple of other questions directed at the panel in the same segment were cut. The fact that I can't remember any of them probably means they made the right decision of what to keep and what to toss. However, the panelists score a point when they answer a question correctly, so when some of them are cut for time, it makes it impossible to keep score at home. Good thing Official Judge & Scorekeeper Carl Kasell is there to keep track of these things! (I always root for Paula, who invariably chokes in the Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank game.)

Here's a secret about Frederica Von Stade's "win" in the Not My Job contest. She answered the third question incorrectly, and the audience -- which I guess was better informed about the Jonas Brothers' future movie projects than the great diva -- booed and cheered accordingly until she changed her answer. In the broadcast, it sounds like she immediately got it right.

This was the first time I can recall a contestant botching the Listener Limerick Challenge so badly. It's probably the easiest game on the show. Carl read the first two limericks twice, but it didn't help.

About 95% of the chicken jokes were cut out.

After the show, Peter and Carl stuck around to answer audience questions. Someone asked Carl about his Facebook page, and I'm sure this will come as a big surprise, but the 74-year-old Kasell doesn't maintain it himself. You can still be his friend, though. I screwed up my courage and asked a question despite the fact that I'm usually too nervous to do that kind of thing. I asked about the process of editing a 2-hour taping to a 45-minute finished product. I was genuinely curious, since I'd been watching the producers at their little table behind the panelists scribble notes and work equipment. Peter said they never let him near the editing bay, and handed the mike to producer Doug Berman, who said something along the lines of, they start with a script, and when he's editing the show, he just removes everything that wasn't in the script. It didn't really answer my question, and I felt kind of stupid for asking about it, and wished I had asked about the proposed "Wait Wait" TV show instead. Now I remember why I usually keep my mouth shut.

On the way out, I overheard a couple of women talking about Peter Sagal: "You know, he looks exactly what you'd expect him to look like, from his voice." (Decide for yourself!) One of them commented about Carl seeming "subdued" compared to other appearances, and how old he's getting. He did run out when he was introduced by the "Your Chicago Bulls" guy and high-five the panelists, though! Imagine what the guy's travel schedule must be like -- he flies all over the country every week to do the show. No wonder he doesn't have time to update his own Facebook page. Sure, the man is getting on in years, but he's still a dynamo, and the show wouldn't be the same without him.

posted by 125records @ 12:40 PM

2 Comments:

At 6:21 PM, Janet ID said…

That Listener Limerick Challenge WAS really painful to listen to, though in the guy's defense, I maintain that the answer in limerick #2 DIDN'T REALLY RHYME.
At 9:44 PM, Joe said…

I agree, Janet - not really good limericks.