The Conical Glass: Wait Wait!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Wait Wait!

It's not often that I can look around an enormous auditorium and think to myself, "These are my people!" but such was the case last night, when I headed to UC Berkeley's 2000-capacity Zellerbach Hall to see a live taping of NPR's "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!" Yes, I was in a group of NPR fans so devoted that we were all willing to pay nearly $50 to watch a radio show being taped. And for me, it was my third time attending "WWDTM," as I had gone to the show's previous Zellerbach tapings. Indeed, the Bay Area is so "Wait Wait"-crazed that they have started doing two shows, and they still sell out almost instantly. (I bought our tickets back in August, the day they went on sale.) Craigslist is full of disappointed fans begging for tickets.

Host Peter Sagal reminded the cheering crowd that we could listen to the show on Saturday for free, but the true "WWDTM" aficionado wants the live experience, which gives you the extended version of the show. On the air, the program runs a brisk 45 minutes or so; last night's taping, however, took two hours (a little longer than usual, I think). The three panelists riff madly and the show's amazing technical and production staff is presumably holed up today editing it down to the smooth, seamless broadcast that will be aired on NPR member stations tomorrow.

The live broadcast starts with a recorded announcer introducing the "WWDTM" team over music which Joe informed me was the Chicago Bulls' introductory theme. (The show is based in Chicago.) I already knew that Paula Poundstone was one of the panelists, since I'm on her mailing list. Paula is my favorite panelist, because I think she has the quickest wit, so I was happy to have her there (she was also on the panel when the show taped in Berkeley two years ago). The other two panelists were Tom Bodett and Mo Rocca. I must admit that I was a tad disappointed to see that Mo would be on the panel, since he's my least favorite -- he can be really funny at times, but when he doesn't know the answer, he starts stammering and stuttering, "Uh, uh, uh," as if the answer will come to him if he delays long enough. I think even Sagal gets fed up with him sometimes, as I remember once he exclaimed during the show's last game, "It's called the lightning round, Mo! Lightning!"

The other big question was, who would the celebrity "Not My Job" panelist be? My opera-loving friend Vallery was excited when it was revealed that the Bay Area's favorite local diva Frederica Von Stade would be interviewed onstage and have to answer three questions about something she knows nothing about. She happened to be sitting just a couple of rows behind us in the audience, and went up onstage when her segment was announced. (Usually, the celebrity panelist is backstage; who knows, maybe she's a fan.)

Of course, I don't want to spoil anything since I know a couple other "WWDTM" fans read my blog. I thought the funniest bits were a question for the panelists about the Vermont Country Store and one of the "Bluff the Listener" entries (hint: it involves Belgium). At one point, there was an item about chickens and Paula started throwing out chicken jokes right and left. There were several callbacks to the chicken gag throughout the rest of the show. The panelists love to refer back to previous jokes, which must make editing the show down even harder. I'll be interested to hear the finished version to see what makes it into the final cut.

After two hours of "Wait Wait," I felt totally exhausted, and I suspect the cast and crew did, too. And yet, we're doing it again tonight. Yes, I admit it -- I bought tickets for both nights. (Tonight's taping will involve historical questions instead of the usual topical news quiz, so it can be played back anytime.) I told you I was a fan!

Find out when "WWDTM" airs in your town.

posted by 125records @ 11:24 AM

2 Comments:

At 2:03 PM, Joe said…

As much as I also dislike Mo's stammering, I thought he acquitted himself admirably. Also cool: Frederica Von Stade bringing her purse on stage with her.

After the show was over, I was so exhausted from laughing, I had trouble walking. Good times.
At 5:51 PM, Janet ID said…

*Sigh*. I'm WAY overdue to be in the WWDTM audience again. I'm only 6 hours' drive from Chicago. Should be easy! Two of my finest hours were in the front row of the Columbus taping at the Ohio Theatre several years ago (I'd strategized about the ticket release as I would for, say, Springsteen tix). I got to ask a question, during the not-for-air audience participation section, that resulted in Carl singing a section of "Boogieman". Anyway, I'm a Mo apologist - he's so funny when he's not stalling that I forgive the frequent stalling. And was the chicken story from Worthington, OH, by chance? We've had a pretty big chicken story up there lately.

ps - the captcha is "oiliti", which sounds like a really gross girly drink.