The 1 vs. 100 Saga

Ugh, I had an awful experience taping 1 vs. 100 back in August. This is long, so feel free to skip it!!

Here's why it sucked...

I got to the studio at 7:30 AM on Saturday morning and was there until about 8 PM. Yes, over 12 hours! When I arrived, I basically stood in a line out on the sidewalk waiting to get escorted in to a large hangar style room with chairs in groups of 100. They had three groups of 100 that came in that day. I found out while standing in line that there had been a taping the day before that had gone horribly wrong so they didn't actually get anything they could use, so all those people were "invited" to come back for Saturday's taping.

I think I stood in line for almost an hour before they escorted my group in. Luckily, I was put in the first mob. We got some paperwork, sat in our assigned seating and then talked with each other and waited. And waited. Because of the game show scandal back in the 50s, contestants are sequestered and monitored pretty strictly. That meant that no one could leave the room to use the restroom without an escort. So around 9:30 AM, they said that anyone who needed to use the restroom could get in line and they would escort them to and fro. They neglected to mention that this would be the ONLY time we'd have to use the restroom before the taping began. And just to wrap this part of the story up, my group was not allowed to use the restroom until almost 3 PM. One lady in the row above me urinated on herself and THEN decided to leave. Don't you leave before you piss yourself? I mean, really, is a little cash worth your self-respect?

The set for the show was pretty impressive, but the downside was that we had to stand the entire time. They had these little wooden benches built into the wall behind you, but they were tiny and not very comfortable. I was lucky that I was standing next to Sal, a stand-up comic/personal trainer, who kept me entertained most of the day. Bob Saget was actually pretty funny, but a little too much poop humor for me.

The biggest problem though was the rule change they did between the time I auditioned and the time of the taping. At the audition, they explained the premise of the show, and granted, they did say that the rules had not been finalized. However, the major rule change they did do was horrible! Originally, if the "1" could walk away at any time with the money they had accumulated up to that point. If they saw the next question and got it wrong, all money accumulated up to that point would be divided up among the remaining mob members. Imagine my not-very-happy face when they explained that they had changed that rule and now, IF the "1" saw the next question, but then didn't know the answer, they could walk away with 25% of the amount they had accumulated up to that point. That pretty much guarantees that the mob will get nothing. The only way the mob would get anything would be if the "1" honestly just made a mistake or if the "1" was a gambler and took a chance and was wrong. Who's going to do that?? Well, not the first contestant! He got up to $135K (?) and then decided to just take the money.

After taping the first two contestants, I was still alive in the mob. I could've elected to come back on Sunday to tape more, but I was so frustrated by that time, I decided to pass on it. Well, it turns out they changed the rules before Sunday's taping (probably because they realized how RIDICULOUS they were!) and made it that if the "1" went to the next question, there was no escape clause. Either they got it right and kept the cash or got it wrong and the mob did. Even knowing one of the mobs on Sunday won some $$, it just wasn't worth it to me to come back. Perhaps I would've, IF they had told us there was going to be a change in the rules.

Here's what would make that show a LOT better too. If when the "1" got a question wrong, they randomly picked someone out of the remaining mob to become the "1". That would make it more of an incentive to become a mob member.

I have a couple friends who want to try out for the show even though they think it's awful. I'd go back at this point. I don't know when they will be taping more of them. I guess it just depends on how the ratings are.

On the plus side, I had a couple people who saw me on 1 vs. 100 and they didn't even really know I was supposed to be on there. They recognized me! My game show fame continues! :-)