There are many, many important things in this world that I know little to nothing about.
And there are things I know a lot about, not because they're important, but because they interest me.
I'm not an encyclopedia of game show knowledge, but I know a lot more than the average person. And that's because game shows have interested and entertained me my entire life. I watched cartoons when I was young, but I was as interested in watching a game show as I was interested in watching cartoons by the time I was 6 or 7 years old. I enjoy the magic of animation, but I don't keep on top of what's happening in the world of animation. But game shows, I usually have some idea of what's out there from year to year, even if I don't gave access to GSN.
Several years ago I was going to Las Vegas in the fall, and it turned out that my trip would coincide with the taping of a new version of "Let's Make a Deal." For the first several months of its CBS incarnation the show was taped at the Tropicana, and I went to see it during my fall 2009 trip to Vegas. I didn't brag about this to everyone I crossed paths with. Had I been going to see "The Price is Right" then perhaps it would have warranted mentioning. LMAD is not a show woven into the fabric of society, it's not a show that everyone can relate to.
But I did mention my LMAD appearance several times, and more than once I received a strange comment in reply to it. I'd get a response along the lines of "that show is still on?" Never mind the fact it had been about 18 years since the show last aired on daytime television. Aside from a couple of short-lived, prime time attempts at resurrecting the show, (only one of which was technically LMAD,) the show had been all but forgotten by most casual viewers. And yet I heard the "still on" comment at least three times. It had just launched on CBS daytime that fall, so my snarky reply was, "Yes, after four weeks it is still on the air."
Not everyone pays an ounce of attention to what is or isn't on TV from one year to the next. Some people want to know when "Judge Judy" will air in their market, other people are far too busy to even know if the show is or isn't on the air these days, especially since so many people stream television programming and forgo traditional broadcast channels.
Last week's "Wheel of Fortune" episodes were special. It was a week saluting veterans, and it featured a couple of players who failed to solve what seemed like ridiculously obvious puzzles. It happens now and then, having it happen twice last week is not particularly notable.
But those cringe-worthy moments were compounded last week by the strange, unusual play of Nura Fountano, a player who will not be forgotten any time soon by diehard viewers of WOF.
Then came the coup de grâce, Friday's show. Given the show's typical airtime in most markets, its broadcast came within a few hours of a series of terrorist attacks across Paris, France. It was major news, and hard to escape the notice of, unless you were taking a long afternoon nap. I, and many other viewers, were aware of the chaos in Paris as our Friday night episode of WOF began.
During the show one of the trips that was offered as a prize on the wheel was a trip to Paris. Yes, unfortunate timing. When the show taped months ago, the producers decided to offer a trip to Paris as one of the prizes during a week dedicated to veterans, never knowing the city would one day be subjected to multiple acts of terrorism. And that show wound up airing on the same day as terrorism made worldwide headlines.
Plenty of people tweeted about the sad coincidence that had just unfolded overseas. Several people were outraged that the show would be so insensitive as to offer a trip to Paris when all hell was breaking loose.
Yes, there are people who have no idea that most TV shows are not live. I was dumbfounded by this. I'm guessing most WOF viewers who tweet are older than 13. And I'm not sure at what age you realize that most programs are pre-recorded, but how do these WOF viewers, casual or not, think that somehow the show insensitively offered a trip to Paris?
I questioned one woman's confusion. (She has since deleted the tweet.) She claimed ignorance, which blew me away. I questioned if she was aware that most TV shows are not live, to which she tried to belittle me for daring to comment to her directly. She also replied that "Dancing with the Stars" is live, as if somehow it's logical to assume every soap opera, prime time drama, talk show and game show is broadcast live. At that point it was time to be snarky, and I responded that I forgot teenage girls watch WOF and use Twitter. Her reply was an accusation of bullying, and pity, because she's an educated adult woman. If so, she's not very cognizant of the world around her.
There's no shame in not knowing the ins and outs of WOF, but I was amazed that allegedly educated adults in this country think the world they view through their television is always as live and spontaneous as the tweets they consume.
They say Twitter is dumbing down society. Chalk up another piece of evidence for the prosecution.
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