I was watching it today, as I do most days during lunch, and having my usual daydream about getting on there and winning at least twenty-five thousand dollars. There was a question about piano keys which would have caused me to phone a friend, and I realized that I wouldn’t be sure who to call. I know some very smart people IRL, but not well enough to ask them to sit by the phone if I were ever going to be on the show. My husband would be sitting in the audience, and I can only think of two other people I’d definitely ask to be phone-a-friends. Then I remembered that I hang around this place on the internet with some of the smartest people on the planet. So:
Anyone know how many phone-a-friends you get to reserve?
Do you think the really big brains around here would sit by the phone and help a stranger win money on TV? And wouldn’t that be cool? Think of being able to call one of the Dope’s mental giants and kicking the shit out of the hundred thousand dollar question! (Yeah, let’s pretend we got there without using all our lifelines).
Of course, there’s the little matter of sharing your winnings. I was thinking, a quarter of the value of the question you called them for. That sound fair?
I wish to stress that I am posting this thread merely to facilitate my idle fantasies and to keep from getting too much work done this afternoon. If you have some more thoughts on this subject, let’s discuss them, and if you would actually like to build a dream team of Call-a-Dopers and go win money on the show, I wish you would. Just don’t call me.
No, wait, you can call me, but above eight thousand dollars or so, you probably shouldn’t!
I have no cite offhand, but a number I’ve heard come up a bit is 5. Not that you’d need that many.
I don’t think any of the people I chose would really want a specific monetary amount. More of a “hey, pick me up here and there” kinda thing, I’m sure.
That said, I think that unless it was a really specific subject, I already know exactly who I’d call. He’s pretty much guaranteed to always be near a laptop, and always have Google handy.
Yeah, you’ve definitely got to have one of those. I’m not even sure who I’d get to handle that…maybe my husband won’t be sitting in the audience after all.
Isn’t the idea that you are calling someone smart who might know the answer to the question, not just someone who can run a Google search for you? I’ve only seen the show a couple of times but I assumed that that would be considered cheating and the producers would somehow guard against it.
I’m not sure how they could. You’d be calling someone at home. The producers can’t fly crewmembers all around the US to be sitting in every phone-a-friend’s home.
But besides that, the amount of time they give the friend to hear and answer the question pretty much removes the Google factor.
Actually, I was imagining the show flying in a couple of pre-chosen friends for each contestant, to stay at a local hotel under some kind of supervision. A few hundred dollars for a plane ticket and hotel stay surely wouldn’t break the budget. An even cheaper alternative could be to send each friend a webcam and stipulate that they have to be visible on the cam for the duration of the call.
But, I did some googling after I posted. Turns out that the show’s rules do specify that friends cannot use “reference materials” to find an answer, though you’re correct, there doesn’t seem to be any actual enforcement.
Wow, sometimes it’s really obvious that someone is using the Internet. I never dreamed it was against the rules.
Can’t think of any examples, but as the questions become worth more, they’re usually worded in such a way that you wouldn’t be able to get the answer in a simple search.
Back in the Regis days, there were definitely times when the callee was in a room with other people, and would repeat the question out loud to them as it was being read over the phone. You’d hear, “Hold on, hold on… (whispered) Are you sure?.. Bob, the answer is C. We’re 100% certain” over the phone.
I’ve seen more than one episode where Regis is speaking to the phone-a-friend, and typing is distinctly heard in the background. Not to mention the numerous times the entire room is clearly on speakerphone, whispering amongst themselves before they reach consensus. I’m sure it’s a rule, but just like jaywalking, it’s largely unenforced.
:dubious: I suppose it depends on your Google-fu. I’d be typing before my buddy had finished reading the question to me, and could probably locate an answer in a few seconds.
If you know how to search the interwebs properly, it shouldn’t be too hard.
No way. Add up those plane tickets and hotel rooms for 5 people per potential contestant – the “fastest finger” round has what, 10 people? 50 people per show. And I don’t know about you, but I’d have a hard time finding 5 people willing to fly across the country for a day to sit in a hotel room under supervision just so I could ask them a question if I make it to the hot seat and if I need them.
My Google-fu is pretty good, and I agree that’s it possible, I just don’t think it’s practical for a majority of the high-dollar questions on the show.
I’ve seen a couple shows where the contestant didn’t bother reading the question & answers but instead told his phone-a-friend which keywords to search for. Regis even commented that the friend “was looking something up.” Didn’t seem to be any penalty for it.
That said, it must be mighty difficult to Google something in the short time alloted.
Depending on the specific question you could definitely do it, and it clearly has been done before- I specifically recall an Asian guy not even reading the question and the four choices as written, but giving the friend Google keywords, something like ‘John, Jamaica’s largest export’, and Reege says “don’t you want to read him the choices” and the guy said no. You couldn’t check all four choices in thirty seconds of course, which is why many run out of time trying.
Hmm… on the other hand, friend can run the search pattern as before, check when he finds a possible answer to see if it matches one of the choices, otherwise try to find another authority. Of course, whether the attention it takes to listen to those choices is worth it may be up for grabs - better to let the contestant do the vetting, and say ‘no try again’ if friend gives him an answer that isn’t on the list.
BTW, I was watching the syndicated show just a while ago - the phone-a-friend question was used on ‘Riverside Iowa proclaims itself to be the future birthplace of this fictional character’, and I just KNEW that it had to be James T Kirk. The sister called was very quiet for a long time, and then went “James Kirk, I’m sure of it. Sure.”
Some of the answers were really silly - there was Luke Skywalker, who wasn’t born on Earth, and possibly Buck Rogers, who I don’t think was born ‘in the future.’ I’d have really loved it if the person phoned had quoted the line, “I’m from Iowa, I just work in outer space.”
But it does seem possible that she was googling “riverside iowa future birthplace”
I remember watching a short piece on the first guy to actually win a million dollars, and at least in his case they didn’t fly his friends over: his father was apparently sitting at home, unaware, when he was called. He said it was frustrating because his son came on, said something to the effect of “I don’t really need to ask you anything, I’m just calling to tell you I’m about to win a million dollars,” and got cut off as his time ran out right there.
I saw that one. The guy went right through without using any lifelines until he got to the million and then he asked to phone a friend. His dad answered and he says, “Dad, I just wanted to let you know I’m about to win a million dollars…” and the audience went crazy. It’s funny, the guy was kind of a prick, but whenever I remember that moment I almost start to bawl.
