MovieChat Forums > Celebrity Name Game (2014) Discussion > Names coached or pre-advised?

Names coached or pre-advised?

posted 10 years ago by dalemidex
15 replies | jump to latest

I have a hard time buying how readily players seem to pull some of these names out of thin air. I could believe that *maybe* the contestants could do it if they had highly skilled players. But the celebs are there because of their fame, not because know gold medal winners form the last 40 years.

So are players and celebs coached, perhaps given a list of 300 names and brief information about them to study? I don't really consider it cheating, and I think it would be a much less entertaining game if you really saw people struggling clue after clue after clue like I suspect really would happen.

Anybody know if there is any sort of preparation or coaching?

[–] Clownbird 10 years ago

I have the same suspicions. And before anyone chimes in with "no, that would be cheating, Standards & Practices, quiz show scandals of the 1950s, etc.," it wouldn't be cheating if it's part of the rules. Craig gives the clue "He's a guy with a curved nose" and the contestant immediately replies with the correct answer, "Gonzo" [from the Muppets]...? I'm guessing the contestants are given, as dalemidex suggests, a long list of possible names.

Surely Craig is prepped beforehand, at any rate. How else would a Scottish import know who "Mayor McCheese" is? [Unless, as his name suggests, McCheese was Scottish.]

[–] bgrhu 10 years ago

I'm sure, in the nearly-20 years that he's lived in the United States, he's come across Mayor McCheese a time or two.

I would be surprised if there were any "prepping" before-hand. That would make it pretty boring for everyone involved. (And wouldn't the contestants guess correctly more often, if they already had a list of names?)

[–] federer91 10 years ago

For Craig, one he is the host and in round three he is the clue giver so he has to have some preparation so that he gave the clues properly and not screw the question for the players. Plus i think he has a computer in front of him so maybe there are hints for every name on the computer.

As for the players, i'm on the fence because i've seen people getting it right with only 2-3 words and on the other hand, there were some that stumbled on really, really easy ones.

[–] dalemidex 10 years ago

From the episode just finished:

Category: people who have thrown out the first pitch

The contestant got the correct answer (50 Cent) immediately from the clue "he's a rapper".

[–] mrs_cavill 9 years ago

To be fair on this one. 50 cent threw out one of the worst first pitches of all time and it was EVERYWHERE when it happen. you can find GIF's of 50 on tons of websites. It became a bad joke but it's a famous first pitch.

[–] kristen1165 8 years ago

That's super easy to put together.

[–] hitchhiker90 10 years ago

The show does seem like its heavily edited. On tonight's episode the clue giver just pretended she was singing a few notes (not even lyrics) and the person guessed it immediately. Its not the first time something like this has happened and I've noticed people guessing the right answer after getting some weird clues. Very bad editing which takes away from the fun of the show. That being said I do like Craig Ferguson as the host but the game part of the show needs a lot of work and needs to be revamped.

[–] hoochiemoochie 10 years ago

Ummm you must be as unintelligent as some of these contestants/celebs I've seen if you think people have to be coached to know basic trivia...WOW...

This show is so easy...one of the easiest I've seen on TV. You honestly think people have to be coached to know who Lisa Simpson and Ben Stiller and Al Gore are? I hate when others do this on message boards because it sounds ageist, but, honestly, are you 10?

I've played the game and gotten my family to do the same. We all do great...you must just be living under a rock and have no awareness of pop culture/brand names/historical figures/etc...sheesh...embarrassing...

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Sir Ian McKellen? That dude must be knee-deep in boob.

[–] Clownbird 9 years ago

>>I've played the game and gotten my family to do the same. We all do great...you must just be living under a rock and have no awareness of pop culture/brand names/historical figures/etc...sheesh...embarrassing...

Ha! Completely misunderstands the original post, and in such a snippy, condescending way, too. Hate to be ageist, but your level of reading comprehension is about that of a ten year old.

[–] mrs_cavill 9 years ago

I believe the majority of it is acting. I have another post on here but many of the "contestants" I have seen in small roles on TV or commercials. They had a married couple on here the other week who are regulars on a TV show. It sucks we now have scripted game shows.

[–] lexi_jay 9 years ago

I think this is fairly common with new game shows. When I was doing the acting thing I did see a lot of castings for game show contestants as well as audience members. They still want you to play the game as yourself and I don't believe there is any coaching but with it being a new show and all I think it's easier to find people that way. Basically the producers as lazy as hell. If this show goes on for another season or more they'll have more applicants than they know want to do with.

[–] Zippy B 9 years ago

It simplifies things to start with people that have working cards of some kind, so probably a lot of people that have at least worked as Extras.

(Laura Marano, for example, was on Are you Smarter than a First Grader and is currently on Austin and Ally and had acted on other shows before that. Most of the kids the first year had been doing commercials and such though they were not contestants. In subsequent seasons they got kids from the public.)

I don't know that it is that hard to get contestants from the public though but the first year they might have a short eligibility test like what they do for Jeopardy in a more complex way.

[–] vitalogst 8 years ago

I was on the show on Oct 2 of this year. I was not coached, I had no idea what would be there as far as clues were concerned. During the portion of the show where Craig gives the clues, the clue was, it's a fish, the lady rang in, said Baracuda, and she was right! It was flabbergasting. We ended up winning the game, but losing the bonus round. I can guarantee, at least for my episode, that there is no cheating.

[–] vance-everson 8 years ago

Mr. Monopoly- I've seen this name pop up in a couple of episodes, and people get it right. Whoever heard of the guy with the mustache and top hat on the chance/community chest card being named "Mr. Monopoly"? There are other examples as well, some that others have mentioned here. I'm assuming that the players must get some type of list of possible names to study for the show, although i would also assume that the list is fairly long, several hundreds of names perhaps.

[–] sailorchick123 7 years ago

I was a contestant on the show, and I can promise you there is not any sort of coaching. We didn't even know the categories until they came up live in the filming process. The only thing we went off when prepping was the initial audition, which was just a dumbed down version of the game that included guessing a million different celebs and movies. My parter and I actually won, but thats only because we crammed our brains with trivia and names. I promise you there were plenty of times my partner was up and a name came up that I had no idea who it was and I was SO glad it wasn't my turn :)