You may not know his name or what he looks like, but Scott Sternberg has been sneaking into your living room for quite some time. A producer of game shows like "Love Connection," "The Newlywed Game" and newer fare like "That's the Question" and (rather inexplicably) "Hey Paula," Sternberg took a moment to mull over prize money, reality TV competitions and cheating on "The Dating Game."
What do you think about current game shows reality TV and how they've been playing off each other? It seems like the next big thing might be "Celebrity Chefs Playing Poker on a Deserted Island.""Flavor of Love," "Project Runway," "Top Chef"—these are all game shows. There's contestants and there's a prize at the end. Actually, there have never been more game shows on the air in history than right now.
Is there a recent show that's surprised you?"Deal or No Deal." Here's a show that was turned down by a couple of networks, and finally NBC said, 'Okay, we're going to try it.' It debuted around Christmas, which is when viewers aren't really watching a lot of TV. And "Deal or No Deal" snuck in there and is probably the most watched game show in primetime. And it's a game with no questions or answers!
With game shows like "The Price is Right" and "Wheel of Fortune," in which you can win a speedboat or a car or a kitchen set, where do you go to actually pick up the prizes? Once I've won the speedboat, how do I get my speedboat?!(
Laughs) I'll break it down for you: When you win, you sign some papers that give you ownership of that particular prize. This mainly goes to the IRS, because you're going to responsible for paying taxes. So, after that all gets signed, usually what happens is that the prize itself will be delivered to you—whether it's a car or a box of Cherrios—sometime between 30 to 90 days after the actual airing of the show.
Speaking of prize money, how is it generated?It's part of the budget. As a producer or creator, you have to look at your show and think about how much money you should put in the prize line. For instance, on "Millionaire," you're not giving away a million dollars every time. You're giving away ten grand, sixteen grand, thirty grand. 800 dollars. It sort of averages out.
While working on "The Newlywed Game" and "The Dating Game," did you ever have to deal with hysterical contestants?All the time! I mean, the "Newlywed" couples would just be these crazy people. They'd always try and figure out ways to cheat.
How could you cheat?These couples might try hand signals or making noises, but there's really no way to cheat. They didn't know what the questions would be.
Would contestants try to cheat on "The Dating Game," too?On "The Dating Game," part of my job was to approach the contestant during the commercial break, and ask her how she felt about the three suitors. But, invariably I'd be up there asking the contestant, and she would lean over and ask me, 'Which one is the cutest?" I'd say, "I can't tell you that!" They'd never listen. "What does he look like? Does he have money? Is he tall? What kind of car does he have?' (
Laughs) These were anywhere from 18-year-olds to 32-year-olds. They all wanted the same information: 'Who's the cutest? Who should I pick?!'
