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Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

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Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
GenreGame show, Panel game, Comedy
Running timeca. 50 min.
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Home stationWBEZ in Chicago, IL
SyndicatesNPR, WBEZ
Hosted byPeter Sagal
AnnouncerCarl Kasell (1998-2014)
Bill Kurtis (2014-present)
Created byDoug Berman
Produced byMike Danforth
Ian Chillag
Eva Wolchover
Executive producer(s)Doug Berman
Recording studioChicago, Illinois
Original releaseJanuary 3, 1998 (1998-01-03) –
present
Audio formatStereophonic
Opening themeB.J. Leiderman[1] (composer)
WebsiteWebsite
PodcastPodcast

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is an hour-long weekly radio news panel game show produced by Chicago Public Radio and National Public Radio. It is distributed by NPR in the United States, internationally on NPR Worldwide and on the Internet via podcast, and typically broadcast on weekends by member stations.

Format

Taping of the July 24, 2010 episode at the Chase Auditorium, with panelists Adam Felber, Roxanne Roberts and Keegan-Michael Key

The show is hosted by playwright and actor Peter Sagal. When the program had its debut in January 1998, Dan Coffey of Ask Dr. Science was the original host, but a revamping of the show led to his replacement in May of that year. The show has also been guest hosted by Tom Bodett, Luke Burbank, Adam Felber, Peter Grosz, Mike Pesca, Richard Sher, Bill Radke, Susan Stamberg, Robert Siegel, Brian Unger and Drew Carey when Peter Sagal is on vacation.[2][3][4]

Carl Kasell, who also served as the newsreader on Morning Edition, was the show's official judge and scorekeeper until his retirement May 17, 2014. This role was taken over permanently by Bill Kurtis who, at the beginning of each show, refers to himself in self-indulgent or self-deprecating praise, such as "Legendary Anchorman" or "Carnivorous Anchorman". In addition to Kurtis, Korva Coleman, Corey Flintoff, and Jean Cochran, among others, have also served this role in the past. Each week, a panel of three humorists, journalists, and/or comedians are chosen to participate in the program.

Wait Wait... listeners also participate by telephoning or sending e-mails to nominate themselves as contestants. The producers select several listeners for each show and call them to appear on the program, playing various games featuring questions based on the week's news. The usual prize for winning any game is to have Kasell record a greeting on the contestant's home answering machine or voice mail system; in light of his retirement, Kasell remains "Scorekeeper Emeritus" and will still provide his voice for those winners who want it.[5] In most cases, the contestants receive a bit of latitude in getting the correct answer, such as getting another guess and a hint should they initially guess wrong, or getting credit for correctly identifying everything about a news-maker except their name.

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is usually recorded in front of a live audience at Chicago's Chase Auditorium in the Chase Tower on Thursday nights. Until May 2005, the show was recorded in one of Chicago Public Radio's studios, with no audience and often with one or more panelists calling in from other locations. The show often travels to various cities in the United States and produces a road show in front of a live audience for promotional and station relation purposes.

Several shows a year, usually coinciding with holidays, are compiled from segments from past episodes, or feature holiday-related theme programming (such as for the 4th of July, an entire program based on questions from American history adapted to fit the current events format), and are either recorded in front of an audience for later broadcast, or at WBEZ's studio facilities without an audience.

Panelists

On-air games

Most episodes of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! feature the following games, occasionally introducing variations and one-time games:

Who's Bill This Time?

Formerly "Who's Carl This Time?" until Kassell's retirement, the contestant must identify the speaker or explain the context of three quotations from that week's major news stories as read by the scorekeeper. Each answer is followed by a humorous discussion of the story by Sagal and the panelists. Two correct answers constitute a win.

Bluff the Listener

The contestant hears three unusual stories based on a common theme, each read by one of the panelists. Two of the stories are fictitious, while the third describes a genuine news story. The listener must determine which one is true and not a product of the panelists' imaginations; the panelist who read the story the listener picks is awarded a point, regardless if the story is true or not. A sound bite from the true story (either from the news-maker himself or herself, or a reporter or expert familiar with the story) is played to reveal the answer.

This Week's News

In between games, Peter Sagal asks the panelists questions regarding less serious stories in the week's news, awarding them points for correct answers. These questions phrased similar to questions in The Match Game or Hollywood Squares to allow the panelists to give a chance to offer a comedic answer as well as a real guess, and are often followed by a discussion of the story.

Not My Job

For a full list of "Not My Job" participants, see List of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! guests

A celebrity guest calls in (or occasionally appears on stage with the panelists) to be interviewed by Sagal and take a three-question multiple-choice quiz on a topic that serves as a comic juxtaposition to the celebrity's field. Originally, the guests on these segments were NPR personalities and reporters, but the pool of guests later expanded to guests of greater notoriety, ranging from former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (who was asked questions on the history of Hugh Hefner and Playboy magazine)[8] to author Salman Rushdie (who was asked about the history of Pez candy).[9] Two correct answers constitute a win and the prize goes to a randomly selected listener who contacted the show but was not chosen as a contestant.

Listener Limerick Challenge

The contestant must identify the last word or phrase in three news-related limericks read by the announcer (and written by Philipp Goedicke). Two correct answers constitutes a win.

Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank

In the final round, each panelist is given a series of eight fill-in-the-blank questions about news stories, and must answer as many as he or she can in one minute, scoring two points for each correct answer. For each panelist, the stories become more frivolous and humorous as the quiz progresses. After the quiz, the panelist with the highest score is declared the week's champion (in the event of a tie for first place, the tying contestants are declared co-champions). Panelists do not receive prizes for winning.

Panelists' Predictions

Following the credits at the end of the show, the three panelists are asked to offer a comic "prediction" about an ongoing news story, often one discussed earlier in the program.

Television

In 2008, National Public Radio reached an agreement with CBS Entertainment to create a television pilot of Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me![10] Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell would be in the pilot, and Doug Berman would be the executive producer.[11] The pilot was not picked up for regular production.

On November 16, 2011, BBC America announced that the show would make its television debut with a "2011 Year in Review" special airing on December 23, to be retransmitted by NPR stations on the 24th and 25th. The taping included two American panelists—"Wait Wait" regulars Paula Poundstone and Alonzo Bodden—and British newcomer Nick Hancock.[12]

Live cinema

On 2 May 2013, an episode was performed at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City and was streamed live via satellite to hundreds of cinema theaters throughout the United States and Canada.[13] The show included host Peter Sagal, announcer Carl Kasell, and panelists Mo Rocca, Paula Poundstone, and Tom Bodett. Celebrity guest Steve Martin won in the Not My Job segment.[14]

Parodies

Al Franken's former talk radio show, The Al Franken Show, contained a segment called "Wait Wait... Don't Lie to Me!", where contestants had to determine if a soundbite played was truth, lie, or "weasel" (technically true, but designed to deceive).

Welcome to Night Vale's community radio station alludes to a show following Cecil's news broadcast titled "Wait, Wait, Don't! No, Don't! Please, Don't!"

Awards

In April 2008, Wait Wait won a Peabody Award.[15] The program website was nominated for a Webby Award for Humor in 2008.[16]

References

  1. ^ "BJ Leiderman, NPR Biography". NPR. Retrieved 2007-04-25.
  2. ^ "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!- August 12, 2006". npr.org. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  3. ^ "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!- August 27, 2005". www.npr.org. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  4. ^ "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!- August 14, 2004". www.npr.org. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  5. ^ Adams, Erik (2014-03-04). "Carl Kasell steps down from Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me". A.V. Club. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  6. ^ ""Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me" website". NPR. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Pham, Linh. "NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!: Stats and Show Details". Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  8. ^ Madeleine Albright (6 December 2003). "Not My Job!" (Audio) (Interview). Interviewed by Peter Sagal. Retrieved 2008-01-13. {{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter |callsign= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |program= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Salman Rushdie (9 September 2001). "Not My Job!" (Audio) (Interview). Interviewed by Peter Sagal. Retrieved 2008-01-13. {{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter |callsign= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |program= ignored (help)
  10. ^ 'Wait' may soon get answer on TV vision, Chicago Tribune, September 9, 2008
  11. ^ "Wait, Wait" To Become TV Show? - mediabistro.com
  12. ^ "BBC America And NPR To Bring "Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me!" To TV In December". Retrieved 2011-11-16.
  13. ^ "Fathom Events - Wait Wait..Don't Tell Me!". Retrieved 2013-05-03.
  14. ^ "See the Show". Retrieved 2013-05-03.
  15. ^ "NPR's Irreverent News Quiz Show Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Wins Peabody Award, Thanks Politicians, Newsmakers and Celebrities For Providing Fodder" (Press release). National Public Radio. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
  16. ^ "Webby Nominees". Webby Awards. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
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