To Tell The Truth - General Discussion

[saber5055]

On 2/26/2021 at 2:03 PM, rr2911 said:

I just watched on Youtube a TTTT episode from the 70's and I can see one difference that really stands out. The old version was about the contestants, while the current one seems to be about the celebrity panel and the annoying mother. 

Good point. This is exactly why I find this new version tedious at best. There is always one panelist who makes everything about himself, and then throw in Mama Doris and geesh, a show that was a lot of fun in the "old days" is barely watchable now. The only reason I watch is for the contestants, not the panelists and CERTAINLY not for MD.

Obviously, TPTB don't give a care about what I think. And there you have it!

[rr2911]

12 hours ago, Kromm said:

Always ugh.  She's long past her sell by date.  She was amusing for like 1 season.

Why is she on the show? Do you know?

 

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, rr2911 said:

Why is she on the show? Do you know?

Mama was on Celebrity Family Feud with son Anthony. She came up with some suitably outrageous remarks that amused the audience, and the rest was “as they say” history. 

[ams1001]

I love that they had the CIA guy play along from backstage after his round.

Also love the name Anita Cookie. (He was a cutie. And now I want cookies.)

 

[shapeshifter]

Best episode ever for me. Probably my anti-migraine coffee. 
And, yes, the ex-CIA guy. 
But also the occupations. 

[momo]

I'm worried about the CIA guy, but I guess he's knows what he's doing 😕

[ams1001]

Anyone else briefly wonder if the CIA guy was gonna turn out to be Jonna Mendez in a really good disguise?

[LakeGal]

I had a good night.  I got all of them right except the gymnastic one.  I really wanted it to be the guy.  I think I wanted it to be him more than I believed it was him.  

I think Mama Doris is still cheating.  

[saber5055]

2 hours ago, LakeGal said:

I think Mama Doris is still cheating.  

Big yes to that. One panelist even wanted to know her choice before he wrote down his, so he would be correct too.

Agree with others who said this was the best episode, even with MD in it (ugh). The CIA guy made this episode. He was a hottie, plus man, he made the rest of the show the best ever, with him guessing the right person each time, and why. Wish he could be a permanent part of the show.

IDEA! Get rid of MD and put CIA Guy in that seat. He doesn't have to go backstage and cheat to come up with his guesses. Plus he's smart and good looking, a win-win-win for this show.

[seacliffsal]

I liked this episode and really enjoyed the CIA guy (yes! make him a permanent part of the show!). However, Bob Saget spoke way too long several times during the episode.  He just kind of went on and on.  There needs to be some kind of time limit for the members of the celeb panel and MD when they just go on seemingly to hear themselves talk.  Oh, and I cringe when MD tries to play "cougar" just like it bothers me when Barbara on Shark Tank talks about people's looks and acts a "cougar" at times.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, saber5055 said:

IDEA! Get rid of MD and put CIA Guy in that seat

Huh.
Maybe 🤔 TPTB are thinking the same thing. 

[saber5055]

58 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Maybe 🤔 TPTB are thinking the same thing. 

Well, a girl can hope and dream, right?

[theatremouse]

5 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Anyone else briefly wonder if the CIA guy was gonna turn out to be Jonna Mendez in a really good disguise?

No, but before they announced he was staying to guess also, I half-expected him to show up in a subsequent panel in disguise like that CIA lady did in a previous show.

I'm kinda torn on the Saget thing. On the one hand, he was going on longer than necessary. But on the other, WAAAAY too often on this show I feel like the person explaining why they chose who they chose gets cut off unnecessarily quickly - be it another panelist cutting them off with a joke, or MD telling them to shut up and choose, or Anthony doing it himself. I really want there to be a happy medium where they do actually get the time to explain their choices somewhat, without going on and on and on.

[853fisher]

I agree, it was a great episode.  I was proud of myself for guessing the drag queen the moment they came out.  #3 was holding herself so stiffly, more like a ballerina or something, and #2 was just too much like "how you would make someone up who is not a drag queen in imitation of one."  The more they talked, the more sure I was.  I often have no clue, so once in a while it's nice to have them go with what I know. 😉

[theatremouse]

I ruled out 3 for looking too young to have been doing the shoe drop since 2001.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I love that they had the CIA guy play along from backstage after his round.

Yes, that was interesting. But I kind of felt bad for the imposters when he called them out for not doing a good job. 

Quote

I was proud of myself for guessing the drag queen the moment they came out. 

I've actually seen the shoe drop at Key West because Kathy Griffin used to cover it every NYE when she hosted the CNN show with Anderson Cooper (before she got fired). But I honestly didn't remember which one was the real drag queen, except the name both 1 and 3 used sounded familiar so I kind of figured it was one of them.

[saber5055]

Sadly, it occurred to me this morning that the CIA guy might have been tipped off to the real person so he would come off as an expert. Even so, I'd rather have him, even if he is spoiled, than MD's obnoxious cheating.

[parrotlover]

Glad I found this thread! As someone who’s old enough to remember the late 60s through 70s version, and the 80s version, I’ve watched a lot of episodes and it was always one of my favorite game shows. Having said that, I’ve watched this version since the beginning although I don’t watch it faithfully. One reason is that they’ve moved it around a bit on the schedule, but the bigger reason is the format now.

Back in the day, the celebrities really seemed interested in figuring out who the real person was, and for the most part, asked intelligent questions. Now it seems all about the celebrity getting laughs, and/or barely asking questions. A few weeks ago for example, when Thomas Lennnon was on the panel, I came as close as I ever have to changing the channel, he was so annoying and unfunny. Glad I missed the Brad Garrett episode because it sounds like a similar experience and he comes off as an ass on talk shows I’ve seen him on.

And don’t get me started on Mama Doris. She is beyond annoying, not funny, and really ruins this show for me with her constant comments and interruptions.  But I know she’s not going anywhere unless they replace Anthony Anderson, which probably isn’t happening. The week she was off was a breath of fresh air, but then Antony had to call her because apparently we can’t go an episode without her, even if it’s on the phone.

Anyway I continue to watch because of my fondness for the previous versions and hoping they might return to the old format and MD retires. Another thing that was better in the other versions is each celebrity only got a few minutes to ask questions and then a bell rang and it was the next persons turn. No shouting out questions when it wasn’t your turn. 

Also I have to say I found it hard to believe none of the celebrities recognized Erin Murphy from Bewitched. Another thing that happened on the other versions was that when a celebrity recognized the real person, they said so before the questions began and sat out.  I have yet to see that happen on this version, but I have missed episodes. Makes me wonder about that because I also knew the snake wrangler from several talk show appearances, and Sushi the drag queen who is on CNNs New Years Eve show every single year.

Edited March 6, 2021 by parrotlover

[MsTree]

11 hours ago, parrotlover said:

when a celebrity recognized the real person, they said so before the questions began and sat out.  I have yet to see that happen on this version, but I have missed episodes.

As far as I can recall, it only happened once. Just don't ask me who the celebrity was 😊

[lynxfx]

3 hours ago, MsTree said:

As far as I can recall, it only happened once. Just don't ask me who the celebrity was 😊

I think Weird Al sat out. 

[SoMuchTV]

8 hours ago, MsTree said:

As far as I can recall, it only happened once. Just don't ask me who the celebrity was 😊

I vaguely remember an occasion where one of the panelists was a host of a morning show (maybe Michael Strahan?) and had interviewed the real person.  I think Mama Doris subbed in.

[dargosmydaddy]

I recall Craig Robinson sitting out... I think it was something about the make-up artist from Black Panther, and he recognized her from working on another movie with her.

[MsTree]

Yes, that's the one I was referring to ^^

[ams1001]

OMG I WANT THE PUPPY! (I love that the celebrity dog groomer has a rescue pup. And that pup looks fabulous!)

(Okay, I have a PetSmart grooming ad right above the comment box before I even typed a word about dog groomers. 😄 )

 

On 3/7/2021 at 6:51 AM, lynxfx said:

I think Weird Al sat out. 

Yes; they had the person who wrote Like a Virgin and he knew them because of his parody of it.

On 3/7/2021 at 11:01 AM, SoMuchTV said:

I vaguely remember an occasion where one of the panelists was a host of a morning show (maybe Michael Strahan?) and had interviewed the real person.  I think Mama Doris subbed in.

I remember that one, too. I believe they got the point if she picked the right person.

[LakeGal]

I was wrong most of the time last night.  I did get the scooter girl correct because she just looked the part.  And I guessed the last woman with Fabio.  But that was mostly because I thought Fabio was probably the only one that would do a charity auction for a date.  The first woman was so mixed up with her dates that she was easy to rule out.  I also figured Tom Jones would get more money for a date than that.  

Mama Doris is telling the panel to shut up and stop wasting time.  She wastes more time than anyone.  

[ams1001]

20 minutes ago, LakeGal said:

Mama Doris is telling the panel to shut up and stop wasting time.  She wastes more time than anyone.  

True, but I was also telling Brad to shut up at one point.

[saber5055]

I only watched with one eye and part of an ear last night. But I wondered about the middle woman in the $ celebrity-date segment. She was smiling and giving off happy vibes the entire time while I thought the people were told to not smile, not show expression and so forth. Everyone has been so stoic until her, she was being such a Tom Jones fangurl. I did object to the panelists dissing Fabio though. That dude was the hottest hottie of all time back in his day, which is when the date happened. I'd pay that money for some Fabio alone time ... if I had that money anyway. Heh.

The celebrity dog groomer segment made me pay attention though. When a professional dog handler friend worked in California, she used to to go celebrity homes to groom dogs. Seems like Sylvester Stallone had Bouviers or a similar breed and she was his regular groomer. Anyway, I ruled out No. 1 since her description of a puppy cut was sorely lacking. It could have been the middle guy since it was not clear to me if the person was a DOG groomer or groomed animals before they were filmed. In which case, I could see a bear getting a bath and brush out. The questions the people were asked were so stupid though. I wish I could have been there to ask some real ones.

Agree with @parrotlover that this is a comedy show, not a game show. Which is why I don't waste both eyes and ears on it when it's on. It's on while multitasking, which makes it easier to totally ignore MD, this show's albatross.

[ams1001]

12 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

it was not clear to me if the person was a DOG groomer or groomed animals before they were filmed.

I think they were being deliberately vague on that. I, too, was originally thinking "prepares animals for TV/movie shoots" not "grooms celebrities' pets."

[iMonrey]

Quote

 I thought the people were told to not smile, not show expression and so forth.

Not that I'm aware of. The only rule is that one of the three is sworn to tell the truth. I've never heard of any behavior rules. I think a lot of the imposters are fairly stoic simply because they are trying in earnest to fool the panel. I wish I knew what they got paid for this. In the original version the imposters got extra money for every vote they got from the panel.

Edited March 10, 2021 by iMonrey

[lynxfx]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I wish I knew what they got paid for this.

The casting notice says they each get paid $1000 for the day. 

https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/casting-earn-1000-to-appear-on-to-tell-the-truth-opportunities-f-65525/

[853fisher]

The celebrity dinner ladies were a hoot.  I looked up #1, who said she could've bought her dinner with Engelbert Humperdinck because her husband left her a lot of money, and she's a pretty active philanthropist in Southern California, which was nice to see.  She was also an actress and singer in her youth.  I also looked up #3, who really did it, and it seems she is a technical writer who moonlights in romance novels.  I scrolled through a few covers on her Twitter feed and one was marked "Fabio, do not read this!"  #2 was just a ray of sunshine.  They can all come to my dinner party.  I did wonder whether one might reveal she had won the right to be an impostor at some charity auction around Hollywood.

I zoned out a little on the scooter-er because it's just not anything I know much about, but I always love watching them do tricks.  I can barely walk up stairs without incident, so God love 'em.  The nest idea isn't anything I would pay even 4 digits for to have permanently, but it might be a fun teambuilding exercise or something if they were in a park somewhere.

Edited March 11, 2021 by 853fisher

[iMonrey]

Quote

The casting notice says they each get paid $1000 for the day. 

Ooh, impressive. Way more than they made back in the day. Still, I think the show would be more interested if they were more motivated to be the best liar because they got extra money or something for every vote they got.

[Josh371982]

On 3/7/2021 at 11:01 AM, SoMuchTV said:

I vaguely remember an occasion where one of the panelists was a host of a morning show (maybe Michael Strahan?) and had interviewed the real person.  I think Mama Doris subbed in.

Yep it was Strahan that sat out 

[ams1001]

I could listen to Ron Funches giggle all day long.

(For any Jeopardy watchers out there, the Squatty Potty comes in a Carrara Marble pattern [Carrara was tonight's Final Jeopardy]. Only $89.99. "***this product is not made from marble.") 

[shapeshifter]

I lived in a pottery commune for a couple of years in the 1970s, and so was able to pick out the Real World Class Potter by the way the word “slip” rolled off his tongue. 
But I muted the nit picker round. 

[iMonrey]

Another episode mercifully absent of Mama Doris. Except for the phone call at the end. Now if they could just ban Thomas Lennon.

Yikes, what is going on with Rick Fox's hair? Is it just pandemic hair?

[Enigma X]

I honestly never want to see Tom Lennon, Brad Garrett, and, especially not, Joel McHale on any game show. They work too hard on being funny and not right. They are usually neither funny nor right.

[lynxfx]

They need to mix up the Before You Go segment. Right now it is always the 3rd round so for round 2 you know it won't be the middle person because they always leave 1 & 2 or 2 & 3. 

[853fisher]

The Paralympic athletes were my favorites.  Maybe I was imagining it, but I thought the panel let them be the focus a bit more than their own jokes too.  I thought Ron certainly put his foot in his mouth with the question along the lines of "do you look at someone like Rick as a peer or think you could do as well as them if only if you had two legs?"  I'm sure he didn't intend it that way at all, but I thought it was a phenomenally rude and vaguely insulting question as phrased. 

On 3/17/2021 at 12:07 PM, iMonrey said:

Yikes, what is going on with Rick Fox's hair? Is it just pandemic hair?

That's what he told Meredith on "25 Words or Less."  I found him marginally attractive before (not my flavor, but I could understand the appeal) and certainly don't understand the ongoing swooning now.  Would Mama have found him as phat and phresh if she could have seen him in p(h)erson?  I found him the least annoying on the panel, probably because he doesn't think of himself as a comic, but just couldn't look at him with that on his head.  Not that I'm any oil painting myself!

Edited March 19, 2021 by 853fisher

[ams1001]

Who didn't know that hidden portrait was gonna be Mama Doris? (And yay, The Doris is back. 🙄)

I love watching voice-over artists do their voices.  

I was pretty sure of Dolly Parton's sister right from the introductions because she sounds just like Dolly, then when she smiled real big at the end of the questioning I saw a bit of Dolly in her smile.

Interesting how Karamo paid so much attention to body language. Most panelists are too busy trying to be funny to really pay attention.

I liked the "sit-down comic" (also clever to do the videotape reveal since she couldn't participate in the "please stand up" fake-out game).

[SoMuchTV]

Well, I just watched “The Last Blockbuster” documentary on Netflix last weekend, so I guess I should have recused myself on that one.  

And based on her voice, I thought #1 was definitely Dolly’s sister, then kept second guessing myself because it seemed too obvious. I figured they might throw in a Dolly impersonator. 

[LakeGal]

I had seen Kathy Garver interviewed a few years ago and recognized her as Cissy.

I also knew the Bugs Bunny guy because he had been on a Canadian entertainment show talking about his voices.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

Interesting how Karamo paid so much attention to body language. Most panelists are too busy trying to be funny to really pay attention.

Even better that he had learned from observing his kids! 
 

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

clever to do the videotape reveal since she couldn't participate in the "please stand up" fake-out game).

OMG! I totally missed that! 😮
 

That was really interesting to see how Dolly’s sister managed to play the guitar with those nails!

[Swenson]

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Even better that he had learned from observing his kids! 
 

OMG! I totally missed that! 😮
 

That was really interesting to see how Dolly’s sister managed to play the guitar with those nails!

I know Stella Parton isn't as famous as Dolly of course, but I still can't believe that panel couldn't figure it out ....they LOOK like sisters.....and for me, if I don't have a pick handy, I can't play guitar ....Stella has them built in.

[shapeshifter]

12 minutes ago, Swenson said:

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

That was really interesting to see how Dolly’s sister managed to play the guitar with those nails!

and for me, if I don't have a pick handy, I can't play guitar ....Stella has them built in.

I meant fretting without being able to use her fingertips! 

Edited March 24, 2021 by shapeshifter

[853fisher]

I loved that.  The stories all interested me and there were a few neat "twists" along the way.  Kathy Garver looks great!  I wouldn't've minded three Karamos, but Sherri and Gabriel were better than many others have been at asking genuine questions in between laugh lines, and seeming generally to want to be there.

I thought even Mama was pretty unobtrusive, at least for her.  I know it's all been said before, but I will just never understand the sex banter between her and Anthony.  I would be mortified to make those kinds of comments about my mother in private, never mind national TV.  She would appreciate it even less.  Blech.

I don't remember how it started, but Sherri would have little plastic "creatures" dropped on her every few times she appeared, as a sort of running gag.  I was sure she was in trouble when they started the "my animal best friend" segment.  I guess they were all sold out of stuffed sharks at the Dollar Tree.  Lucky lady!

[chitowngirl]

I was hoping all three would be her siblings!

[theatremouse]

On 3/23/2021 at 7:43 PM, shapeshifter said:

That was really interesting to see how Dolly’s sister managed to play the guitar with those nails!

Dolly does it too.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I was pretty sure of Dolly Parton's sister right from the introductions because she sounds just like Dolly, then when she smiled real big at the end of the questioning I saw a bit of Dolly in her smile.

Yeah it almost seemed too obvious but her voice was a dead ringer for Dolly's. 

I wonder about Kathy Garver. This isn't the first time one of the imposters turned out to be a "somebody else" in show biz. Maybe they were originally going to do a "I played Cissy of Family Affair" segment with her and two imposters then decided or found out nobody remembered Family Affair. But they still had to pay her. Or something. Just seems odd.

I'm glad Karamo  did so well because I've seen him on at least two other game shows and frankly he came across as sort of a dum-dum. This seems to be the one show he's suited for.

[chitowngirl]

I thought Dolly’s sister looked too much like Dolly and was an impersonator.