Behind the Scenes at Remade ‘Twenty One’

The first thing you notice when producer Phil Gurin arrives at NBC’s Studio 1 in Burbank for the taping of “Twenty One” is the troop of Pinkerton guards surrounding him.

The next is his satchel filled with questions and answers to be used on the show. Until then, they were locked in a safe in his office. “We take security very seriously,” said Gurin, one of the two executive producers of the quiz show.

Studio 1 has to be one of the safest places in L.A. when NBC tapes “Twenty One” on the weekends. There are more than 25 private security guards patrolling the sound stage, not to mention all the guards on the network lot.

Why the muscle? The easy answer is the money hundreds of thousands of dollars ready to be wheeled in and out of the studio for the winners. But there is something else the specter that haunted the original “Twenty One” because of its leading role in the infamous Quiz Show Scandal of the 1950s. Everybody is trying to make sure that no questions are raised about the new version of “Twenty One.”

“We weren’t going to fix this show because, basically, you don’t have to do it,” joked Fred Silverman, the show’s other producer. “It’s a really good show, and if you write good questions and get good contestants, that’s basically the name of the game.”

Looking for a ‘Millionaire’

These days, game shows are hot sizzling just as they were during the 1950s with programs like “The $64,000 Question” and “Twenty One.” The resurgence of the format stems from the staggering success of ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” While NBC’s “Twenty One” isn’t dominating the ratings like “Millionaire,” it is doing well enough to have been given an additional 13 episodes, which means it will be on at least through March.

In the most recent Nielsen ratings, “Twenty One” tied for 19th place; the three episodes of “Millionaire” that aired that week swept the top three spots. “Millionaire” is not only helping ABC challenge NBC for leadership in prime time, it could be worth $250 million in profits to the network’s parent, Walt Disney Co.

That kind of success has sent every major network rushing to get a game show on the air in prime time. Fox jumped in with “Greed,” and CBS is resurrecting “The $64,000 Question.” NBC and CBS chose to reprise the two shows from the 1950s because they owned the rights and believe the formats worked in the past.

Unlike ABC’s “Millionaire,” which is produced in New York, “Twenty One” is produced in Los Angeles. Out-of-town contestants are flown in after a screening process, and tourists and local residents are recruited to join the audience of about 300 people.

Like the original, “Twenty One” is a battle of wits between two contestants who try to reach 21 points first like the card game blackjack. Competitors pick questions by level of difficulty, with the toughest questions earning the most points. “I’ve wanted to do the show for years,” Silverman said. “It’s terrific.”

Taking precautions

The first “Twenty One” premiered Nov. 12, 1956 and ironically was NBC’s answer to another hit game show at the time, “The 64,000 Question” on CBS.

It was taken off the air on Oct. 16, 1958 in a cloud of scandal. The end came amid revelations that contestants including Charles Van Doren who had become a national celebrity because of his performance on the show had been coached. So were contestants on other game shows.

The burgeoning scandal set off investigations by Congress and the New York District Attorney’s Office that essentially brought an end to prime-time game shows. At the time, there were no laws against coaching contestants. Today there are, and game-show staffers must sign statements saying that they have not tampered with the outcome of the show. Violators can be hit with jail sentences.

These days, with hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake and NBC’s integrity on the line, it’s not surprising that Pinkerton guards patrol the sound stage and shadow the executives of “Twenty One.” Staff members and guests must wear badges identifying themselves. During the show, contestants are placed in soundproof booths that have applause and music piped in to drown out any possible exterior noise.

Even so, the audience is cautioned against shouting out any answers. Careful use of lighting prevents a contestant from seeing the studio audience and its reaction to a rival’s correct or incorrect answers.

Despite all the safeguards, the notoriety lives on fueled by the 1994 movie, “Quiz Show,” which focused on the scandal.

Two Los Angeles teachers at a recent taping said they wanted to see “Twenty One” precisely because its predecessor had been part of the scandals. “This was the show in the movie,” said Alissa Koerner. “I wanted to see it.”

Even Maury Povich, the host of “Twenty One,” said he was attracted to the show partially because of its past. The talk-show host said he watched the original as a child and felt disillusioned when he learned it was rigged. “We lost our innocence,” he said. “I felt betrayed.”

Povich said it also gives him a chance to appear in prime time, a first for the broadcaster who has anchored “Current Affair” and now has his own daytime show.

“I was about to ride off into the sunset at this stage in my career,” said Povich, who admitted that he had never thought about hosting a game show until the producers approached him.

Rules of the game

There are subtle changes from the original “Twenty One” most notably that questions are multiple choice and that they appear to be answerable by most anyone, at least at the early stages of the game.

“We call them populist (questions),” Gurin said. “We are very viewer-friendly. We want people to play along. We are not trying to be a hard, academic show, but a fun, big-money game show.”

But the questions become much more arcane during the final levels of the game. For instance, at the recent taping, a contestant was asked who would receive the Irving Thalberg Award at the upcoming Oscars. The answer, which was missed, was Warren Beatty. (The award had recently made news in the Hollywood trade papers but appeared in few other places.)

The show also is aimed at encouraging the audience to play along with contestants, unlike the original, which seemed to be a battle of geniuses. “The old show was a spectacle where you saw a couple of intellectuals who answered extremely difficult questions,” Silverman said.

Gurin joked that the old show had to be “fixed” because the questions were just too tough.

“I think our questions are much more diverse,” added Silverman. “For every category that comes up, there are 11 different questions that can be chosen, from very easy to extremely difficult. There is a lot more variety in the questioning.”

There is also a lot more variety in the lineup of contestants. Unlike “Millionaire,” which has been criticized as having too many white males battling to win the big money, “Twenty One” is more diverse, with more women and minorities competing. One reason is that members of the studio audience vote on who will challenge the champion from a group of people selected by producers.

“They come, they answer questions in a preliminary test,” Gurin said. “We see them on tape. We interview finalists. So we get a chance to see people, both the personalities and how they play the game. It enables us to really get a good mix.”

By having the audience choose contestants by voting on small computers, the producers have yet another safeguard against the fixing of the show.

“We have no control over who the next contestant will be,” Gurin said.