Spoiler Threads

[Guest Toots]

Hey Clayzor..haven't read anywhere else lately so didn't know people were hoping she wouldn't do well. She's such a cutie pie. And I was definitely rooting for her to make some noise. And hell, I'm even curious to hear her sing now. Oh and her dress and shoes were kick ass.

I've heard two of her songs, one which she wrote about her mother, and she has a nice voice. She's cute and perky but not so smart and sometimes she says inappropriate things in places where they are not so funny. She has a quick sense of humor and sometimes it helps that she isn't the brightest light because it makes her all the more funny. She and Clay are both from North Carolina and both came from Idol, maybe that was the draw.

[Couch Tomato]

Thanks for a great recap Couchie. I too hope they leave all the good Clay parts in, the compliments from Jeff, and that they don't edit it to make Clay's jokes and banter look stupid or like a show off. I'll love him regardless and heaven knows others will think what they want of him, just as he says.

there's no editing in the world that can make him look like a show off. DO NOT WORRY. And Clay is a funny guy. Yes Clay made funny faces. Yes Clay may have giggled. Don't remember one but who knows. But Clay is uniquely Clay and he was in full effect yesterday. I found him funny and charming but lord knows I'm biased. I'm willing to be that no matter what appears on that screen he will have the usual suspcts saying the ususal things. But they aren't worth a damn in my book.

Jeff also kept saying that rarely has the board looked like it looked at the end..with only that one category left. Whoot. He got 9 questions right and they seemed ecstatic about his appearance. Really don't know why or how they could sabatoge that. This will be good.

[Guest Toots]

Thanks for a great recap Couchie. I too hope they leave all the good Clay parts in, the compliments from Jeff, and that they don't edit it to make Clay's jokes and banter look stupid or like a show off. I'll love him regardless and heaven knows others will think what they want of him, just as he says.

there's no editing in the world that can make him look like a show off. DO NOT WORRY. And Clay is a funny guy. Yes Clay made funny faces. Yes Clay may have giggled. Don't remember one but who knows. But Clay is uniquely Clay and he was in full effect yesterday. I found him funny and charming but lord knows I'm biased. I'm willing to be that no matter what appears on that screen he will have the usual suspcts saying the ususal things. But they aren't worth a damn in my book.

Jeff also kept saying that rarely has the board looked like it looked at the end..with only that one category left. Whoot. He got 9 questions right and they seemed ecstatic about his appearance. Really don't know why or how they could sabatoge that. This will be good.

Wonder how Regis took the Clay good news back to the set of that show he is on...can't remember the name anymore. Too bad they didn't put Ripa on so the world could see what a dumb bitch she really is...oh my where did that come from. Oh well, I feel better now.

Edited August 29, 2007 by Toots

[woo lovereyes]

gareem, I see you down there. I hope you add your comments. It's always always such a treat Wish I could convey my feelings the way you do! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[laughn]

The part I bolded should make for great TV sweeps ratings...lol

from OneSingerGal at the CB...

i haven't read the whole thread, but....

i attended both tapngs and saw them interview kellie, regis and the children. and i heard the children do promos for ET and Extra. and Jeff did a promo for NFL preshow.

so, my guess is that Clay probably got interviewed backstage. and that he'd probably be featured on ET again !!!

as for the taping .... i also sat behind Clay, but in an upper row. i thoroughly enjoyed oogling Clay's shoulders and luscious long legs. and Clay often fidgeted with his left back pocket. his shoulders looked mighty fine !!! image i was happy that i could see Clay's facial expressions on the big screen to my left. and his hair looked very inviting from behind, as well. i thought his bangs looked fine, not too heavy.

as Clay came out, he looked up at the crowd where i was at before turning to stand at the podium. and during a brief break, he turned right and looked at us again, briefly. he looked very happy, with a big smile on his face !!!

i'm so glad he did so well !! Clay was polished, funny, witty and very careful in answering. i remember the caring and thoughtful look he gave towards the money board when he was deciding to stop. it was clear to me in an instant how much the $300,000 meant to Clay. fortunately, i didn't have to look at the big screen to see it !!! i could see Clay's face everytime he looked left or right !

one cute moment was when he was working on an answer.... i think the math one.... and he started to swing his cute hips back and forth... back and forth.... in an almost musical rhythm.... back and forth...... swinging those hips widely !!! ...thud..... image

and as time went on i noticed Clay was kinda standing back on his heels, sometimes. he wore his black boots with his jeans hem just dragging a bit on the floor, slightly tattered... funny Clay. jeff's jeans hem was just slightly off the floor. and jeff wore alligator black boots.

[sheiladownunder]

Thanks for all the reports. I'm still on such a high :F_05BL17blowkiss: .

I like the image of two southern boys in their boots with their jean hems touching the floor. Not that I really care what Jeff Foxworthy thinks, but I like that Clay made such an impression on him. Clay has IT, he is a star. I love it when people who have joked about him, fall under his spell after meeting him in person.

[rcknrllmom]

Wow, that is all...I am so proud of him!! can hardly read the recaps without getting a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes!!!!!!!

[Ansamcw]

Zapping Poshpenny's post because it came from CH den..and posts from there are not to be copied elsewhere. If anyone knows Poshpenny, or knows if she posted this recap anywhere else, let me know and we can put it back. (sorry to zap you ansa)/Couchie.

That was in the den??? Hee sorry...I just do the equivalent of view new post over there...thought it was in the usual place...oh well. Thanks couchie...ansa

[luckiest1]

Awww, I hope we can bring it back. Luckily I never refreshed, so I got to read it before it went away. Talk about detailed! It was v.v. cool, almost like being there. One day I neeeeeds to get me to a TV taping. Although I guess, in a way, the Vegas skating thing will be a TV taping. YAY!

[jmh123]

Poshpenny's recap, from CV this time:

Posh's Insanely Wordy 5th Grader Recap

Forgive me if some things are out of order or somehow mixed up.

Preparation and Getting There

The dress code for the show was busting my ass. Dress up, no jeans, be colorful and upscale. Crap. I don't have all that many clothes, y'all. I could not find the calf-length, comfortable skirt I was looking for. I could only find one flat boot. Crap. I had to pack a kind-of pencil skirt and heeled boots and just plan to change late enough that the shoes wouldn't kill me too early. I pack my clothes, CD player and a couple of CDs, food and water.

When I checked the bus schedule, I noticed that the time I would get there was iffy. When I went to Leno in September the busses were running very late, and if that happened again this time, I might be so far back in the line that I wouldn't get in. I didn't want to not get in! My other option was to go the night before. Not that I really wanted to, but if it's camp out or get shut out, for this appearance I'll do it. Heck, I enjoy a little adventure once in a while.

I live past the very end of my closest bus line, and it stops running as far as that at about 7:30pm. I decided not to leave that early, but waited a couple of hours and walked the 25 blocks or so to the place they say it starts at night. I BOOKED it to get there on time, which did me no good at all. The bus came up the other side of the street and instead of turning around to begin where it is supposed to, turned a corner and never came back. OK now I am mad. That was the last bus I could take to catch the last bus down Beverly, which is where I needed to go. Wankers.

Instead of waiting to see if the next bus would also pull this crap, I walked farther down the street to the stop I knew it would service. I've now walked about 40 blocks carrying a fairly heavy backpack. Well, at least I could use the exercise. The bus arrives and I pay the new, incredibly insane fees. MTA sucks, yo. Oh, and I also realized that I neglected to bring my headphones. So much for that CD player.

I decided there must be a bus that runs all night down Wilshire, a couple of (major) blocks south of Beverly, so I change there and wait for the next bus. It arrives shortly, being driven by a man with greying hair and a possibly kinda pointy goatee. I noticed very soon that he was one of that breed of driver who verbally call out each bus stop. He did so in a deep, booming voice. All I could picture was a train conductor, which amused me. He was the best thing that had happened all night. When he finally called out FairFAAAAX! I yelled "Bingo!" and pulled the signal rope. As I left I said "Thank you Mr Conductor Man!" and he chuckled a deep, hearty chuckle that I thought would fit very well on Santa.

I walked up Fairfax, past the Farmer's Market, and arrived at CBS Studio City at 1am. I saw a short line at a gate and asked what they were waiting for. The Price is Right. AH, of course. People always line up early for that one. I round the corner and find the only person at the Genesee Gate is a man sleeping in the bus stop. Just as I figured. I sit on a bench near a food place and read a bit of one of those free magazines on the side of the road. I walked back to the Exxon at Beverly/Fairfax and peed.

Sitting on a sidewalk by myself sounded pretty boring so I went over to the Price is Right line and hung out with them. I met Kenny from Fresno, who at one point took out a bag with about 5 harmonicas and played a little. Nancy, Dawn and Fawn were from Phoenix and seem to come out for the show every year. They were pretty amusing. They knew what show I was there for but Clay barely came up. I did say at one point that I would know people in line from other things. It seems Fawn goes to a big Insane Clown Posse fan gathering every year, so they didn't bat an eyelash.

A security guard was parked on the sidewalk (in the apron to the gate) right in front of us. He sat in his SUV, watched a little TV/DVD and took naps. At one point, some people showed up, pitched a tent, inflated an air matress and got cozy. THEN the guard walked down there and made them take it all down. That was a highlight.

As luck would have it, mother nature provided a very nice light show in the form of a total lunar eclipse! I had never seen a full eclipse before and we had an excellent view from our location. When it was complete it looked like a giant malt ball/Milk Dud in the sky. I wondered if it was good luck to wish on an eclipse. I figured it had to be. I didn't really wish, but I did look up at the Milk Dud and repeat in my head a few times, "Clay is smarter than a 5th grader. Clay is smarter than a 5th grader. He will be funny and have a good appearance." Hey, why not?

The Line

Timing is everything, and as I was lying on the ground watching the very end of the eclipse, I finally see familiar faces coming at me. It's Jolene and her mom Josie! YAY! I yell, "My people!" and jump off the ground to meet them. I thanked the other line for letting me hang out with them, grabbed my stuff and we went to the Genesse gate. It's now about 5:30am.

Josie got into mommy mode and decided that I needed to sit on the pillows. Now lie down, here is a blanket... all I needed was a glass of water and a story. We chit-chat and soon a familiar-looking woman showed up. I remembered that she was the one with the "Thrustin' Clay Aiken" autograph tattoo, and I knew I had talked to her a little in Indio after her daughter's M&G. Sadly, I have the hardest time remembering anyone's name and I still don't know hers. As many details as I can remember about things for recaps, but alas names are my downfall. This woman was staying in the hotel right across the street, which was pretty handy.

Slowly people began arriving. I tried to catch a few winks but I'm not sure I did. I might have slept for a few minutes, but mostly I just rested and half-listened to the crowd gathering. Here I am, in fleece jammie bottoms and a Clay t-shirt, curled up on 2 pillows, covered in a blanket on a street corner in LA at the front of a line of people dressed in perfectly nice outfits waiting for a TV taping. Sometimes this whole Clay thing can get a little surreal. I love it.

Now is my favorite part of the line-ups. Wandering around, chatting with people I only get to see at Clay stuff. At some point in the day I talked to people like PermaSwooned, ncgurrl, Clavia, spot, SmartyPantsSuz and NonDancingDave, BEEDAWN, CaliforniaClayfan, beagle6, MyZiggy, joaniemason, Mary who was one of the people from San Diego who picked me up and drove me to that picnic a few years ago... it was fun! Josie got me a hot chocolate. Perma gave me a cheese stick. Suz walked down the line and passes out little ziplock bags of ice to everyone. Tattoo lady took Jolene and I to her room so we could freshen up. Perma offered to take me to their after-dinner and drive me home. Dang, we are cool, y'all!

The people up front were half watching for Clay to arrive. I looked at the cars lined up at the gate at one point and said, "Hmmmm." There is a black Lincoln SUV with very tinted windows, that rental towncar code on the bumper, and a plate that says MUSIC07. That could be Clay. My line-mates agree. I could see some movement in the back of the car but nothing specific enough to see who it was.

A few minutes later the car was leaving. As it sat there waiting for the light to turn red, we saw the driver on his phone looking at us. He'd look around and look back at us. He'd talk into this phone. He'd look back at us. Yeah, tell me that wasn't Clay's driver! We wave at him. Yes, we see you looking at us. Tell Clay we say hi.

Here We Go!

The call time was 11am on the tickets. Some people said they got an email saying be there by 10, which I hadn't seen. At about 10:30 the audience guy comes out to let us in. ACK! There are still chairs and stuff! He checks my ticket and I run back to Perma's car. Luckily it was just down the street a little instead of in the parking garage. We throw all the chairs, cooler and my backpack into the car and rush back to the studio. I follow the people and we are, as I had hoped, being led to the EXACT SAME studio where they do American Idol. I thought that was pretty cool.

Luckily, we do not have to stand in another line in the hot sun like we did for AI3. We go right to the security checkpoint and sit on our benches outside the studio. When we are all there, we are given a speech by the cute audience coordinator guy.

Welcome. This is the Celebrity edition. Some of you know who will be here and yes they are here. If the celebrities don't take up all of the allotted time they will bring out regular contestants. Plan on being here until at least 2:30 or 3. You must stay inside for the entire event. If you can't stay inside for the whole thing, don't go in, there are people on the sidewalk who will take your place. Go to the bathroom now, you can't go once you are in the studio. We will seat you where we will seat you. It has a lot to do with what you are wearing. Don't ask to be moved.

The line for the bathroom got really long. Three stalls. It didn't take long for us to commandeer the men's room. Also three stalls, all with doors. Yay for that. The best part? I can now say that I once ran into spotlightlover in the men's room at CBS.

On the benches I am now the third person in line. The two before us didn't get into Megan Mullally, so they got priority seating for this one, which is nice. Finally it is time to go in! We entered through the same door I did for AI3, but the similarities end there. (Although I do still love the smell of a studio.) We all had to follow the wall on the right, turn left and in a few steps we are on the set.

That set is huge, y'all. Not arena huge, but for a TV set, it is large. It took up nearly the whole room. Not like AI with a stage and a bunch of audience filling the bulk of the room. It's unusual for a show to use 360 degrees of the room on camera but they did it. I'll try to describe...

In the center is the classroom with the contestants facing south. Just to their right are the desks for the kids. On the west wall next to them is a screen with the logo where they show the prize level and occasionally what the class had answered for a question, just for fun. The west wall also has the "hallway" where everyone on the show enters.

In front of the contestants (south) is a wall with a huge, rectangular, chalkboard-sized screen. On each side of that are dark one-way glass looking panels and I could see cameras behind them. A long desk dressed with random classroom stuff sits there looking cute.

Behind the contestants (north) are bleachers/chairs for the audience and a large screen with the logo. These are the people you see in the background of the contestant shots.

To the left of the stage (east) is another section of bleachers. Just south of the bleachers is a camera and above it a big screen where we can watch the show. South of that is a little area with trees and maybe some picnic bench looking things. We walked past those on the way in.

That's all on the ground level. The studio is, of course, tall, and they used the height by having another level of audience on top of the east and south classroom walls. At least three rows of seats. Above and behind them a bit the walls looked kinda like sky and there was a HUGE sign rounding the corner with the name of the show. The contestants are surrounded on all sides by the audience, which was kinda cool.

They stop the line next to the classroom stage and we wait to be seated. We can see the set to our left and I looked at Clay's podium and hoped for the best. Audience guy with a mohawk told the 2 ladies in front of me to follow him and off we went to the bleachers behind the stage. He sat the two of them on inside isle seats near the top and turned to me. He sat me on an isle seat about halfway up on the other side of the isle. It was then that I saw nobody else came with us. Hey, nobody told me he was taking one party at a time.

Group by group people were seated. The younger adults, cutest and best dressed were seated in the section right behind the contestants, in front of the big screen. All of the younger teens were seated together in the east section. I think the VIP people were seated upstairs on the south side where they could see Clay's face.

Once we were all seated, warm up guy (WUG) took the mic. Luckily, he was not an obnoxious comedian, but some young audience coordinator guy who was friendly and amusing. He pointed out the one guy with the "APPLAUSE/QUIET" sign. There was one guy with a sign for the whole studio. No light up applause signs in sight, which I thought was odd. Applause guy was sitting at the top of the east section, so how people below him ever saw it I have no idea.

He said Kellie would be out first and then Clay. They passed out posterboard Kellie signs to the teen section. Not one sign came in with an audience member. We were told to cheer for Jeff Foxworthy when he came out. We were told when we could make noise and when we had to be silent and still. When a question was asked and before the contestant locked in their answer, we were not to make a peep. No gasping, nothing. We were not in any way to signal the answers to the contestants. He repeatedly said, "They are playing for real money" and that if we misbehaved they would kick us out. At some point all of the Kellie signs were collected and they passed Clay signs out to the young teen section. I thought the one in the corner closest to me looked very phallic as the girl waved it around, so I looked harder and saw it was shaped like a pencil. Apparently my mind was in the gutter.

WUG broke us into sections and asked us what we wanted to be named. Two of the north sections were called the Claymates. My section of the north plus the east section were called Aiken for Clay. The balcony was called Patty. He made us all cheer for ourselves and boo the other sections. He asked for a girl from each section who can dance like Shakira. One by one they danced and we all cheered and booed and our young teen won a green Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader t-shirt. Then a man from each section came down to dance like JT while they played SexyBack. There weren't many men to choose from and both the guys I saw were pretty timid but the guy from my section won the t-shirt.

During the dancing, very large walls came out from the south and west sides of the set. From our side they looked like the outside hallways of a school, with doors, windows near the top, and I think the walls looked like brick. Maybe. All fake of course. The door right in front of me was the only one that was an actual door, and it had a 5 on it. WUG tried to keep our energy up. They played Yeah and told us to all sing along. Yeah! Yeah! Now in Spanish! Si! Si!

The Show

It's getting close y'all! I take a deep breath. Jeff Foxworthy comes out and we give him a big Clay fan welcome. It's time to start! EEEEEE!!!!! It was kinda sudden. We cheer loudly. Here's Jeff! He runs up, goes through the door with the 5 on it and into the classroom. The walls slide back where they came from. The kids run into the hallway, put backpacks in cubby holes and smile and wave as they run to their seats. I don't recall exactly if Clay was introduced but suddenly he comes out of the hallway and it gets LOUD in there! YAY!! GO CLAY!!

He's wearing what looks to me like the pink and white Pala shirt. Some people saw other colors. In any case, it was pale. Grey jacket. Dark-ish jeans. Black shoes that could have been boots or shoes and I'm guessing shoes. I didn't see the socks. Hair: it looked mostly fine. It wasn't the most gorgeous hair ever, but he didn't look like a rooster, Alfalfa or like his mommy cut it in the kitchen. The bangs were kinda funky, with a stiff sectiony bit on one side that I could have really lived without. Several times I wanted to fix the bangs and make them lovey, but overall the hair wasn't bad. He looked clean-shaven and the make-up was good. He looked happy and relaxed, especially for being on a potentially embarrassing game show with BAF camps on the line. Jeff and Clay seemed to be about the same height and interacted together very smoothly.

He must have been introduced somehow, but it might have been after he was on stage. I do recall Jeff saying the word "multi-platinum," but you can't say "multi-platinum" about Clay in a room full of us and hear what comes afterward. We love cheering for that man, don't we?

The "chalkboard" screen shows a photo of Clay in the 5th grade. He's wearing large glasses and a black hat. Clay said he was running for Class president and they thought it would be a good idea to make him look like Abraham Lincoln. Jeff asked if he won the election. Clay said he came in second and made a face like "of course" or "I'm used to it." Jeff said there is no second place here.

Jeff was either not told or incapable of pronouncing Bubel correctly. Clay gave the short explanation of what the Foundation is and the game began. They reveal Clay's categories. Clay needs to pick a student to be his classmate for the first two questions. We are encouraged to yell out our favorites, or just random names. Each section of the audience has a plant/audience co-coordinator guy sitting amongst us. They are there to both begin the shouting at the appropriate time and also to bust people if they try to signal to the contestant. We all yell for kids we don't even know and Clay chooses Olivia.

Olivia is, as they all are, cute and obviously a professional actor. They all had that kid performer vibe. Very professional, smiling, waving and not at all shy in front of the cameras or all the people screaming like banshees. They were all well cast, as none of them had that creepy kid performer, attention whore, I'm sooooo important vibe. They seemed very comfortable expressing their natural personalities and I liked them all.

I've said this many times before, but it is hard to hear in there. Not impossible, but the volume in the studio has to be quiet enough to not be picked back up in the mics I guess. Sometimes it's difficult to make out all that is said if people are applauding. Luckily I could make things out most of the time but there were a few times I had to strain or just hope to see it on air.

Jeff mentioned American Idol. This may have been when they said they were in the same studio and maybe that would be good luck for him. Clay said he didn't win that show either. Jeff asked Olivia if she liked AI but I don't know what she said. She said she didn't see the first season. Clay asked her if she saw the second season and she said no. Jeff asked Clay how long ago that was and he said 5 years. Jeff said Olivia was only 5 years old then.

Clay consulted with Oliva and found out what subjects she did/did not like. We all yelled out categories. They went with 1st grade animal science.

Which animal is not native to the African savannah?

1. Giraffe

2. Lion

3. Brown Bear

I just had to laugh that Clay got a giraffe question. I couldn't help remembering that photo from Busch Gardens. Clay must wait until Olivia writes her answer on her screen and locks it in. The children at their desks write answers on their screens too. Clay talks through the answer, because modern game shows like that sort of thing. Paraphrased: "I've been lucky enough to have been to Africa, and I know I saw giraffes. I've seen lions at the zoo and I think they were in the Africa part of the zoo." He doesn't think brown bears are from Africa and chooses that. We sit silently. He pushes the button which locks in his answer and his podium lights up red. We cheer. He is correct and has $1,000. We cheer loudly. I think they went to commercial now.

They stopped for a minute or two. Jeff put his finger to his ear and said something. Then he explained to us that he had a thing in his ear so if we see him talking to himself that's why. Clay said, "He has voices in his head!" and we laugh.

Back from break and Olivia must have said something to Jeff because he talked to her. She said that her parents don't let her watch TV at night because she is doing homework and that's why she didn't see him on AI. I guess she didn't want Clay to think she was snubbing him.

Jeff brings up Clay being a teacher. Clay talked a little about when he taught but I think we were clapping and I didn't hear exactly what was said. Jeff asked who Clay's favorite teacher was. Sticky question! He cast one in his show, he took one to Afghanistan... who do you pick? He said he couldn't pick a favorite. Who was your 5th grade teacher? He said Ms (Mrs?) Armstrong and they talked about how he was in a split 4th/5th grade class because they didn't have enough kids for a whole class. Jeff said he grew up in the sticks and Clay said something about it being practically a one-room schoolhouse.

Jeff asked Clay if he knew if there was someone special there to cheer him on. Clay looked around and said, "I see there are some fans here!" and looked around at everyone. We cheered. I think he waved. That's not what Jeff meant at all, so he told him that Ms. Armstrong was there. She came out, I think carrying a little sign, and they hugged. She is very cute. Jeff and Clay chatted with her a bit about what kind of student he was and that Clay was a little scared of her sometimes. She said she was proud of him. The last time he saw her was in a shoe store in the 8th grade and he thought it was weird. Jeff said "It's always weird when you see your teachers in real life." Clay agreed and said, "I thought you lived at the school."

Back to the game, and Mini-Team Clay chooses 1st grade spelling.

How many R's are in the following word?

*pause*

Jeff: "I bet you are waiting for me to show you the word."

Clay: "I was hoping!"

Jeff says the word is "error." Olivia locks in her answer.

Clay keeps saying "error... error..." He has to make sure he has it right because with Jeff's accent it sounds like "air." The teasing is amusing. Hee hee! Clay talks through his thought process and answers 3. We are silent. He locks in and we cheer. Let's see how the class answered. On the screen next to them we see the 4 answers the other kids wrote. They all spelled the word, underlined or circled the R's and said 3. Everyone is correct. The Foundation has $2,000. We cheer loudly.

Olivia must go back and Clay needs to choose a new student as his classmate. He chooses the boy whose name I cannot remember. He was a very cute black boy with longish, curly hair. Maybe Jeff said that he liked to dance and Clay said something about teaching him to dance. The boy was all, no problem.

Second Grade Social Studies, I think.

Which state's official bird is the Oriole?

The boy locks in his answer. Clay talks it out. He assumes it would be Maryland because of the Baltimore Orioles but questions the logic of answering because of the name of a baseball team. He decided to go with it, locks in his answer and we cheer. They look to see what the boy had written and his was also Maryland. Jeff reminds us that means if it's wrong, his answer won't save Clay. The answer is correct, BAF has $5,000. We cheer loudly.

Jeff asks Clay if he played little league and he says he did, and he was on the Orioles. Jeff says, "I know" and the screen shows a photo of young Clay with a bat and a hat with an E on it. Clay saw it, grabbed his ears and pulled them out to tease himself. Clay made sure to explain the E on his hat was because he was on both the Expos and the Orioles. Jeff says he must have been able to hear the ice cream truck coming from a mile away. Clay said something like, "I flew around the bases." [/Dumbo reference]

The next question... I don't remember the category. Maybe 2nd grade nature.

Fuji and Gala are varieties of what fruit?

Clay very excitedly stated that he loves to eat peanut butter on these, on both Fuji and Gala APPLES! He locks in and we cheer.

Jeff suddenly questioned him about saying he liked to eat peanut butter because he is allergic to peanuts. Clay said tree nuts. Jeff said that he always has a Snickers bar before the show and today his Snickers bar was gone because Clay is allergic. "I'm allergic to tree nuts. Nuts that grow on trees. Peanuts grow in the ground. You should know that Jeff, you're from Georgia!" Everyone had a good laugh. Jeff said "Snickers bars don't grow on trees."

I think the next question was 3rd grade English.

True or false

The word true is an antonym for the word false.

As the kid is writing their answer, Clay is standing with his hands on either side of the podium looking at the "chalkboard." Jeff stands next to him and says something like "You know antonym has another meaning in the south." Teeniest pause for timing and Clay immediately says, "It's your family." Jeff seemed pretty amused that Clay took his punchline out from under him. Clay talks out his answer for the question. "I think antonym means opposite and true is the opposite of false so the answer is True." He locks in and we cheer. They light up the $10,000 spot on the screen next to the desks and we cheer loudly.

Clay needs to pick a new classmate and chooses Sierra. She has long blond hair and is, of course, adorable. When it's time to pick the next category, Clay asks her, "What do you like?" Sierra smiles and says, "I like you!" which of course, prompted a large cheer from the audience. I do not recall Clay or Jeff's reaction.

We holler subjects like a good little audience and they choose 3rd or 4th grade world geography. I laugh because of aaaaaaaall the geography jokes we've made recently.

What city is the capitol of Italy?

A: Rome

B: Milan

C: Naples

Sierra locks in her answer. Clay says, "I've never been to Italy." He talks out his answer. He wasn't sure about this one. Sure it's not Milan. I thought Naples was in Florida. It must be Rome. He locks in his answer and we cheer.

Jeff says, "So thought Naples was in Florida?" in a way that made me think there was a punchline on the way. Clay didn't even look away from the screen when he answered quickly, "It probably still is." You gotta be quicker than that Jeff. Clay will steal your thunder without batting an eyelash.

Clay's answer is correct and the foundation now has $25,000! No matter what happens for the rest of the show, BAF cannot get less than $25,000. We cheer very loudly.

I think the next category was 3rd or 4th grade World History.

Before the US took possession of Puerto Rico in 1897 (or something), it was a colony of what country?

Sierra locks in her answer. Clay says, "Well I assume it's not the US." Jeff tries to make fun of him and Clay explained that it wasn't the US because it was before the US took possession of it. He's not sure on this one. Assumes it was a Spanish speaking country. Doesn't think Mexico had colonies. It's probably Spain. Doesn't think it was anywhere in South America. He thinks it's Spain. He's not sure. He decides to cheat and peek at Sierra's paper. She wrote Spain. He goes with it and it is correct. The total is now $50,000. We cheer loudly.

I think this is when Clay went over to Sierra's podium and they hugged. One of her legs bent up like in an old movie. It was so cute! I don't think I've mentioned yet that when the kids come up and/or leave as his partner, he acknowledges them. Often going to the front of the podium where they are walking to do so. High fives, handshakes... something. The entire show he treated each of the kids as his peer. He consulted, chatted, joked, sang, etc. with them as equals and never once had a moment's attitude that he was above them or smarter than they are. (OK maybe there was a moment right at the end but that was justified.)

I can't really remember the exact order of the questions, I think. I thought it was Sierra who had the Spain question but looking at the numbers it should have been the next girl. Oh dear. In any case, when Sierra goes back Clay chooses the girl whose name I can't remember but I think it started with an M. She had curly brown hair and a great smile. Jeff said she was our resident singer and said that they should sing a duet. Of course we cheered. Sadly, they wanted them to sing the theme song to the show, and this has to be the one TV theme song Clay does not know. They did the first line together and then he kinda da da daaa and hummed while she finished. She sang well and Clay said he wouldn't be surprised if she showed up on another TV show in a few years.

At some point, I don't remember where, Clay said something like, "let's go to the next question" or he wanted to reveal the answer or something. Jeff said something to the effect of, "Normally I like to run the show, but sure, let's see the next question." Clay laughed at Jeff thinking he was doing his job.

Each time a child said they didn't like math Clay would say something like, "Don't worry, we're not going there." I think he meant to save it for the last question so he could just walk away if he didn't know it. This girl was very confident in math and he reluctantly chose it next.

If Nathan has eight pies and cuts them into eighths, how many pieces does he have?

The girl locks in her answer and Clay starts gabbing. He's not ashamed to admit he is not good at his times tables and at first thought the answer was 16. He thinks the answer is 64 and talks it out. He writes with his finger on the podium. Yes, he thinks it's 64 but since Jeff told him not to answer too quickly he would add it again in his head. He started counting on his fingers while making thoughtful faces. He finally decides it can't be anything other than 64 and locks in. We cheer! We see how his classmate answered and she also chose 64. Jeff reminds us that means she can't save him. The answer is correct and the Foundation now has $175,000! We cheer Loudly.

Jeff and Clay talk about what BAF can do with that much money. Clay said they have a goal to fund 100 Let's All Play camps next summer, and each camp costs about $10,000. They now have the money for 17 and a half camps.

By this point in the taping, when they would go to commercial they would have us applaud ...... and then they would just come back into the next segment without stopping at all. There weren't many behind-the-scenes commercial breaks to observe. There were a couple early on but they didn't last long and all I remember is that everyone really seemed to like Clay.

Clay has now correctly answered eight questions. Jeff keeps saying that he could be their first million dollar winner. Each time we see a question and Clay is thinking about his answer, all I can do is wring my hands. I so wanted him to do well.

Clay needs a new parter and the last kid is Nathan. He likes being chosen last and Jeff referred to him as "The Closer." Clay asked him how he felt about the two remaining categories and Nathan was all... Meh. (!) Clay didn't exactly seem thrilled with that. They were not his best subjects, apparently. Oh crap.

5th grade Literature

What 19th Century British author wrote A Christmas Carol?

OK, no way can Clay miss this. Nathan locks in his answer and Clay tells us about growing up in Raleigh and how they did A Christmas Carol every year. "Interestingly, in December." He talked some more and said he thought it was written by Charles Dickens. Are you sure Clay? Let's see how the class answered. The screen next to them showed the 4 answers of the kids at the desks. Two said Lewis Carroll, one had Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and one said Dickens. Clay was surprised so many of them had the same answer and told them that Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland. He still thinks it's Dickens and locks in. Let's see how Nathan answered. The screen shows his answer... Mark Twain! I can't express to you the shock in that studio. This is the closer? ACK! Clay is still confident and the answer is Dickens! YAY! We cheer! The foundation now has $300,000 and they light it up on the board. We cheer very, very loudly.

Clay is very happy to have the money to fund 30 camps. Jeff mentions how rare it is for the board to be that clear. Clay is doing very well. Jeff once again suggests that Clay could be their first million dollar winner. Jeff loves to see people win money for charity.

The last category is 5th grade US History.

Published in the 1780s, the Federalist Papers were written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and this man who later became President of the US.

WTF? I swear, I didn't even learn this in high school. I actually don't even know what the Federalist Papers are, I need to look them up. The tension in the room multiplies.

Nathan locks in his answer and Clay starts talking. He's unsure. He names about five people. Then he starts listing off people and what they wrote. I was impressed, y'all. He gets down to Madison and Monroe. He can't decide. He thinks it's Madison. He talks it out some more.

Jeff reminds him that he has two cheats left. He can copy Nathan's paper, which means he HAS to take that as his final answer, but he can't see what it is first. He also has his save. That means if Clay answers wrong and Nathan is right, he gets the money anyway. Either way, Clay would have to blindly hope that Nathan had the right answer. If Clay took the chance and was wrong, the fate of the Foundation's winnings would be in the hands of a kid who was not confident in this subject and thought Mark Twain wrote A Christmas Carol. They would go from 30 camps to 2 1/2. In reference to Nathan being able to save him, he said, "That Mark Twain answer kinda freaked me out!"

Clay expresses his trepidation. Jeff asks him if he had a goal when he came to the show. Clay said his goal was to get at least $25,000.

Clay really thinks it's Madison, but is not sure enough to risk that many camps. "I am not a gambler." He drops out. The BAF is getting $300,000!! We cheer very, very loudly.

Jeff asks him if he had to choose, what would he have answered. Clay says Madison. They look at Nathan's answer. Madison. The answer is... Madison. Clay correctly answered the $500,000 question!

Clay answered EVERY question correctly. Even when he was unsure and goofy about what he knew, he always got it right. He came across and smart, funny and charming.

Jeff congratulated him and as we cheered he looked at Clay, I think put his hand on Clay's shoulder for a moment, and said, "I not only admire you for what you do onstage, I admire you even more for what you do offstage." Others report hearing him say that Clay was a "quality human being" but I may have been cheering during that part and missed it. I do know that what I heard Jeff say did sound really sincere.

Clay didn't win a million dollars, so he had to say the loser line. He looked into the camera and said something like, "I'm Clay Aiken, and I may not be smarter than a 5th grader, but I know how many camps we can make with $300,000 and take the money and run!"

Applause. The show ended. Some guy who we later found out is an Exec Producer came right at Clay and slapped a big, hearty hug on him. Big enough that I was all... who the heck is that? Why does he seem so happy with Clay? Is he from the SAM? Is he from the Foundation or something?

They call Clay over so he can take a photo with the cast. He may have been sitting at one of the desks, I couldn't see from the front. In any case. He sat/knelt/got down low near the center front desk and all the kids gathered tightly around him. Jeff leaned in from the back. All I could think was that we NEED that photo! All the kids seemed to really like him.

After the photo, Clay and some guy walk purposely at each other and share another big, strong hug. One of those hugs you give someone after a really big accomplishment. Once again I wonder, "Who the hell is that?" The woman next to me thinks it's Mark Burnett, the producer. I look again and YES! That's him! Wow, he is really happy. Mark Burnett is a good person to make happy when you want your own TV show.

Two of the girls wanted to show Clay something. He stands in the crowd of people that always appear on stage when a show ends and watches their little hand slappin/foot touching/phrase chanting routine with a warm smile on his face. He looked genuinely interested and entertained by them.

Clay is finished and we send him off with a big cheer. He gives us a wave and goes backstage.

They announce that they need a pick-up shot. YAY! More Clay! He comes back out and has to reshoot his humiliation line. I thought they were going to make him say it correctly but he said, "I'm Clay Aiken, and I may not be smarter than a 5th grader, but I know when to take the money and run!" They accepted that. He never had to say, "I'm not smarter than a 5th grader."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is now small break while they reset for Pickler. A few people bolt to the restroom. The Clay signs are collected and Kellie signs are passed out to the teen section. I ask someone what time it is. It's 1:15.

The new episode begins pretty quickly. Kellie comes out in a black dress with a silver scoop of a colar-y sort of thing. Kinda like the Eva Longoria dress Clay stepped on. A silver circle which is holding up the black dress. Very red, very shiny, very high stiletto pumps. I must say, she looked hot. I also wondered as soon as I saw her, "Is that outfit really appropriate for this situation?" Jeff didn't seem to mind.

I hate AI and so I have no idea who this pickle person is except that everyone says she plays stupid. I don't know what she has done in the past but I'm telling you now, that ain't no act. She plays cutesie to get out of being embarrassed about being stupid. And she stands pigeon-toed a lot.

At first she was pretty amusing. People with a reputation for being stupid but have a sense of humor about it get a point from me at least. She actually started the show by wanting to get the crap over with, so she looked into the camera and said, "I am Kellie Pickler, and I am not smarter than a 5th grader." It was cute. They showed her 5th grade photo and he asked her what kind of student she was. She said she got A's... and then broke her straight face and said no, she was not a good student. She mentioned dropping out of cosmetology school.

She was playing for the American Red Cross and some group that helps grandparents who are raising their grandkids. I guess hers raised her. That was nice but she didn't seem to know the actual name of the group. Later in the show Jeff had to make sure to mention them by name a few times. They are part of the AARP.

Her first question was something from 1st grade like

Is a roadrunner a bird?

Her partner locked in her answer and you would not BELIEVE how difficult Kellie thought this question was. She talked out her thought process too, like Clay, but oh so much NOT like Clay. She kept asking more questions and babbling. She mentioned the cartoon. She wanted to know if by bird they mean ones that can fly. She said beep-beep a few times. She was very confused. She didn't want to cheat on her first question. She finally guessed that it was a bird and pushed the button. She was excited to be right.

I don't remember all of her questions now. I think that part of my brain has died due to being devoid of oxygen. EVERY question they asked her, she did not know. She used logic that is not in any way logical, unless maybe you are tripping on PCP. She told random stories. She explained to Jeff what a swirly is. Somehow he did not know. (This is when someone takes you into the bathroom, holds you upside down over the toilet, dips your head in and flushes. Your hair gets all swirly.)

I'll see what else I can remember....

She talked about embarrassing moments. She said she broke wind in class. Her desk was in the back corner so when a sound came from the back corner it could only have been her. Finally they moved to a question.

What kind of instrument is a piccolo?

A: woodwind

B: string

C: percussion

At first she thought it was not a woodwind. Then she thought it was a woodwind because she had just been talking about breaking wind. But she was sure it was not a woodwind. She thought it was percussion because piccolo and percussion both start with P. Jeff said "By that logic, you shouldn't be a singer, you should work at Kmart." She didn't get it. He had to explain that they both start with K. She talked and talked and made no sense and finally chose percussion. She locked in and we cheered.

She was wrong, but her partner answered woodwind and saved her.

Another one....

I don't actually remember the whole question but it was something about one of the men being a US President.

A: someone

B: Franklin Pearce

C: someone else

She thought immediately it was Franklin Pearce because she has her ears pierced. She grabbed her earrings to make sure. And Pickler and Pearce both start with P. She talked about the other options. A lot. I'm sure she told random stories in there somewhere too. She finally chose Pearce because her ears are pierced. She lucked into the correct answer.

When she was thinking about dropping out, Jeff asked her what her goal had been when she came to the show. She said "Not to get out on the first question."

The question that finally killed her was:

How many canine teeth do you have?

She felt her teeth. She though there were two. But the had four pointy ones. Vampire teeth. She didn't talk very long about vampires, thank goodness. She talked about primary teeth. She wondered if they meant all of your teeth. She kept feeling her teeth. She went back and fourth, took her sweet-ass time, talked about random shit.... I swear for a decade. She finally decided to drop out. We cheered loudly.

This is only a teeny, tiny, miniscule example of how things went. She literally took over 10 minutes to answer some questions, I am sure of it. At one point while waiting for her to talk her way through an answer, Jeff walked up to that long desk in the front and sat of the edge. He fed the goldfish. This distracted her, and she asked if they were fish. Yes. She told a story about seeing Finding Nemo and so she went to the store. They had the fish in all these tanks, all color-coordinated and everything. They were all in with other fish that they were allowed to be with. She did not know that if you put two beta fish together they will kill each other. She bought some fish and put in this big goldfish, a teeny beta and three others. The beta ate all the other fish. She was shocked. Jeff asked her what became of the beta. Kellie said she flushed him down the commode. Jeff said he got a swirly.

Then he had to try to remind her that she still hadn't answered the question at hand. She was disappointed that she had failed to change the subject far enough for him to forget about that. This is apparently her normal tactic. She said she can't talk her way out of it this time. She hemed and hawed, stalled, talked nonsense, changed her mind, put her had over the button, took her hand off the button, said how embarrassing it was.... OH MY GOD JUST PICK SOMETHING AND PUT US OUT OF OUR MISERY!!!

Every question took her longer and longer to answer. At one point Jeff even told the kids they could put their heads on their desks, and they did. During her last couple of questions I looked around and many, many audience members had their arms crossed, chin on their hand, were looking at their seatmates with looks of "please, just kill me now." I kid you not, at one point even one of the camera operators (the one with the audience reaction cam) was just standing there with his arms crossed, staring into space. The Applause/Quiet sign guy had his forehead on the back of his sign. Jeff ran out of encouraging/funny words and there were moments where Kellie just stared at the screen in total silence. Pin drop, is anyone here still alive silence. We were all trapped. About halfway through her questions, by the time she'd get it right were hoping she'd get it wrong and end it all. You know things are bad when you are rooting AGAINST the Red Cross.

She actually finally quit the game with at least one cheat left. I'm not sure she remembered it was an option and by then there was no way Jeff was going to remind her. I asked for the time again. It was 2:25. Kellie answered 6 questions.

Finally we were all released and everyone filed out asking each other if they really were going to stay for Regis at 3. Most of us couldn't get out of there fast enough. I think only a few people tried to stay.

On the way out, someone asked me about me writing a recap. I answered that I wasn't sure I could remember anything after just having my brain sucked out. I love me an Aiken Fog, but the Pickler version is Just.Not.Good.

Once we got to the car I called wildaboutclay to gush and spew a few details as we made our way to lunch/dinner, which was lovely and lots of fun. It's so nice to gather after something and gush and remember and talk about his ass.

On the way home, Perma's GPS kept telling us to turn the wrong way. Like a lot. I wonder where we would have ended up if we had followed it. I think it was trying to direct us to Santa Monica. Maybe it knows something we don't.

Big thanks to my boss for giving me the day off, everyone who was so nice that day, the moon, the show, and Clay. I had an excellent time.

[Couch Tomato]

cool beans </tm Kelly>

[playbiller]

OK, shoot me, but I believe that CV is a closed/private board because only members can read there and not everyone is accepted as a member.

I generally don't take things from there without the poster's permission (tm stick in the mud)

ETA: I realize this is just my opinion - I don't expect anyone to agree with me! I am a bit of a pain as you all you know so well

Edited August 30, 2007 by playbiller

[Couch Tomato]

bwah...can somebody ask Poshpenny please?

I'll leave it up until she says no...</devil on my shoulder>

Play, You're our conscience..and a damn good one too. I actually agree but am just being devilish. Will ask permission when I get home if no one does it before then.

[jmh123]

Ansa, I was confused too--thinking these were just spoilers, not supersekrit Den info. Originally, I think, the thread was posted in the Den because they weren't sure what the show's policy was going to be regarding spoilers. Since there was no policy from the show, and since there's no info in the Den that isn't on every board in Clayland, I'm not sure what the point is now, except that the thread is already in the Den. I did PM and fess up that I'd unwittingly brought over Den posts to this thread, and stopped once I realized (thanks to YSRN yesterday late afternoon). I deleted my posts, but I'd already been quoted by others.

ETA: I PMed poshpenny at CV.....and......we have permission!! YAY!!

Edited August 30, 2007 by jmh123