For sophomore Josh French, creator and host of Cable 13's new and only game show The Chosen 1, interactive television has always been an integral part of life. In fact, as he boastfully jokes, "Before I could pair animals with animal noises, I could pair game show hosts with the game show."
It is no surprise then that this self-proclaimed game show fanatic has turned a life-long hobby into a Cable 13 program, airing every Monday night at 10 p.m. French began the show as a senior in high school in New Hampshire and brought it to the Duke circuit this semester. As the first of its kind on Cable 13, the game show serves as a milestone for on-campus television production.
The set of the show is simple, but it's the enthusiasm of the contestants and of French himself that makes the show entertaining. Nine contestants seated around a coffee table shout out in turn to respond to multiple-answer trivia questions. They excitedly bounce up and down on the cushions and high-five each other when French confirms their responses are correct. They make pouty faces when they aren't.
More than just a goofy campus game show, it's the product of hard work: Contestants need to suffer through the early-Saturday production schedule, and crew members spend over six hours a week on show production.
The Chosen 1 challenges three teams of three against each other in a Survivor-style elimination trivia game with the person who answers the least questions correctly booted off the show each week. As of Saturday the first seven episodes of the show had been taped, leaving two contestants left to vie for the championship - and a $50 gift certificate to The Streets of Southpoint - live on April 14.
Members of a fraternity, a selective house and a freshman dorm each created teams this season, naming themselves Team Phi Delt, Team Minority Report and VIPegram. Every Monday night, they go head to head, spouting out answers to various random historical and general knowledge questions. On this week's episode, one question asked contestants to list locations of Six Flags theme parks and past Olympic games.
Freshman Nina Ehrlich has managed to stick around until now and makes light of her stint on air: "I don't think I'm on my way to stardom, but people occasionally stop me in the Marketplace or Bryan Center to ask if I'm 'that girl on The Chosen 1.'"
Director Christian Moyer hopes the show will continue for several more seasons, but French has loftier ambitions: He believes it would be a dream come true for the show to be adapted by a major television network, although on a more realistic level he just wants it to continue through his graduation.
"I'd love to be a professional game host," he notes, "but I recognize that the chances of that happening are pretty slim."
- Kim Roller
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