# Cash Cab



## Jestjoan (Feb 26, 2009)

DH and I really enjoy the show. Watching it sure makes walking on the treadmill a lot more fun. (It's on the Discovery Channel.)

Any fans in TUGland? Anyone been in it or know someone who has?


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## Jestjoan (Feb 26, 2009)

*FYI*

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/cashcab/cashcab.html


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 26, 2009)

*Clever Quiz Show.*




Jestjoan said:


> DH and I really enjoy the show. Watching it sure makes walking on the treadmill a lot more fun. (It's on the Discovery Channel.)
> 
> Any fans in TUGland? Anyone been in it or know someone who has?


We watch _Cash Cab_ now & then -- seem to catch it oftener when we're timeshare vacationing than when we're at home.  Always too busy at home, I suppose, compared with just kicking back & relaxing at timeshares. 

It's a clever & engaging TV show, simpler & lower budget than those big bux quiz shows, but with just as much viewer interest -- something like _Jeopardy_ on wheels. 

(Because of _Jeopardy_ conditioning, when I can't restrain myself from blurting out the answer to a _Cash Cab_ question or double-or-nothing Video Bonus, I take care to put it in the form of a question.) 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## wackymother (Feb 26, 2009)

I like it because it's in NYC and I know all the places! Also I love when they have a sidewalk shout-out and they're asking some random guy on the street for the name of the 33rd president or whatever.

I find the host/driver very disappointing, though. He's supposed to be a stand-up comedian, but he's totally unfunny to me. I guess it's not easy to drive a cab in NYC and host a game show simultaneously! But I wish they would get a sidekick or something to ask the questions, and then maybe it would be more entertaining.


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## andrea t (Feb 26, 2009)

We love the show!  Everytime we're in the city we hope we hail the Cash Cab!


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 26, 2009)

*Cab Driver For Cash Cab.*




wackymother said:


> I find the host/driver very disappointing, though. He's supposed to be a stand-up comedian, but he's totally unfunny to me. I guess it's not easy to drive a cab in NYC and host a game show simultaneously! But I wish they would get a sidekick or something to ask the questions, and then maybe it would be more entertaining.


Shux, I never realized he was a stand-up comedian. 

I thought he was just the guy who drives the Cash Cab. 

Who knew ?




-- hotlinked live link -- ​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Egret1986 (Feb 26, 2009)

*I didn't care for him as a stand-up comedian when I saw him, but....*

....I really like him on the show.  That's a better niche for him I think.

I don't watch much TV, but if the boys are watching it; I stop what I'm doing and watch it.  I love to watch that show!  It's great!

I like to watch the reaction of folks when they get in and after they've said where they're going and the lights come on.  I think it's pretty funny when some of these people don't react.  Are there actually cabs in NY that sometimes have these lights go off and it's not the cash cab?


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## Southdown13 (Feb 26, 2009)

My cousin in NYC made it on the show about a year and a half ago.  She was walking home with a friend and some representatives from the show picked them out and asked them to interview at a nearby restaurant.  They passed the interview process, and of course, they had to act surprised when the cab came up.

They ended up winning everything!  I had never watched the show, but she called to let us know when it would be aired.  We had a blast watching her, and every so often, we watch the show on vacation.


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## wackymother (Feb 26, 2009)

soutdown13 said:


> She was walking home with a friend and some representatives from the show picked them out and asked them to interview at a nearby restaurant.  They passed the interview process, and of course, they had to act surprised when the cab came up.



Oh, nooooo! Really? You don't just hail the cab, you have to pretend to be surprised? Darn, I thought you really could hail the Cash Cab!!!

Why are the people sometimes not going so far? If I were in the CashCab, I'd try to go from Washington Heights to Washington Square so I could have more time to answer questions!


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## Jestjoan (Feb 26, 2009)

*May I call you 13 for short?*

I was really sorry to hear that insider information. Those contestants are really good actors.........

I'm glad your cousin won, though.


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## billymach4 (Feb 26, 2009)

Jestjoan said:


> I was really sorry to hear that insider information. Those contestants are really good actors.........
> 
> I'm glad your cousin won, though.



It is not inside information at all!!!!

Read the credits at the end. It says some(all) of the contestants are pre-screened!


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## anne1125 (Feb 27, 2009)

I love the show.  I think Ben is very funny (in a low key kind of way).

Anne


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## Brett (Feb 27, 2009)

wackymother said:


> Oh, nooooo! Really? You don't just hail the cab, you have to pretend to be surprised? Darn, I thought you really could hail the Cash Cab!!!
> 
> Why are the people sometimes not going so far? If I were in the CashCab, I'd try to go from Washington Heights to Washington Square so I could have more time to answer questions!



good point -  I didn't realize it was a setup even before the ride


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## lvhmbh (Feb 27, 2009)

When we're home we watch it while eating dinner - g-son got us started and he eats with us alot.  He learns alot from it (he is 12) and loves to hear us shout out the answers.


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## Jaybee (Feb 27, 2009)

We enjoy watching it, too, but how could anyone not wonder why all the people who get in the cab are willing to play?... or why there always "happen" to be people with cameras to film them when they get out?....or why, as in "Millionaire", there is invariably someone right there to answer the phone?


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 27, 2009)

*One Group Got Inside The Cash Cab, Then Got Right Back Out.*




Jaybee said:


> We enjoy watching it, too, but how could anyone not wonder why all the people who get in the cab are willing to play?


The producers are clever about preserving the illusion that quiz-taking passengers are caught by surprise at finding themselves riding in the Cash Cab. 

One episode of the show that we saw included a couple of guys who got in, opted not to play, & got out again.  

Who'd a-thunk ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Brett (Feb 27, 2009)

AwayWeGo said:


> The producers are clever about preserving the illusion that quiz-taking passengers are caught by surprise at finding themselves riding in the Cash Cab.
> 
> One episode of the show that we saw included a couple of guys who got in, opted not to play, & got out again.
> 
> Who'd a-thunk ?




googling "cash cab" reveals a lot their secrets -
some of the contestants are real and needed a cab  (but the money is fake they're mailed a check!)

http://gameshows.about.com/od/cashcab/a/cash_cab_real.htm


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 27, 2009)

*Some Secrets Are Best Left Secret.*




Brett said:


> googling "cash cab" reveals a lot their secrets


_Whoa !_ 

I sure nope nobody Googles _Santa Claus ! _

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Egret1986 (Feb 27, 2009)

*Don't think I'll google*

I agree, some things are better when you don't know everything.

I guess that's why some folks seem unfazed when the lights go off in the cab.  I've been enlightened!  But did I really want to be?  Oh well.  Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.


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## wackymother (Feb 27, 2009)

Jaybee said:


> We enjoy watching it, too, but how could anyone not wonder why all the people who get in the cab are willing to play?... or why there always "happen" to be people with cameras to film them when they get out?....or why, as in "Millionaire", there is invariably someone right there to answer the phone?



No problem believing that everyone who gets in the cab is willing to play--I just figured they didn't show the people who weren't willing. 

And the shows I've seen don't have anyone filming the people when they get out, Ben asks if they want to go double or nothing, they answer the last question, and they get out. I haven't seen shots of them on the street. Do they really show them getting out, from the outside of the cab? 

And with the phone calls, I figured they edited the tape and the passengers were allowed to keep calling friends until they found someone. They have cell phones...their friends have cell phones...it's unusual now not to be able to find someone.

I mean, I've only seen the show a few times, and it just seemed entirely reasonable to me that New Yorkers would go with the program and think it was fun. When it first came on, lots of people were telling me about it and we were all hoping we would hail the Cash Cab! So I don't think it's especially naive to think that it really was people hailing a cab and then finding out that it was Cash Cab. 

Also, if you've ever tried to find a cab in Manhattan on a chilly/rainy/snowy night, you know you would NEVER give it up just because you had to be on TV!


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## AwayWeGo (Feb 27, 2009)

*T. V. Production Magic.*




wackymother said:


> Do they really show them getting out, from the outside of the cab?


I think I've seen outside shots of contestants after they've left the cab, heading with their cash winnings into the restaurant, etc., where they were going anyway.  

Also, I think I've seen sidewalk _Shout Out_ people via camera views from outside the cab. 

Plus, now & then the cab itself is shown leaving the curb, changing lanes, maneuvering in traffic, etc., so obviously there's a production camera running in a follow vehicle -- not that there's anything wrong with that. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Jaybee (Feb 28, 2009)

I don't think there's anything wrong with the way they handle the filming, either.  We really enjoy watching it, but realize how many things might go wrong if the situations weren't controlled.
When we were in NY, I was always looking out for the cash cab.  Fun show.


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