Contestant story

Usually I just faux-tweet the contestant stories from the Google news cache. But this one about Massachusetts' Baer family on Family Feud hit a couple of my favorite chords.

First, the family says that hour-and-a-half tapings have to be cut down to 22-minute shows. Why? "Because [host Steve] Harvey essentially does a standup routine during the show, poking fun at contestants." Yep, I'd agree. Only a lot of the standup act does makes it to the final product.

I know, the ratings don't lie. Steve's standup has helped Feud to impressive ratings increases. He's a lot funnier - and now higher-rated - than, say, Meredith Vieira. But this is a game show, and maybe the gameplay is a wee bit more important than Steve's latest riff. (Grumpy traditionalist me is talking here.)

The family also displayed an almost ferocious determination to make the show. "We're either going to get on the show or get a restraining order," one family member avows. At one audition they offered a competing family $10,000 to leave, and they were only half-joking. You gotta want it bad.

The Baers debut Thursday November 17. We'll see if their determination pays off in the actual game.