No One Is Late For Oprah!

[Twik]

I have some sympathy for Oprah's staff here. They have a deadline to meet. If the guest doesn't show up, they can't just shrug, and tell the audience, "Sorry, we don't have anyone to interview today. You should all go home now." If the guest has vanished, they need to create a whole new show on the fly, with new guests, new script, new technical details, and they need to do it in an impossibly short time. Not to mention legal issues - did advertisers pay more for a slot for a guest they thought would bring in a particular demographic?

The guest not being there *is* a catastrophe to the staff. While Oprah may make it "all about her", I'd say that risking missing a commitment that is as critical to a large group of people as doing a tv show, is rude and unprofessional.

[Betelnut]

I have some sympathy for Oprah's staff here. They have a deadline to meet. If the guest doesn't show up, they can't just shrug, and tell the audience, "Sorry, we don't have anyone to interview today. You should all go home now." If the guest has vanished, they need to create a whole new show on the fly, with new guests, new script, new technical details, and they need to do it in an impossibly short time. Not to mention legal issues - did advertisers pay more for a slot for a guest they thought would bring in a particular demographic?

The guest not being there *is* a catastrophe to the staff. While Oprah may make it "all about her", I'd say that risking missing a commitment that is as critical to a large group of people as doing a tv show, is rude and unprofessional.

My impression was that they tape more than one show in a day.  So it's not a complete waste.

[Audrey Quest]

I have some sympathy for Oprah's staff here. They have a deadline to meet. If the guest doesn't show up, they can't just shrug, and tell the audience, "Sorry, we don't have anyone to interview today. You should all go home now." If the guest has vanished, they need to create a whole new show on the fly, with new guests, new script, new technical details, and they need to do it in an impossibly short time. Not to mention legal issues - did advertisers pay more for a slot for a guest they thought would bring in a particular demographic?

The guest not being there *is* a catastrophe to the staff. While Oprah may make it "all about her", I'd say that risking missing a commitment that is as critical to a large group of people as doing a tv show, is rude and unprofessional.

My impression was that they tape more than one show in a day.  So it's not a complete waste.

I can't believe for a minute that a show like this doesn't have a contingency plan for when a guest is not on time or doesn't show up.
 

[Sharnita]

Apparently this just happened with Natalie Portman and Oprah's after Oscars show.  NP was to tired from pregnancy and/or Oscar related stuff ro appear after all. 

[jimithing]

Apparently this just happened with Natalie Portman and Oprah's after Oscars show.  NP was to tired from pregnancy and/or Oscar related stuff ro appear after all. 

I posted about this earlier and I was mistaken. I posted that she canceled the night before, but she actually canceled completely 2 hours before. It was also reported that she had been out the night before at a late night party, with Madonna, and was feeling tired.

[rose red]

I had a coworker that had tickets to a taping.  They may tape more than one show per day, but the audience only get to attend one of them.  If a guest doesn't show up and there's no backup plan, that audience just wasted their day.

P.S.  I am not a fan of Oprah; far from it.  But I agree a guest not showing up affects more than just her.

[judecat]

IMO Oprah was a self centered Diva years before she was rich.  She was a talk show co-host in Baltimore,  in the 1970's and she was pushy even then.

But also in my opinion,  not giving Oprah's staff a heads up about the out of state booking was unprofessional.  I don't think that JH left "sufficient time" to get from one booking to the other,  not even taking into account the weather. 

[Twik]

I can't believe for a minute that a show like this doesn't have a contingency plan for when a guest is not on time or doesn't show up.

Yes - but if it's a major star, s/he will be hard to replace with someone of an equivalent level within a couple of hours. You can't just say, "Oh, Jennifer called and said she can't make it after all - get Rihanna on the phone for me, she'll fill in."

[Audrey Quest]

I can't believe for a minute that a show like this doesn't have a contingency plan for when a guest is not on time or doesn't show up.

Yes - but if it's a major star, s/he will be hard to replace with someone of an equivalent level within a couple of hours. You can't just say, "Oh, Jennifer called and said she can't make it after all - get Rihanna on the phone for me, she'll fill in."

It doesn't have to be an equivalent.  Not all of their shows are interviews with stars.

But considering that famous people have more of a possibility of a conflict arising, there is even more of a reason to have a plan B.  And they do, even if it is to show a repeat.  I wouldn't surprise me if they had completed shows that never aired just in case something like this happened.