Unsuspecting folks react to outlandish situations as hidden cameras roll. 'Smile,' they're told, 'You're on 'Candid Camera'.' This forerunner of reality TV got its start (without the camera) on radio, in a show called 'Candid Microphone,' which moved to TV in 1948. 'Camera' (the name changed in '49) has aired on ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as on cable and in syndication.
Frances O'Brian, Head Librarian, is having a hellish time of it. And for once it's not all of her making. Frances' mother, suffering from both dementia and a really horrible personality, lands on the O'Brien doorstep. Adding to her woes, morale at the Middleton Interactive Learning Centre is at a new all time low. In order to stay open, the library is forced to run as a business and return an annual profit. As the staff has a hard enough time enforcing the return of a book, this latest initiative could spell the end of the library.
A thirty-something couple, tired of their mundane life, starts to reconnect with their younger, cooler selves when an emerging pop star, who is drawn to their super-normal suburban life, moves in.
Two families of five try to guess what the 'survey said' in polls conducted with 100 people in this durable game show. Ray Combs took over as the host of this version from 1988-94, and original emcee Richard Dawson returned for one season in 1994.