Come on Down!

BEHIND THE SCENES AT 'SUPERMARKET SWEEP,' LIVE FROM VALENCIA

SHE'S a legal secretary from Long Beach. He's a kindergarten teacher in Hawthorne. They married in a drive-through Vegas chapel after meeting on the Internet. And for one day, Gayle and Kevin Paul will try their luck and test their shopping skills as game-show contestants.

The Pauls have taken the day off work and driven from the South Bay to Santa Clarita in the hopes of winning money for a trip to Hawaii, and to have some fun in the process.

"My 18-year-old son said we're geeks," Gayle said, wearing a neon green nametag and sitting among the 35 other contestants for "Supermarket Sweep" on a recent March morning.

"Supermarket Sweep" first aired in black and white on ABC in the mid-1960s, long before the success of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and other modern prime-time game shows. It's being resurrected by PAX Television and taped in Santa Clarita, the first show ever shot there before a live studio audience.

The format of "Supermarket Sweep" is simple. For the first half of the show, three teams of two play quiz games. The second half is the sweep round, in which teams run through supermarket aisles gathering the most expensive food --those who have performed well in the first round get more time to gather groceries.

The object of the game is to collect the highest dollar amount of groceries. Some teams have been known to collect goods worth $2,000 or more. The top team wins the value of its groceries and an additional $5,000, if it finds the bonus money tucked in supermarket shelves. The losers get a red T-shirt.

Five shows are taped each day. The process starts at 7:30 a.m. for contestants and crew, and it can end anywhere from 9 p.m. to midnight. It is a grueling schedule for all involved, but it's the only way for producers to crank out 130 shows for PAX by June.

Program roots

The show is back in production after a five-year hiatus that many thought was permanent. When PAX started airing reruns of the show last year, it performed so well that the network decided to revive it. The first new shows begin airing this month.

By the time contestants make it to tape day, they've been through two interviews with producers. They've played mock games, in which they are judged on their level of animation. And they are peppered with questions to dredge up stories they can relate to host David Ruprecht at the start of the show.

"It's not like Einstein questions. This isn't 'Jeopardy,"' said contestant coordinator Ginger Frelo-Hyde, who began working on game shows 20 years ago after her family won $45 on "Family Feud."

The teams arrive at 7:30 a.m. the day of taping. After an hour-long briefing by Frelo-Hyde, the group of 18 is taken to the supermarket studio, where they are again briefed, this time by producer Mark Maxwell Smith, who looks like he could be a supermarket manager with his brown cardigan over a white dress shirt and black rubber-soled shoes.

"'Supermarket Sweep' is not a contact sport," Smith stresses. Contestants laugh.

The supermarket aisles are completely stocked with everything that can be found in any Vons or Ralphs. The food is all brand name, with sponsors paying a fee to have their products placed at the end of the aisles.

After contestants are introduced, the audience is asked to applaud several different times, so that their claps can be dubbed in during the sweep round. Then the games begin. One after another, the quiz half of five shows is taped.

Running the aisles 

For the sweep round, contestants don sweatshirts based on their performance during the quiz round. Those who answered the most questions get the most time shopping, and wear red sweatshirts; the second-place team wears blue, and third place wears yellow.

"Don't forget to breathe," Frelo-Hyde says.

It takes about 45 minutes to run each group through the supermarket taping. By 6:30 p.m., Gayle and Kevin are being led to the stage. They're in first place, so they get three minutes to shop. Close behind are Brooke, a 19-year-old cosmetology student from San Diego, and her mother Polly, with two minutes and 50 seconds.

As they enter, the team leaving has just won the $5,000 bonus and is running out screaming.

The teams are briefed again, this time by the show's creator, Al Howard. Then they are off, running through the aisles, searching for expensive items and bonuses, as their partners shout reminders from the checkout counter.

Kevin finds one bonus item, a blow-up light bulb, and fills three shopping carts. After their time is up, the teams are brought backstage to catch their breath and wait about 10 minutes while their items are tallied. When they come back, the results are announced. Kevin and Gayle are $63 behind Brooke and Polly. They'll go home with a red T-shirt.

Brooke and Polly win $5,000 in the bonus round, bringing their total to $6,216. They'll split the winnings. Polly hasn't decided what she will do with the money. Her daughter has.

"I want a boob job," Brooke said, while skipping back to the contestant room.