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Live From Studio 1A: Where Is The Cat In The Hat?

This morning, we had a segment in the third hour about the 50th Birthday of the "Cat In The Hat." The Cat (with his hat), and Things 1 and 2 were scheduled to be on the plaza for the 9:00 open. Later in the hour, at 9:45, Chip Gibson, President of Random House, was going to chat with Natalie. But this morning, after the show was already in progress, that segment got moved earlier to 9:20. That put

This morning, we had a segment in the third hour about the 50th Birthday of the "Cat In The Hat." The Cat (with his hat), and Things 1 and 2 were scheduled to be on the plaza for the 9:00 open. Later in the hour, at 9:45, Chip Gibson, President of Random House, was going to chat with Natalie. But this morning, after the show was already in progress, that segment got moved earlier to 9:20. That put a chain of events into action that needed to happen to make sure we'd make air at 9:20. WATCH VIDEO

First of all, the guest needed to know that he was supposed to get here earlier. The producer also needed to know that her segment was running earlier, so she would be here. Various other production staff also needed to be aware of the change, so they were prepared to do the segment in an earlier half-hour. The biggest complication was the live guest. Mr. Gibson was originally not scheduled to arrive until 9:15, which would certainly be cutting it too close for a 9:20 segment. The senior producer was calling him, his publicist, and another publicist, and all were going to voicemail. Also, no one could get in touch with the Cat, the Things, and their folks. It was a little chaotic and stressful, to say the least.

So what happened in the end? Typical. First, the Cat and the Things were already here, hanging out in the downstairs green room, unbeknownst to everyone who was frantically trying to find them. Last place you look is the first place you find them! After that fire was extinguished, the producer was finally able to reach Mr. Gibson on his phone, and he was only 3 minutes away at 8:50. So they knew we would be fine. Also, the publicist was already here and aware of the change. But until he picked up his phone just a half-hour before he was scheduled to be on television, the producers were a little worried. And this was just one juggling act on one day. Segments move around constantly, and the live aspects of our show always provide some anxiety and excitement every morning.