This Cable-tv Game Show Is No Trivial Pursuit

Caller: "Randy from West Virginia.... Michael Jordan."

Donoho: "That's it. Way to go, Randy."

Whether Donoho is sending out praise or imploring his callers to speak up and stop mumbling, it's the give-and-take that makes TOFT exciting. And as far as Donoho is concerned, the callers are the program. "We have nights when the questions are great, I'm well-prepared, our entire staff is well-prepared, and if we get deadhead, bonehead callers, the show doesn't come off. If we get great callers—enthusiastic, smart, intelligent, funny, glib—then the program reflects that. I can play off that, too. That's the key." Donoho may be the commissioner, but he knows that without players his toll-free playing field would be empty.

So with TAKE A HIKE bumper stickers on cars all over the land, how is Todd Donoho feeling?

"That does it for Time Out For Trivia. I'm Todd Donoho—feeling tremendous, I might add."