Funny you should mention the intro bit, John... I was under the impression that they were going to run some b-roll, shots of our books, etc. during that time.
It was awkward to just stare at the camera... in one of the episodes, I actually waved and said "Hi Mom!". We'll see if that makes the cut...
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As for the prep time, I think would make the show less interesting. You'd end up with responses that were TOO Tailored to the scene shown. In theory, the people sitting at the table should be able to put out concept & principle based information that apply to the situation in general. Studying one scene too much, or worrying too much about the finest of details usually result in "gaming" the situation, which tends to reduce the usefulness of the information to the person at home who will NEVER be in that exact situation... but might be in one similar.