30Sep2007
“Deal or No Deal” Off Wednesdays Starting October 24th
Quick heads up: NBC's Deal or No Deal is being taken off of Wednesdays starting October 24th to make room for new competition show Phenomenon. Not a huge shock as the ratings have really been rather poor for Deal recently, especially compared to last season. As we've been saying for the past year or so, I wouldn't expect it to stick in primetime when the syndicated version starts in
Read MoreView Comments (10)26Sep2007
“Nothing But the Truth” Host Named
We have a host for FOX's new game show Nothing But the Truth and it is none other than one of my personal favorites: Russian Roulette's Mark Walberg. In the new FOX show, contestants will be fielded personal questions like "Have you ever lied to get a job?" or "Do you really like your mother in law?" As the money increases with each honest answer, the questions get tougher. Hooked up to a lie detector, contestants can opt to take the money if questions get too personal or go all the way, answering 21 questions for a possible $500,000. The show, coming at an unspecified date as of now, begins taping on October 5th. If you'd like to see a taping and live in the Los Angeles area, click here. You can always visit our casting and
Read MoreView Comments (14)26Sep2007
NBC picks up “My dad is better than your dad”
If shows like this do not inspire some of you to keep trying to get your own ideas on the air, I don't know what will. NBC today announced that they have picked up My Dad is Better Than Your Dad, from Mark Burnett and Reveille, for an eight episode run during midseason. The show does exactly what it says; fathers compete in challenges and stunts to see who is the best. The ultimate winner will get money for their children's future while other prizes can be gathered as the series
Read MoreView Comments (3)26Sep2007
Interview: Bob Goen
I attempt to praise That's the Question, GSN's highly addictive quiz show, every chance I get at BuzzerBlog. Naturally I jumped on the opportunity to interview host Bob Goen. If you aren't aware, he's hosted other hit shows such as Wheel of Fortune and Entertainment Tonight. In the interview he discusses how he calms viewers, his dream hosting job, and how to bring excitement into cheap shows such as his edition of Wheel of Fortune and his current show. THE INTERVIEW CAN BE LISTENED TO BY CLICKING HERE. And I do apologize for the few "uhs", as I try to cut those out. This was done early in the morning so my brain was still
Read MoreView Comments (6)25Sep2007
UK “Millionaire” Renewed for 2009
Despite some pretty bad changes (at least in my eyes), the British version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire still has life. 2waytraffic has finished a deal with ITV that keeps the show around until 2009. Duncan Gray, controller of ITV entertainment said: "We're thrilled that ITV1 continues to be the home of the inspirational Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? It's where it belongs." Dance Party Millionaire has recently started airing civilian
Read MoreLeave a Comment25Sep2007
National Vocabulary Championship kicks off
One of the truly great national television events is coming back. The National Vocabulary Championship is back for a second year. The National Qualifying Exam will be held in November. Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, and Cablevision’s Power to Learn each host NVC citywide championships in their respective markets of this year’s eight-city tour that includes Sacramento, Nashville, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Other cable operators across the country support the NVC by running “Win With Words” TM public service announcements. These co-branded cross-channel promotional spots feature well- known television personalities Whoopi Goldberg, Pat Sajak, Vanna White, Tom Bergeron, Jeff Probst, Chuck
Read MoreView Comments (3)24Sep2007
Portland, Oregon Replaces “Temptation”
I figured I'd put this on here since with the writer's strike and low ratings, it seems like the beginning of the end for Temptation. Reader John Moss just informed me that Portland, Oregon is one of the first to cancel Temptation and replace it with infomercials. Station manager Barbara Levey said this is because, obviously, of low ratings. Quite frankly people in Portland aren't missing
Read MoreView Comments (25)24Sep2007
Post-Season “Power of 10″ Opinions and Suggestions
Last night's exciting (and rather depressing) episode of CBS's Power of 10 marked the end of its summer series with its return date in the next few months. It's actually sad to see it go. In a market crowded of shows for the dumb who such as Deal or No Deal, which I've just grown completely sick of, Power of 10 was a high sign of relief for me. It's nice to see that the market isn't being over saturated with Deal clones. Sure, Power of 10 is derivative of a few older game shows, but Michael Davies and the rest of Embassy Row took the correct basic ideas and made a show that's more exciting than anything I've seen in a while. The contestant coordinators did a fantastic job of finding contestants that are likable and exciting, but
Read MoreView Comments (28)23Sep2007
“Power of 10″ Season Finale Tonight + Post Show Thoughts
Tonight at 8PM ET on CBS is the Power of 10 summer season finale. Do not fret, as the show will return as soon as something bombs which shouldn't take long. It'll be back midseason at least. We'll be back later tonight with some post show thoughts, but for now here is a clip CBS provided us of the finale. It has a minor spoiler, but it's nothing shocking or surprising. You aren't going to have the drama of the show killed if you watch it. [stream flv=x:/www.gameshowvideos.com/flv/POXfinale.flv width=630 height=343 bandwidth=med
Read MoreView Comments (6)22Sep2007
Suggestion for Endemol and “Deal or No Deal” Staff
Right now I'm currently watching the CNBC rerun of Deal or No Deal with Donald Trump as the guest Banker for the day. Maybe it's just me, but I'm actually liking having the Banker have a voice and talking to the contestant. May I make a tiny suggestion? Keep the Banker in the shadows. However, let him talk to the contestants and actually give them word of the offers. Some more interaction could create more of a competition feel to the show instead of what it is now. What is it now? I wish someone would tell me, because I'm just confused and blinded by the
Read MoreView Comments (8)22Sep2007
“That’s The Question” Review: One of the better originals
The new season of That's The Question was going to be interesting to say the least. If you saw the first twenty episodes you may know there were a few, uh, issues. The set was odd, music and sound effects were god awful, the writing was poor, too many factual errors, the show felt like it was missing something, and the show was horribly cheap. I was a fan of season one, but there was some fear for season two. Nothing against GSN, but recently they haven't exactly had the greatest track record for originals. A huge sigh of relief came when I found that they fixed 75% of the issues. We already saw pictures of the set, and it is extremely nice; one of the best ones GSN has put together. It's not a Millionaire clone like Chain
Read MoreView Comments (4)22Sep2007
“Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader” Book
When Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader first came out, I slammed it a Millionaire ripoff for dumbasses. Harper Collins Publishing recently supplied me with an advanced copy of the new Fifth Grader book, and maybe I need to take another look at the show. Even if you're not a fan of the hit FOX game this book may be worth a look. It's essentially like the show except you don't have child actors breathing down your neck or lifeli.... er, hel.... er, Cheats. You get ten questions from first to fifth grade each with a new category. After that you get the million dollar question which seems to be a bit tougher than the rest. At least to me, the first through fifth grade questions were very easy. Some questions ask straight forward
Read MoreView Comments (4)22Sep2007
We’re Still Alive, I Swear
I'm really sorry for the lack of updates recently. This week has been tough on me. A little glimpse into my personal life: I just got a job as a referee in a Pittsburgh roller derby league, so I'm stacking that on top of work, classes, and other projects I'm working on, so it's just a bit busy. Regular updates should start again tonight or tomorrow. Again, sorry for the lack of anything. It's just been really
Read MoreView Comments (2)19Sep2007
New Feud DVD Game Again
No joke here: the Family Feud Movie Edition DVD Game is definitely for sale. Why they're still using the Karn/Anderson logo on this thing, I have no idea. But in any event, this one's actually starting out at $19.99 for a change. I'm not really that much of a movie buff, so I probably wouldn't try this out myself. I'm betting anything it's the Third Edition with a color change and movie questions. Order now from Amazon.com
Read MoreView Comments (1)18Sep2007
Ratings Update for 9/18/2007
No real good news for any game shows on this ratings update on September 18th, 2007. Day two ratings came in for Crosswords and Temptation. Both are down and looking rather ugly at the moment. Obviously you have to give it a few weeks to see how the show holds up, but early signs tell me that either show will be lucky to see season two unless one of the companies has a lot of faith in a show. Hey, if ABC can do it with Bingo Night for some dumbass reason, so can Fremantle or Program Partners. Deal or No Deal's season premiere saw a little over 11.5 million viewers. This is down some four million from the last season debut. This is a bit alarming because this was the much-hyped first episode and ratings are bound to drop as the year
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