BuzzerBlog

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 2008.

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 audience page to see a listing for all available shows at all times.

And no, that won’t be the show’s logo and I didn’t make that.  I’m a much better graphic programmer.

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 progresses.

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 thawing.

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 episodes.

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 Woolery and others who lent their support to the educational initiative.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals has placed this program on the NASSP National Advisory List of Contests and Activities for 2007-2008, indicating that the NVC meets its standards of quality for student contests. USA TODAY is the official media sponsor, supporting the NVC with print and online advertising, local region marketing efforts and in-depth outreach to educators and schools partners of USA TODAY Education. American Heritage® Dictionary serves as the official dictionary of the NVC. Other sponsors include Sony® VAIO®, Mead, Chipotle, JetBlue, Dictionary.com, Youth Service America and Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association.

“GSN creates great games, and The Princeton Review teaches critical things well; this partnership brings excitement into the study of vocabulary,” said John Katzman, founder and Chairman of The Princeton Review. “We hope to inspire students and help them grow a love for language.”

The NVC is open to eligible U.S. students who are in grades 9 through 12 and between the ages of 13 and 19. Students can enter the NVC in one of two ways: by taking the online National Qualifying Exam at WinWithWords.com anytime throughout the month of November; or if they attend a school that has registered to participate in the NVC in one of eight cities nationwide, they can take an In-School Qualifying Exam for a chance to compete in a live Citywide Championship. A total of 50 finalists – 42 top scorers from the National Qualifying Competition and eight Citywide Champions – will receive a trip to Los Angeles in Spring 2008 to compete for the title of National Vocabulary Champion. The ultimate National Vocabulary Champion will be awarded $40,000 deposited to a ‘529’ higher education savings plan.

I don’t know if you are familiar with the former season (check our archives), but it is a fantastic and important program.  As a writer I really enjoy any event that furthers vocabulary, which is the most important of human skills.  Be sure to check it out, spread the word, and support it as much as you can.

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 much.

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 in a good way.  You won’t find people begging for ponies or flipping out for guest hosts every five minutes.  You’ll find regular, natural people showing their true colors when playing for $10,000,000 which was incredibly refreshing.

When thinking about it, this show is set up a lot like Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, which Davies is the executive producer of.  You have the natural contestant who is not over the top but exciting enough to care for.  The basic feel of the game play is there too.  Davies is a master of taking a small amount of game and making it a big, fun event.  I seriously don’t think Scott St. John and his Endemol lackies could have done half the job Embassy Row did.  My biggest fear when this show started was that it would be too easy to win.  The first episode really started to worry me, as I’m sure it worried production members as well.  Luckily we’ve seen it’s a lot harder to win more than $100,000 than it seems.

Power of 10 did a few unique things that no other show has done for me.   This show has the biggest play-along factor to come out since Millionaire.  A viewer’s game isn’t over when they know the answer.  On this show, you never know.  You’re always second guessing myself.  I don’t think I’ve shouted at the television more in my life than on this.  Also, I didn’t actually wish any contestant would lose.  On Deal or even 1 VS 100 there were a few contestants who I wished would leave with nothing.  I wanted everyone to leave with $10,000,000 on Power of 10.

All of the good does not come out with a few bad points.  My first one they corrected quickly.  Part way through the season, the audience started helping out in the elimination round which could easily hurt another contestant.  Luckily this was fixed a show or two later, so no problem here.  My second issue is with Drew’s dialog.  Don’t get me wrong, he’s an amazing host and probably the best one since Meredith Vieira.  However, if I have to hear him explain the elimination round as “X eliminates Y and Y has to eliminate X”, I’m going to throw a sandal at the TV.  Drew’s fantastic at improv.  How about either letting him come up with something or switching the lines every now and then.  The concept of an elimination round is nothing new and not worthy of that long explanation every single time.

The final complaint deserves a bit more time.  The $10,000,000 question rubs me the wrong way a bit.  We start out showing the percentage for all the answers, and then all of a sudden we don’t show you if you’re right?  Seems a bit of a swerve there out of no where.  Surely there has to be some way to do the final question better than “Guess which of the eleven percentages it is and you win.”  The rest of the game involves some skill while that last question is essentially pure luck.  Maybe just give the contestant one more 5% question.  Or at least let the audience vote again for that final question and throw up a bar graph.  Few will gamble the million for $10,000,000.  Let’s at least give someone a remote virtual shot at it.  Maybe give the contestant an extra percentage on the final question for each main game question they answered correctly?

All in all, these few complaints don’t even equal a quarter of the sheer enjoyment that was Power of 10.  Embassy Row’s been on a huge roll recently.  Pop Culture, Grand Slam, and this have all made me forget about Chain Reaction.  Sure, it’s not the smartest show on earth.  However, it is quite possibly the most exciting and the easiest to get people talking, which is essential for any show to exist.   Power of 10 is definitely a power player for CBS.

Now for you all.  What did you think of this series.  Also, if you could make a change or two without completely reformatting the game, what would you do?

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.

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 neon.

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 Reaction and it doesn’t feel like the set is five feet wide like Camouflage. Luckily they fixed the spelling and factual errors. It’s also nice to see that the show has more than pop culture questions which has become a trend recently. Host Bob Goen (Who we will have an interview with next week, stay tuned) is as good as ever, which is very good. He’s honestly the channel’s best host currently. The music is a bit better this season if not a bit too upbeat to a level of almost the first two seasons of Lingo. The main reason I enjoy it is because it’s something we have very few of anymore: a fast paced buzzer quiz show with two people competing against each other.

Now for a few issues. I think I’ve said it about 50 times, but every time I still hope I can give some hint to a production company or to GSN: do we always need easy to win bonus rounds for $5,000? Can’t we have a tiny bit of originality? The Dutch version has interesting rules. When you win the bonus you have the option to gamble your money and come back next show or stop. If you come back and lose the game, you lose all your money. However, if you come back and win, you double your money and you can be on three shows max. What is it with GSN and refusing to do returning champs? They air episodes in order, so come on. The only other issue I have is that the game can be a bit repetitive after a bit. Some sort of change mid-show, like a bonus puzzle or something, would be nice.

Beyond that, it’s easily one of the best shows they’ve done in a while. It’s amazing that they’ve been on an amazing track record recently with shows like Grand Slam, Without Prejudice?, and That’s The Question. It blows Camouflage (Insider FYI: I wouldn’t count on it coming back, as least as of today) out of the water for sure. However, all I ever feel when I’m watching the show is that there is something missing. It’s mainly in the bonus area, but something is missing. Other than that, they improved the show from season one exponentially. Fantastic host, fantastic set, fun game, good contestants (at least for now); other than a few tiny issues which were mentioned above, the show is more enjoyable than most game shows that have come out anywhere recently, and that includes both syndication offerings.

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 items such as “How many feet are in 75 yards?” but some get tricky and ask “True or False: Africa is a country south of Europe?”  If you’re not really paying attention (like I never do), you’re going to be screwed.  But those first ten seemed rather simple to me and I’m far from a genius.  However, when we get to the million dollar question things get a bit tougher.  Is that question usually more difficult than the rest on the television show?  One of the questions I got asked “What four instruments are played in a string quartet?”  I missed that one by one violin and quite frankly if a fifth grader truly knows that off the top of their head (Yes, FOX, this means no pre-briefing of material) I am extremely impressed.

The main reason I enjoyed this game book was it was interesting to see how much I’ve forgotten and how much I can recall.  The book turns out to be better than the show because you don’t have to deal with long pauses, the constant interruptions of the children, or Jeff Foxworthy.  You can just get on with the questions and that’s all I really wanted.  I think even non-fans of the show are going to enjoy it.  It’s only $12.95 so it will be a great stocking stuffer for Christmas.  It comes out on October 2nd and you can pre-order a copy by clicking the widget on the far right side bar.  We may try to give away a few copies soon; stay tuned.

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 busy.

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

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 goes on.  Personally, I’d expect this to be the final primetime season before it jumps to syndication.  Just a note that shows like Power of 10 and 1 VS 100 regularly get/got over nine million viewers on a regular episode.  Singing Bee also dipped below the 5.0 level.  All the returning syndicated shows dropped as well.  Not looking good anywhere.  Check back later for more ratings.