It’s not confirmed yet, but recent rumors put talk show host Ricki Lake as the frontrunner to host the new CBS show Game Show Marathon. Before you claw out your eyes, remember that the British duo Ant and Dec, who hosted the United Kingdom’s version of the show, were not considered to be good for the job, and they did quite well. Also remember that Regis Philbin grew to fame through hosting a talk show, and he performed well on Millionaire.
Oh, who am I kidding. Claw your eyes out.
Everyone’s favorite game show host of semi-ambiguous sexuality* sat down with Newsweek about the coming return of Deal or No Deal, Mandel’s hit NBC game show. Among the topics were the show’s greed (”I think individual contestants celebrate greed. Actually, if you get greedy the game doesn’t go well for you”), how he got the job (”When they first called me, I said absolutely not. Then they said there were 26 bikini models– that helped”), and his obsessive compulsive disorder (”[C]ertain hotels… remove the comforters with salad tongs. I order two dozen towels on entry, and I make paths with them so I won’t step on the carpet”), among other things.
The interview appears in the February 27th, 2006 issue of Newsweek in the Newsmakers section. Deal or No Deal debuts on February 28th on NBC at 8 PM EST.
*according to the interviewer: “You have a shaved head and a bunch of earrings. That’s sort of a gay look.”
…who has actually watched a FOX reality show?
Hmm? Mmm. Okay, that’s what I thought. This one? You might want to actually watch. FOX is developing “Unan1mous,” which is either a professional video gamer or a new reality show attempt. In Unan1mous, nine people are locked in a bunker until they can unanimously vote on who should win the grand prize, starting at $1.5 million and decreasing as time wears on. Players will be eliminated from voting through an as-of-yet unknown process, but will still live in the bunker until the final, unanimous decision.
Now, human drama dictates that nobody will win, because you know there’s one stubborn guy in the corner voting for himself every round just to piss everyone off. You know it’s gonna be that old guy at the supermarket who stands his ground when his coupons aren’t doubled, and damnit, they should be doubled and he’s not moving until they are. Come to think of it, that could very well be us. I might actually watch this.
The half-hour Unan1mous premieres on Wednesday, March 22nd, at 9:30 EST.
NBC’s (semi-) new primetime game show Deal or No Deal premiered tonight. Alex is writing a more in-depth and coherent review, so I’ll give my pros and cons of the show.
Pros.
!. Paced surprisingly well
@. Howie Mandel channels the British WWTBAM host, Chris Tarrant, in his hosting– a very good thing
#. The money tree is well-arranged, creating excellent drama during the show
$. The audience was damn good, adding to the atmosphere exactly as they should
%. The audience game was interesting, but not overly intrusive
Cons.
!. No trivia game to determine contestants at the start of the game; this is probably for time concerns, at least
@. There was an obsessive amount of editing, and some audio edits made it obvious that they were edits
#. The banker remains silent to us
The cons, however, are minor, and it’s difficult to ruin this show. Overall, I was impressed. So for the first night, at least, of Deal or No Deal, I’ll give this show a 4.5 out of 5.
In TV Land’s upcoming miniseries special, The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments, eight game show moments pull rankings. The top moment is the infamous Price is Right tube top incident, featuring Yolanda Bowsley, ranking in at 19. Other moments include Michael Skupin’s burning on Survivor (23), Jack Benny’s “miser” clue on Password (50), and Jackie Gleason’s plea for forgiveness after the disaster that was You’re in the Picture (96). The top five moments include the Newhart finale, Mike Tyson’s midgame cannibalism, the revival of Patrick Duffy on Dallas, Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction, and the Smothers Brothers Who explosion.
You can read the full list in the December 5th edition of TV Guide, or watch the list a la I Love the 80’s on TV Land, from the 5th through the 9th, one hour each night at 10pm ET.
GSN is looking for contestants for their revival of the classic game show, I’ve Got a Secret. They request anyone with a weird connection to a current hot celebrity, an interesting world record, dangerous hobby, or a strange ability. Visit the LA Craigslist post for more details.
The first game show to be released on DVD, Jeopardy! will have its first installment released on Tuesday, November 8th in Region 1. Running 120 minutes and featuring two documentaries on the long-running syndicated show, highlights from Tournament of Champions episodes, and Ken Jennings’ (in)famous streak-killing episode, the disc is selling at most retailers for anywhere between USD$13 and USD$18. However, Best Buy is selling the disc for the price of USD$9.99. You can also use up to three dollars worth of “Best Buy Bucks” from the current McDonald’s Monopoly promotion at a brick and mortar store to drop that down to a bargain-basement USD$6.99.
[thanks to Mike Klauss]
Indonesia’s former dictator, Suharto, known for supposedly amassing billions of dollars during his rule, is apparently addicted to Indonesia’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”
According to Suharto’s granddaughter, Gendis Siti Hatmanti, “Grandfather often watches ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,’ that is his favorite show.”
Suharto, who the Transparancy International group considers the most corrupt leader ever, has suffered two strokes, of which doctors have claimed caused brain damage. This has prevented him from standing trial for allegedly gathering anywhere between 15 and 35 billion dollars for himself and his family.
[source - AFP via Yahoo!]
Wheel of Fortune is once again available to play in your home, this time in a seperate plug-and-play console. TV Games will be releasing the game that supports up to three players and also includes a single player mode for those lonely times. The controller contains a knob which will represent the wheel the players will spin. It is expected to be available at toy stores soon, and will cost US$19.99.
[source: thetoyguy.com]
As we’ve been covering, GSN is testing out a revival of the classic panel game show I’ve Got a Secret. We have recently learned that the host of the pilot will be Bil Dwyer, also known for his color commentary work on Extreme Dodgeball, the host of the PAX game show Dirty Rotten Cheater, and the Comedy Central robot-fighting series Battlebots. It is not known at this point if Dwyer will be the main host of the show if it is picked up. We will report any more details about the pilot as we get them.
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