“Catch 21″ and “Newlywed Game” Add Celebrity Shows; “Newlywed Game” Brings First Gay Couple
If we can keep this a bit away from hardcore politics I’d be happy, but I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am that Newlywed Game is adding the first gay couple in the show’s history. Both Catch 21 and Newlywed Game are doing celebrity shows. Newlywed Game will feature several matches between celebrity couples such as Christopher Knight and Adrienne Curry, Glenn Cadrez and Brande Roderick, and most exciting to me George Takei and his husband Brad Altman. I’m glad the show is getting modern and inviting all marriages to fit with the current theme and feel. Of course I’m unbelievably liberal so those who aren’t may have differing opinions. I’m just glad to see GSN put this addition into the show, so thanks.
We’re hearing that the game is basically the same as last season, as is the set, but they got rid of the end game so they were apparently listening to all of us saying how it didn’t work out. Instead there’s a final “Round Three” question worth more points, and the most points after that will win a second honeymoon. Carnie Wilson returns as host. The show will debut on October 12th at 6:00PM ET and reair at 9:00PM ET on GSN. The show, in its debut week, was the highest rated game show for GSN in an extremely long time; since probably Lingo or Russian Roulette.
Then my personal favorite show on GSN, Catch 21, comes back for a third season. It’s only the second game show in GSN history to have more than two seasons so congratulations to that entire crew, they really deserve it. Alfonso Ribiero and Mikki Padilla return as hosts. More celebrity games are on their way, including games against Fresh Prince is Bel Air cast, Deal or No Deal models, Child Stars, and much more. The game is the same, with three contestants trying to catch 21 and catch $26,000. Ratings for season two were up 69% so it’s great to see it come back.
If Catch-21 does not get more knowledgeable and less irritating contestants I, for one, will not be watching.
I think it was a matter of time before a gay couple appeared on "Newlywed Game". I, for one, love it, and think it'll be a hilarious episode. (I only wish Bob Eubanks were still hosting it, 'cuz I know he'd be a scream.) Dispensing with the "Goldyweds" round is a good decision; I just hope they go back to a 25-point bonus question for the third round. The original show was perfect as it was. I also wish they had four couples like the original but, of course, the "realities" of today's TV world mean less show time equals more ad time.
I am still not that impressed with Carnie Wilson as host. I think there are funnier choices they could have made (Jim Norton would have been a riot). But she's not horrid and will probably continue to improve as the show's run gets longer.
"Catch 21" has, apparently, hit its stride. It has come a LONG way from that first season. I am SO glad that Alfonso has been given latitude to be more himself rather than sticking with scripted lines like, "That is co-RECCCCT!" Mikki, while stylish, still doesn't add that much to the show as dealer for me personally, but lots of guys, I'm sure have no problems with her.
I sure would like to see a revival of "The Joker's Wild"…anyone at GSN listening? ;-)
New seasons can't arrive soon enough for these shows, because they don't repeat well. In the latest published week of numbers at Mediaweek, August 17-23, the shows had fallen to an average of 309K viewers at 6:00 PM and 296K at 10:00 PM. They've lost almost half of their initial sampling.
In fact, that 10:00 PM hour was the worst weekday hour for GSN from 3:00 PM to 1:00 AM, which is incredibly bad for a prime time slot. Even the mercilessly rerun abused Lingo did better in the middle of the afternoon at 3:00 PM with 301K.
No wonder GSN is trying a new slot for Carnie and Alfonso in prime time. They should just drop the shows completely from prime, of course, and move Howie into prime time. He's doing great numbers for GSN everywhere they try him.
George Takai is gay?
Yes. He was one of the first couples to get married in California when they legalized gay marriages…briefly….
Everytime I watch Newlywed, I get that same feeling Alex did about the editing seem to take away some of Carnie's personality from the show. I hope getting rid of the end game (GREAT MOVE) may help….I hope.
Btw, in my personal opinion, Celebrity episodes = trouble. Buuuuuut, I want to see James Avery on Catch 21 (b/c we all know Will won't show up).
2 things that stands out for me: the fact that they’re going to have gay couples on TNG (which, me being more PC, is a good thing) and the fact that they’re getting rid of that g-d forsaken endgame.
I agree with LaJuan, Celebrity episodes on any game show that doesn’t involve celebrities (with the exception of Jeopardy! and Family Feud) is trouble. But I would love to see both Aunt Vivs (Janet Hubbert, I hope I spelled the last name right, and Daphane Maxwell Reid) on the same show. As for Will Smith showing up……I highly doubt it. And for the show to be on GSN for more than 2 seasons is an honor. The only other show that went beyond that had a successful 6 year run. Of course you know I’m talking about Lingo.
To Chase: I would love to see a revival of The Joker’s Wild, but in syndication pairing it with a revival of Tic Tac Dough (hey, it worked in the ’80s).
Consider me a tradditionalist AND a conservative by nature. My mom despises gay marrauges since she was born in Massachusetts where gay marriages are allowed. But, having said that, I hope TNG doesn't go "overboard" on that front. At least they ditched that crapfest of the "Goldyweds" bonus round & replaced it with a more reasonable Round 3.
As for Catch 21, celebrities = YUCK! for me. Now if we can get some "bright" players(by that I mean those that actually DO MATH?), I can tolerate this show more often than what I saw in season 2.
I can’t wait for the episodes with the Deal Models. I’d like to find out when that episode airs and which Deal Models will be playing.
Who in the world at Sony is trying this stupidity of promoting false marriage that is against the law? This is out of control.
Way to go for the safety net GSN–have the first gay couple be on a celebrity ediiton…will they dare put regular folk on during the season?
Let's face reality, any game show that goes more than 2 years is a long life for a game show–most don't go more than one year. Yes all of us here can rattle off about 20 or more exceptions without much thought, but the true number of game shows that last less than 2 years is huge compared to those that do.
I guess I'm the only one who felt the only bright spot of TNG was the Goldyweds round. Yes it was awkward having a lesser prize in the bonus round than the main game, but it was far more interesting than the regular game since Carnie Wilson just doesn't have what it takes–good thing this game is paired with Catch 21 so Alfonso looks good.
And…there you go! I'm surprised it took so long to hear from the lunatic right!
Why shouldn't gay couples have the same right to embarrass themselves on national TV as straight couples?
If you read the fabricated bs that GSN put in their release surrounding this, it shows once again how the network has no idea what they're doing.
Kelly Goode, GSN's programming chief, said she couldn't speculate on why gay couples were never included in the past.
Really? Maybe it's because in the past, gay couples couldn't be married and it's called the NEWLYWED GAME. If you think the show is just about couples who have relationship together, then you don't understand the show. But that's clear by your casting Carnie Wilson as the host and by watching any episode of this crapfest. No matter how you feel about gay marriage, the truth was summed up best here:
Dan Gainor, a vice president at the conservative Culture and Media Institute, said the move was a publicity stunt for a show most Americans didn't realize was still on the air.
Not to get too "political" (sorry Alex), but I will never understand why anyone (married or not) feels threatened by gay marriage. It's legal in several states now. If you would be appalled to watch TNG with a gay legally-married couple as contestants, then DON'T WATCH. Simple as that…
Not to get too "political" (sorry Alex), but I will never understand why anyone (married or not) feels threatened by gay marriage. It's legal in several states now. If you would be appalled to watch TNG with a gay legally-married couple as contestants, then DON'T WATCH. Simple as that…
Gay people nonetheless had weddings and considered themselves married, just as Takai's marraige is considered legally null at this point it isn't much different. I would suggest a true marraige isn't about a legal document but more about having 2 people who consider themselves married. For millenia those cultures with monogamous relationships (or polygamous relationships that also were considered marraiges) did not have to build that into law.
Gee, I forgot all about the gay marriage thing. I guess it's to draw some attention and viewers, along with the celebrity gimmick. It'll probably succeed in temporarily boosting viewer numbers, but my guess is that the effect will soon fade. The gameplay on both Newlywed Game and Catch 21 just isn't very interesting, and the hosts don't seem to wear well. That's why the ratings have really drooped in reruns. It IS embarrassing when old, brutally rerun abused Lingo episodes get more viewers in the middle of the afternoon than the Carnie-and-Alfonso hour does in prime time.
Of course, the gameplay on Lingo is far more interesting, and Mr. Woolery proved long ago that he wears well with game show fans. If the Goldhill team at GSN had any sense about originals – a somewhat questionable proposition – they would make a new season of Lingo.
Staunchly on the side of including gay couples here, but think the point that Takai's marriage is null isn't correct. As I understand the situation, the marriages that took place prior to the loathsome passage of prop 8 are considered valid, it's just that new marriages can't take place. Pathetic, vile discrimination, no matter how you slice it.
The Goldhill team has no clue about anything. They chased out anyone who had an idea about what made a good game. Look at the shows that GSN has put forward since he came on board and shook the place up. How Much is Enough (the worst game show GSN has ever done), Catch 21 (based on a pilot that was shot 5 years before he got there), The Newlywed Game (anything new about the show has been terrible: the host, the end game, the writing, not knowing why there weren't gay couples or unmarried couples previously), GSN Live (cheap looking garbage that can't be all that cheap), Big Saturday Night (a bad idea from the start), The Money List (a show that was so bad Fox wouldn't air it more than once), 20Q (a meandering mess of a show that quickly lost viewer's interest), the Game Show Awards (a great idea turned upside down with some horrible decisions).
Best of all, of these "originals" only How Much Is Enough is an idea that hadn't been done before. And that show has been forgotten because it was so terrible. Bring back Boden and Belinkoff and the people that made Whammy, Russian Roulette and the best originals that GSN ever produced. More Lingo? Absolutely, but Goldhill and his team have shown such disdain for anything that preceded them, it'll never happen.
I agree with you, Randy. The Goldhill team doesn’t know how to run a network. But, to be fair, it’s hard to come up with an original concept in the U.S. today. All the original concepts have been from other countries (particularly England). As for the Game Show Awards, I hope there a 2nd annual event. Hopfully Kanye West will interrupt Bob Barker by saying “Imma let you finish in a minute, Bob. But Wayne Brady is the best game show host of all time.”
Of course it's hard to come up with an original concept, but you're the GAME SHOW NETWORK! It's what you should do. And their versions of unoriginal concepts suck. Since Goldhill took over, that network has become an afterthought.
Another problem is (and I’m surprise nobody mentioned it) the prize money on their original game shows. $25,000 is a whole lot of money, but it’s 2009, up the prize money. $50,000 is a fair amount (I know Catch 21 did it at the end of Season 2).