28Mar2011
“Drew Carey’s Improv-A-Ganza” the Perfect Successor to “Whose Line is it Anyway?”
In just two weeks, on April 11th, GSN will debut their new improv comedy show Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza, weeknights at 8:00PM ET. They are billing it as essentially the next phase of the popular two-decade-long-running improvisational comedy show Whose Line is it Anyway?. Expectations of Improv-A-Ganza are high after hearing who is involved and what the show is. The good news is that, after seeing one of the first episodes, the show is a welcome edition into the improv comedy world and the perfect successor to Whose Line. Click here to read all the information about Improv-A-Ganza.
Read MoreView Comments (14)17Dec2010
“Million Dollar Money Drop” is a Thrill Ride of a Game Show
Fox debuts its adaptation of the hit British quiz show The Million Pound Drop, now called Million Dollar Money Drop, this coming Monday, December 20th, at 8:00PM ET on Fox. If you've read around here whatever then you've seen the British version or at least know of it. There were some initial fears of how the show would be adapted for American audiences. Fox provided us a screener of the first episode. I'm happy to report that beyond a few visual changes, Million Dollar Money Drop is virtually the same as its international counterparts and is every bit as tense and dramatic. Click here to read more about the show.
Read MoreView Comments (34)21Sep2010
Reader Mailbag: How Do I Mail CBS About Rich Fields?
If you've noticed BuzzerBlog running slowly the past day or two, it's specifically regarding Rich Fields being let go from The Price is Right. There is an unbelievably huge outcry of support of Rich Fields and anger that the former Price announcer was let go. I wouldn't be bringing this up if it was the typical Price group of crazy people, but once you're getting tens of thousands of people, it's hard to ignore. Again, this is solely because of the tens of thousands of people asking us for it. People have asked me where can they mail letters to in order to tell CBS they want Rich back. Someone close to the show gave me the exact information. The address to mail letters, plus statistics of the support, is after the break.
Read MoreView Comments (72)13Sep2010
Fall 2010 Season Debut Review Thread
Many different syndicated game shows started their new seasons today. We've covered the big ones, so you know the basic idea of what's going on. Now it's time to see how they turned out, though. We'll leave this up for a while today. Be sure to let everyone know what you thought of all the new shows. I'm especially curious about your thoughts on Millionaire and Family Feud.
Read MoreView Comments (62)30Jun2010
“Downfall”, its Ratings, and its Prizes
Downfall had its second episode last night. Let's get the ratings out of the way before I move on. The show, sadly, dipped 23% from last week to get a 2.7/5 rating. It held just 54% of Wipeout's audience which continues to do well every summer, getting a 5.0/8. Basically all shows dip week-to-week, but given the ratings weren't that great from the start it's troubling. We'll see how it does in the future. It's got the usual perks of being on in the summer where expectations are really low and the show's pretty cheap to do, but still. I'd love to see it stick around. But given how, apparently, completely ignorant audiences watching the show are maybe it shouldn't be a huge shock. Read on to find out why.
Read MoreView Comments (26)24Jun2010
Review: Wheel of Fortune Platinum for iOS
Wheel of Fortune has seen about 450,000 different iterations of at-home play. From the Nintendo Entertainment System to desktop models to the PS3 and your local casino, people love playing Hangman for money. The iOS version of America's Game for the iPhone and iPod Touch was released not too long ago, and it is one the better iterations of a game show on the App Store, far surpassing the lazy hack job of the first Wheel of Fortune iPhone game. (more...)
Read MoreView Comments (10)22Jun2010
“Downfall” is Pretty Good, But Should Have Learned from “Russian Roulette”
Downfall: 7 out of 10. Downfall debuted tonight on ABC. I liked the show, but what did you think? The game is pretty simple. The game works very well. It's fun to play along with and very tense and dramatic. The idea of speeding up the belt for each pass is nice, too. The game's simple but works and that's the best kind of game. The show looks nice. Chris Jericho is actually a pretty good host. I mean, really, there are very few complaints I have with the actual game or anything like that. There are a few tonal issues, though, which hurt the show a bit. Incidentally each of these issues could have been seen by watching the other drop show Russian Roulette. There are some cardinal rules that would have been wise to look over when comparing them. Most of these rules come from the fact that they really just could not seem to figure out how to play the show...as a comedy or a tense, scary show.
Read MoreView Comments (29)12Jun2010
UK Weekend Replay: “Take It or Leave It”
The word of NBC's newest pilot Who's Bluffing Who had me remembering a slightly popular UK game show Take It or Leave It. I say slightly because it was on Challenge which is the UK equivalent of GSN so imagine popularity in those terms. Actually GSN was developing this but it didn't get too far, but more on that later. The part of Who's Bluffing Who that had me remembering Take It the most is the entire money box situation. In this NBC show the money boxes, or safes, have absolutely no bearing on the show whatsoever. They are just there to give people extra money and do not have a hint of influence on the income or a win-or-lose situation which seems a bit strange to me.
Read MoreLeave a Comment07Jun2010
“Late Night Liars” Brings Old School Panel Shows to the 21st Century
GSN's Late Night Liars is coming soon. It's an old style panel comedy game show, but instead of celebrity panelists they go for puppets from Jim Henson Company instead and with Larry Miller hosting. It debuts June 10th at 11:00PM ET. This is going to be the most selfish review I've ever done, just to warn you.
Read MoreView Comments (13)02Mar2010
“Minute to Win It” Review: Not Bad, But Too Bland For Its Own Good
So if you read the site which I assume you do since you're reading this, you've read what I've had to say about NBC's new game show Minute to Win It. I want to clear something up. I've criticized the direction the show has taken. Other news organizations know how identical it is to The Cube. The host, Guy Fieri, even mentioned it today in a conference call. But I didn't know how the show would end up. NBC amazingly wanted to send me a press kit for it. First off for all the bad stuff I've said about how it's royally ripped off ITV, I expected it to be spiders in the box or something. It's actually a "home game", with a bunch of food, drink, and other objects to play with. Good touch, and I'll explain why soon.
Read MoreView Comments (64)14Dec2009
Can “Pyramid” or “Press Your Luck” Work in 60 Minutes, Hypothetically?
So during the conversation of what could possibly replace CBS's canceled soap As The World Turns, and I'm pretty sure it'll end up being a game show, we were talking about shows that could replace it. I mentioned that I'm a bit shocked Fremantle hasn't gone after CBS hard for Press Your Luck given merchandise comes out for it and they've been looking for an outlet since CBS's Game Show Marathon. It's also becoming pretty clear that CBS is going to want whatever daytime (game)show that comes into the lineup to be an hour long. After that we start to get concerns of shows stretching from the original 30 minute format to 60 minutes. A lot of us had fears of Let's Make
Read MoreView Comments (146)09Nov2009
What the F Week: “Who Killed J.C.”
It's "What the F Week!" where we're going to attempt a full week of coverage and videos of recently announced shows that are making me go, "What the F." The lucky thing about word of GSN's shows in preproduction being announced is they got spread everywhere so I'm basically all clear to finally start ranting about some of it. We'll start with a Spanish import called Who Killed J.C.? which is a dark comedy/game show. The basic idea seems to be the first half of the show is a scripted sitcom type murder mystery a-la Clue. In the second half contestants try to figure out who murdered J.C. (or whoever the central character becomes) and wins some money. Here's the pitc
Read MoreView Comments (26)21Oct2009
Carnie Wilson Getting “Unstapled” Reality Show on GSN
I'm going to be hiding in a panic room for a few days to shield myself from the onslaught of angry GSN viewers regarding this nugget of information. According to Josef Adalian and his always entertaining TV MoJoe column at The Wrap, GSN's getting back into the reality show business. Not the competition reality show like Survivor. The really annoying kind like Jon and Kate Plus Eight. Carnie Wilson, host of The Newlywed Game, will be featured in what they are calling a new docusoap called Carnie Wilson: Unstapled. It's looking to premiere in January right around when the previously announced Bob Eubanks-hosted episode of The Newlywed Game will air. Unstapled wil
Read MoreView Comments (58)06Oct2009
Review: “Let’s Make A Deal” Pretty Good, But CBS Picked the Wrong Game Show
By now I'm guessing a good deal of you have seen CBS's revival of the classic game show Let's Make A Deal starring Wayne Brady. I finally saw it online a bit ago and it left me with mix feelings. If you know of the classic version at all then you know this. It's the same exact show, where people trade supposedly useless or hidden items for what may be behind a door, curtain, or box. Prizes can range from cash, cars, camels, and more. At the end of the show host Wayne Brady goes through the day's biggest dealers and asks if they want to trade away what they've won during the show for a chance at the Big Deal which is in excess of $20,000 generally it seems. Only o
Read MoreView Comments (75)05Oct2009
“Let’s Make A Deal” Debuts Today on CBS Daytime
It's a big day for game show fans! The return of daytime game shows has finally arrived after a very long time. Wayne Brady and Monty Hall have brought back Let's Make A Deal today on CBS in daytime. Check your local listings because it varies; in my area it airs at 10:00AM ET but I know it's at 3:00PM ET in other places. The show takes the classic look and feel of the original version hosted by Monty Hall and updates it for the 2009 audience with Wayne Brady as host. Big cash, cars, prizes, and the infamous Zonks are all coming back. I know I've repeated it but for all the people complaining that there are no daytime game shows: you have to watch this and/or com
Read MoreView Comments (29)