BuzzerBlog

Bad news for Crosswords fans like myself.  According to multiple sources, Program Partners is putting the low rated quizzer on hiatus until 2009 because of high production costs.  At this point, to be completely honest, unless GSN picks it up which I doubt they will I don’t see the show coming back.  Its demise leaves a very nice gap for Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? for next season, though. It’s a shame because while the show had issues it was still fun to play along with and was a fast paced intelligent quiz show; something we have barely any of now.  More than 3/4ths of the country cleared the show for the new season, so it’s leaving them in a bind.  Program Partners is giving them a few options, one of which is pretty interesting.

First, stations can take a “Best of Crosswords” package which will last about one week I’m guessing.  Stations can take a Canadian reality show called Style by Jury.  However, the final might be the best: stations can pick up a Canadian game show called Inside the Box.  It’s essentially 20 Questions but television oriented and extremely fun and honestly better than Crosswords.  We’ll try to get a video of it this weekend.  “TV stations will be the first to tell you they are suffering in daytime right now,” said Ritch Colbert, principal of Program Partners. “This gives station one more opportunity to meet their year-end sales goals.”  Regardless of the outcome, it will be sad to see Crosswords be in limbo because of budget, and hopefully something can be worked out so we can see some new episodes.

Lots of game show fans enjoy playing their favorite shows from home.  With that, we have a small update on different game shows that are recently available at home or online.  First off, what people are probably more excited about, iToys’s The Price is Right tabletop electronic game.  It’s from the same company that did the 1 VS 100 and Family Feud games, and both are really good, so this one’s bound to be fun.  It also looks like it comes with three set pieces: the Big Wheel, Hole in One, and Plinko.  No word on additional pricing games on the actual console itself now, but I’d have to imagine since playing the same two pricing games over and over is going to get really irritating.

Also, Oberon Games has launched a download-able version of Crosswords.  The game is fairly accurate to the show, or as accurate as it can be.  The spoiler system is a bit complicated, and the annoying music just loops over and over and over.  If the theme music annoys you on the show, it’s going to be worse on you playing the game.  However, it’s still pretty fun just playing along with the game and seeing how you’d do.  It’s a lot harder than it looked for me.  Click here to download the game.

A good struggling show just got another life. Program Partner’s Crosswords has been renewed for a second season according to TV Week. The show has been averaging a 0.8, but got a 1.0 recently. However, the market might be a bit tougher next year having the inclusion of sure-to-be-a-hit Deal or No Deal and potentially Trivial Pursuit into syndication. “‘Crosswords’ ratings are building continuously and now hitting season-to-date highs,” said Ritch Colbert of Program Partners. “This renewal is a testament to our amazing production team and to the power of Merv Griffin’s original vision.”

The show has been renewed in 40 of the top 50 markets including NBC O&Os, Belo, Four Points, Gannett, Gray, Guardian, Hubbard, McGraw-Hill, New Age, Raycom, Sarkes Tarzian and SagamoreHill groups. Show representatives said they are planning to bring more excitement into the show next season. How about giving away a tiny bit more money?

I’m not really one to bitch about a budget, but my god is this show’s absolutely tiny.  The spoiler system could use a bit of work too.  I like it, but it just comes off extremely unfair in some situations.  What would you change for a second season?  And be relatively realistic?

Number one on my list?  New theme song.  The thing they have right now is a bit annoying.
Also, no word on Temptation’s renewal, but I wouldn’t count on it.  NATPE is this week, so be expecting a lot of news.

Thanks to reader John Moss for pointing out a recent article from Media Life Magazine which talks about the current syndication market and next year’s. Very few shows are on the bubble to be picked up for a second season. The only two shows listed are Montel Williams and Crosswords.  Interesting, as on the official Crosswords blog, they have been heavily promoting starting taping for season two in the not to distant future.  Also, Crosswords just got up to the 1.0 mark, a new high, so that should be worth something.

Meanwhile, at the bottom, it lists the unimaginable:

“[Twentieth Television's] foundering game show “Temptation” is also expected to return.”

Temptation has been hovering around the 0.5 mark, going up to a .6 at best, since its start and has never been a real hit.  Let’s also factor in that the show is one point lower than what was said to make the show be profitable.  However, I’m pretty sure I can pay the show’s prize budget (and production values) with what’s in my wallet currently.  Then look at the major issue with the writer’s of the show.  Yeah, Crosswords has had lots of game tweaks through the season, but Temptation has been a complete disaster.  If it makes it and Crosswords doesn’t, I’ll be amazed.

Don’t forget that next year we are definitely getting Deal or No Deal in syndication ($250,000 and 22 cases with potential contestants holding some) as well as potentially having Trivial Pursuit which has cleared in 55% of the country.

Game show fans who have the way overpriced and overrated Microsoft XBox (sorry, I’m not a Microsoft fan of anything) can be on the lookout for new Crosswords games for XBox Live and 360, and also the Playstation 2 if anyone cares about that thing anymore.  Program Partners licensed the game to the THQ brand on Monday.

These games are due out in….2009?  Isn’t that a bit late?  I mean I’m going to say it’s relatively safe to assume the show can get a second season.  But the ratings aren’t exactly great right now.  Do you really think the show can survive two seasons with a 0.8?  I’m not so sure.

Hasbro is also creating a DVD home game for the scrappy new syndicated game show, as well as Oberon Media working on a long overdue online for the Crosswords website.

Temptation might be on hold for a bit, but the better of the two new syndicated shows, Crosswords, will be holding auditions on the other side of the country so more people can try out. Auditions will take place at the NBC Towers in Chicago. The Crosswords crew will find 50 contestants, fly them to Los Angeles, and have them compete on national television for thousand(s?) of dollars and trips to (exotic?) places. Auditions will take place on Saturday, October 13th at 10AM. The exact address is NBC Towers, 454 North Columbus Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60611. There are a few stipulation, of course: you must be 18, you cannot have been on a game show in the past six months, and you can’t know anyone who works for Program Partners, William Morris Agency, Merv Griffin Entertainment, or anyone on the show’s staff.  Good luck to all that try out!

Instead of creating a different post for each show, let’s just do it all in one.

In case you aren’t aware, every game show under the sun starts a new season today.  Wheel of Fortune begins its 25th year celebration, Jeopardy! starts a new one, Family Feud gets a new, nice logo with the same fantastic host of John O’Hurley, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? begins its sixth season on its way to its thousanth show, and finally we have the debut of Crosswords (which is quite good) and Temptation (which isn’t quite good to me).  Don’t forget tomorrow GSN will start a brand new US season of That’s The Question with a nice set and actual writers!  That makes it exponentially better off the bat.  What did you think about all the new shows, changes, and such?  Mainly, what did you think of Crosswords? 

Photo courtesy of Valleycrest Productions.

Just in time for the season premiere of Merv Griffin’s Crosswords, their website is finally up. It is just absolutely AMAZING. They have photos, videos, bios, a complete affiliate list, and more! Check it out!

NBC has put the kibosh on the primetime preview of Merv Griffin’s Crosswords, previously scheduled for Saturday, September 8.  Instead, NBC will air an installment of Most Outrageous Moments at 8 PM Eastern and the NBC Fall Preview Special at 8:30 PM Eastern.

TheFutonCritic.com reports that NBC will preview Merv Griffin’s Crosswords at 8:30 PM Eastern/7:30 PM Central on Saturday, September 8, following the network’s fall preview special. This makes the second primetime game show preview of that week, following Temptation’s back-to-back episode preview on MyNetworkTV on Wednesday, September 5.

I’ve heard at least one market has no affiliates showing either show. At least that market and possibly others have a chance to see the new offerings.

Big Edit: Someone from an early taping recently commented, and there are a few differences in the rules for them.  Did they switch rules after a few weeks?  You be the judge; click here.

A source who wished to remain anonymous supplied us with the rules for Merv Griffin’s Crosswords, which debuts Monday, September 10th, across the country. It’s looking pretty good; here they are:

Two contestants start with a full puzzle on the board. They get a clue to one of the words given. The player that buzzes in and answers correctly gets $100. At some points there will be a “Crossword Getaway”, where a right answer adds a trip to your total. Also included is a “Crossword Extra”, where the person who answers correctly can bet as much of their winnings up to that point as they’d like on the next question. This goes on for a bit. Round two adds a new game element: three contestants known as “Spoilers” come in. They also play the game. If a Spoiler gets a question correct, they can take the place of either of the two players and capture all of their money. Answers in round two are $200. Whoever controls the most money at the end of round two is the winner and plays the bonus. In the bonus, contestants have 130 seconds (at least for that episode) to solvethe rest of the puzzle. They call out a placement and get a clue.

Sadly this is where our information ends. On the episode we were told about, we’re assuming there was no bonus round win since the total for the champion was rather low; around GSN level low. We’re also guessing that the 130 seconds isn’t static, as that’s just a really bizarre number. But there you have it. It sounds very enjoyable, fast paced, exciting, and we’re hearing the feel is laid back. The only real issue I have is how easy it is for a spoiler to take all of a player’s money, especially on such a non-cut throat show. However, that’s a minor annoyance. Everything else seems terrific. Be sure to look for it in syndication on September 10th. Hopefully we’ll be getting some reports on Temptation and The Price is Right for you soon.

Alliteration in the title aside, Merv Griffin’s Crosswords has been cleared to air in Canada, according to B&C.  The show has been picked up by Rogers Television in Ontario and CHUM Television in Alberta.  Crosswords has already cleared in 28 of the top 30 markets in the US and will debut on September 10th.  Hopefully this news will make our Canadian friends happy.

Did Merv Griffin do a terrific thing and change the name of Let’s Do Crosswords? According to one of our friends who recently auditioned, the show is now being called Merv Griffin’s Crosswords. Also, there are quite a few game play changes. Here is an exact quote:

“The current plan is to have five contestants per show. Two contestants start the show, and three more contestants, initially termed “spoilers” join in later. There is a “Russian Roulette” / King of the Mountain aspect to the show. A podium or podiums are assigned the money and prizes, and the spoilers vie to displace those at the podiums. Those who are at the podium or podiums at the end of the show win what has been accumulated at the podium.”

Interesting changes, and it sounds equally as exciting. If you don’t get the King of the Hill reference, check out the pilot on Mike Klauss’s website here. Does this game sound familiar to anyone at all, though? Eliminate the crossword aspect and I just have a feeling I’ve heard about a show very similar. I don’t have a knowledge of classics at all really, so if anyone has any idea please feel free to chime in. I have no doubt that the game play will be fine. I’m just glad that we’re apparently going to have a name change. The name isn’t embarrassing to say anymore and that’s always fantastic.

So, what the hell is going on with Temptation? We are actually getting a lot of concrete information about Crosswords and its debut date seems to fall perfectly on schedule now. Temptation is supposed to debut September 10th as well. The only thing we’ve heard about at all is the host and even that doesn’t leave a good feeling in my stomach. The show isn’t that far away from debuting. Shouldn’t we hear something about casting? I’m starting to get a bit nervous.

The Chicago taping location was not meant to be.  Merv Griffin’s Let’s Do Crosswords will be taping in Los Angeles.  Also, they have now started casting.  If you’d like to apply to be a contestant on the new show to debut September 2007, click here and good luck.  Anyone here planning on trying out?

Program Partners and Merv Griffin Entertainment’s new show which will either go under the name Let’s Play Crosswords  or Let’s Do Crosswords (It’s being referred to as both) has now cleared 85% of the country, recently adding 55 new affiliates and in 45 of the top 50 markets.  Here’s a list of the new stations.

KYW/Philadelphia, WJLA/Washington, D.C., WDIV/Detroit, WFTS/Tampa, WTVJ/Miami, KGW/Portland, WSFJ/Columbus, WWMT/WWMT-DT/Grand Rapids, WTTO/WABM/Birmingham, WXLV/WMYV/Greensboro, WTVR/WUPV/Richmond, WNFM/Ft Myers, KMSV/KTTU/Tucson, KOLR/Springfield, KTBS/KPXJ/Shreveport, WVNY/WFFF/Burlington, XHRIO/Harlingen, KKTV/Colorado Springs, KNWA/KFTA/Ft. Smith, KBQD/Davenport, KHAS/Lincoln-Hastings, WCTV/Tallahassee, KTVN/Reno, KYTX/Tyler, WILX/Lansing, WAGT/Augusta, KTTW/Sioux Falls, KVLY/KXJE/Fargo, KMTR/KMTR-DT/Eugene, KGET/Bakersfield, WKBT/La Crosse, WIFR/Rockford, KEJB/Monroe, KOBI/KOTI/Medford, KCBD/Lubbock, WBOC/Salisbury, WSWG/Albany, KYES/Anchorage, WPGX/Panama City, KBMY/KNDX/Minot-Bismarck, WCJB/Gainesville, KIDZ/KXVA/Abilene, WUTR/Utica, WDFX/Dothan, WETM/WTTX/Elmira, WWTI/Watertown, KHSD/Rapid City, WAZT/Harrisonburg, WCAV/WAHU/Charlottesville, KREX/KFQX/Grand Junction, WTAP/WTAP-DT/Parkersburg, KTGF/Great Falls, KDUH/Cheyenne, KTVF/Fairbanks, KAVU/WXVT/Victoria and KYES/Juneau.