In the category of news that basically everyone knows by now but I was really busy yesterday, Al Roker has been announced as the host of NBC’s primetime celebrity run of the hit syndicated game show Family Feud. The announcement was made on Monday’s Today show to make for some nice cross promotion there. John O’Hurley will still host the syndicated run.
The basics of the game appear to be the same. However, thankfully, they won’t stretch one game to an hour. Three games will apparently be played. The winner of game one will face off against the winner of game two in a final match for money. Celebrity teams will consist of a celebrity and his or her family, or perhaps a TV family. However, these celebrities have not been announced yet.
Al’s recently guest hosted Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, that of which he didn’t do badly at, but I always felt he would be more suited for something like this. Of course this does mean we don’t get who I truly feel is the Feud’s best host since Richard Dawson, John O’Hurley. He seems to be very busy though. I can see Roker doing very well though. More specifics of the show will hopefully be announced soon.
The US version of Power of 10 isn’t doing too well right now. For some reason CBS insists on putting it against Deal or No Deal which is a steamroller at this point, but what do I know? I’m just a critic.
Despite this, Australia is going ahead with their version of Power of 10 for Channel 9. They will be offering $1,000,000 instead of $10,000,000. Note that we still have a potential syndicated version in the making (depending on how the rest of the primetime run goes), so their version will basically be how our syndicated edition will go.
Longtime quiz show host Eddie McQuire (who hosted Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and 1 VS 100) was actually not chosen. Instead, the host is Australia’s Today weatherman Steve Jacobs. He told TV writer Stephen Downie, “I don’t think it has sunk in, actually. While Jacobs described McGuire as “the master when it comes to quiz shows, he denied having taken tips from him. This show is a little bit more relaxed than other quiz shows. There is a bit more ad-libbing. It’s a really good vibe.”
Eight episodes have been ordered. Finally, another US export that we can be proud of.
This may have been overlooked during the holiday, so I figured let’s post the Mark L. Walberg interview again when people are around actually.
We still have a fun interview for you all today. One of my favorites (and a recent favorite of many around here as far as I can tell), Mark L. Walberg. Walberg is hosting the new FOX game show The Moment of Truth which is, truthfully, on my eager list. I don’t know why, but I’m relatively excited to see it. If it’s anything like Walberg says it is, it should be great. He also discusses his Price is Right audition, a bit about Russian Roulette, and more. There are two minor audio issues which I tried to fix, but something happened with my audio program. I swear one day I will figure out how to run it!
MARK WALBERG INTERVIEW
As much hell as I give Dancing With the Stars (and believe me it deserves to be given hell), it does seem like a decent place for D-list celebrities to go and revive their career. With Hulk Hogan as the lead host of NBC’s American Gladiators, it was announced that Laila Ali will be by his side as co-host. She stated in a line that clearly sounds she was told to say it, “It’s an honor to be reintroducing this American classic to a new generation of fans.” No word on the air date for the revival of American Gladiators, though we’d expect it to be on before 1 VS 100 which is still in limbo as shows like Phenomenon fail miserably.
Two quick news items and then an explanation for the lack of updates recently.
*Following some rather crappy ratings recently, Singing Bee will be shelved in November and replaced by a two hour Biggest Loser. That coincidentally makes The Singing Bee the biggest loser, go figure. It’s getting nearly lower than Identity level ratings which isn’t a good sign. Who would have figured Don’t Forget the Lyrics would keep its ratings while Singing Bee wouldn’t.
*Dennis Miller has signed on to host NBC’s new game show Amnesia which will create yet another genre war with FOX’s The Moment of Truth. Dennis Miller’s most recent job was hosting GSN’s Grand Slam which we really hope comes back. We don’t get smart game shows often.
And now why there have been a lack of updates. I’ve been active in television for a bit, working on stuff like Game Show Marathon and others. I decided to take control of things this time and pitch my own show with the help of some very talented people. I’ll be gone tomorrow through Saturday pitching a concept to a very respectable company. We’re going to have a BuzzerVision video of Who Wants to be a Millionaire sometime this week hopefully for certain reasons, but if you are wanting some great game show news while we’re away I strongly suggest GSNN. When we come back, I’ll tell you of my experience. I’m not really looking for a ton of “good lucks” and that kind of thing, but I just felt like I owed you all an explanation of what’s been going on. We’re usually extremely dependable for updates and the whole pitch thing has been crazy for the past three weeks. We’ll get started as soon as we can again and hopefully we’ll have some fun stories of the pitch.
I think it’s safe to say that today is one of the most anticipated days for game show fans such as you all in quite some time. Today on CBS, we will see Drew Carey officially become the new host of The Price is Right. Reviews are coming in and they are quite glowing as of now. But critics don’t count. The viewers do. What did you all think of Drew’s hosting?
Have I ever told you how excited I am, as a person who’s not really that much of a fan of The Price is Right, to have Drew Carey hosting it (who I am a fan of)? I have? William Keck of USA Today published an interview with Mr. Carey today, and it made me even more excited. You can read it here.
The spark notes version: Power of 10 is sticking in New York City, so he flies back and forth often. The studio is still being called Bob Barker Studio and the games with his name on it stay. Drew keeps some of his trademark style of humor during the show, like making fun of some of the dumb prizes and poking fun at contestants and models. The models don’t have a nickname anymore, that of which I’m happy about. Carey is signed to a five year contract right now. The show will be traveling. Finally, he wants some guest models, like USA Women’s National Soccer team (Drew is a big fan; they are making a soccer based game for him that won’t involve skill, god forbid that) and Kathy Kinney, AKA Mimi from Drew Carey’s sitcom. He wants more guests as well.
I have a huge feeling that the, for lack of a better term, obsessive and sometimes creepy Price is Right fanatics are going to go crazy about Mimi and other guests doing some modeling items, but at least to me, a person who really does not care for the show that much, it makes it more fun for me. I don’t find pricing a ceramic pig to be amusing or a good time. Bringing in some fun, excitement, and a bit of improv with some guest models will liven it up much more in my eyes. However for quite a few of you, be rest assured, the show will stay basically the same with a few changes to fit Carey’s style; a style I cannot wait to see next Monday.
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.
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.
In the week of absolutely no game show news, we finally found some! Thanks to reader Mark O. who sent us a story from the Winnipeg Sun that one of the funniest people on the planet, Colin Mochrie, will be the host of the five episode Canadian Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? run. “We’re delighted to have Colin on board,” said Barbara Williams, senior vice president of programming and production for CanWest MediaWorks in a statement. “His unrivalled wit and ability to engage and entertain audiences will be front and centre, and we look forward to all of the fun.” Episodes are being taped in Toronto this Fall and will air on Global.
That means that every single Whose Line is it Anyway? regular has a show. Drew has Power of 10 (which will probably return in the Fall) and The Price is Right, Wayne has Don’t Forget the Lyrics, and Colin has this. What’s Ryan been up to recently? I’d love to see him back on TV somewhere.
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