“Blockbusters is the ultimate cult TV quiz, and we think that Simon Mayo is the perfect host to bring it back to our screens,” commented Barbara Gibbon, director of Challenge TV. “We hope that it will be popular not only with those of us who loved it the first time around but also with a brand new generation of fans. We might even bring back the hand-jive!”

Simon Mayo, Blockbusters presenter said: “Blockbusters is an iconic show and a winning format. I feel very honoured and excited.”

Suzy Lamb, Head of Entertainment, Thames added: “It’s testament to the huge popularity of Blockbusters, that Challenge TV have commissioned a new series.”

Here’s a bit of Simon hosting Winning Lines.  We’re looking forward to the new series of Blockbusters and, personally, I feel it’s an incredibly smart move, if you’re a Game Show Network, to look at past popular game shows that are usually in the top ranking of your lineup, and attempt to find a way to revive them.

Host George Lamb said: “I’m super happy to be back at Channel 4, working on such an exciting and ground-breaking live show. If you cross an edge-of-your-seat game show with Ocean’s Eleven and add a twist of real-time viewing then you’ve got The Bank Job.”

The show places contestants against each other in a game of knowledge, strategy, and luck as they attempt to leave a bank vault with the most cash.  Across five nights only one will leave the vault each night, and each comes back on the sixth day for a chance to win the total combined prize pool.  People can play along live much like the show’s sister program The Million Pound Drop.

A week ago we noticed a strange afternoon taping of The Million Pound Drop, which was labeled as a special one, coming soon.  This will apparently be when Davina will play the game for charity.  Media personality Phil Spencer will host the episode.  It’s going to be interesting to see how she does.  Check this out in January 2012.

While that’s exciting, you may want to watch Countdown.  Jeff Stelling, the soon-to-be-departing host will be stepping aside for one taping.  Instead, fellow game show host and comedian Jimmy Carr will be sitting in the host’s chair presiding over the letters and numbers game.  His panel show (8 Out of 10 Cats) partners Sean Lock and Jon Richardson will be helping out with the math games and Dictionary Corner.  This will be one for the DVR.

We’ll let you know when a specific date is announced.

In a statement to BBC, Nick Hewer said, “It’s particularly fitting that I should be doing this now as my spelling has started to slip quite badly. I used to be able spell chrysanthemum.” Jay Hunt, the Channel 4 chief creative officer, stated, “Nick will be a fantastically charismatic host for Countdown. He is sharp and funny and has a real twinkle in his eye.”

Here’s a clip of Nick on the comedy panel show Would I Lie To You?.  What do you think of the new upcoming host?

This is the first original comission for Challenge for over three and a half years since Take it or Leave It was recomissioned for a third series in 2008. This is also the fourth incarnation of Blockbusters since the show’s debut in 1983. Originally hosted by Bob Holness. It was shown on ITV five/six days a week. Students from schools and colleges were able to take part where they could win prizes for themselves and for their respective school, whlist pocketing £5 for each correct answer. The show was success for the commerical network and aired for over ten years. It was also the same show which coined the infamous phrase “Can I have a P please, Bob?”. It was brought back for BBC Two in 1997 with Give Us a Clue host, Michael Aspel taking over from Holness. The massive change were the students being replaced by adults. It didn’t capivate the audiecne and was axed after one series. The BBC version featured Stephen Merchant as a contestant. The comedy writer who pairs with Ricky Gervais on The Office and Extras. It was the digital channel, Sky One who revived it once again in 2000. This time they kept the original concept by having students taking part. This was hosted by Liza Tarbuck. As with the BBC version, it was dropped after one series. Now with another revival planned for 2012 but airing on the digital channel, Challenge. Can it live up to the hype?

Since it’s early days. TalkbackTHAMES have yet to confirm who the presenter will be. Here are our four potential candiates to who would fit the role perfectially.

Eamonn Holmes

Eamonn Holmes has presented countless game shows over the years on the BBC  and on other networks. Now working for Sky News morning programme, Sunrise. Holmes has not hosted a game show for over four years. However, he is no stranger to Challenge as he hosted the third series of TV Scrabble in 2002. His wit and popularity with the viewers might be key to the reason why he could be chosen.

Ben Shephard

Many readers on here will remember Ben Shepard for hosting The Krypton Factor revival and taking over Dermot O’Leary as the host of 1 Vs 100 in 2008. Now currently a Sky Sports football presenter. His youth might attract the viewers on Challenge as the network tend to get the most viewers in the 18-35 year old category. An amusing fact. Shephard appeared in the line up for Vernon Kay’s Game Show Marathon in 2007. Where he participated in Blockbusters and won the show to progess to the semi finals.

Jeff Stelling

Jeff is our dark horse out of the trio. Many readers will know he will be stepping down from hosting Countdown at the end of this year. Although he will be leaving the words and numbers show. He continues to be the host on the popular Saturday afternoon show Soccer Saturday. Since Jeff’s appearance on Countdown, he has been a breath of fresh air to the 29 year old show and gained new viewers at the same time. His banter and wit would be ideal for Blockbusters since he is able to adlib when presenting.

Greg Scott

The guy who is still waiting for his big break. Greg is known for being the warm up artist on Countdown in the 1990s and hosting the popular call in quiz show, Quizmania in the mid 2000s. Like Jeff Stelling, Greg is a dark horse. He might be a outsider bet but a little show like this on a small network (most shows on Challenge reaches 200,000 viewers) would be ideal for him. Also with Stelling, Greg can also adlib, crack jokes and banter with the contestants. He might have yet to host a major game show on television but it didn’t stop ITV for selecting Jeremy Kyle to host High Stakes and Sky One picking Damian Williams to host the daytime run of Are You Smarter Than Your 10 Year Old? Anything is possible.

If any UK readers would like to take part as a single person or with a friend/family member. Please visit the Challenge website via http://www.challenge.co.uk/news/tv-quiz-show-blockbusters-is-back.html

Photo courtesy Televisual

We discussed the rules from the pitch film a bit ago, and it doesn’t look like it was changed much.  That’s a pity because this doesn’t seem nearly as exciting or challenging as it should.  It’s a team of two without some hugely urgent time pressure.  I don’t think it’s that hard to memorize eight to eleven answers between them and score a pretty nice five figure payday.  Even if one person has to give the list, like in the film, with all the time they have and the repetition of seeing the list it doesn’t seem that huge of a challenge.  I’m still looking forward to it, though, and we’ll be sure to cover it.

Here’s a clip of the Danish version.

Log on to the game’s website and play the app.  If you do you’ll get the chance to play against Meredith.  See if she has what it takes to win like the contestants she quizzes each day, or better yet see if you can outsmart Meredith.  Not only that you’ll get the chance to ask Meredith questions and she’ll answer as many as she can.  It’s a great way to interact with Meredith if you can’t get to New York City to see the show (get tickets here), so why not.  You may find me on Facebook playing also, so be on the lookout.

The Who Wants to be a Millionaire Facebook game plays similarly to the show.  Players face eight questions containing one of eight increasing dollar totals. The more people that miss the questions, the more money you get.  The top players get to face Classic Millionaire to win up to $1,000,000.  Players get two Jumps, which lets them get passed the question.  Very, very fun game.  Do many of you play it?

Marty: Tell Me about “The Game of Life”…

Frank: I’m really excited about it. The sets, the whole game and the graphics are amazing.  This is my second game show I hosted now and it is without a doubt a 2011 game show.

The Game of Life, courtesy The Hub

Marty: Talk about the game play

Frank: Round 1 and Round 2 Is them going on virtual trips in the car answering trivia questions. The Third round is physical challenges.  They are too wacky to even describe.

Marty: What do you win?

Frank: The Game of Life is all about adventure. It’s not like, “Hey here is a trip to Hawaii. It’s you just won a ‘Swimming with Dolphins Adventure’ in Hawaii. You won a live like rock star in London, England trip where they get to see Abby Road.

In 1996, Nicotero appeared as a contestant on Wink Martindale’s Debt, winning the episode’s grand prize of $14,106, retiring his debt of $7,053.

Marty: Let’s talk about “Debt”.

Frank: I won $14,000 and the ironic thing is the executive producer of that show was Andrew Golder and he is the executive producer of The Game of Life. So I’ve come full circle with Andrew Golder to where he was giving me money when I won now he is giving me money when I host.

He later appeared on the Fox Sports Network trivia game The Ultimate Fan League where he won $10,000 in prizes. He was approached to write for the shows Peer Pressure, Outrageous, Game World and Faux Pause for the Game Show Network, and in the summer of 1999, was contacted by the producers of Street Smarts.

Marty: How did you become the Host of Street Smarts?

Frank: Scott St. John (Deal or No Deal) hired me to help write and produce the pilot and I was going out and recording all the test footage with a friend, and the people at Warner Brothers really liked what I was doing so they made me a field reporter. Then I was going to be the only field reporter and then they were like why don’t you let him do the studio hosting.

So I was in the right place at the right time but it all started really with being a guest on a game show.

Marty: So you became the Street Smarts guy…

Frank: We did almost 800 episodes ran for 5 years and I still get people all the time who say, “Hey, Street Smarts Guy”, so It’s amazing the life the show has had and currently it’s not airing anywhere. GSN had the repeats for awhile but I think the rights reverted back to Warner Brothers.

Marty: What question on the show did Americans struggle with the most?

Frank: Americans don’t know geography and Americans don’t know how many states there are in the United States. We would throw that question into almost every show and people would say 52 almost every time. We did a whole episode of me just asking that one question. It we are failing in the schools in America it is definitely geography and our own geography that’s the puzzling thing.

Marty: What do you bring to the table as a game show host?

Frank: I’m the everyman. I’m always out to have a good time with contestants on Street Smarts or Game of Life. That’s what it is all about…having a good time. I was the kind of guy you want to have a beer with game show host rather than the guy in the 3 piece suit.

Marty: How do you view your role as hosting The Game of Life?

The Game of Life, courtesy The Hub

Frank: I feel like I’m the uncle or big brother or the cousin. I’m rooting for these kids.

Marty: Who is your favorite game show host of all time? Favorite game shows of all time?

Frank: Tic-Tac-Dough – Wink Martindale, Jack Barry – Joker’s Wild

It is time to put Frank Nicotero back, “Behind The Buzzer”.

Marty: I have some trivia questions for you. You Ready?  Here We Go…In your final question on Debt you said you were a Billy Joel Expert. Here is a Billy Joel question for you.  What song does this Billy Joel lyric come from…

“Clear as crystal sharp as knife I feel like I’m in the prime of my life”

Frank: That’s, “I Go To Extremes” from Storm Front.

Marty: That is correct!

Frank: I have that CD in my car right now I think. So trust me it is hard to stump me on Billy Joel lyric trivia. I was confident on Debt to go double or nothing. You give them 3 subjects. Mine were Pittsburgh Pirates of the 90′s, Michael Keaton Movies, and the music of Billy Joel. The only one I told myself that if the topic they choose is Billy Joel I’m definitely going double or nothing. I went for it and won $14,000 on Billy Joel.

Marty: Do you remember the actually lyric you won on Debt?

Frank: “They say it takes a lot to keep a love alive in every heart their pumps a different beat but if we shift our love into overdrive we can generate a lot of heat.”

Marty: That is correct!

Frank: If you watch the clip the first five seconds I have no clue and, Oh my God I just lost $7,000,” and Wink Martindale kept going and got to the end and it clicks.. YOU ARE 52nd Street!!!

Marty: Here is the a link to the clip.

Marty: Your next question.  Who did the special effects makeup on the movie Predators?

Frank: Is that my cousin Greg Nicotero.

Marty: That is correct!

Frank: When I moved out to LA I lived with Greg for the first three years. He was the best man at my wedding. I was the best man at his wedding. We are more like brothers than cousins. He’s on fire right now with The Walking Dead. He is the co-executive producer and is directing an episode this year.

Marty:  Last question…On Street Smarts you had a battle of game show hosts playing for charity.  It was Mark L. Walberg ( Temptation Island, Russian Roulette) vs Mark DeCarlo (Studs).  What was the final score of that match-up?

Frank: I’m 90% positive that one of them one with one dollar.

Marty: Close but that is incorrect.  The final score was Mark L. Walberg $2 Mark DeCarlo $1

Frank: I will tell you a little inside secret on that episode. They were playing for charity but what they bet on the side was like five sushi dinners. Walberg probably won $300 to $400 worth of Sushi.

Here is a link to that clip

The Game of Life debuts in its regular time slot on Saturday, September 17 (6 p.m. ET), the all new, half-hour Hub Original Series features the iconic car, the clickety-clack of the rainbow-colored spinner, and a road trip bound for roadblocks and obstacles we all encounter on our journey through life.

Marty Lublin: I had a chance to talk with Emmy nominated television host Todd Newton as he was in the middle of taping 30 shows for season two of the Hub’s Family Game Night.

As a game show host, Todd has awarded contestants over 28 million dollars on shows such as the current hit Family Game Night, Whammy, Hollywood Showdown, Game Show Marathon, Instant Millionaire and The Price is Right Live!

Marty: Let’s talk about your career as a Game Show Host?

Todd Newton: When I started out hosting game shows in 1999 for a show called
Hollywood Showdown.  I immediately knew this is what I wanted to do with my career so I sought out the best mentor that I could find…and it was Bob Barker… and the first thing Bob told me was enjoy every single moment you can with the contestants.

Marty: Talk about those moments with the contestants…

Todd Newton: I said a million times in a million different interviews my favorite thing about being a game show host is sharing that moment with contestant or contestants is when they win a large sum of money.  If I’m on the stage the moment they win, I’m just thrilled to be there!

Marty: What moments stand out?

Todd Newton: I’m always a fan of getting picked up and swung around.  I can always tell when that is going to happen. I can always see that moment in the father’s eye when they win $15,000 – $20,000 dollars and it’s that look that says two things…First of all, I’m so happy we won that trip to Mexico and second, Todd Newton’s going airborne.

To see that look in their eyes it’s genuine it’s true the most authentic form of television.  Those are my favorite moments.

Marty: What do you love about Game Shows?

Todd Newton: I truly believe that game shows are the most spectacular genre of television.  They have been around forever and I believe they will be around forever because people love rooting and cheering for other people and playing along at home.

Marty: Talk about your Daytime Emmy Nomination this year?

Todd Newton: To get recognized by the academy was an absolute thrill.  I was influence by the Bob Barkers, the Pat Sajaks, the Alex Trebeks…these are guys I watched growing up, watching game shows with my grandmother back in my hometown of St. Louis.  They are the guys who I think do it better than anyone.

To be there with Alex and Pat and have the opportunity in person to thank them for the influence was a big special moment for me.  I pulled both of them aside and told them listen I’m a nominee and I wouldn’t be here if you guys haven’t done what you did to get this Lifetime Achievement Award.

That was a big thrill for me, now I can always say I was an Emmy nominee.

Marty: Tell us about the new season of Family Game Night?

Todd Newton: This season on Family Game Night we have kids that are absolutely enthused to be here and dying to play their favorite games.  We have parents who are thrilled to be here sharing those moments.

The crew is coming together like a fine athletic team and we are just rocking and rolling having a blast.  This show is packed with moments that matter.  For the first time in a long time there is a show on air with families competing together.  It’s appointment television.  It’s something we can all watch on Friday nights.

Marty:

Today I’m on the set of the brand new Hub Game Show, Scrabble Showdown.  Joining me today:
*Justin Willman – The Host of Scrabble Showdown (Hubworld, Food Network’s Cupcake Wars).
*Bob Boden –  Sr. VP, Reality & Game Show Production & Development, Hasbro Studios
*Pat Finn – Executive Producer Scrabble Showdown/Rubicon Entertainment

Marty: Let’s talk about the development of Scrabble Showdown

Bob Boden:
The main focus in the reality and games division is taking our game products and turning them into game shows.  We know that Scrabble is one of the most popular brands of all time and we really wanted to create a game that hi-lighted what Hasbro thinks about Scrabble in the future which is the “World of Words”.  “World of Words” games which engage the viewer in this new way to play Scrabble.  We brought in Rubicon and Pat’s team.

Scrabble Showdown set, courtesy Hasbro

Marty: Pat assembled a dream team of producers, writers and casting people.

Pat Finn:
We are working with as our consulting producer Sande Stewart.  Sande’s dad is Bob Stewart who is legendary when it comes to word games.

Bob Boden:
Can I tell you his resume?  He created The Price is Right, To Tell the Truth, Password, Pyramid,

Pat Finn:
So when we are doing a word game to have Sande contributing to the process really made a huge difference in development.  Our co-executive produce is Cindy Clark whose dad is Dick Clark and we worked together on a number of projects and she’s run a bunch of different game shows.

Marty: “How is it different from the Scrabble show of the 80′s and 90′s?”

Bob Boden:
It’s a completely different format.  We are very aware of that show. Our contestant producer Laura Chambers was a contestant on the original pilot of that Scrabble version and she went on to become the contestant producer of that show in the late 80′s so she knows Scrabble.

It was a really well done show and up to this point has been the most successful translation of a board game to a game show but their format is completely different from our show.  We made sure of that.  It’s about the World of Words. Any game that involves word play thinking on your feet about words can come under our umbrella of Scrabble. We are not beholden to the traditions of the board game or the old show. You will see an homage.

What they proved in the 80′s and what were going to prove again is you don’t have to be literally translating a board game to make

Scrabble Showdown, courtesy Hasbro

a game show based of a famous brand work. That show was of for 6 years and it was very popular and it was not a literal translation at that time.  Neither are we but we really do understand the core values of Scrabble and in our mindset the world of words takes us in so many different directions we never imagined.

Marty: “How did you find your host Justin Willman?”

Pat Finn:
We were told you got to look at Justin Willman.  We were like, “OK, we will do you a favor.”  He came in first audition and nailed it and we never looked at another person.

Marty: What did you like about him?

Pat Finn:
He’s comfortable and he connects with people. Whether he is talking one or one or thousands of people as a magician. He has this ability to connect in the moment. He likes people. He is excited when people win.  You feel it is authentic.  He’s Justin Willman.  He is anchoring and hosting this amazing game. He has a real natural sense of humor.

Marty: Justin talked about becoming the Host of Scrabble Showdown.

Justin Willman:

Growing up as a kid it was either become a magician or become a game show host and for years I’ve been doing magic. As a kid whenever I was sick from school the highlight was always seeing The Price is Right and see Bob Barker and be like, wow, that looks like the most fun job in the world to be able to finally dip into the world is a dream come true.

Marty: “Biggest surprise about becoming a game show host?”

Justin Willman:
Honestly, the biggest surprise sincerely is how fun it is. I thought after a little while it would become common place and become a chore but it really is a lot of fun. I truly get into it. I get hooked into their stories and I’m rooting for everybody. It’s a  playground out there and every show is different and it never gets monotonous.

Marty: “Talk about the games. Can the viewer play along at home?”

Bob Boden:
If you don’t watch the show and yell at the TV at least a dozen times then you are not really watching it. It is the most playable fun game you can imagine for families.  It really involves a lot of teamwork. A lot of solving of words. There are dozens of challenges in each show.  It is really fun interactive show

Scrabble Showdown, courtesy The Hub

This show is all about families. It’s about teamwork. It’s about parents and kids working together. It is designed for a family audience with co-viewing in prime time and so what I think we are asking our viewers in the home audience to do playing along is exactly what we are asking our players to do is work together as a family.  There is not a lot of television especially in the game show space that asks people to do that. Very proud of it

Marty: What do you win?

Pat Finn: [The] grand prize is tickets to anywhere they want in the world.  We were able to work it that every game someone wins a trip to anywhere.  We always end on a high note.  I love the fact we are doing programming that is engaging and entertaining.
About the Author…

Marty Lublin is a Host & Emcee for Game Shows, Sports and
Entertainment. He is also a former Contestant Producer, Game Show
Contestant and Game Show Winner.

Twitter: @martylublin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MartyLublinHostandEmcee

Scrabble Showdown has a sneak preview on Saturday, September 3rd, at 4:30PM ET before debuting at its regular slot on September 17th at 6:30PM ET on The Hub.

*If you follow Drew Carey on Twitter, you probably heard the news.  Drew separated his clavicle running yesterday morning.  Looks like there’s no massive injury, though, and he’ll be back to taping today.  That must have been one hell of a fall.  Glad he’s doing well, though.

*We can’t be 100% certain because they aren’t outright saying, but it’s looking like The Moment of Truth‘s revival pilot is taping soon.  As we exclusively announced the show has been picked up for a revival, and our sources are telling us it’s for syndication through CBS Television Distribution.  Mark Walberg, host of the Fox version, has not been asked to return as of our last check which was some time ago.  The casting notices can be found here.  It’s looking for contestants for a lie detector show.  Not many of those exist beyond The Moment of Truth.  We’ll see wat happens.

*Speaking of casting, Speed’s new stunt game show Whipped is looking for contestants.  You have to take your own car through dangerous obstacle courses for the shot at winning $25,000.  No matter what all people win something.  The show will be in Los Angeles.  Click here to apply if this interests you.

*Our PDF schedules for GSN at the bottom of the page reveal something interesting.  Seemingly out of no where GSN is bringing back its “Play It Back” decades specials next weekend.  The specials, hosted by Caroline Rhea, showcase different game shows from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  For a network that’s doing just about all they can to shove anything pre-1990 to extremely early or late hours, this is shocking.  We’ll see what comes of this.  I really don’t expect much, but wouldn’t it be nice to see them say, “Hey, people seem to enjoy these older shows?”  I’m not a big fan of them, but there’s clearly a fan base.  Hey, older stuff is working for TeenNick.

*GSN is also debuting some small interactive features between commercials called GSN Snap, acting as the replacement for GSN Live.  We’ll have more information on it when and if we get a press release for it.

*We were very interested in the ratings for ABC’s newest competition game show Take The Money and Run.  The good news is that it didn’t do too badly.  It scored 5.14 million viewers in a 1.9/5 rating in the demo.  Good news is that it retained 95% of lead-in Wipeout‘s audience.  It could have been better, but it’ll do for now.  It didn’t have the greatest lead-in possible.  The night’s other game offering, It’s Worth What?, continued to lose viewers.  It sunk to 4.78 million viewers.   By the way, in highlights from syndicated ratings, Family Feud is still on its season high 2.7.

*It was previously announced that Larry Emdur, the host of the former Australian version of The Price is Right, will be joining host Drew Carey on set to host a game.  Some video previews were posted by Seven.  Take a look below.  It gives you a great look at the updated set and new monitor.  Everything looks great.

*A few months ago we exclusively announced Travel was picking up the British game show Scream If You Know the Answer and taping episodes in California.  The network is, very quietly, debuting the series.  Scream starts tonight at 7:00PM ET on Travel.  It’s basically Cash Cab but on a roller coaster.