...but of course that's not the big news coming out of said channel. Oh no. The big news of the day, the week, the DECADE: Game Show Network is producing an American version of The Chase, a supposedly amazing British quiz show.
Congratulations to everyone involved with the aforementioned show. Truth be told, it doesn't even matter how good or bad your show ends up being. You will be declared the best new game show in years by countless game show blogs and fan groups, because you have the name "The Chase" on you. You will also flop spectacularly, because they all do.
I'm going to try to get back to regular weekly posts in May, hopefully starting with a review of the Wait Wait Don't Tell Me cinecast on May 2 (yeah, I already have my tickets). Of course, I've said this before, so I'll probably end up failing again.
Incidentally, the CW version of Whose Line Is It Anyway premieres July 16.
Aaron
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Over Two Months Later...
When I decided in January that I was going to stop writing on here for a while, here's what I told myself. When it was officially announced who the new host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire was, I would post on this blog again. Well, that day has come. The new host of Millionaire is...
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Yes, Cedric The Entertainer, whose performance on It's Worth What flat out terrified me, is replacing Meredith Vieira. Honestly, given that the show is currently in the midst of a lot of legal trouble, I was sort of hoping that this was the end of it. No such luck.
In other news:
- Game Show Network is bringing back Minute To Win It in a new five-day-a-week version with new host Apolo Anton Ohno...Apolo Anton Ohno? Seriously? OK.
- Whose Line Is It Anyway is being revived on CW, with new host Aisha Tyler and many of the old panelists returning. Good news in my book.
- Finally, yes, I am aware that there are rumors going around about the frontrunners to be the new host of Jeopardy when Alex Trebek retires...I don't believe a word of it. I'm not saying I think Alex is going to host the show until the day he dies, but he's not retiring any time soon.
I don't think Jay Leno is retiring any time soon either, but that's another story.
Aaron
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Not For A While
I feel terrible saying this, but I'm probably going to take a break from this blog.
As I said last time I took a break, I'll be back eventually - but with weeks and weeks of absolutely nothing happening, my heart isn't in this right now.
Thanks for reading.
Aaron
As I said last time I took a break, I'll be back eventually - but with weeks and weeks of absolutely nothing happening, my heart isn't in this right now.
Thanks for reading.
Aaron
Friday, January 11, 2013
Meredith. Vieira. Is. Leaving. Millionaire.
I'll say that again, just to let it sink in:
Meredith. Vieira. Is. Leaving. Millionaire.
Wow.
I will say this flat-out: I have no idea what will happen next. The obvious response is to go "Oh great, they're going to replace her with another out-of-work comedian", and that's certainly a possibility...but who knows? Maybe they'll do that, and it will be as bad as it sounds. Maybe they'll hire an out-of-work comedian, and said out-of-work comedian will turn out to be really good. Maybe they'll replace Meredith with a career game show host. Maybe Regis Philbin will agree to come back.
Maybe they'll just cancel the show...
Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if that's the case. Millionaire is, if I have my facts right (and I could easily not), the only five-day-a-week game show that has not yet been officially renewed for the 2013 season. and with NATPE coming up, perhaps Disney-ABC Domestic Television (yes, that's the official name) is waiting for that perfect opportunity to announce their new syndicated show (which I certainly hope would be another game show, but it could just as easily be Potential Oprah Winfrey Replacement XXXVIII).
I don't know what's going to happen. I'm not even sure what I want to happen. All I know is, this is a really big surprise and I'm just going to have to wait...and yes, that's my final answer.
Aaron
Meredith. Vieira. Is. Leaving. Millionaire.
Wow.
I will say this flat-out: I have no idea what will happen next. The obvious response is to go "Oh great, they're going to replace her with another out-of-work comedian", and that's certainly a possibility...but who knows? Maybe they'll do that, and it will be as bad as it sounds. Maybe they'll hire an out-of-work comedian, and said out-of-work comedian will turn out to be really good. Maybe they'll replace Meredith with a career game show host. Maybe Regis Philbin will agree to come back.
Maybe they'll just cancel the show...
Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if that's the case. Millionaire is, if I have my facts right (and I could easily not), the only five-day-a-week game show that has not yet been officially renewed for the 2013 season. and with NATPE coming up, perhaps Disney-ABC Domestic Television (yes, that's the official name) is waiting for that perfect opportunity to announce their new syndicated show (which I certainly hope would be another game show, but it could just as easily be Potential Oprah Winfrey Replacement XXXVIII).
I don't know what's going to happen. I'm not even sure what I want to happen. All I know is, this is a really big surprise and I'm just going to have to wait...and yes, that's my final answer.
Aaron
Thursday, January 3, 2013
I Really Can't Put This Any Better Then They Do
There is one piece of news:
That's very exciting in my book. It's also all the news there is right now.
At least NATPE is coming up...
Aaron
That's very exciting in my book. It's also all the news there is right now.
At least NATPE is coming up...
Aaron
Thursday, December 27, 2012
I'll Start With The Only Piece Of News
NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me will be doing a cinecast (live broadcast into movie theaters) of one of its tapings on May 2, 2013. It's kind of sad that I've already seen Wait Wait Don't Tell Me live on tour three times at the Wang Theater in Boston, I watched the TV special on BBC America, and I'm still considering buying tickets to this five months in advance.
Now, as this is my last post of 2012, I thought I'd end the year by paying tribute to some of the game show greats we lost this year (and there are plenty of them). This is by no means an exhaustive list - I'm not about to list everyone who died this year who once appeared on Hollywood Squares, and there are probably a few more prominent game show figures I overlooked. Still, here we go, in alphabetical order:
Now, as this is my last post of 2012, I thought I'd end the year by paying tribute to some of the game show greats we lost this year (and there are plenty of them). This is by no means an exhaustive list - I'm not about to list everyone who died this year who once appeared on Hollywood Squares, and there are probably a few more prominent game show figures I overlooked. Still, here we go, in alphabetical order:
Jacques Antoine
Legendary producer of game shows in France who created Fort Boyard and Treasure Hunt, among countless others.
Max Bygraves
Veteran performer who hosted Family Fortunes (the British version of Family Feud) for a few years
Dick Clark
Flat-out showbiz icon - hosting Pyramid was probably one of his lesser achievements!
Denise Darcel
Host of a few game shows in the early years of television.
Richard Dawson
Icon of American game shows, most famous as the original host of Family Feud.
Bob Holness
Icon of British game shows, most famous as the original host of Blockbusters.
Ruth Horowitz
Became the Ken Jennings of the 1960s with a long string of wins on Concentration.
Rich Jeffries
Announcer on a few game shows in the 1980s.
Kenneth Kendall
Original host of Treasure Hunt in Britain.
Dave Maynard
Hosted a local talent show in the Boston area for decades.
Jim Packard
Announcer on Whad'ya Know for decades.
Jim Paratore
Veteran TV producer who created Let's Ask America.
Bill Rafferty
Host of a few game shows in the 1980s.
Bob Stewart
Legendary producer of game shows in America who created The Price Is Right, Password, and Pyramid, among countless others; as if that wasn't enough, his son, Sande Stewart, is a game show producer in his own right.
Ian Turpie
Icon of Australian game shows, most famous for hosting The Price Is Right for years.
Mike Wallace
Hosted a few game shows in the early years of television, but later became much more famous as a newscaster.
RIP to all.
Aaron
Thursday, December 20, 2012
More Of The Same
OK, the new hour-long version of Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge...
I wasn't a massive fan of the half-hour version, but still got pretty darn excited about the new expanded season. Who knows, maybe the extra time would enable them to fit in all the cool characters and great music that other versions of Fort Boyard around the world supposedly have. If nothing else, they'd be able to fit more games in.
Well, I was right about that part. They did fit more games in. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the only change they made.
We have the same six teams of four kids whose team names will make any American game show fan think of Legends Of The Hidden Temple. Each episode features two of these teams, who attempt to earn keys by participating in ten challenges (hey, that's double the half-hour version!). Four of these challenges pit one team against the other, with the winning team earning a key, while each team also gets three challenges they play by themselves against the clock and get a key if they succeed. At the end of the show, the keys are converted into time grabbing coins in the Treasure Room - each team starts with three minutes and is deducted ten seconds for every key they fail to win. The coins grabbed are then converted...somehow...into a numerical result, and the two teams that score the most points over the season will compete in the grand final.
Now, I said it on October 20, 2011 and I'll say it again: these challenges are amazing. The amazing...kind of ends there. Yes, the Fort provides a backdrop ten times better then the same challenges would have in a studio, but, well, where are all those cool characters and all that great music? The half-hour version's Geno Segers was memorable only for his booming voice, but even that puts him above the completely forgettable Andy Akinwolere; while Laura Hamilton gets a lot more screen time here then she did in the half-hour version, said extra screen time basically reveals her to be completely forgettable as well.
I am, of course, nitpicking. This is far from a bad show and my eight-year-old self would have found it as epic as it is trying to be. For the sake of said eight-year-old self, I will hold out hope that it will reach American TV on Disney XD or any other channel. Let's not kid ourselves, though. America is probably lucky it got as much Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge as it did.
I hope there's some news next week.
Aaron
I wasn't a massive fan of the half-hour version, but still got pretty darn excited about the new expanded season. Who knows, maybe the extra time would enable them to fit in all the cool characters and great music that other versions of Fort Boyard around the world supposedly have. If nothing else, they'd be able to fit more games in.
Well, I was right about that part. They did fit more games in. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the only change they made.
We have the same six teams of four kids whose team names will make any American game show fan think of Legends Of The Hidden Temple. Each episode features two of these teams, who attempt to earn keys by participating in ten challenges (hey, that's double the half-hour version!). Four of these challenges pit one team against the other, with the winning team earning a key, while each team also gets three challenges they play by themselves against the clock and get a key if they succeed. At the end of the show, the keys are converted into time grabbing coins in the Treasure Room - each team starts with three minutes and is deducted ten seconds for every key they fail to win. The coins grabbed are then converted...somehow...into a numerical result, and the two teams that score the most points over the season will compete in the grand final.
Now, I said it on October 20, 2011 and I'll say it again: these challenges are amazing. The amazing...kind of ends there. Yes, the Fort provides a backdrop ten times better then the same challenges would have in a studio, but, well, where are all those cool characters and all that great music? The half-hour version's Geno Segers was memorable only for his booming voice, but even that puts him above the completely forgettable Andy Akinwolere; while Laura Hamilton gets a lot more screen time here then she did in the half-hour version, said extra screen time basically reveals her to be completely forgettable as well.
I am, of course, nitpicking. This is far from a bad show and my eight-year-old self would have found it as epic as it is trying to be. For the sake of said eight-year-old self, I will hold out hope that it will reach American TV on Disney XD or any other channel. Let's not kid ourselves, though. America is probably lucky it got as much Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge as it did.
I hope there's some news next week.
Aaron
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)