New Celebrity Impersonator Show Holds Auditions
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Music, Prime Time, Reality, ABC,
Here’s another new entry into the talent contest genre—The Next Best Thing, looking for the “greatest celebrity impersonator.” I must admit, I’m intrigued by celebrity impersonators, but not so sure an entire show devoted to finding the best one is going to hold my interest. The Next Best Thing has announced auditions, so get out your Cher wig or Elvis jumpsuit and try out beginning on March 5 in Los Angeles, followed by other dates in Las Vegas (naturally), New York City and Orlando. This show originally was conceived as The Imposter, and I’m having a déjà vu moment because I think I may have written about it before. The call backs are eventually whittled down to 10 finalists, competing when the show premieres this summer. Michele Merkin, model and host of Style Network’s Foody Call, will be on hand to host. And, of course, there will be three judges to oversee the whole shebang. The first judge that has been announced is actress and comedian Lisa Ann Walter. The other two judges have yet to be named. You know, it could be a nice cure for the summertime television blahs. Just as long as they don’t make a whole American Idol bad audition thing out of it.
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Gallery: New Celebrity Impersonator Show Holds Auditions
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‘Identity’ Game Show Returns in March
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Prime Time, NBC, Ratings, Renewals,
Remember that new game show, Identity, with Penn Jillette? It only aired for a week, then seemed to vanish into oblivion. If you’ve been missing it, fear not—it returns to the schedule in March. The week it aired earned decent ratings, debuting with 12.3 million viewers on December 18th. Overall, the show averaged 9.3 million viewers during the week. Good enough to bring it back, it seems. Identity will return to the roster on Friday, March 16th at 9:00 p.m. Subsequent weeks, it will air on Fridays at 8:00 p.m., replacing 1 vs. 100. If you didn’t catch the show, it’s basically a game of first-impressions and stereotypes. Contestants must identify which of 12 strangers fits a certain trait—the episode I saw had contestants determining the occupation of each person. The prize for correctly matching the trait with each person is $500,000. Eh, not a thrilling show, but Penn makes it entertaining and it could easily become a guilty pleasure.
Read More | Zap2it
Gallery: ‘Identity’ Game Show Returns in March
Jeff Foxworthy to Host Game Show
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, FOX, American Idol, Survivor,
TV Envy recently reported on an upcoming game show from Mark Burnett, testing the smarts of contestants on grade school level questions. At that time, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader did not have a host attached. Look no further folks, because Jeff Foxworthy will be taking on the job. The comedian, who became popular for his “You Might be a Redneck” jokes, may be just the quirky host this new game show concept needs. The Fox show will begin on Tuesday, February 27th, following American Idol. I’m looking forward to this because, since I’m not a huge game show fan, I can appreciate the fun of seeing how well people retain that elementary school knowledge. I know I, for one, have emptied most of that information out of my head. I have to start brushing up on this stuff before my first grade son figures out that he knows more than me! The topics that contestants will be quizzed on include math, history, geography and science. They are able to get help, but need to call on real grade-school kids for their lifeline.
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Gallery: Jeff Foxworthy to Host Game Show
New Game Show Tests 5th Grade Smarts
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Prime Time, FOX, American Idol, Survivor,
Here’s a fun development from Mark Burnett—a game show that tests people on 5th grade level questions. The Fox show, titled, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (clever) begins in late February and will run for six episodes.
Viewers anxious to discover if they are, in fact, smarter than a 5th grader will be able to find out on FOX starting at the end of February. The air time will be a bit funky, with episodes airing at 9:30 p.m. on February 27th and 28th. The show will most likely get a big bump since the episodes will follow American Idol. March 1st and 8th promises an hour-long episode each night—yet again following Idol‘s lead. Then, on March 15th and 22nd, the game show will be at 8:00 p.m. Do you think you’re smarter than a 5th grader? You may think so, but consider that most of us emptied 5th grade geography, history, math, and science out of our brains long ago. The questions come from 1st through 5th grade text books, and be assured that the contestants can ask for help—from actual grade school kids.
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Gallery: New Game Show Tests 5th Grade Smarts
Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune Through 2012
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Syndication, Ratings, Renewals,
Wow, here are two shows that have legs. I mean, I can remember both of these when I was a kid, and that was ages ago! Seriously though, both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune have been around since the mid-70s and this latest announcement proves that the shows’ concepts translate through the years. The renewal will take both game shows through 2012, with CBS Television Distribution giving each a two-year extension of their current deal. At the end of it all, Wheel will have run 29 years on the air, with Jeopardy! trailing closely behind at 28 years. Harry Friedman, the shows’ executive producer through Sony Pictures TV, said “With these unprecedented renewals, we will continue to infuse our classic games with energy and originality through 2012 and beyond.” Who can go wrong with the colossal viewership of both shows—Wheel averages more than 46 million per week; Jeopardy! comes in at 37 million per week.
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Gallery: Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune Through 2012
“Come on down!”... to retirement. The news is spreading that Bob Barker will be retiring from The Price is Right come June. Barker turns 83 years old in December and says, “I’ve decided to retire while I’m still young.” Barker has hosted the game show for 35 years, and has spent an amazing 50 years on television. While he’s considered retiring time and again during the last 10 years, this will be Barker’s final year. “I’ve gone on and on and on to this ancient age because I’ve enjoyed it,” he said. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m going to miss it.”
Barker cites the physical and mental rigors of the show as reasons for leaving, saying “I’m just reaching the age where the constant effort to be there and do the show physically is a lot for me. I might be able to do the show another year, but better (to leave) a year too soon than a year too late.”
Barker started in television in 1956, hosting the show Truth or Consequences. The Price is Right featured Barker as host on Sept. 4, 1972 and he has stuck with it for the long haul. Don’t worry though—he’ll still be spreading the word about getting pets spayed or neutered, working with animal-rights causes during his retirement.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: Bob Barker Planning Retirement
OK, I admit it. I watched 1 vs. 100—and it was pretty entertaining. For anyone who is tired of Deal or No Deal, this just may be the change of pace you need in a game show. With solid ratings, 1 vs. 100 was given the go-ahead by NBC, who ordered 10 additional episodes of the show (they already had 5 on the docket). “1 vs. 100 grabbed the public’s attention when it delivered solid ratings last Friday and staked out its own identity to become a great extension of our game-show franchise.” says Craig Plestis, head of alternative programming at NBC. 1 vs. 100 also brings Bog Saget back in the limelight and he does a fine job as host. If you’re unfamiliar with the premise, this game show puts one player up against a “mob” of 100 others—testing their knowledge of trivia. The individual player wins money for each correct answer as more members of the mob who answer incorrectly are eliminated from the game. The twist here is that if the individual player answers incorrectly, the remaining mob members split his or her earnings. The show premiered last week with almost 12.8 million viewers.
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Gallery: 1 vs. 100 Gets Full Order
Is there nothing that Shatner can’t do? Already busy with his prime time hit Boston Legal, William Shatner has signed on for a new ABC game show called Show Me the Money. Could Shatner be going the way of Regis Philbin before him? Who knows—at any rate, it could be interesting to see what Shatner brings to the table. The game show will air later this season on ABC and comes from the producers of Deal or No Deal. Details about the show format are scant, but contestants will be required to answer trivia questions, with a twist that requires players to “contend with a never-before-seen mechanism that can cut contestants’ winnings to nothing or instantly catapult them into the millions.” Hmm. That’s a bit of a head-scratcher.
While Shatner has appeared on other game shows, but this will be his first gig as host.
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Gallery: William Shatner Takes on Game Show
USA Today has a fun look at the chances of winning Deal or No Deal. If you’ve never seen the show, the contestant must select one briefcase from a total of 26 to remain front and center next to them. The player then must choose briefcase numbers—eliminating dollar amounts from 1 cent to 1 million dollars. The chance of having the winning $1 million briefcase is very slim—3.8%. Picking a case containing the $500,000 amount comes in at 11.5%, while the chance of getting a case with $5,000 or less is 57.7%. The USA Today article further breaks down each round and the chances of cashing out with the big prize. The biggest prize winner so far has been Michele Falco, winning $750,000 on September 22nd.
Read More | AOL News
Gallery: The Odds of Winning Deal or No Deal
Celebrity Jeopardy Contestants Announced
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Specials, Syndication,
I’m not a huge fan of Jeopardy, but I’ve been known to pause while flipping to see if I can answer any questions. It still baffles me that contestants need to provide their answer in the form of a question, but that’s the twist of Jeopardy, I suppose. I do always enjoy the celebrity appearances though for a few reasons: (1) it’s refreshing to see celebs flub up the answers, (2) the money they earn goes to charity, and (3) it always reminds me of those Saturday Night Live sketches with Will Farell as Alex Trebek (and the hilarity of contestant Sean Connery).
This time around the star power is a fun assortment, with Martin Short, Susan Lucci, Regis Philbin, Rachael Ray, James Denton, Doug Savant, Christopher Meloni, Drew Lachey, Carson Kressley, Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Kaczmarek, Joely Fischer, Dana Delany, Mario Cantone, Bebe Neuwirth, Paul Shaffer, Sam Waterston, Soledad O’Brien and Isaac Mizrahi. I look forward to Short and Mizrahi the most—Short is just not around enough these days, and well, Mizrahi just has something kooky that keeps me watching. The show will be taped at Radio City Music Hall on October 5, 7 and 8, with the show to begin a two-week run on November 8th. There are no losers, especially since its all about charity—each celeb is guaranteed to get $25,000 for their choice of charity.
Read More | Yahoo! News
Gallery: Celebrity Jeopardy Contestants Announced
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