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*Van Doren Speaks Out *$500,000 Daytime Deal *Estelle Getty: 1923-2008 *Talent Tops July 14-20 *ABC's Monday Night Disaster *Syndies Rebound for July 7-13 *What's My Line?: Part 8 *Cover Story: Alfonso Ribiero *GSN Offers Making of Catch 21 *GSN Radio on the Way *Save The Mole Campaign *GSN Shuffles Schedule *Dog Loses Its Bite *TVgameshows.net Says Farewell *Wipeout Earns Renewal  for Switch to DTV; Wilmington Targeted First The National Association of Broadcasters recruited the octogenarian for the campaign, according to a Friday story in Broadcasting and Cable. First up will be a market-specific spot for Wilmington, N.C., where stations will make the transition Sept. 8, more than five months ahead of the national changeover. Barker is also doing a national PSA that will start airing Aug. 1 across the U.S. The national DTV switch is next Feb. 17. "Bob Barker is an American icon who is instantly recognizable to generations both young and old,” NAB vice president for DTV Jonathan Collegio told B&C;, "although it is the older generation that is at higher risk of losing TV reception."  Top Spot After All-Star Game Talent, the perennial summer favorite, was number two for the week with 12.8 million viewers, behind the 14.5 million for the diamondfest. ABC's summer hit Wipeout was seventh with 8.7 million with Celebrity Family Feud rebounding to 12th with 7.8 million. The two editions of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance? ended fifth (9.01 million) and ninth (8.4 million). Fox's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? was 15th (7.7 million) while the directly-opposite Greatest American Dog on CBS fell to 19th (6.97 million). The remainder of the game/contest/game opera shows: (26) Big Brother 10 (Tues.), (29) Nashville Star, (31) Big Brother 10 (Wed.), (33) Big Brother 10 (Sun.), (34) I Survived a Japanese Game Show, (39) America's Got Talent (Sat. repeat), (46) American Gladiators, (54) Last Comic Standing, (62) High School Musical: Get in the Picture, (67) The Mole, (79) The Mole (recap show).  1934-2008 An Air Force veteran, Crane served a short stint in New Orleans before moving to San Francisco's KGO as a pioneer of talk radio. Steve Allen, Regis Philbin and Merv Griffin (whose Group W syndicated show was moved in New York and Los Angeles out of late night into prime time) had all been unsuccessful in battling Carson in syndication. ABC, hungry for any type of splash, tapped the 30-year-old Crane to host The Les Crane Show as a harder-hitting, theater-in-the-round opponent for Carson from 11:30 to 1. In a number of cities without ABC affiliates, CBS stations picked up Crane. Teamed with announcer William B. Williams, Crane was known for confrontational interviews. The show also featured gimmicks such as long shotgun microphones to pick up comments from audience members. After the show's first 26 weeks, with ratings anemic, Crane left the show. Eight weeks later, he was coaxed back under the title Nightlife with Les Crane. The title change made no difference. Ratings were so slim, some critics suggested only Crane's family knew he was on television opposite Carson. Crane was reduced to a future trivia question as the show was canceled after barely a year on the air. ABC would not challenge Carson again until 1967 with Joey Bishop. He returned to radio but won a Grammy for his unconventional narrative on record of "Desiderata" in 1971. In the current decade, Crane shifted gears to become chairman of a software company which developed computer games, including the PC version of Pong. In the 1960s, he was married to Gilligan's Island regular Tina Louise. The couple had one daughter, Caprice, an author and producer. Crane is survived by Caprice and his second wife, Ginger. In addition to his pioneering challenge of Carson, Crane had one connection to game shows: a week-long stint on the panel of daytime To Tell the Truth in 1965. to Save The Mole in Major On-Air, Online Campaign The mystery game, which has struggled all summer in its revival, is averaging only a 2.9 rating and a 1.6 in 18-49 age demographics. Stone and co-producer Clay Newbill have created their own Save the Mole website. Friday night, Extra, the syndicated newsmagazine, offered a feature story (see embedded video above) on the campaign, a rare attempt of show executives to save their own show. Among the requests Stone and Newbill are making of viewers: organizing of in-home Mole screening parties, posting multiple messages on ABC's online message board and entering a Save The Mole Challenge. In its first incarnation in 2001, The Mole averaged an 8.0 rating and was ABC's highest-rated new series in 18-49s. A second edition in the fall of 2001 was inexplicably moved to Friday nights and ran headlong into the aftermath of 9-11-01. Some analysts have said the current summer version is suffering from the reputation of two critically-panned celebrity editions at mid-decade and from its late-night airing at 10 p.m. "The Mole is not a 10 o'clock show," first edition contestant Kate Pahls told TVgameshows.net four weeks ago. "This show should be on at 8 o'clock. It has more of a family-friendly feel to it and it just doesn't play as well late." Stone says on the website: "The very future of The Mole hangs in the balance.....the show itself could be facing execution at the end of this season and this time, it might really be fatal."  Sold to U.K. Group The deal was announced Wednesday night by Variety in a story by Michael Schneider. The sale comes at a time when a variety of deals are reported in play for several independent game show and game opera producers. Burnett is reported on the verge of selling his own company to International Management Group (IMG), which packages sports programming and handles management of a number of pro athletes, including Tiger Woods. Earlier, Variety reported NBC Universal may be considering a purchase of All3Media. The deal is not expected to have any impact on 5th Grader, which returns as a Friday night offering in the fall on Fox and is reported to be a strong candidate for daily syndication in the fall of 2009.  Strong Sales for Syndie Daytime Deal The distributor is expected to have all of its upfront inventory in the series and Access Hollywood sold out by the end of this week. NBCU's senior vice president of ad sales Bo Argentino told Television Week a number of advertisers wanted to be in on the ground floor of Deal as a daily show. The premiere of the daytime Deal, which boasts a $250,000 top jackpot, is September 22. On the network, the season finale of the Howie Mandel-hosted game is next Wednesday night.  Think Like a Cat Game Show for GSN The show debuts Nov. 15. Auditions will continue through Aug. 3 for the game which promises up to $1 million in cash and prizes. Upcoming locales for tryouts: Portland: Red Lion Hotel, 1021 N.E. Grand Ave., July 19 (10 to 4), July 20 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m.)Full audition information is available at: MeowMix.com.  Family Trust Game, Fitzsimmons Emcees Broadcasting and Cable reported Monday the pilot has been shot in Santiago, Chile, for economic reasons. The game is being pitched to all networks and is not guaranteed as a lock to go on Fox. In the format, families of five are offered a $1 million trust. They can keep or lose the trust by winning a quiz. Each wrong answer costs them money but a final bonus question provides an opportunity to double whatever amount is left. The show was created by Tom Brunelle and Matt Gaven. FTVS is also looking for international sales for the game. TUESDAY, JULY 22 Cash Cab, Discovery, 6-7 (E) Bingo America, GSN, 7-7:30 (E) Family Feud, ION, 7-8 (E) Catch 21, GSN, 7:30-8 Celebrity Family Feud, NBC, 8-9 Wipeout, ABC, 8-9 Moment of Truth, FOX, 8-9 Big Brother 10, CBS, 9-10 America's Got Talent, NBC, 9-11 I Survived a Japanese Game Show, ABC, 9-10 Deal or No Deal, CNBC, 9-10 (E) I Love Money: All-Stars, VH1, 9-10 (D) Debut (R) Return (S) Special (E) Encore In many cities, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! air in prime time access between 7 and 8 p.m. (ET/PT). In selected cities, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire airs in the same evening slots in syndication. Stu Shostak Show (E) 7-9 p.m. (ET), 4-6 p.m. (PT) 1-888-SHOKUS-5 shokusradio.com |
 4 FORGOTTEN EMCEES: A SAD COMMENTARY ON CONTEMPORARY TV With the advent of network television now beyond 60 years old, three generations of viewers have watched the medium change, not always for the better. Perhaps the most underappreciated and slapped-in-the-face element of entertainment, politics, science or America itself is their rich history and the people who paved the way for the achievers of today. As comedian George Kirby said: "I went through a lot of back doors so people today could go through the front door." In a 2007 study by the National Center for Education Statistics, results showed only 47 percent of high school seniors have mastered a minimum level of U.S. history and civics, while only 14 percent performed at or above the "proficient" level. In the survey, more than 30 percent of the respondents said their abandonment of history centered around the cliche, "I only care about what's happening today." The names Garry Moore, Hal March, Art Fleming and Bill Leyden may draw blank stares from today's under-50s. Yet, the history they created made possible what today's emcees do. In a pentultimate Cover Story, TVgameshows.net focuses on the careers of four men who receive little mention today aside from those who watched their work with loyalty and admiration.  SPEAKS Despite repeated overtures from reporters, Van Doren has resisted public statements on his role as the centerpiece of one of television's worst black eyes. His last statement to the media was shortly after his testimony in 1960 to a Congressional subcommittee when he admitted he had accepted advance coaching and committed perjury to a federal grand jury investigating the quiz riggings. Now, the 82-year-old Van Doren is speaking out for the first time since the era. In a first-person narrative in this week's issue of The New Yorker, Van Doren offers his own account of how he was recruited for Twenty One and how he was coached for his appearance by producer Albert Freedman, despite Freedman's assurance the fix would never be uncovered. In an excerpt, Van Doren tells of being summoned to Freedman's apartment. According to the account, Van Doren said Freedman "appeared nervous." Freedman, as Van Doren tells it, said: "You remember I told you about this fellow Stempel? Well, the sponsors want him to be beaten. He'll walk away with a bundle but they want someone more sympathetic." Van Doren says he asked, "Do they have a right to do that?" He writes of being told by Freedman: "Hey, come off it, Charlie. Don't be naive." At that point, Van Doren says Freedman began his pitch of how the scenario of a staged series of matches between the Columbia professor and Stempel would climax in a Van Doren victory. Van Doren was fired from his job as an English professor at Columbia and from his role as a Today co-host on NBC after the scandals unfolded. However, in The New Yorker, he says suggestions that he went several years without work were unfounded. "By the end of 1959, thanks to the intercession of a former college roomate, I would set off on a new career----at the Encyclopaedia Britannica in Chicago," Van Doren wrote. "I would earn about twenty percent of what I'd been getting with NBC, but that was all right with me." Van Doren also detailed his decisions not to cooperate with a book written by federal attorney Joseph Stone in 1992, to pass on participating in the PBS 1992 American Experience on the scandals and to refuse $100,000 to act as a consultant to Robert Redford's 1994 Oscar-nominated film "Quiz Show."  WHICH WAY THE FUTURE? Kathy Greco, a veteran of three decades of The Price Is Right takes over as senior producer of the veteran game for its 37th season after the ouster of Roger Dobkowitz. The move comes on the heels of declining ratings for the daytime version concurrent with a strong performance in 2008 for the show's Million Dollar Spectacular specials, even in early summer repeats. Carrie Grosvenor of about.com's game show section has detailed the eruption of online hardcore fans of the show in the wake of rumors, speculation and unsubstantiated insistence about the show's future. What Greco brings to the table as a producer and the perspective of what has happened with Price and its future direction is the subject of an All in the Game by TVgameshows.net webmaster Steve Beverly.  DAYTIME JACKPOT DOUBLES NBC Universal announced Monday the most expensive case will house $500,000, rather than the $250,000 floated when syndication sales were first pitched. The daily edition, also hosted by the Emmy-nominated nighttime version emcee Howie Mandel, premieres Sept. 8, in 98 percent of the U.S. In an interview with Broadcasting and Cable this week, NBC Universal's senior vice president of programming and development Linda Finnell said: "$500,000 is a great amount of money---it's life-changing....it's a game about guts, glory and having what it takes to go the distance." A few differences from the nighttime version, other than the reduced jackpot ($1 million on the evening edition): the cases will be reduced by four to 22 and will be held by contestants, rather than models. Instead, two models will spin a wheel to determine which of the 22 players will be chosen to compete. An online interactive game will give home viewers a chance to win $10,000 each week.  1923-2008 Getty won two Emmys for playing the plain-spoken mother of Beatrice Arthur in the series. She was also acclaimed for her Broadway performance in "Torch Song Trilogy." Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Emmy-winner and game show legend Betty White said: "The only comfort at this moment is that although Estelle has moved on, Sophia will always be with us." White starred with Getty in Golden Girls, arguably the last of television's successful series to feature senior-aged women in lead roles. The show is still in repeats on Lifetime Television. Though she was virtually the same age as Arthur, a white wig and her spunky character made Getty believable as the mother of Dorothy Zbornak. The character of Sophia had suffered a mild stroke which left her with an unhibited desire to say whatever was on her mind. The series was a Saturday night favorite for seven years in an era before the networks tossed in the towel on first-run scripted programming on the evening. The attempt to continue with the Golden Palace followup on CBS failed on Friday nights after one season. Onscreen and in TV movies, she played the mother of Sylvester Stallone, Cher and Barry Manilow (in the critically-panned "Copacabana" for CBS). Getty paralyed Sophia into several game show appearances, including The New Hollywood Squares (1986), Super Password (1987) with Lucille Ball, Ann Dusenberry and White----a week of shows which aired after ABC announced the cancellation of Ball's Life with Lucy, and Hollywood Squares (1998). Getty also appeared in a 1998 episode of The Nanny with a Hollywood Squares theme. Getty's husband of 57 years, Arthur Gettleman, died in 2004. She is survived by two sons, a brother and a sister.  MONDAY NIGHT DISASTER Monday night, ABC's entire lineup attracted the lowest ratings for any Monday night schedule in three years in both total viewers and 18-49 age ratings. The performance was the third-worst overall for a non-holiday evening since 2005 for ABC. The Mole, Stone's mystery game, could only manage a 2.2/4 in overall ratings and a 1.3/4 in 18-49 age demographics, its worst performance to date. Ironically, the 18-49s for Mole were ABC's best of the night. Wanna Bet?, the new 9-10 p.m. game, opened to a disastrous 2.1/3 and 1.1/3 in 18-49s. In what has been regarded as a major surprise, viewers are turning a major thumbs down on ABC's High School Musical: Get in the Picture, the network's attempt to parlay its megapopular teen movie series into a talent competition. Musical, premiering Sunday night to fewer than four million viewers, fell to a perilous 2.2/4 and 0.9/3 in 18-49s in its Monday night edition. The second show drew only 3.2 million viewers, a 19 percent drop from Sunday. In the prime 2-11 age target, Musical could only muster an 0.7, below even Univision. NBC's unscripted hours also lagged, though not as deeply as ABC's. American Gladiators managed a 3.0/5 (1.8 in 18-49s) and Nashville Star a 3.6/6 (1.6 in 18-49s).  of Syndication for Panel's Granddaddy With CBS purging game shows as the network did rural and older-skewing scripted series in 1971, the legendary producers were down to two NBC half-hours, one a shaky early morning entry. With layoffs looming and a broadcasting empire teetering, Mark Goodson and Bill Todman explored an area still in a fledgling category for first-run programming: syndication. No guarantees were evident that viewers would accept a daily, refurbished, energized version of What's My Line? in time slots well outside the traditional Sunday night at 10:30. No assurances were on the line that station managers would accept something a few critics referred to as What's My Line? Lite. Nonetheless, viewers in more than 70 cities were served Line in a speedier format with film clips, a younger panel, a new host and the incomparable Arlene Francis five days a week in the fall of 1968. Syndication extended the life of television's defining panel game show for seven more years. In part 8 of a 10-part series, the economics and reasons driving the move of What's My Line? to syndication are explored, along with interviews with Miss Francis' son Dr. Peter Gabel, actress Kathy Garver, the late Josh Blieden (son of future host Larry Blyden) and Wally Bruner Jr.  SPOONS TO GSN'S NEW NIGHTLY GAME CATCH 21 The mid-1990s saw him dig in for 51 episodes as Dr. Maxwell Stanton in the comedy In the House. In 1999, he migrated from sitcoms to a weekend syndicated show developed by Dick Clark. Your Big Break pitted celebrity musical impersonators against each other in a battle of Aretha Franklin, Judy Garland or Chuck Berry clones. Ribeiro also cut his teeth as a director, calling the shots on One on One and All of us. He made his TV directing debut on Fresh Prince in 1995. Ribeiro has always hung around game and contest shows. He played one of the many celebrity editions of Weakest Link and tried his hand at Dancing with the Stars and The Singing Bee. Merrill Heatter, long itching for a return to television, teamed with Scott Sternberg to develop a new card game for GSN. Catch 21 marks Heatter's first-ever creative effort for the cable gamer. With GSN on the lookout for fresh talent to helm its evening originals, Ribeiro was tapped for Catch 21 (premiering Monday, 7:30 p.m., EDT/PDT). The 37-year-old Ribeiro took time to reflect on his journey from a child actor to game show host in this week's TVgameshows.net Cover Story.  COMING THIS FALL ONLINE The Web radio version will feature condensed version of Imagination Entertainment DVD games, including Battle of the Sexes and Urban Myth. Also on the lineup: pop culture contests such as The Birthday Game and beat the Bomb. Listeners will be invited to play for cash and prizes. Bruce Goldberg, former producer of American Top 40 on radio and the Premiere Comedy Network, will serve as executive producer. Imagination Entertainment CEO Shane Yeend will oversee his company's programs. If the service is successful, GSN potentially will look at expanding beyond the initial four-hour schedule.  NOD, KEOGHAN LEFT OFF NOMINEES Howie Mandel picked up his first nomination for Outstanding Host of a Reality or Reality Competition Series for Deal or No Deal in the categories announced by the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences. Keoghan has won five Emmys. Until this year, the host of the top Reality Competition series also received a statuette. In addition to Mandel, Ryan Seacrest, Tom Bergeron, Jeff Probst and Heidi Klum of Project Runway are in contention for the top host. Interestingly, while Probst was nominated, Survivor is not nominated in the Outstanding Reality Competition category. The contenders: Amazing Race, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway and Top Chef. Survivor and Race also were tabbed as nominees in cinematography and editing categories. Race is also contending for sound editing and sound mixing. Race co-creator Bert Van Munster is nominated as Outstanding Director for Non-fiction Programming. 
YEARS AGO, WHEEL SHOULD HAVE BEEN HIS In the fall, he brings his own interstitial game show to his daily three-hour radio broadcast. "Alive, Dead, or a Member of the Harris Interactive Poll" has led to more Slingbox unit giveaways than boxes of Creamettes on Let's Make a Deal. Twenty years ago, as an on-the-upward-movement sportscaster at ESPN, Tim Brando narrowly missed becoming a part of game show history. When Pat Sajak opted to leave NBC's daytime Wheel of Fortune to take an ill-fated shot at challenging Johnny Carson with a late night talk show on CBS, Brando was a finalist to take the reins of Wheel. His audition went well, the ad-lib skills he was already mastering in sports were smooth and he was given a fair indication he was going to be offered the job. Instead, Merv Griffin made an eleventh hour decision to sign retired San Diego Chargers kicker Rolf Benirschke to replace Sajak. Now also ensconced in a long-running daily radio sports talk show for Sporting News Radio, Brando reflects back on the 20th anniversary of the job that might have been. In this week's Audio Cover Story, Brando discusses what led to his earning the tryout and why Griffin ultimately went with Benirschke. He also details the interwoven talents shared by sportscasters and game show hosts.  IT OFFICIAL: $1M IN A SPIN In a statement to media, Wheel spokespersons said a $1 million wedge will be in play through the first three rounds of next season's games. If a contestant lands on the wedge, solves the puzzle and makes it to the bonus round without hitting bankrupt, the player will have the chance to spin the bonus wheel and could be playing for a top cash prize of $1 million. “Raising the stakes so dramatically could make this our richest season ever,” said Wheel executive producer Harry Friedman in the media release. “And our viewers can share in the thrill of knowing that on every show, one of our contestants could have the chance to become a millionaire. The Wheel of Fortune Million Dollar Bonus Round promises to become the most exciting 10 seconds on television." The seven-figure jump is the biggest quantum leap for the show since moving from $25,000 to $100,000 as the premium cash total. The series begins its 26th syndicated season and 35th overall (including the NBC daytime years pre-syndication) in September. For the 24th consecutive year, Wheel finished as the top-rated series of any kind in syndication, a streak unprecedented in television history. Sister show Jeopardy! has staged two tournaments with $1 million and $2 million payoffs and its main Tournament of Champions, held during most seasons, increased its top prize to $250,000 five years ago. Only Who Wants to Be a Millionaire currently offers contestants the option of a daily $1 million payoff but the show has not had its top jackpot snagged since schoolteacher Nancy Christy of Tulsa did it in 2003. 12-YEAR RUN COVERING GENRE AUGUST 1 For its first three years, TVgameshows.net was predominantly a nostalgia page, originally titled Game Show Convention Center, reflecting back on past years of television game shows while the genre was in a deep recession. In 1999, the page was turned into a daily headline service to cover news and developments of TV game shows. Six weeks after the reformatting, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire became the biggest phenomenon in prime time network games since The $64,000 Question. Over the last decade, TVgameshows.net has interviewed more than 400 winning contestants and more than 150 emcees, producers, directors and executives within the game show industry. The website has also partnered with Game Show Congress as a preservation society for the genre, as well as spearheading four Legends of the Games luncheons in Los Angeles to honor the greats of the last 50 years. Among those recognized: Bill Cullen, Ralph Edwards, Tom Kennedy, Jack Narz, Monty Hall, Peter Marshall, Bob Stewart and Wink Martindale. TVgameshows.net originator and webmaster Steve Beverly said Sunday: "In a sense, this has not been a difficult decision. As our friend and Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! executive producer Harry Friedman has said when changes are made to either of his shows: 'The time is right.'" The evening of February 5 brought on major changes to Union University where Beverly is a professor. He said, "As many of our readers are aware, this has been one of the most difficult years personally we have ever encountered. A tornado in February which destroyed the broadcasting studio at which I teach has created the most significant professional challenge of my life. "After many long hours of uncertainty, phone calls and e-mails to vendors and suppliers, and months of related challenges, we are well on our way to a full recovery. We are hopeful of equipment for a completely rebuilt and renovated broadcasting facility entering the installation phase on or about August 1. If so, we will be ready to go in time for the start of fall semester Sept. 8." Beverly said the major project for Union, once the studio is ready, is the premiere of a long-planned daily live half-hour news and interview program which students will produce and anchor. Broadband lines will make the live technology available. "My full concentration and responsibility must be on this new broadcast," Beverly said. "I have more than 20 students who are depending on this opportunity as their major career preparations. Particularly in the wake of our recovery from a storm that could have left our campus uninhabitable, I owe these young people my complete attention without significant outside distractions. That, coupled with increased personal and family responsibilities, has made this a rather easy decision. I simply cannot do this and my work in the fall and winter as a basketball sportscaster and maintain the essence of what TVgameshows.net has been." Beverly will have more to say about the transition and the future direction of game shows in general over the next two weeks.  No one should be surprised at the disaster which is ABC's High School Musical: Get in the Picture. Why network executives do not learn from the past is still astounding: look at how NBC laid an egg with the Fame contest last year during the regular season to cast stars for a new Broadway version. If any surprise exists, it's in Musical's failure to even attract the kids.....Some ethnic numbers for the July 14-20 Nielsens: in Hispanic homes, Wipeout was fifth, America's Got Talent sixth, So You Think You Can Dance? Wednesday edition eighth and I Survived a Japanese Game Show ninth. Aside from the All-Star Game, the most popular with Hispanics was WWE Friday Night Smackdown.....In African American homes, Dance Wednesday was third, Wipeout sixth, and Talent seventh. Tops were CSI and CSI: NY.... For legal reasons, TVgameshows.net and its webmaster cannot examine or listen to any personal proposals or portfolios for new game shows of any kind. Creators or developers are encouraged to seek out entertainment agents in New York, Los Angeles or Nashville to consider their ideas. Producers or distributors will not look at proposals without agency representation. Unsolicited pitches will usually be returned unopened, for legal reasons. TVgameshows.net cannot be responsible for providing information or recommendations on specific agents or agencies for legal and journalistic reasons, based on the professional advice of an entertainment attorney. You must do such research on your own. TVgameshows.net is a non-incorporated news website. The material used is the creation of the webmaster, unless otherwise noted. Use of stillframes from broadcasts is part of fair use news arrangements. Any reproduction or other use of the accounts published here without the expressed written consent of TVgameshows.net is strictly prohibited. At no time has TVgameshows.net ever been offered for public sale, such as in a stock offering or any financial transaction. Any attempt to engage in such practice without the written consent of the website owner is illegal and strictly forbidden.   Miss Francis' gowns by Bonwit Teller (c) 2008 TVgameshows.net. All Rights Reserved. |
 July 21-27 July 28-Aug. 3 Aug. 4-10 Aug. 11-17  Strong Pace in Tuesday Night Ratings Talent was the night's top-rated show with a 7.7/13. Wipeout offered a 5.4/9, trailing CBS's NCIS (5.9/10) but attracting more total viewers. Celebrity Family Feud from 8-9 on NBC maintained its season average with a 4.9/9. I Survived a Japanese Game Show checked in with a 3.2/5 from 9-10. In 18-49 age ratings, Wipeout led the night with a 3.6, Talent picked up a 3.3 while Japanese managed a 2.2. CBS's Big Brother 10 (4.0/7 overall) trailed Japanese with a 2.1 in 18-49s. Feud posted a 1.8 in younger viewers.  After July 4 Week Ratings Slippery Slope As was the case with virtually all of syndication, the two perennial stalwarts slid during the Fourth of July holiday week. Wheel posted a 6.5, up eight percent from the previous week. Jeopardy! leaped 16 percent to a 5.8. After five weeks of staying flat, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire inched back to a 2.7 while Family Feud experienced a slight increase to 1.7. The in-limbo Merv Griffin's Crosswords limped home with an 0.6.  to Daytime Sked Beginning This Week Tic Tac Dough moves to the leadoff slot in the daytime lineup at 9 a.m. (all times Eastern). Super Password takes over at 10 a.m. The Ray Combs version of Family Feud moves in at 10:30. From 12 noon to 1, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune repeats form a block. The Richard Dawson Feud goes in at 2. Lingo repeats take over at 3:30 p.m. The George Gray Weakest Link and Richard Karn Feud episodes move to the 4-5 p.m. slot. A second run of Catch 21 is scheduled at 11 p.m., taking over for Chain Reaction.  as 5th Grader Retakes Thursday Lead Thursday night, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader tied Dog with a 4.6/8 rating but 5th Grader took the measure of the CBS contest with 7.4 million viewers to 7 million for the canines. Fox's So You Think You Can Dance? topped the competition shows for the night with a 5.1/9 from 9-10. NBC's lagging Last Comic Standing, just not wowing the standup crowd this season, managed only a 2.9/5 for its two-hour edition.  Expected Back Despite Comments In the spring, Crosswords was surprisingly given the nod to come back by at least 150 stations. The Ty Treadway-hosted half-hour would have been the lowest-rated game show in television history to earn a renewal. The game, created by Griffin months before his death in 2007, only managed an 0.8 average rating for the 2007-08 season. A number of media analysts were stunned at the pickup despite the game's cheap economics. Program Partners, the show's distributor, is offering stations a three-pronged replacement: to pick up repeats of Crosswords, or a choice of two shows from Canada, one a game and the other a game opera. A key source close to the show, speaking on anonymity, told TVgameshows.net the game was on shaky financial ground at the end of its first season of production and the low ratings are making a return unlikely even at midseason. Crosswords provided a perilously weak lead-in for WNBC's early evening local news block in the fall of 2007 and registered no time period wins in the 50 largest markets.   to Women as Remake Hosts Former Living Single star Kim Coles has been tapped to host a pilot for a remake of Dating Game. Standup comedienne Judy Gold will preside over a new pilot of Newlywed Game. The two shows, with roots dating back to 1965 and 1966, have only had one woman host over the years, Elaine Joyce---who emceed The All-New Dating Game in its 1986 revival in syndication. GSN has not set a start date for the shows if the pilots are successful. Michael Davies' Embassy Row is supervising production of the new versions. The last attempt at the two shows were from 1996-2000 (though the final season was all repeats). Sony's shot at dramatically retooling the shows with younger hosts and significantly altered formats bombed in 1996-97. Despite low ratings, both games were renewed for 1997-98 with the promise to stations of returning to the original formats. Original host Bob Eubanks was brought back as host and executive consultant for Newlywed Game and Chuck Woolery, with 11 years of experience as host of Love Connection, was ushered in as emcee of Dating Game.  On Walk of Fame Burnett and several other network stars and producers will be presented their spot on the Walk next year. Survivor, debuting as a Wednesday night summer series in 2000, promptly took American television by storm and temporarily made household names of its original cast of contestants, including convicted tax felon Richard Hatch and his archnemesis Sue Hawk. In the last two seasons, Burnett has migrated into conventional game show production with mixed success. His Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? has been a solid performer for Fox opposite his own Survivor and may be headed for syndication in 2009. However, Burnett's Amnesia and My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad were quick casualties as replacement shows during this year's writers' strike.  Traffic, Now Owns Millionaire Variety reported SPT has closed the deal to buy 2waytraffic, the Dutch production company which owns Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and a number of other international game show, reality and variety show properties. The cash deal was for an estimated $223.5 million. Millionaire is the crown jewel in the purchase but Sony now controls more than 8,000 of annual programming in 40 countries. 2waytraffic bought Millionaire originator Celador two years ago for more than $200 million. In an ironic twist, the buyout brings producer Michael Davies full circle. Davies has a development deal with Sony Pictures Television, which has produced Chain Reaction, Grand Slam, CBS's Power of 10 and the forthcoming revivals of The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game for GSN. Davies developed Millionaire for ABC in its big splash that dominated network television from 1999 to 2001. The purchase gives Sony production control of the three most popular game shows in U.S. syndication. However, Millionaire will continue to be distributed by Disney.  Favorite, Tapes Revival for BET Lineup Taping is underway at Tribune Studios in Hollywood for the new version. The new edition is promising a "cast of well-known comedians." Miguel A. Nunez Jr. is the host. A premiere date has not been announced by BET programmers. Keep Talking premiered in the summer of 1958 as a summer replacement for the canceled Eve Arden Show on CBS. A young Monty Hall was its first host. The game moved to Sunday nights with Carl Reiner as host in November 1958 as the replacement for The $64,000 Question after the latter's cancellation amidst the quiz scandals. ABC picked up the show in 1959-60 with Merv Griffin as emcee. Among the popular comics who were regulars on the original: game show legends Pat Carroll, Morey Amsterdam, Peggy Cass, Orson Bean and Joey Bishop. to TVgameshows.net |