I Wanna Be a Part of
It... Again - April 26
with guest on-the-buzzer Brian Sapinski
Greetings to all.
It's a pleasure to be posting here, and I thank Travis
and the crew for giving me the opportunity. Maybe it
won't be my last time, who knows.
But what was almost NOT a pleasure was the recent major
announcement, and the impact it could have had for game
show fans here on the East Coast.
By now, we all know about Meredith Vieira will be taking
over for Katie Couric on the Today show. In spite of
this, fans were relieved when she later announced that
she would continue hosting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
for at least the remaining two years of her contract.
But I have a curious question: What will happen once
those two years are up? There IS still a potential that
Meredith will not renew, maybe even at NBC's request,
since Millionaire is taped in the ABC Studios. And if
that were to happen, it would mean that the one major
game show that exists in New York would be gone.
And quite frankly, that would really... REALLY... stink.
Consider this:
Not since "The $20,000 Pyramid" closed up shop in 1980
have Easterners had a real chance to make a mark in the
rank and file of contestants. (Sorry, but most I know
don't call the $50,000 version a major show) I would
guess that the game show contestant pool is eighty-plus
percent Californian. Why? Because all the shows are in
California, so the contestants are right there. For the
rest of us, we can't always afford to take time off from
work, make the trek out West - as the shows so politely
requested - and a take a test and an interview that we
might not end up passing, making the whole trip a waste.
I know about that this problem has
been somewhat relieved by contestant searches, but it's
not enough to tip the balance of power.
But why do all the shows have to be in California to
begin with? Why can't there be more major shows in New
York? After all, Michael Davies has proven that this has
always been an attractive enough metropolis to do more
in than visit Central Park and Times Square. He launched
Millionaire here seven years ago, and now he has The
World Series of Pop Culture coming up, and maybe Ken
Jennings vs. The Rest of the World if that gets off the
ground. But Millionaire is the only one of those with
any kind of impact because it has been on the networks
and syndication.
For New
York to have a chance, we have to get off cable, and I
can't possibly think that there are NO good game show
concepts in development, new or classic, that wouldn't
fit perfectly in the Eastern atmosphere AND make a mark
on major television.
Bottom line: All of television started in New York,
including game shows. I think it's time the genre came
back home again.
I guess that's it. Take care, thank you for letting me
borrow the soapbox, even if you hated what I had to say,
and no matter what...
Stay Way Past Cool!
(Hey, they don't call me the Sonic Whammy for nothing.)
Brian Sapinski hopes he gets on a game show without
exceeding his limit of personal days. You can reach him
at SonicWhammy@aol.com.. |