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Stunted Growth
April 29
It’s the last week of April, meaning of course only one thing. May is just
around the corner. And with it, the inevitability of May sweeps.
For the uninitiated, Sweeps months are quarterly occurrences used in the
television industry – more specifically the big four, small two, and la tres en
español – to gauge ad revenue for the forthcoming quarter. Of course, in this
business, you want to get the most bang for your buck, and that traditionally
means raising audience numbers.
So, to borrow a line from one of my favorite Discovery Channel programs not
involving explosions or New York City cabs, “How Do They Do It”?
It’s another time for special programming and stunts designed to generate
interest and thus eyeballs. It’s that magical once-every-three-weeks where the
rules books are thrown out the window. We expect ANYTHING to happen, especially
around May, when network guys are not only setting buy rates, but are wrapping
up the season prior and preparing for the season to come.
Game shows are no exception to this rule. In previous years, we’ve seen game
shows travel out of town, start their runs, host a host of groups from
celebrities to champions to collegians to commoners with commonalities, and race
ever so closer to ultimate champions. And all in the mad pursuit of ad revenue
that the winners will never see (at least not directly).
Some of these gimmicks work. “Deal or No Deal’s” Million Dollar Mission, as dead
against it as some of us at the ‘net are, worked in generating interest and
drama to the point where closer to the tail end of it, it was once again
relevant programming. The burning question was not whether someone would pick
the coveted Million Dollar Case, but whether the lucky ducks would be fortuitous
enough to see their beliefs to the end. More often than not... they weren’t, but
you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t think it was at least
interesting.
For those that follow “Jeopardy!”, sweeps time means tourney time. It’s almost
commonplace to have two winter weeks reserved for the teens and the spring
session would have the great college rivalries of our day fight it out on
various campuses. As for the $250,000 Tournament of Champions... well, they can
happen at any place at any time.
Fans of reality shows like “Dancing with the Stars”, “American Idol”, and
“Survivor” have one thing to look out for... the end. The last dancer takes the
floor, the last singer takes the stage, and the last tribesman standing takes it
all. And usually, it’s appointment television that you’d order a pizza, get a
couple of your fellow geeks together, and unplug the telephone for.
Any Wheel Watchers in the house? Pack your bags, because you’re going on a trip
of epic proportions. Okay, not exactly epic, but Pat & Vanna have traveled so
much over the years, it’s a wonder that they don’t have any frequent flyer
passes. Wheel has visited Seattle, Miami, New York City; Charleston, SC; New
Orleans, Houston, and more. This time out, the letterboard and the eponymous
Wheel are headed to Chi-Town. Expect many fans of the Cubs.
In its short-but-fruitful life, “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” has usually
reserved their biggest winners and/or events for the sweeps periods. They can
afford to do that when the kids and Jeff are given one set of clothes and only a
couple of months to crank out a season’s worth of episodes (perhaps a season and
a half, depending on summer and/or filler needs). And who knows, maybe they can
actually pay out that million should one person be smart enough or foolhardy
enough to go for it.
The folks at “Millionaire” are smart about when they schedule their special
weeks. Most of the ones worth watching (Million Dollar Movie Week and Play for
Your Wedding Week) fall, either by choice or by chance, during sweeps week,
while the ones that aren’t are shuffled to the week before or after where they
won’t do us any harm. Four words: Billy Bush guest hosting.
Families take a break from the “Feud” in both English and Spanish flavors.
Remember when the Gladiators were on way back when? How about Survivor
castaways? American Idols? NBA stars and their mothers? NASCAR racers? People
who liked pizza? Sweeps are always fun times when you’re at the Feud... I only
wish it was true for its Spanish incarnation, “Que Dice La Gente”. The problem
with that one is basically that the show has had so many special weeks that any
more specials that air this month will seem less special by comparison. I saw a
commercial advertising another battle of the bands and didn’t think “Wow!
Another battle of the bands”, but “Great, another battle of the bands.” This is
one of those rare moments where sweeps moments backfire.
Another notable one is when Jen Schefft decided that she would do her best
impression of a losing guest on “Love Connection” and “stay on her own”. The
less said about that debacle, the better.
Sweeps is not all road trips and star sightings, though. For some bubble shows,
it’s either going to be one final case for another season or the final nail in
the coffin. “Merv Griffin’s Crosswords” is adamant that it will see another
season due to its “firm-go” status in 60% of the country. Ultimately, for both
that and fellow freshman entry “Temptation”, it’s going to be another case of
“Street Smarts” as they – and we – await their final verdict. We’ll take a look
at these shows (and the rest of the daytime runs) in greater detail with the
first of the final report cards in a couple of weeks.
So what do we have on tap this month? Let’s take a look in convenient calendar
form. Feel free to print this column, clip out the calendar, and keep it taped
next to your TV for easy reference.
April 28
- Wheel of Fortune spends the first of three weeks in Chicago with College Week.
April 30
- The Price is Right’s Million Dollar Spectacular returns with a fresh set of
four new shows.
May 1
- Bret Michaels takes on the “Don’t Forget the Lyrics!” board.
May 5
- Jeopardy!’s College Championship begins from Wisconsin.
- Wheel of Fortune continues from Chicago with Family Week.
- Deal or No Deal begins it’s Around-the-World trip with three episodes from the
Philippines, Estonia, and South Africa
May 11
- Sole Survivor is revealed between 9:55p and 10:10p ET on CBS
May 12
- Wheel’s final week in Chicago.
- American Gladiators returns with a reportedly bigger, badder, and bolder
Gladiator Arena.
- The Bachelor chooses his flavor-of-the-week.
May 15
- Jeopardy!’s College final three face the big board.
May 19
- The final three dance for their lives on Dancing with the Stars
May 20
- The final two on American Idol make their final cases from Nokia Theatre LA
Live.
May 21
- The world falls silent at about 9:55p ET as America awaits the results of the
final Idol vote.
May 22
- Just when you thought it was safe to stop texting, So You Think You Can Dance
begins season 4.
Game Show Alphabet Redux
So you want a game that begins with an E... How about “Eye Guess”, a three-year
entry that was the first for Bob Stewart on his own and the first with him
teamed with emcee giant Bill Cullen.
The game: two contestants competed in a memory race with the correct answers to
eight questions hidden on a game board. It’s that simple.
A younger Michael King (he of the KingWorld fame) would be a winning contestant
on the show, and the show itself (or at least the concept) would see life anew
with the Mega Memory bonus round of “Get the Picture”.
Eye Guess:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_Guess
25 Days that Rocked the Game Show World: Day 18
The Gong Show was reality television for a medium that had yet to hear of such
things, a show that constantly pushed the bar of both good television and of
good taste… and America couldn’t get enough of it. Then NBC put their foot down.
July 21, 1978 - NBC Cancels the Gong Show
The show was a simple affair, a send-up of the amateur hours of old, with
celebrity panelists grading outrageous acts (and the occasional legitimate act)
while fending off the advances of an even more outrageous host. It was never
said that there wasn’t something interesting to be expected, but in two
instances, network brass decided that they pushed the envelope too far.
The first instance came when Jaye P. Morgan decided to give the public a view of
her bare breasts. The home audience didn’t see a thing. The studio audience...
well, that’s another story.
The second came with the act of “Have You Got a Nickel”, which consisted of two
girls sitting on stage for 30 seconds with no musical accompaniment and eating a
popsicle. Were it not for the aforementioned judge (who gave the act a perfect
10, saying “That’s how I got started!”), it probably would’ve gotten the gong
much sooner.
A bit of trivia: the west coast did not see the act as aired, as their feed cut
it out.
NBC allowed the show to run its course, with Chuck Barris, ever the showman
until the very end, giving the Peacock the finger on the final network show. It
would continue in syndication for another couple of years.
Chico Alexander would like to give robocallers the finger. E-mail him at
chico@gameshownewsnet.com.
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