Game Show NewsNet - State of Play

New Year's Resolutions - January 5

Welcome to 2007! It's the start of a new year, and we all have the resolutions to make - and hopefully keep. Mine is to continue to lose weight and to take life one day at a time. I also, however, have resolutions for both old shows and new shows alike. Let's look, shall we?

1 Vs. 100 - Resolve to add the Bailout. Give the mob a percentage of the money if the contestant quits.

American Idol - two of the last four finalists and last year's winner were pushing 30. This should be a hint. Resolve to keep going for the more polished voice and less of the raw voices.

America's Got Talent - Resolve to put something else out there besides a child singer, or the child is going to win again. Also resolve to give Piers Morgan some happy pills before the auditions.

America's Next Top Model - Resolve to get the writers back. The difference between the Writers and Replacement Writers were VERY noticeable. If you can't do it, then at least keep the same ones throughout the season.

The Apprentice - Resolve that the gimmick being used and the drama that it's going to cause is not going to overshadow the talent of the competitors.

The Bachelor/Flavor of Love/etc. - Resolve to get rid of the marriage gimmick, because we all know, based on the record, that it's never gonna happen. Make the prize something like a two-week Caribbean cruise.

Deal Or No Deal - Resolve to quicken the pace of the show and to continue to bring tricks used on the foreign versions to our shores.

Grease: You're the One That I Want - Resolved that we have 12 strong people who can give us a real musical competition, instead of what I'm fearing - a raw, non-polished mess that will turn into a sloppy combination between Fame and The One and will be flatter than a pancake.

Identity - Resolve to make the show and the players more human and to speed up the pace.

Jeopardy! - Resolve to get celebrities who want to be there for the Tournament of Champions and to get contestants who can play more strategically.

Nashville Star - Resolve to take a cue from American Idol and to start looking for older and more talented, vs. a younger pretty face. The show was much better (and got higher ratings) when you had the 40+ old guard competing.

Playmania, et al. - Resolve to create games that require intelligence instead of one puzzle that could be solved in 50 different ways. That's just lazy gaming.

Poker After Dark - Resolve to bring something new to the party that you can't find on any other poker show.

Project Runway - Resolve to have a winner that doesn't need to bend the rules in order to win.

Pros Vs. Joes - Resolve to upgrade the production values and make it this generation's American Gladiators.

The Price is Right - Resolve to have Rich Fields as the next host. If not, then resolve to find the Fountain of Youth for Bob Barker, because if the wrong person becomes the new host, then inside the next spa offered could be a jumping shark.

Survivor - Resolve that the same gimmick used in The Apprentice is not used to excess here and that Mark Burnett knows what he's doing.

Top Chef - Resolved that someone's personality is not used to determine a winner as it was in the first season. Sorry, but Tiffany should have won that hands down. I can see how likeability should be a factor in a model or a singer, but as Gordon Ramsay can tell you, that should not be a factor in determining a Top Chef or anything else in that specific vein. Yes, Top Designers, that includes you.

Wheel of Fortune - Resolve to put higher accompanying values on the Wheel in the later rounds, so that Pat Sajak doesn't have to hit $5,000 in order for a trailing player in a not so tight game can win.

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire - Resolved that the MAWGS (and Chico Alexander) finally get their way this season and we can emphasize trivia knowledge over looks.

Here are all of my resolutions. To everyone else, let the new year be a good year to you and your family and may you all fulfill resolutions of your own. Happy new years!

My resolution to get you guys some more tips on how to beat the pricing games will continue strong throughout 2007. Here are three more...

Flip Flop - It's real easy if you think that the first two numbers should be left alone. For the bottom half, try to get the last number to be a 5, especially if it's 95.

Freeze Frame - Also another game where either a 95 or a number that ends in zero will work. Using logic to find a number that would work in the Top 2 slots and something that ends in 5 or 0 goes a long way to getting the price correct.

Golden Road - No number will ever repeat in the first 2 prizes. For example, if the prize is 3 _ 7 0 and the choices are 7, 1 and 9, the 7 can not be a right choice. It's also very rare that a number repeats in the big prize, so try to avoid selecting that.

Gordon Pepper was in New York for 2007's zero hour. E-mail him at gordon@gameshownewsnet.com.