January 29, 2007

Gordon: This is Gordon Pepper, and...this show is simple.
Chico:  *cheers*  Who wants to be "Millionaire"... plus, is the next American Idol in Memphis? All that and more... because from Somewhere in America... We Love to Interrupt is.... ON!
Jason:  Yay!
Gordon: All you have to do is listen to a wacky Northeasterner and a sexy bald North Carolinan, while they host other wackos. This week's special wacko is Jason Block.
Jason:  Thanks...I think.
Chico:  How the heck are y'all, alongside Gordon Pepper, I'm Chico Alexander... In case you haven't been outside.. It's still winter.
Jason:  Should I sue, being called a wacko and all that? I'll get my 15 minutes?
Gordon: Yes you will. But onto bigger and better things. Now Jason...
Jason:  Yes, Gordon?
Gordon: What is Ratatouille made of? A. A mixture of Meats. B. a Variety of Veggies. C. A Pastiche of Pasta. Mob, answer now....

(Whoosh)

Chico:  Answered.
Gordon: What's your answer, Jason?
Jason:  It's B. A Variety of Veggies.
Gordon: The answer is....B.
Jason: Yay!
Gordon: EVERYONE here got it right....but not Rajiv Radbach, who loses $57,000 to the Mob on last night's 1 Vs. 100.
Chico:  I believe he said A.
Jason:  And the mob was down to 17 which gives the mob almost 4K a pop.
Chico:  Mob got paid.
Gordon: Including one Willie Aames.
Chico:  This would be his third game show, if I'm not mistaken. His first was as a central subject on the 2000 edition of TTTT. He was there as "Bibleman."
Jason:  Which I believe...he still is.
Gordon: That is correct, sirs. He was also in the Celebrity Fit Club.
Chico:  Oh yeah. I keep confusing him and Tom Sizemore. Don't know why, really. The second player, however, would have Willie wishing he was Tom Sizemore...
Gordon: The next contestant was Janice Carlson, as she faces a mob with Willie, 11 Morticians and 6 Soap Opera Stars (3 from Days Of Our Lives and 3 From Passions).
Chico:  A moment for Passions?

(quick silence)

Chico:  Right, that's enough.
Jason:  Yup.
Gordon: There were also 3 Olympians (Shannon Miller, Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci) also in the Mob is our friend Tim 'Loogaroo' Connelly. Unfortunately, Tim and Willie both leave the show when they didn't know that a stamp costs 39 cents. We lose all of the soap opera stars on the second question, and we lose 84 people total before Janice quits with $121,000. All we leave is Bart Conner and a mortician as we repopulate the mob with new celebrities next week. In this case, the celebrities are going to be pint-sized...
Chico:  Because, next week.... 1 vs. 100... kids.
Gordon: But getting past 100 kids will be no small feat.
Jason:  Here we go....I know where this is going.
Chico:  I'm afraid where this is going. Does this have to do with something that happened, oh.. Thursday?
Gordon: We can make small talk about Thursday, sure. What happened on Thursday?
Chico:  On a reputable prime access puzzle show that was created by Merv Griffin? Now correct me if I'm wrong, but Tim Rodman, a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, was of diminutive state, so his fiancée did the spinning for him. This is a first in the 25+ year history of the show, right?
Jason:  The first time a person who had a designated spinner made it to the bonus round.
Gordon: It's not the first time that someone did a small favor for someone else, no.
Chico:  But it is the first time that they made it THIS far.
Jason:  Yes. He was a good player.
Gordon: Tim, who is an excellent contestant who picked up almost $60,000, made short work of the Bonus puzzle.
Chico:  I'm not doubting that for a second. The bonus puzzle, with the standard six and DGMI...If I can pull up Jason's recap.

DE_D GI_E____

Chico:  A thing. Talk it out. You have 10 seconds.
Gordon: I thought the puzzle was a dead giveaway myself.
Chico:  To the tune of $30,000.
Gordon: With all of that bread, he could buy a lot of shortcake.
Jason:  You know where the bad joke mail can go to :)
Chico:  And he had his woman there sharing every moment of it. Talk about being truly blessed... and that'll be all, Gordon :-)
Gordon: What did I do?
Chico:  Just stopping you before you short change us with more bad puns :-D
Gordon: I feel like I'm getting short-shrifted here.
Jason:  You are getting the short end of the stick here. And Tim, if you are reading this...all in good fun. You were a fantastic player.
Chico:  Okay, enough small talk. Congrats to Tim... and congrats to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, GSN's first entry into its Game Show Hall of Fame.  They had the special last week.
Jason:  Yeah, about that special....
Chico:  And... well, I don't mean to come down on that special. Its intent was pure and bless GSN for doing it... but am I the only one who was off-put a bit?
Gordon: Which had Jason Block in it a few times...
Jason:  For all of 5 seconds, but yes...which was more that can be said for Kevin Olmstead? WTF?
Gordon: I do agree with the majority here. The first half of the show seemed to be a nice look at Regis's Millionaire. The second half of the show felt more like an infomercial.
Chico:  But we had all the important bits, but it seemed a bit too obvious that they were trying to stretch for time.
Jason:  I disagree with both of you. I don't think it treated Regis's Millionaire fair enough, quite frankly.
Chico:  Do elaborate.
Gordon: I agree with it. It almost felt like to do both shows justice that you needed a pt. 1 and a pt. 2
Jason:  Basically, the first off the show was, show gets on the air, Carpenter wins the millions, ratings skyrocket, we have 350+ primetime episodes and we
jump right into the Meredith infomercial. Too much of a short shrift.
Chico:  As I was watching it, I couldn't help but compare it to the ABC special some years back. I think you had a hand in that or something. Not quite sure there.
Jason:  I did. I shot footage for that too. I think. I did a lot of press over the years.
Chico:  Now I should probably throw in a disclaimer...Jason... was in the ABC special. But the following, I should say, is an honest-to-goodness objective view. Now when you look at the GSN show, you had the brief history of the show, how it was created in a British pub, and how it eventually made its way to the US. For example, Michael Davies's story of how he risked his career to get Millionaire in America. Then August 16, 1999, it hits the air and TV history is made. And then we go to the meat and potatoes of the show, the lights, the music, the set, the whole atmosphere of FEAR! We also see the people that made the show, Regis and Meredith, and of course, Michael Davies, the man himself. The rest of the time, about, oh 10 minutes of it, you had a sampling of contestants that seemed to lay heavily on the syndicated series more than the network version.
Gordon: I was never on Millioniare, so I have no bias in any way. It reminded me a little bit of one of our complaints of earlier documentaries - good for people who don't know the story, but nothing new for people that do.
Chico:  And not to short-change the players that were interviewed one bit, BUT compared to the people who sat in the hot seat and ran the board, I'm guessing 10 of them - you wouldn't know them from Adam. And if you saw the ABC special, you know the story. You know the whole bit about Fiona Wheeler weeing on the British hot seat opposite Chris Tarrant and that, reportedly, was the moment when. Michael Davies knew he had to get the show on the air. GSN pretty much curried to short-attention-span filmmaking. It was good... but not GREAT.
Perhaps I need to show the show to a friend or two and get their opinions. Maybe I'm being too bitter.
Gordon: I think as game show heads, we're going to look at this differently than non game-show heads
Jason:  I agree with that.
Chico:  Well, I want to hear what the public at large has to say, so I'm going to post a link to our e-mail, wlti@gameshownewsnet.com, and put as the subject, Millionaire special. Just to see game show heads vs. non-game show heads.
Gordon: However, I also think that game show heads as well as non-game show heads believe that Ian Bernardo's performance on American Idol left something to be desired.
Chico:  As for Ian Bernardo... well, the less said, the better.
Gordon: Can I have a Big Board please?
Chico:  With a side of weak sauce. :-)

Gordon: The Title - Benefits of being an American Idol Reject
Jason:  (shakes head)
Gordon: Because, believe it or not Chico, Ian Bernardo has now made media-ho status in the NYC area.
Jason:  Full fledged Media-ho.
Chico:  If this is about being on the Today Show, I saw it.
Gordon: Ready for this? 1. Appearance on The Today Show. 2. Appearance as a lead story on 1010 WINS. 3. Appearance on FOX news after Idol.
Chico:  Now is this all in the New York DMA?
Jason:  Yes.
Gordon: Yep
Chico:  Just making that clear for thee rest of the country :-)
Jason:  Appearance on Page 3 of the New York Post (owned by Murdoch)
Gordon: 5. An almost certain mention and trip to L.A. for the Idol Finale...and finally...6. Some wackos named Chico, Gordon and Jason are talking about you on Gameshownewsnet.com
Chico:  That last one... is SIMPLE.
Jason:  D'oh!
Gordon: I personally think that #6 was the most valuable, myself.
Chico:  That's a completely objective sentiment, isn't it?
Jason:  We are world wide.
Gordon: Meanwhile, I'm currently watching William Hung in a Jack in the Box commercial.
Jason:  Playing poker.
Gordon: With Gary Coleman. That was... disturbing.
Chico:  And to think... the big game is next week. These are only the teaser ads...But seriously - Was there anyone GOOD coming out of auditions this week?
Gordon: Actually...yes. There are a few good talents
Chico:  Any top 12 contenders?
Jason:  I think so.
Gordon: I would too. I think my favorite storyline, though, are the 2 best friends from NJ getting in together - with the  tag line that almost guaranteed that there's going to be some sort of rift coming up.
Jason:  I see explosion.
Chico:  What do you want to bet that that storyline will reappear in the Hollywood round?
Jason:  Written all over that.
Gordon: That's going to be a guarantee. And to think - we still have the South and The West to go.
Chico:  More good. More bad. Now, as we speak of travel...If I can go back to Millionaire for a bit, the show did a lot of traveling this week. First, to India, where a new season bows with a new host... and reactions range from die-hard quizheads deriding it to women swooning over the new host. The story: after a bit of a hiatus, Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millioaire", resurfaced with a new host, and the audience there welcomed it... then turned off. Not in droves, mind you, but it was something like what happened with "Super Millionaire" when it aired here. Then a day later, it was announced that a version is going to begin airing in China...So clearly the 2waytraffic folk are seeing a return on their investment in the Millionaire portfolio... And we totally didn't see it coming. Seriously. We thought they overpaid for the show. And now this happens. What are the odds?
Jason:  Well...so far we are incorrect in our way of thinking.
Gordon: Not so fast on the disclaimer. They haven't really seen a return - yet. You don't make the money back on season 1. You make it back on more seasons and licensing.
Chico:  So you're thinking they're going to make their money back and then some?
Gordon: I'm thinking it's too early to say if they are. If it gets renewed and turns into a hit - THEN we can talk profit on your pants.
Chico:  Well, we're already on board until 2011, so.. And it's on the rise by 9% since last wee, so...
Gordon: Getting 50 million back on syndication in the U.S.? Uhhh...no. They have to hit the foreign markets
Jason:  I think they will. They are aggressively promoting the brand.
Chico:  And they're hitting aggressively.
Gordon: I think they get points for aggression, but time will tell if they make a profit. But we now shift from a profit to a loss. This features Brandy, as she is in the middle of a major accident that resulted in a fatality.
Chico:  I heard about that. It was a rear-ender, if I'm not mistaken. Can we go one week without a judge controversy of some sort?
Jason:  Nope. Not in the rules.
Gordon: Nope. According to reports, Brandy hit a car while going 65 miles per hour, the driver in a car she hit died. There are still many details to be answered, but how does this affect her standing on America's Got Talent?
Jason:  Well, if i were NBC...and this looks like its going to be nuclear. A new judge might be in the offing.
Chico:  Hmm.. Methinks NBC is going to play the balls where they land right now. It's still too early to say with no date for America's Got Talent's second season...
Gordon: True, but Brandy is not as integral to the show as other judges, and I think they can swap her out on that show and get away with it. The Hoff, on the other hand...you can't touch him.
Chico:  He's on two different versions of the show. Of course you can't.
Jason:  He is on the British one too?
Chico:  Yep
Jason:  And he is in Vegas performing in The Producers. Busy man.
Gordon: He's busy dancing...as are some other people doing Dancing With the Stars 4
Chico:  You got a list so far?
Gordon: I do. Would you like to hear it?
Jason:  Sure.
Chico:  Why yes... Yes I would.
Gordon: Let's start with who ISN'T going to be there. Sarah Ferguson will not be dancing.
Chico:  Really? I thought she was. That's what the bigwigs told me anyway.
Jason:  They were wrong.
Gordon: Other people not competing - Reggie Miller, Jennifer Aniston, and Sharon and Kelly Osbourne.
Chico:  Okay... anyway, this list... is SIMPLE.
Gordon: Some people who are on said list - Ian Ziering, Laila Ali and...Billy Ray Cyrus.
Jason:  Ok Then.
Chico:  Laila filling the athlete spot and Ian Ziering filling the washed-up boy-toy spot. And Billy Ray Cyrus giving the country fans a reason to watch.
Jason:  And Hannah Montana fans too. He is her dad. Corporate Synergy
Gordon: Also - Joey Fatone will be dancing
Chico:  He fought for that spot.
Gordon: Well if it worked for Drew Lachey...
Chico:  Yep.
Jason:  In a big way.
Chico:  All he needs now is Cheryl Burke and his punch ticket to the final is all but assured.
Jason:  Let's see who "Legs of Steel" Cheryl Burke gets partnered with.
Gordon: The show starts Monday March 19th at 8pm. Gee, look what that's going up against...
Chico:  Deal... or No Deal. Pure balls. And the first result show?
Gordon: Tuesday at 9 - AFTER Idol
Jason:  smart
Chico:  Yeah. Can't help but think that they had an opportunity to give Fox a bit of a scare...
Jason:  I mean if Heroes and 24 can survive together...so can these two.
Gordon: We've seen that any show with a following can take out Deal Or No Deal. ABC's rationale is that they can't compete against Idol, but they should be able to make DOND their whipping boy. And I agree with that logic.
Chico:  I don't know. I think this is going to be close.  I mean, Deal and Dancing both skew toward older audiences.
Jason:  right.
Chico:  And Deal has more of a following on Monday. This may be closer than you think.
Gordon: I don't think so. The ratings have shown that DOND loses to any major event. They got absolutely pummeled by both the football playoffs and by 24 on Sundays
Chico:  That was Sunday, though.
Gordon: Keep in mind that 24 is on 9pm on Mondays and DOND is at 8pm.
Chico:  And as Heroes/24 and Idol/NCIS proved, there's more than room for two hits on any given time frame.
Gordon: There is, and DOND will get ratings, but not what they have been getting before DWTS showed up. I think DOND will get smushed by Dancing With the Stars
Chico:  Beaten, maybe. Smushed... No.
Gordon: Maybe not smushed, but they are not beating DWTS.
Chico:  We'll see who's right and who's smushed in March. Meanwhile, quick rewind time. Two words... Su Kim.
Gordon: Tell us about Su Kim, daddy
Chico:  Illinois accountant who's making mortal men cower in fear this week on Jeopardy!.
Jason:  Oh yeah. She is good.
Gordon: Very good. We'll see how far she gets.
Chico:  So far, she's won three games and $45,901. If she continues on her tear next week, soon the accountant... will need an accountant.
Gordon: I'm just wondering if she can do accounting on hamsters.
Chico:  Our accountant on time tells us it's time to DO THE NEWS!
Gordon: Roll That Beautiful Brain Footage

(Brainvision spiel)

Jason:  I had to keep the heaters on high yesterday to keep the animals warm.
Chico:  Wow. That was quick.
Gordon: They regrew their fur nicely
Chico:  Maybe if we spread Chia seeds on'em...

(By the way, WLTI does not advise spreading Chia seeds on your pets.)

Gordon: Thanks for corrupting the youth of America.
Chico:  No problem. Okay, first story, Gordon?

Let's talk renewals. Idol Tonight, Solitary, The Next Food Network Star, America's Funniest Home Videos and Fat Chance will all see new seasons.

Jason:  I am so happy NFNS is in production. I love that show more than you know.
Chico:  Me too, man.

Also getting a new season...Pants Off Dance Off.

Chico:  That much... Not so much.
Jason:  Jodie Sweetin...how far you have fallen.
Chico:  Too late to blame the meth addiction.
Gordon: Kids - Meth is bad. Even worse than Chia seeding your pets.
Chico:  Look it up sometime...And that's worth a tattoo removal alone. Next story...

Wheel heads to San Diego to tape a month's worth of shows there. Among the contestants they're looking for... soldiers for Armed Forces Week.

Jason:  Salute!
Chico:  Agreed.
Jason:  One of my fav weeks of the year.
Chico:  In one of your favorite places.
Gordon: Especially with current events going on, it's nice to see the people who are protecting this country being honored.
Chico:  Of course. No Haterade for them, I bet.
Gordon: Not for them, but we got some coming up for...Actually, make this a Double Shot...
Jason:  First serving...(Gulp)

With all of the Rosie O'Donnell mess, we haven't had a chance to go after Jade Goody for the racism mess she's causing on Big Brother UK.

Chico:  Sure we did. We went after her last week.
Jason:  We did a lil bit last week.
Chico:  ... oh god, what she do now.
Gordon: We didn't go after this -

Her sponsors have dropped her from her endorsements.

Jason:  Well...good for them. Actions and consequences.
Chico:  Cause and effect. The universe self righting.
Gordon: Meanwhile. Thomas Daniels has been doing some Hating himself - in the form of a criminal rap sheet. Rap Sheets + Idols = Early Departure or booting. The only person to
have one be disclosed and get to the Top 3 - Bo Bice.
Jason:  And have a hit record.
Chico:  And no less than two brushes with death.
Gordon: I don't see Daniels getting that far, though
Jason:  Nope.
Gordon: Next article?
Chico:  Next... Let's get some loaded on. Today... Deal... or No Deal... a quick review.

We pride ourselves on being objective and balanced, so we'll say this. On one hand, it is a "delightful family game", according to one published review. On the other, according to another published review and the opinion of video gamers everywhere, myself included, video games based on TV shows tend to...well, what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah, that's right. Suck. (see four, twenty).

Chico: Sure it's a good game to play when you're watching, but chances are you'd probably have a better time actually playing the TV game.
Gordon: What about adding to it be boring, draggy and with limited options, to make it feel like you are doing four, twenty?
Chico:  Yep. That too. If you're really hard up for a home version of DOND, try the Plug'n'Play TV game.
Gordon: Or the free internet game on nbc.com
Jason:  Exactly
Gordon: If you go to NBC's site, you can find a bunch of media hoes
Chico:  Speaking of cheap... AND easy. :-) "plays "Area Codes"*

In this week's Media Ho Report, we start with Kevin Covais, who will be...rapping...on Paris Bennett's album.

Gordon: 'Shudder'

Jerry Rice gets into the Game, Daughtry hits #1, The Bachelor's Jen Scheftt writes a memoir on her life with men, The Mole's Anderson Cooper signs a nice deal with CNN, and we get a nice article on Mob Leader Ned Andrews, who undoubtedly will be back for the 1 Vs. 100's Challenge of Champions

Gordon: But...none of them are your ho of the week, which was a huge no-brainer. This person wins a Golden Globe award and is now nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Dream Girls.  Congratulations to Jennifer Hudson!
Chico:  Give her the Oscar.
Jason:  She may get it.
Chico:  And finally... going global.

Eddie McGuire's stint on "1 vs. 100" in Australia is getting press even before the show hits the air. This week... it's glitched.

Chico:  Here's just ONE of the glitches that happened while shooting the first show. The question:  what is the unit of time comprising 60 seconds?
Jason:  A minute
Chico:   A contestant used the "ask the mob" option to lock in his answer but one of the mob erred in their response.   They replayed the question, the player answered correctly, but by
having locked in a different response.
Gordon: If I was the mob, I would be pissed.
Jason:  Pissed like you wouldn't know.
Chico:   Oh, the Mob was pissed. The player ended up winning $134,500 in Australian money, but there was a big to-do over it. And rightly so, because if you have a technical like that, you play a different question. Right?
Gordon: Correct. You'd have to play a different question and that question would be thrown out. That's what they do here in the states
Chico:   Hopefully they'll clear up some of that as taping continues.
Hopefully, the Mobsters eliminated will get a chance to come back. That would only be right and proper.
Gordon: True. We'll see if they do the right thing here. One more thing.
Chico:   What's that?
Gordon: Don't forget that this Monday is the premiere of Objetivo Fama.
Chico:   The Latin-American version of The One...Only popular :-) It's on Telefutura at 8pm ET. Now Gordon, if you concentrate REALLY HARD, you may find the result of last week's You Love to Interrupt.
Gordon: Ooummmmmmm...I'm concentrating on the Question...Who is to blame for the American Idol mess. We have Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Producer Nigel Lythgoe, Rosie O'Donnell, or WLTI. Now Jason, who do you think got the LEAST number of votes?
Jason:  Us.
Gordon: You'd be...wrong
Jason:  What?
Gordon: Randy got 4% of the vote. We got 6%, thanks to a bunch of wiseacres. The most popular, who got a whopping 55% of the vote - Rosie O'Donnell.
Jason:  Smart. :)
Gordon: We tied with Simon, with 6%, while the Producer got 29%.
Jason:  Whats this week's question?
Chico:   This week's You Love To Interrupt... We're doing Millionaire again...Sort of. The question:

[FrontPage Save Results Component] When will we see GSN's second entry into its Game Show Hall of Fame? Sometime next month Sometime next year Sometime before 2010 Sometime next century... maybe

Chico:   We'll have the results for you next week.
Gordon: Next up - we get to sing and ponder. Confused? you won't be - after the break.
Chico:   This is WLTI, celebrating five years of being more fun than a barrel of Monchhichis
Jason:  LOL

(BrainVision has been brought to you by Pants Off Dance Off - The Video Game. This may be the ONLY video game that you DON'T get bored with. DDR the moves and watch the clothes come off. Just tell the parents that you're only buying the game for educational reasons.)

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