Gordon: This is Gordon Pepper, and welcome to another February 14th edition of WLTi. I don't say Valentine's Day, because I don't have any, Chico doesn't either, and liove basically sucks.
Chico: ... Not for lack of trying. One thing we do love... an undying love for televised competition on a high scale. And we've got plenty of it. So ladies, just sit back, put the Jeopardy! on and let the bad boys do aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalll the work... Oh yeah.
Gordon: We do. And hey! Falling stars!
Chico: We'll get to that later as from somewhere in America... the 14th of February Spread the Love of WLTI... is... ON!
Gordon: Yay!
Chico: If you stuck around after the big ball game in Indianapolis (go Giants, by the way), then you saw the second season of The Voice pick up where season 1 left off. A promising premise that will eventually run its course without really producing anything, much like... another such show. First off, you can't help but notice the glut of also-rans, and by that, I mean people we've seen elsewhere. Tell me if these names sound familiar, and if so, where... Leland Grant, Jamar Rogers, Angel Taylor, Daniel Rosa, and Juliet Simms.
Gordon: Leftovers anyone?
Chico: I'll take a drumstick. Angel Taylor and Juliet Simms had deals and records before, and they either fell through or people just plain forgot about them. As for Leland Grant... Remember an old show hosted by Todd Newton on VH1 called "In Search of the Partridge Family"?
Gordon: I do actually. Hi Leland.
Chico: Gave birth to the career of one Emma Stone... but that's pretty much it. So point to Team Idol: "The Voice" does seem like B-league talent starts.
Gordon: Well this boils back to the question we have discussed many times on this show - Do you want talent that's ready but been there before, or talent that hasn't been there before but isn't ready?
Chico: It's a question as old as time. The show has room for both, but we go back to the Last Comic Standing argument. We know you can put out a record, but can you win a competition? In the end, isn't that the point in 2012? (compared to 2002, where the point was to create a pop star who would make a record exec millions of dollars cash money)
Gordon: Um...no. The point was to make gazillions of dollars, whether by good music or good advertising rates based on the TV ratings.
Chico: So I guess it doesn't matter either way as long as you're making good television. No one's going to argue that the Voice isn't good television, but someone's going to make a career out of this.
Gordon: I'll slightly disagree. The point is to get us listening to voices we don't know anything about. I don't care about the records he has or hasn't made. If they pass the rules, then they have a shot. Just like Season 1 with the Thompson 'Junior Idol Winners' Twins and Frenchie 'My Little Lingerie model' Davis.
Chico: I wonder what she's doing now. =p
Gordon: Frenchie is probably doing backup lyrics and making a name for herself. The question really should be - what is Winner Javier Colon doing now?
Chico: Using copies of his unsold CD as coasters?
Gordon: Dog frisbees?
Chico: Clay ducks?
Gordon: Wind chimes?
Chico: Shuriken?
Gordon: What about take a whole stack and create a railing for American Idol contestants?
Chico: It'd be too long. But go on.



Gordon: Simone goes flying off the stage as we get into my favorite week - Group Week. It's always fun to see people scramble. You can see who will make the cut, who's going to do well in the competition and who's going to crash and burn.
Chico: All the hallmarks of Hollywood week.
Gordon: Just a reminder, this is a POPULARITY competition. how you deal with pressure here will help - or hurt - you the whole way through. People make opinions - not just on your singing, but on how you mesh with others.
Chico: Remember, it's about the total package. Not only do you have to be able, you have to be likeable. Don't just sing to the judges, sing to America. PUT ON A SHOW. Good life advice, too.
Gordon: It is. And we see some people following it and not others.
Chico: These are the people that you're going to see on the live editions of both shows. As for Symone Black... she'll be alright, but I think she's going to go the way of Jim Carrey's kid.
Gordon: Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeethud.
Chico: ... or, say, the dude from Stanford that completely owned the last quarterfinal on Jeopady!.


TOURNAMENT EDITION

Chico: We have reached the semifinal stage with the best nine of the fifteen chosen to play. And good news for Gordon, bad news for me... One of them's a dirty Dookie.
Gordon: YAY!
Chico: Unfortunately for him and fortunately for me, Austin Rivers couldn't save Greer Mackebee's you-know-what with a live three at the last second.
Gordon: Booooooooooooooo
Chico: So suffice it for me to say... (cover of "Duke Sucks")
Gordon: What. Ever.
Chico: But we'll get to that later. Right now, Semifinal #1 pits Cal Poly's Weston vs. Columbia's Tyler vs. Monica Thieu of North Texas. Look at the scoreboard and you wouldn't think Monica stood a chance, but she kept it close in the Double Jeopardy! round and poured on the pressure game. Now she has a chance with $12,200 to $15,600 for Tyler and $17,000 for Weston. Tyler and Weston were both game winners, so you would expect them to be on top of things. Could they face COMIC BOOKS?

AN INSPIRATION FOR THIS CHARACTER INTRODUCED IN 1929 WAS 15-YEAR-OLD PALLE HULD'S 1928'S 44-DAY VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD.

Gordon: Who is Tintin, or...who is Teen Mark Sanford in the search for the Appalachian Trail?
Chico: Correct on both accounts. A little preview of the Blu-Ray... check out the chase scene. It's AWESOME. Of cours the movie of the comic book. Anyway, guess who's the only one to get it right.
Gordon: The DUKIE!
Chico: Wrong game.
Gordon: I know. But Duke should win every game. It should be an all-Duke final. :)
Chico: Don't make me show the book again.
Gordon: Sorry, daddy. I bet it's Monica.
Chico: You'd be...right! It IS Monica! Cinderella story comes from nowhere. And that's what you want to see in this tournament. She gets the first seat. Episode #2... Greer Mackebee...from Duke.
Gordon: YAY!
Chico: Who looks like Coach K before he became all angry and junk...
Gordon: Hater.
Chico: Yes I am. He plays Jaime Alayon from Jason Block's Alma Mater GWU and Sarah Bart from out there at Goucher, which is not in Louisville, not in Syracuse, but OUT THERE. So we have the GWU vs. the University of nowhere, vs. the University of New Jersey at Durham... It's WLTI. I'm allowed to be partial. :-)
Gordon: Game, please.
Chico: Sorry. Sarah ends up THIS CLOSE to making it a runaway, but Greer pulls down a few clutch clues, including a Daily Double, to pull within striking distance, $14,400 to Sarah's $25,800. Jaime... at $3200... is done.
Gordon: He can watch the Duke Vs. UNC match a few weeks ago. Wasn't that awesome?
Chico: It was until the last few seconds.
Gordon: That was the awesome part!
Chico: Okay, so the clue in the category of CHARACTERS IN POETRY

THE NAME OF THIS TITLE HEROINE OF AN 1847 POEM IS FROM THE GREEK FOR "GOOD NEWS".

Chico: And a hint, it helps if you're a fan of Hideaki Anno's giant robot allegory.
Gordon: I happen to be an Evangelion fan, myself. Though it certainly isn't an economy-sized robot.
Chico: Sadly. "Evangeline" would be a LOT better with economy sized robots. Again, only one person nails it.
Gordon: Is it the Dukie?
Chico: NO!
Gordon: Aw.
Chico: He says Persephone. Persephone is an age-old story about the origins of spring and fall thanks to Hades taking Demeter's daughter into the underworld. Definitely from before 1847.
Gordon: Sure is.
Chico: Sarah Bart beats the boys, and beats them BAD.
Gordon: Did they like it?
Chico: Considering that the difference is $15,000? No. Would Connie Shi make the finals an all-female affair? This was the closest of ALL the games, which is surprising when you consider that Matt did so well in the prelims. He has $13,200 to Zack Terrill's $11,800. Connie out of UMich has $8800. Ancient Quotations is your Subject.

WHEN BYZANTINE EMPEROR JUSTINIAN COMPLETED HAGIA SOPHIA, HE DECLARED, THIS KING, "I HAVE SURPASSED THEE".

Gordon: Who is Larry King? I don't think he ever satisfied Hagia or Sophia.
Chico: ... Damn it, you stole my answer! *throws white board away in disgust*
Gordon: Haaaa ha.
Chico: Seriously, though... it's "What is Solomon?" NO ONE gets it right. So let's go over the scoring. Connie has $8800, Zack has $11,800, and Matt has $13,200. Connie has to bet everything and hope the other two miss. Zack would normally have to bet just $3000 to keep from getting overtaken by Connie. But he has to play to win, so the optimum of $9000 is the right move.
Gordon: Actually, no.
Chico: Go on.
Gordon: Optimum for Connie is $0 and hope for a triple stumper. Optimum for Zack is $5,801. Locks out Connie with a right answer and gives him a shot at a triple stumper win. Matt has to bet $10,401.
Chico: Connie bets $8798 and is wrong. Zack bets $7000... and is wrong. Matt bets $10,401... and is WRONG. Now he didn't bet $5801, but he sure suppositorily got a ticket to the final.
Gordon: He did. Good betting by Zack
Chico: Now here we have three Cinderella stories. One of them is going to win $100,000 and a shot at $250,000 later in the season. Who do you like?
Gordon: The Dukie!
Chico: ...Duke isn't in the Finals.
Gordon: SO?
Chico: Gordon, you seriously need to read "Duke Sucks".
Gordon: :P
Chico: Seriously, though, this final is going to be one of the more interesting finals we've had in a while
Gordon: It should be. I'll take Zack.
Chico: I'm going to go with Zack as well. He's the more consistent player of the three. Now we go from champs future to champs past. Last week, we started talking bout Pam Mueller, whose resume includes "College Jeopardy! champion". Would she add "Millionaire winner" to that mantle? It's our...



Chico: ... times 0.1. Here's your question for $100,000. Your Ask The Audience Lifeline is available to you.

[$100,000]
The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI displays a test tube that allegedly holds what odd memento of Ford's hero, Thomas Edison?
A: His pinky toe
B: His breath
C: A drop of his sweat
D: A lock of his hair

Gordon: Well, A, C, and D would 1. all be gross and 2. wouldn't last in a test tube. The only thing that makes sense is B.
Chico: Well... you're right! Pam... not so much. She gets $25,000 and I get a tasteless one-liner that I DARE NOT repeat here.
Gordon: Heh
Chico: At least they get to share the love.



Chico: A family of doctors, a Ford Taurus, and Steve Harvey. Could it happen on Friday? It's a simple question for Triple Score: what's the first real word that babies learn to say?
Gordon: Money :)
Chico: You'd think so. But it was "mama", "dada", "no" and "bottle". I don't remember what MY first word was.
Gordon: Dukie?
Chico: ...No. I'm going to have to ask somebody about that. Meanwhile, the Changs end up the proud recipients of a Ford Mustang, I think it's the first car awarded since the move to Atlanta.
Gordon: Nice. So they get this...



Chico: Meanwhile, we have our family of hams in their little Ford Fiesta. Junior's the wheelman, while Chairman is the navigator. J-Fat, Chen-bot and Cheeseball... They have three extra seats.
Gordon: Roll that Beautiful Brain Footage.

(Doug: Live, local, and latebreaking... From the four corners of the globe to your frontal lobe, this is WLTI Brainvision News, and now here's Gordon Pepper, Chico Alexander, and the award-winning Brainvision News Team)

Gordon: And we start with a Datebook
Chico: And it's a big one.

Tuesday is Top Shot Season 4, Wednesday is Survivor: One World, and Sunday features new seasons of the Amazing Race (YAY!) and Celebrity Apprentice (boo)

Chico: Too much Trump for your liking?
Gordon: I don't mind The Donald. I want him to improve his show
Chico: He won't. He thinks it's good the way it is right now. The rest of us know better.
Gordon: We do. I need to get Fully Loaded. Early.
Chico: Gotcha, baby.

This week, Twitter forms the basis for TWO game show projects. The first is TwiviaCT, created by our good friend Matt Scott. You can check that out on Twitter @twiviact. The second is a global item, as British comics David Walliams and Jonathan Ross shoot a pilot for ITV1 called "Trending Topics". It's like "Have I Got News For You"... if it were on Twitter.

Chico: More developments as they become available.
Gordon: And maybe an interview or two. but not with these guys...
Chico: (Smartboard)

Are YOU Smarter Than...NBCs Brass, who as they see a Spring of Suck looking with their ratings, decide to fire...the marketing department? really?

Chico: ... Seriously? Here's the story on NBC so far this year. They finally find a Monday night lineup that works... and that's it. 10% of marketing. Gone. Last time I checked, the Marketers weren't the brain trust that greenlighted The Playboy Club.
Chico: And let's be honest. With the exception of said Monday night lineup, the midseason replacement schedule isn't exactly setting the world on fire.
Gordon: No and again, the things bailing out NBC - game shows. The Voice, The Biggest Loser, Fear Factor and Still sucking...i mean Standing, are the networks 4 highest rated shows.
Chico: Smash being a solid #5?
Gordon: Yes.
Chico: Because I'm a Broadway fan. =p
Gordon: Speaking of Smash - have some Haterade
Chico: Let's get smashed.

Could Courtney Robinson be the first person sued from The Bachelor? According to Producers, 'Courtney didn't want to win Ben's heart. She just wanted to win the game', which is a no-no in their clause.

Chico: If I may play the devil's advocate, Law Firm of Alexander, Pepper & Associates for a moment, who ISN'T in it to "win the game"? I mean, to think that you're going to find your soulmate on a game show is rather ludicrous, if you ask me.
Gordon: It's about the spirit of the game. There's no monetary award to winning the game. And if you're a media ho, that's not exactly how you want to be famous. Ask Bob Guiney how that turned out.
Chico: Right. But you think about it, the Bachelor franchise is 1-for-the-world. If you think you're going to genuinely fall in love when you get on that stage, lots of luck to you, but you're going to face reality, and it's not going to be on TV. There's being a media ho and then there's just being a straight-up media ho. You can be known for being known, but Courtney's being known for being a glory hog and an attention whore.
Gordon: And it's all well and good - but again, its not in the spirit of the game.
Chico: Nope.
Gordon: Hopefully this will have more spirit (gives Chico a bat)

This is another semi-global item as Top Model announces its latest chapter... it's the US vs. the UK.

Gordon: I actually like this, because for once, this is a Top Model promo that actually makes sense.
Chico: Seven of America's fiercest will face off against seven of the UK's fittest.
Chico: Do explain, G.
Gordon: The best models, as of now, come from the UK. Why not face off against the best?
Chico: Sort of a Selita Ebanks vs. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. But there's more.

NickMom, a television block from Nick launched at mothers, will feature a remake of Spike TV's "Oblivious"

Gordon: Ugh
Chico: If you remember, Oblivious is the game show you don't know you're playing. You meet some strange guy, they ask you questions, and for every question you get right, you win money. Gordon was never a fan. Another show Gordon was never a fan of (and neither was I for that matter) Scream If You Know the Answer.

That's getting a sequel spinoff to be shot in the US for the UK's Watch and the US's Travel Channel: Scream Extreme: US vs. UK.

Chico: British celebs vs. their US counterparts.
Gordon: The show needed to go to oblivious oblivion
Chico: The lineup: for the Union Jack, it's Sheridan Smith, Bruno Tonioli, and Craig Revel Horwood. For the Stars & Stripes, it's Coolio, Stephen Baldwin, Shannen Doherty, and Corey Feldman.
Gordon: ...and people wonder why we flunk shows.
Chico: And hosting: Duncan James with commentary from Colin Murray. Bert Kreischer unavailable for comment.
Gordon: At leats it keeps the media hoes busy.
Chico: (plays "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster")... it just seemed to fit. =p
Gordon: ...yes it does.

In this week's Media Ho Report, we get tons of photos of everyone's exploits post-superbowl, to the point of nausea. We see this all the time in People Magazine, so there's really no reason to torture you all with pictures.

Chico: So we're saving the masses this week, eh?
Gordon: Yes.
Chico: I'm guessing though that none of them are the ho of the week.
Gordon: Nope. The ho, and it's a big one, is Whitney Houston, who passed away this past week.
Chico: Singer, actress, superstar... made the rounds on "Dancing with the Stars" and on Germany's version of "Wanna Bet?"
Gordon: Not to mention Hollywood Squares and a ton of other celebrity game show appearances.
Chico: But that voice... Oh dear, that's a voice that's hard to come by.
Chico: I grew up on her and she turned me on to music at an early age.
Gordon: True. and if Simon Cowell is accurate, she was to be a judge on The X-Factor next year.
Chico: That would've been a serious coup there.
Chico: It's a big loss all around.
Gordon: It is. Moment of silence, please.

(SILENCE)

Gordon: Thank you. And those...are our hoes.
Chico: And finally, let's squeeze in one more trip around the world... We'll play a little Gold Run, Gordon...

( SM ) New host of Blockbusters UK.

Gordon: (RINGS IN)
Chico: Gordon?
Gordon: Simon Mayo
Chico: ... Blockbusters. (plays theme)
Gordon: Whoo hoo!
Chico: Yep, the former host of "Winning Lines" will get to play the Bill Cullen role on the new Challenge version of the series.
Gordon: Excellent. That's a quality show.
Chico: And also, Australia has its own 'Voice' with Good Charlotte's Joel Madden, Seal, Keith Urban, and Delta (she's tall) Goodrem.
Gordon: Very nice. We'll see what they can do. And That's BrainVision. Shut it down.
Brobot: (Bleep bloop beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep)
Chico: Still to come on the showgram, we get into the morality business with "The Moral of the Story Is...."
Gordon: But first, we flip coins. you're reading WLTI. you give us 22 minutes, and we'll give you 22 ideas from NBC that people needed to be fired for. Jay Leno show 5 days a week? Really?
Chico: Bring me the head of ... who's in charge of NBC?
Gordon: Don't get used to the name.
Chico: Okay.

(Brainvision is presented by Schmeer Factor, the game show where six contestants search for the grossest things to put on bagels... and eat them.)

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE