Episode 23.7 - Tiger-Free
February 22

Gordon: This is Gordon Pepper, and unlike certain people in the public, we're usually not ashamed of what we do here.
Chico: Nope. In fact, we love it. A lot.
Jason: This is our passion.
Chico: This is who we are. This is what we do.
Jason: This is why live and breathe.
Gordon: We do, but sometimes, even we have to follow these little things called...um...rules and regulations.
Chico: Rules?
Gordon: Yes, rules.
Chico: Que rules?
Gordon: Even I have to follow the rules.
Jason: Like we can't make up stuff about people.
Chico: Right.
Gordon: We can't rig our show.
Chico: Right.
Gordon: We can't have contracts to other game show organizations.
Chico: Of course
Gordon: We have to know the rules of our own show, like we're not going to break into a discussion of advanced Russian.
Chico: Da...
Jason: Or the history of the Japanese in the Meiji Dynasty
Chico: Hai...
Gordon: And For all you fans of Advanced Russian Japanese in the Meiji Dynasty...Sorry. However, not everyone this week got the memo.
Chico: Nope. And we're talking about taking them to task. Because from Somewhere in America, the Golfer-Free edition of WLTI... is... ON!
Gordon: Yay! Chico and Gordon here. Joining us this week is our special guest Jason Block.
Chico: Back after an extended absence.
Jason: Glad to be back. And the seat is still warm and clean. :)
Chico: Okay, got a lot to talk about this week, so we'll start with the big story. Now I had a giant spiel about the Top 24 on Idol. It's 165 pages thick, this spiel...then the feds had to go and get involved in Our Little Genius. Hence, THAT is our top story this week =p
Gordon: It is, and it's a major story that has long lasting ramifications on the game show world as we know it. And based on what we've been hearing, it's not going away anytime soon.
Chico: Nope.
Jason: This is MASSIVE. And this is the biggest story of 2010, bar none.
Chico: What happened was that, well, we all know about the fixing of the categories for the broadcast, (and you will too, if you read our archives f this show on that matter), and Mark Burnett decided to pull the shows as a result. BUT it didn't stop there. This is according to Reuters...

"The FCC is getting involved and opening inquiries that allege that Fox fed answers to potential contestants before taping the show."

Chico: This... this sounds familiar.
Jason: You can flush Burnett's rep down the crapper right about now. Because he is in deep.
Gordon: 21 anyone?
Chico: Oh yeah. There was a letter sent by a contestant's parents, which was acquired via the Freedom of Information Act. That letter seems to have gotten the ball rolling down this slippery slope.
Gordon: This would be, of course, the game show scandals of the 1950's. Of course, you all know about 21, but there were other game shows affected to the point that if limited and ended the golden era of game shows back during that time.
Chico: Dotto, for starters.
Jason: And others. Because no matter what happens, Burnett is in trouble. Either scenario is no good.
Chico: Fox and Mark Burnett couldn't be reached for comment. FCC declined comment.
Jason: Can I play it out for you?
Chico: Jason, play it out for us.
Jason: Thank you. Let's play worst case scenario first. Burnett KNEW what was going on and was in on it. What happens? His career is pretty much over, and Survivor and Apprentice go down with it.
Chico: That would be worst case scenario
Jason: The other scenario...he was unaware of the shenanigans, which makes him look a dope. Either way...not good.
Gordon: Not only that, but it reopens other people who sued him in the past or were planning on it due to alleged fixing. Stacy Stillman may be updating her notes.
Chico: Basically... no matter how Mark Burnett plays this, he's going to take a fall to some extent. And it will not be a small one.
Gordon: FOX, in Burnett's defense, points out that Mark has been stretching himself out too thin. Let me put out this scenario. What if the move was not from anyone in Burnett's camp, but from someone at FOX?
Jason: Oooh...even more delicious. Then IDOL goes down.
Chico: Oh yeah, FCC doesn't play when it comes to this sort of thing.
Gordon: I think it could affect Idol and any other show FOX has an active hand in.
Jason: There have been a boatload of people who have claimed that Fox has fixed Idol.
Gordon: And I think it it could affect one X-Factor.
Jason: This would be the canary in the coal mine.
Gordon: It would be. I think that would force FOX and other voting shows to reveal the audience voting totals.
Chico: I think the best thing that could be done in this scenario... or whatever scenario comes out... Is that Fox AND Mark Burnett come clean about this clusterscrew. I mean, it's time to absolutely go Jack Barry on this sort of thing.
Jason: It truly is.
Chico: You remember ... well, Block might remember, he was alive during this time :-)
Jason: Bite me.
Chico: :-)
Jason: But yeah.
Gordon: Best thing? Yes. Do I think it will happen? No. I don't think they will come clean at the beginning.
Jason: Of course not.
Chico: But after 21, Jack Barry... he just came back from this and did EVERYTHING on the up and up at the risk of looking completely wooden and robotic. But he got the business out in the open for all to see.
Gordon: I think the FCC is going to have to come hard and really be thorough on this one, but if the parents (and more than one at that) provide both the information and names, a number of people will be hitting the unemployment line.
Chico: Because this is just the floodgates. This is what has to happen with Mark Burnett. First thing, he's got to stop concentrating on storytelling, and start concentrating on game play, making sure everything is on the up and up. Because that's what Mark Burnett does.
Jason: Is it?
Chico: He's not a game show producer. He's a story teller. And if there happens to be a game show involved... well there you go.
Jason: I completely disagree here. Everything Burnett has done and will do is TAINTED, Chico. FOREVER.
Chico: Mark Burnett has to abandon that now and start to do everything up front. That's what Jack Barry did. On the other hand, if it's Fox... well, that's a little more perplexing, because, well, it's Fox's very nature to be "controversial". And they can't develop the controversy if they have the eyes of the feds over them.
Jason: There is a difference between controversial and STUPID.
Gordon: Or fixed.
Chico: They're basically screwed no matter what happens.
Gordon: All good game show producers are also storytellers. The problem here of course is that you have to tell all aspects of a story, not just the one you think will have a happy ending.
Chico: Correct.
Gordon: I think the problem occurs when you don't let the story play out. Yes, you get better ratings with a happy ending, but Survivor got their biggest bump when a 'bad guy' won. And I think here's why Survivor Season 1 worked. You completely told the story on how Richard Hatch won. People will accept a bad guy winning the whole thing if you can point out how he did it, like Russell dominating Survivor last season. The problem here is that you can't manipulate a storyline. You have to edit the story as to how it plays out, not as to how you want it to play out, and I think once you start screwing around with that fabric, then you have a massive problem with the game, the producer, or both.
Jason: Believe me....This is HUGE. We cannot stress this enough.
Chico: This is not going away soon.
Gordon: This is a VERY major story. This could change the way we look at prime time game shows and how they will look. And here's the $64,000 question: Is this the Jump the Shark moment of big money game shows?
Jason: No...this is the jump the shark moment of reality competition shows.
Chico: It could very well spell the end of the primetime game show as we know it. Now every show that airs is going to air under a cloud of intense scrutiny. And you know, maybe that's what needs to happen.
Jason: You need to flush the colon so to speak and start fresh
Chico: Maybe we need to drag the power players kicking and screaming down to earth. In short, maybe reality TV needs a reality check.
Jason: Cliched, but true.
Gordon: Let's play Crystal Ball here. What happens to Mark Burnett?
Chico: He goes away for a while.
Jason: Should and Will?
Chico: Should AND will. A long while.
Jason: He goes away, and I think some of the shows we see on the air will go with him. Because if he gets away with it...that's BAD for us. VERY BAD.
Chico: Gordon?
Gordon: I don't think he goes away. I DO think that someone takes the fall, and a combo of people from both his production company and FOX get canned. And I think that game shows will get an overhaul like we saw a few decades ago and Standards and Practices will be all over this. The one good thing that could come out of all this is that we could get more streamlined, better game shows.
Jason: We can only hope.
Chico: Fingers crossed.
Jason: There could be a silver lining to this...I hope there is.
Chico: Oh yeah. There's going to be a silver lining.
Gordon: With that, let's move on to what would have been the top story this week: our Idol Top 24.
Chico: How can I put this... Thaddeus Johnson got robbed. This is your classic example of "doing everything right and still losing".
Gordon: Thaddeus Johnson did NOT get robbed.
Chico: Explain to me how Thaddeus Johnson didn't get robbed.
Gordon: Thaddeus was good. Very good. He had one problem, which was Michael Lynche. He was that much better.
Chico: Was he better than Jermaine Sellers?
Gordon: You can't put in 24 people of the same genre. You have to populate your roster with different genres. Thaddeus, in my mind, is a year away, but I think he should re-audition.
Chico: Oh yeah. He's going to and he's going to make the final 24.
Gordon: If there's one person who got robbed, it was Angela Martin.
Chico: Angela Martin... oh yeah, but she'll be okay. I mean, we know she got robbed in the selection, but...
Gordon: Angela gets a music contract, announced by Ellen on her show on Friday. In this sense, she may have made out better than most of the Top 24.
Chico: But you think about what happened to her after? That Ellen and Kara were going to take care of her? Oh yeah... she'll be fine.
Jason: Ellen is going to be the "saving angel" to a lot of people.
Gordon: She is. Music Contracts for everybody!
Chico: Rosie did it first =p
Gordon: Who cares about Idol? If Ellen likes you enough, you get a recording deal! Yay! Gold stars for everyone!
Chico: Kinda dilutes the competition if it comes to that.
Gordon: Not kinda. Completely does.
Jason: She does it once...cool. 5 times...a bit much.
Chico: And you know something... any competition that is diluted is not worth watching. That's the thing about the show... and the title and all that. It can't be bought, it can't be given to you. It has to be earned.
Jason: Agreed.
Chico: You just up and give it to a sob story... what the hell does that prove?
Jason: That producers and voters LOVE them.
Chico: Not true. We can't say voters will love them, because they haven't been voted upon.
Gordon: On the flip side, it's not the texts or phone calls that determine someone's success. It's the wallets. How exactly have those people that didn't make the Top 12 do?
Jason: On that end...not so much
Chico: People that didn't make the top 12... I only remember one. Ayla Brown. Because she was tall.
Gordon: Is she a musical millionaire yet?
Chico: ...nope.
Gordon: Josiah Leming, anyone?
Jason: Close...but no car...I mean cigar. :)
Gordon: What about Mario Vazquez?
Chico: Pass.
Jason: One hit wonder. Gallery, if I remember right.
Chico: I've said this before. This can't be bought. This can't be given you. IT HAS TO BE EARNED. So lots of luck to Angela. She'll need it. Now... Gordon..
Gordon: Yes Chico?
Chico: We did this bit earlier in the week. Let's see if you remember. Chris Golightly. Last week, he was the bookie's favorite to win. This week... he's Joanna Pacitti.
Gordon: Meaning that he was removed before the Top 24. This isn't the first time this has happened.
Jason: Of course not. And he is making the usual claims that he was "robbed".
Gordon: If you know you're going on this sort of show, it is YOUR responsibility that you have the paperwork in order. Chris didn't. He has no one to blame but himself here.
Chico: He had a contract.
Jason: Done and done.
Chico: Now, we'll talk about... the military.
Jason: My dad was Air Force
Gordon: My brother-in-law was Air Force
Chico: My dad was Army. None of them were on this week's worth of DOND.
Jason: No.
Chico: And I betcha they'd probably do better than the players we had.
Jason: Oh boy. That good huh?
Chico: Well, I'm not jumping out of my chair. This week, 22 of our bravest and finest... and they manage to lose $7000, which for this show, is a good week. Monday, we have Tim Mansky leave with the contents of his case: $10,000. He went all the way. Not bad considering that a) his last offer was $5000 and 2) his round of 8 board had $25K and $250K... and BOTH were knocked out next. That's called sticktutiveness. Venise Fleurisma takes an $11,000 deal. She had... the PENNY.
Jason: That's great
Chico: Next day... not so great. Cartier Coleman deals for $47,000, but I'm going to pull a JC Chasez here. I'm going to bring up the board..

$5 / $100 / $5000 / $25K / $75K / $500K

Chico: He still had the big money in play with that deal. If you ask me, he pressed the button WAY TOO EARLY.
Gordon: I agree. You still had 3 big amounts left and 2 cases to open.
Jason: Yup.
Chico: This was a dealer's board if ever I saw one. Next cases would've been $5000 and $5. Next offer... $131,000.
Jason: THUD
Chico: DUDE.
Gordon: And you should still play that board.
Chico: Yep. Next case... $25,000. Next offer... $185,000.
Jason: DOUBLE THUD
Chico: DUDE.
Gordon: Id keep playing it. Still have the 75K in play. And maybe I can knock out the $100.
Chico: Yeah, that happens NEXT. Cartier, you need to go to the corner RIGHT NOW.
Gordon: Ouch.
Chico: You know it's a bad day when you are left with $75,000... and $500,000 at the end of the game. And you took a $47,000 deal.
Gordon: What would the offer have been with 2 cases left?
Chico: $302,000.
Gordon: Id probably Stop right there.
Chico: "Tchucha."
Gordon: Risk $225,000 for $192,000? No.
Chico: Oh yeah. He could've had $75,000.
Jason: Or more.
Chico: Instead, he has $47,000. But when you deal for $47,000, it's a moot point. A horribly moot point.
Jason: Too early of a trigger finger.
Gordon: Too early.
Chico: VERY early. On a bright spot, Jeannie Green dealt for $22,500 on her dollar case. And finally, Joe Barbaro wins $32,500 for his $50,000 case.
Gordon: Not as good as it could have been, but not terrible, either. But besides that, a good week for the military.
Jason: Very true...SALUTE!
Chico: So all in all, a better than usual week for dealing. But what about heroes of the non-Military ilk.
Jason: You mean of the Survivor Ilk?
Gordon: Let's go with the Survivor ilk



Chico: Another week, another loss for the heroes. Now last week, we called Amanda to go home. She was THIS CLOSE. You don't even know how close she was.
Gordon: And Stephenie, as we see in her exit interviews, is a moron.
Jason: One vote I believe.
Chico: Three. But Gordon, let's break down Stephenie's mistakes in this round...
Gordon: Her mistakes started with last week's vote. The right play, if you knew you were divided early, was to get rid of Amanda.
Jason: Honestly, I want to call a different play.
Chico: That was the right play.
Gordon: She's too connected with both James and Parvati (with others). This is a social game. You can't afford to let Amanda and James get to the merge together.
Jason: I don't think it was. You get rid of JAMES. He was dividing the tribe and losing his mind...early.
Gordon: You can't get rid of James that early. You need his strength. Amanda is both a challenge and social threat.
Chico: Stephenie, on the other hand, is just a social threat. AS is Amanda.
Gordon: I agree. Stephenie also has friends on both tribes, so getting rid of her isn't a bad play for Amanda and company. It's a horrible move for Cirie and Candice though.
Chico: Because now Tom can instantly make a case for THEIR ouster. So can Colby.
Gordon: He sure can, if you want to get of the weak and they lose another challenge,
Jason: The Heroes chemistry is...not that good.
Chico: Not at all. Right now, they're splintered. I can see the villains exploiting that. Hell, they're exploiting everything else.
Jason: Can you imagine a Russell/Boston Rob Alliance?
Chico: Yes.
Gordon: I can too, but we also haven't seen too much of the villains camp. It will be real interesting to see the dynamics in play when they lose their first challenge.
Jason: That will be fun to watch.
Gordon: The lightbulb may have gone off in Russell's head that instead of targeting Rob, he may want to align with him. Him, Rob, Parvati and Danielle is a good starting 4 core.
Chico: Very good. Very strong. Very smart. Very social.
Jason: Russell may be adjusting his strategy a little bit.
Chico: Just a teence, enough to keep players on their toes. Count on it. Speaking of counting, let's go to Jeopardy. We have another Jeopardy! celeb winner for May... and his name is Charles Shaughnessy.
Jason: Mr. Sheffield to you and me. And Chris Matthews gets spanked.
Chico: Not for lack of trying. But Charles just played a better game.
Jason: Yes he did.
Chico: It's that old axiom: playing 30 minutes. Chris played 15. Charles played 30
Jason: Actually he played 5
Gordon: Let's take a look at what does Chris Matthews in, Final Jeopardy, sir?
Chico: The final... ENTREPRENEURS.

WHEN HE PASSED AWAY IN DECEMBER 1980, FLAGS IN KENTUCKY FLEW AT HALF-STAFF FOR 4 DAYS

Chico: The answer, by the way, is not "Jim Beam".
Gordon: Aw
Chico: Jason?
Jason: Who is Harlan (Col.) Sanders...the head of the Kentucky Fried Chicken Empire.
Chico: Gordon?
Gordon: Who is Johnny Walker?
Jason: He is Scottish...not Southern :)
Chico: Scots live in the South.
Jason: True.
Chico: Doesn't mean Gordon's RIGHT, but Scots live in the south.
Gordon: They do. Besides, David Duchovny took the Jim Beam answer from me :(
Chico: It's Col. Sanders. And that's why he lost. Chris Matthews could've won it if he decided to show up earlier. And if he did, no doubt Jason Block would've called fix.
Jason: No. I am just saying that newspeople have slower reflexes
Chico: I'll have to agree with you there. I mean they've all had that in common.
Jason: Let's see if a Fox news person has faster reflexes lol
Chico: Speaking of reflexes. We've got the competition on ABDC beginning in earnest. Now so far, the South has yet to win a title on ABDC... and thanks to Swagger Crew, they're no closer to doing so.
Gordon: They lost their swagger
Chico: No Schwag for the Swagger.
Jason: Nope. No Swagger.
Chico: Joining them in the bottom three: Hype 5-0 from the west coast and Static Noyze from the East.
Gordon: Did the judges make the right call here?
Chico: I think so. I mean, Swagger Crew, they have a reputation to live up to by their very name, and they were told this. They just didn't do it.
Gordon: I think with this season, you have to 'bring it' every single day. It seems like the judges are calling lack of emotion over lack of technique early. If you mail it in, you're going to get called for it.
Chico: True. And that's why Swagger Crew was eliminated. Because they mailed it in. At least I thought so.
Gordon: Very true, and ironic.
Chico: How ironic, G?
Gordon: It's like Hamsters doing the worm while Drew the Bookworm does the hamster.
Chico: Heh.
Jason: That hurts my head.
Chico: I can do the worm.
Jason: I can do the robot
Gordon: I can 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: First up - a Datebook.

Or lack of a datebook. No new shows while we watch Olympic Madness. But we still have February Sweeps and the first showing of the Top 24 on Idol. That's Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

Chico: Tuesday Wednesday Thursday.
Gordon: And I'm sensing that 4 singers are going to want to be fully loaded afterwards.
Chico: Yep. This one's from the UK...

The BBC is setting up an online game for their hit "Only Connect"

Chico: It'll be available on their website. Expect the game to launch March 1.
Jason: That will be cool to see
Chico: Meanwhile, if you like Big Balls...There's an app for that.

Endemol is developing a Wipeout app for iPhone and iPod touch.

Jason: Ha. :)
Gordon: Should be interesting. I have some Wipeouts here, too. Want to see?
Chico: Yep
Jason: Sure.

Are YOU Smarter than...Mark Burnett, who may have seen a bunch of his future potential wiped out by this Our Little Genius Silliness.

Chico: Yes.
Jason: (shakes head)
Chico: Next question?
Gordon: Next question...

Are YOU Smarter than... Beppe Bigazzi, who gets suspended from his own cooking show called 'Cooking Challenge' when he talks about the delicacies of eating cat meat.

(Eve runs away)

Chico: Great. Now look what you've done.
Jason: You have got to be kidding me.
Gordon: Apparently, to have tender cat meat, you can put it under water for 3 days. I prefer my cat meat to be more tender, myself.
Chico: Good night everybody!!!
Gordon: The jokes write themselves this week, folks.
Chico: Speaking of... Let's go Global.
Gordon: Let's have some Haterade first
Chico: Okay. Let the joke macerate.

We start with Jeffrey McKinnon, who does something quite rare: a Plink$0.

Jason: :(
Jason: That was sad
Chico: Very.
Gordon: Jeffrey goes 0 for 4 on the prizes, and his 1 solo chip goes into the $0.
Chico: And almost immediately, you have folks calling "fix"...
Gordon: I agree. Jeffrey's brain needs to be fixed.
Chico: That's the only fix I saw.
Gordon: But we're not done.

In this week's 'As Our Stomach Turns' (AKA The Bachelor), Gia is accused of having a boyfriend (which she denies), while Jake talks about how he will always love self-departing contestant Ali - which is probably not boding well for any future relationships of finalists Tenley and Vienna. In addition, Rozlyn, during The Bachelor special, allegedly accuses Chris Harrison of going after the wife of the producer that got fired from the show and dares ABC to air that footage of her interview.

Jason: DAMN!
Chico: Excuse me?
Gordon: You know, all this backstage stuff is much more fun than the actual show itself.
Chico: Yep. NOW can we get to self-writing joke #2?
Gordon: NOW let's get into the jokes.
Chico: Right. Going Global to the UK...

Noel Edmonds is shopping a show called "Beat the Monkey".

Gordon: You know, I've never been paid to beat my monkey.
Jason: GOOD NIGHT!
Chico: That's... something between my hand and me.
Gordon: I want Noel to give me money to beat his monkey.
Jason: Me too!
Chico: I imagine it's like... Win Ben Stein's Money... with a chimp.
Jason: I want to beat his monkey in public
Gordon: I want to beat his monkey in front of beautiful women.
Jason: The reason why we are joking folks...THIS IS STUPID!
Gordon: I notice Chico is remarkably silent through this silliness.
Chico: I'm trying not to make the obvious joke.
Gordon: Come on. Its out there.
Chico: I mean... beating your monkey on network television? What would the children think?
Gordon: I'm more worried about what Palmela would think.
Chico: I'd like to see someone beat Noel's monkey.
Gordon: Hey! (DING!)
Jason: What?
Chico: OBVIOUS JOKE!
Jason: There you go.
Gordon: And now for hoes that are not connected to monkeys.
Jason: Let's do the hoes :)
Chico: Ho'ing.

In this week's Media Ho Report, Whitney Port will be a guest judge on America's Next Top Model, Atalya Slater of the same show gets into a fight at a nightclub, Anne Robinson gets a new studio...Simon Cowell and his make-up lady may or may not be an item, Kris Allen goes to Haiti, and allegedly neither Howard Stern nor Madonna will be on the American Idol judging staff next season.

Gordon: But none of them are the ho of the week.
Jason: Who is the ho?
Gordon: The ho is Drew Carey, who will celebrate episode #500 of The Price is Right on March 10th. Mark yon calendars.
Jason: I like that.
Chico: Interesting show coming up. His 500th. Now whoever makes it on stage... wins $500 right off the top.
Jason: That should be fun.
Chico: AND his ratings are up. That's a good thing.
Gordon: And those...are your hoes.
Chico: Finally.. Baseball time! Get me the orange bat, Gordon.
Gordon: (Gives the orange bat to Chico)

Nick is going ahead with season 2 of BrainSurge.

Gordon: Deservedly so. Very nice show.
Chico: Yep.
Jason: And the world says...NO BRAINER. One of the best shows of 2009 gets a new season.
Chico: We could very well see a companion, I'm hoping.
Jason: I hope so.
Chico: Alrighty, shut Brainvision down.
Jason: SHUTTING DOWN.
Chico: We're out of news.
Jason: Eve...it's ok. Good kitty. Gordon didn't mean it. Bad Gordon.
Gordon: What. Ever.
Chico: Still to come, we play What! Happens! First! But first.. What! Happens! First! Gordon?
Gordon: What Happens First is our annual look at the people who we think will (and won't) do well on American Idol. And unlike other predictions we do, we're actually pretty good at this, so stick around. You're reading WLTI. You give us 22 minutes, and we'll give you 22 Idol contestants in a psychiatrist's office 6 months from now wondering what went wrong.
Jason: I would love the commission on those bills.

(Brainvision has been brought to you by Survivor: Pearl Onions. The Top Chefs have to create a menu only based on island food, and the remaining castaways vote out the losing chef. It's a cross-over for the ages!)

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