Episode 17.13
March 31

Jason: Very cute.
Gordon: Cuite - and probably illegal in 40 states
Jason: just about.
Chico: Sorry, Tennessee.
Gordon: Anyways, as you all know, this year is an Olympic Year.
Jason: Yup. 2008 - Beijing China
Chico: NBC.
Gordon: And in honor of that - and Piers Morgan's win on the Celebrity Apprentice, I decided to add some international flavor this week. So we'll be doing some Who's Your Daddy.
Jason: Got it.
Gordon: This week's topic - Foreign Impact. Who's the best foreigners to grace our shores?
Chico: Interesting
Gordon: You can label 'best' any way you please.
Jason: Understood.
Gordon: Ready?
Chico: Let's go
Gordon: First one...

Padma Lakshmi (India) - Hostess of Top Chef

Gordon: She being the hostess of Top Chef - a show Chico can't watch.
Chico: Aww.
Jason: She is very good.
Gordon: Second one... Heidi Klum (Germany) - Hostess of Project Runway
Jason: Above Lakshmi but not by much
Chico: Yeah, but Heidi's got a higher Q rating. Above.
Jason: Wife of Seal and still smoking hot

Heidi -> Padma

Gordon: Next one... Bruno Tonioli (Italy) - Dancing With the Stars Judge
Chico: Enough to have another show. Above Heidi.
Jason: Below Lakshmi. He is overrated in impact.
Gordon: I agree with...Jason. Having your own show which slipped faster than a banana peel is not a good sign.

Heidi -> Padma -> Bruno

Gordon: Next one... Phil Keoghan (New Zealand) - Amazing Race Host
Jason: Above Heidi.
Chico: Above Heidi. Underrated.
Gordon: Make it a 3 some

Phil -> Heidi -> Padma -> Bruno

Gordon: Next one... Howie Mandel (Canada) - Deal or No Deal Host
Jason: Sorry, Phil. Above Phil. Hottest host on the hottest game show.
Chico: Between Heidi & Padma
Gordon: I have to go over Phil as well. Culturally speaking, He's been on many more shows than any of the others (St. Elsewhere, Bobby's World, etc.)
Jason: And a successful stand up comedy career before that.
Gordon: According to averages, Howie is here...

Phil -> Howie -> Heidi -> Padma -> Bruno

Gordon: Next one - Piers Morgan (UK) - America's Got Talent Judge and Celebrity Apprentice Winner
Jason: Honestly...below Padma.
Chico: Great mastermind of business. Can't judge for (%_%). Below Bruno.
Jason: Overrated in Impact and his judging profile....
Gordon: He's the splash page now, but he needs some more time to develop.
Chico: Right

Phil -> Howie -> Heidi -> Padma -> Piers -> Bruno

Chico: Half way home
Gordon: Next one... Gordon Ramsay (UK) - Hell's Kitchen Host
Jason: Above Piers....
Chico: Dead center. That's the foodie in me talking.
Gordon: Yay foodie!
Jason: He is a one note samba...never ate in his restaurants.
Gordon: I think that Top Chef is a better show than Hell's Kitchen, so...

Phil -> Howie -> Heidi -> Padma -> Gordon -> Piers -> Bruno

Gordon: Next one... Alex Trebek (Canada) - Jeopardy! Host
Chico: Sorry, Phil. Leader of the pack.
Jason: Above Phil. He is the man.
Gordon: Agreed, All of the years of game show hosting verify the credentials.

Alex -> Phil -> Howie -> Heidi -> Padma -> Gordon -> Piers -> Bruno

Gordon: Next one... Simon Cowell (UK) - American Idol Judge and Reality Game Show Producer
Jason: If you can drive a $2M Sports Car (Bugatti Veyron), you are the man. Above Alex. The most powerful foreigner in the business today.
Chico: Below Alex. He's got a couple of flashes in the pan, but Alex has staying power. As for J's comment... welcome to the game show version of "Top Gear".
Jason: Sorry, I am a car geek.
Chico: I know. I learned with the Bentley incident as the fourth Congress. :-)
Jason: LOL
Gordon: Simon has American Idol. He also has America's Got Talent...and Cupid. Simon hasn't shown me that he can get out of reality, while Alex has done all sorts of game shows for many a year. Hence...

Alex -> Simon -> Phil -> Howie -> Heidi -> Padma -> Gordon -> Piers -> Bruno

Gordon: Last regular one... Bruce Forsythe (UK) - Game Show Hosting Legend
Chico: He's been on both sides of the pond... Lower than Alex, but not by much.
Jason: Below Simon...not by much.
Gordon: I'll go with Jay again. I don't think he has the name power here in the US. I'll put him below Howie, actually, so in the averages...

Alex -> Simon -> Phil -> Bruce -> Howie -> Heidi -> Padma -> Gordon -> Piers -> Bruno

Gordon: And now, it's time for the Spoilers. This time, we have 3 of them instead of the normal 2, but you'll see why that is the case.
Chico: *spoiler music*
Gordon: First Spoiler... Reg Grundy (Australia) - Responsible for many shows - including Sale of the Century and Scrabble
Chico: Good job, Reg. He's dead, right?
Jason: Nope...still alive.
Gordon: (Reg)I'm Not Dead Yet(/Reg)
Chico: Okay. I wonder what he has to say about Temptation...
Gordon: (Reg)Ack.....(Thunk)(/Reg) Thanks a lot, Chico.
Jason: Above Simon.
Chico: Under Simon.
Gordon: From a name perspective, only the old schoolers know him. So I gotta move him under Simon

Alex -> Simon -> Reg -> Phil -> Bruce -> Howie -> Heidi -> Padma -> Gordon -> Piers -> Bruno

Gordon: Next Spoiler... Michael Davies (UK) - Millionaire / Grand Slam Producer
Chico: Above Simon.
Jason: Below Reg. He needs more longevity
Chico: Give'em a couple more years, he'll plow Reg's US record.
Gordon: He's got more staying power. Above Simon. He, like Simon, needs another 'Hit'.
Chico: Which so far is three shows... That I know of. Sorry, four shows by Reg Grundy. Forgot "Time Machine."
Gordon: You're considering that a hit?
Chico: ...no. I'd LIKE to forget Time Machine.

Alex -> Mike -> SImon -> Reg -> Phil -> Bruce -> Howie -> Heidi -> Padma -> Gordon -> Piers -> Bruno

Gordon: Last one... Mark Burnett (UK) - Survivor, 5th Grader, The Apprentice, etc.
Jason: Below Simon.
Chico: He has accomplished in 10 short years what Alex has in 30. Between Alex and Mike.
Gordon: I'm putting him above Mike. Mark has shown me that he can succeed in both Reality and Studio shows.
Chico: Again, it's a matter of that next "hit." Mark doesn't have to worry about "that next hit" because he has THREE right now.
Jason: Yeah.
Chico: And he's doing Roma Downey.
Gordon: Mark's got a nice little resume. I think Alex's is a smidge better - but in a few years, this chart I think will look very different.
Chico: I think if we're still around in a few years... this is due for a revisit.
Gordon: But as of right now, it looks like this -

Alex -> Mark -> Mike -> SImon -> Reg -> Phil -> Bruce -> Howie -> Heidi -> Padma -> Gordon -> Piers -> Bruno

Chico: Alex is the daddy...Piers is the baby...and Bruno is the shoe.
Jason: lol
Chico: Agree or disagree? E-mail us with your list. WLTI@gameshownewsnet.com.  Meanwhile, we finish off the blonde in the Big Finish.

(Brought to you by America: The CD... 15 tracks sung awkwardly by Kristy Lee Cook... You'll feel good buying it, but you'll feel funny after a five-hour road trip)

Chico: Take a listen to track 1... Downloaded it onto my iPod..

*"Amazing Grace" from the original audition*

Jason: Not bad.
Chico: Now there's this...

*"Amazing Grace" from the Hollywood round*

Jason: Ouch.
Chico: Wait... There's more...

*"Amazing Grace" sung through a vocoder*

Chico: Bonus track.
Jason: That's David Cook.
Chico: Oh.. guess they had to sneak on a good track.
Gordon: Why do they all have 14 Tracks of Amazing Grace and 1 track of God Bless the U.S.A.?
Chico: Uhhh...reminder... something new every day this week..

Monday: Bingo America.
Tuesday: Hell's Kitchen
Wednesday: Ultimate Fighter
Thursday: Rock the Cradle
Friday: Duel.

Gordon: Maybe...anyways, BIG FINISH time. So who leaves Idol this week?
Chico: I'm going out on a limb and saying Jason.
Gordon: I'll go out on a smaller limb and say that Kristy Lee Cook and Brooke White takes Carly's votes and sends her packing
Jason: I think Ramiele.
Chico: You think Michael Johns will channel countryman Keith Urban?
Gordon: I do, actually. He should.
Chico: okay. What about Dancing?
Jason: Not sure.
Chico: I was all prepped to say Adam after last week... now... I'm still prepped to say it. Adam.
Gordon: I'm going to stay with Marissa
Jason: I'll go with Adam
Gordon: Next Moment of Truth is the Season Finale. Will we have someone go over $100,000?
Chico: Probably.
Jason: Yes.
Chico: And it'll be pretty entertaining in an almost sick way to watch.
Jason: Almost sick? :)
Chico: In an almost sick way. So who's watching what this week?
Jason: Well, I am watching Idol, and maybe tape Bingo America. Duel...no...Rock the Cradle...hell no. Hell's Kitchen? *!^# no.
Gordon: I'm watching everything. I dont have a choice. This is my job.
Chico: I'm on the same boat as Gordon.
Gordon: And we have email. We love mail from you guys
Chico: Lay it on me, bro.
Gordon: This is from Brad Hasbrouck. Thanks, Brad!

Chico: Fox tried. They failed. Big time.
Jason: It was called Big Deal. It's sucked Big Time. Let sleeping games lie...at least for a little while longer.
Gordon: After watching What They did to Big Deal...no. But at least it was better than what NBC did with Billy Bush
Jason: Oh my god. That was brutal.
Chico: Ay. Not even Monty Hall could save it, it was that bad. Valiant try, but alas... only a try.
Gordon: Ok. If you got an email you want us to answer, where should they send it to?
Chico: wlti@gameshownewsnet.com. OR you can visit us at myspace.com/wltiongsnn. Either way... drop us a line. Tell us how we're doing. Speak your piece. Do an impersonation of Jason.
Jason: Oh boy. :)
Gordon: Anyways, for Chico and Jason, this is Gordon Pepper, wishing you all a pleasant Game Over
Jason: And of course...spread the love...and dont suffer any fools this week.
Chico: Peace out!