Episode 24.7 - Rich Fields Forever
July 19

Gordon: This is Gordon Pepper, and on Fridays, we have out episode set for what we're going to talk about. Usually.
Chico: And then something happens on Saturday morning...
Joe: Cartoons?
Chico: No.
Joe: :(
Chico: Or at least not any of the good ones.
Gordon: you can call it comical, but it's not a comic.
Chico: Not yet...
Travis: It just needs a suggestion from the audience.
Gordon: We'll get to that - and why I may be the most hated game show commentator in around 20 minutes.
Chico: "Shut up and do your damn job!"
Gordon: ...but first, from somewhere in Rich Fields' new office (complete with stormcloud), this week's edition of WLTI....is....ON!!!!
Chico: What's good America, alongside Gordon, I'm Chico Alexander... and alongside the two of us, our two very special guests...
Gordon: We like guests. First up, from Ohio (not Cleveland) and now currently residing in CA, Mr. Travis Schario.
Travis: Thanks.
Chico: And from Pennsylvania, land of ... things from PA. His momma calls him Chris, we call him Joe Mello.
Joe: That's "niche Japanese music blogger" Joe Mello to you. And hi.
Gordon: We start this week with something that's been hinted at for almost 2 months, but not officially official until this morning. Rich Fields, announcer for The Price is Right, will be doing the weather for KCBS TV. He will not be announcing for TPIR next season - or possibly any other season of the show.
Chico: Rumors have been swirling around for weeks. Stories broke to SOME capacity this week, but nothing was official until Rich posted himself on his website this morning.
Gordon: And as you know about our site is that we won't do any sort of announcing until it's official.
Chico: The reason for the dismissal... we can't say, because honestly we don't know, but the signs are pointing toward a new direction that Mike Richards, the Executive Producer wanted to explore.
Gordon: Well, we sort of have an idea from Rich himself. Big Board please? This is what Rich Fields had to say about the situation.

Gordon: Now what I want to know is - What do the rest of you have to say about the situation?
Joe: On the upside, Rich still has a job (his old one, albeit 3000 miles away) and for every Rich Fields fan, there was one or two that didn't like him.
Travis: Personally, my feeling is that he was starting to grow a little big for his podium, and this was the prime time for the network to oust him after the whole "Barker Replacement" schism from a couple years back. He was trying to branch out and become a host, while announcing was more his milieu. I still maintain a positive opinion of the work he did for the show, and the help he's given to me over the past few years (including allowing me to be his webmaster), but one could see the writing on the Studio 33 walls.
Gordon: I'd personally like to say that Rich Fields is a very competent announcer. Despite the writing of the past few seasons, Rich was able to do a good job with what he was given.
Chico: I'm going to go with the whole "new direction" after seeing success with the theme shows, the Lonestar country invasion, etc. Add to that the success Mike had with LMAD this past year, and maybe he wanted to see if some of that could translate over to TPIR.
Gordon: Ok. Now I'm going to say something that will annoy the game show community. I think Mike Richards did the right thing.
Travis: Explain the logic underlying that conclusion.
Gordon: I am now going to put on the annoying producers hat.
Chico: *hands it over* Here you go, oh annoying one.
Gordon: *puts it on*
Travis: What's this "put on" crap? I thought you never took it off! :)
Gordon: I don't :) Anyhoo, what is the one complaint, ratings-wise about The Price is Right?
Chico: They've been languishing. Instead of stellar, they've been just... sorta-okay.
Travis: True.
Joe: And they aren't the "right" ratings
Chico: They've done good with an extremely small "g".
Travis: They've been surviving...and that's never the right way to go.
Gordon: Sort of, but not exactly. Close, though.
Chico: Okay, annoying one, what's the right answer?
Gordon: The problem is that they are the show with, far and away, the OLDEST median age in all of daytime. It's not just that they need more people. They need more 'young' people.
Chico: Basically.
Gordon: Specifically, the 18-49ers that are watching The View and various judge shows.
Joe: College students and sick kids can't be measured, so they're in a Catch-22, I guess.
Gordon: Right. So Out: Rich. In: Comedian and variety show feel to bring in more of the younger set. And if you want to make the show viable to product placements that aren't Life insurance and Pills, that's the way to go.
Chico: Who wants to bet that this won't work?
Joe: Can I bet fake money?
Travis: I'll throw my entire life savings down to say it won't work...all $7.
Chico: That may be the way to go, but on the other hand, you have the small but vocal contingent of folk that are so big a fan of what the show is, that they'll fight tooth and nail against what it could become. Not admirable in ANY sense, but there you go.
Gordon: Yes, but you don't have a contingency of people that will say 'Oh Rich Fields isn't on the show anymore, I won't watch'. So from that aspect, unfortunately, Rich is expendable. And most people will be like 'Aw, Rich is gone. I'm sad. Oh well. Let's see how new guy does.'
Chico: Guilty.
Gordon: Whether or not it works depends on 3 things. Big Board please?

Gordon: The Topic: How to Youth-enize, and not Euthenize. So the three things: #1. New guy has to put the game over himself. Drew didn't do a good job the first season. He did a very good job this past season.
Chico: He just let everything happen and you know. insert the random Drew-ism where needed. "Making friends in the front row."
Gordon: Let the jokes come in during the game when needed. Do not let the jokes run the game. #2. Him and Drew need to work on the rapport. Drew and Rich was a fun team. They have to be equals like Drew and Rich or it won't work.
Chico: As Rich said himself, they were "a couple of Cleveland polacks." Instant click, right there.
Gordon: Right. And Drew's input is going to be vital here.
Chico: So we're hoping that Drew learned a few things in the four years leading up to this...
Gordon: We. hope. and #3, and perhaps the most important one here. And this is a message to Mike. DO. NOT. SCREW. WITH. THE. FORMAT.
Chico: See above comment about small-but-vocal minorities.
Gordon: People watch the show so they can get onstage. You've seen the ratings on what happens when you make syndicated versions or play less games and add more comedy. The ratings plummet faster than the wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico.
Travis: Too late, judging by one of Rich's quotes.
Gordon: There's a small minority who will be upset if Rich goes away. There will be a huge majority that will be upset if the games go away.
Chico: Yeah, and that's the last thing that CBS and Fremantle want.
Travis: If Mr. Richards truly wants it to be more of a "variety show within a game show", the death knell from the Cloister Bell has already began to strike.
Chico: If viewers tune out en masse... well... it'll make the As the World Turns/Guiding Light massacres look like birthday presents.
Joe: My reading of Rich's quotes is that they aren't liberally screwing with the format yet. Probably more stuff like guest Showcase appearances and the such. But if Mike really wants elements of a daytime talker, then go make one on your own time.
Chico: Needless to say, this is one story we'll be following leading up to September premiere time. One thing we won't be following is the adventures... of a mole.

(Cooper the GSNN Mole pops up)

Chico: Sorry, Coop.



Chico: Now Gordon had an idea as to who the Big Brother Saboteur was last week. The fact that he was all sorts of wrong is irrelevant.
Joe: LOL
Gordon: Well she has breasts. Sort of.
Chico: Sort of. The relevant thing... the Saboteur was not only voted out, but she was done so UNANIMOUSLY. Good job, Annie. Really. Way to suck hard at this game.
Joe: She sabotaged one thing, all right.
Chico: All together now...
All: HERSELF.
Chico: But what does this mean for the house?
Joe: Unless CBS was crazy prepared, I think you almost have to pick a new mole.
Chico: Well, let's start with what we know. Rachel goes from worst to first as the new HOH. She nominates Monet and Britney. Britney goes on to win PoV. That's what we know SO FAR.
Gordon: If I'm Matt, I am concerned.
Chico: Agreed. The Veto has not been used yet, but unless Britney was a really big moron, she'll use it to save herself.
Gordon: I don't think she's that much of a moron.
Chico: No.
Gordon: What I'm annoyed about is that big Brother neglected to tell the houseguests that the Saboteur is gone.
Joe: I actually kinda like that, G
Chico: I think what Big Brother wants to do is plant the seeds of doubt to see what grows.
Gordon: Maybe. But You know with Annie in sequester, they will try to find a way to get her back in the house. With only 13 people playing, there will have to be a re-invite week.
Joe: If she does get re-invited, I think it's an in-and-out
Chico: "Not you again."
Gordon: Well you never know. If it's between Annie and Andrew per se, during week #5, they could bring her back.
Chico: We'll see.
Gordon: We are bringing back 4 talenters.



Gordon: Who do you got returning?
Chico: Nathaniel Kenyon, Fighting Gravity (one of our faves to win), Christina & Ali, And in the judges' choice between Future Funk & RNG.... Future Funk wins.
Gordon: 3 of the 4 is no surprise. As for Christina and Ali, this is why #1. a music group wins and #2. a backstory is powerful.
Chico: Explain the two vis-a-vis Christina & Ali.
Gordon: How would you rate their performance?
Chico: Meh. That's a rating, right?
Gordon: Meh is a rating.
Chico: Okay, then. Meh.
Gordon: Were they Top 4 caliber to you?
Chico: They were hardly top 12 caliber for me.
Gordon: But they were memorable. You knew them.
Chico: And why? Because of their story.
Gordon: Exactly. They got a lot of face time, And face time means everything.
Chico: They keep saying that they're not looking for dead parents or overcoming adverse situations... That's a load of rubbish and you know it.
Gordon: Of course. but it's a factor.
Chico: Right
Gordon: So of the 4, who has a chance to make the finals?
Chico: Fighting Gravity. Lots of room for surprises.
Gordon: I'll go with Gravity and Nate
Chico: I'll go with that. Wow. That was easy.
Gordon: Will you go with someone winning a million dollars on Minute to Win it?
Chico: Should be easy enough if you followed our advice from last week.
Joe: A million dollars or A million dollars*?
Chico: The latter.
Joe: Not sold on either, really



Gordon: You can go with it...but you'd be wrong.
Chico: The audience member is Ariyana Gent, a 28-year-old marketing/sales rep. You know how this works. It's Supercoin. You have 60 to get the quarter in the hole. She... DOESN'T. Not even close.
Gordon: Awwwwww. She should at least get a consolation prize. Like a cookie. Or a home game version.
Chico: Hasn't been released yet. Maybe one day when she least expects it. Oh well.
Gordon: Cookie?
Chico: ... Okay, let's get her a cookie. Heh.
Gordon: What about a chance to play better than the way people bet on Jeopardy?
Chico: I'd love that.



Chico: The champ is Van Lane. Cool guy, him.
Gordon: Yes, and you know, now is a good time to make fun of you.
Chico: Or Victoria Rduch?
Gordon: Yeah, her. And you.
Chico: You're gonna make fun of me?
Gordon: Yep.
Chico: ... well at least you gave me a heads-up this time.
Gordon: I did. Now let's set the stage.
Chico: Right. Van leads with $11,400 to Victoria's $13,000. Chris Dungan... $5200, still in it. The Final Jeopardy!... Historic Lasts...

IN THE "THANKS A LOT, FELLAS" DEPARTMENT, MONGOLIA WAS THE LAST COUNTRY TO JOIN THIS GROUP--AUGUST 9, 1945.

Joe: A co-worker said NATO, I said League of Nations. Both of us were wrong, but him more so.
Gordon: What is the last country to air their own version of Hole in the Wall?
Chico: In 1945? That would be... WRONG!
Gordon: I guess you're looking for What are the Allies?
Chico: Right.
Gordon: Now I would like to point out that 2 weeks ago, you told us that if you're in the lead, you shouldn't bet your stack to cover second.
Chico: Right.
Gordon: Victoria, only betting $5,000, listened to you. Van bet his stack and won. Defend yourself.
Chico: The book said that Van could hold back and still win had Victoria been wrong, but in the moment, he decided that beating Victoria was more important. Victoria should've picked up on that.
Gordon: $5,000 is a terrible bet to make there. There's an easy bet here. you MUST cover Van, who's the defending champ. You owe Victoria $22,801.
Chico: The check is in the mail. Along with your TPIR Prizes. Though it would all come to a screeching halt on Friday's show. #1 Pop Hits for you to ponder..

A 1987 REMAKE OF THIS 1959 HIT WAS THE FIRST SONG WITH ALL SPANISH LYRICS TO HIT #1 ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100.

Gordon: Well me first thought is 'What is Chi-quila'
Chico: Umm.. no.
Gordon: Then I was thinking 'What is La Bamba'
Chico: Umm. yeah!
Gordon: Whoo-hoo!
Chico: John Krizel returns Monday to defend his $26,001 after Van Lane put down "Tequila". Tequila doesn't have lyrics. So... Bad, Van. Also bad... injuries. For the second week in a row, the roster on So You Think You Can Dance is riddled with injuries. This time, it's Ashley Galvan.
Gordon: Ashley has hurt ribs. So much so that she has to bow out of the competition. So we've essentially had 2 weeks worth of dancing exhibitions.
Chico: This is really beginning to suck.
Gordon: Well, that's been the whole idea of all--stars.
Chico: And this season. It's losing to Minute to Win, which is exciting as it is mediocre. But I'll give it to you that season 1.5 is a lot better than 1.0.
Gordon: Speaking of which, the hamsters proposed the idea of a stunt.
Chico: What's that?
Gordon: Million dollar catnip. Throw a clove of it into a large barrel filled with water.
Chico: *does* DONE! What do I win?
Gordon: A very unhappy Eve.

(Eve snarls)

Chico: *throws another ball into the Choppler* Go get it, girl!

(Eve runs into the Choppler)

Gordon: Way to bait the cat into a barrel of water, Chico.
Chico: Thanks, now let's start the news.
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)

Chico: Thanks, Doug. Doug Morris, the voice of Brainvision News. We've yet to get rid of him and that's a good thing.
Gordon: it is. So are bats. (Gives Chico the bat)
Chico: Thank you.

Downfall is ending a week earlier than planned.

Chico: Why? Depends on who you ask, but the prevailing wisdom is that after episode #1, the producers went back to the editing room and sped up the game play. The result is five episodes, not six. And since no one has presented evidence to the contrary, that's the story we're going with.
Gordon: If that's the reason why, then it's a valid one to me. the gameplay was ridiculously slow and it needed to be sped up. The fact that they had no big winners didn't help them.
Chico: Chris Jericho took to his Twitter and even went so far as to say that they're ready to shoot another cycle of episodes...
Gordon: They may be ready to, but that doesn't mean they got the renewal call. Nor do I think they will for the Winter. This is strictly a summer show.
Chico: Agreed. It has the summer earmarks. And in the long run, it's a good game... albeit a harmless one. As for speeding up the show - Producers actually doing the right thing for once? Are you kidding me?
Gordon: You know, not all producers are evil.
Chico: No, just the evil ones. Heh.
Gordon: Like moi?
Chico: Like toi.
Gordon: Well fine. But producers make shows. And they go into a Datebook.
Chico: Yep.

July 21st has Pros Vs. Joes (Maybe). But the big story - July 18th. 24 hour Restaurant Battle. Why? Because a certain Haterade may be in one of those episodes.

Chico: A preview on that day, and the premiere on Wednesday. With Chopped regular Scott Conant hosting.
Gordon: I will say that in the episode I was in, none of them deserved to make our blackboard. That is a good thing.
Chico: Ah. Good. How about a motherboard?
Gordon: Sure. Now a few weeks ago, we went after Paris Hilton's entourage, for being busted for Marijuana. We noted that Hilton herself, though was not part of that group.
Chico: Right.
Gordon: You know what's coming next, don't you?
Chico: ... yup.

Are YOU Smarter than...Paris Hilton, who DOES get busted for marijuana possession in Corsica?

Chico: KNEW IT!
Gordon: She gets a double duncecap, not just for being busted, but for not being careful when she saw her own entourage get busted.
Chico: Then again, think about who we're talking about here.
Gordon: True. What about some Haterade?
Chico: What about it?
Gordon: Want it?
Chico: Yup

Erin Andrews, who had to go through the whole stalked ordeal, is now suing Marriott and Radisson hotels. It's for an undisclosed amount of money, but I bet it's a lot.

Chico: Because it's a corporation, and that's what you do. I guess that's why we have Jenn Brown to fall back on as resident ESPN/game show hussy now.
Gordon: Until the next season of Dancing With the Stars. And the hotel CEO needs to get fully loaded.

On one hand, you have the departure of 1 vs. 100 on Xbox Live. Awww. Had I an Xbox, I'd be crying.



Chico: Thank you.

On the other hand, now you can play The Price Is Right as a beta on Facebook.

Gordon: Ummm...yeah...about that.
Chico: Tell me about that
Gordon: Now we're told that it's glitchy, which it is. If you're playing it on a PC, it's very pretty.
Chico: Very pretty.
Gordon: If you're playing it on a Mac, it has more bugs than Lindsay Lohan's love tomato after she gets out of prison.
Chico: Owww.
Gordon: And things don't make sense even on the PC. Only 6 games to play in the game show library, and an automatic 10,000 points to the last 2 people winning their contestant's row bids? I do like that you can play against Facebook people all over the net, but there's a lot here they need to fix.
Chico: Luckily it's a beta. Lots of room for improvement.
Gordon: Very true. And of course, they now have to change the voice of the announcer. :P
Chico: Ran-dy-west...
Gordon: They are using clips of shows already on the air. They need to make a second edition once the new season gets rolling.
Chico: Okay, let's go global. This week, we're heading all through Europe. First, the UK...

101 Ways to Leave a Game Show will be exported all over the place after 4 million people watched the show in the UK last week.

Gordon: I saw that show also.
Chico: It's... it's like Wipeout, if it were a quiz show. Basically like Gladiators 2000 if you remember Ryan Seacrest's early career. Not particularly remarkable, but... it serves its purpose... Light entertainment.
Gordon: The premise: you have a certain sets of answers to a question. one of them is wrong. Whoever picks the wrong one goes away.
Chico: In a humorous fashion.
Gordon: It's ok. It's the same variation - which is someone falls. Just different ways to do it. I thought they could do so much more with it.
Chico: Ehh, it's early.

Across the Channel to France now, as the country will get its own version of "Baggage".

Gordon: Cause if there's anyone that knows about love, it's the French.
Chico: Yes.
Gordon: If there's anyone that knows about Media Hoes, it's the US.
Chico: (plays "Pimpin All Over the World"*

In this week's Media Ho Report, Nina Garcia (Project Runway) is expecting a baby, Bruce Forsythe regrets doing too many game shows, Bret Michaels says he's NOT engaged...Crystal Bowersox tells America to lay off her ex-boyfriend, Clay Aiken will guest star in Phinneas and Ferb, Howie Mandel does BC...JD Roth interviews in LA, we get the Project Runways 17 contestants for Season 8, and Kelly Osbourne splits with her fiance.



Chico: Aww And there's not a bachelorette amongst you.
Gordon: Nothing really exciting in Bachelorette-land this week. Sorry to disappoint you.
Chico: Trust me, I'm not :)
Gordon: But none of them are the hoes of the week.
Chico: What you got?
Gordon: I've got Betty White, who not only is 'hot in Cleveland', but is also in the season premiere of 'Community', as well as other shows.
Chico: Nice.
Gordon: BTW, hot in Cleveland got an expected renewal.
Chico: Also nice.
Gordon: And those...are your hoes.
Chico: And that's Brainvision. Shut her down, Joe...
Joe: At least there's one winner still in Cleveland
Chico: Yup. Alright, still to come, a midsummer night's nightmare... of product tie-ins. But first... because we love Chinese... and Japanese... and Filipino and Thai alike... it's World Cup time1
Gordon: Hai! You're reading WLTI. You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you 22 potential announcers for The Price is Right. Starting with me.
Chico: Give us your radio voice, G.

(Brainvision has been brought to you today by 101 Ways to Fire a Game Show Announcer. Texting, Emailing, Face to Face, Lawyer's Note, Singing Telegram...)

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