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Episode 34.13/14: 2013
YEAR IN REVIEW December 16/23 |
 Chico: MrowrGordon: Whoopie! Chico: Right now, let's talk about JULY... JULY 2013. Jason: The summer of RACISM. Chico: Seriously. The boys at Big Brother wanted drama. They got it. In spades. And regrettably it was one of the bigger seasons on record. Jason: People loved the trainwreck. Here's the problem...no one on the show was likable. Chico: Not a damn one. Jason: That's all on the casting department. And then there was pretty much no punishment for it. Julie Chen only did ONE good interview. The finale should have been an explosion of conversation. Instead they swept it under the rug, Gordon: Technically, besides looking like an idiot, there was nothing wrong, except loss of jobs, which was the right punishment. Jason: Agreed Chico: I honestly wanted more fireworks. Jason: Me too Chico: I wanted Julie Chen to be, for once in her career, a consummate professional interviewer. Jason: I personally believe she was told by her hubby not to. Gordon: I agree with Jason. You can't pile up too much on your Summer surplus Chico: But you can expect that heads are going to roll at Endemol for this. Gordon: I don't think so. Jason: But I think the casting process will be tougher next year. Gordon: Probably. Jason: Yes but wasn't this month the debut of something well...sinister? :) Chico: I'd say.. MURDEROUS. It was a Whodunnit. Gordon: My favorite new show of 2013. Jason: Whodunnit was one of the most over the top, clever, and bizarre shows of 2013 Chico: And it was one of the best shows we've seen, until the end. Seriously, where was the continuity editor? Jason: The show was so good people thought people died on the show for REALZ. But this show has a loyal fan base, two books and a producer in Anthony Zuiker that WANTS this back for a season 2. Chico: It's just a matter of finding a network that will air it. Jason: Dammit, this show had ZOMBIES. Augustus: RWORW Gordon: Yes, yes, Augustus. The zombies were cool. Chico: Talk about meta. Jason: And of course, GILES. Chico: No contestants died in the making of the series, but they were riding that train for all its worth. And Giles, perhaps the breakout star of the summer. Chico: Also launching in July, I'm going to need to breathe now...American Ninja Warrior, Food Court Wars, Deal with It, Get Out Alive, Wild'n Out, Hollywood Game Night, Summer Camp, Ink Master, Perfect Score, Supermarket Superstar, Top Chef Masters, Spell-Mageddon, and the revival of an old favorite, WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? Jason: Some good stuff there: Whose Line, Wild N Out, Hollywood Game Night. But Summer Camp...YIPES. Gordon: Surprisingly, the summer had some real gems. Unsurprisingly, it had some stinkers. Chico: The big gem would come in... AUGUST 2013 Chico: And by big, we mean REALLY big. As in 6'7", 330 pounds big. Jason: BEAST-ly. Chico: It's GSN's biggest premiere of the year, THE CHASE. Jason: and here's the thing, the show lived up to the hype. Gordon: Almost. They didn't port the exact UK version over, but what they did port over more than sufficed the fans who wanted to see this game being played. Chico: If you've been following us for any length of time, you know that we're big fans of the original British version of the series. Hard trivia against the clock , and against a titan of trivia, Mark Labbett. And the combination of it all just clicked. It just resonated. Jason: Well you have to look at everyone on the show. Bob Boden knows his stuff. Brooke Burns has turned competent. And Labbett is a star. And people WE know have won and played. Chico: And the format just lends itself. Jason: And the ratings are showing itself that show has a fan base. Chico: And here's the thing. We've said, well, a few of us anyway, have said, the moment people outside of the fan base start talking about this, that's when you know we have something. Jason: And we do. Gordon: It needs some polish, but this is the crown gem stone in the collection and GSN needs to advertise it. You have 2 people who really can make this work. Chico: Meanwhile, the CW gives us Capture, which is totally not like the Hunger Games meets Survivor Jason: Which was also not like Manhunt from UPN Chico: Of course not. Gordon: And is totally not getting a second season. Chico: Nope :) Meanwhile, we did lose a legendary figure in the game show world in Henry Polic II, the man that was seemingly born to be Bob Stewart's go-to. Not to mention journalist David Frost. He hosted "That Was the Week That Was" and "Ultra Quiz". Gordon: In terms of more shows, we had more Great Food Truck Race, more Face Off, and more Family Game Night. Chico: So that was the summer. Now let's talk about the fall. SEPTEMBER 2013 Chico: Three words, WATCH YO WALLET! TPIR is sticking to the hardcores to open the season. With its Emmy, and its theme shows, and its guest models, and something stuck to everyone.. the 30 year anniversary celebration of Plinko. Now don't get me wrong. I love me some Plinko. Jason: It was the only misstep of the season so far. It was TOO much of a good thing Gordon: The fact that they gave away almost nothing didn't help. Chico: Yup Jason: It was the only stunt so far that felt forced. Chico: Of the entire fall season, it seemed. Every other stunt felt right in place. Take for example, Survivor. They had Blood vs. Water. Jason: Which threw new dynamics in and it worked. Gordon: Yes, but we had something that definitely did NOT work. Chico: Do tell Jason: THE MILLION SECOND QUIZ Chico: AAAAAAAAHHHH Jason: Over the last weeks of August. Ryan Seacrest promised the most interactive show ever. Chico: It wasn't. Promising the biggest payout in game show history. Jason: It wasn't. We had bad interactivity, confusing rules... Chico: And an asterisk of a payout. Jason: and a huge set. Chico: And we were just thrust into everything. Jason: BIGGEST disappointment of 2013 Chico: Expecting to know everything. Jason: A lot of our friends made it into the "money chair" and won nothing Chico: They won a $5 gift card from Subway, which, by the way, footed the bill for this spectacle with THENETWORKSOFNBCUNIVERSAL. Jason: This was a cluster. Chico: A complete and utter cluster Gordon: I think a lot of the reason why we're nailing this down is because we wanted this to be great and it wasn't. It had all of the pieces but missed out on the execution. If they do have season 2, hopefully, they make it better. Chico: That is correct. Gordon: We preferred the 30th anniversary season of J! Chico: Yes we did. and to celebrate, we have 45 of the best players in the last 30 years to compete in the Battle of the Decades. The stakes have never been higher. And we will see all 45 of them in action in the new year. Jason: The 31st season of Wheel with a new Express Wedge and the retirement of the Jackpot Space Chico: The game of the year for 2012 sees season 2, Let's Ask America. Jason: And a syndication deal for Season 3 Chico: Meaning that ALL of America will be asked. Jason: LMAD comes back for Season 5. Bigger and Badder than ever. With a mommy to be on Maternity leave Chico: Tiffany Coyne is taking some baby time, so we meet Danielle Demski. She's good people. And we have another big player of the year nom in Josina Reaves, who gives Cedric the Entertainer his first big Million Dollar Moment. Close, but no million. Jason: Yup Chico: Two new cookery shows bowed in September, Knife Fight, whatever, and MasterChef Junior, which just got renewed. Gordon: Also a whatever. Chico: We'll talk about that in detail later in the show. Jason: Yup Chico: Now let's move on to... OCTOBER 2013 Chico: We have our first celebrity on The Biggest Loser in Ruben Studdard. Jason: *yawn* Chico: And NBC used every bit of their power to milk this for all its worth. Gordon: Hi Ruben...bye Ruben...oh wait hi, again...see ya. Chico: I still think that re-return midseason was a bit squirrelly. Jason: Very squirelly if you ask me Chico: But that's just me. We have premiering Halloween Wars, Big Break NFL, Guy's Grocery Games, and a rather ingenious game for MTV, The Hook Up. Chico: It's like Baggage for millennials. Jason: right :) Gordon: A fun little diversion,. Chico: We also had, dueling talent shows. One on the rise and one sinking like a brick. One with an air of familiarity, and one with Simon Cowell and three chicks. Jason: The Voice and X Factor Chico: One that definitely WILL be back in 2014 fall time, and one that probably won't. Jason: right. Gordon: Which goes to show that not all ideas across the pond are good ones. Chico: The Voice had two of its flagship judges return in Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera. We'll talk more about that later. Right now, let's talk about.. NOVEMBER 2013 Chico: A BIG sweeps month. Dream cars on TPIR. Super Deal on LMAD Gordon: And it could be known as the producers that wanted to give everything out and the contestants that didn't want it. Jason: Nice. Some of those cars will reappear on the Best of 2013 show Chico: I bet. And an announcement that rocked the game show world in the UK. Chris Tarrant was leaving Millionaire and taking the show with him. Jason: One of the biggest game show stories of 2013. Chico: A world without the hosting stylings of Chris Tarrant, scary. Then we start to hear rumblings about a new game for fall of 2014 to be paired with Family Feud. Celebrity Name Game with Craig Ferguson. Meanwhile, Comedy Central has a new panel series, @midnight, making a game out of all the crap you see online. Seriously, Facebookers, Twittererers, Yelpers, etc, dial it back to a 5. Jason: :) Chico: DisneyXD premiered Japanizi! Going Going Gong!, the junior version of I Survived a Japanese Game Show. Steve Harvey hosted a special Family Feud with Cake Boss vs. Honey Boo Boo. Oh yeah, and the Chase returned with a vengeance on BOTH sides of the Atlantic. Jason: HUGE Chico: While we're on GSN. How about another pickup. Shop 'til You Drop. Jason: Ah yes. Chico: See, again, this is one of those shows that you start watching it at an early age and it's like "God this is awful." But you watch it later, and it's okay! I don't get it! Gordon: No, it's still awful. Jason: It's still awful but not heinously bad Chico: It's not as bad as people made it out to be. Gordon: Oh yes it is. Jason: it's cheese Chico: Processed Pasteurized cheese product. But it melts well. Gordon: No it doesn't. Chico: Hater. And we ended it by saying farewell to an unknown actor, former I'm Telling contestant. You may have seen his work, Paul Walker. And now we arrive at... DECEMBER 2013 Chico: Bob Barker celebrates his birthday on TPIR by looking for homes for animals. Jason: And hosts a showcase Chico: And calls someone on down to Contestant's Row. It was a keeper of an episode. Jason: Very much so Chico: And a return of an old favorite, The Sing-Off. Jason: We have winners! Tyson on Survivor Chico: Amber Riley on Dancing with the Stars. And a couple more that we'll talk about momentarily. And there was one premiere that we're still wondering what the hell happened to get that on the air, TruTV's Panic Button. Gordon: They panicked. Chico: Heh. Meanwhile, TBS looks like they have another hit on their hands with Trust Me, I'm a Game Show Host. Jason: AKA the BS Game from GSN Radio :) Chico: Thanks Mark Burnett! And that brings us to... THIS WEEK. Which we'll talk about after the break. This is WLTI's 2013 Year in Review. Stick and stay, friends. (Brought to you by NY Giants and Jet Bowling Parties! Not doing anything in January? Neither are they, which makes it a good time for them to host their own Superbowl Parties.) CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE |
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