August 7, 2006

Gordon: This is Gordon Pepper, and Project Runway would like to know...are you a good mommy or a bad mommy?
Jason:  How do you  mean?
Chico:  What kind of question's that?
Gordon: That was the catchphrase in last week's Project Runway when being asked to describe a contestant. 'She's bad mommy. I had a good mommy, but she's a bad mommy.'
Jason:  (shudders)
Chico:  That phrase was bad mommy.
Jason:  Bad Mommy indeed.
Chico:  And from somewhere in America, the mother of all web-chat-based game-show-oriented radio shows... is... on!
Gordon: Chico Alexander is the good mommy, I am the bad mommy and we have joining us this morning the good son, Mr. Jason Block.
Jason:  Hi Moms!
Chico:  Alright. We know what you're thinking. It's hot outside. Forget outside.. Sit indoors. Watch a game show... we've got tons! And by we, I mean the TV.
Gordon: The TV does have tons, and two much hyped debuts this past week. The new Chain Reaction and the very new Starface.
Chico:  Chain Reaction... from the producers of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. It retains the 1980s version with a slight twist. Players play for cash money, speed rounds are added, and there's a gambling bit in round 4. So now that we've seen it, finally. Let's take a look at what's good... and what needs some serious work. Big board, please :)

Chico:  Title: Chains of Love/Chain of Fools.
Jason:  (starts dancing Motown style)
Chico:  That's some good dancing. So let's go over the bad stuff first. First... the judging. How many times have we seen someone get a free word... just by spelling it out?
Jason:  That didn't happen in the 1980's version...not good.
Chico:  That didn't happen in ANY version. When the last letter came up, you knew it was the last letter because Bill/Geoff/Blake told you.
Gordon: I don't know why they did that instead of keeping with the original. If you must dumb down the game, at least tell them that's the last letter first without revealing it.
Chico:  Exactly. That's what Bill/Geoff/Blake did.
Jason:  I don't think they did  that in the pilot version either.
Chico:  Now if I was looking from the sidelines at the pilot, I'd put a whisper into Davies' ear about that. But I suppose this is why I don't work on productions, Because I would point these things out every few ... seconds. Also on the judging, apparently "forms of words" are also no-gos.
Jason:  It has to be exact or nothing at all.
Gordon: Although later on in the week, they did accept plural answers for singular ones, and vice versa.
Chico:  So there's at least an improvement. Lots of room for changes. Remember, this is a 65-episode order... and pretty much a work in progress.
Gordon: Major work in progress, leading to the next gripe...the pacing of the show. I think that they didn't put enough show in.
Chico:  A little bit too slow for people to play along with at home.
Gordon: There should be chains of 7 words instead of 5 words, because not only is the play too slow with 5, but Dylan has to do a lot of tap dancing, and you can only do so much tap dancing.
Chico:  Another gripe. Minor one... but still... is Dylan Lane just a bit too tragically hip for this?
Gordon: I think Dylan will get better in time. I do see signs of a good emcee in there. You have to give him time.
Chico:  I can give him time. I'm just saying what I saw this week. And this isn't his first hosting job, so there's that.
Gordon: The pacing isn't helping him. He needs to be more of a straight man and only comment when the answers are ridiculous. Because the game is so slow, it feels like he has to comment on every answer. That's not Dylan's fault. That's the game's fault for not taking up enough space.
Chico:  You could add another word to each chain and that would remedy the problem. But that's just me.
Gordon: If you added 2 more words on each chain, you quicken the pace and you still get the silly humor in.
Chico:  I mean, he does more reading and less actual presenting for my tastes.
Gordon: Continuing with the gripes, the lack of strategy in the game is painful to watch. If you are trailing by 900, and there are 2 words left, and the most you can bet is 500, what are you betting on a word, Chico?
Chico:  I'm betting 500... especially if I know the word.
Jason:  Yes.
Gordon: The team on Friday's episode bet 100...and got the word right. With only 1 word left, that's game, match and poor playing.
Chico:  It's basically exercising blackjack betting strategy in that final round. Bet high when you know it, low when you don't. You know you have a  big lead. Why settle for that when you can border on near impossible to catch? That goes back to "players who can't strategize worth a lick."
Gordon: The ones that can don't get past the audition rooms, apparently.
Jason:  Apparently. Speaking of which, I have a big gripe.
Chico:  RECYCLED MATERIAL!
Jason:  You got it. The speed chains were on the audition test. I have no problem with them using tests that have ALREADY BEEN BROADCAST! But if Jeopardy can come up with 13,000 non-repeating questions a year. I think the staff could have done that as well. That is very bad juju.
Chico:  Oooohh... Bad juju. Well, we went over the bad, but there is some redeeming qualities here. a) The game is very solid. Given that someone knows how to win it, expect to see someone really blow out the water.
Gordon: I do like the betting structure and I do like the fact that they didn't yutz around with the game play. I wouldn't mind them being allowed to bet during the speed rounds either.
Chico:  See? More light at the end of this tunnel. The game... also very solid. Also very addictive.
Gordon: Since they have the time, I wouldn't mind them putting in a Last Chance Speed Round, with whoever getting control being allowed to risk everything. That would set up more exciting finishes.
Chico:  So established, the potential for greatness is there, but it's not without some fixable flaws.
Jason:  Yes. We want you to succeed, Chain Reaction.
Gordon: It's a fair show that can improve with a lot of tweaks. C+ for me.
Chico:  I like Chain Reaction. If they fix this stuff, I'll like it even more. I give it a B-
Gordon: Block?
Jason:  Great potential, needs to improve a lot. C
Chico:  Next up, Starface. Think about what would happen if they made "The Soup" into a game show.  That's basically what this amounts to. It's what Dougie called "On the Cover"... on acid. But do you guys like it as much as he did?
Gordon: I hated On The Cover, and as for this show, I'd rather be doing Acid.
Chico:  Well... Big Board Sequel!

Chico:  Title: Rising Star/Falling Star. Let's go over the hindrances before we go over the helpers.
Jason:  Ok.
Gordon: The format. Danny ask questions. You answer questions. No other strategy whatsoever.
Jason:  Got it.
Chico:  Next off... Danny Bonaduce... If I may quote Piers Morgan. "You're what we call an acquired taste. And I haven't acquired it, yet." I mean, the guy is funny, but as it adheres to the show, it's ... well.. doesn't.
Gordon: He did get better at the end of the week and he does have more chops than Dylan. The problem, and I hate to sound like Simon Cowell, is that if you take the voice and the chops and put it on anyone else's body or face, you'd be ok with it.
Chico:  They have masks for that :)
Gordon: And he needs to put one of those masks on. Am I the only one thinking this, or does Danny Bonaduce just lack the physical charisma?
Jason:  He might.
Chico:  It's that whole... well, if you saw Breaking Bonaduce...You have that image in your mind.
Jason:  I did. And that's why I don't think he is a good host.
Chico:  Not his fault, but being Danny Bonaduce is both a blessing and a curse, one more than the other. But back to the actual game itself. It's, at its heart, your standard no-frills question bee with pictures involved.
Gordon: And that is one of the problems with it. If you also look at the values, this looks like a VERY cheaply produced show. The images are not always clear, the effects are bad, you have 3 podiums in the middle of the room and chyron everywhere else, and a badly placed National Enquirer ad in the top left hand corner of the screen which sometimes blocked the action. I wonder if the only reason why Danny Bonaduce got the gig is because he's the only one who would take what they were offering in terms of pay.
Jason:  Trips are cheap too. Not much in the money department.
Chico:  And two freakishly huge TV screens. Freakishly huge. Pat Finn is the Executive Producer. That should be a red flag.
Gordon: I like Pat Finn as an emcee. I can't blame Pat Finn as an Executive Producer if there are budget issues.
Chico:  But there is some good out of this. 1) It doesn't pretend to be anything it isn't. It's a goofy little celebrity quiz.
Jason:  True.
Gordon: Emphasis on goofy.
Chico:  2) They've improved somewhat over the week on question writing, moving from vague references to... well, actual questions. 3) The Mask Round... very creative given the right mix of contestant and contestant want to make an ass out of oneself.  Case in point: the Dr. Phil round.
Gordon: I think the mask putting on is cute, but it adds nothing to the gameplay. Perhaps it needs to, which would actually give the game some much needed strategy.
Chico:  So established: the show is the show and while it's watchable, if only in small doses, it brings nothing to the party. I say... C-.
Gordon: Let's see. Cheap trips. Cheap Graphics. Established host who tries but who can't do much with the content. You may as well call this On The Cover 2: Electric Boogaloo. D.
Jason:  What Gordon said and more. I could have done better with this. D.
Chico:  So what do you give the press department over at TBS and Endemol, then?
Gordon: A guilty verdict for...wait for it...
Everyone:   MAKING COP-AYS!
Chico:  Not only do they make a new interactive show called "Midnight Money Madness", they bill it as the first of its kind in America. What's wrong with this sentence?
Jason:  I think Playmania would have something to say about it.
Chico:  I think you're right.
Jason:  Even though it's crap. It's the first of its kind.
Chico:  In fact, I think they already did, because 15 hours after this story went to mainstream press, they issued a correction. Oops!
Gordon: Not only will it not be the first of it's kind in America (see the badly done but still first Playmania), it won't even be the second of it's kind in America, since WPIX (CW in NYC), will be unveiling it's own version on Monday at 2am, called Text2win.
Chico:  I know Playmania is bad, but it still exists, you know? What could possibly make for such a grievous error?
Gordon: The one thing that they did notice though was that GSN is making a nice score on it - so why not make some money too?
Chico:  Let's see... Endemol's inovlved, and they're riding a high, so I'm guessing hubris is involved somehow.
Jason:  I want them to succeed. Lets see the execution.
Chico:  Yes. Let's indeed see the execution. And GSN, not one to sit on their laurels, adds another night of Playmania, this per our friends at Buzzer.  So yeah, SMS gaming is blowing up.
Jason:  A SMS/Text War.
Chico:  The initial commitment to TBS is eight weeks. Only time will tell if they extend that. Me, I'm not giving it a hope in hell if it's done poorly. This is a network that knows crap when they see it. And give GSN credit, they know how to present such product.
Gordon: Of course, when you REALLY think about it, WPIX had one of the first interactive game shows ever. Remember when you called up and yelled PIX at the screen, Jay?
Jason:  Yes...it was in the 80's. You got to play Intellivision Video Games for Gift Certificates.
Gordon: Can I have a Big Board, please?
Chico:  Big Board Threepeat! History in the making!

Gordon: Subject - The REAL Interactivity History
Jason:  Here we go.
Chico:  It all started with Winky Dink... and you. Seriously.
Gordon: Go all the way back to Winky Dink
Chico:  Produced and hosted by one Jack Barry.
Gordon: You also had WPIX's show
Jason:  Yup.
Gordon: You also had before that the Shopping Era, with a Peter Tomarken show - Bargain Hunters. You also had the Home Shopping Game. Then came the age of the Call-In and Plays, which included Trivial Pursuit, Shuffle and Boggle on The Family Channel. ESPN also got into it with Perfect Match.
Chico:  And lest we forget early GSN. With games like Trvia Track and Decades with hosts such as Steve Saunders and Peter Tomarken (God rest his soul).
Jason:  And also the Phone Home Game on TPIR.
Gordon: Of course, the most popular Call in and Play game came in 1999, when we had this little show called Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
Chico:  Until 2002 when a little show called American Idol came along.
Gordon: And in Between there, we had Paranoia hosted by...Peter Tomarken again. Let's not also forget one of my favorite interactive shows on GSN...Throut and Neck!
Jason: Ugh.
Chico:  With viewers at home directly affecting the outcome. Of course Big Brother had this before, but since it didn't work, we don't accept it :)
Gordon: The talent craze continued with Star Search, America's Got Talent, Last Comic Standing and Fame, to name a few.
Chico:  And then came text messaging on Millionaire, text messaging on Playmania...
Jason:  AIM on Millionaire, DonD...et al.
Chico:  Text messing on DoND, too. And now you know... the REST... of the story :)
Jason:  So Interactivity on TV....not a new thing.
Chico:  Nope.
Gordon: Nope. Also want to know what's not a new thing?
Chico:  Revivals?
Gordon: The Joker's Wild, actually.
Chico:  And we're getting an announcement that Sony is looking to launch that, and Combination Lock, in the fall of 2007. We're still in run-through stages right now, but the announcement is still getting fans of old-school all-giddy.
Gordon: It's getting me more queasy than giddy.
Jason: Haterade.
Gordon: That's me.
Chico:  Now here's what we know right now...They're tweaking the format with "The Joker's Wild." Now I for one didn't have a problem with TJW in 1990... in fact, the biggest problem I saw... was the name. I mean, you could call it anything else, and it would be tolerable, but a name like "The Joker's Wild" comes with an expectation. And if you don't meet that expectation... You're going to get blasted. Hopefully it's something uncle Harry will take to heart when he tries to sell the game in 2007.
Gordon: Sorry. I hated the format.
Chico:  WE KNOW. :)
Gordon: I hated the fact that the only way you got control was to give a correct answer to a question that someone missed, it made the pacing intolerable.
Chico:  Is this the original or the 1990 version?
Gordon: TJW 90 got - and deserved - only one season.
Chico:  How about the original?
Gordon: The original wasn't great either. The pacing was better, and I did like how you could come back to win, but the Fast Forward questions destroyed all semblance of strategy. it turned into lets find the fast forward and answer 6 in a row to win. There is a game somewhere buried in that format. I am hoping that Harry Friedman can find it.
Chico:  Okay...The second game, Combination Lock, is nothing new to hardcore gameshow fans like you or me. The pilot, created by one of our own John J. Ricci, ... not of this site, but of the fan community... has been on the trading circuit for God knows how long.
Jason:  That's his? Oh wow, he finally made it! Way cool!
Gordon: Congratulations to John Ricci. This shows that hard work and perseverance in the community does pay off. Regardless of how the show does, it's great that he can get it on the air.
Chico:  Very much so. And hopefully Uncle Harry can do right by him as well. Look for new developments in this as we get closer to the 2007 NATPE convention. or hell, even GSC6 next year. Never too early to start pushing that, eh?
Jason:  Never.
Gordon: I'm sure John's group wouldn't mind bringing a team down there to audition contestants either...
Chico:  I'm available. I don't know anyone connected to the production by face. By FACE.
Jason:  Unfortunately....:(...I know Harry on both of them...done and done.
Chico:  We seem to be running out of time for this segment, so let's DO THE NEWS!
Jason:  Jackets, Mice...Gordon....
Gordon: Roll That Beautiful Brain Footage

Doug:  (impersonating Mark Thompson) From the four corners of the globe to your frontal lobe, this is WLTI Brainvision News, featuring the Award-Winning Brainvision News team.

Chico:  News team... team work... work shop... shop talk... talk show... SHOWTIME! Gordon?
Jason:  Now THAT'S a Chain Reaction.
Chico:  Can't talk all the credit. GSN helped.
Gordon: First article...

It's August, so time to talk Fall Season. Survivor kicks off CBS's Fall Schedule on September 14. The Amazing Race debuts soon after, on September 17. And you better watch Amazing Race if you want it to last another season. And that same week, Dancing with the Stars (September 13), Deal or No Deal (September 18) and America's Next Top Model (September 20)

Jason:  Nice.
Chico:  We can go on and on, can't we?
Gordon: Of course...

If you want to talk Syndies, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy start September 11.

Gordon: Next article?
Chico:  Okay, next up...

We said hello, but now we're saying goodbye. Master of Champions' order was cut by one, and ABC is giving no indication that they'll order more. Also, ABC may be doing "This is Your Life", but it will not be with Regis. a) Contract issues, and b) it seems that Regis is big again on ANOTHER network.

Jason:  Boo on ABC for not showing Super Millionaire
Chico:  Boo indeed. What the hell was ABC thinking? They weren't thinking, were they?
Jason:  Nope.
Chico:  They were just... I'm just so disgusted right now.
Gordon: ABC has had a Summer they would proibably want to forget. They were the only network that didn't have a Summer hit.
Jason:  Because they showed crap. Super Millionaire would have been alright.
Chico:  NBC: America's Got Talent. Fox: Hell's Kitchen AND SYTYCD. CBS: Big Brother 7. Even BRAVO got in the act with Project Runway 3. ABC... nothing. Everything they aired... gone.
Gordon: Not only gone, but some stuff gone before the order ended, like Master of Champions. And then there's The One.
Chico:  And that's the last we'll speak of that, except when we need a go-to joke.
Gordon: Like something else that got hated on...
Chico:  It's Haterade time.

This week's Haterade goes to Big Brother All-Star's Janelle Pierzina, who decides to put up both floaters against each other. She gets hated on by her alliance, and deservedly so, because this early in the game, you take out the opposing alliance now, not the floaters. Not only does this bad strategy probably wreck the BB6 Alliance, it also probably wrecks Janelle.

Jason:  Yipe.
Chico:  Oh yeah. Next chance they get, the BB6 cast is done for.
Gordon: Who won the Head of Household, Jay?
Jason:  Danielle is the new HOH.
Gordon: Bye Bye Janelle. By the way, the departure of Diane means that there are no more people from Season 5 left in the House.
Jason:  Right.
Gordon: And meanwhile, not only is Will still in the house, Will isn't even on anyone's radar.
Jason:  And Will keeps bitching about being there. He is funny.
Gordon: Could Will win this?
Jason:  Yes. Just to piss him off. :)
Gordon: The longer he stays in the house, the more vital he is going to be to someone's plan and the more dangerous he is going to be.
Chico:  If he plays up the evil doctor card. By The Way, I have to ask... America's wake-up call.... Gordon, was that you?
Gordon: Who Moi? =)
Chico:  The clip: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeupwakeup!"
Jason:  That was sick
Gordon: I usually go WAKEY WAKEY WAKEY WAKEY...But I like the idea. I'll try it next year in LA for GSC 6
Chico:  No you won't. Not if you don't want to be thrown out the window. :) Sounds like Gordon was Fully Loaded. This week, a threesome!
Gordon: Trios!
Chico:  Later, Gordon :)
Jason:  Menage A Trois

First up, GSN is powering up your mobiles for Chain Reaction and Starface. Second, Mark Steines is chosen as host of AOL's new online reality series Gold Rush (produced by Mark Burnett) Third: Fox is looking for players for its new quizzer on Myspace. GSN: go to gsn.com/mobile.

Jason:  Yes, I tried to get an audition...failed, but tried.
Gordon: Awwwww...

For Gold Rush, go to goldrush.aol.com. And for "The Rich List", go to myspace.com/therichlist and add as one of your friends.

Gordon: Is MySpace the new land for Game Show Media Ho wannabes?
Jason:  Yes
Chico:  Wee! *Area Codes*

In this Week's Media Ho Report, Katharine McPhee can add broken foot to her list of maladies, as she gets that. Elliott Yamin almost gets a contract - and also misses the White House visit, while Taylor Hicks signs a book deal. If you're going to sing 'Don't you wish your Media Ho was hot like me', you may want to be a Pussycat Doll. Go to the CW Web site to audition to be a Pussycat Ho. Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken will be competing again, as their albums will be released within a week of each other in September.

Chico:  Promise?
Gordon: Promise.

If you want to be a Jeopardy Brain ho, show up in Green Bay on August 10th, and if you want to be a Millionaire Ho, show up in Chicago on August 15th and Pittsburgh on August 17th. And as a story that money heals all wounds, Jay Mohr, the original creator of Last Comic Standing, will be showing up at the finale of Last Comic Standing 4.

Jason:  Yeah yeah yeah.
Chico:  Yeah, quit over ratings and stuff.
Gordon: This week's Pimp Cup goes to...Project Runway's Keith Michael!
Chico:  Cheater! What's worst than a cheater? A cheater that gets CAUGHT!
Jason:  See Floyd Landis.
Gordon: He was not only a cheater, but he was the first person ever to get thrown out of Project Runway for having pattern books, though he claimed that he never used them. Suuuure, you didn't. Bad Mommy.
Chico:  No home game for Keith. Just a Pimp Cup with a massive dose of SHAME.
Gordon: And those...are your hoes.
Chico:  One more story for you.

The intellectual rights for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire have been sold to Dutch firm 2waytraffic for, get ready... $200 Million

Jason:  And Celador is laughing all the way to the bank
Chico:  That they are.
Jason:  That is about $150 Million too much
Gordon: I sure hope they are coming out with a new edition for PS2 or XBOX 360, cause that's the only way they are going to get anything back on that 200 million.
Chico:  2waytraffic is promising to make Millionaire more interactive under their tutelage. Although if you want to get about as interactive as it gets, all you need to do is turn on the TV to any ABC O&O at 12:30p ET.
Gordon: You can certainly make it more interactive...but 200 million dollars more interactive?
Jason:   Don't think so.
Chico:  That's a lot of cheddar for an overfed mouse of a program.
Gordon: Me neither
Chico:  I don't want to be anywhere in the vicinity when it finally explodes.
Jason:  Yuck.
Chico:  And that's Brainvision. Shut'er down, boys.
Jason:  Good mousies. Need to clean the jackets.
Chico:  Next up, we... and by we, I mean Jason and Gordon, place bets on the vote of the Game Show Awards. But first... Fun with threes. This is WLTI... relax. We understand you.
Jason:  Yes we do.

(Brainvision News has been brought to you by the new WLTI Alarm Clock. Set to go off every 15 minutes, or until you're properly driven crazy)

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