Chico: From somewhere in America.... the ODB memorial edition of WLTI... is on!
Jason: Brooklyn in da house!
Chico: Alongside Gordon Pepper, this is Chico Alexander, and it's a
Wednesday... which is weird, because we usually do this on the weekend.
Jason: Lets me be to able to give my stellar opinions.
Gordon: What stellar opinions?
Jason: Let's see...how about the one where I told you that Bush would kick
serious rear end...:-)
Gordon: The man with the stellar opinions - and the man who has yet to be beaten on WPLJ's show dedicated to him - Jason Block.
Travis: Oh, that's right; I forgot about that show "Beat the Blockhead," or
something.
Jason: It's Beat the Block.
Travis: See, it's a pun...
Jason: I got it--didn't want it...but I got it...
Travis: <ducks behind chair>
Jason: Thank you, thank you...7:30AM every Tuesday on 95.5FM in New York City...
Chico: In case you didn't notice, joining us in the nut-house today are what
we in the business call semi-regs. Jason Block is one of them. The second one,
from the land of Starbucks, Microsoft, and Nintendo, Travis Eberle...
Travis: Hola.
Jason: I am allergic to nuts...how come I don't feel good :-)
Chico: He has stellar opinions, too... But we never hear any of them.
Ryan: On the net perhaps for us Canucks?
Jason: Ryan still rules, even if he is Canadian!
Ryan: Thanks :-)
Chico: And the ever Canadian Ryan Vickers rounds us out.
Travis: Hey! I'm 1/4 Canadian. So watch it, eh!
Ryan: Really?
Travis: Yup.
Ryan: Cool!
Travis: Maternal grandmother is from Edmonton.
Ryan: Nice. I knew it :-)
Gordon: My bacon is Canadian
Chico: So here we have The Wild West, the Big East, the Great White North, and the Dirty South
Jason: NYC and NJ representin` (prepares a knife if things get rough)
Ryan: AH! Justin BB2 alert!
Travis: I will attack with my razor-sharp wit if necessary.
Jason: No, Vibe Awards.
Gordon: Come now - we're not from Boston, Indiana or Detroit. We do not need knives or chairs.
Jason: NY is where the rats carry guns.
Chico: Lots of stuff going on around here so let's not waste any time. First
off, Ken Jennings... is taking a bit of a break =p
Travis: Praise the lawd.
Ryan: He couldn't get into the college tourney?
Gordon: He looks young enough to - but no. And just in case you have missed him, Alex Trebek puts in a Jennings reference on almost every show.
Jason: He tried.
Chico: He failed.
Travis: He could buy any number of degrees... That's the only thing he's
failed at, I believe.
Ryan: Especially those that are sent to my inbox.
Chico: But he probably taught others exactly how to beat him, because now we have a few people who could be contenders.
Jason: I am going with Lily Wang from Columbia.
Travis: Second!
Jason: She is a great player.
Travis: What can I say, I dig brainy Asian chicks with piles of money...
Gordon: Kermin seems to be the man - so I'll go with him.
Jason: You mean Ashton Kutcher.
Gordon: Kermin - Ken. Both start with K-e. Both end in N. Why not?
Ryan: K-e indeed!
Travis: The guy with the leet bet?
Jason: And Asian chicks are cool. Gordon and I play pai gow with them.
Chico: I'm also going with Kermin.
Gordon: Nothing like Wild Asian Women at your Pai Gow games
Jason: My luck hasn't been the best lately. But its fun to play with them.
Chico: Anyway, we have the nine, and i've grouped them into threes.
Gordon: Sooooo....groups of three, then...?
Jason: Look I just work here :-) Groups of three.
Chico: Yes you do... Now get my coffee :-) Okay, you have three groups: The contenders, the underdogs, and the people that got by on luck and little else. The contenders obviously channel the spirit of a player that Gordon is beginning to become reviled with.
Jason: Ken the man.
Gordon: Ken and his frigging Mormon-mobile.
Chico: Kermin, Rachel, and Lily. Those are your contenders.
Jason: Lily is my pick there. She is a great player.
Chico: She is... But Kermin could probably take her.
Travis: I still agree.
Gordon: I have to go with Kermin.
Jason: Let them get to the finals and we shall see.
Chico: The underdogs are good players not to be underestimated... Kelley,
Casey, and Ari. Kelley has a deadly buzzerthumb.
Gordon: Will all three get there - or do you think Kelley Casey or Ari has a
shot?
Travis: Just our luck, all the contenders will be in the same Semi-Final.
Would be; again, just speculating.
Chico: What are the chances of THAT happening?
Ryan: Doesn't J! preselect the semis? Why do I remember reading that?
Travis: I thought it was random draw.
Ryan: Maybe I'm mistaken then. It must be the quarters then.
Chico: I think it is random draw, and I invite anyone to correct us if we're
wrong.
Ryan: No, fair enough, it just seems like a familiar thought in my head... in
any case, continue :-)
Chico: And then there are the lucky ones. They got here because of someone else's errors. Those would be Lindsey, Amory, and the queen of the lucky ones, Vicky. She may have won her match, but she did so as penance for an equally as grievous move from someone else.
Gordon: Well, going back to something that got me in trouble, Ben Tritle won his first game by luck - and then steamrolled his way to a 5 time
championship. One of these people could certainly do that and surprise and maybe even take out a favorite.
Travis: That's true; we've only seen one appearance from each player. The TOC would be less prone to have fluke players like that.
Chico: It's been known to happen. Remember Arthur Gandolfi?
Travis: Yeah, I didn't have him picked out of the semis.
Gordon: I think that after you get that first appearance out of your way, you get more comfortable.
Chico: He was going to go all the way, but he had a bum game and the rest wrote itself.
Travis: Oh, that's right. I'm sure his $150,000 dries his tears.
Chico: Sleeping in money will do that to you.
Ryan: So I've heard...
Chico: But now comes my favorite words to describe week 2 of a J! tourney.. Thank you TNT... "WIN... or go home."
Ryan: It's a good phrase, at that.
Gordon: Or in this case, go back to school.
Travis: Apt, if nothing else.
Ryan: Touché.
Chico: And from big money for students, we go to big money for advertisers. Guess what time it is...
Travis: Buy or sell?
Gordon: Well, Pizza time was last week
Chico: And that was only the beginning of... sweeps month.
Ryan: Yay! I think...
Chico: For the next month, expect to see an abundance of ploys to... well,
keep things interesting to say the least. What's been the best sweeps stunt so far?
Gordon: Well, I have two of them
Chico: Share, share...
Ryan: Not twin fear factor I hope.
Chico: Nah, I think that was sometime last year.
Gordon: No - one of them is obvious, one is a stretch
Ryan: AR coming back?
Gordon: Well, talking advertising, you have to give it up for Pringles, as we
still talk about the Pringles and Beer segment on Survivor
Jason: Pringles and Beer?
Chico: Isn't that a Chingy album?
Travis: That is quite possibly the most irritating example of product
placement in adventure game history.
Jason: Thats Chicken and Beer--a Ludacris album.
Chico: Oh.. My bad.
Ryan: weren't these the same mountain dew and Doritos people?
Travis: I was speaking to those clips they show just before going to break,
and every week's "GAME CHANGING MOMENT!!!111"
Chico: There certainly was a glut of those. And did anything ever change?
Ryan: Agreed... although you have to admit Celebrity Mole's device of THE
MOST ____________ EXECUTION EVER! was a bit dry by the end of the Yucatan season...
Travis: Did the Couples Tournament on FF ever go into a sweeps period?
Chico: Yes it did, I believe.
Travis: Ooh, I got one; I think. FF's most F*ed Up Stunt Evar.
Chico: The Rat-o-Matic?
Ryan: I didn't see it... I'm thinking that might have been best...
Travis: No, that Big Horkin' Tesla Coil.
Chico: Ow.. No, no, Power Ranger.
Ryan: Wait, no, we can't make a MMPR reference without Joe here!!! :-)
Chico: Oh well. He'll read the final copy =p
Gordon: The second one is the airplane company called Marquis Jets. They are on every single reality show, from the Apprentice to the Bachelor to America's Next Top Model. They are the official Reality Show Endorsers
Chico: And now this year, we have NASCAR, celebrity news, and Taye Diggs and co-ed models. Not to mention millionaires who could buy airtime, but not viewers.
Gordon: Speaking of viewing, let's go to the new shows and get some quick opinions on them. Starting with...The Biggest Loser
Chico: Biggest Loser.. inspiring, but gets run in quick. 90 minutes is a bit
much for any show.
Travis: That concerned me too; couldn't they cut 30 minutes somewhere?
Ryan: Why again is it 90 minutes? I could deal with a 90 minute AR, maybe Survivor... but Biggest Loser? Sounds like it needs to lose something else...
Gordon: Well, keep in mind that they original format would have been 60
minutes -but it's expanded in sweeps month to cover the hole opened by the disastrous Father of the Pride, So talk about content, not time.
Travis: Ooh. Hm.
Ryan: Fair enough
Travis: The problem is they have 60 minutes of contents for 90 minutes of
show.
Chico: Basically, they did what they could with what they had. And tacking a minute onto commercials can only do so much
Gordon: Forget the time - do you like the show?
Travis: I'm going with "Ambivalent".
Chico: I like the show. I have no problem with it.
Jason: I do. It's unhealthy and medically bad. Just like the Swan.
Chico: But unfortunately, the time is the problem. It' s like thinning out
juice.
Gordon: Next - My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss - so much fanfare, so little
ratings. What happened?
Ryan: Didn't Andy Dick already do this bit?
Travis: Why have fake when there's still the original.
Chico: Because they're Fox, and that's what they do.
Jason: The Joe Millionaire syndrome. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you.
Travis: But it's still funny as all get out.
Chico: I shouldn't be having that much fun watching something like that,
though.
Gordon: Is it just me, or does it seem like people like seeing the first time
a concept is done, but once they've seen it, they don't stick around for the
second time it's done?
Chico: Very good point, Gordon.
Jason: Because outside of Survivor, Apprentice and Amazing Race...the
concepts are one note sambas.
Ryan: Yes, but for example I thought that Joe Schmo was wonderfully down the second time.
Chico: But this is just a recent turn. Take into account The Swan, which has stellar showing season 1, but barely on the map season 2.
Gordon: I think that separated it between an event - and a good game.
Survivor, Amazing Race, Apprentice - great games. My Big Fat... and Joe Schmo - fun to see, but not a concept that I would keep watching.
Ryan: They've wisely bowed out with JS2
Gordon: Well, the Swan 2 finally went back up to decent ratings, but I don't think that the show has a great game behind it - I think it's a car wreck sort of show. No redeeming value, but you have to watch.
Jason: Exactly
Chico: Precisely. I think the end of season 1 taught us that
Travis: They could do away with the pageant...and then what? It's Yet Another Makeover Show.
Chico: It would just be Extreme Makeover.
Ryan: Extreme Makeover: Foxified
Gordon: If they do away with the pageant, then they lose the hook and the
show will really tank
Chico: My Big Fat Surgeon.
Ryan: Don't forget obnoxious!
Chico: Of course. And speaking of which, Spike TV has a new comp called "I Hate My Job", where eight men compete for their dream jobs, and of all people to host... Stop at.... Al Sharpton?
Gordon: Can I exchange him and spin again?
Jason: And I can't get a job as a host...!
Chico: See, Jason.. You're not annoying enough =p
Travis: Change that card, Chico!
Gordon: Changing the Al to.....George Gray!
Travis: Good change!
Ryan: I like it!
Chico: Woot!
Jason: (applauds)
Ryan: All of it higher!!
Chico: Higher than George Gray... A Big Board =p
Gordon: Yay!
Chico: You knew that was coming, didn't you?
Gordon: But of course.
Jason: Sure I did...
Chico: This one is called "Host of a Chance".
Jason: Oooohhhh....
Chico: Here we see the four possible outcomes of a basic situation... First
up: good host, bad concept
Ryan: Recent or historical?
Chico: This would be George Gray on $25 Million Hoax. Either or.
Gordon: I would say George Gray on Greek Games makes the better play
Chico: Fair... and accurate enough
Travis: George Gray has had ONE decent show that I've seen.
Ryan: Extreme gong, then?
Gordon: Hes been on a few good ones - The Weakest Link was also fun
Chico: Weakest Link was good. I'd Do Anything, alright.
Travis: I was going to say TWL, in fact.
Gordon: IDA is decent.
Chico: Not as captivating as some stunt shows, but it gets me there.
Travis: So, are we just tossing out examples of the setup you give, Chico?
Gordon: Yep
Chico: Actually, it's more of a means to an end this time.
Travis: Well, I got two GSN originals: WinTuition and Friend/Foe.
Jason: I have a third...Todd Newton and Whammy.
Travis: Asinine game play, good hosts. Yeah, that'll fly too.
Ryan: Marc Summers is a great host, we just need a good Q&A format for him
Chico: History IQ was pretty good.
Jason: Very good.
Travis: Damn right it was.
Gordon: Soudns like we have a lot of examples - next format, Chico?
Chico: Next up: bad host, good concept. American Idol comes to mind.
Jason: Jeff Probst in Survivor.
Ryan: You can add Canadian Idol to that as well.
Travis: Bzz! Wrong!
Jason: Probst is smarmy and tacky.
Gordon: Huh? Ryan is perfect as the smarmy host in Idol. Probst is excellent as the muckraker in Survivor
Travis: Which fits the show. Good hosts adapt to the format. Probst had a
different approach for R&R J. He can mix it up.
Ryan: I can't say much about Ben Mulroney on our version though...
Gordon: I agree with Travis. Probst adapted and asked the questions during the show that we all want to know. He came into his own so well that he got to quiz the contestants in the reunion show.
Chico: And was promoted to Producer. So there's some smarm there. Like "I'm the producer. I have a third ball."
Jason: He was excellent in RRJ
Ryan: You're right about Jeff.
Chico: Can't argue with that.
Travis: Who was the dummkopf who let Bryant Gumbel host the reunion?
Jason: Or Rosie O Donnell
Chico: I have.. no idea.
Gordon: Probst is very good - now Stuart Scott in Stump the Schwab, on the other hand...
Jason: Yes. You are right on that one.
Travis: Good as a broadcaster, sucky as host?
Chico: He was a good host, but the concept was only passable.
Gordon: Decent show, Scott was not a good fit and the Scwab made the show very unlikable.
Chico: Not unlike the next one... Bad host, bad format. I call JD Roberto on
Shop Til You Drop.
Jason: Amanda Byram from the Swan
Chico: What the hell was on their minds?
Ryan: I call JD Roberto from Are you hot
Travis: I think Pat had too many riders in his contract.
Gordon: What about Cupid? Really bad idea to make American Idol, love style, worse to stick a reject from MTV (Brian McFadden) to be the host.
Chico: Ah. Well, now we come to the Promised Land... Good show, good host... Amazing Race comes to mind.
Travis: The Race, the Mole...
Ryan: The Race and The Mole (my OST is on right now...)
Jason: Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Apprentice, and the Race.
Gordon: and, of course, Millionaire.
Chico: TPIR goes without saying.
Gordon: and Greed
Ryan: Yes!
Jason: Yes,
Chico: Yes!
Gordon: What about Win Ben Stein's Money. and that Kimmel kid. I wonder what happened to him?
Jason: Not much.
Ryan: You mean "Jimmy Kimmel Pretaped"?
Chico: I think he was pretty broken up, so he begged ABC for a job.
Gordon: And since this has been a very long segment., I'm begging for a
commercial.
Jason: so am I.
Gordon: Still to come - a date with the video wall, but up next, a date with
something classical - or something new? We'll find out after the break
Chico: That's all next, this is WLTI, stay there.

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