December 4, 2006

Gordon: This is Gordon Pepper, and if you're like me, who's already sick of the 'buy me buy me buy me' Christmas propaganda, I love the fresh taste of reindeer to go along with my turkey.
Chico:  Today's secret ingredient is...(musical flourish).... VENISON!
Gordon: Yay!
Jason:  Bah Humbug.
Chico:  That was actually a theme ingredient last week.
Travis: Mmmmmm.
Jason:  I have had Venison. It's good stuff.
Rob:    It sure is.
Chico:  Ho, ho, ho. When's it going to end?
Travis: December 27. We have to have the after-Christmas sales too, you know.
Chico:  One thing's good about it. Good times with good friends saying from Somewhere in America.... We Love to Interrupt is.... ON! What it is, alongside Gordon, Jason Block, Travis Schario, and Rob Seidelman, I'm Chico Alexander, ready to deliver MORE game show goodies from the week gone by :-)
Gordon: Let's go right on into it, as we chat about The Price is Right with Uncle Plinko. Travis, what do you got?
Travis: As you all know, Dave Price is doing three "test" shows next Friday.
Jason:  Yes.
Rob:    I heard about that.
Chico:  Right
Travis: He has been in the studio audience and in the control room the past two taping days observing, and rehearsing that afternoon after we wrap.
Chico:  He's trying hard, methinks.
Travis: If any of you would like to see the "test shows" of "The Price is Right" in person...
Jason:  (plays music cue)
Travis: Simply go online to CBS.com...click on "Daytime" and select "The Price is Right"...go to "Ticket information" to click on the words "Come On Down"...THEN...When the taping calendar comes up for December, click on any time for DECEMBER 8...those will be his three test shows. IT'S THAT EASY!!  OK, Bob!
Chico:  Thanks, Travis!
Jason:  So it happens this Friday.
Travis: It does, and I IMPLORE our viewers and fellow guests in studio today...GO TO THESE SHOWS!!
Chico:  And when they ask for your opinion... be brutal.
Travis: Indeed.
Jason:  Honest. Not brutal.
Travis: That too.
Chico:  Honestly brutal. Like us.
Jason:  True.
Chico:  Err... Brutally honest.
Jason:  Both.
Chico:  Again, like us.
Travis: Yay.  High five!
Rob:    WOOO!
Travis: Sorry...had a Borat attack there.
Chico:  *shakes head* Oh Travis... what are we going to do with you.
Travis: My name Plinko.  I come to America to give monies away to the people who have chips.
Jason:  LOL
Rob:    Then welcome to our native land, Plinko.
Travis: *hangs head in shame*...I haven't even seen the movie...
Chico:  Don't feel bad. Me neither.
Gordon: I'd rather eat venison...while it's attached to the reindeer
Travis: Well, gang...that's all I know for now.  BUT, be sure to watch on January 19.
Chico:  Important date?
Travis: Indeed.
Gordon: Do you get camera time?
Travis: No, not camera time.
Gordon: Do we get better play than 507 for a Safe Cracker prize?
Rob:    Here we go.
Travis: We were all laughing backstage when that happened.
Rob:    My entire Advanced Production class was thinking, "What in the hell is this guy thinking?"
Chico:  One word... WHAT?!
Gordon: Is the inept game show contestant have anything to do with Bob Barker's retirement?
Rob:    After the past 3 seasons of sub-par playing, I must say it had a great deal with his retirement.
Travis: Inept contestants?  No.  Being 83?  Perhaps.
Gordon: Maybe his heart can't take another 507 Safe Cracker's game
Travis: It had a great deal to do with the retirement of Hit Me...which the main set piece has been removed from the building.
Jason:  LOL
Gordon: I was going to touch on that. Why in the world do you retire that game?
Travis: None of the contestants could fully understand it, and Bob was tired of re-explaining it every time. So...Hit Me went bust.
Chico:  It's not that hard.
Gordon: No, it's not.
Chico:  Find the rightly priced item. Then find one that looks to be ten times that.
Rob:    And presto, you're a big winner.
Chico:  It would help if you found the biggest priced thing with 0 at the end.
Gordon: And then one that doesn't look like you could divide it by anything.
Travis: Only a few could completely grasp that.  We're not talking about an audience of math majors. Por ejemplo. During a playing of Bargain Game...One price and difference had already been revealed...I believe the difference was $700 or thereabouts. We brought around the ARP of the other prize, which was a difference of $500, and the audience started cheering because they thought it was a win...then the difference came around...complete mood change.
Jason:  Oops.
Gordon: So don't blame the game...blame the players.
Chico:  Always do.
Travis: Yup. But, that's all I have from the Bob Barker Studio this week, gentlemen.
Chico:  And that's all we ask for. Thanks, Travis. Okay, next up... A letter. Can I share the letter?
Jason:  Sure.
Gordon: T!
Chico:  T?!
Gordon: It's a letter
Rob:    We love letters.
Chico:  There's more than ... that.
Rob:    T for Tar Heels who are winning the NCAA Championship this year!
Chico:  Point, Seidelman :-)
Gordon: North Carolina will be at the NCAA Final Four, because they have to go around the arena selling Kenticky Fried Tar Heels to the very hungry patrons.
Chico:  We'll see, non-College boy :-)  Now where was I... Ah, the letter. "Dear Dr. Block, I saw Monday's episode of Deal or No Deal, and it was, by far, THE most gutwrenching episode ever."
Jason:  Uh oh
Gordon: Is this a Ken Hidaka e-mail?
Chico:  How could you possibly guess?

Gordon: Thanks for the letter, Ken.
Jason:  Of course he should have. That's a given. But that's what happened on Vas or No Vas this week too.
Rob:    Didn't he have a $200,000+ deal earlier in the game?
Chico:  Yup.
Gordon: That was a very nice sympathetic letter. Now if you're like me, on the other hand, you prefer a letter like this one, care of Doug Morris.
Chico:  Doubles!
Rob:    Hooray.
Chico:  Nice!
Gordon: Now this letter warmed the cockles of my heart and it soothed my soul. Maybe you'll all get the same warm fuzzy feelings I did after reading this artfully-spoken masterpiece.

Chico:  Doug wins.
Jason:  Pretty much.
Rob:    Give him some internet.
Gordon: We'll have more of Doug's letter later on in the show.
Chico:  But yeah, any time you're offered a six-figure settlement... with one six-figure amount left on the board. Altogether now?
Gordon: Take the Deal, jerky!
Chico:  Take... the deal... Jerky.
Gordon: I will say this, though. I don't think that he would have taken anything resembling any sort of deal. He was along for the ride. I'll even give him this credit - we complain all the time about people who would never go for the million. He would have gone for it, easily, if it was left up there, so I'll give him props for it.
Chico:  He's the ideal contestant. Just teach him how to play the game, and he can take over the world. He's a network head's dream, really. He's one stop short of Michael Larsen. He didn't. But damn. He was pretty lucky... to a point.
Rob:    Unless you are feeling rather lucky, hit that blinking button.
Gordon: But imagine what we would be saying if he had the $500,000? He's a man with guts!
Rob:    And a half million bills.
Gordon: He had the fortitude to go all the way!
Chico:  He did, and I'm not faulting him for that. But this is a game of timing.
Jason:  And he didn't have that part of the game down.
Chico:  And nine times out of ten, people with the cojones to play on end up losing.
Gordon: But lets play Devil's Advocate here for a second. Has there been anyone yet who went all the way with 1 big case and 1 small case left in play?
Jason:  Counted on one hand I think.
Rob:    Can we go international?
Gordon: No. USA, and the answer is none. No one has gone all the way with one case on the left hand board and one case on the right hand bard remaining.
Jason:  Oh ok.
Gordon: There have been people that went all the way with 2 cases left on the right hand side. Cases have included 75,000 vs.  100,000 or 25,000 Vs. 50,000, the most expensive one being the 750,000 vs. the million during sweeps.
Rob:    And quite a few others with 2 cases on the left side.
Chico:  True, Rob.
Gordon: But no one has gone for it with a left and a right. It has happened twice where the scenario has been set up, and both times,  the player took the deal. And here's the difference between him and Cheryl Jackson. Cheryl would have stopped once she hit the $100,000 after taxes mark. Brooks would have kept on going, come hell or high water. We have never seen that from any contestant in this game do that.
Jason:  Not at all.
Gordon: Usually, we have seen someone get bitten by the 'one more case' syndrome, but Brooks was going to play it out and you knew that from the third round on.
Chico:  Like I said... a Contestant Coordinator's dream.
Rob:    Yes. Ballsy, exciting, entertaining, but not that great of a player.
Gordon: Was he the best player? no. But he had his strategy, and if he got lucky, then he would have been a star. So I give Brooks props for playing it the way he did and for giving us a heck of an entertaining show.
Chico:  Word.
Jason:  It's what we wanted, just wish he was luckier.
Chico:  That would've been the icewater. But we did have good players with great stories to tell. In fact, six of them were on our screens for five days. One player... and one family team. Jeff Spoeri, just a phenomenal J! champ, but done in on his prime by a guy who, for lack of a better term, was a pantywaist in his final game.
Jason:  Didn't bet enough at all on the Daily Doubles when he had a chance.
Chico:  Nope.
Rob:    When it comes to Jeopardy, i only have 5 words. LEARN HOW TO BET WELL!
Chico:  What's that saying about "playing not to lose?"
Gordon: We constantly preach that on this site.
Rob:    That was the ultimate in playing not to lose.
Chico:  But at least we know that this isn't the last we've seen of Jeff this season. I want to call him a favorite to take TOC.
Jason:  He was very good. I will give you that.
Rob:    What was his days won and final total?
Chico:  Jeff Spoeri, five day champ, $106,103. On the other hand, Ryan Friedman was the pantywaist. Ryan would still be a champion if he bet more than a combined $700 in the two Daily Doubles that he had in Double Jeopardy. Despite getting them both right, he was trailing, wound up trailing going into Final Jeopardy!, and got shut out.
Jason:  You have to have some aggression.
Rob:    Without aggression, you can't succeed in life.
Chico:  That's right.
Rob:    When you see something in life that you want, you have to be aggressive and take it.
Chico:  Why do you think cheerleaders are going Be, Aggressive, B-E aggressive? It's not for their own health. The point is to win, and to win, you have to attack. You don't attack, the best you can hope for, read, HOPE for... is tie.
Gordon: True. If your a multi day champion, and if you're trailing, you can't go 100 and 600 on 2 Daily Doubles.
Rob:    That's pretty pathetic right there.
Gordon: Conversely, you have a family that was very aggressive, to the tune of 5 day champions. The Klena family only win Fast Money once, but they take off with $22,890
Rob:    That's a pretty good haul right there.
Chico:  Oh yeah. Decent sized. And they chewed up and spit out every opponent that came their way. It was a beautiful thing.
Rob:    It was a true sight to behold.
Jason:  Domination is key.
Chico:  We could go on and on, but they were good Feud players. They were good Feud champs. They have to bring these guys back for ToC. They have to do it. It's a thing, you know... like a Halloween show. You have to do it.
Gordon: They were. meanwhile, we had a family of a different type on Friday night. A 'Las Vegas' family, if you will.
Jason:  With the black sheep white trash cousin K-Fed.
Chico:  Who got a question right. I was surprised.
Jason:  YOW!
Chico:  But that wasn't all who was in the mob.
Gordon: We had 4 members of Las Vegas, 10 Las Vegas Showgirls, 7 card dealers, and...K Fed. We also had Graphics Designer Jay Stakelon, who eliminated 89 Mob Members in route to a big $156,000 payoff. Also in the group - poker player Annie Duke, who happened to be 1 of the 11 people remaining.
Jason:  Annie is no dummy.
Gordon: Fortunately for Stakelon, the contestant who had a shot at 3 million, he didn't see Brad. Unfortunately for the next contestant, Paula Russell, Rutter is there, along with David Eckstein, and 10 Laker Girls. Also there - 6 Big Money Game Show Winners, one of which is Rutter, and another of which is 21 Champion and Million Dollar Winner David Legler. 
Chico:  Bob Saget... meet the Rutternator.
Jason:  Oh yeah!
Rob:    If you see Brad Rutter, the guy who made Ken Jennings beg for mercy, in the mob.  Chances are you aren't winning that $1,000,000.
Chico:  So were the new bailouts in play?
Gordon: The only new Mobline is 'Trust the Mob', which forces the player to go along with what the majority of the Mob selected. There is no Bailout.
Chico:  Darn.
Gordon: I still would have liked the player to be forced to continue until they use a Bailout Lifeline. I would easily be in the Mob if they did that.
Rob:    Me Too. Or if a contestant has to use all 3 Moblines, then and only then they can take the money and run.
Chico:  Hmm. Interesting.
Rob:    However, I do like the way the new chain is set up. Forces the contestant to actually play 5 or so questions before they can leave with their winnings.
Chico:  Now is it me or does Bob Saget sound a little more excited?
Rob:    I think he's really comfortable with the game now.
Jason:  He was good and is better.
Rob:    It usually takes a host a little while to get used to the game and its surroundings, now he is going full force.
Chico:  BTW did they always have that lighting on the contestant podium? It's like "Okay, we know this is a hit now. How do we make it pop?"
Gordon: The show ends with Paula returning and leaving only 33 people. Duke, Eckstein, Rutter and Legler are all remaining.
Chico:  I can honestly say that this show does not suck. If you were to talk about Top Model this week... well.....Time to keep it real :-) (plays "Take Me Out") Question: What do Candice from Survivor and Top Model have in common?
Rob:    Both of them have IQ's of under 80.
Chico:  Good guess, but no. Gordon, care to answer?
Gordon: Neither of them were on game?
Chico:  Point, Gordon. In Candice's case, it lead to a voteout. See what happens when you try to play too many hands and an alliance is in play?
Rob:    You get the proverbial axe in skull.
Jason:  And a torch gets snuffed.
Gordon: Too many moves from Candace, who should have kept her mouth shut and stayed with Johnathan.
Chico:  Now, she has no chance at $1 million. And the local paper can stop writing about her. She's an NC townie, you know. Graduated from Terry Sanford High on Ft. Bragg Road.
Rob:    Cool.
Chico:  Also graduated a couple of classes below me at UNC
Gordon: I see. Meanwhile on Top Model, we have a twin killing, as both twins are gone. This is also the first show that the replacement writers are helming. Did anyone else notice?
Chico:  Yeah, right here. And from the looks of it, looks like everyone else noticed.
Rob:    Show wasn't that great?
Gordon: It felt like they dragged in people who didn't see the first set of shows and had them make a story from it
Chico:  Funny you should mention that, Gordon :-)
Gordon: Do tell, Chairman.
Chico:  Looking on my magic interbox.
Rob:    What do you see?
Chico:  Well, as G said, this week was the first show made without the striking (and probably fired) writers. America, however... still gave it a 5.8, which is only a hair off of Show Me the Money. I'm guessing that the CW will look at those numbers rather than the outcry of people who obviously care a lot about this show and want it to succeed. But again, that's just me. I could be wrong.
Gordon: It's getting great ratings. I don't think the change of writer hurts it now, because the cycle is almost over. Next cycle however....they better have the good writers back
Chico:  Oh yeah.
Rob:    If they don't, Tyra might have to do something drastic.  Like actually host the talk show better.
Chico:  Shudder. Well, lucky for us, some better shows are in the offing! Time for a coming attractions Big Board!

Chico:  It's everyone's favorite season... MID SEASON!
Jason:  Yay Replacements!
Chico:  In January, you have Beauty and the Geek, The Apprentice, and Grease: You're the One That I Want. And that's just the first week. Deal and 1 vs. 100 will also air Sundays on-and-off before February...so I'm told...in the 7p time slot. So whoever asked that question on NBC's schedule, now you know. And knowing is half the battle.
Jason:  Nice.
Chico:  Then January 11: Nashville Star. Then January 16 (pulls out riot gear): American Idol.
Jason:  WHOO HOO! The monster is back!
Rob:    FOX's Killer app.
Chico:  Our long national nightmare is over.
Gordon: Yay!
Chico:  And finally, January 31 sees the end of Top Chef on Bravo, and the beginning of Top Designer... on Bravo.
Jason:  LOL
Chico:  Then ABC announces the return of The Bachelor... whoopee.
Rob:    Please let that show die.
Chico:  Guys... if you stop watching the show... It will go away.
Rob:    When does Identity debut?
Chico:  December 18. So yeah, you have dates. You have shows. Mark your calendars.
Gordon: That reminds me...time to Identify the Hamsters. Where's Fluffy?
Chico:  It's the fluffy one. Cheeseball's the fat one.
Gordon: And Gordon Jr.?
Chico:  The one with the "I'm probably lying" shirt.
Jason:  LOL
Chico:  And then there's Eve.. the cat.
Gordon: Where's The Chairman?
Chico:  The one with the little beanie on it.
Gordon: Is that the bald one?
Chico:  The bald and sexy one, yes. Animals are go... Choppler is hot... and let's cue the cue.
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. Here's your first story...

2waytraffic has agreed to the sale of Celador's library, including Millionaire. Paul Smith, founder of Celador, will remain as EP of Millionaire and consultant to the new company.

Jason:  Whoo boy!
Rob:    That's a hefty price tag, but Millionaire is a sturdy production.
Chico:  Yep. It's durable. It's a good product.
Rob:    It's worth it.
Jason:  Cheap if you ask me.
Chico:  Still, though.. That's profit.
Rob:    Big profit if you ask me.
Chico:  Oh yeah. That's more than they give away on any given season. Especially last season! :-)
Jason:  Huge profit.
Chico:  Next?

From a profit...to a loss. A man in the UK spends over $8,000...on Texting. Yipes.

Jason:  OUCH. Didn't he read the rules?
Rob:    That guy is truly addicted.
Chico:  This is why we have the websites up.
Gordon: For all Americans, there is a FREE way to play these games.
Chico:  play2win.tv and gsn.com/playmania. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free. I trust British authorities are looking at these?
Rob:    They are.
Gordon: Fortunately for toms of the games here, there is a 10 text limit.
Rob:    This might bring down the texting genre of shows in the UK, because of people that don't know their limit.
Chico:  Okay, next... let's get Fully Loaded.
Gordon: Burp
Jason:  (HIC)
Rob:    Another Orange Crush please?
Chico:  This week, More plug, more play.

Jakks Pacific has inked a deal to make a Plug & Play game based on 1 vs. 100.

Rob:    That would be perfect for the Christmas wish list next year.
Chico:  Look for it sometime in the spring.
Jason:  1 v. 100 on Jakks Pacific.
Chico:  Plug it in, turn it on, play against the mob from home.
Gordon: Unlike Deal or No Deal, I would actually pay for 1 vs. 100
Chico:  They're the new Wheel and J! if you think about it.
Rob:    The dummy game and the somewhat intelligent game.
Gordon: They both are intelligent games. You just need different types of intelligence to play it.
Chico:  right on.
Gordon: One of which requires knowledge, The other one requires statistics.
Rob:    Should be a fun game.
Gordon: Now for the flip side, something that's not much fun...

We chatted a little bit about this, but let's put this more in focus. The Writers Guild is taking a stance on issues that could wind up causing a major writer's strike in 2008.

Gordon: America's Next Top Model may be the tip of the iceberg. If they can't resolve THAT show, then imagine the majors. They haven't gotten a contract with CBS done in over a year, and this could cause some shows to go on strike. If you think about it, this may have been an issue that NBC was thinking about when they decided to go with low budget game shows at 8pm.
Chico:  That and the fact that the kids like to watch reality TV before they go to bed. Those NBC staffers are geniuses!
Gordon: If the strike does happen, shows like Deal Or No Deal and America's
Got Talent will emerge relatively unscathed.
Chico:  Is it me or does it seem like the WGA has been on tilt for the last seven years?
Jason:  Pretty much.
Chico:  "I swear to God one more reality show hits, and I'm WALKING!"
Jason:  This could be a major major story.
Rob:    Pretty much because Reality Shows were all the rage, putting a whole bunch of sitcom and drama writers out of work.
Gordon: I've always thought that the guild was after the game and reality shows for that reason. We'll soon find out what their agenda is.
Chico:  Yes we will. Meanwhile, who's up for a trip down under, mates?
Jason:  I am!
Chico:  Okay, time to Go Global.

As if Andrew O'Keefe didn't need enough on his plate, what with hosting a hit game show in Deal or No Deal, he's now signed to host the Australian version of "The Rich List".

Jason:  Does he need sleep?
Chico:  I think he's running on the same mojo Ant & Dec are.
Gordon: Continuing on the global tip, Canada resigns GSN (specifically, the Global Network)
Jason:  Sweet.
Chico:  Nice.
Rob:    Hooray! I bet Vickers will be happy to hear that news.
Chico:  Not until Chain Reaction season 2. I can tell you right now. GSN has not had a good year. Except, of course, for Playmania and the Match Game story last week, but enough about that.
Rob:    They had a lot of disasters this year.
Gordon: Does the disaster include not enough Media Hoes?
Chico:  Surprisingly... no.
Jason:  There are always enough Media Hoes...aren't there?
Chico:  (Plays "Media Hoes")
Rob:    Sometimes, too much.
Chico:  Who ya got on the ho-dometer this week?

In this week's Ho-dometer, Jennifer Hudson goes to Arista, Jon Peter Lewis releases a new album, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey get engaged...

Jason:  Mark my words now...Jennifer Hudson becomes bigger than Kelly Clarkson. She will be an Oscar Winner come March.

Rich Cronin gets a feature on the TV Guide Channel, Bob Eubanks becomes a lottery host, and Taylor Hicks gets called on saying that he was pressures to do the final song. In addition, Josh Duhamel has said that he would donate everything he won to charity. So his charity gets a big fat whopping $0.

Jason:  Lovely.
Chico:  Would've been something if Endemol fronted something just for showing up

Do you want to be on the Canadian version of Deal Or No Deal? Models who would love to model some Deal or No Deal suitcases in Canada should apply. Speaking of which, congratulations to Howie Mandel, who wins an award for best game show host and best game show in the Family Friendly Programming Forum.

Jason:  Very cool.
Gordon: But...none of them are the ho of the week. The Media Ho of the week is from across the pond.
Jason:  An English Ho then?
Gordon: Fergie! No, not the rapping Fergie, but Sarah Fergusson wants to Dance With The Stars - here in the U.S.
Jason:  That could be fun.
Chico:  I could see that
Gordon: That would be a blast
Rob:    It sure would.
Chico:  Totally.
Gordon: And those...are your hoes.
Chico:  Okay, Brainvision over. We should remind our viewers that voting for Ho of the Year will begin shortly. We're doing voting, right?
Jason:  I don't know.
Rob:    the voting should be ho-tastic.
Gordon: We are doing voting. We have the 12 GSNNs of Christmas Awards. These are not your Game of the Year awards, but some silly awards that would be fun this year. We'll get more details to you next week.
Jason:  Nice...
Chico:  Right now, though, we've got another round of List Abuse... and another new game!
Jason:  alright!
Rob:    Who doesn't love that new game smell?
Chico:  This is WLTI, like Lonelygirl15's diatribes, but LESS pretentious.

(Brainvision was sponsored by Top Mailman. You have Top Chefs, Fashion Designers, Hairstylists, and decorators, so why not? Besides, none of them have to walk through blizzards, so when you see them busting their butt during the Christmas season, invite them in, show them some love and treat them to a glass of hot cocoa.)

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