Chico: Fiona, for those who didn't know, was one part of the Mad Mad House, which also came and went in 2004.
Mike: I thought you were making a Shrek reference :-P
Chico: You know... that would also work. We're back on the Year-End Clearance with half the year to go.
Gordon: As we go into June, we see many shows do well during the Summer, but the Summer was highlighted not by a show, but by a person.
Chico: Ken Jennings... Go.
Mike: What can you say that wasn't already said?
Gordon: He may be at Trashionals in April of 2005. That was a challenge, no?
Ryan: Indeed. 75 games, $2.5 million in winnings... ONE Ken Jennings.
Chico: That... was a challenge.
Gordon: Challenged answered, for the 1,147th time.
Mike: It might not be fair to say he's the best player ever but, until we could get Chuck Forrest, Bob Verini, Frank Spangenberg, and other superchamps in Jeopardy's history in a competition of some sort, Chuck reigns supreme. I guarantee he'll never forget about H&R Block, both because of his final Final Jeopardy! and because he might have to employ their services come January.
Joe: Indeed.
Chico: Or the other way round.
Gordon: Not a bad problem to have. Also not a bad problem if you are Alonzo Bodden, who won $100,000 on the last episode of Last Comic Standing. Great show in the Summer. Lousy ratings in the Winter. What happened?
Chico: Only to get tuned out come fall.... along with all the OTHER comics.
Mike: What happened? NBC did a stoopid. They pulled the show before the finale. Wasn't Last Comic Standing a highly rated show?
Chico: Over the summer, yeah. Other stuff was on television. See, this was fall, and LCS is NOT a fall show.
Ryan: They tried to put the finale in the middle of Father of the Pride to save that show. And we all know what happened to Father of The Pride...
Mike: Moral of the story--show your Summer reality show finales before Labor Day.
Chico: And you know where most of the comics ended up?
Gordon: Balderdash!
Chico: YES!
Mike: Someone has to employ Tammy Pescatelli
Chico: Unfortunately... I was serious.
Ryan: (pleads for Pax)
Chico: They don't swear, but this isn't a Pax show... You can tell.
Gordon: With the end of Last Comic Standing, we got the end of Hollywood Squares and Pyramid. I won't miss the new version of Pyramid, but I will miss the absence of Pyramid, if that makes sense.
Chico: I didn't think Pyramid got a fair shake.
Mike: The judging was so crappy on Pyramid. The game was fine. The judging was horrible.
Ryan: Not really.. but if we open up the can of Pyramid worms we'll be here for quite awhile!
Joe: That much is certain.
Gordon: Well, I didn't like the new version of Pyramid - but the ratings it got is more than double of the ratings of the shows that replaced it.
Mike: Did Pyramid get canned prematurely? Look how its replacement is doing. What's the show Sony replaced it with--Life & Style? That show is getting like a 0.6. Pyramid was getting easily 1.5 to 2.0s, I do believe.
Chico: What would you rather see, Pat Croce or Donny Osmond?
Ryan: Ooh. Donny.
Mike: Pat Croce is a good basketball owner.
Joe: Dick Clark.
Ryan: Yeah, what Joe said.
Chico: Not an option, Joe.
Joe: LOL
Mike: We have videotapes. Dick Clark it is!
Gordon: Three words. Get. Well. Dick.
Ryan: To GSN: Please bring back $100K Pyramid. Pretty please.
Gordon: Three more words. Get. Returning. Champions.
Mike: Good idea but the era of the returning champs is gone
Joe: The heck it is.
Gordon: How can you say that with Jeopardy and Family Feud? They both have returning champs and Jennings as a returning champ gets the monstrous ratings.
Mike: I say that because Sony or whatever production company doesn't have to show the shows in order.
Gordon: H2 had returning champs too.
Chico: And speaking of which, the other side of the coin... It was time for H2 to go, even though they managed to get everything right. What sucks for me is that they didn't tell me what they were going to do with the last set of champions. They just said, "Thanks for playing. Bye!"
Gordon: We say goodbye to Pyramid and H2 - and hello to the Summer of Love.
Ryan: What? Bob Bergen is back on the air? lol.
Gordon: Let's see all of the love shows in the Summer, shall we? For Love or Money (HIT) Who wants to Marry My Dad (HIT).
Chico: FLOM was a hit, but it was becoming inane to the point of self-parody. Marry My Dad... was a bit more heartwarming.
Gordon: Outback Jack (HIT)...But then, with the hits, there are...misses.
Chico: Goes to show you people truly will watch anything... and the following misses are examples.
Gordon: Playing it Straight!
Chico: Cute, but uninteresting.
Gordon: Boy Meets Boy!
Chico: ... not even going there.
Joe: No thanks.
Gordon: Anything with Mike Fleiss, like...Bachelor 6!
Chico: Grrrr....
Gordon: Big Man on Campus!
Ryan: Chico? Your fave, isn't it??
Chico: No, you're confusing that with "Dead Man on Campus"
Ryan: lol
Joe: lol
Gordon: And with that, we have people come back to love...The Amazing Race.
Chico: I heart Charla... I really do.
Ryan: Yay!!! Let's fawn! They finally made it to Canada this year - PLUS.
Gordon: Charla and company made The Amazing Race THE hit of the Summer as AR 6 gets moved from the projected night of Saturday to a nice spot in Primetime - where it's also getting good ratings.
Chico: And then, it's back to the unlovables that we're accustomed to.
Gordon: Along with Amazing Race 6, which also got the good ratings - BIG BROTHER.
Chico: BB didn't do anything for me this year.
Gordon: Love it or hate it, 'Project Do Not Assume' also got huge summer ratings.
Chico: Sorry, man.
Gordon: It wasn't horrible, it wasn't wonderful, it just...was.
Ryan: BB just sort of exists right now... that's about it.
Chico: Kind of makes you wonder what the hell is in store next... Pets?
Ryan: Shh!!! Moonves could be listening. Or Shapiro.
Gordon: Then, there were Summer shows that just didn't cut it
Chico: Studio 7. Seemed like a good idea.
Gordon: The most talked about failure here - Stump The Schwab.
Ryan: Schwabbing the deck, eh? A show that TSN didn't pick up.
Chico: It was interesting to see, at least.
Gordon: Next Action Star!
Chico: So bad that GSN picked it up... and then dropped it.
Joe: Nope. No interest.
Ryan: None here.
Chico: *raspberries* AT least Studio 7 had something.
Gordon: I love the idea, hated the execution.
Ryan: Save for dropping the next to last episode, it was a good concept.
Joe: A sad state of affairs.
Chico: It would've worked if people gave it a fair shake.
Joe: Or if it had been on a better network.
Chico: Oh yeah. The WB did have that non-Smallville factor going against it.
Gordon: Greek Games!
Chico: DIE!
Gordon: And then the show that won't die...Kenny Vs. Spenny!
Joe: BOOOOOOOOOO!
Gordon: One of the lowest watched shows on GSN - and it's coming back in January.
Ryan: Sorry. So sorry.
Chico: Which goes into my next point. Lingo's ToC finally aired on Labor Day. Yet it didn't get the attention it deserved.
Gordon: Agreed - it was a great competition and Joe and I got to actively root for our buddy Ben Ziek.
Chico: To quote the penultimate letter of the alphabet... Y?
Joe: GSN was looking to unload it I think.
Gordon: Why are you looking to unload something that consistently brings in the ratings?
Chico: And then ring in a loser? A KNOWN loser?
Ryan: I heard that the choice was made to make CBJ2 over Lingo IV, correct?
Joe: Exactly.
Chico: So what got the cut that Kenny vs. Spenny got airtime?
Ryan: Street Smarts reruns?
Gordon: Street Smarts is a great show - going into possibly it's last season.
Chico: But it's going out with a bang.... $100,000 baby! IF in fact it does go out.
Ryan: Let's hope not.
Joe: Agreed. Frank Nicotero's a good man.
Gordon: But that brings us to shows that came into September - that will be leaving us quicker than sooner, starting with...The Benefactor.
Chico: Wasn't that bad.... It just wasn't good.
Joe: Never saw it.
Gordon: Hated it - Why have a game when the person can change the rules. Here's the biggest difference between Cuban and Trump - structure.
Chico: So what's the difference between Trump and, say... Branson?
Gordon: Same thing with Cuban and...Branson. THIS is the show that they should have moved up - The Rebel Billionaire a good show, but got caught as the last stepbrother to show u pat the dance - and got ignored.
Chico: Rebel Billionaire... I can dig.
Gordon: I like the show a lot, instead of moving this up though, they moved up...Next Great Champ.
Chico: Which begat a battle of "Who's Vrooming Who?"
Joe: Next Great Chump you mean.
Gordon: That it was, Joe, That it was
Chico: I oughta knock out Fox for even thinking about it...
Ryan: Chump.
Gordon: Other Winter Turkeys....25 Million Dollar Hoax!
Chico: Grrr.. George Gray.. How could you? I believed in you... I was a believer.. and then... ugh.
Gordon: My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss!
Ryan: And it's still going!
Joe: I made a point never to watch that.
Chico: We haven't seen it for a while.
Gordon: It's going down the toilet. Waiting for the mysterious 'Benefactor', like waiting for the...'Player Operator!'
Chico: Don't remind me.
Gordon: Anyone for the Player?
Joe: Nope, sorry.
Ryan: Boston Rob... pass.
Chico: Hate the Player. Hate the Game. Hate Dawn. Hate the Twist. Hate Twists! Hate Twizzlers. Hate licorice. Let's get into something worth watching... if that's at all possible.
Gordon: Do you like men wearing women's clothes on He's A Lady?
Chico: See above plea.
Gordon: Well, one theme that did work was the return of nostalgia. Gilligan's Island, though a hopeless Survivor retrend, got monster ratings on TBS.
Chico: And a second version is in the offing, believe it or not.
Joe: I can hardly watch the sitcom.
Chico: Pretty much what I said.
Gordon: I can believe it - if the ratings warrant it, they will come. What about those wacky Partridges.
Joe: WHOO TODD NEWTON!
Chico: We saw a contest. We saw a family. WHERE IS THE SITCOM?!
Ryan: Joe just answered my question :)
Chico: Good to see Todd Newton working again. No, seriously.
Gordon: Speaking of families, there are some shows that are doing well - like Family Face-Off.
Chico: Yep. I'm hoping for another go-round of that. Nick@Nite has something there. Also... Good to see John Salley hosting. He's underestimated.
Gordon: He was awful in All-American Girl, but redeems himself nicely here. Do you want to see another round of I'd Do Anything?
Joe: I liked I'd Do Anything alright. Wouldn't mind seeing another of those. George was good on that one.
Chico: As for I'd Do Anything... sure, why not?
Gordon: Good - you may be seeing another season of that.
Chico: Speaking of the British, BBC America also intro'd us to four of their finest.. First, Weakest Link. Yay.
Joe: WHOO BRITISH WEAKEST LINK!
Chico: Then, Without Prejudice... Not bad. Weird, but not bad. Third. The Enemy Within. Nigel Lythgoe before his Idol-producing days... and probably just as scary.
Joe: lol
Chico: And finally, Dog Eat Dog... Ulrika.... swoon...
Gordon: Road Rules Vs. Real World also did well, as does the (Ugh) Battle for Ozfest and The Assistant.
Joe: Can we please kill that Victoria/Veronica woman on RW vs. RR?
Chico: And on November 30, it happened... just like the news said it would. Ken Jennings lost.
Gordon: Finally, we get the current shows going into 2005. We see more Dodgeball, weight loss on The Biggest Loser, more racing, and the end of Survivor 9 and Apprentice 2. Well, no, the news said it would happen on November 3rd. WE said 30th in September.
Joe: And I saw it IN PERSON on September 7th.
Gordon: Yepperz. Your thoughts on Dodgeball?
Chico: I can see a CPA vs. Bling final.
Gordon: I would agree with that.
Joe: Blah. You can have XDB.
Chico: Biggest Loser can only get bigger in 2005... until NBC decides to be greedy about it.
Gordon: Finally, we have at least 12 new shows coming up in January. So who says the Game Show Genre is fading?
Joe: Those who don't call "reality" shows game shows.
Chico: Ouch =p
Gordon: Will we see a new studio show in 2005?
Chico: Yes.
Joe: If we're lucky.
Chico: Celebrity Charades is coming to AMC in 2005. When, we don't know.
Ryan: Hope so.
Joe: Indeed.
Gordon: I'm sure there will be...somewhere....
Chico: But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Push or Flush will be later in the show. First up, it's a visit to one of the more memorable players in 2004... Eddie Timanus is answering 20 Questions... NEXT.

(This break has been brought to you by the American Idol Studio Set. Use us for American Idol...or The Swan! Or Paradise Hotel! Or ANY FOX show with a live audience. It looks soooo pretttyyyyyy.....)

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