About.com Game Shows

Why Food and Game Shows Don�t Get Along� At Least For Me

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:11:22 +0000

By Chad Mosher

This week, we're going to break from the usual audition advice to provide a couple of stories with a tip and message. I've been on two big national game shows: Jeopardy! and Million Dollar Password. Both were very nice and accommodating; the best part about both was the free, catered lunch in the middle. With Jeopardy!, we were driven to the on-set restaurant, The Grill, while on Password we had the studio's catering brought to us in the green room. You must learn that it is very important to get along with food during your game show experience.

It should be made known that I'm a pretty uncoordinated, clumsy person. I might have a solid brain upstairs but the rest of the body is flimsy. So if I can screw something up, it's likely that I will. I've come to know, love and get along with Murphy's Law ("Anything that can go wrong will go wrong") very well during my time on earth.

In the case of Jeopardy! I played in the Kids Tournament, so you can see where having a practically unsupervised 12-year-old order a hot dog with ketchup and mustard could possibly go wrong. Of course, I spilled a drop of ketchup right in the upper middle of my shirt. I quickly cleaned it up and thought it was no big deal, thinking I had eliminated any remnant. Apparently, I was wrong and I didn't know how wrong I was until it about two minutes before I was set to tape.

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Why Food and Game Shows Don�t Get Along� At Least For Me originally appeared on About.com Game Shows on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 00:11:22.

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Sam Murray Wins the Million in the WWTBAM Tournament of Ten

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:20:52 +0000

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire has wrapped up its inaugural Tournament of Ten and crowned a winner. Eighth seed Sam Murray, who was the only contestant to follow his gut and answer his million dollar question, received his souvenir giant check on Friday, with the real check for a million dollars to come.

Many viewers had high hopes for Jehan Shamsid-Deen, who took home $250,000 earlier this season and was seeded at the top of the leaderboard. She is easily one of the strongest contestants the show has seen in quite some time, and she faced her million dollar question yesterday. The question was:

A rare example of a word that rhymes with "orange," the Blorenge is a what?
A: River in Ireland B: Forest in Scotland C: Mountain in Wales D: Desert in Australia

Shamsid-Deen did seem to know the answer, but a quarter of a million is a lot to risk without being 100% certain. She walked away from her question, handing Murray the win.

With only one person going for it throughout the course of the tournament, it didn't turn out to be quite as exciting as it could have been - of course, this is beyond anyone's control. Still, we've finally got a new millionaire on the show, even if the route to the million was altered. Our congratulations go out to Sam Murray and all of the rest of the contestants in the tournament. If you missed any of the questions, you can get caught up with this Tournament of Ten Results Guide.

On Thursday, production held a short conference call with Shamsid-Deen and Murray. It was very apparent that all of the contestants in the tournament had bonded, and there are even plans for them to all get together socially in the future. The experience itself was obviously a good one for everyone involved.

I asked the PR rep who was handling the call if she knew if there were plans to continue the tournament into next season. The short answer was that it's a possibility. There's also the possibility that we could see Sam Murray and/or Jehan Shamsid-Deen as experts on the show for the Ask the Expert lifeline next season, as both said they would love to participate.

Now that the tournament has wrapped, with a nice little bump in viewership too, what is your overall impression? Are you happy to see a new millionaire on the show, or would you rather they had plodded along until a millionaire could be "earned" the traditional way? Would you like to see the Tournament of Ten return next season, and if so, what changes would you make?

Photo courtesy Valleycrest Productions Ltd.

Sam Murray Wins the Million in the WWTBAM Tournament of Ten originally appeared on About.com Game Shows on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 10:20:52.

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Tune In Reminder: Jeopardy! Celebrity Invitational Continues

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:29:58 +0000

The Jeopardy! Celebrity Tournament continues tonight with round three. (Check your local listings for schedule information.)

The three stars competing tonight include:

Actor Julie Bowen (Modern Family, Boston Legal), playing for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
Actor Jane Kaczmarek (Raising the Bar, Malcolm in the Middle), playing for Clothes Off Our Backs
Radio personality Robin Quivers (The Howard Stern Show), playing for the Seed School of Maryland

The winner of this round will advance to the semi-finals, along with Andy Richter and Michael McKean, who were the winners of the first two rounds. Six more semi-finalists will advance from future rounds. The Jeopardy! Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational Tournament runs throughout the season, with episodes airing on the third Thursday of each month. The winner will earn a guaranteed one million dollars for his or her charity.

Logo courtesy Sony Pictures Television

Tune In Reminder: Jeopardy! Celebrity Invitational Continues originally appeared on About.com Game Shows on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 14:29:58.

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Pat Kiernan Running World Series of Pop Culture Style Quiz

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:17:16 +0000

We got a message this morning from Pat Kiernan, host of the wildly entertaining and needs-to-be-brought-back World Series of Pop Culture. He's been getting lots of feedback from fans of the show lately, most of whom want to see it back on the air (and I agree 100%!). In response, Kiernan is running a new World Series inspired quiz on his website, Pat's Papers.

To play along, all you have to do is visit the site and answer his daily trivia question. Be one of the first ten people to answer it correctly in the comments section, and your name could be drawn to win the daily prize. This week, the prize is a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate. There's an overview of how things work, along with a sample question, at Pat's blog.

While you're there, stick around and check out the rest of the site. Kiernan collects entertaining, unusual, and informative stories from U.S. newspapers every day, giving them his unique perspective and providing links to the stories themselves.

Finally, if you're a World Series of Pop Culture fan and want to see it back on the air, join me in writing to VH1 at ViewerServices@vh1staff.com and express your desire to see another season.

Pat Kiernan Running World Series of Pop Culture Style Quiz originally appeared on About.com Game Shows on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 12:17:16.

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Ken Ober, Host of MTV's Remote Control Dead at 52

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:06:39 +0000

The social media sites have been buzzing today with the news that Ken Ober, the popular host of MTV's hilarious game show Remote Control, has died at age 52. While no official confirmation has come from any of the camps involved, Ober's friend and colleague Paul F. Tompkins tweeted today that Ober's death has been confirmed by mutual friends. (This is now confirmed by numerous sources - see update below.)

Ken Ober was born in Boston, MA in 1957. In addition to Remote Control, he also hosted Make Me Laugh on Comedy Central, Smush on USA Network, and Perfect Match on ESPN. Remote Control is by far the best-known of these games, however. The quiz show featured the likes of Adam Sandler and Dennis Leary, who were relatively unknown at the time, acting out some of the quiz questions as skits. The game was zany, hilarious, and really over-the-top, and provided hours of great entertainment. Ober was the perfect host, combining his signature brand of comedy with a solid command of game show hosting. Most recently, Ober was working as a producer for The New Adventures of Old Christine on CBS.

There are lots of Remote Control clips available on YouTube, like this one, featuring Adam Sandler as Stud Boy (and check out the earring on Ober!).

Updates will be posted as they come in.

Update: The Comic's Comic is reporting that Ober has indeed died of a heart attack. Apparently he missed a show over the weekend, and concerned friends called 911. Emergency services found him at his home. Zap2It has posted that Ober's rep has confirmed the news as well. The New York Times claims that Ober had complained of "headache and flu-like symptoms" on Saturday, the night before he died. No matter what the actual cause of death is, this is very sad news.

Photo by Peter Kramer, courtesy Getty Images

Ken Ober, Host of MTV's Remote Control Dead at 52 originally appeared on About.com Game Shows on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 15:06:39.

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Game Show Applications: The Video Audition

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:39:14 +0000

By Chad Mosher

We're in the 21st century and, believe it or not, a lot of game shows are finally starting to enter it, too. Many new game shows are starting to employ video auditioning as part of the process to get on their show. A video audition consists of the potential contestant talking about himself and answering any provided questions into a video camera. Sometimes you'll be required to send this in on DVD with a paper application in the mail or, as with the recent example of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, some shows will open up video submissions for a limited time, and allow you to upload them online. This is probably the easiest way to get onto the show so it's important to do everything right the first time.

The first thing is to follow all standard audition procedures, as well as the show's rules for the tape. Follow all of the ideas and guidelines I've mentioned in previous blogs, like The Three Bes (Be You... Just Turned Up; Be Familiar with the Show; Be Calm, Controlled and Breathe!) and to chose your outfit as if you were going to a nice Sunday brunch. Since you're taping this in your own home, you've got the advantage. There's no reason to be nervous, because as long as you have enough discs or hard drive space, you can make as many takes as you want until you get it right. That leads us right into the next point.

Make it look good! Since you've got "all the time in the world" to make a good impression, you should really take the time to make it as good as you can get it. Try to make it as professional as you can: Use multiple angles, get good lighting, try to shoot in multiple places, etc. Afterward, edit it all together and make it impressive. Making it look as professional as possible shows the casting producers that you're serious and dedicated in trying to get on their show and it will give them a more favorable opinion of you.

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Game Show Applications: The Video Audition originally appeared on About.com Game Shows on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 11:39:14.

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Shuffle Up and Deal Has a Host

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:43:26 +0000

We've been following the progress of an in-development game show called Shuffle Up And Deal, and have learned that the show has named its host.

Mike Sexton, one of the most recent inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame, has signed on to host the poker-themed game show. Sexton is no stranger to poker fans - he's been playing professionally since 1977, and currently co-hosts the World Poker Tour. He's also involved with the Party Poker website, writes for two major poker-themed publications, created the Tournament of Champions, and has won over three million dollars from tournaments. Incidentally, he's also written a book called Shuffle Up and Deal.

Sexton is obviously qualified to host just about any television show that has to do with poker. Will that translate to hosting a game show? It's impossible to tell, but he's certainly high-profile enough that he'll encourage poker fans to tune in. The real trick will be to draw in game show fans who aren't necessarily poker enthusiasts.

So far, the show has not been signed by a major network. The details are all being ironed out now though, and with the confirmation of a host, it looks like things are starting to pick up. As we mentioned earlier, announcer Randy West is also on board.

We'll be keeping an eye on future developments with Shuffle Up and Deal. The game has a lot of promise for viewers, and it's been interesting to follow the process from planning to, hopefully, a series pick-up. You can learn more, including application details, at shuffleuptv.com.

Photo courtesy Oates Media Group

Shuffle Up and Deal Has a Host originally appeared on About.com Game Shows on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 01:43:26.

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GSN Radio Signs Off for the Last Time

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:24:49 +0000

Rumors have been swirling for the past several weeks about the demise of GSN Radio, but there hasn't been an official confirmation until today. Sadly, GSN Radio will air its last show tomorrow, Friday November 13th.

Today, host Bob Goen announced that tomorrow will be the final installment of the interactive radio show, which began in August 2008. I've been trying to get the "official" word on this for at least two weeks, but no one at GSN wanted to confirm or deny. It would have been nice to have a little more notice than 24 hours, especially when the show was starting to gain some traction with listeners.

GSN Radio's Facebook page also has an announcement, albeit a brief and vague one. Goen's wife and co-host Marianne Curan has replied to the comments on that post, saying that we should watch "the airwaves for (their) return somewhere on your radio or TV dial." What that means, if anything, I don't know.

GSN is planning a few new original television games, including an interactive animated thing and a hidden camera show called Honey, Please, which requires contestants to get their partners or roommates to complete tasks for cash (and that one is currently casting too). And don't forget that we have Carnie Wilson's reality show coming up as well.

Perhaps it's just me, but you'd think that a network that's so aggressive in trying different things to bring in more viewers would also be willing to try and shake things up with the radio show too, before outright canceling it. Nevertheless, if you're a GSN Radio fan, be sure to tune in tomorrow for your last chance to win some cash.

Logo courtesy GSN

GSN Radio Signs Off for the Last Time originally appeared on About.com Game Shows on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 20:24:49.

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Sad News from the Wipeout Camp

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:22:53 +0000

Some sad news today about a contestant who tried out for the upcoming season of Wipeout!. Tom Sparks, who attempted the course about two weeks ago, has died.

Sparks complained of knee pain after the first obstacle course. After producers pulled him from the course and on-site medics took a look at him, they noticed that he was also short of breath. Sparks was sent to the hospital for further examination, where he remained until his death on November 5th. The official cause of death is not yet known, as autopsy results are still pending. However, according to ET Online, Sparks' father has said that the most likely cause of death is a "pre-existing disease that causes unnatural blood clotting called antiphospholipid antibody syndrome."

Sparks is survived by his wife, Kate.

Logo courtesy ABC

Sad News from the Wipeout Camp originally appeared on About.com Game Shows on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 16:22:53.

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Sam Murray Takes the Lead in Millionaire's Tournament of Ten

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:11:41 +0000

I held off on posting this until now because I really didn't want to spoil the show for anyone. Considering Who Wants to Be a Millionaire doesn't air until the wee hours of the morning for some, that was a tough task!

On yesterday's show, contestant Sam Murray, who won $50,000 in his first trip to the hot seat, got his million dollar question for the Tournament of Ten ... and gave the correct answer! This puts Murray at the top of the heap, and if no other contestant can provide the correct answer to his or her million dollar question, he'll walk away with the cash. If a higher seeded contestant does get his or her question right, however, Murray is knocked out of the tournament and leaves with his original winnings.

I have to admit that, even though we're not getting a million dollar win in the usual manner, it was exciting to see Murray hit the jackpot on his question. It was also a nice touch that his son was there, having just barely made it in time after a 20-hour drive to see his dad's successful appearance.

You can keep up to date with the tournament, including how each contestant fares and the questions they face, with our Tournament of Ten results guide.

Now that we have a contender for the million, how are you enjoying the tournament so far? Do you think Sam Murray stands a chance at being the only person to correctly answer the million dollar question?

Photo courtesy Valleycrest Productions Ltd.

Sam Murray Takes the Lead in Millionaire's Tournament of Ten originally appeared on About.com Game Shows on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 11:11:41.

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