EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About It: Game Show News Updates

During this month, I read a lot of game show news articles and press releases that truly grabbed my interest. From Wendy Williams becoming a game show host in addition to already being a successful talk show host to a new game show premiering based on Pac-Man, these game show news updates are sure to peak your interest. Let’s get started shall we?

Game Shows Worth Mentioning This Week

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of The Blog Is Right!  In this week’s article, I am going to briefly discuss four current game shows that caught my attention during the past two weeks. Because these show peaked my interest, I feel like these shows deserve a “mini-review”.

In Other News.........

Here's a schedule of primetime game shows to watch for this week:
Tuesday: 1/18/2011
NEW! Million Dollar Money Drop on FOX @ 9pm/10c

A BMX Biker showing off his skills on
FOX's 30 Seconds To Fame 

Wednesday: 1/19/2011
NEW! Minute It To Win It on NBC @ 8pm/9c
Thursday: 1/20/2011
NEW! Wipeout on ABC @ 8pm/9c
Friday: 1/21/2011
Minute It To Win It on NBC @ 8pm/9c

Saturday: 1/22/2011

Wipeout on ABC @ 8pm/9c

Sunday: 1/23/2011

30 Seconds To Fame on FOX @ 12:30am/1:30c

The Top 5 "Millionaire" Knockoffs

On August 16, 1999, the U.K. hit game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire premiered in the United States on ABC.  Regis Philbin started as the host of this series from its debut date until 2002. When the show switched to syndicated television in 2002, Meredith Vieira took over as the host of Millionaire.  During the show’s first year of broadcast, Millionaire was ranked as the most watched show on television at the time. Originally airing three to four nights a week on ABC, Millionaire consistently drew in almost 30 million viewers a day.  Almost immediately, FOX, NBC, and CBS caught the “Millionaire” fever and wanted a piece of the staggering ratings that the hit ABC show was getting by creating million-dollar shows of their own.  This week, I have decided to countdown the top five game shows that ripped-off ABC’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire.  So, let’s begin the countdown!

“Luck Be a Lady Tonight!!” Which is the better luck-based game show: "Treasure Hunt" or "Deal or No Deal"?

“Deal or no deal?” was the question on everyone’s mind when the game show of the same name took the nation by storm for the four years it aired on NBC.  But the concept of Deal or No Deal wasn't conceived overnight.  This show was loosely based on a classic 50s game show called Treasure Hunt (later changed to The New Treasure Hunt in 1974) with a similar format.  But the question is "Which game show was better: Deal or No Deal or its predecessor Treasure Hunt"?  This week, I’m going to break down and analyze each show to determine which the better show is.  I will also rate each one of the “six factors” (Show Flow, Gameplay, etc.) from a scale of 1 up to 10 as if I was doing a review of each show.  Before I begin these reviews, I would like to point out that when I refer to Deal or No Deal, I am referring to the U.S. version of the program.  So let's get to it!

IT'S A SET UP!!!!: Rigged Game Shows

Last Sunday, I watched a news report on Richmond’s WRIC channel 8 station about Gabe Okoye and Brittany Mayti, who lost $800,000 on the series premiere of FOX’s Million Dollar Money Drop. Here was the question:

Which of these was sold first in stores?

A. Macintosh Computer

B. Sony Walkman

C. Post-It Notes

The couple placed $800,000 on “Post-It Notes” and $80,000 on “Sony Walkman”. The correct answer was originally “Sony Walkman” and the couple lost $800,000. However, the correct answer was actually Post-it Notes, with the Post-It Notes first sold in 1977, the Macintosh Computer first sold in 1984, and the Sony Walkman first sold in 1979. Because of FOX’s “mistake”, Okoye and Mayti will have a chance to come back on the show and play for the million dollars a second time. Reading and watching Million Dollar Money Drop almost cheating two contestants out of a bundle of big bucks (even though they still lost the game and won nothing) inspired me to write this week’s article on rigged and crooked game shows throughout the years.