Top 5 September 2013 Game Show Highlights

With the month of September slowly coming to a close within a matter of minutes, today’s article will be reviewing the most memorable and unforgettable moments that occurred this month in the wide, world of game shows. September was a pretty big month for game shows with the return of fall favorites such as Wheel of Fortune and The Price Is Right and the departure of summer fillers like The Chase and Whose Line Is It Anyway?  Let the top five countdown begin!

News In A Flash!: Quick Game Show Updates #37

Hey game show fans! It has been a while since I have written a quick news update article. You know the drill: this article is dedicated to keep you updated with the latest in game show news in 200 characters or less, from the latest syndicated game show ratings to casting calls to new and returning trivia shows. All ratings for syndicated game shows are from the week of September 15.

Game Show Spotlights: "The Price Is Right" 42nd Premiere and "Millionaire" History In The Making?

A new season is among us: calendar and television alike. As we enter into the first day of fall, CBS daytime game shows The Price Is Right and Let’s Make A Deal will be kicking off their respective 42nd and 5th seasons tomorrow (Check your CBS local listings). The bigger of the two premieres are The Price Is Right and the debut of its new pricing game, "Do The Math". Speaking of pricing games, the show will also be airing an all-Plinko episode honoring the game’s 30th anniversary this Friday. Meanwhile on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, host Cedric “The Entertainer” and viewers will have a chance to see a contestant face a million-dollar question some time this week.

"Killer Karaoke" Returns For Eight More Episodes On TruTV

Killer Karaoke, produced by Zodiak USA, is not down for the count yet as TruTV has ordered eight more episodes for the show's first season. Production for the new shows is set to commence next month in Los Angeles and the season will continue early 2014. The show's zany, insane premise will remain the same where competing contestants will have a chance to win up to $10,000 by singing popular, hit songs while being distracted by ridiculous and painful physical challenges. The only mid-season change will be Killer Karaoke swapping Steve-O out for Mark McGrath as the host of the show. McGrath has had experience in hosting music-themed game shows as he was the host of the 2010 syndicated version of Don't Forget The Lyrics. 

Game Show Spotlight: "Wheel" Premieres Today With New Season and New Wedge

Alongside Jeopardy! and Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune returns today for a brand new season filled with new contestants, new puzzles, new prizes and new ways to win. Beginning today, the long-running syndicated game show will introduce a new wedge to the Big Wheel called the "Express Wedge". The "Express Wedge", which will replace the 16-year old "Jackpot Wedge", will only be active during the third round, which is also the Prize Puzzle round. 

"Jeopardy" To Hold Battle of The Decades Tournament During 30th Season

On Monday, September 16, Jeopardy will be entering its 30th year in syndication with a newly designed, more vibrant set and a special tournament to celebrate the long-running answer-question game show. The Battle of The Decades tournament will invite 45 of the best contestants from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Home viewers will be able to vote for their favorite contestant from each decade to compete on the show. The online polls will open during the fall on Jeopardy.com, Facebook and Twitter.  The eventual tournament winner will receive a $1 million cash prize. In addition to the special tournament, other season highlights will include the Teen Tournament, College Championship, Teachers Tournament and a travel sweepstakes to be announced later this year.  Check your local listings.

"The Million Second Quiz" Review

Set Design- 9

Gameplay- 10

Show Flow- 5

Potential Viewer Ratings- 9

Play-Along Factor- 10

Host- 9

Overall Rating- 8.5

Game Show Spotlight: "The Million Second Quiz" Premieres Tonight

Sunday, September 8th, 2013 at 7:16am Eastern Standard Time: This was the exact date and time when the million-second clock began counting down and the Money Chair timer began counting up for a lucky contestant. The Million Second Quiz, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, has officially kicked off and will be premiering tonight at 8:00pm EST live from midtown Manhattan. Here's how the game is played: contestants will compete in a series of head-to-head bouts with each bout lasted for a short period of time (300 seconds in primetime). The contestant with the most points in a bout will take control of the Money Chair, which rewards the contestant about $10 per second. At this rate, a contestant who stays in the chair for 10 days straight will win the promoted top prize of $10 million. At the end of the one million seconds, the top four highest-scoring winners plus the contestant currently in control of the Money Chair will compete in a series of knockout bouts for an additional $2 million prize. 

To my knowledge, the most money ever awarded on an NBC game show was $1,765,000 won by David Legler on the network revival of Twenty-One in 2000. Back then, NBC was the game show record-holder of the "most money given away to a single player" and they could make game show history again at the end of this event. Over Hundreds of contestants have already stepped up to the challenge of competing on The Million Second Quiz and some have won more than $120,000 already. With enough knowledge and physical and mental stamina, someone could break Kevin Olmstead's $2.18 million game show record of the "most money won in a single season" and even Ken Jennings' all-time game show winnings record of over $3.9 million. 

I've told you the good news about the show and now it's time for the bad news. According to BuzzerBlog, the event has already fallen prey to technical difficulties as the 24/7 live feed inside the Hourglass has been down for at least a day now. This is not a good sign for The Million Second Quiz since the show largely relies on its advertised Orwellian, Big Brother theme having the ability to follow the non-stop action at any timed during its week and a half duration. One of the only ways to see the contestants' progress in their bouts for the time being are through the tweets, photos and short videos posted on the show's Twitter (@MillionSeconds), Instagram (millionsecondquiz) and Vine (@millionseconds) accounts. 

Even though the clock has started ticking, it doesn't mean that time has run out for you to apply to compete on the show or to get tickets to see the live show. You can go to the show's website for more information on ticket requests, how and where to apply to play on the show and playing the game online and downloading the app to your smartphone. The show has already proved to a success as over 700,000 people are playing the online game now and over 13 million games have been played. But, the question at hand is "Will it be a hit in the ratings?" Stay tuned for the live event tonight and for the next couple of weeks and for a TBIR review on The Million Second Quiz tomorrow.

The Scuttlebutt On GSN Part Quatre: "The Chase" Sets Another GSN Record and "The American Bible Challenge" Casting for Season Three

Today's most recent GSN news concerns two of its most popular, original shows today: The Chase and The American Bible Challenge. After topping the network's ratings chart last Tuesday with 506,000 viewers, The Chase has yet again broken another network record: crowning the single-highest money winner on a GSN game show. Meanwhile, The American Bible Challenge is holding another casting call searching for trios to compete on the show's upcoming third season. UPDATE: By the way, The Chase will be returning to GSN November 5 for its second season.