WE ORDERS "SPEND IT FAST"

(08/01/02) Described as having shades of "Supermarket Sweep," WE: Women's Entertainment has given the production green light to 65 episodes of "Spend It Fast." The shopping-spree game show, which will be stripped weekdays beginning this fall, is from Telepictures Productions and Atlas Media Productions. This is the first game for the new women's network (source: Electronic Media).

WHEEL AND J! SIGNED UNTIL 2007

(07/31/02) KingWorld has re-upped "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" for five more years. They announced the renewal of the show in several major markets on Wednesday, according to E!Online. The deal, if final, would make "Wheel of Fortune" the longest-running syndicated game show, at 24 years. The show will celebrate its 20th year in syndication (27 years overall) this September. "Jeopardy!" will celebrate its 20th season in September of 2003.

One change in "Wheel" this fall will be the addition of a new mystery round. As per Wheel contestant Brian two mystery spaces worth $500 on the front, hide either a car or a bankrupt space. If you land on this, and find a letter, you may either take the money at $500/letter, or pick it up and turn it over.

NIKKI PARTS WAYS FROM PRICE

(07/19/02) First Heather Kozar, now as per a post from Claudia at Jeff Parson's TPIR Board, Nikki Ziering has exited from the daytime game. "She will be missed on the show. I already miss her. I can't tell you how fun she is to have around," posted the Barker's Beauty. Now the search begins for two new models to join her for the next season.

The news was made public this morning on tv.zap2it.com. Finalists will appear in upcoming shows. Early this fall, two will be named season regulars. The show will resume taping in on August 19, after giving host Bob Barker a chance to recover from recent prostate surgery.

According to the show's official website, Kozar's appearance on the show has led to "appearances in an increasing number of high paying television commercials and other assignments, some of which conflicted with the show’s production schedule."

There are no hard feelings on the show's end about the models' new successes. "We've been delighted with the contribution both have made to our show," says Syd Vinnedge, an executive with FremantleMedia, which produces the series. "We're pleased when our models can use appearances on "The Price is Right" as a stepping stone to new and exciting career opportunities. We wish Nikki and Heather well."

TPIR Update Message Board

UPDATE: BOB BARKER BACK IN CALIFORNIA

(07/16/02) Bob Barker is back in California, recuperating after prostate surgery before he goes back to the studio to tape more episodes of "The Price Is Right" for the 31st season.

Recently, he sat for an interview with the Los Angeles Time's Sorina Diaconescu, discussing his operation, his recent record of longevity as television's longest continuous performer (a record previously held by Johnny Carson for the "Tonight Show"), and the future of "The Price is Right." Included is an interview with Lucy Johnson, vice president, daytime/children's programming, CBS.

Story @ CalendarLive.com

GSN @ THE PASADENA CRITICS TOUR: TEAM COVERAGE

(07/16/02) Three premieres, a contest, and a game show in a box were all part of Game Show Network's display at the Pasadena Critics Tour on Monday. TVBarn writer Tom Heald has been gracious enough to provide full, unabridged press reports from Pasadena, which can be accessed through the link below. ADDENDUM: Carl Knecht has uncovered another press report promoting a deal between GSN, Sega GameWorks, and Charter Cable.

GSN At the Pasadena Critics Tour

CHANGES TO DAYTIME "LINK" PLANNED

(07/15/02) According to a newsgroup post from a potential contestant, and emails, there will be changes in the new season of daytime "Weakest Link."  First, the 'doubling round' will be eliminated; and the chain will end at $25,000 instead of $12,500.  This means only four rounds to the game, and the final two contestants will go directly to the shootout round.  This makes the top prize $100,000; but the rest of the chain of six is not expected to be raised.

-Jason Elliott

BOB BARKER TO UNDERGO PROSTATE SURGERY

(07/03/02) AP reports that Bob Barker will be hospitalized next week to undergo prostate surgery, his publicist said Tuesday.

Barker will be hospitalized for two days at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. and will recuperate during the summer hiatus from taping TPIR, said publicist Henri Bollinger.

The 14-time Emmy Award winner suffered a minor stroke in 1999 and underwent surgery to clear a blocked artery in his neck, and he also had knee surgery in May 2000.

Barker signed a five-year contract last year to stay on as host of TPIR through 2006. The show, which debuted in 1957 on NBC, is among the highest-rated on daytime TV and is the longest running game show in television history.

MILLIONAIRETV.COM OPEN; CONTESTANTS SOUGHT

(07/02/02) Buena Vista Television has opened up its new website for the Meredith Vieira-hosted version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire." Currently, the site is hosting information on audience and contestant searches. Auditions for contestants are to be held in New York, Cleveland, and Chicago. More information will be posted here as soon as it becomes available.

For audiences, tickets are available by calling their ticket lines at 212.479.7799 or by mailing a request "along with a self-addressed stamped envelope including the number of tickets and the date you wish to attend" to:

"TICKETS"
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE
30 West 67th Street
New York, New York 10023

Groups should put "ATTN: Groups" on their requests.

Additional from MillionaireTV.com: TWINS WEEK: Both twins play in the hotseat as a team!

If you're a twin and would like to audition for Twins Week you can come to any audition. You must notify a representative of the show at the audition that you are auditioning for Twins Week. Note: BOTH twins must be present at the audition and BOTH twins will need to pass the written test in order to be considered for the show.

MillionaireTV.com
 

ROSEMARY CLOONEY: 1928 - 2002

(07/01/02) Reported from the AP, singer Rosemary Clooney, who suffered a recurrence of lung cancer earlier this month, died on Saturday. She was 74.

In addition to her hit 1951 song "Come on-a My House," Clooney appeared in a number of TV variety shows and movie musicals. She starred in "The Stars are Singing," "Here Come the Girls, " Red Garters" and, most famously, " White Christmas," with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.

The singer is survived by her second husband, Dante DiPaolo, her five children by first husband Jose Ferrer (including actor Miguel Ferrer), brother Nick Clooney (father of actor George Clooney), a sister and 10 granchildren."

WBSM REDUCED TO FIVE A WEEK MORNINGS

(07/01/02) Programming note: Beginning today, and at least for another week, "Win Ben Stein's Money" will only air at 10:30a ET. The episodes airing are from the show's fourth season, with former South Park writer and current movie writer Nancy M. Pimenthal as co-host. The 5p showing (along with hour companion "Whose Line is it Anyway?" has been replaced with another hour of "Saturday Night Live."

DAVE MASON WAXES ON THE BUSINESS OF GAME SHOWS

(06/28/02) Nando Times' Dave Mason published an article on the serious business of game shows. In it, he talks to emcees Bob Barker and Peter Marshall and producer Matt Kunitz on the development of the genre.

Dave Mason's "The Serious Business of TV Game Shows"

GSN ADJUSTS SCHEDULE AUGUST 5

(06/22/02) TVinsite.com has confirmed that GSN will readjust their schedule on August 5. In a move similar to the one employed during Nick-at-Nite's Block Party Summer, GSN President Rich Cronin (who was once head of Nick-at-Nite), weeknights from 8-10p ET will focus on one show. Rumors were also squelched as it was revealed that 9-11a would be a rerun of the previous night's Black and White Overnight block. The late night block of "Whammy!", "Friend or Foe", and "Russian Roulette" is expected to stay the same. More on this story as developments become available.

Game Show Network

PRODUCTION BEGINS ON TPIR SEASON 31

(06/22/02) According to several newsgroup sources and the TPiR Message Board, the first episodes of "The Price is Right's" thirty-first season began to roll at CBS TV City recently. Among the notable changes: The illuminated curtains during this summer's primetime shows are now permanent, The "30" in the door art has been replaced by a "31", and Nikki Ziering and Claudia Jordan will be joined by a cycling model in yet another audition phase.

TPIR Update Message Board

ARE YOU THE WEAKEST LINK?

(06/24/02) *UPDATE* According to a newsgroup post from former Millionaire contestant Ted Patchell, the daily Weakest Link is looking for players and an audience for its third season, its second in syndication.

Patchell notes that encore broadcasts have started to flash the number for contestant searches and that tickets are available from NBC's ticket booth at the Universal City Walk in Los Angeles.

Current contestant searches are listed on GSNN's WL site. More information, as well as more times and stops, are available on WL's site located here. If you would like to be a contestant on the show, you can go to the official site or you can call their hotline at 1.800.390.1001

·  Weakest Link Official Site

VANNA GETS A DIVORCE

(06/21/02) From Reuters:

Game show icon Vanna White of television's "Wheel of Fortune" has reached an amicable decision with her husband of 11 years to end their marriage, a publicist for the show said on Wednesday.

"They have mutually agreed to divorce and will remain good friends and good parents to their children. They're not bitter," said Suzy Rosenberg, a spokeswoman for the show.

The 45-year-old actress and model separated from her spouse, restaurateur George Santo Pietro, in November 2001, and filed for divorce last month, according to court documents made public on Wednesday.

The couple have been married 11 years and have two young children -- a daughter, aged 5, and an 8-year-old son.

White became a household name as the glamorous, ever-smiling "hostess" on the long-running television game show "Wheel of Fortune," where she has been rotating the letters on the show's puzzle board for host Pat Sajak since 1982.

Story @ Yahoo.com

HEATHER LEAVES TPIR; SEARCH FOR REPLACEMENT BEGINS

(06/15/02) Reported by several newsgroup posts and confirmed herself by "Barker's Beauty" Claudia Jordan on Jeff Parsons' TPIR Update page, Heather Kozar will not return for a second season of "The Price is Right." This information comes on the heels of the TPIR Army special which featured "The lovely Jennifer" pinch-hitting after Heather was on the original two. More information as it becomes available.

TPIR Update Message Board

THE ANSWER: THE ONLY EMCEE TO MAKE THE LIST OF TOP TEN CANADIANS ON US TV....

(06/14/02) Correct response: "Who is Alex Trebek?".

Earlier this week, the Banff Television Foundation released their list of the "Top Ten Canadians on US Television". The long-time host of Jeopardy! rounded out the top ten.

Trebek, a native of Sudbury, Ontario, who officially became a US citizen in 1998, started his career on the air at CBC Radio after getting his degree in philosophy from the University of Ottawa. Since then, he's hosted such fare as "The Wizard of Odds," "Double Dare," "To Tell the Truth," and "Classic Concentration" either before or during his stint on "Jeopardy!".

Story @ Yahoo.com

IT'S AN EIGHT-LETTER WORD; THE CLUE IS
BODEN'S LATEST INTEREST...

(06/10/02) The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that GSN has inked a deal with Hasbro for North American rights to produce a new game show based on the popular crossword game, "Scrabble". Bob Boden announced the deal early Monday.

Whether it will be a new game based on Scrabble or a revival of the Chuck Woolery-hosted series from 1984-1990 and 1993 remains to be seen.

The Hollywood Reporter Online

BRUCE VILANCH EXITS, SQUARE RIGHT

(06/08/02) As recorded in today's Advocate, Variety confirms that Bruce Vilanch has left Hollywood Squares as both head writer and on-camera participant. The show's producer, King World, has named Dave Boone, who worked as a writer under Vilanch on Squares since its premiere in 1998, as the show's new head writer.

Vilanch, a columnist for the Advocate columnist Vilanch follows Whoopi Goldberg, who quit as executive producer and center square in April. A new center square has not yet been chosen.

Online Advocate

MILLIONAIRE SERIES/SEASON PREMIERE SET

(06/07/02) Mark your calendars. "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" will make its syndicated premiere on September 16, the same day that other stations will premiere fall's other big offering, "Pyramid."  Meredith Vieira, aside from speculation that the motive might have been political on ABC's part, will sit opposite

Some stations have opted to pair Millionaire with "Pyramid." Check with your local stations to see if local markets will carry the show, because as of this writing, only listings for Pyramid have been posted on its site.

Official Pyramid Site