News Roundup: Lots of Picked-Up Pilots

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
HBO's Treme won't air season three until the fall, even though the previous seasons began in April.

FOX's Touch will launch in more than 100 countries (including Canada, the UK, Germany, Israel, and Russia) on March 19th.

Tonight on TLC, Sorority Girls premieres at 9pm ET/PT. The show will be about five Sorority Sisters who attempt to establish a sorority in Britain, a country that doesn't have the 200+ year history of these fraternal groups.

Bravo's Shahs of Sunset begins on Sunday, March 11th. It's a documentary series that looks at the lives of six thirty-something Persian-Americans living in Los Angeles.

History has a new fishing show coming February 9th: Mudcats, where some folks in Oklahoma catch giant catfish with their hands.

CBS will continue hosting the Academy of Country Music Awards through 2021.

HBO's Eastbound & Down will be back on Sunday, February 19th at 10pm ET/PT.

If you don't want to watch the Super Bowl, ABCFamily is going to air the five Bring It On films, beginning at 9am. Amusingly, they're not showing them in order.

HBO's Luck has already been renewed... mere days after its premiere.

It's a good thing that America's Most Wanted got back on the air after all... four fugitives were put behind bars in one week!


Cast & Plot Updates:
Lea Michele will be a guest mentor on the first episode of the second season of The Glee Project, which airs this summer on Oxygen.

Kristin Chenoweth will appear in a May episode of Hot in Cleveland.

Amber from 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom has struck a plea deal in response to her latest drug arrest - she'll complete a court-mandated drug rehabilitation program instead of going to jail for five years. She plead guilty to one count of "possession of a controlled substance" and one count of "probation violation." The hearing will be February 6th.

Leah from 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom 2 had a miscarriage.

Steve Jones will not be hosting The X-Factor anymore.

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
If you want to be in Los Angeles for the Simpsons 500th Episode Party (Monday, February 13th), you can enter until 5:59pm PT on Monday, February 6th over here.

Ben Stiller and Alan Alda may star in a new HBO comedy called All Talk, which is planned to be "politically, religiously, culturally, intellectually and sexually irreverent." The show will focus on the life of a Jewish family in Washington, DC.

The CW picked up three pilots - a "time-travel musical" called Joey Dakota, a comedy set in a New England summer resort called Shelter, and a futuristic "Hunger Games meets The Bachelor" called The Selection.

NBC bought TEN pilots last week, eight of which were comedies.

ABC has ordered a pilot based on Beauty and the Beast, despite the fact that the CW has already done the same.

I'd be surprised if you hadn't heard this one yet, but here ya go - Pat Sajak admitted to hosting the show after having a few drinks ("two or three or six") years ago.

Netflix is no longer marketing the DVD-by-mail part of its service, was they "expect DVD subscribers to decline each quarter forever," which is sad, since most brick-and-mortar video rentals are gone now. They also won't be adding video games like they had once intended.

If you're a fan of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, which runs on The Hub, get excited - you will be able to vote for the episodes for a mare-a-thon which will run on Saturday, February 11th and Tuesday, February 14th. Go vote!

As one might expect, visitors to Alcatraz Island are already creeping off the main paths to look for secret rooms. The island has posted signs, reminding tourists that Alcatraz is a fictional television show.

Can't get enough of Dearborn, Michigan after watching All-American Muslim? Well, Lifetime is coming up with ANOTHER sequel to Dance Moms... Ice Moms, which will have six episodes to start.

President Obama is a big fan of Showtime's Homeland, as is Bill Clinton and Diane Sawyer

CBS picked up three drama pilots: a period show, a PI show (Applebaum), and a character-driven procedural (Quean). They also ordered a pilot for a sitcom, written by Louis C. K. and Spike Feresten, who wrote Boomtown together ten years ago.

USA is working on The Moment, which is a nine-episode original reality series where football star Kurt Warner gives people a "second chance at reclaiming the career dreams that they put on hold when their lives took an unexpected turn." Each week, someone will have the shot to pick-up an old career where they left off, thanks to great mentors and opportunities. The someones are secretly nominated by loved ones. [USA Network Press Release]

USA picked up Political Animals, a six-hour drama series, to air this summer. It looks like it'll focus on a fictional former first family. Yep, try saying that five times fast!

USA will also be calling this February "Characters Unite Month" for the second year in a row. The goal is to combat prejudice and discrimination, which are problems everywhere. For examples of what they're doing, read here.

TLC is developing Preacher Wives, to be a "candid look into the holy worlds of outspoken ladies who work to ensure that their churches run as smooth as Southern-churned butter."

ABC is turning Scruples, Judith Krantz's 1978 best-selling novel into a one-hour drama.

The city of Hoboken will not allow Jersey Shore to film a spin-off there.

2010 TV Stars: A Final Farewell

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, I know we've slipped into February already (is it just me, or is 2011 turning out to be the fastest year yet?!?), but I did want to do a little spotlight on the television actors we lost in 2010.

- Gary Coleman, from Diff'rent Strokes, died of a brain hemorrhage at age 42.

- Andrew Koening, who played Boner on Growing Pains, committed suicide at age 41.

- Barbara Billingsley, who is famous for her role as June Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver, died at age 94.

- Tom Bosley of Happy Days fame died at age 83.

- Rue McClanahan suffered from a stroke and died at age 76, leaving Betty White as the only surviving Golden Girl.

- Charlie O'Donnell died at age 78. He preceded Pat Sajak as announcer for Wheel of Fortune.

- Harold Gould, of Rhoda and Golden Girls, died at 86 of prostate cancer.

- Leslie Nielsen died at age 84.

- James Wall, who played Mr. Baxter on Captain Kangaroo, died at age 92.

- Mitch Miller died at the age of 99.

- Jimmy Dean died at the age of 81.

- Art Clokey, the creator of Gumby, died at 88.

- Billie Mae Richards, who is the voice of the famous Rudolph in the stop-action animation specials, died at 88.

- Merlin Olsen, who played Jonathan Garvey on Little House on the Prairie, among other roles, died at 69, from complications of mesothelioma.

Did I miss anyone?

No More Favorites... Game Show Time!!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

After featuring more than 50 shows that I've seen ever episode of and choosing my top pick from each season, I'm stopping. The few remaining shows I thought I would do have been complicated by the fact that reading through old synopses to choose favorites has yielded "I've never seen that one!" more than once. I know for a fact that I will finish posts for Arrested Development and Third Rock from the Sun at some point, since those are the shows that my husband and I are currently working through (only 4 episodes left of AD, but that one usually takes a backseat to 3rd Rock.

What now? Well, since Wipeout and Minute to Win It are back on the air, plus Million Dollar Money Drop keeps making so many headlines, I thought I'd do a Monday series on game shows. Specifically a brief history, notable changes and contestants, favorite questions/puzzles/obstacles/etc, and most interestingly, whether I would (have) like(d) to be on the show and what my strategy would be. I think this final aspect may be particularly of interest because there are a lot of "team games" out there and I will be needing to select partners for said shows, hehe.

I'll be mixing it up between talking about word games, physical games, knowledge games, and more, but please feel free to suggest shows at any point. I thought we'd start today with Wheel of Fortune because it was the first game show I ever mentioned on this blog, now more than two years ago.

I don't want to repeat too much of what I said before, but Wheel of Fortune is near and dear to my heart because I was born a stone's throw away from Califon, NJ, where Merv Griffin is from.

Brief history: The show began in 1975 and moved to the primetime slot we are more familiar with in 1983. Now, I wasn't born until 1984, so I know no better, but it amuses me that this gem was ever stuck in daytime! Pat Sajak and Vanna White have been the hosts since before the primetime move, which is great since I, like many others I'm sure, know them as synonymous with the show, hehe.

The game: There's a word or phrase that contestants are trying to guess, and all they know is the number of letters in each word and the category. Three contestants take turns spinning the wheel. If you land on anything but "lose a turn" or "bankrupt," you can guess a consonant. If the letter appears in the puzzle, you win the amount of money you spun (or you pick up a prize, etc.)... if the letter appears multiple times, you win that amount of money times the number of letter appearances (i.e. four Ts and a spin of $250 will get you $1000). You can spin again to try to guess another consonant, you can "buy a vowel" if you have some money, or you can try to solve the puzzle. Your turn continues until you a) guess a letter that does not appear in the puzzle, b) spin "lose a turn" or "bankrupt," or c) you solve the puzzle incorrectly. If you aren't the one to solve the puzzle in that round, your money disappears completely. When time runs short, Pat gives the wheel a "final spin" and all consonants guessed from there on out are worth that set amount. The contestant with the most banked money after several rounds goes on to play solo for a larger prize. They are usually given a short puzzle (many are only a couple words), and the letters R, S, T, L, N, E are filled in for them. They get to guess 3 more consonants and one more vowel and those letters are shown. At that point they get 10 seconds to solve the puzzle to win the prize. If they get it wrong they still get to walk home with the money they earned in the previous rounds. The contestant who makes it to the bonus round can appear in up to two more episodes (tho the history behind repeat-contestants varies greatly).

Notable changes to the way the game is played: Inflation has upped the monetary amounts on the wheel. Until 1989 you could choose the prize you'd play for (cruise, trip, car, cash, etc.) in the final round. This ended because a vast majority of players wanted the chance for $25,000. So, the version I grew up with was born: you chose a letter, W, H, E, E, or L, and Pat held the envelope while you played. After the round, you saw what prize was in the envelope. The envelopes were replaced each week, so if it was Thursday, you only had two remaining envelopes to pick from, etc. In 2001, this version was abandoned, and now there is a mini-wheel with 24 slots, each containing an envelope with a prize. The player spins the wheel to determine their envelope. We also now have Toss-Up Puzzles, where a timer just fills in letters until a player solves the puzzle. Oh, and sometimes you can win prizes at home, if you're in the Wheel Watchers Club and your "SPIN ID" shows on-screen when you're watching. And there is no more "free spin" but "free play" which allows you to buy a vowel instead of spinning and whatnot.

Special contestants: Sometimes instead of single contestants, pairs compete. This can be best friends, mother-daughter, even something generic like pet-lovers, LoL. When celebrities appear, they play for various charities. Notably, last November found a contestant who was able to solve a seven-word puzzle with only a single "L," which you can watch here. I also cut it to include an example of the SPIN ID win system, if you're interested.

Favorite Puzzles: Honestly, I don't know if I have any particular favorite puzzles. I know that my favorite categories are "Before & After" and "Fictional Characters." I also really like the puzzles with lots of words as opposed to those with just two or three. I also like it when there's a question involved and the contestant who solves the puzzle correctly gets to answer it in order to win an additional prize. :)

My take: I'd compete if given the opportunity, but I'm not sure if this is a game where I would excel. I've had many family members tell me I'm really good at solving them before the on-screen contestants, but rarely do I think I'm more than a single letter ahead of the game, LoL. I did have a friend who tried out to be on the show, and made it to the "final four" of the day, but he was never called. We practiced using the travel game of Wheel of Fortune I got when I was eleven or so. The NES game was also a lot of fun, in all of its 8-bit goodness. However, these preparations only taught me the basics. I think that my true strategy would include: don't solve as soon as you know it, but don't spin more than three consecutive times; don't hoard a "free play" forever... bankrupt comes for everyone; if I made it to the bonus round, consider guessing letters like K, W, and H instead of the often-guessed-but-don't-appear C, M, and P. Of course, this would depend on the letter distribution already showing but it's all circumstantial.

So, do you watch Wheel of Fortune? Or, did you when you were younger and grandma was babysitting, LoL? What are your strategies and would you like to be on the game?

More Cancellations & Some New Plans

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Undercovers was canceled by NBC. Episodes 8, 9, and 10 will air on November 10th, November 17th, and December 1st, respectively. No word on when the final three episodes will air yet.

Life Unexpected's first season was not extended beyond 13 episodes by the CW. This isn't an official cancel yet, but will likely mean that the season finale in January will be the final episode.

ABC is putting on another medical drama, starting Wednesday, January 12th, at 10pm. This one is to be called Off the Map and focuses on six doctors who have lost their foci. I hope it doesn't do well, LoL. I'd rather have last year's Miami Medical back.

Days of Our Lives was renewed for two more years.

NBC is looking at doing a sitcom based on comedian Russell Peters' life.

FOX's Terra Nova is coming in fall, like we all already knew. However, there will be a TWO HOUR preview in May, much like Glee had back when it began.

TLC has a new show coming up in Spring - Homecoming, hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus, and it's going to be about watching military personnel come home to their families.

Discovery is also starting a new show, called Hogs Wild, which will be about wild hogs. And it'll be an hour long. I wonder how interesting this can possibly be, LoL.

Disney Channel is going a step further and premiering the idea of Disney Junior (much like Nick Jr.), which will specialize in programming for children ages 2-7 and their families. It'll show throughout the day it seems (as opposed to the morning slot that Nick Jr. occupied for so long).

Another thing Disney Channel is doing? Making an animated cartoon of Tron, using voices of Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, and Paul Reubens, for starters. Tron:Uprising is looking at Summer 2012, folks.

Mary Tyler Moore is going to be guesting on Hot in Cleveland, reuniting her with Betty White.

Remember when we talked about the live twitter we did during an episode of Burn Notice? Apparently we're not the only ones doing that. ABC's No Ordinary Family did one last week, from 8-9 ET, with both a regular cast member and a guest. They're hoping that it will boost ratings.

Kim Kardashian is hosting "25 Years of Sexy: People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive!" on November 17th at 10pm on ABC. Apparently it's going to go behind-the-scenes and look at the selection process, LoL.

This one's been all over everything, but in case you missed it, someone actually managed to correctly solve a puzzle on Wheel of Fortune using just one letter. At least she got the prize...?

Wheel of Fortune

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Continuing with the Mondays= Featuring Long-Running Television Shows, today we move away from children's shows and onto game shows. There have been many game shows which have been on the air for quite a long time (think Concentration, which ran for twenty years before they re-made it, then it ran another four), but today's special will be Wheel of Fortune.

This show has been near and dear to my heart for many years, for a number of reasons. First, Merv Griffin (the man behind Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, among other things) is a good friend of my mother's family. By that, I mean that my grandfather's brother lived next door to him in Califon, NJ for many years. My mom and her cousins and siblings knew Merv and his wife and son, rode his horses, and watched tv at his house. As my family (immediate and extended) is very competitive in nature, beating one another in both the travel game and the television show is a regular event, and has been throughout my life. In fact, when the show used to run simultaneously on two local television channels (airtime was off by 15 seconds or so), my cousins would scribble down the answer upstairs, then lower the poster out of the window so my aunt could beat my uncle to solving the puzzles! I also have a good friend who tried out for the show, and made it to the "final four potential contestants" in Orlando. Sadly, he ended up not receiving notification that he'd appear on television, but there's still hope!

Anyway, Wheel of Fortune was originally a daytime show in 1975, but switched to primetime in 1983, where it has been ever since. It's actually been the most-watched syndicated television show since 1984. Pat Sajak and Vanna White have been the co-hosts from the beginning of the primetime era, and Vanna's evening gowns have become a fun topic of conversation for many.

The format of the game has been altered over the years, and the 24 spaces on the wheel have been "upgraded" to allow for the economy's inflation. Similarly, contestants used to be able to choose what they'd play for in the bonus round, but because the $25,000 prize was often requested more often than the cars or trips available, in 1989 the format morphed into choosing an envelope held by one of the letters W, H, E, E, L. Then, in 2001, the format switched to the current situation: a 24-space wheel that is spun, and the contestant plays for whatever envelope he/she spins. The fast-moving Toss-up Puzzles were added (sometime in the past ten years...), and using the SPIN ID system (started in 2004), home audience members (also known as the Wheel Watchers Club) can win the same prize as studio winners. Sometimes there are three pairs of contestants instead of three individual players, and sometimes celebrity contestants play for various charities.

In addition to the travel version of the game, my brother and I used to be quite fond of the NES version. It had some quirks, but was fun. Although there was a popular 4-player option for NES, this 3-person game forced Player 3 to share a controller with Player 1. The numerical values on the wheel never changed, and there were always 2 regular rounds, then a Speed Round. The R, S, T, L, N, E usually given in the Bonus Round were not there, players could choose any 5 consonants and a vowel.

Other fun facts: Prior to 1997, the game board was rolled off after each puzzle so that the new set-up could be manually loaded out of sight of the contestants. With 1997 came computerized screens, and in 2007 flat-screen panels replaced the previous monitors. Eggcrate displays showed the players' scores until 2002 (and I really miss the look of them). The Wheel actually weighs 4,000 pounds!

No video clip this week, as I don't really have a favorite.