Author Topic: Chuckie Baby is Back! (Read 3564 times)

TimK2003 · « **on:** April 18, 2007, 02:30:19 PM »

Chuck Barris is releasing another book in a couple of weeks. His new book on the ultimate game show is listed here at amazon.com.

Speaking of Barris, there is an article in this month's Watch Magazine ($1.99 at area magazine sellers) doing a Q & A with him about the new book, and another Q & A article about Bob Barker's retirement.

clemon79 · « **Reply #1 on:** April 18, 2007, 02:39:13 PM »

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'150436\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 11:30 AM\']
Speaking of Barris, there is an article in this month's Watch Magazine ($1.99 at area magazine sellers) doing a Q & A with him about the new book, and another Q & A article about Bob Barker's retirement.
[/quote]
How come Google has absolutely no idea what "Watch Magazine" is?

uncamark · « **Reply #2 on:** April 18, 2007, 04:06:52 PM »

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'150436\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 01:30 PM\']
Chuck Barris is releasing another book in a couple of weeks. His new book on the ultimate game show is listed here at amazon.com.[/quote]

(Not spoiler, since on jacket blurb quoted by Amazon) And he still believes that the ultimate game show is when someone gets killed at the end.

clemon79 · « **Reply #3 on:** April 18, 2007, 04:36:45 PM »

[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'150445\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 01:06 PM\']
(Not spoiler, since on jacket blurb quoted by Amazon) And he still believes that the ultimate game show is when someone gets killed at the end.
[/quote]
First thing I did was to look to see if that statement was still accurate.

dzinkin · « **Reply #4 on:** April 18, 2007, 05:17:28 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'150438\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 02:39 PM\']
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'150436\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 11:30 AM\']
Speaking of Barris, there is an article in this month's Watch Magazine ($1.99 at area magazine sellers) doing a Q & A with him about the new book, and another Q & A article about Bob Barker's retirement.
[/quote]
How come Google has absolutely no idea what "Watch Magazine" is?
[/quote]
For what it's worth, it's published by CBS and is pretty much a nonstop plug for CBS and CBS-owned shows. Apparently someone at CBS decided that people actually would buy it on the newsstand; until now the only ways to get it were to pick it up at the CBS gift shops in NYC and LA (free at both sites) or by subscription.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #5 on:** April 18, 2007, 05:30:08 PM »

Fox has TV Guide now, so why shouldn't CBS have it's own mag?

TimK2003 · « **Reply #6 on:** April 18, 2007, 07:51:19 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'150438\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 02:39 PM\']
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'150436\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 11:30 AM\']
Speaking of Barris, there is an article in this month's Watch Magazine ($1.99 at area magazine sellers) doing a Q & A with him about the new book, and another Q & A article about Bob Barker's retirement.
[/quote]
How come Google has absolutely no idea what "Watch Magazine" is?
[/quote]

Google might not know, but msn.com does!

And yeah, the magazine is pretty much a plug for CBS, but then certain soap opera mags have been doing it for years -- "CBS Soaps Digest" and "ABC Soaps Digest" have been a staple at most grocery store checkouts for a long time (though there is no mag for the NBC Soaps).

Actually, what is refreshing about the magazine is that though it's heavy on TV shows and celebrities, it does not scream tabloid like other celebrity magazines out there, nor do they feel they need to mention the names of Paris, Brittney and/or Anna Nicole in every other article either. In fact, they don't!

dzinkin · « **Reply #7 on:** April 18, 2007, 08:27:43 PM »

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'150491\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 07:51 PM\']
And yeah, the magazine is pretty much a plug for CBS, but then certain soap opera mags have been doing it for years -- "CBS Soaps Digest" and "ABC Soaps Digest" have been a staple at most grocery store checkouts for a long time (though there is no mag for the NBC Soaps).
[/quote]
It's not the same thing at all -- CBS and ABC don't publish those magazines. A closer comparison would be Episodes, which was put out by ABC some years ago to promote its soaps.

Quote

Actually, what is refreshing about the magazine is that though it's heavy on TV shows and celebrities, it does not scream tabloid like other celebrity magazines out there, nor do they feel they need to mention the names of Paris, Brittney and/or Anna Nicole in every other article either. In fact, they don't!

Er... Watch is put out by CBS to promote CBS shows and stars. Why would CBS allow anything approaching "tabloid" in what's effectively a press kit in the form of a magazine?

TimK2003 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 18, 2007, 10:56:17 PM »

[quote name=\'dzinkin\' post=\'150496\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 08:27 PM\']
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'150491\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 07:51 PM\']
And yeah, the magazine is pretty much a plug for CBS, but then certain soap opera mags have been doing it for years -- "CBS Soaps Digest" and "ABC Soaps Digest" have been a staple at most grocery store checkouts for a long time (though there is no mag for the NBC Soaps).
[/quote]
It's not the same thing at all -- CBS and ABC don't publish those magazines.
[/quote]

Sure they are! Each magazine covers celebs & shows from only ONE network. Though the publisher isn't the actual network, each soap mag is pretty much an advertisement for that network's daytime schedule, is it not?

And in contrast, not all of the articles in Watch magazine are about CBS shows or celebrities. The interview with Chuck Barris (a former ABC executive) is one example as is the piece on the DVD release of the original "Get Smart" episodes (albeit one season of GS was on CBS, the majority of it was on NBC and the DVD set is being put out by Warner Brothers, not CBS/Paramount).

So aside of the publishers, I'm seeing all apples and no oranges!

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 18, 2007, 10:59:05 PM »

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'150508\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 09:56 PM\']
[quote name=\'dzinkin\' post=\'150496\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 08:27 PM\']
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'150491\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 07:51 PM\']
And yeah, the magazine is pretty much a plug for CBS, but then certain soap opera mags have been doing it for years -- "CBS Soaps Digest" and "ABC Soaps Digest" have been a staple at most grocery store checkouts for a long time (though there is no mag for the NBC Soaps).
[/quote]
It's not the same thing at all -- CBS and ABC don't publish those magazines.
[/quote]

Sure they are! Each magazine covers celebs & shows from only ONE network. Though the publisher isn't the actual network, each soap mag is pretty much an advertisement for that network's daytime schedule, is it not?
[/quote]
No, they're not.
Let's say the NFL puts out some kind of publication; for the sake of argument, we'll call it "NFL Magazine". Let's then say that two other companies release magazines called "Pro Football Digest" and "Pigskin Monthly".

While all cover exclusively the same thing, "NFL Magazine" is the only one put out by the NFL themselves. The other two are put out by independent publishers.

clemon79 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 18, 2007, 11:03:14 PM »

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'150508\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 07:56 PM\']
So aside of the publishers, I'm seeing all apples and no oranges!
[/quote]
Just stop now, Dave. It's not gonna happen.

(And Windows Live finding something Google didn't? THAT is the very textbook definition of "irony", kids.)

dzinkin · « **Reply #11 on:** April 18, 2007, 11:08:35 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'150511\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 11:03 PM\']
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'150508\' date=\'Apr 18 2007, 07:56 PM\']
So aside of the publishers, I'm seeing all apples and no oranges!
[/quote]
Just stop now, Dave. It's not gonna happen.
[/quote]
Yeah, unfortunately, you're right. Even if I didn't have bigger fish to fry at the moment, he's in CBS-shill mode and nothing's gonna knock him out of it.

TLEberle · « **Reply #12 on:** April 19, 2007, 03:03:49 AM »

After looking at the Amazon page, I have this to say: It sure took Chuck long enough to finish the idea.

In 1979, Stephen King published The Long Walk under his alter-ego pseudonym Richard Bachman. And he even went to the "death sport" well two times, with The Running Man also. (And yes, the book far outshined the film)

Anyway, for most of The Long Walk, each chapter opens with a memorable quote or catch phrase from the land of game shows. One of those happens to be "The ultimate game show would be one where the losing contestant was killed." (Chapter 4, in fact.)

So obviously Chuck has been noodling with this concept for a while. And yet, I don't fear for the collapse of civilization. The shelf life of watching people eat random crap and dive out of helicopters was about five-and-a-half years. Distraction had one series in the states. And perhaps the most famous of all, The Chamber still has three episodes we haven't seen. And even that seemed to be more about dealing with the annoyances of the capsule than the difficulty of the questions.

It sounds like a great read, and a staple plot of dystopian science fiction, but I'm not worried about seeing The Big Question at NATPE 2008.

The Ol' Guy · « **Reply #13 on:** April 19, 2007, 10:08:13 AM »

I wasn't sure if it had happened already. I was watching either 24 or House this week, and in one of the breaks I see for the first time -

10 people will fight...
9 will die...
one million dollars!
You get to watch!
Condemned!

Until they got to the movie rating and 'opens soon", I was just waiting for the announcer to say "Thursdays at 9..on FOX!"

Nice companion piece to 5th Grader, eh?

uncamark · « **Reply #14 on:** April 19, 2007, 12:38:28 PM »

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'150532\' date=\'Apr 19 2007, 02:03 AM\']
After looking at the Amazon page, I have this to say: It sure took Chuck long enough to finish the idea.

In 1979, Stephen King published The Long Walk under his alter-ego pseudonym Richard Bachman. And he even went to the "death sport" well two times, with The Running Man also. (And yes, the book far outshined the film)

Anyway, for most of The Long Walk, each chapter opens with a memorable quote or catch phrase from the land of game shows. One of those happens to be "The ultimate game show would be one where the losing contestant was killed." (Chapter 4, in fact.)

So obviously Chuck has been noodling with this concept for a while. And yet, I don't fear for the collapse of civilization. The shelf life of watching people eat random crap and dive out of helicopters was about five-and-a-half years. Distraction had one series in the states. And perhaps the most famous of all, The Chamber still has three episodes we haven't seen. And even that seemed to be more about dealing with the annoyances of the capsule than the difficulty of the questions.[/quote]

He had been talking since at least the 70s about a format he called "Greed," where contestants would be offered money to do various unsavory things, from stealing a lollipop from a baby to--killing a person. It was meant partly in jest, but I wouldn't put it past him to toss it out to a network exec if there had been any way in the world that they would've been interested.

And "Distraction" ran two cycles in the U.S.