Street Smarts and Vegas Weddings On, Spy TV Gone?

[CaseyAbell]

...finding an airing [of the blackjack finale] that did not conflict with hockey (unless we have overtime tonight, I guess, but even then it would have to go two full OT and into a third) was a pleasantly trivial task.

Without giving away too much, nobody should be disappointed by the finale. Real suspense endures right down to the final card of the thirtieth hand.

EDIT: The network put out a press release on the finale. Again, don't click on the link if you haven't seen the show and don't want the outcome spoiled:

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories....02160226&EDATE=

The release confirms what was already widely hinted: the blackjack show is getting the best numbers of any of the non-trad offerings. That's not surprising because it's a well-produced effort that's practically a traditional game show. So it probably retains GSN's core audience better than any of the other new shows, and maybe adds some new viewers.

FWIW, the rumors on the GSN board have the five new shows running this way in the ratings derby:

1. Blackjack
2. Mole
3. Kenny vs. Spenny
4. Spy TV
5. Fake-a-Date

Have no idea if this is accurate. But new series of blackjack are on the way, while Spy TV is getting pushed out of its timeslot (and maybe off the network altogether).

[CaseyAbell]

Sorry to keep stringing along this thread. (Metaphor alert!) But the Google news cache coughed up a cute story about Regina Guzior, the blind lady in GSN's blackjack tournament. The story contains spoilers, so don't click if you don't want to know:

http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf...77426298600.xml

It is an interesting story, and a bit of anecdotal evidence that the blackjack show reached a respectably sizeable audience. And when the story promises that GSN will "replay the series throughout the year," I can believe it.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Apr 26 2004, 07:46 PM\']Now, they've realized what a vast cable universe they have to play with, and so they're finding niche shows for them to guest star/host on....GSN, Lifetime... Hell, Rachel Campos , formerly of "Real World" almost got the co=host gig on "The View"...and Kit Hoover of "Road Rules" is fumbling her way through ESPN's "Cold Pizza" and that anchor reality show who's name i've already forgotten...[/quote]
"Dream Job."  At least she was tolerable as a judge, which hints that her "CP" persona's an act.  Or doesn't.

As I drift OT, I know that "Dream Job" did OK for ESPN, but I'm curious how "CP" has done in the ratings.  Jay Crawford is at least tolerable and Thea Andrews is the most professional of the bunch (along with being drop dead gorgeous), but Hoover consistently annoys and Leslie Maxie only seems to be around for her brief daily appearances because of fears of a discrimination suit.  ESPN must be showing a lot of patience to keep this turkey going.

ObGameShow:  The (Celebrity) Sports Challenge segment, although they've dropped the quiz part from that segment, perhaps because it was too close to a bit of a former "SportsCenter" anchor for comfort--and I don't mean Yambo.

[tyshaun1]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' date=\'Apr 27 2004, 05:29 PM\'] [quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Apr 26 2004, 07:46 PM\']Now, they've realized what a vast cable universe they have to play with, and so they're finding niche shows for them to guest star/host on....GSN, Lifetime... Hell, Rachel Campos , formerly of "Real World" almost got the co=host gig on "The View"...and Kit Hoover of "Road Rules" is fumbling her way through ESPN's "Cold Pizza" and that anchor reality show who's name i've already forgotten...[/quote]
"Dream Job."  At least she was tolerable as a judge, which hints that her "CP" persona's an act.  Or doesn't.

As I drift OT, I know that "Dream Job" did OK for ESPN, but I'm curious how "CP" has done in the ratings.  Jay Crawford is at least tolerable and Thea Andrews is the most professional of the bunch (along with being drop dead gorgeous), but Hoover consistently annoys and Leslie Maxie only seems to be around for her brief daily appearances because of fears of a discrimination suit.  ESPN must be showing a lot of patience to keep this turkey going.

ObGameShow:  The (Celebrity) Sports Challenge segment, although they've dropped the quiz part from that segment, perhaps because it was too close to a bit of a former "SportsCenter" anchor for comfort--and I don't mean Yambo. [/quote]
 Last I heard, Cold Pizza was pulling a .2 in the ratings (about 180,000 viewers). And that's an improvement over the .1 it was geting in its first couple of months. For GSN in the daytime, that's tolerable. For ESPN (or 2), not so much. But ESPN invested so much money into the show, it's not going away anytime soon.

Tyshaun

[Timsterino]

[quote name=\'SplitSecond\' date=\'Apr 27 2004, 01:48 AM\'] Darva Conger aside, doesn't anybody find it funny that Rich Cronin can't even stick to his network's new, expanded brand?

Maybe someone can convince him that the Magic 8 Ball he uses to run the network ran out of batteries. [/quote]
 I was also thinking about that. They got rid of the "Game Show" moniker to focus on a general "Games" outlook but they are scheduling some shows that have no game.

I like the variety but the focus is definitely blurry over there.

Tim :-)

[CaseyAbell]

I like the variety but the focus is definitely blurry over there.

Well, four of the five non-trad shows definitely have elements of competition and gameplay. Frankly, Blackjack and Mole might as well be traditional gamers except they aren't staged in a studio. At one point they even unleashed a math quiz on the Hawaii Mole. Thought I was back on It's Academic for a minute.

Fake-a-Date and KvS are a little further afield but still feature gameplay. The only show that really pushes through the envelope is Spy TV, and you could argue that the unsuspecting civvies get "gamed" by the producers.

Okay, it's a stretch. Anyway, I'm not arguing that all of these shows are worthwhile. Joe Millionaire's dating snoozer, the two overaged adolescents from Canada, and the hidden-camera nonsense could disappear tomorrow, and I'd be a most happy camper. Darva's wedding show sounds like it could be awful, or so bad it's good, or just a dull misfire. But the p.r. seems to indicate some gameplaying with the unsuspecting "contestants."

So it's not like the focus on gameplay is getting hopelessly blurred. The overwhelming majority of GSN's programming - even the non-traditional stuff - continues to concentrate on the silly games people play.

If GSN starts running NYPD Blue and the Cosby show in prime time, then there will be a whole lotta blurrin' goin' on.

[vtown7]

and Thea Andrews is the most professional of the bunch (along with being drop dead gorgeous),

Is this the infamous Thea that was on "Cooking for Love" up here in Canada?

Cheers,

Ryan

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'vtown7\' date=\'Apr 28 2004, 01:28 PM\']

and Thea Andrews is the most professional of the bunch (along with being drop dead gorgeous),

Is this the infamous Thea that was on "Cooking for Love" up here in Canada?
[/quote]
Same one--it's mentioned in her bio on the "CP" web site.

And here's a canoe.ca chat transcript where she talks about "Cooking for Love," which I assume is now in perpetual reruns.

[vtown7]

There was a guy from my university theatre program that was on... oh, how we howled... more bizarrely was apparently someone that I acted with in high school was on as well however I never saw the episode.

As you said... there's always perpetual reruns.

Cheers,

Ryan