About that new Chuck Woolery show

[teamfx]

Well, week one has come and gone for \"Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned,\" which premiered on Monday, June 15.  We'd like to hear what you guys think about it so far.

Before I forget, did anyone ever see that \"Before They Were Stars\" clip of his performance of Blood, Sweat and Tears' hit \"You've Made Me So Very Happy\" several years back?  Pretty wild, eh?  FYI, according to the fine print, it was from a 1971 telecast of CBC's \"The Tommy Banks Show.\"

[Timsterino]

Well it is much better than the other new offering last week, \"Funny Money\". I did not expect it to be as good as it was. However, only based on the first episode, it is more of a documentary series then a reality show IMHO. It should be good for six episodes, any more I think would be too much.

Tim :-)

[Matt Ottinger]

it is more of a documentary series then a reality show IMHO

A documentary series IS a reality show.  That's pretty much the meaning of \"documentary\".  

Loath as I am to agree with a journalist who makes up words, it's \"reality\" as it applies to television that doesn't really have any meaning.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jun 22 2003, 07:59 AM\'] A documentary series IS a reality show.  That's pretty much the meaning of "documentary".  
 [/quote]
 I think what Tim is saying (and I agree with him), is that the definition of \"reality show\" as we know it is programming like Survivor or The Real World where a bunch of people are thrown into a situation, usually fabricated, and the cameras are turned on to see how they handle it. When you're just following someone around with a camera to record their daily life, and then editing the footage down to the notable bits and slapping a voice track over it, that's a documentary in the traditional sense.

If Chuck were being given ridiculous tasks to perform, or were in danger of getting thrown off of the show to be replaced by Graham Elwood or something, THAT would be a \"reality\" show.

[Timsterino]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jun 22 2003, 01:13 PM\'] [quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jun 22 2003, 07:59 AM\'] A documentary series IS a reality show.  That's pretty much the meaning of "documentary".   
 [/quote]
I think what Tim is saying (and I agree with him), is that the definition of "reality show" as we know it is programming like Survivor or The Real World where a bunch of people are thrown into a situation, usually fabricated, and the cameras are turned on to see how they handle it. When you're just following someone around with a camera to record their daily life, and then editing the footage down to the notable bits and slapping a voice track over it, that's a documentary in the traditional sense.

If Chuck were being given ridiculous tasks to perform, or were in danger of getting thrown off of the show to be replaced by Graham Elwood or something, THAT would be a "reality" show. [/quote]
 Thanks, Chris. That is what I meant. I meant it in terms of \"Survivor\", \"Big Brother\", \"The Osbournes\".  I do realize that a \"Documentary\" is a reality show in the truest sense of the word.

[melman1]

I caught the first episode of this during one of its 37 re-runs last week.  When it was over, I felt like I knew about as much about Woolery as I wanted to.

But there are going to be more episodes of this?  Why?
Why not do a series of tributes to game show hosts?  An hour on Trebek, an hour on Sajak, etc.  All have had long and fairly diverse careers in broadcasting.

What it really drove home to me, is that since Woolery left WoF, he hasn't done ... well, much of anything.  \"Love Connection\" is certainly nothing to be proud of, and the other shows hidden away on GSN (Greed and Lingo) don't count.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'melman1\' date=\'Jun 23 2003, 01:02 PM\'] What it really drove home to me, is that since Woolery left WoF, he hasn't done ... well, much of anything.  "Love Connection" is certainly nothing to be proud of, and the other shows hidden away on GSN (Greed and Lingo) don't count. [/quote]
 Well, his run on Scrabble (not counting the 93 revival) lasted just as long as his stint on Wheel. Six years on any game show is nothing to sneeze at.

[ITSBRY]

What it really drove home to me, is that since Woolery left WoF, he hasn't done ... well, much of anything. \"Love Connection\" is certainly nothing to be proud of, and the other shows hidden away on GSN (Greed and Lingo) don't count.

I definately don't agree with that statement.  To say that Chuck's done nothing notable since WoF is not giving the guy any credit.  As a matter of fact, most people don't even remember Chuck for Wheel.

Scrabble enjoyed a very long run on NBC daytime.  Why this wasn't mentioned on NS is beyond me!  I know they may not have rights to air clips, but they could have mentioned it as it was a very big part of his career.  Fact is, Chuck was very busy up until the mid-90s when the game show genre took a nose dive.  While some may not consider LC a game show, it is a popular series that ran for a very long time and a lot of people, myself included, are enjoying seeing these shows again (although I'd rather see them somewhere besides GSN).

I would also say that Greed certainly \"counts\".  It was aired on a major network in prime time and is very popular in reruns on GSN.  There are many who still wonder why Fox canceled the show.

ITSBRY
itsbry@juno.com

[Matt Ottinger]

Thanks, Chris. That is what I meant. I meant it in terms of \"Survivor\", \"Big Brother\", \"The Osbournes\". I do realize that a \"Documentary\" is a reality show in the truest sense of the word.

I don't really have as huge an issue with your terms as it sounds like I do, but you've lost me again.

I understand the difference between Naturally Stoned and shows like Survivor and Big Brother, which have a competitive element to them.  I even understand the difference between Naturally Stoned and shows like The Real World, which aren't strictly games but do artificially create the environment we see.

But I fail to see any genre difference between Naturally Stoned and The Osbornes.  As I said originally, \"reality show\" can be defined far too many ways, but if you're saying that The Osbornes *is* a reality show, but Naturally Stoned *isn't*, I can't imagine you're going to get a lot of support for that position.  Structurally, those two shows (as well as The Anna Nicole Show) are the same.

Somebody else said:

What it really drove home to me, is that since Woolery left WoF, he hasn't done ... well, much of anything. \"Love Connection\" is certainly nothing to be proud of, and the other shows hidden away on GSN (Greed and Lingo) don't count.

I don't even know where to start.  There are many industry professionals who would say that \"Wheel of Fortune\" is nothing to be proud of, so for you to dismiss Love Connection because it offends YOUR delicate sensibilities is a weird way to wipe that off Chuck's resume.  Scrabble was a definite success on NBC, and Greed was a very visible prime time series on FOX before becoming GSN fodder.  Sure, Lingo is less visible, but if GSN wants to be in the Chuck Woolery business, why should he say no?  

Point is, there are many mid-70s hosts who truly haven't done much of anything on TV since.  Woolery has been extremely successful.  Being successful and being an interesting subject for cameras to follow around all day are two different things, however...

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jun 23 2003, 11:32 AM\'] But I fail to see any genre difference between Naturally Stoned and The Osbornes. [/quote]
 There isn't. I was going to point out to him that I thought Osbornes was a bad example, but something ended up diverting my attention...

Scrabble was a definite success on NBC, and Greed was a very visible prime time series on FOX before becoming GSN fodder. 

And on top of that, there was his gig with Cristina Ferrare on that \"Home And Family\" show, plus his own talk show, plus he was the first host of the California Lottery's Big Spin show...I'd say he's had pretty steady work.

[Timsterino]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jun 23 2003, 01:32 PM\']

Thanks, Chris. That is what I meant. I meant it in terms of "Survivor", "Big Brother", "The Osbournes". I do realize that a "Documentary" is a reality show in the truest sense of the word.

But I fail to see any genre difference between Naturally Stoned and The Osbornes.  As I said originally, "reality show" can be defined far too many ways, but if you're saying that The Osbornes *is* a reality show, but Naturally Stoned *isn't*, I can't imagine you're going to get a lot of support for that position.  Structurally, those two shows (as well as The Anna Nicole Show) are the same.

 [/quote]
 Ok. Let me please be as specific as I can. When *I* think of reality show, *I* think of a competition type of show like \"Survivor\", \"Big Brother\". You are correct, my \"Osbournes\" reference was bad. This is my interpretation of \"Reality\" and as you stated \"Reality\" can be defined in far too many ways. My original arguement was with the fact that I felt that \"Naturally Stoned\" was a documentary in the sense of the word as I interpret it. When I see the show I do not see a reality show.  But to be fair, a reality show in it's truest definition can be any show that deals with, well, reality. I guess I need to broaden my interpretation of the concept of \"Reality\" and include \"Naturally Stoned\" in that genre.

[Matt Ottinger]

I guess I need to broaden my interpretation of the concept of \"Reality\"

Somebody get this boy some magic mushrooms, fast!

Meanwhile, if you want to think of \"reality\" shows as being the ones that are competition oriented, that doesn't make you wrong as long as you're consistant.  The Osbournes thing just threw me, that's all.

[GS Warehouse]

[quote name=\'Timsterino\' date=\'Jun 23 2003, 04:32 PM\'] This is my interpretation of "Reality" and as you stated "Reality" can be defined in far too many ways. [/quote]
 The same can be said of the term \"game show\".  You've got basic Q&A (Jeopardy!), puzzle based games (Lingo), stunt-based shows (Cram), talent contests (American Idol), and adventure contests (Survivor).  But yes, the definition of \"reality TV\" is becoming even more blurry.  There's \"staged reality\", like those aforementioned adventures games and those dating shows; there's documentaries, where \"The Osburnes\" and \"Naturally Stoned\" both fall; and there's the worst TV has to offer: real reality.  Perfect example: September 11, 2001.

[JasonA1]

And on top of that, there was his gig with Cristina Ferrare on that \"Home And Family\" show

I must say, I truly liked watching that show as a kid over the summer or whenever I had time off. At first, I didn't accept Michael Burger because I liked Chuck so much, but he even did a good job with it.

Speaking of which, why exactly did Chuck leave? I seem to remember it being Chuck leaving as opposed to having been dropped somehow.

-Jason

[Timsterino]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' date=\'Jun 23 2003, 05:51 PM\']

I guess I need to broaden my interpretation of the concept of "Reality"

Somebody get this boy some magic mushrooms, fast!

 [/quote]
 No man, I am \"Naturally Stoned\"!

Ok, so, I could not resist an attempt at humor. I did say it was an attempt.

Tim :-)