by Chad MosherI can feel the wind blowing in, I can look at the temperature gradually decreasing and I can see the leaves changing colors. Fall is rolling in and for a televisionista like me, it means one thing - the fall season is starting! Ever since television has been around, the fall season is traditionally the time when most programs begin airing new episodes on a regular basis. Even though the game show genre can be used to plug holes in the schedule, there's always a steady stream of shows, young and old, ready to start broadcasting their new seasons at this time of year. In the coming months, there are lots of fun, new things to look forward to in games.
I think it only makes sense to start with the two biggest names in game shows, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! (September 13). Wheel will begin its 28th season at the top of syndication and this season, the show will enter its 36th year on television overall. One of the more prominently evolving formats, interestingly there isn't much change happening in this season of the program except for one noteworthy departure. Following in the footsteps of last year's upheaval of the Free Spin, another iconic part of the show will soon be a memory. The lowest cash amount placed on the mini-wheel bonus round has been upgraded to $30,000, meaning after almost 25 years of faithful service, the $25,000 envelope will be saying au revoir. After an apparent success last season, Wheel taped six weeks' worth of shows at two Las Vegas properties and those will air throughout the early part of the season, including week one. Rumors of a new category also float around and they've adopted a new logo, a modern throwback redesign of the same round logo they've used since the beginning. Wheel is always a fun favorite of mine, so I'll be looking forward to seeing Pat and Vanna spin around for another year.
Any time Jeopardy! makes a big change to their show, it's big news. We don't have much to report on for this season since there won't be anything earth shattering going on as far as format. The biggest feature of this 27th season could be the TV debut of Watson, the IBM robot trained to play the game from its database. The producers want to put him on an episode to play for real as soon as he's ready. Could that happen this season? I hope so. Ken Jennings vs. Brad Rutter vs. Watson could make for a nice series.
A show often overlooked by the casual watcher makes a return for its astonishing 12th season in its current syndicated run, this season with a new host, new look and new location. Family Feud (September 13) is now originating from Orlando, Florida with new host Steve Harvey (and new "announcer", Joey Fatone, who really just makes the same recorded announcements every day). The game is back to the same 300 point pre-Bullseye format used on most of the series' run, but I don't think you should be focusing too much on the format. The focus this season should be placed directly on host Steve Harvey. All signs point to Harvey being the best host in the modern run of the show, with many people (myself included) even comparing him to classic revered hosts Richard Dawson and Ray Combs. Having seen the premiere episode plus the plethora of clips posted on the Feud's official YouTube account, I can safely say Harvey fits into this role well and will breathe a whole lot of life into the show. He makes the proceedings a lot of fun and adds a unique charm to the game. Don't let this season fly under your radar - check out the new and improved Feud.
Speaking of new and improved, we've got a newcomer to the syndicated ranks this fall. Mark McGrath of pop band Sugar Ray will take the reins of a new daytime version of Don't Forget the Lyrics! (September 20). The shortened version of the show will follow a similar format, with five songs/rounds of play and a new wrinkle to add more risk and temptation in the game. With only five rounds, though, I'm a bit concerned about how much stretching we'll see in the half hour, but I always like to give shows a shot before I predict how it will go. Lyrics is a show that you'll likely only get into if you can play along with music knowledge, so if you're not so much into the jams of today and yesterday, this is probably not for you.
Paired with Lyrics on a lot of stations around the country is second-season returner Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? (September 20). I've caught no winds of change as far as this show is concerned, except for more celebrity weeks. You'll probably see new fifth graders in this season of the casual quizzer and maybe host Jeff Foxworthy will have a couple of new lines added to his comedy repertoire soon. It's certain, though, that the show better pick up some steam this season, otherwise it's going the way of daytime Deal or No Deal.
More tinkering will come to the 39th season of The Price is Right. Newly-thin host Drew Carey will be joined by a rotating crew of announcers. Premiere week will feature the debut of one of those announcers, game show vet J.D. Roberto. Also in the new week is the debut of a new pricing game, Pay the Rent. That game will feature the highest offered daytime prize, a cool $100,000 cash. A couple of games are repainted and redesigned and you can expect more slight changes to come throughout the season, as the "new regime" of the show puts their unique stamp on daytime TV's longest running game.
To be honest, I can't comment too much on its CBS counterpart Let's Make a Deal (September 20) as it's not available to me in my market. I saw an episode or two over this past Thanksgiving, though, and I was really underwhelmed. I hope they can have host Wayne Brady make things go a little bit faster and somehow hook the larger viewership of Price so CBS can be convinced to keep them around.
The biggest change this fall is last on my list but it's certainly not the least. The ninth season of Who Wants to be a Millionaire (September 13) features an overhaul to the classic format that almost makes it feel like a brand new show. Whether that's good or bad is certainly your opinion, but I'm looking forward to the changes.
Millionaire is certainly the biggest overhaul this fall, and some fans might find it hard to digest. Others have expressed an interest in this new concept and anxiously await it. The feedback from viewers after the first episode will surely be interesting to read. No matter which camp you fall in for Meredith's show, I hope you're gearing up for and are anticipating all of the other shows in this the new season. Get those DVRs ready - there's a lot of fun to handle with the fall 2010 game show season!
Chad Mosher is a past game show contestant, and has experience in many aspects of the game show industry. He contributes a weekly column here at About.com Game Shows, answering your questions and tackling all facets of the game show genre. If you have questions for Chad, you can post them here in the comments, or contact him directly through the link in his bio.
Photo of JD Roberto, courtesy CBS
Comments
I seem to remember something about fewer questions on 5th Grader this season, but I can’t be positive.
I wouldn’t be too worried about 5th Grader going the way of DoND, really to have a 2nd season of any game show, but especially one in syndication is quite an achievement.
You can plant me firmly on Team Classic (man I hate how everyone has to say team this or team that these days, our country is divided enough without us being lumped into an entire group for sharing a tidbit of an opinion about something…anyway) for WWTBAM–yes I will like watching the new version, but with what is being taken from the old it just will have the feel of a different show, so if I’m picking one, it would have to be Classic.
I’m going to a taping next month, not thrilled about the new taping schedule–in the studio at 1015am–as if I want to drive there in rush hour traffic, sitting through 3 tapings without a clock (yeah, the clock was good to keep it moving along); but I know I will enjoy the time and really I’m there to take the test again.
As for FF, well never was a big fan, never liked Dawson, but still would and will be watching anyway. I really don’t like what I’ve seen of Steve Harvey from the clips, but the finished show could play out differently when I see it so I’m holding opinion on that–guess I’m on Team Neutral there.