This Week on TV (9/10-9/16)

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Award Shows, Comedy, Daytime, Drama, Food & Home, Games, Music, Prime Time, Reality, Specials, Sports, Talk Shows, ABC, Cable, ESPN-HD, FX, FOX, NBC, Syndication, TNT-HD, Oprah Winfrey Show, Cable/Satellite

MONDAY (9/10)

• Today (NBC, 7-11am):  The show expands to an unnecessary 4 hours.
• Oprah (syndicated):  Season premiere includes a first appearance by David Letterman.
• Rachel Ray (syndicated):  Ray’s Second Season premiere includes guests from High School Musical 2
• The View (ABC, check local listings):  The official introduction of their final new host (a.k.a. Sherri Shepherd).
• Wheel of Fortune (syndicated):  25th season premiere.
• Monday Night Football (ESPN):  A double-header special.  Cincinnati Bengals vs Baltimore Ravens (7pm ET)/ San Francisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals (10:15 ET).
• The Closer (TNT, 9pm):  Part-two of the season finale.

Click to continue reading This Week on TV (9/10-9/16)

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Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune Through 2012

Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Games, Syndication, Ratings, Renewals

Wow, here are two shows that have legs. I mean, I can remember both of these when I was a kid, and that was ages ago! Seriously though, both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune have been around since the mid-70s and this latest announcement proves that the shows’ concepts translate through the years. The renewal will take both game shows through 2012, with CBS Television Distribution giving each a two-year extension of their current deal. At the end of it all, Wheel will have run 29 years on the air, with Jeopardy! trailing closely behind at 28 years. Harry Friedman, the shows’ executive producer through Sony Pictures TV, said “With these unprecedented renewals, we will continue to infuse our classic games with energy and originality through 2012 and beyond.” Who can go wrong with the colossal viewership of both shows—Wheel averages more than 46 million per week; Jeopardy! comes in at 37 million per week.

Read More | Zap2it

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Jeopardy and Wheel in High Definition

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Games, Prime Time, HDTV, News

While most of the country will be acknowledging the 5-year anniversary of 9/11, fans of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune will be celebrating the debut of HD programming.  That is, of course, assuming those viewers even have an high-definition TV to appreciate the technology.

King World Productions and Sony Pictures Television are spending over $4 million dollars to get the production and sets ready for this big launch on September 11.  Upgrades will include wider and more detailed sets.  For Jeopardy, this will also include a new video wall to replace the individual TV monitors.  But the question is—will the shows’ primary fan base like change?

And more importantly— how will the personalities be affected by the change?  Let’s be honest—they’ve been around for a while.  Is it really in their best interest to have their features highlighted?  Poor Vanna has probably had enough trouble making sure obsessed viewers don’t see her in the same outfit twice, now she’ll have to make sure her dresses don’t come off bland under increased scrutiny.  And what about Alex Trebek? If he continues to go back and forth again between his clean-shaven and mustached looks, will we be able to see his in-between stubble?  And let’s not get into Pat Sajak’s ‘laugh lines’...

But then again - who cares?  We’ll all be focusing on more important things that day, right?

Read More | TV Week

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