TVSquad

In an announcement that most who remember the older versions of Password would consider a no-brainer, it has been revealed that Betty White will be returning as a guest panelist on CBS' new Million Dollar Password series. And, really, if she wasn't even being considered would it even be Password?

White, who is 86-years-young, was a staple of the original version of Password when it started back in 1961 as well as the revived 70s and 80s versions of the show. Much of that connection came from her marriage to original Password host Allen Ludden. White and Ludden were married in 1963 and remained together until his death from stomach cancer in 1981.

You've heard of Ryan Seacrest, right? Well, one of the most reliable news source in the world, The Globe, tells us now that the folks behind Live are courting Ryan Seacrest to replace Regis Philbin on their morning staple. It makes perfect sense. Consider that Regis, who turns 176 this year, has racked up more hours on television than anyone in history, but now has announced he'll be cutting back his television work to three days a week. Then we have Ryan, who can be seen and heard everywhere from his work on E! to American Idol to New Year's Rockin' Eve to his radio show to American Top 40. Maybe he'd give up his morning radio gig for a morning TV gig. Or maybe record one during the commercial breaks of the other.

I almost missed this story, though, because that same issue of The Globe promised to show me how to win the Lottery and I'm busy spending all the money I'm gonna win! So for now, we'll say the rumor's unsubstantiated but if the Weekly World News or The Onion picks it up, then it's official!

[via AOL]

Three weeks ago it was a hot rumor. Now it's a fact. NBC announced that Kathie Lee Gifford will co-host the fourth hour of Today beginning Monday, April 7th. She'll be teaming up with Hoda Kotb for an hour of chit-chat, info, interviews and what have you. I doubt she'll be singing, but then again, if Kathie Lee can cajole them into rolling a piano onto the set, watch out.

"I am truly honored to join the Today show family, many of whom have been friends and colleagues of mine for years," said Kathie Lee via release. "And I'm especially looking forward to working with Hoda, a bright and beautiful woman I admire very much. Together I hope we will bring a fresh and fun perspective to the topics that affect all of our daily lives."

So, AOL TV did a poll about America's favorite talk show hosts and 1.3 million people made their feelings known. Interesting results. I didn't agree with some of them, like who I like waking up with. Diane Sawyer was the top choice, but I'd go for the second place finisher, Matt Lauer. As for whom to go to bed with -- TV talk show wise, that is -- I can't believe most of the people chose Jay Leno. Is he really that popular? I prefer David Letterman; I'm a sucker for the Top Ten lists.

The summer schedule on NBC won't be filled with just reruns, apparently. The network wants to up their game quotient. That said, American Idol's producer, FremantleMedia North America and NBC are planning a celebrity version of Family Feud. Although there have been multiple variations of the Feud -- daytime, syndication, board game, internet edition, et. al -- this will be the very first time the game show will air as a regularly-scheduled primetime network show. John O'Hurley, who is the current host on the syndicated Family Feud, could be anchoring NBC's primetime celeb affair, but that has not been announced as yet.

Everyone knew that Regis Philbin is the king, now he'll have some extra hardware to prove it. Like a Lifetime Achievement Award from The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. At the upcoming 35th annual Daytime Emmy Awards, June 20 at Hollywood's Kodak Theater, NATAS will present the special honor to Regis, host of Live With Regis and Kelly, during the primetime ABC broadcast. There will be a salute to Regis, no doubt including Kelly Ripa and/or Kathie Lee Gifford, his daytime co-hosts over the years, but the details haven't been announced yet.

Pioneers of Television (in stores today) is a pretty big title for a documentary series, especially one that lasts only four episodes. You wonder, what are they going to mention and what are they going to leave out? This PBS show isn't the most comprehensive look I've seen on each of its subjects, but for one miniseries in one package, it's actually well put together, and you're going to see some TV footage, photos, and interviews I bet you've never seen before.

If you tuned into Live with Regis & Kelly this morning expecting to see Ringo Starr perform his new single, then you were probably disappointed. He walked off the set before the show started.

Starr thought he was going to be able to perform the entire "Liverpool 8" song without editing (talk shows often need a shorter version of the song to fit their time schedule). He actually tried to cut the 4 minute, 15 second song down to the required 2 minute, 30 seconds, but found that he couldn't do it and still have the song be worth hearing, so he decided not to appear on the show at all.

Apparently, holding the Guinness World Record for the most time spent in front of a television camera isn't enough. The AP is now reporting that 76-year old Regis Philbin has been signed to host the red carpet show for the upcoming Oscars. Dennis Doty, producer of the show, says he's a great host because "he knows everyone, and everyone loves Regis." The arrivals show for the 80th Annual Academy Awards airs at 5/4c February 24, 2008 on ABC.

I bet Ryan Seacrest is pissed. How dare a hosting gig come up and not be his. How do they expect him to become the new king of all media? But Philbin is one of the most beloved people. I mean seriously, does anyone not like the man? How do you achieve that level of likeability, anyway? I can tell you from personal experience it's not achieved by offering free back massages to everyone you meet. And I thought everyone liked massages, but no! Apparently, they like restraining orders more.

[via Yahoo! ]

Remember the '88 Writer's Strike? Well, while it didn't impact scripted television as much as the current strike, as it occurred largely during the off-season. Yahoo! reminds us that it was during this period that a network was finally willing to take a chance on an unscripted series. Nineteen years later, Cops is still on the air. And back then, reality wasn't even a genre.

Now, networks are all about this alternate form of entertainment/schedule filling. Even if the strike is resolved relatively soon, it may be too late to save the new year's schedule, and thus reality shows are being picked up by the bucketloads to fill the gaps. If the strike continues much into 2008 look for more and more to be put on the air.

As the members of the Writers Guild of America continue to strike, more networks are coming up with what I'll call Plan B. What's that? Why, it's reality television, of course.

With the possibility of a long strike and some scripted shows already out of material, it's likely that most of the holes in the programming schedule will be filled by reality television shows. While reality shows do employ writers (although not necessarily called such -- they're story producers or editors, etc.), those folks are not a part of the WGA. Thus, they're willing to work and are probably looking at the situation as a cash cow.

I'm here to bring you the skinny on what the networks have planned. Remember, please don't shoot the messenger.

Jimmy Kimmel not only got two paychecks for his twin hosting duties last week, he also set an official world record.

Kimmel filled in for Regis Philbin on Live with Regis & Kelly every day, and when he was done he jumped on a plane (private from ABC, but still) and hosted his late night talk show in Los Angeles. The Guinness Book of World Records has officially named him a world record holder, saying that the 22406 miles he commuted during the week are a record for the Furthest Distance Commuted In One Working Week.

The last of the Rat Pack is dead.

Joey Bishop, who along with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford comprised the Rat Pack in the late 50s and early 60s, died of multiple causes in Newport Beach this morning.

Besides several movies, including the original Ocean's Eleven and The Naked and the Dead, Bishop starred in two different TV series titled The Joey Bishop Show.

Bicoastal, that is. Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will be one busy guy next week: he's going to host two different shows on two different coasts.

Kimmel will be filling in for Reege on Live with Regis & Kelly the week of October 22 (Philbin will be on vacation), and then he's going to jump on a plane and go to Los Angeles tape his show (side note: I wish they'd get rid of the "live" in the title since it's not done that way anymore). Then he'll come back to New York to host Regis & Kelly the next morning.

Ah, the world of TV, where everything old is new again. Failed sitcoms become cartoons, Adam West gets reimagined as a doddering cartoon mayor, and every old game show is remade into a new, more sparkly version.

Now the twirling-light, ominous music treatment has reached an old favorite: Password. According to Variety, CBS and Fremantle Media are teaming up to produce a new version of the word-association game show, redubbing it Million Dollar Password. And, not only will the old show will be recycled, so will an old host: Regis Philbin has been tapped to host his first prime-time game show since the ABC version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire breathed its last a few years ago.