TVSquad

When Drew Carey takes the stage later today to begin taping the 37th season of The Price is Right, he'll be seeing whatever changes they have in store for the first time. Why? Because he's just as much in the dark about it as everyone else is. "They don't tell me anything," he told me on Friday night at the CBS all-star party at the Boulevard3 club in Hollywood. When I asked him if he prefers it that way, he told me "No. It's disheartening. They don't tell me what they're thinking about doing or changing."

Drew also told me that he found out about longtime producer Roger Dobkowitz' dismissal the night before it happened. Executives at Fremantle told him about the change at a dinner near the Price studios. He felt bad for Dobkowitz, especially because of how well he got along with him. When asked if that put a damper on a fairly successful first season, he at first said it didn't, then he reconsidered. "Well, yeah it did, actually, because I really thought the world of him and I was sad that he let go. But like I said, I'm like an employee. They don't discuss their personnel changes with me."

The entire interview, including a response from CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler, is after the jump.

The first day of the combined CBS / CW / Showtime part of the tour kicked off with the executive session from CBS Entertainment president Nina Tassler. Before she got on stage, the network showed a montage of their shows. It was then I realized, "Boy, I really don't watch anything on this network, do I?" I mean, outside of the Monday comedies and The Price is Right, there isn't one show on the Eye net that I tune in on a regular basis.

Anyway, she addressed the departure of William Peterson from CSI, just about right off the bat, giving the gathered writers a clue as to the nature of the character who will be coming in to fill his void. Oh, and Tassler is studying to become a cantor. For some reason, a reporter asked her about that.

Drew Carey and company recently wrapped up shooting Season 36 of The Price is Right -- Drew had pizzas delivered to the studio from his favorite place in Cleveland -- but when the crew comes back to tape Season 37 in a few weeks, they're going to be faced with a number of changes.

The first change is that Roger Dobkowitz, who's been the producer of the show since it started its run, won't be there. According to Golden-Road.net, a TPiR message board, Fremantle Media let Dobkowitz go after Season 36 wrapped up; a replacement has yet to be named.

But there may be other changes afoot, namely with the look and format of the show, whose ratings declined 15% in the first season after Bob Barker's retirement. Rumors are swirling that the changes will include new pricing games and a video wall, all the way up to a rumor -- published on a TVGuide.com fan blog but later pulled -- that the show will be completely overhauled to make it look more like Fremantle's money-making machine, American Idol (or their new money-making machine, Million Dollar Password).

Last week, you had a chance to nominate shows for The Jeopardy Award. This award rewards the primetime game show requiring the most skill. Because of the fact that we are only looking for shows that air in primetime, a lot of game shows requiring skills are out of the running. So is the case for Cash Cab, which received a lot of nominations, Crosswords and Jeopardy.

After the jump you will find the nominees, listed in alphabetical order, for The Jeopardy Award, along with a poll for the Reader's Choice Award. Both winners will be announced next week.

Game shows have been an important part of television since the late 1930s. In 1938, the BBC aired Spelling Bee, a show that is believed to be the world's first game show. In July 1941, CBS Television Quiz made history by becoming the first television game show to broadcast regularly. Since then, U.S. viewers were treated with all sorts of game shows such as To Tell the Truth, Beat the Clock, Concentration, Name that Tune, The Price is Right, Jeopardy, etc.

Jeopardy!, which premiered in 1964, is one of the most successful and popular game show in U.S. TV history. Its challenging questions and format helped make it a household name. This is why we named our "Primetime game show requiring the most skill" category after it.

In this category, we include 2007-2008 season game shows that air/aired in primetime (Jeopardy! is out of the running since it doesn't air in that block) and that are not reality-type game shows such as Survivor and Big Brother. Shows that come to mind are Duel, 1 vs 100, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, and the primetime edition of The Price Is Right. Personally, I don't think Deal or No Deal or The Moment of Truth qualify since they don't require much skill.

Which shows do you think should be nominated for The Jeopardy Award? List your suggestions below!

• TNT has NBA Playoffs all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, followed by new episodes of Supernanny and Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular at 8, then new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• FOX has new episodes of 'Til Death, Back To You, and American Idol.
• NBC has a new, two hour Deal Or No Deal at 8, followed by a new Law and Order.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8, then a new Farmer Wants A Wife.
• There's a new Secrets of the Dead on PBS at 8.
• Also at 8: TCM has Frank Sinatra movies, including The Tender Trap and Marriage on the Rocks.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Top Chef.
• At 11, TV Land has a new Big 4-0.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• TLC has a Little People, Big World marathon all night.
• TNT has the NBA Playoffs all night.
• At 8, ABC has a new Wife Swap, then new episodes of Supernanny and Boston Legal.
• CBS has a new Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular at 8, followed by new episodes of Criminal Minds and CSI: NY.
• NBC has a new, two hour Deal Or No Deal at 8, then a new Law and Order.
• FOX has new episodes of 'Til Death, Back to You, and American Idol.
• The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8, then the series premiere of Farmer Wants A Wife.
• PBS has a new Secrets of the Dead at 8, followed by a new installment of Carrier.
• At 9, Rachael Ray guests on a new Larry King Live, on CNN.
• Sci-Fi has a new Ghost Hunters at 9.
• Also at 9: Oxygen has the new movie Husband For Hire.
• At 10, Bravo has a new Top Chef.
• Food Network has a new Dinner: Impossible at 10.
• There's a new Real World on MTV at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

If anyone thought Bob Barker was going to miss being on stage at The Price is Right, then they'd be wrong. At least if you listen to Bob; he not only thinks he left "at just the right time," but is keeping himself extremely busy.

Barker spoke to the Long Beach, CA Press-Telegram recently, and he explained that "I enjoyed the show right up to the last minute of the last show. But, I don't miss it so much that I want to go back and do it again. I think I'm going to be very happy in retirement." He's currently working with various animal-rights organizations and is writing an autobiography, which he expects to be out late this year (ah, the publishing world moves quickly when they have to, know what I mean?).

Shark will swim again -- at least for the rest of this season. The future, however, remains unclear. CBS today announced that Shark will return on April 29 in a new timeslot. The network is switching the L.A. legal drama from Sundays at nine to Tuesdays at nine, where it may benefit from the strong lead-in of NCIS. Chances are that if Shark holds NCIS's ratings -- or improves on them -- that could mean more Shark for fall. If the show stumbles, CBS will likely pull the plug.

Fans of Shark may need to get more militant if they want to keep the show on the air. In a recent story we did about CBS renewals, there was fervent outcries for bringing back Moonlight and The Unit, even Cane. Out of 40 comments, only two came to Shark's defense. It may be a small sample, but still...

Here are the new TV DVDs, in stores tomorrow.

• Arrest & Trial - Best Of, Part 2
• Arthur - Season 10
• The Catherine Tate Show - Series 2
• Checkmate - Best Of Season 2
• Day Break - Complete Series
• Frisky Dingo - Season 1
• The Invisible Man - Season 1
• Kong: The Animated Series - Vol. 4
• Laredo - Best Of Season 1, Part 2
• Midsomer Murders - The Early Cases and Box Set Ten
• The Mike Douglas Show - Moments and Memories
• Noble House - Noble House
• Painkiller Jane - Complete Series
• Party of Five - Season 3
• The Price Is Right - Best Of
• The Shield - Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
• Sliders - Season 4
• Suburban Shootout - Season
• Tripping The Rift (Movie)
• Upright Citizen's Brigade - Asssscat
• Wings - Season 6

A day hasn't gone by where we haven't received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn't my BFF, so we really can't help all that much.

The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they've given us permission to make mention of them here. We'll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.

This time we have Big Brother, The Biggest Loser, I'm With the Band and other new shows.

Here are the weekly TV ratings, by number of viewers.

No shock that American Idol grabs the first three slots again this week (and helps push both New Amsterdam episodes into the top 20), but I'm curious as to why the Thursday results show isn't higher than the Tuesday and Wednesday episodes, and why some weeks the Tuesday ep is number 1 in the ratings and other weeks the Wednesday show is number 1.

Lost continues to impress on its new night, and if you're wondering how 20/20 got to be number 5 for the week, it was the special "Royal Family" episode.

1. American Idol - Weds (FOX)
2. American Idol - Tues (FOX)
3. American Idol - Thurs (FOX)

• At 8, CBS has another Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular.
• NBC has a new Amnesia at 8, followed by a new, two hour Dateline.
• PBS has new episodes of NOW and Washington Week.
• The CW has a new Smackdown! at 8.
• At 9, ABC has a new, two hour 20/20.
• VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever at 9.
• At 9:30, HBO has a new In Treatment.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.
• Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis at 10.
• Also at 10: HBO Comedy repeats the George Carlin It's Bad For Ya special. It's followed by a new Real Time with Bill Maher, with guests Joe Scarborough, Terry McAuliffe, Adam Goldberg and Jeremy Scahill.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, CBS has another Price Is Right Million Dollar Spectacular.
• NBC has a new Amnesia at 8, then a new, two hour Dateline.
• There's a new Smackdown! on The CW at 8.
• PBS has a new NOW at 8, followed by new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• At 9, ABC has two new episodes of 20/20.
• Lifetime has a new Your Mama Don't Dance at 9.
• Also at 9: VH-1 has a new Best Week Ever, then a new Free Radio.
• At 9:30, HBO has a new In Treatment.
• At 10, E! has a new episode of The Soup.
• Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis at 10.
• At 10:30, TCM has Three Days of the Condor.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher, with guests Christopher Hitchens, Harry Shearer, and former Under-Secretary-General of the UN Shashi Tharoor.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, CBS has a new Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular.
• NBC has a new 1 vs. 100 at 8, then the series premiere of Amnesia and a new Dateline.
• PBS has a new NOW at 8, followed by new episodes of Washington Week and Bill Moyers Journal.
• There's a new Smackdown! on The CW at 8.
• At 9, USA has the season finale of Monk.
• At 9:30, HBO has a new In Treatment.
• At 10, Comedy Central has a new Comedy Central Presents.
• Sci-Fi has a new Stargate Atlantis at 10.
• At 11, HBO has a new Real Time with Bill Maher.

Check your local TV listings for more.