TVSquad

You may or may not be watching Wheel of Fortune right now since its currently in repeats. I mean, it's not as fun to watch these shows when you already know what the answers to the puzzles are. But, I digress. If you have been watching this top-rated syndicated game show over the last week or so, you'll know about the big thing that is coming up for the 2008-09 season. And, when I mean big thing I really mean one million big things.

Next season, Wheel will join the ranks of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Million Dollar Password, and Million Dollar Naked Concentration (copyright me...don't make me come after you) by offering a million dollar cash prize. It won't be a part of the regular game, though. According to the promotions it will be part of the Million Dollar Bonus Round. This jump to a seven-figure cash prize is the biggest for Wheel since going from $25,000 to $100,000 as the premium cash total.

So, if you are interested, go ahead and register to be a contestant right now at the official Wheel of Fortune site. Don't dawdle, because the 26th season of Wheel (35th overall since premiering on NBC) begins in September.

My knowledge of law and patents never got past reruns of L.A. Law, so I have no idea if this guy from New Jersey has a case or not.

The gentleman claims that he approached reps from Merv Griffin's company back in 2001 and pitched them the idea for a game show based on crossword puzzles. He says he even came up with the idea of the game's "twist" where you can take the other person's spot. He also patented the game. Now he has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court that says Merv's company took his idea and made the syndicated game show Merv Griffin's Crosswords (a show that I've tried and tried to get into but haven't been able to - though "Ty Treadway" is one of the great game show names of all-time though).

I remember reading an interview with Griffin where he said that he had been working on the idea for a crossword puzzle game show for years. Griffin, as you know, created Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!

Oh, the humanity! Wheel of Fortune is not all frivolity and fun. Merv Griffin knew what he was doing when he created this venerable game show. Drama, ensues! You think it's so easy spinning the wheel, buying a vowel, laughing at Pat Sajak's jokes and ogling Vanna's gorgeous gait? Well, it's not. Under all that pressure you'd be surprised -- or maybe you wouldn't -- to see how some people simply come up short in the solution department. The letters all float together and instead of spelling a word you know as well as your own name, you pick the wrong consonant and you're WAH-WAHed in shame and regret. The fortune goes to the next player and you're left with egg on your face.

Watch these great examples and you'll see what I mean (a sample is after the jump). Like Jay Leno's simple "man in the street" questions about common knowledge, you see that there's no telling how stupid people can be, especially with a camera and microphone in their face.

[via digg]

If you're not familiar with the name Roger King then you are most certainly familiar with the company King World Productions and the TV shows that they have produced.

King was the current CEO of CBS Television Distribution. King World merged with the network in 2000. Among the many shows that King World brought to the world: Oprah, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy. Those shows have been so successful that we'll even forgive the company for unleashing Dr. Phil on the world. When he got to CBS, King was responsible for the syndication of shows such as Everybody Loves Raymond and CSI.

King died of a stroke in Florida over the weekend.

Here's a question I got that should be easy for all you game show fans...

Jamie writes, "Can you help me figure out the name of a game show that I watched about 20 years ago? It was like a board with words on it and you had to win to get to pick the covers off the board and it would like reveal for instance a needle + N + (then a pile of hay) with the answer to the puzzle would be a needle in the haystack!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!!"

Well, I am hardly a game show expert but that sounds like Concentration to me. Although if you watched it twenty years ago then you were probably watching the relaunched version called Classic Concentration hosted by Alex Trebek.

The Game Show Network will have a special tribute to Merv Griffin, who died earlier this week of cancer at age 82.

On Saturday and Sunday, August 18 and 19, GSN will run two different Griffin marathons, from 10am to 3pm. The shows included in the marathons will include a Chuck Woolery-hosted episode of Wheel Of Fortune and the first episode that featured Vanna White. We'll also see the first NYC-based episode of Wheel (not sure why this is so special, but I guess I'll wait and see) and a Jeopardy Masters Tournament of Champions. On Sunday night we'll see a 1960 episode of Play Your Hunch, a game show Griffin hosted, and then at 3:30am we'll see a To Tell The Truth episode that Griffin guest hosted.

That's a lot better than their tribute to Kitty Carlisle earlier this year, when they ran her game show appearances in the wee hours of the morning and that was it.

Businessman and talk show host Merv Griffin died last night of prostate cancer. He was 82. Rich had told you the other day, there were rumors floating around that Griffin was very ill and that it didn't look good. Those reports turned out to be true.

Griffin started as a singer in San Francisco and had roles on TV shows and movies, though he went on to greater fame as host of The Merv Griffin Show, the daytime talk show that lasted several years.

The news is not good for 82-year-old talkshow host and game show producer Merv Griffin. It is being reported that the TV legend is in grave condition after a return of prostate cancer.

Griffin was admitted to Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center back in July for a recurrence of the cancer, which he first battled in 1996. Various media outlets, such as Entertainment Tonight and KNBC, are reporting that the prognosis is not good and that Griffin is currently in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit. Griffin's representatives have yet to reply to press inquiries.

Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! creator Merv Griffin is being treated for prostate cancer.

Griffin is hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. The cancer was discovered last month during a routine doctor's visit. According to his son Tony, Griffin is getting "great care." His doctors wanted to treat the cancer in a controlled setting, which is why Griffin has been hospitalized, and Griffin remains optimistic. Griffin went through prostate cancer once before.

Griffin has another game show coming up, Let's Play Crosswords. The show will premiere in syndication this fall across the country.

With the popularity of shows like Deal or No Deal and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader it has become clear that the days of Ken Jennings are over. It is no longer necessary to be educated to be on a gameshow. All you need is a personality or at least the appearance of one.

Time was, ratings for a gameshow spiked considerably whenever someone got on a winning streak. Now all producers have to do is manufacture a load of tension and viewers become glued to the set, even when the tension stems from whether or not they should open a briefcase.

Now, I am the first to admit that I love seeing idiots blow their big chance on a gameshow. One of the best parts of Beat the Geeks was being able to laugh out loud when a contestant missed an easy question, but some of these contestants are so stupid that I can't see how they even made it on the show in the first place.

Crosswords is the eagerly awaited new game show from Merv Griffin that premieres in syndication this fall, and they have found their host.

Ty Treadway, a former actor on One Life To Live and a co-host of Soap Talk with Lisa Rinna (who also has a new gig, taking over for Joan and Melissa Rivers at the TV Guide Channel) for several years, is going to host the new word-oriented game show. In explaining the choice, Griffin said that Treadway "exudes the kind of energy that will keep audiences engaged and excited."

Come on, Ty Treadway? Is that his real name? Indeed it is. It sounds like a name of a Simpsons character. Was Guy Smiley not available?

Do you like TV shows and movies? Do you like to eat? Well, I've got a site for you, but fair warning: it will consume all of your time today.

It's Frank DeCaro's site. He's not on The Daily Show anymore, but he's got quite a site, including this section where you can find a massive list of recipes from celebs! You can try Bitter and Booze from The Dick Van Dyke Show's Richard Deacon, which mixes semi-sweet chocolate chips, whipped cream and brandy (your teeth will ache but you'll be too drunk to care). Or how about Wheel of Fortune star Vanna White's Layered Pea Salad? Martha Stewart loves Bourbon Balls (and check out the pics in her section too). Jim Nabors makes a mean Alabama Chili, and the original Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner's contribution is a Tabbouleh Salad. Then there's the aforementioned Turkey Potpie recipe from Oprah.

There's a ton more too, and you can search by name or type of food.

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Cartman: Token forfeits! Whites win!

Given Michael Richards' tirade at a comedy club last November, it would have been easy for South Park to dedicate a show to ruthlessly bashing Richards and people who use the N-word, but South Park has never been about simple approaches. Ultimately, Stan realizes that a person who isn't black can never really understand the effect that word can have, but the episode also ingeniously shows how none of us are completely immune to thoughts of prejudice, it's just that some forms of intolerance are more, well, tolerated than others.

Businessman and former talk show host Merv Griffin has a new game show in the works, and it just got a great syndication deal. Let's Play Crosswords will premiere this fall, and has a green light to run on five big NBC stations, including those in New York, L.A., and Chicago.

Griffin also created Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, two of the biggest, longest running syndicated shows in the history of television. This new game show took him a while to create, because he had to figure out a way to get a crossword puzzle board, which can be large, on a TV screen, and also keep the show interesting.

But that name, Let's Play Crosswords? Is that really a good title? Why not just called Crossword!, with the exclamation point like Jeopardy! has?

What probably comes as no surprise to anyone, both Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune have been renewed for two more years. That means that the two top-ranked syndicated game shows will remain on the air through the 2011-2012 season.

Currently, Wheel is the number one show in syndication, averaging 8.3 million households. Jeopardy is number three with an average viewing audience of 6.5 million households. By the time the 2012 season ends Wheel will have been on the air for an impressive 29 seasons while Jeopardy will have been on for an equally impressive 28.

One can only assume that Alex Trebek, Pat Sajak and Vanna White will remain with their respective shows. Then again, assuming is a bad thing. Heck, for all I know Howard Stern could be hosting the final two seasons of Jeopardy. Ratings may pick up then if the 'Daily Double' features half-naked lesbians giving out answers.