The phrase “survey says” will become a familiar feature at Universal Orlando when Family Feud moves its production to Orlando this summer.

Executive producer Kevin Williams cited several reasons for moving the game show from Los Angeles, but the chief one is that entertainer Steve Harvey is becoming host.

“Everything is being geared around him,” Williams said in an interview last week. “He’s based in Atlanta. It’s a 45-minute flight for him to Orlando.”

But Family Feud sees potential in the Orlando market.

“If you’re not shooting in Los Angeles, Orlando studios are a good alternative,” Williams said. “Universal is so well set up with marketing. And the audience comes from all over the country and the world. That suits our brand.”

FremantleMedia, which produces Family Feud and American Idol, knows Orlando has a lot to offer from the American Idol Experience at Walt Disney World, Williams added.

The game show will tape 165 episodes from July through September on Sound Stage 19 at Universal Orlando Resort. Episodes will be staged Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to accommodate Harvey, who hosts a radio show from Atlanta. Family Feud will produce four to eight episodes a day.

Family Feud is one of the most familiar game shows since Richard Dawson hosted it in the 1970s. This version of the show has been running 11 years in syndication. Current host John O’Hurley followed Richard Karn and Louie Anderson in the job. The show airs at 10 a.m. weekdays on WFTV-Channel 9.

Universal Orlando will play up Family Feud in promotions to bring more guests to the resort, said Pamela Tuscany, vice president of production.

“We did a dynamic change last year. We looked for audience-based television opportunities for guests to see live television,” Tuscany said. “It’s a strategy. We’ve been working with Fremantle.”

America’s Got Talent, another Fremantle show, recently taped at Universal.

In Los Angeles, Family Feud has to bring the audiences in. At Universal, Williams expects a different dynamic: an energized audience looking for something similar to getting on a ride. But you won’t have to be a theme-park guest to see a taping.

“We have to construct an experience,” Williams said. “We want Steve to connect with families and get his comedy out.”

Harvey will receive a lot of support as Fremantle stages the show. “Bottom line: We hire a lot of people,” Williams said. “We fly in a core group who knows how to make the show. But we’re leaning heavily on the Orlando infrastructure and production community. There’s a lot of qualified people down there. America’s Got Talent went well for us.”

Williams didn’t give a number, but Tuscany estimated that Fremantle will probably hire 50 to 70 people.

Several times a week, Family Feud will carry a plug for Orlando. Providing $150,000 in all to help the game show relocate were the city of Orlando, the Downtown Community Redevelopment Agency and the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“We thought that was important because of the jobs it [Family Feud] would create, the economic impact it would generate and the promotion of downtown Orlando on a national stage,” said Orlando spokeswoman Heather Allebaugh.

- Hal Boedeker

Jerry Springer is reinventing himself again, this time as host of a dating game series.

“Baggage” will debut next month on the Game Show Network. It gives three contestants the chance to win the eye of a prospective date. The hitch: The contestants have to reveal their faults and foibles.

GSN said Tuesday that the players will carry suitcases onstage to represent the baggage they’ll confess to and defend. Among the planned suitors: a shoplifter, a woman who gets advice from psychics and a control freak.

The half-hour show debuts April 19. It will air Monday through Friday.

The kiddie game show “Our Little Genius” has caught the attention of federal regulators over accusations it might have been rigged.

The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing the allegations included in a complaint received in December from the father of a young whiz slated to compete on the Fox show, which has been shelved.

It features children between the ages of 6 to 12 answering questions to win cash.
Read the full story

The main difference that most of your pop culture critics cite between old school MTV and the current version is that the new one doesn’t play a lot of videos. I’ve always thought the bigger discrepancy was the sense of production values – unlike the posh, shiny modern model, the original MTV, from its hosts’ hair to its sets, looked purposely like it was being made in your mother’s basement. And not the pretty, shiny refinished part, either. It was all uneven brick and cheerful shabbiness – and proud of it.

The difference was even clear in the programming – instead of dealing in the Barbie aspirations of “The Hills” and “The City,” or the crass excess of “My Super Sweet 16,” MTV’s first non-musical show was “Remote Control,” a lovingly low-production values pop culture game show hosted by comedian Ken Ober, and featuring the first glimpse of future stars Colin Quinn, Denis Leary and Adam Sandler. Ober, who died over the weekend after complaining of flu-like issues, was the chairman of a raucous, sometimes randy affair that was an absurdist mix of ’70s TV cheese fests like “Match Game” and “The Gong Show,” a kegger from a John Hughes movie, and a David Lee Roth video.

Read the full story

First of all, thankfully, celebrities who take part in this year’s Jeopardy! “Celebrity Invitational” are not as dumb as Saturday Night Live used to claim they were.

Secondly, on Thursday’s show, former UCLA and L.A. Lakers superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was rather astute in several categories. This should come as a shock to no one who has followed the big man’s life — Kareem’s a pretty bright guy. Few people know more about jazz than him.

However…

Kareem was spoon-fed an answer that played off his role as a pilot in the classic comedy Airplane! And he completely flubbed it:

(Thanks to Warming Glow for the link.)

George Takei, Sulu from the original Star Trek series, recently finished taping The Newlywed Game with his husband, Brad Altman. He and host Carnie Wilson talk about the show and the experience:

Link courtesy instantriverside.com.

Carnie Wilson

Carnie Wilson, the Wilson Phillips singer who hosted her own talk show and appeared on VH1′s “Celebrity Fit Club,” is slated to host 40 episodes of a new GSN edition of the show where newly married couples answer questions to find out how well they know each other.

The original show, hosted by Bob Eubanks, debuted in 1966 on ABC, and went on to span over 20 years on the air.

“I’ve always loved game shows,” said the 40-year-old Wilson, who began co-hosting the “GSN Live” interactive game show last year. “My personality and energy is perfect for something like this. First of all, I’m married, and I loved watching ‘The Newlywed Game’ when I was younger. I watched it all the time. I always hoped the couples would start fighting.”

Read the full story

Howie Mandel

Howie Mandel is back at work and says his heart and health are fine.

The 53-year-old comedian was hospitalized in Toronto earlier this week following an outpatient procedure for an irregular heartbeat. Mandel said he returned to work Wednesday on his NBC hidden-camera show, “Howie Do It!”

“I’m calling you from the set right now,” Mandel said Thursday. “I’m OK. I didn’t have a heart attack. I passed out. I fainted. Like a young girl.”

“They put me on medication and I’m actually going to go back today just to make sure it’s stable,” he said. “It is and I feel good.”

Read the full story