The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: dzinkin on April 24, 2007, 03:47:45 PM
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I hate to break the bad news to all of the Thousand Dollar Bee fans, but according to this article from Broadcasting & Cable, Black Family Channel will shut down at the end of the month:
Black Family Channel to Close Its Doors (http://\"http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6436052.html\")
I had no idea of the big names behind the channel -- but I guess it wasn't enough.
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Ya know...I really want to see an episode of this "monstrosity". I've never seen it. And I'm not kidding.
Would TDB fit in GSN's schedule? Even if just during the month of February?
EDIT: I think I wanna kill myself. (http://\"http://youtube.com/watch?v=KfNdwlywXuM\")
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[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'150879\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 02:53 PM\']
Ya know...I really want to see an episode of this "monstrosity". I've never seen it. And I'm not kidding.
Would TDB fit in GSN's schedule? Even if just during the month of February?
[/quote]
Only if management was on crack cocaine. :)
Looks like this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET will be your last opportunity to watch "Thou$and Dollar Bee." Right now, the web site has no indication that they're shutting down.
I'll be interested to see if BFC goes out with goodbyes to viewers or at midnight ET next Monday they just pull the plug and put up the color bars (or Gospel Music Channel) without any announcement. In the end, they couldn't compete with Comcast and Radio One's money for TV One in the alternative-to-hip-hop for black audiences market.
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At the risk of extreme ridicule...would anyone mind taping the last TDB for me? I'd kinda like to have a complete episode, if for no other reason just so me and my friends can laugh at it.
Yeah, I saw the Youtube clip, so I know exactly what I'm in for.
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Gawd, what will the wacky host Sinatra do for work?
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'150882\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 05:03 PM\']
Gawd, what will the wacky host Sinatra do for work?
[/quote]
I hear that feller Bob Barker is retirin' from that CBS game show...he could take over for him!
TODAY'S QUICKPOLL QUESTION:
Better suited to take over for Bob on TPiR: Dave Price or "Sinatra" from TDB? :P
And another thought to ponder...what if Endumball took this show over? I smell an instant hit for Fox primetime, as a lead-in for "Fifth-Grader".
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This is the first chance I've had to see it....and my only reaction is:
Jesus H. Christ doing yoga on a muffin, that's awful.
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I'm honestly not surprised, BFC, and its predecessor, MBC, had extremely cheap presentation (esp. with their college football games), and Thousand Dollar Bee wasn't the only show that reflected the low-budget feel of the entire network.
While TVOne continuously gains viewers (and critical acclaim), BFC's audience probably dwindled, mainly because the marketing was damn near non-existent.
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'150888\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 06:35 PM\']
I'm honestly not surprised, BFC, and its predecessor, MBC, had extremely cheap presentation (esp. with their college football games), and Thousand Dollar Bee wasn't the only show that reflected the low-budget feel of the entire network.
While TVOne continuously gains viewers (and critical acclaim), BFC's audience probably dwindled, mainly because the marketing was damn near non-existent.
[/quote]
It was the only channel (to the best of my knowledge) to air Rocky and Bullwinkle...and they had grade-Z versions of classic public domain cartoons!
But I'll miss that "THOUSAND DOLLAR BEE" theme song...
Brian
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[quote name=\'brianhenke\' post=\'150891\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 07:19 PM\']
But I'll miss that "THOUSAND DOLLAR BEE" theme song...
[/quote]
I sure as hell won't.
Speaking of...can someone post the rules of this game? I've been looking for them, as I can't figure out what the point of "Thousand Dollar" is. I understand the "Bee" part (actually kinda creative)....and the video clip is so chopped up I can't figure it out.
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[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'150893\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 08:11 PM\']
[quote name=\'brianhenke\' post=\'150891\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 07:19 PM\']
But I'll miss that "THOUSAND DOLLAR BEE" theme song...
[/quote]
I sure as hell won't.
Speaking of...can someone post the rules of this game?
[/quote]
Sure....... kids spell words until viewers at home jump off the top of their houses. The first person to successfully make it through the entire half hour yelling "Sinatra!" wins.
My questions is, how in the hell did Robert Townsend let this......thing on the air?
Tyshaun
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[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'150893\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 08:11 PM\']
[quote name=\'brianhenke\' post=\'150891\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 07:19 PM\']
But I'll miss that "THOUSAND DOLLAR BEE" theme song...
[/quote]
I sure as hell won't.
Speaking of...can someone post the rules of this game? I've been looking for them, as I can't figure out what the point of "Thousand Dollar" is. I understand the "Bee" part (actually kinda creative)....and the video clip is so chopped up I can't figure it out.
[/quote]
IIRC, it was a tournament format, in which the winner at the very end won all that money.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'150882\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 05:03 PM\']
Gawd, what will the wacky host Sinatra do for work?
[/quote]
The host of the most recent episodes was a less wacky, more toned down twenty-something named Brandon, I do believe. (I came across an episode while flipping channels last Friday. No, really.)
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[quote name=\'tyshaun1\' post=\'150894\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 07:19 PM\']
My questions is, how in the hell did Robert Townsend let this......thing on the air?
Tyshaun
[/quote]
From what little BFC programming I've seen, it would appear that Townsend was trapped into making programming moves he could either budget properly nor back out of. This is just one example.
It appears to have been part of one of his first moves upon his hiring (http://\"http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA414626.html\")
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IIRC, it was a tournament format, in which the winner at the very end won all that money.
You are correct...no payoff for the preliminaries, etc, the winner just advanced to the next round of competition.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' post=\'150902\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 08:52 PM\']
...no payoff for the preliminaries, etc, the winner just advanced to the next round of competition.
[/quote]
So nobody else got anything, even if they made it all the way to the championship round?
...
...that stinks.
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[quote name=\'Allstar87\' post=\'150911\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 10:28 PM\']
So nobody else got anything, even if they made it all the way to the championship round?
...
...that stinks.
[/quote]
Yeah, but for a $1000 grand prize on a low-budget network, I'm not at all surprised.
I am kinda surprised they couldn't find some educational company to at least provide some cheap prizes, even if it's a Webster's dictionary.
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'150914\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 10:56 PM\']
Yeah, but for a $1000 grand prize on a low-budget network, I'm not at all surprised.[/quote]
No, I'm sorry. I run a tiny, TINY educational-access cable station for a small community in a small TV market in mid-Michigan, and if I had to, I could come up with a thousand-dollar prize for a game show.
I'm a big fan of playing game shows for little or nothing in the way of prizes (see the G-T panel shows and many of the great British games). But if you're going to make such a huge deal about your prize that you make it part of the title of your show, then dammit, step up to the plate.
Just one of 783 things wrong with what is quite possibly the worst nationally-distributed game show of all time. And I've seen Bible Baffle.
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'150915\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 11:06 PM\']
And I've seen Bible Baffle.
[/quote]
Alright, I must ask...how was THAT one conducted?
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[quote name=\'PYLdude\' post=\'150918\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 11:15 PM\']Alright, I must ask...how was THAT one conducted?[/quote]
Check it out, one of our very first threads here (http://\"http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=65\").
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What the hell is the Black Family Channel?
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[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'150921\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 11:28 PM\']
[quote name=\'PYLdude\' post=\'150918\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 11:15 PM\']Alright, I must ask...how was THAT one conducted?[/quote]
Check it out, one of our very first threads here (http://\"http://gameshow.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=65\").
[/quote]
Thanks for the reminder about "Bible Bowl". It taped in a nondescript studio just a few miles from my old house in Carrollton, TX. In fact, a couple of my friends were on it. They invariably wore their Bible Boys or Gospel Girls shirts. I know that at one point "Bible Bowl" repeats followed "One Way" on TBN Saturday mornings.
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[quote name=\'TheLastResort\' post=\'150924\' date=\'Apr 24 2007, 11:51 PM\']
What the hell is the Black Family Channel?
[/quote]
Cable channel seen usually on digital cable channels (I know Cox Communications in Virginia has/had it), and it specialized in black programming (i.e. sitcom reruns with mainly black casts), as well as football games b/w historically black colleges and universities. It also specialized in gospel music programs, but the entire station had a low-budget public access look and feel to it.
Originally called MBC (Major Black Channel I think), it was the answer to BET, but TVOne has stepped up as a more formidable competitor.
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This is probably generating itself to being the best thread evar.
$1,000 only? No consolation prizes? LAME. UK Countdown gives away more!
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[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'150944\' date=\'Apr 25 2007, 10:19 AM\']
This is probably generating itself to being the best thread evar.
$1,000 only? No consolation prizes? LAME. UK Countdown gives away more!
[/quote]
Maybe they should have got Matt Lesko as a prize wrangler.
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From the beyond, Booker T. Washington weeps with shame.
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Question: Does this show suffer from Les'Money Syndrome?
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[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'150972\' date=\'Apr 25 2007, 02:52 PM\']
Question: Does this show suffer from Les'Money Syndrome?
[/quote]
Leave Moonves out of this. :)
MBC, BFC's original identity, stood for "Major Broadcasting Company." Chortle, chortle, snort, snort.
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The quality is slightly sub-par...
...but here's a gift for all our wonderful GSF members (http://\"http://gs.kellerbmk.com/1000bee.mp3\")
Not responsible for the destroying of computers, speakers, or (heaven forbid) iPods.
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[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'151065\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 11:25 PM\']
The quality is slightly sub-par...[/quote]
...and the sound's a little choppy, too. :-)
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[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' post=\'151072\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 11:09 PM\']
[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'151065\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 11:25 PM\']
The quality is slightly sub-par...[/quote]
...and the sound's a little choppy, too. :-)
[/quote]
Hi-yoooo!
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[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'151065\' date=\'Apr 26 2007, 11:25 PM\']
...but here's a gift for all our wonderful GSF members (http://\"http://gs.kellerbmk.com/1000bee.mp3\")
[/quote]
My head asplode.
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They're shutting down? NO! It's the only place that runs Jay Ward cartoons. I need my Bullwinkle and King Leonardo fix!
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[quote name=\'toddyo\' post=\'151160\' date=\'Apr 28 2007, 09:16 PM\']
They're shutting down? NO! It's the only place that runs Jay Ward cartoons. I need my Bullwinkle and King Leonardo fix!
[/quote]
As many people would tell you, Jay Ward was not responsible for "King Leonardo." That was Total Television, a New York-based company whose connection with the Ward shows of the time was the General Mills sponsorship, a guy named Peter Piech as the money man and the crappy Mexican studio where the shows were animated (although "Leonardo"'s first season was animated in LA).
I know that Piech and General Mills still have the broadcast and cable rights to "Rocky and Bullwinkle," while the Ward estate through NBC Universal controls all other merchandising rights (including video)--do Piech and General Mills control all rights for the TTV product? (Since Disney's making an "Underdog" feature film with a CG-assisted real dog as Underdog [!], guess we'll find out soon enough.)
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Actually, in a weird twist of fate, Jay Ward Productions (who hated Disney) was purchased in the 80's by Disney (around the time they bought Jim Henson Productions). Talk about a monopoly.
When the Bullwinkle Emporium was in LA, you could buy an audio cassette of all of the drop music and themes from all of the Ward Productions, like Super Chicken, Bullwinkle, Dudley Doo-Right and some others. I think King L. was on there too.
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[quote name=\'toddyo\' post=\'151254\' date=\'Apr 30 2007, 09:12 PM\']
When the Bullwinkle Emporium was in LA, you could buy an audio cassette of all of the drop music and themes from all of the Ward Productions, like Super Chicken, Bullwinkle, Dudley Doo-Right and some others. I think King L. was on there too.
[/quote]
I have that audio cassette and no Total Television themes are on it. What it does have, among the goodies, is the theme and some underscoring from Fractured Flickers, two long versions of the Hoppity Hooper theme, the long theme from the original Rocky And His Friends series, a great pair of original compositions with lyrics about Dudley Do-Right (with some nonsensical gibberish read by Gary Owens thrown in) and Bullwinkle ("I'd Be Happy To Be..."), and the title themes from a couple of obscure Ward 'toons that actually exist in completed pilot film form but never went to series: "Hawkear--Frontier Scout" and "Fang, The Wonder (?) Dog", which I WISH would be made available on DVD along with that last Fractured Fairy Tale that aired in theatres showing the live action "Dudley" movie some years back.
The last piece of music on Side 2 is the closing theme from The Bullwinkle Show minus the fireworks-and-explosion SFX we're used to hearing on TV at the end. Without them, the music ends in a way that, to be honest, makes my skin crawl a bit. You have to hear it to understand what I mean.
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Breaking news: Black Family Channel will be continuing as a free broadband internet video service. Don't know what programming this will include so Thousand Dollar Bee fans - as if there are any - don't rejoice just yet.
Source: http://www.blackfamilychannel.com/press_re...fconlinerel.pdf (http://\"http://www.blackfamilychannel.com/press_releases/bfconlinerel.pdf\")
Greg
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[quote name=\'DjohnsonCB\' post=\'151265\' date=\'May 1 2007, 02:35 AM\']
The last piece of music on Side 2 is the closing theme from The Bullwinkle Show minus the fireworks-and-explosion SFX we're used to hearing on TV at the end. Without them, the music ends in a way that, to be honest, makes my skin crawl a bit. You have to hear it to understand what I mean.
[/quote]
That full un-sfx'ed open and close theme can be found on Rhino Records' Toon Tunes (from 1997).
In addition to the aformentioned R&B theme, the CD has the Jay Ward themes from Fractured Fairy Tales, Peabody's Improbable History, George Of The Jungle & Superchicken, as well as a few Hanna-Barbera themes without the sfx's.
And that freaky Rocky & Bullwinkle theme ending is nothing compared to the opening to the original Scooby-Doo theme (sans the thunder & bat SFX)!!!
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Presented without comment, at least from me:
Say what you want about BFC’s programming quality or on-air star power, but BFC did bring positive images of young people of color to homes all across the country through such shows as inspiring competition series Thou$and Dollar Spelling Bee, in which young minority boys and girls participated in a competition using their brains and not their athletic prowess or good looks.
The full commentary is here (http://\"http://www.multichannel.com/blog/1800000180/post/730009473.html\").
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Say what you want about BFC’s programming quality or on-air star power, but BFC did bring positive images of young people of color to homes all across the country through such shows as inspiring competition series Thou$and Dollar Spelling Bee, in which young minority boys and girls participated in a competition using their brains and not their athletic prowess or good looks.
No comment.
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[quote name=\'dzinkin\' post=\'152525\' date=\'May 17 2007, 08:57 AM\']
The full commentary is here (http://\"http://www.multichannel.com/blog/1800000180/post/730009473.html\").
[/quote]
Can I just say I was utterly unsurprised when I saw the race of the author?
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Say what you want about BFC’s programming quality or on-air star power, but BFC did bring positive images of young people of color to homes all across the country through such shows as inspiring competition series Thou$and Dollar Spelling Bee, in which young minority boys and girls participated in a competition using their brains and not their athletic prowess or good looks.
Invest -- E-V-I-S-_
Money -- M-O-N-E
Credit -- C-E-R-D-I-T
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[quote name=\'dzinkin\' post=\'152525\' date=\'May 17 2007, 11:57 AM\']
Presented without comment, at least from me:
...such shows as inspiring competition series Thou$and Dollar Spelling Bee...
[/quote]
I don't think that's a very good description. The word "inspire" is usually used in a positive context. The only thing Thousand Dollar Bee inspired me to do was smash my head into a wall.
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[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' post=\'152692\' date=\'May 18 2007, 04:48 PM\']
[quote name=\'dzinkin\' post=\'152525\' date=\'May 17 2007, 11:57 AM\']
Presented without comment, at least from me:
...such shows as inspiring competition series Thou$and Dollar Spelling Bee...
[/quote]
I don't think that's a very good description. The word "inspire" is usually used in a positive context. The only thing Thousand Dollar Bee inspired me to do was smash my head into a wall.
[/quote]
Inspire, as spelled on 1K bee..
E-N-S-P-I-E-R.
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Before this slippery slope becomes even more slippery, I suspect that the author had not even seen "Bee" or if he had, had let his good intentions overcome his good sense.
The basic idea of "Thou$and Dollar Bee" in itself is sound. As so often happens, the execution is what it made it so bad. And from all reports, BFC's main problem in its original programming was its execution.
As much as the genre is despised around here, at least TVOne's relationship game "I've Got the Hookup" showed somewhat more competence in production (with a budget not much higher than "Bee") and had an infinitely better host in Russ Parr, an established radio guy who could easily bring his talents over to this format. BFC did not have that luck--all it had was a bunch of marquee names behind the scenes and crossed fingers.