All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- ABC is holding a live press conference, with reporters, during the Aug. 30 episode of Bachelor Pad, to announce the next cast of Dancing With the Stars. This better be soooome cast, with all that hubbub. Among the many names that have been rumored to be contestants for season 11: Betty White (who’s pretty much rumored to be cast in everything these days … wishful thinking, usually), David Hasselhoff, Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Teresa Giudice and Danielle Staub, Richard Simmons, The Situation from Jersey Shore, Hilary Duff, Brandy, Ali Fedotowsky, Jennifer Grey, NFL vet Kurt Warner and Ryan Seacrest (where would he find the time?).

- Speaking of The Hoff, last Sunday’s Comedy Central roast of David Hasselhoff was the network’s fifth highest-rated celeb roast ever. What did you think? I loved Seth MacFarlane as host — dude should have his own talk show — but the rest of it was a little low-key. And the ending, with The Hoff singing, was just weird.

- Another big ratings winner: Showtime’s premiere of The Big C on Monday, which was the network’s highest-rated premiere in eight years.

- And, speaking of Real Housewives Jerseyites Teresa and Danielle, they both may need jobs on DWtS, or anywhere else they can get paid. One of them — Danielle — reportedly hasn’t been asked to return to RHoNJ for the show’s third season (the season two finale airs Monday, Aug. 23), while the other’s (Teresa) bankruptcy case has taken another bad turn, as the court now has proof that Giudice and her husband went on a $60,000 home furnishings shopping spree after filing for bankruptcy.

- Betty White has signed a deal to write two new autobiographies.

- “More pie, Andy?” There’s definitely more Andy, Andy, as TV Land is asking viewers to vote for their fave Andy Griffith Show episodes, which will make up a 50-episode marathon to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary, in September.

- The Kids in the Hall have reunited for a miniseries, Death Comes to Town, which aired in Canada earlier this year, but debuts in the U.S. on IFC this Friday.

- The Brits love them some Glee, apparently: A new Glee FM radio station in Oxford will play only songs from the show.

- And have you seen the new Glee Slushee poster?

- Did you know Lindsay Lohan is in a movie with the Shamwow dude? Me neither. The Hollywood Reporter, uh, reports, that her appearance in Vince “Shamwow Guy” Offer’s The Underground Comedy Movie is one of the many pathetic ways people, including Lohan, will be trying to capitalize on her downward spiraling life when she gets out of rehab.

- CBS’ Undercover Boss is getting a new companion series, which will pit two employees against each other in the name of getting a promotion.

- The big Lost auction is being held in Santa Monica this weekend, and among the many, many props and other Lost goodies that are expected to fetch a pretty penny: Claire’s creepy squirrel baby.

- E! Online reports that ABC wants recent Bachelorette runner-up Chris Lambton to be the next Bachelor, but he, sanely, wants to simply return to his pre-reality TV life. That actually kinda makes him an even more appealing Bachelor, no?

- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which kicks off its new season on Sept. 13, is getting some major changes. The biggest one: no more hot seat … the contestants will now stand for the competition.

- And, this is awesome: Rapper Wale has made another album that was inspired by Seinfeld. And it turns out everything from 24 and Lost to The Dukes of Hazzard and Married … with Children have also inspired rappers.

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• Filed in Betty White, Fall 2010-11 TV season, Game shows, Glee, Real Housewives, Reality, Seinfeld, TV News
• Tags: Dancing With the Stars season 11, Lost auction, The Big C, The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town

HOORAY! We have our winners:

Joan, Mark and Kathryn! Congrats, game show fans, and thanks for entering. Your awesome prize packs will be on their way to your mailboxes shortly. Enjoy, and thanks again for checking us out at TV Screener.com!

And everyone, stay tuned to TVScreener.com … we’ve got lots more TV goodies coming your way!

What TV fan doesn’t love watching classic episodes of classic game shows? As the existence of the Game Show Network proves, watching Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly tickle your BLANK on Match Game, seeing the casts of sitcoms like Welcome Back Kotter battle the cast of Barney Miller on All-Star Family Feud or enjoying contestants trying to avoid The Whammy – No Whammies! No Whammies! – on Press Your Luck is good stuff.

Thanks to a DVD series from Mill Creek Entertainment, you can watch a collection of the best episodes from those great game shows and more, and, extra thanks to Mill Creek, because the studio has given TVScreener.com copies of five fab game show DVDs to give away to three lucky readers!

Three winners will each receive one copy of each of these DVDs:

- The Best of All-Star Family Feud – Hogan’s Heroes star Richard Dawson is the host, and this DVD includes 28 celeb Feud battles, including Soap vs. All My Children, The Jeffersons vs. The Dukes of Hazzard, Three’s Company vs. The Love Boat, Eight Is Enough vs. General Hospital, plus games involving the casts of The Ropers, Gilligan’s Island, The Waltons, Dallas, WKRP in Cincinnati and Dynasty.

- Game Show Moments Gone Bananas! – Hosted by Ben Stein, this collection of great game show moments includes funny and outrageous clips (read: bloopers) from shows like The Price Is Right, Family Feud, Match Game, Password, Press Your Luck, Card Sharks, Sale of the Century (loved that one!), What’s My Line, Child’s Play and more. The clips are actually five episodes of a mini-series that aired on VH-1, and includes one installment devoted to celebrities, before they were famous, as game show contestants, including Kirstie Alley on Match Game.

- The Best of Password, The CBS Years: 1961-1967 – This fun collection includes lots of celeb guest stars, and is hosted by Allen Ludden, or Mr. Betty White, as I always think of him. And yes, Betty White is among the guests, along with Johnny Carson, Bob Newhart, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and lots of other A-listers.

- The Best of Match Game – Gene Rayburn is the beloved host of the 30 episodes on this collection, which also includes an interview with one of the all-time best panelists, Brett Somers; other celeb panelists, like Michael Landon, William Shatner, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mama Cass and Jack Klugman (who was married to Brett Somers); a tribune to Gene Rayburn; and the original 1962 Match Game pilot.

- The Best of The Price Is Right – Includes 26 episodes, including the entire last week of episodes that featured Bob Barker (the king!) as host.

Now, for a chance to win one of the game show DVD packages:
- Leave a comment on this post, with the name of the game show, current or classic, that you would most like to be a contestant on, and an e-mail address to reach you
- Deadline to enter is April 19 at 8PM ET (according to recorded comment time)
- The winners will be chosen by random, using Random.org’s Random Number Generator
- The winners will be announced on the evening of April 19, as an update to this post
- For this content, U.S. residents only, please, and entrants must be at least 18 years of age

Good luck, game show fans!

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• Filed in Game shows, WIN THIS!
• Tags: Betty White, Bob Barker, Family Feud, game show DVDs, Game shows, Gene Rayburn, Match Game, Richard Dawson, The Price Is Right

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

- It’s looking more and more like the current season of 24 could be the show’s last one, at least on Fox. It’s my all-time favorite TV drama, but even I have to admit that the show just isn’t as compelling as it once was (though the last few episodes have picked up the pace). A big-screen 24 is almost certainly going to happen, and the idea has even been floated that another network might be interested in the Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) action series if Fox does pull the plug after the May season eight finale.

- Fans took it to Facebook, and Lorne Michaels listened: Betty White will host the May 8, Mother’s Day, edition of Saturday Night Live, which will also include a reunion of SNL alums Tina Fey, Molly Shannon, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer and Rachel Dratch.

- It’s official: Conan O’Brien and “The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour” is coming soon to a city near you. Tickets are already on sale.

- Coming soon to a bookstore near you: Night of the Living Trekkies, a novel about zombies and a Trek fan convention.

- Sad news from sports and TV lands: NFL Hall of Famer and Little House on the Prairie and Father Murphy star Merlin Olsen died earlier today after a battle with cancer. He was 69.

- Survivor and The Apprentice producer Mark Burnett is producing a new game show that will feature two hosts.

- Rejoice Felicity fans: Keri Russell is headed back to primetime.

- As is Jimmy Smits.

- This should be cool: CBS is going to broadcast the NCAA men’s basketball final four tournament games and the national championship game in 3D, in movie theaters all across the country.

- And, just in time: Panasonic sold the world’s first 3D home entertainment system in New York City on Wednesday. Cost: $2,900, and that only includes one pair of special 3D glasses.

- Among the new shows Bravo announced in the network’s annual upfront presentation in New York on Wednesday: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Fashion Masters (sort of an all-star Project Runway) and Hitmakers (sort of an American Idol for singer/songwriters).

- And the 14th season of South Park premieres on Comedy Central on March 17 (10PM ET), and Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker talked to the New York Times about what’s ahead for the series, including their unique spin on the clip show, which will be the theme for the show’s 200th episode on April 14.

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• Filed in 24, Game shows, Real Housewives, TV News
• Tags: 24 finale, 24 season 8, Betty White SNL, Conan O'Brien tour, Keri Russell, Merlin Olsen, NCAA basketball 3D, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, South Park 200th episode, South Park season 14 premiere

As they say on Best Week Ever, in case you missed it: Winners at last weekend’s Game Show Awards on GSN:

Best Game Show: Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Best Game Show Host: Howie Mandel, Deal or No Deal

Favorite Classic Game Show: Match Game

Best Reality Competition Show: Dancing With the Stars

Favorite Dating or Relationship Show: The Newlywed Game

Favorite Celebrity Team: The Brady Kids (Barry Williams, Mike Lookinland, Eve Plumb and Susan Olsen) for their appearance on Trivial Pursuit: America Plays

Favorite Game Show Models: The Briefcase Models, Deal or No Deal

Most Outrageous Game Show Contestant: Excited Contestant Dances a Jig (Josh Silberman), The Price Is Right

Favorite Game Show Theme Song: Jeopardy!

Favorite Parting Gift: Turtle Wax

Favorite Interactive DVD Version of a Game Show: Deal Or No Deal

Favorite Celebrity Player: Betty White, for her appearances on Million Dollar Password

Best Announcer: Rich Fields, The Price Is Right

Smartest Game Show Contestant: Kathy Cox, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?

Favorite Game Show Catchphrase: “Come on down!” from The Price Is Right

Favorite Price Is Right Pricing Game: Plinko

Favorite Game Show Sound Effect: New Puzzle, Wheel of Fortune

Favorite Prize: A new car!

Favorite Board/Box Game Turned Game Show: Trivial Pursuit

Favorite Online Game: Bejeweled

Did GSN get it right? You can’t argue any time Plinko or Betty White get some love, but Howie Mandel as best game show host? Better than Trebek or the delightful Drew Carey? Nah.

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• Filed in Award shows, Game shows
• Tags: "Come on down!", Alex Trebek, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, Barry Williams, Bejeweled, Best Week Ever, Betty White, Brady Bunch, Dancing With the Stars, Deal or No Deal, Drew Carey, Eve Plumb, Game Show Awards, GSN, Howie Mandel, Jeopardy, Josh Silberman, Kathy Cox, Match Game, Mike Lookinland, Million Dollar Password, Plinko, Rich Fields, Susan Olsen, The Newlywed Game, The Price Is Right, Trivial Pursuit, Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, Wheel of Fortune