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TARbloob is NOT, NOT, NOT associated with CBS, CTV or any other television rights holder, CBS Paramount Television, ABC Television Studio, World Race Productions, Jerry Bruckheimer Television, any other official or unofficial TAR-related entity or personnel or any past, present or known future Racers.
CBS executives confirmed on the record today that two different cycles/runs of "The Amazing Race" will air during the 2008-2009 television season. The confirmation (reported by TV Week) occurred as part of a Q&A during the yearly upfront presentation to advertisers.
As already announced, "The Amazing Race 13" will air this fall 2008 in the Sunday 8 p.m. ET slot. "The Amazing Race 14" will air this winter to spring 2009, likely (though not officially) in the same timeslot.
Two cycles of the series (TAR10 & TAR11) aired Sundays during the 2006-2007 television season. Because of the "Viva Laughlin" fiasco, only one cycle (TAR12) aired during the now concluding 2007-2008 television season. Considering how destructive the writers' strike was to CBS' ratings book, the network really could have used an additional run.
As already noted, "The Amazing Race" will air two cycles this 2008-2009 television season, joining "Survivor" as a two cycle program. No other reality shows are scheduled for the regular season thus far, previous reality entrant "Kid Nation" was cancelled.
CBS FALL 2008 SCHEDULE - All times ET:
MONDAY 8 p.m. - The Big Bang Theory 8:30 p.m. - How I Met Your Mother 9 p.m. - Two and a Half Men 9:30 p.m. - Worst Week 10 p.m. - CSI: Miami
TUESDAY 8 p.m. - NCIS 9 P.m. - The Mentalist 10 p.m. - Without a Trace
WEDNESDAY 8 p.m. - The New Adventures of Old Christine 8:30 p.m. - Project Gary 9 p.m. - Criminal Minds 10 p.m. - CSI: NY
"The Amazing Race 13" has been officially set to air this fall 2008 in its usual Sunday 8 p.m. ET/PT timeslot. After learning from last year's "Viva Laughlin" fiasco, CBS officially slotted TAR without further delay for a regular fall debut. As usual, the program will be subject to delays resulting from extended National Football League overruns.
In large measure because of the football overruns, "The Amazing Race" has found a comfortable home in the Sunday 8 p.m. slot. The past two editions of TAR that have benefited from football overruns (TAR10 & TAR12) have each scored more than acceptable ratings.
The other CBS Sunday slots will be unchanged with one exception. "60 Minutes" will remain at 7 p.m. as TAR's lead-in, fellow Jerry Bruckheimer-program "Cold Case" returns to be TAR's lead-out at 9 p.m. The exception was legal drama "Shark", cancelled and replaced in the 10 p.m. ET time slot by veteran military-based drama "The Unit."
TV Week reports that "The Amazing Race" has been officially renewed for a 14th edition of the series. The renewal guarantees at least two more TAR runs including the one now wrapping up production, both likely to air during the 2008-2009 television season.
The ordering of TAR14 now means that "The Amazing Race 13" will likely not be delayed to midseason as speculated elsewhere but should instead air on time during fall 2008. "The Amazing Race 14" should then follow in quick order for airing in winter/spring 2009.
Casting for "The Amazing Race 14" had already started several weeks ago on CBS.com in anticipation of the expected extra run of the program but the confirmation of run #14 only came down today. Congratulations to the "The Amazing Race" go out from TARBloob again for yet another deserved renewal.
When this blog went on unplanned hiatus, ABC reality charity competition series "Oprah's Big Give" was readying to premiere. As of today for TARbloob's return, "Oprah's Big Give" is officially dead.
ABC officially cancelled "Oprah's Big Give" today but the impetus of its demise was from Oprah Winfrey herself. ABC president Steve McPherson stated at the netowrk's upfront presentation to advertisers that Winfrey simply did not want to be involved with another edition of the program.
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"The Amazing Race" co-creators Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri had been brought into the show development early on to help craft a hybrid between the reality competition format and Oprah Winfrey's sense of personal charity. The fusion proved difficult though with reviews for the program decidedly mixed. Controversy also attached itself with a lawsuit from a Boston woman who claimed original ownership of the series concept.
Nielsen ratings for the show were not great past the first few episodes but nonetheless were certainly strong enough for at least a midseason renewal. Without Oprah Winfrey though, the program simply can not exist as a viable entity. I would love to know why Oprah has stepped away from the show but we may not get the answer to that one for a long time. Nontheless, it was a noble effort.
Aside from the unexpected cancellation of "Oprah's Big Give" which would have been renewed had Oprah allowed it, reality programs faired well in the new ABC fall schedule. Returnees "Dancing With the Stars," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," "America's Funniest Home Videos," "Wife Swap" and "Supernanny" all made the fall lineup along with new game/reality hybrid "Opportunity Knocks" from Ashton Kutcher.
"The Bachelor" won't air this fall but will be back in winter/spring 2009. The fates of "Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann" and "Here Come the Newlyweds" remain undetermined. A new Ashton Kutcher/Tyra Banks-created reality series will also premiere midseason.
ABC FALL 2008 SCHEDULE - All times ET:
MONDAY 8 p.m. - Dancing With the Stars 9:30 p.m. - Samantha Who 10 p.m. - Boston Legal
TUESDAY 8 p.m. - Opportunity Knocks 9 P.m. - Dancing With the Stars (results) 10 p.m. - Eli Stone
"Lost," "According to Jim" and ex-NBC series "Scrubs" join "The Bachelor" as returning midseason replacement programs.
Cancelled: "Big Shots," "Carpoolers," "Cashmere Mafia," "Cavemen," "Just for Laughs," "Men in Trees," "Miss/Guided," "Notes from the Underbelly," "October Road," "Oprah's Big Give" and "Women's Murder Club."
No, your friendly neighborhood webmaster is neither dead nor stuck perennially awaiting the long ago premiere episode of "Oprah's Big Give." And I certainly have NOT been a secret racer on the taping "The Amazing Race 13," as great as that would have been. (Seriously, I'd love to do an ongoing blog while doing a TAR race, hint, hint.)
The simple and far less dramatic reality is that the frustrations of trying to get posts up on this blog while under home time constraints and a blogging system gone perennially wrong caused me to take a step back. So while "The Amazing Race" dove into the longest scheduling hiatus in known memory, I concentrated what free time of my own still existed on developing new features for my other blogs.
It was always my hope to be back here on TARbloob at some point when things could get rolling more fully again. Now we are, where we are. While "The Amazing Race" remains on an official hiatus awaiting its next scheduled airing, this blog returns to active status. Expect more posts on TAR and television items old and new in the coming days.
I won't disappear again.
posted by Everett W. at 8:51 PM -- permanent link in title of post --
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"Oprah's Big Give" (9 p.m. ET/PT, ABC), the most dramatic attempt ever at crossbreeding the nobility of charity with the intensity of a reality competition, premieres this Sunday night. The project is notable here in that Oprah Winfrey brought "The Amazing Race" co-creators Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri on board to help develop and produce the series.
The show concept is that Oprah Winfrey will give the competitors money, not to use for themselves but to help people in need. Competitors who are judged to have done the most "good" (however the judges define that) with the money will advance to future episodes, the competitors who were not so effective in their good works will be eliminated.
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The main concern over the show which has plagued television critics and may plague potential fans is the clash between the inherently unselfish nature of the charitable work and the inherently self-centered nature of the reality competition. The two facets of the program would not seem to fit together at first glance. Clearly, the good hearted people associated with the production of "Oprah's Big Give" would have us believe differently.
Can the show creators' good intentions, the value of the Oprah name brand and years of accumulated reality television production experience be enough to turn this unusual intermix into a success? This Sunday night, we'll start to learn that answer.
posted by Everett W. at 4:41 PM -- permanent link in title of post --
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The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is expected to a category for outstanding reality show host, according to a report in Variety.
While "The Amazing Race" has won numerous Emmy awards, neither TAR host Phil Keoghan nor any of his brethren on competing reality shows have been individually honored for their on-air roles. The Amazing Race's Phil Keoghan, Survivor's Jeff Probst and American Idol's Ryan Seacrest would all figure to be perennial candidates.
The eventual sameness may actually be the one problem unless Keoghan ends up as the perennial winner, the list of outstanding host candidates would likely change little from year to year. If there was some kind of way devised to make all on-air reality participants, not just hosts, eligible for such an Emmy then it would make for a more interesting category.
Kynt & Vyxsin of "The Amazing Race 12" will be among the reality television stars to appear at a reality tv/pro wrestling charity fundraiser called Reality Rumble 2008. The April 5, 2008 event is intended to raise money for special needs students at Spotswood High School in Penn Laird, Virginia.
Survivor's Jonny Fairplay and Billy Garcia will wrestle on opposite tag teams in the semi-main event of the wrestling card.
As someone who sympathizes with special needs students for reasons that you likely can't imagine, I fully support any effort towards their benefit. For those same reasons, I wish that a certain "Big Brother 9" contestant's new housemate would be a Northern Irish wrestler who loves to fight. Unfortunately, we can't always get what we want.
The full press release for the Reality Rumble is on my sister pro wrestling blog, WrestlingBloob.
posted by Everett W. at 7:35 PM -- permanent link in title of post --
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