Category: Television



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‘Brain Surge’ brings game show Gak back to Nickelodeon

My previous post on the new Nickelodeon game show “Brain Surge” has become so popular now that the show is on the air that I thought a follow-up was in order.

“BrainSurge” premiered yesterday on Nickelodeon and it features a perfect combination of humor, mental stimulation, and plenty of slime.  Fans of old Nick game shows like “Double Dare” and “Get the Picture” will definitely enjoy this show’s style, facing off a group of kids against each other in a battle of memory. Pictures, numbers, and stories are served up and contestants are forced to memorize tiny details in short spans of time in order to win points. The winner ultimately gets to play a path memorization game in order to win the grand prizes and a chance to be slimed.

But even those who don’t make past the first two rounds don’t walk away empty-handed. They all leave with great Nick parting gifts (including a bucket of slime, which you can purchase here) and a slide down the “Brain Drain” covered in some sort of white foamy goo that looks like it’s straight out of a slopsticle course on “Double Dare.”

Since the show premiered, I’ve had an influx of e-mails from kids wanting to become contestants. The bad news is that the first season of 40 episodes has already finished taping and auditions are not currently taking place. The good news is that you can get on a list for future auditions by sending an e-mail to nickcontestants@gmail.com. You can also become a fan of the show and stay up to date on audition information via Facebook here.

According to Patti Stone, contestant supervisor for ”BrainSurge,” the show is based off of a Japanese game show called “Brain Survivor” but adapted for children. The pilot was shot in Sept. 2007 and has finally made it to television two years later.

Personally, Between “BrainSurge” and last year’s “My Family’s Got GUTS,” I’m extremely excited that game shows have made their way back to the Nickelodeon programming schedule. Hopefully someone can be talked into resurrecting “Double Dare” for a third time.

7

Real Tru Blood drink coming to stores in September

Fans of the HBO hit series True Blood interested in sampling the show’s title beverage but without that nasty metallic aftertaste will enjoy this…

From trubeverage.com:

It’s official! The Tru Blood drink has now been “de-fictionalized” and emerges into reality as a delicious blood orange carbonated drink. Introduced during the True Blood forum at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con on July 25, 2009, the drink will hit store shelves in September. It boasts a crisp, slightly tart, lightly sweet tang, and a deep red color to match the appearance of the Tru Blood product featured on the True Blood series. The premium blood orange drink is packaged in a completely unique 14 oz glass wide-mouth bottle, stained in a rich red, with raised Tru Blood English lettering and an embossed Japanese Kanji on the neck. A gold foiled label emblazoned with the bold Tru Blood logo completes the distinctive look.

Here’s the official announcement video from Comic-Con, featuring the show’s stars drinking Tru Blood:

And a couple amusing “commercials” to go with it:

You can pre-order some Tru Blood now at $16 for a 4-pack to be shipped on September 8. That’s $4 per 14-ounce glass bottle, which is not a bad deal for fans since the bottles are near replicas of those seen on the show.

Here are a few more details from HBO’s site:

Drink Menu:
The Fangbanger -- Tru Blood, Vodka
Death on the Beach -- Tru Blood, Peach Schnapps, Pineapple Juice, Vodka
Plasmapolitan -- Tru Blood, Citron, Cointreau, Fresh Lime Juice

Ingredients:
Carbonated Water, Can Sugar, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Potassium Citrate, Carmine Coloring, Potassium Sorbate, Sucralose, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Caffeine, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Caramel Coloring, Red 40, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B6, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Folic Acid, Gum Accacia, Ester Gum

Will it come with instructions to microwave to 98.6 degrees?

I wonder if the drink will have any bite? (Groan)

2

True Blood takes a bite out of the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con

The hit HBO show True Blood was in full promo mode at Comic-Con, placing clever posters and other items in unique places. Here are three examples that I thought were particularly amusing…

(Yes, I realize the title of this post is incredibly corny)

This ad was featured outside an elevator with carefully placed call buttons:

I would love to have found this hanging on my hotel room door:

A ton of sponsored True Blood ads were all over Comic-Con, linking the show with other products like cars, beverages, etc. But my favorite featured “the money you could be saving with Geico”:

These three images came from truebloodnet.com – Find plenty more True Blood action from Comic-Con there.

19

Become a contestant via the Who Wants to be a Millionaire phone game

From buzzerblog.flashgameshows.com:

Want your shot at $1,000,000 on ABC’s 10th anniversary revival of Who Wants to be a Millionaire

Your chance has come.  The phone line is now open.  Call 1-800-999-7878 from July 6th to July 16th anywhere from 7:00PM ET to 3:00AM ET.  When you call, you play five Fastest Finger questions.  Answer them all correctly in about ten seconds and you are in the contestant poll and possibly randomly selected to sit in the Hot Seat.  You can only call once a day so be prepared.

Don’t worry if you mess up, though.  There’s still tons of time.

Feel free to post how you did each day.  This will be brought to the top of the page every day until July 16th at 7:00PM ET.  Good luck.  I want to see one of you in the Hot Seat!

5

Microsoft offers free ‘Thriller’ video download today only

The news of Michael Jackson’s untimely death has certainly been the hot topic for the last few days. Most music video television channels (MTV, VH1, etc) have devoted their entire airtime to looping Jackson’s many classic videos. But if you simply can’t get enough of “Thriller” and want to enjoy the full 10-minute version at your leisure, Microsoft has a great solution for you.

Right now, you can download the entire “Thriller” music video via XBox Live onto your XBox 360 console for free. You’ll find it in the XBox Live Marketplace or on the console or you can just queue it up here.

Just hurry, because the free download is available today (Sunday, June 28) only.

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