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Bob Costas: "Wheel of Fortune" Host?

F

Frasier

Guest
First let me start by saying that I am in no way leading a witch hunt to get Mr. Sajak out of broadcasting. But with one impending legendary game show host stepping down later this year (Bob Barker) it's time to start thinking about who would be ideal replacements when they eventually do step down.

Now, on the contrary, Alex Trebek is irreplaceable. He is "Jeopardy!" Whoever replaces him clearly has a big pair to fill. (And no, VH1's "Rock & Roll Jeopardy" does not qualify.) Of course, Mr. Sajak is "Mr. Wheel", though there have been other hosts (Chuck Woolery, remember Bob Goen?) that have done respectable jobs hosting as well in the past.

With that said, just as the ultimate replacement for Mr. Trebek must stress intelligence, Mr. Sajak's replacement must stress personality. (And if you're picturing Ryan Seacrest ever taking over, you'd be wrong.)

Here's my dark horse to usurp the "Wheel" hosting duties: Bob Costas. Yes, he's entrenched in the sports world, and committed to HBO and now NBC during football season. But I'm sure if he was offered the right amount of money, and his demands to accommodate his other network engagements were met, it could very well happen.

Of course, Costas himself has proven to be a talent, dabbling in many fields including late-night TV (just as Mr. Sajak once has), and a wealth of information. So how come I haven't penciled him in as the new host of "Jeopardy"? His candor is a little more uptempo that the "Jeopardy" viewers may be a little taken aback by. And again, it will be very hard to fill Mr. Trebek's shoes when he hangs it up.

These are my two cents, and I still have a Free Spin, plus there's a Daily Double still on the board.
 
Re: Bob Costas: President

I believe that Mr. Costas should be President. Just remember the Capital will be moved to Cooperstown NY so we as a nation can support America's National Past Time.


Bob Costas approves this message
 
Hey who would ever think Meredith Viera would be host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Rumor has it in The Price Is Right world that John O'Hurley is the top contender for the gig.
 
I would more like to see Rich Fields as the host of The Price Is Right with Burton Richardson as announcer. John O'Hurley would make a good host for The Price Is Right but as of right now Family Feud is much more suited for him which doesn't mean he could host both shows. But he gets very jumpy when a buzzer sounds, so if they decide to put him on there, expect to see a lot of jumpiness.

As for Pat Sajak and Alex Trebek, I have heard they are still contracted to Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy until the 2009-2010 season.
 
I thought I read somewhere that Dave Price, the weather guy from the CBS Morning Show, was the current top contender to host Price is Right.
It would keep the host in the CBS family. Makes some sense.
 
I heard something about Todd Newton of 'Hollywood Showdown' and 'Game Show Marathon' fame becoming the new host.

I think he'd be a good fit. He hosted 'The Price Is Right: Live' when I went to Las Vegas last May. He has the personality and the charisma, but there will never be another Bob Barker.

FYI, my mom got to go up and spin the wheel! Got the closest to one dollar without going over and won $250!
 
Costas was considered for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,"
but Regis got the job. Personally, I wish Major League Baseball
would get smart and appoint Costas commissioner.
 
---Mr Price from CBS Morning Show will take over for Bob Barker. Fields to remain as announcer.

---Both "Wheel" and "Jeopardy" are re upped through the 2012 with all hosts intact.

---Hurley arranged his gig with "Feud" so he may continue his road tour with "Chicago"

---Next time you see Bob Costas, ask him if he now thinks that andro and steroids were a part of Major League Baseball in the 90s.....
 
radiophiler said:
I thought I read somewhere that Dave Price ... was the current top contender to host Price is Right.

Price has no chance in HELL of landing the job, even if Moonves likes him - and that's the only reason he even got an audition. Rich Fields is a much more viable candidate, as are Todd Newton, Marc Summers and Mr. O'Hurley.

That guy at Newsday who claimed a month ago that Price has the job is full of baloney. This gig is too important to hand off to some neophyte who never hosted a game show. CBS will need someone with experience to carry this franchise forward.
 
I happened to catch a couple eps of Family Feud over the New Year's weekend and thought that John O Hurley did a horrible job. To me (just my opinion), he didnt seem comfortable at all. Then again, I never thought Richard Karn seemed very comfortable either. Then again, this opinion is based on seeing 2 episodes of John O Hurley and a handful of Richard Karn.

And since we're still throwing names around for possible replacements for Bob Barker, how about this one:

Pat O'Brien.

I read that Paramount isnt/wont be/didnt renew his contract for The Insider. And didnt he have some type of low-key sex scandal recently?? Fits right in with Barker. ;D
 
WMC, with all due respect, ARE YOU NUTS?!? John is the best thing to happen to Family Feud since Ray Combs got the hosting duties in 1988. Louie damn near killed the franchise, and it was still jumping the shark with "Al Borland" hosting. John seems extremely genuine and doesn't fish for the same cliche or phrasing all the time, like the prior two hosts. That and he's a fairly funny individual.

I do have to give you props on the Pat O'Brien line. What a guy! He'd be...well anyway, the fact as of this moment is CBS has yet to announce a new host for Price. Dave Price is Moonves' horse to ride with and I really fear the gig is his. I'd rather have Todd Newton or Marc Summers at the helm, since they have a rich appreciation for the genre.

And the original concept of this thread...and thank you, whoever you are for the halfway misleading topic...Costas is Sajak-esque with his humor, so I see your point, but he ain't gonna do it. He almost landed the gig for "Twenty-One" a few years back. I don't know that he would have helped or hurt the show's ratings more than the man who did host, Maury Povich. Maury did a fair job, all things told. The problem was the flawed payscale in the first episodes.
 
JimWilliams said:
WMC, with all due respect, ARE YOU NUTS?!? John is the best thing to happen to Family Feud since Ray Combs got the hosting duties in 1988. Louie damn near killed the franchise, and it was still jumping the shark with "Al Borland" hosting. John seems extremely genuine and doesn't fish for the same cliche or phrasing all the time, like the prior two hosts. That and he's a fairly funny individual.

Well, yes, I might very well be nuts but it's my opinion. Perhaps he'd grow on me if I saw more episodes but I'm not home to see the show (it's on around 3pm) and the only reason I did see it was because it was a holiday. :p

Going back to Wheel for a second, Sajak has made it known in the past that Wheel's taping schedule pretty much consists of taping an entire season in just a couple of months (well before the actual airdate) with the possible exception of special road trips or special theme weeks which might be taped within a couple weeks of the airdate. For any future Sajak successor, it's a pretty aggressive taping schedule for a couple months but then he (or she) is free for the rest of the year for anything else.

TPIR's taping schedule is broken up throughout the year with the show hitting the air anywhere between a couple of months to a couple of weeks following taping. The taping schedule is changed anytime Barker gets sick or needs "maintenance" on his elderly body. With a younger host, on the other hand, this taping schedule could conceivably change.
 
That would be pretty cool - It has been Newton's dream gig ever since he was known as Rik Idol in the old Q104 in St. Louis back in the early 90s, before he went bigtime...


Lawppy said:
I heard something about Todd Newton of 'Hollywood Showdown' and 'Game Show Marathon' fame becoming the new host.

I think he'd be a good fit. He hosted 'The Price Is Right: Live' when I went to Las Vegas last May. He has the personality and the charisma, but there will never be another Bob Barker.

FYI, my mom got to go up and spin the wheel! Got the closest to one dollar without going over and won $250!
 
I always thought Pat O'Brien's voice was somewhat grating and his wit too dry. I think the same thing about the voice of Keith Morrison on NBC's Dateline, but that's another thread.

ixnay
 
At the end of 2009, Jay Leno is getting pushed out of the Tonight Show chair by Conan O'Brien, now the most powerful guy in show business. Maybe Jay can spin the wheel!
 
Braves2005 said:
But he gets very jumpy when a buzzer sounds, so if they decide to put him on there, expect to see a lot of jumpiness.

That's an act.
 
Joe_Capitano said:
That guy at Newsday who claimed a month ago that Price has the job is full of baloney. This gig is too important to hand off to some neophyte who never hosted a game show. CBS will need someone with experience to carry this franchise forward.

I don't understand the thinking--nearly every time a game show "hosting" discussion comes up that the only people who can host a game are those who have done it before. It was the same thing with Game Show Marathon when people were advocating just about everything short of digging up Bill Cullen to host the shows. With all due respect to the many talented individuals who have hosted game shows, the success, or lackthereof, is often due to the likability of the game and other X factors (scheduling, competition, general audience tastes) as much as if not more than who's holding the microphone.

All of the "experienced' hosts had to host a game show for the first time at some point, including Barker. Whether or not Dave Price is good for this particular job is based on his personality, talent, etc.--not whether his resume happens to include a game show.

Even Barker had to do his first hosting gig at one point.
 
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