What happened to ‘The Great American Baking Show’?
Question: I was set to watch that baking show on ABC recently and it wasn’t on. What happened?
Answer: The network pulled “The Great American Baking Show” off the air following numerous claims that a show judge, Johnny Iuzzini, had engaged in sexual misconduct while overseeing a New York pastry kitchen. According to CNN.com, Iuzzini admitted “some unprofessional behavior 810 years ago,” but added that “the sexual harassment allegations and many other reports against me were sensationalized and simply not true.”
On Dec. 21, the series announced on Facebook that Vallery Lomas was the winner.
Q: Why do some contestants have so much trouble getting their buzzers to ring in on “Jeopardy!”, and why don’t they coach the contestants on the way to ring in? Often, you see one contestant pushing and pushing on the buzzers time after time and seem unable to get them to work.
When it comes to “Jeopardy!” questions, I turn to my former boss (and “Jeopardy!” winner) Lynne Sherwin, features editor at the Akron Beacon Journal. She says contestant coordinators work with the players, even helping them practice with the buzzer. But it’s possible to hit the buzzer both too late and too early.
On each side of the board is a row of white lights, invisible to the cameras, which flash on when Alex Trebek finishes reading a question, Sherwin said. If you hit your button before Trebek finishes reading, “You’re locked out for a quarter of a second, just long enough for someone else to beat you. But if you wait until you see the lights, it’s usually too late; you have to anticipate the timing so your thumb is already halfway down when the lights come on. When you see someone hammering away at the button, they hit it too early the first time and are trying to ring in as quickly as possible after the lockout time expires.”
Contestants also get help during commercial breaks in the taping, as the coordinators “offer advice on improving buzzer timing to those who are struggling, and they have you test the buttons often to make sure nothing is malfunctioning (except maybe your brain under pressure). They really do want to help people succeed, because it makes for a better game than when players are standing there clicking away and nothing is happening.”
Q: I read online that “Downward Dog” was canceled after one season, but I never heard why. Everyone that I know loved this show. What happened?
A: I also loved the comedy starring Allison Tolman and a terrific dog (voiced by series co-creator Samm Hodges). While the ratings were not huge, a bigger problem was money, according to Deadline.com. Six weeks into its original run, ABC had to make a decision about continuing it since the contract options on the cast were set to expire. In addition, Deadline said the cost of making the single-camera show on location in Pittsburgh was high for a summer series (where ABC had put the first season) and “scheduling it in-season was virtually impossible because ABC’s comedy deck is stacked with seven returning (comedy) series that have full-season orders” along with one new half-hour, “The Mayor.”
The makers of “Downward Dog” have vowed to find a new home — and appearing on some best-of-2017-TV lists has to help — but there’s no news at this writing.
Write to Rich Heldenfels at P.O. Box 417, Mogadore, OH 44260 or brenfels @gmail.com. Letters may be edited. Replies are not guaranteed.
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