MINUTE TO WIN IT: Fieri’s Summer Games Begin Tonight!

It’s the little game show that could. Several months ago, NBC premiered an unconventional game show called “Minute to Win It”. It starred a Food Network television personality host Guy Fieri, and had two pretty game show models, called “game agents”. Contestants had to prove their skills at maneuvering stunts that consisted of toilet paper, cookies, M & Ms, and eggs to name a few.

Fast-forward to five months later since filming first started on the show and get a bit of a different show. Gone are the “game agents”, the original set, as well as most of the food stunts. Thankfully what remains is the host Fieri, who jokingly labeled himself as the “benevolent ambassador of the 60-second circle”. My first impression of him was a genuinely sincere man, and I couldn’t think of one negative thing to review about him. Fieri did well when he listened to his good friend Drew Carey’s advice in the beginning stages of “Minute to Win It” which was – when it come to hosting, “just be yourself”.

Fieri also revealed in a recent press conference phone call that some of the hosts he looks up to are: Richard Dawson (The Family Feud), Chuck Barris (The Gong Show), Drew Carey (The Price is Right), and Howie Mandel (America’s Got Talent). Fieri stated that he’s not trying to emulate any particular person that he’s watched, but they have all influenced him.

When asked by The Examiner’s Matt Carter how it compared to be hosting a game show versus a food show, Fieri stated that “the common denominator is people”. “In Diners, Drive-in and Dives I’m putting their restaurants, their food in the spotlight” similar to “Minute to Win It”. They aren’t wining $125,000 but, they are getting their restaurant and location out there.

Fieri speculated that part of the show’s popularity has to do with people’s hard economic times. Not everyone can go out and buy the exercise Wii , “or the new game or new gadget. But, everybody can probably pick-up a bag of ping-pong balls, and some red Solo cups and set-up their own mini-Olympics of Minute to Win It“.

Viewers will be in for a treat this summer with an introduction to new and complex games involving multiple players as well as some back-story reveals from some of the contestants and real-life drama unfolding on the stage.

Watch new summer episodes of “Minute to Win it” on NBC starting tonight at 8/7 pm c, and continue through September.

Get our sneak-peek to games and contestants here: http://hollywoodjunket.com/2010/06/29/minute-to-win-it-preview-of-summer-episodes/

If you think you can handle the pressure of performing stunts with random household objects inside the 60-second circle, email your contact info, city you live in, your photo and a short paragraph about yourself to: Mtwicasting@gmail.com.

MINUTE TO WIN IT: Chef, Chocolate, and Changes!

NBC’s physical challenge game show, “Minute To Win It” started filming again yesterday with a few changes, along with “Ding-Dongs” and an intimate story from the host.

Host, Guy Fieri from Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” was high energy and kept the show flowing smoothly.

Contestants of the show face stunts that involve everyday household items as well as food. Fieri, this time acknowledged on-stage that the food might be thrown into a lot of the challenges because, well, he IS a chef. A question we asked him during our phone interview after the first slew of episode tapings had wrapped, and he responded back then that he didn’t think the food was for his benefit.

The biggest change the show has made is the “game show agents” as in, there are none. Previous episodes that aired included two young women, (Lauren Gilmore and Ai-Li Wang) dressed in latex pants and matching jackets that would help set-up each contestant in their stunts. The second change, no more smoke that went along with the setting-up of the agents props used in the players’ stunts.

These women didn’t seem to be used to their full extent on previous shows. It was strange having them there primarily to secure game challenges, but without talking to either the host or the contestants. There needed to be either just one who could also be a co-host, or none. It appears that maybe the producers of the show were thinking the same thing. The girls got the axe.

Agents were required to get into awkward poses as Fieri introduced each player to their stunts. A lot of times, production had to wait as the girls secured their placement on-stage and work the smoke in a the right time.

The production of the show is cleaner, simpler (I didn’t think that was possible) and more efficient with these changes, along with adding the “blueprints” that explain each challenge, it is assumed, during post editing. Also gone is the raised platform that Fieri would talk to contestants on, and now replaced with flat wood flooring.

A few things that haven’t changed is the amount of money challengers can win at each level with $1 million being the top prize. Some familiar stunts remain and new ones introduced. Yesterday’s show included these games: Egg Roll, Egg Dance; Sticky Situation; Keep the Change; Chocolate Unicorn.

The “Chocolate Unicorn” has the contestant stack seven “Ding Dong” chocolate cakes on top of each other and balance them on the forehead. “Sticky Situation”, the player must make a ping-pong ball stick to slices of bread with peanut butter or jelly. After these food stunts, Fieri played with the food by throwing it into the audience as well as eating a slice of the peanut butter bread.

This inspired him to share a childhood story with everyone. He stated that his parents were “hippies” and that they’d make their own food, including bread and peanut butter. Fieri said he was embarrassed by the fact and the appearance of the homemade bread that was unusually thick with “twigs and rocks” in it. So, he complained to his mom about it. As a result, he was sent to school with a big grocery paper bag with all the ingredients in it to make his own sandwich, including a jar of “Grey Poupon” (something his Dad liked to put on everything). Fieri joked that this was why he decided to become a chef.

Players still have three lives and an British-accented female voice counting them into game play and challenge titles. One feature that the show took out early-on in the first tapings was a clone image of themselves of each contestant displayed on the TV screen on-stage to represent their “lives”, or chances. With strange and tedious games players must master, they need real clones to reach the elusive $1 million.