Writers, Please Come Back!

My Dad is Better than Your Dad.
okay.

I saw a commercial for this last night and,wow.
From NBC’s press release (via the futon critic )
I’ve emboldened the relevant passages

NBC ANNOUNCES PREMIERES OF HIGH-ENERGY COMPETITION SERIES 'MY DAD IS BETTER THAN YOUR DAD' LAUNCHING ON FEBRUARY 18 AND NEW COMEDY QUIZ SHOW 'AMNE$IA' DEBUTING FEBRUARY 22

BURBANK January 28, 2008 NBC will premiere the new high-energy competition series "My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad" on Monday, February 18 (8-9 p.m. ET) after "American Gladiators" finishes its winter run, and will debut the comedy quiz show "Amne$ia" on Friday, February 22 (9-10 p.m. ET) following the season finale of "1 vs 100." The announcement was made by Craig Plestis, Executive Vice President, Alternative Programming, Development and Specials, NBC Entertainment.

"Amne$ia" will follow its February 22 premiere by moving into its regular broadcast day and time on Friday, February 29 at 8-9 p.m. (ET).

The two new series join NBC's current strong slate of reality programs, and continue to represent NBC's thriving tradition of presenting fun, contemporary, high-stakes and comedic game shows that viewers of all ages can enjoy.

"The Baby Borrowers," originally scheduled to premiere on February 18, will move to a later date to be announced.

"If you love the competitive energy of 'American Gladiators' and the outrageous challenges of 'Fear Factor,' you'll love 'My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad,'" said Plestis. "Combined with our hilarious new quiz show 'Amne$ia,' viewers aren't going to want to miss this great week of reality premieres."

"My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad" is a high-energy, family-friendly competition series hosted by Dan Cortese ("MTV Sports," "What I Like About You"). The show will finally prove the familiar schoolyard boast -- "My dad is better than your dad!" Dads and their respective son or daughter will be at the forefront of the action leading them in exciting larger-than-life challenges testing dad's strength, smarts and how well he works together with his son or daughter. Ultimately, the triumphant dad will strut away with money for his child's future and the all-important bragging rights.

Cortese has a variety of television and film credits to his name. He first shot to stardom as the creator and host of the Emmy Award-winning "MTV Sports" and later went on to co-star alongside Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes in the feature film "Demolition Man." Cortese has starred in numerous television sitcoms including "Veronica's Closet," "Rock Me Baby" and "What I Like About You."

"My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad" was created by Jon Hotchkiss and is a production of Reveille, Mark Burnett Productions and Hotchkiss Industries. Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?," "Celebrity Apprentice"), Mark Koops ("The Biggest Loser"), Howard T. Owens ("The Biggest Loser"), Mike Nichols ("Victoria Beckham: Coming to America") and Jon Hotchkiss ("Penn & Teller: Bullsh*t!") are the executive producers.

"Amne$ia" is a thrilling comedy-game show where contestants are challenged to answer a variety of questions from their own life for money. Memories will be tested and blasts-from-the-past will be revealed as contestants wrack their brains to answer some of the most challenging questions -- often with hilarious results. Five-time Emmy Award-winning comedian and popular talk show host Dennis Miller ("Dennis Miller Live") is host of the comedy quiz show from Mark Burnett Productions, the producers of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" and "Celebrity Apprentice." Mark Burnett, Adam Cohen, Cara Tapper and Joanna Vernetti serve as executive producers.

Miller can currently be heard on his nationally syndicated radio talk show, "The Dennis Miller Show," five days a week. He is a five-time Emmy winner for his critically acclaimed, half-hour live talk show "Dennis Miller Live," which had a nine-year run on HBO. He also wrote and starred in the Emmy-nominated cable comedy special "Raw Feed," his sixth such special. He was also the host and executive producer of CNBC's "Dennis Miller," a topical interview talk show featuring reasoned discourse, opinion and humor. Additionally, Miller has appeared on many politically oriented television talk shows, and has acted in several feature films including "Disclosure" and "The Net."

It's been a banner season for NBC's unscripted programs, especially through the month of January. "American Gladiators," "Deal or No Deal," "Celebrity Apprentice" and "The Biggest Loser" are all scoring top-15 ratings in adults 18-49 for the first quarter to date, ranking #6, tied for #7, tied for #9 and tied for #12 respectively among all primetime network series for the quarter through January 20. That impressive lineup has played a key role in lifting NBC to #2 in adults 18-49 for the quarter to date, and with the strongest year-to-year comparisons in regular programs for any of the major networks.

When I first saw the commercial I saw a cross between American Gladiators (with like a tennis ball cannon from Assault), Fear Factor (transporting scorpions), Double Dare, (I saw slime) Dog eat Dog (trash talk will be encouraged), and like Legends of the Hidden Temple (I think I saw someone climbing a cheapily made tree).

And I'm sure Amne$ia is even better. What happened to Dennis Miller?

So let’s get this straight these shows are coming on the air but it can be reasonably inferred from this interview with Ben Silverman from Radar that Friday Night Lights isn’t coming back

Radar: Quick question! A lot of us are happy that you've kept Friday Night Lights on the air despite lousy ratings. It's totally the best show on TV. But is there going to be another season?
Silverman: Do you watch 30 Rock? That's the best show on TV.

Not regularly. But what about FNL?
Start watching 30 Rock. It's the best show on TV.

I don't want to watch 30 Rock. I want to watch FNL. I love it.
I love it. You love it. Unfortunately, no one watches it. That's the thing with shows. People have to watch them. We're NBC, we have a reputation to uphold. And, man, with this writers' strike ... well, we'll see what we can do. But start watching 30 Rock.

We're NBC, we have a reputation to uphold

That’s right Ben, a reputation of being in 4th place when there's actually something to watch that's not a reality game show and with such prestige shows as “My Dad is Better Than Your Dad” which is a retread of retreads (hosted by a has been retread who was last cool when George Costanza had a mancrush on him) But of course you're whole reputation has been on retreading, or as you probably call it importing
Nice job. Ass. Hope you had a nice prom

(sorry I got a little angry but I really love Friday Night Lights)

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