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As If Rehab Centers Aren't Busy Enough, NBC Cooks Up Celebrity Version Of 'Family Feud'

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By WALT BELCHER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 24, 2008

Al Roker doesn't think that he is a celebrity.

The genial "Today" show weatherman says he wouldn't qualify as a contestant for the new "Celebrity Family Feud."

"I'm the host and not one of the contestants because if I'm considered a celebrity, then we really have lowered the bar," he joked in a phone interview.

Well, we have to wonder where the bar is because among the celebrity families that will be playing are Kathie Lee Gifford's brood vs. Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman's clan.

Roker makes his debut on this updated version of a classic quiz show at 8 tonight on NBC, Channel 8. First up: Joan and Melissa Rivers and friends take on Ice-T's family.

The game is basically the same as the version hosted by Richard Dawson from 1976 to 1985 except that it involves celebrities. They compete by guessing the most popular responses to survey questions posed to 100 people.

It sometimes results in humorous answers such as Ice-T's response to "name something that's slippery and hard to hold onto."

Rapper-actor Ice-T (Tracy Marrow), of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," is one of several NBC stars who will be playing, possibly qualifying as product placement.

NBC players in upcoming episodes include cast members from "The Office," "My Name Is Earl" and "American Gladiators." Gifford also is an NBC employee, a co-host on "Today."

Other match-ups of note include Bill Engvall's family vs. Larry the Cable Guy's family; Kim Kardashian's family vs. Deion Sanders' family; Tiki Barber's family vs. Ed McMahon's family; and in a really bizarre match-up, the family of Vincent "Big Pussy" Pastore of "The Sopranos" goes up against Hugh Hef-

ner's Playboy centerfolds from "The Girls Next Door" reality series.

All prize money (up to $50,000) goes to each group's favorite charity.

VIDBITS: I checked out the new "Get Smart" movie and laughed four times. That's about $2.25 per laugh so I didn't get my money's worth. Any episode of the TV series is funnier.

•Talent scouts will be in Tampa on Saturday and Sunday searching for cat owners who are on the same wavelength as their favorite felines. Contestants are needed for "The Meow Mix Game Show" coming to the Game Show Network in November. Auditions for cats and their owners are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, 2900 Bayport Drive. Information is available at www.MeowMix.com.

•About 150 people showed up Monday at The Venue nightclub in Clearwater to audition for the 18th edition of "Survivor" as part of a promotion sponsored by CBS and affiliate WTSP, Channel 10. It was one of 21 open casting calls scheduled throughout the country.

If producers are interested, there will be callbacks in August. Hopefuls also can apply at CBS.com by downloading a 17-page application and submitting a short video to "Survivor," 2801 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica CA 90405.

Since the series began, only one contestant has come from the Tampa area, Jan Gentry, an elementary school teacher who competed in 2002 on the fifth season, "Survivor: Thailand."

CARLIN REMEMBERED: "I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately" is one of George Carlin's lines from an incredible career that came to an end with his death Sunday of a heart attack at age 71. We've lost a great wit, a tremendous entertainer and a counterculture icon.

For more memorable Carlin lines, such as "I'm completely in favor of the separation of church and state. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own," go to TBO

.com, keyword: Walt TV.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

BET Awards, 8 p.m., BET

A stellar lineup of performers includes Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Nelly, Kanye West, Usher and Rihanna. D.L. Hughley hosts, and Al Green gets the Lifetime Achievement Award.

I Survived a Japanese Game Show, 9 p.m., ABC

Ten Americans compete in a Japanese game show filled with wild and crazy endurance challenges.

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