Game Show

Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton could never have had an intimate wedding. They've invited 1,900 guests, after all. But the British couple's big day has set off a massive media frenzy rivaling the recent coverage of natural disasters, wars and government breakdowns combined. There have been hundreds of hours of royal-themed TV programming already, with plenty more coming, including wall-to-wall coverage of the ceremony at historic Westminster Abbey. Every major U.S. news organization plans to be there with its top talent April 29, from CBS' Katie Couric, NBC News' Brian Williams, ABC's Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer to Fox News' Shepard Smith and CNN's Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan.

Watson -- the IBM supercomputer that cleaned up on "Jeopardy!" -- lost to Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey in a battle of wits Monday evening at a D.C. hotel. So it looks like we can put off welcoming our new machine overlords for one more day. The faux "Jeopardy!" contest pitting Watson against Holt and some other House members was intended to emphasize the need for increased math and science education to bolster U.S. global competitiveness. Holt, a physicist who was a five-time winner on "Jeopardy!"

In Tom we trust. Maybe. OK, so it's clear that New England quarterback Tom Brady is the NFL's most valuable player this season and, as Herm Edwards notes, is tearing through defenses as if he's a kid playing a video game. But are his Patriots going to rip through the playoffs the same way? They do, after all, have a very young defense that finished 25th overall and 30th against the pass. Atlanta looks as solid as Stone Mountain. Then again, the Falcons' three losses were to current playoff teams ?

Charlie O'Donnell, a television announcer best known for his elongated introduction of "Wheeeeeeel of Fortune" during the 28 years that he was the game show's off-stage voice, has died. He was 78. O'Donnell, who was also Dick Clark's early sidekick on TV's "American Bandstand," died Monday of natural causes at his home in Sherman Oaks, his family said. "He quite literally was the voice of 'Wheel,'" Pat Sajak, the show's host, told The Times on Tuesday. "He had an old-school style that was a little over the top. It was perfect for the show.

A federal jury in Riverside has dealt what could be a severe blow to how Hollywood studios report profits in television shows and movies, in a decision Wednesday that orders Walt Disney Co. to pay nearly $270 million in damages to the creator of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." The decision, if upheld on appeal, potentially undercuts the rationale that drove a wave of consolidation that swept the entertainment industry over the last two decades, in which media giants contended that it was economically advantageous to control both the production and distribution of TV programming.

To use a phrase from "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," the game show handed ABC a lifeline. Now the network could be on the hook. The Walt Disney Co.-owned network had been trailing in the ratings in the summer of 1999 when "Millionaire" premiered, offering a $1-million prize for the contestant who could answer increasingly challenging questions. "Millionaire" was an overnight sensation — and would become ABC's first top-rated prime-time show in more than a decade. Former Disney Chief Executive Michael D. Eisner proclaimed it "the most important thing to happen to ABC since I don't know when."

One of the enjoyable things about reviewing books is that you seldom open a volume and have the word "reprehensible" come almost immediately to mind. Game-show impresario Chuck Barris' "Della," which purports to be a "memoir" of his only child, who died at 36 from an overdose of cocaine and vodka, is an exception. It is distasteful to criticize someone else's family arrangements — however chaotic — and, even more so, to disparage a parent who has suffered life's most devastating blow, the loss of a child.

Violence is at the heart of some of the most popular video games. Now the Supreme Court is going to decide whether California, home to many of the country's biggest game companies, can outlaw the sale to children of games in which people are maimed, killed or sexually assaulted. The video-game industry, which like the film industry runs a self-enforced rating system, has prevailed in 12 lower federal court rulings striking down state and local governments' attempts to regulate what types of games can be sold to minors.