This Week in Baseball
This Week in Baseball is a weekly television program, originally designed to show highlights of the previous week's Major League Baseball action.
TWIB (pronounced phonetically; the acronym is often familiarly used by viewers, and came to be used by the host also) debuted in 1977. Veteran sportscaster Mel Allen hosted and narrated the show from its inception until his death in 1996 (although Warner Fusselle filled-in for Allen when needed); he was succeeded for a time by former St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith.
From Syndication to FOX
While TWIB was originally syndicated to various stations around the country, the FOX network relaunched the series in 2000 (after a one year absence off of television) as a pregame show for its Saturday afternoon Major League Baseball telecasts, replacing In the Zone, which had a similar format to NBA Inside Stuff and was listed as part of the Fox Kids line up.
The show also airs on regional sports networks around the country and is also often played as part of the pre-game entertainment on the TV screens of major league stadiums. Buzz Brainard is the current host of TWIB, while a current major league player is profiled each week. Also, in 2004-2005, segments of the show were hosted by U.S. fast-pitch softball sensation Jennie Finch. In 2007, TWIB is slated for 26 episodes running from April to the end of September, focusing on stories of various clubs and different baseball themes each week. The segment "Front Row Fan" features celebrities reminiscing about their favorite baseball memories. Guests have included Tom Hanks, Bernie Mac, Alyssa Milano and Kevin James.
Highlights of the past week's action are used less frequently, except for a closing highlight reel set to popular songs. The highlight reel is named How 'Bout That?, in reference to Mel Allen's well-known catchphrase. Video is gathered from each of the 30 Clubs' Stadium Loggers, who compile highlights of each game and send them to MLB Productions in New York, NY.
Music
The snappy opening theme music to TWIB is called Jet Set composed by Mike Vickers, a former member of the original Manfred Mann band. Jet Set was first used as the theme for the original 1974-75 version of the game show Jackpot. It has also been used as introductory music for such mundane productions as company training films. When Fox brought TWIB back, a slightly revamped version of Jet Set is written.
The dramatic, spine-tingling, horns-violins-drums closing theme (and fan favorite) is called Gathering Crowds, composed by Patrick J. O'Hara Scott, a pseudonym for the same Mike Vickers. It is typically played over a montage of baseball's greatest moments, building to a crescendo with a punctuated 3-note chord as the MLB logo slides into view. This tune has also been known to be used to similar effect for montages and credits at the end of local TV newscasts and the like. In addition, the music was also used by ABC News for their ABC Evening News during the 1970s.
Advertising
During the show's first season on FOX in 2000, there was an advertising campaign that appeared every Friday in USA Today. The ad featured a photo of a pair of eyes that belonged to the player hosting the show for that week's episode.
External links
- This Week in Baseball at the Internet Movie Database
- This Week in Baseball at TV.com
- Major League Baseball : Productions : This Week in Baseball
- TV.com Complete Episode Guide - This Week in Baseball
- 80stvthemes.com - This Week in Baseball
- Jump The Shark - This Week in Baseball
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