‘Homemade Games,’ ‘The Great’ very entertaining
Rick's Reviews  by: RICK BENTLEY
Posted: May 15, 2020 / 11:31 AM PDT / Updated: May 15, 2020 / 11:32 AM PDTBAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) – In my search to find entertainment you can watch while stuck at home, I like it when I discover a program that is not only entertaining while you watch but can spark more fun after the show is over.
Jeff Rogers set out to create a game show and ended up developing a program that can provide relief for those at home who have become bored with their board games. Rogers is the host and co-creator of BYUtv’s latest family friendly show “Jeff’s Homemade Game Show,” a competition series played completely at the homes of the contestants.
The games began May 12 on BYUtv. Don’t worry if you do not have the cable channel, the BYUtv app is free to download. 
The 10-episode season uses common on-site household objects, locations and activities for each contest specifically designed for the family hosting the show. Family members can win cash and prizes by participating in homegrown challenges such as stacking cans from their kitchen into a pyramid, returning items that have been removed from their living room to the correct locations, catapulting cereal into a milk-filled bowl, collecting as much loose change as possible and guessing the expiration date of a condiment in their refrigerator.
https://www.kget.com/community/ricks-reviews/homemade-games-the-great-very-entertaining/

Jeff Rogers said he played a lot of games growing up in Mount Prospect with 10 siblings — but those were more like chores disguised as games.
The 51-year-old comedian said his dad encouraged the kids to race to clean their bedrooms and make their beds. Now Rogers hosts his own competition show where he visits Chicago-area families and uses their household items for games such as catapulting cereal into a milk-filled bowl or stacking canned goods into a pyramid. The contestants can win hundreds of dollars. If they lose, they get junk from Rogers’ Northwest Side garage.
“Jeff’s Homemade Game Show” is scheduled to premiere at 8 p.m. Tuesday on BYUtv, a family entertainment network. Rogers hopes the series, which will be available live and on-demand for free on BYUtv’s app, inspires families to play along.
Ten local families are featured on the first season. Rogers said there were several hundred applicants. Families living within 100 miles of Chicago were selected.
“It’s been great to be able to bring this show here and really generate it here, produce it here, edit it here with all Chicago talent and crew,” said Rogers....Read the rest of the article here.
Check out Jeff's Homemade Game Show Tuesday nights, 8pm CT on BYUTV, or stream anytime at www.byutv.org/jeffsgameshow

Perfect Time for this Game Show in Homes
The suburban trio created and filmed their TV game show before anyone had heard of COVID-19, wore masks or stayed at home, but their timing couldn't be more serendipitous. "Jeff's Homemade Game Show" features comedian and Mount Prospect native Jeff Rogers hosting family members competing in wacky challenges for the chance to win money, prizes or a piece of junk from "Jeff's garage." All without leaving their homes.

Co-creators Bob Maraist, 57, of Grayslake, whose work on documentaries such as "American High" have earned him four Emmy Awards, and longtime collaborator Bob Kopach, 56, of Elmhurst, who conceived the idea for the show, say it couldn't be more relevant in an era when many families are stuck at home. And Rogers, 51, has been prepping for his game show duties since his childhood as the 10th of 11 children born to Robert and Margaret Rogers.
"My dad made a game out of everything,....
Read the full article here

Jeff Rogers, host of our show, Jeff's Homemade Game Show, had a great time with the anchors of KTLA's afternoon show. When asked how Jeff got involved with the show, Jeff answered, "when Bob Kopach & Bob Maraist came to me with the idea of bringing a game show to peoples homes, and using their stuff, it was a perfect fit. My parents use to get us 9 kids to do chores around the house, by making it a game. They'd say, 'whoever cleans up their room first gets a prize!' Well, at first I'd think he's just trying to con us, but all it took was for one of the kids to start cleaning their room faster, and suddenly, the game was on!" As everyone laughed, anchor Glen Walker replied, "You guys were getting snookered!" Jeff agreed, but everyone acknowledged that it was a lot more fun way to go about connecting with kids.

It must be very trying to report on the current events day after day, with little good news, and the serious nature of how it effects people. As the segment wrapped up, it just seemed the anchors were very thankful for the opportunity to laugh about something that could bring joy to others.
Jeff’s Homemade Game Show, Premiering May 12, 8pm CST on BYUTV. https://www.byutv.org/jeffsgameshow

Here's a link to a BTS interview with our host Jeff Rogers:
https://bit.ly/JeffHomemadeTV #BYUtv

Comedian Jeff Rogers knows how to turn family time into game time: he shows up at a family's home and hosts a game show right in their living room! The family competes in a series of crazy and hilarious challenges with items from around the house. If they win, they get some amazing prizes. If they lose, they get junk from Jeff's garage. Jeff's Homemade Game Show is fast, funny, and all about family—staying home has never been this much fun! Premieres May 12 at 9 pm ET | 6 pm PT.

We wanted you to know, we’re playing it safe, but we’re open for business. We have been working safely & remotely during the COVID crisis. We have guidelines in place to make sure all facets of a production can be completed in a safe and timely manner.

Thanks to the veterans on our team, we had our eye on this issue before any mandates. While in progress, we made the safe and necessary adjustments to work towards delivering the episodes of World Views latest production, Jeff’s Homemade Game Show. A BYUTV executive expressed their gratitude by saying in a recent Zoom call, "We're so impressed with how World View adjusted to this crisis. This show could not be more relevant to families than it is right now. Thank you for delivering on time."  Delivered without COVID delay, this show is ready to air May 12, 8pm CT on BYUTV.

Even as business’s open back up, the need to take precautions will linger far into the future. We plan to continue to take the necessary steps so that our team, your team, and the subjects we work with have a safe and gratifying experience.

Be well, stay safe, and let’s make the most of this life changing experience.

When we produced this last year, we had no idea how relevant it would be today, because this show does so much more than just entertain. Airing May 12, 8pm CT, Jeff's Homemade Game Show challenges families to accomplish a common goal, playing random, active games that can be created at home using everyday household items. It's a series for everyone from 4 to 94 that shows the audience new ideas of how to have fun together. Watching the show inspires people to get up and play the games. There is no more relevant time to take a break from the serious issues that surround us, then now.
So as people either continue to social distance at home, or even as the restrictions begin to lift, everyone can use fun and productive ways to engage, collaborate, and come together outside of the digital space. Jeff's Homemade Game Show is the inspiration to do just that!
Jeff’s Homemade Game Show, Premiering May 12, 8pm CST on BYUTV. https://www.byutv.org/jeffsgameshow#

CHICAGO – April 23, 2020   A new TV game show, Jeff’s Homemade Game Show, is currently being produced in Chicago that promotes and celebrates family time – parents and kids working together, playing together and making decisions together.  The show will premiere on BYUtv on May 12 at 8 p.m. CST.

Jeff’s Homemade Game Show turns a visit to a family’s home into a fun instant TV game show as the host, Second City alumnus Jeff Rogers, conducts various fun challenges using the family’s own household objects, locations and activities.  Money and prizes are awarded for successfully completing a challenge.  Items from Jeff’s actual garage are awarded to the family if they happen to come up short.  Family members are asked to play games like Toilet Paper Relay where they pull toilet paper through the house without it breaking, Pillow tower, and Floor of Lava.  

Jeff’s Homemade Game Show reinforces studies that show family time helps build self esteem in children, strengthens family bonds, develops positive behaviors, creates happy memories and helps parents and children reconnect.  Most recently, the program received a Mom’s Choice Award, which recognizes the best in family-friendly media, products and services.

The first 10 episodes were filmed in the Chicago and Northwest, Indiana area.  The show was developed by the creative and executive production team of Chicago natives Bob Kopach, Bob Maraist, and Jeff Rogers.

For more about the show go to: https://www.byutv.org/jeffsgameshow

Rogers, a Second City alum and award-winning Chicago actor, has been seen on Chicago PD, Chicago Fire and Empire.  Maraist’s Emmy Award winning, Chicago based World View Productions, who is producing the show, has worked with major networks like A&E, FX, PBS, & HBO.  Kopach is a Columbia College grad and has worked for World View in its development department for the past 8 years.

The other evening, my wife and I were returning from dropping our youngest daughter off for her first week of college. The last leg of the bittersweet journey took us on a busy four lane road, interspersed with mall entrance intersections. While I was behind the wheel, my wife contemplated the upcoming projects us empty-nesters had. Suddenly. an oncoming vehicle careened over the median and slammed into the vehicle right in front of us. We came to a stop, I jumped out to see if I could help, as others did, while my wife called 911.

Thankfully, no one was killed. The victim of the car in front was taken away on a stretcher with leg and chest injuries, while the driver of the oncoming vehicle got into the ambulance under her own power, clearly shaken. The cause was unclear. When I got to the victim she was shouting to me, “Did you see that?! That car came out of no where and just hit me! It just jumped the median and hit me!” Something of a freak scenario that could have ended tragically.

In the last couple of years alone, tragedy has struck numerous times on the roads right here in our own community. A teen driving with her father as passenger were both killed in an intersection collision. Then my daughter’s close friend lost her mother in a horrific drunk driver collision. Both families dealt a life changing blow that no one should ever have to endure. Statistics and data about serious accidents can sometimes seem abstract, while drivers feel invincible, making riskier decisions. Don’t think for a second those decisions don’t matter.

"We are in the midst of a public health crisis and it isn't Zika," says Deborah Hersman, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and now president and CEO of the National Safety Council. She breaks those numbers down, saying it's about 100 people killed on our roads a day, "the equivalent of two regional jets crashing, every day. That would be 14 plane crashes a week," she says. "If we had 14 plane crashes a week, our hair would be on fire and no one would set foot on an airplane," Hersman adds. "Why do we accept the fatalities that occur on our roadways?”

You may have noticed I have purposely avoided the word, “accident.” That’s because "Ninety-four percent of crashes can be tied back to a human choice or error. Ninety-four percent!" says Mark Rosekind, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. After our near collision, my wife and I pondered our own mortality, feeling lucky that just seconds made the difference from us being the victims. But it wasn’t just luck.

The reason we weren’t in the crash was also the result of daily safe driving practices I have had the good fortune to learn and help develop with some of the best in fleet safety. I was intentionally looking far enough up the road, so I saw what was happening as it unfolded. I was following the car in front of me at a safe distance, so I had room to slow and consider my options as the offending vehicle approached. We drove away, not by luck, but by making smart choices so we were not one of the statistics.

There is no one solution to this crisis. Like anything in life, it’s a matter of percentages. Much attention is given to traffic incidents caused by distracted driving. However, the National Highway Traffic Association report fewer driver-distraction deaths in 2016 than 2015, while overall fatalities are about the same. Drowsy driving deaths are also down, while drunk driving and unbelted deaths are up.

Though autonomous cars are coming, they are still a few years away, even according to the major manufacturers that are leading the way. Hyundai feels autonomous cars won’t be able to handle urban environments until 2030, for example. That means that driver behavior is still the main reason for collisions today and the foreseeable future.

Today, technology in vehicles is playing a role in lowering the number and severity of incidents. From airbags and anti-lock brakes, to the more current in-car safety systems such as backing camera’s and lane departure alarms. Vehicle manufacturers, the insurance industry, connectivity and tech companies, are providing safety related choices when the public buys a vehicle.

I’ll continue to share stories and insights about the choices you have now as they relate to the auto, tech, insurance, and driver safety industry. There is no silver bullet, and until technology turns all travel into mass transit thru GPS guided robotics, you will have to take control of your safety at every turn.

About the author: For 25 years, Bob Maraist has kept a finger on the pulse of the fleet and consumer driving industry, especially as it relates to safety. With experts in the field, his company, World View Productions, has created successful driver training materials helping fortune 500 companies see more than a 70% decrease in incidents in their first year of a safety campaign.


References:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/usdot-releases-2016-fatal-traffic-crash-data

https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/safety-topics/fatality-estimates

https://www.techemergence.com/self-driving-car-timeline-themselves-top-11-automakers/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/03/06/how-your-ride-request-is-accelerating-innovation-for-vehicle-technology/#4be02b0044d3


https://www.npr.org/2016/10/20/498406570/tech-human-errors-drive-growing-death-toll-in-auto-crashes

I have recently returned from Cuba where I was helping to film the first leg of a sustainability documentary. With two time Oscar winner, Deborah Shaffer, & Author Jim Merkel, we saw a side of Cuba that the American media chooses not to cover. We ventured to learn what Cuban's, especially the women, had to share from their decades of experience in family planning, life with scant fossil fuels, free education and healthcare to all, and small scale organic food systems. These are among the people and the ingredients that make Cuba among the worlds most sustainable populations in the world (http://www.footprintnetwork.org/ecological_footprint_nations/ecological_per_capita.html).

Throughout the next few months we'll share some of our experience, and let you meet the incredible people who so warmly opened their lives and homes to us, so stay tuned for more entries.

Below is a picture from the Casimiro farm, a place I call a Permaculture Paradise!
On the left is the Casimiro women, middle is director Deborah Shaffer, local sound person Susana Zamirino, Cuban film commision member Ronnie, and myself. Photo by our Cuban fixer Pedro Martin.