Game Show Maven's Blog

You know, ZZZ999 had an interesting comment about how sometimes the prizes are kind of bad on The Price Is Right. That's part of the show's goofy charm. You finally get to The Price Is Right, you make it on to the stage with dreams of a new car in your head and you're stuck with a cuckoo clock. I actually have a lot of questions about that show. What happens when you live in a dorm room and you win the Broyhilll dining room set? Do you have to pay for storage until you unload it on eBay? Can you pick the color of your car? How much do you have to pay in taxes? What kind of hotels do you stay in when you win a trip? If you live in Arizona, do you have to fly yourself to New York to get on the plane to Europe at your own expense? Actually, the show has a pretty thorough FAQ section on it's Web site, but I prefer to sit around and ponder. I love to see people win great prizes, but it would be fun to toss in some booby prizes. On the old Let's Make A Deal with Monty Hall, if you picked the secret prize behind the wrong curtain, you'd get a junky old car or a baby elephant. As a kid, I always assumed that you had to take the prize home. I envisioned people stuck with an elephant in the backyard, but in retrospect, I guess that didn't happen. That's probably for the best. Since Corbin Bernsen is into publicly shaming the greedy, he needs to add some booby prizes to How Much Is Enough?. A really old elephant, maybe?

It's been said that our relationships with people are based on the way they make us feel about ourselves; that also applies to game shows. I was watching 1 Vs. 100 and thinking, "This isn't half bad." That's because I got all the answers right and was congratulating myself on how easy it would be to win a million dollars since I'm a super genius — or maybe the questions were super easy, but at least I got to feel like a super genius for a while there. Not so much with Don't Forget The Lyrics, I'm such a song mangler. Youlisten to "Blinded By The Light" and hear: "And little Early-Pearly came by in his curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride." I, on the other hand, sing, "And a little birdy-wirdy came by anus hurlyburly and asked me if I needed a ride." I don't know what that means, but I don't know what Early-Pearly means either, so I sing it my way.

My one issue with the show is that everything is so over-the-top dramatic. Love you Wayne Brady, mean it, but stop enabling these drama queen contestants. "Don't freak out when I tell you what I'm gonna tell you," he solemnly advised one. "Just breathe. Are you cool?" It's like he was about to tell her little Johnny fell down the well.  Okay, she did need to come up with 13 words to a Kenny Loggins song, so I guess anyone would need some hand-holding in that scenario.

So, I think the way Corbin Bernsen punishes greedy contestants on How Much Is Enough? could be expanded to other character flaws. What if he just pops up randomly on Don't Forget The Lyricsto penalize the overly emotional, then heads over to Jeopardy to reprimand the smug? The wheels are always turning, friends.

What do you think, are some shows and contestants overdoing it with the drama or is it just the nature of the games they're playing? What irritating behavior would you like Corbin Bernsen to penalize contestants for?

So, I have to admit that I'm amused by the premise of How Much Is Enough?. I was watching Wheel of Fortune this week and the winning contestant was bummed because she only got something like $35,000 instead of $100,000. Oh, to have such problems. You know who would be dancing the happy dance if she got a spare $35,000? Me, that's who. When you clicked over to this page, I'd just have a photo posted of myself lounging under a palm tree. Not that I'm bitter. Oh, okay, I'm bitter. But how fab is it that contestants get penalized for being greedy little pigs as Alec Baldwin might say. Heh.

You know who else needs to be taken down a peg? Fifth graders.  I'm sitting here watching Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? as Access Hollywood's Billy Bush comes down with a case of the vapors over a Greek mythology question while some adorable moppet named Olivia smirks away. Now, I'm watching him do a spastic happy dance because he got the answer right. But that Olivia doesn't care, she's just as pleased as punch with her cuteness and smartness. I bet you she's not greedy either. Yeah, well, just wait until she has bills to pay and she's been beaten down by life like certain bloggers we know. Then we'll see how much she remembers about book learnin'.

I'm totally getting into the question-title shows with a judgmental streak. I think I need to create one. Hmm. How about Are You Really Going Out Dressed Like That? or since it's an election season, Really? That's Your Pick? [Awkward Silence] I need to think about this some more. Who's with me? Or should I make that: Who's With Me?

If a perfectly nice and normal contestant plays a perfectly nice and normal game, well, that's perfectly nice and normal. I like bells and whistles. Last week Deal Or No Deal scored by landing a guest with a great story. Retired cop Will Jimeno is a 9/11 survivor, talk about rooting value. Turns out, Jimeno has a penchant for archery, so out came the bow and arrow so that he could shoot at an apple off the banker's head. To be honest, though, the star of the show for me was bubbly model Anya, who had to deliver said bow and arrow. Host Howie Mandel playfully ordered her to run and she was adorable as she hot-footed with a look of panic on her face. You usually don't get to see models run from anything but carbs, am I right?

On Friday's The Price Is Right, contestant Mohamed caused controversy at the big wheel. His efforts to get into the Showcase Showdown resulted in loud boos when he kept lamely turning the wheel so that it barely rotated. You have to credit new host Drew Carey for remaining calm. On Mohamed's second non-spinny spin, the crowd was out for blood and Drew settled them down with a conciliatory "He didn't know." I'm not so sure about that, but good job maintaining law and order.

So, I love models fleeing in terror and near-riots, what makes a great game show moment for you? Leave a comment about what catches your eye on the shows today.

And don't forget to tune in to the Game Show Network forHow Much Is Enough? where going for the top dollar leaves greedy players out in the cold!