I
imhomerjay
Guest
This sounded like a game show junkie's (aka my) dream. Big winners from multiple eras and multiple shows face off in a game none of them has played before. Kind of a tournament of champions on steriods (like Barry Bonds).
Overall, the game itself is great. Faster paced than nearly any game show to date that I can think of, and the numbers & logic round is a real test of mental agility when you're competing against the clock and an opponent at the same time.
But, seriously, what the heck was GSN thinking in bringing on Dennis Miller to "host" (and I use the quotation marks intentionally)? I'm very impressed he knows his history and obscure trivia, but the momentum of the game is destroyed when he starts in on his I'm-too-hip-for-the-room "jokes" and meaningless analysis. Ditto his cohost, whatever her name is (I'm not bothering to look it up, it doesn't matter), though at least she's not so obnoxious that you want to choke her.
Nearly as annoying is the time wasted on the juvenile contestant profiles. It looks like someone studied the worst parts of VH-1's World Series of Pop Culture and made those inane segments even worse. The gameplay could easily be extended by a round per match if you took out that pointless filler.
Speaking of World Series of Pop Culture, and going back to the "hosting," the fact that they have the wonderful Pat Kiernan on board already as the goofily-named, unseen "questioner" makes the co-hosting setup all that much more painful. Just watch an episode of Pop Culture and you can see how well Kiernan can direct the flow of a program, so why not just have him be the host of this limited-run series? Does Dennis Miller really bring anything to the table? (Besides his own ego that is.)
The concept is great, the game play is exciting and challenging, but the execution...ugh. It really leaves something to be desired.
Overall, the game itself is great. Faster paced than nearly any game show to date that I can think of, and the numbers & logic round is a real test of mental agility when you're competing against the clock and an opponent at the same time.
But, seriously, what the heck was GSN thinking in bringing on Dennis Miller to "host" (and I use the quotation marks intentionally)? I'm very impressed he knows his history and obscure trivia, but the momentum of the game is destroyed when he starts in on his I'm-too-hip-for-the-room "jokes" and meaningless analysis. Ditto his cohost, whatever her name is (I'm not bothering to look it up, it doesn't matter), though at least she's not so obnoxious that you want to choke her.
Nearly as annoying is the time wasted on the juvenile contestant profiles. It looks like someone studied the worst parts of VH-1's World Series of Pop Culture and made those inane segments even worse. The gameplay could easily be extended by a round per match if you took out that pointless filler.
Speaking of World Series of Pop Culture, and going back to the "hosting," the fact that they have the wonderful Pat Kiernan on board already as the goofily-named, unseen "questioner" makes the co-hosting setup all that much more painful. Just watch an episode of Pop Culture and you can see how well Kiernan can direct the flow of a program, so why not just have him be the host of this limited-run series? Does Dennis Miller really bring anything to the table? (Besides his own ego that is.)
The concept is great, the game play is exciting and challenging, but the execution...ugh. It really leaves something to be desired.