game show
10/12/2007
The Price Is Right: Woman Triumphs at Plinko, Fails at Bladder Control
CBS's official description of this video is "This womans LOVES Drew Carey, and Plinko. She also really needs to use a restroom." And you know what? I can't really say it any better. Though I kind of wish that I hadn't just heard a grown woman use the word "potty" on national television. Oh, Marie. Dignity costs nothing.
I had some initial skepticism about Drew Carey's ability to fill Bob Barker's shoes, and his whimpy "sorry, tell it to Roger" approach to Plinko enforcement doesn't do a lot to alter that. But Carey does score points from me when he briefly references the 1979 UK #1 "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick," by Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Just keep referencing the obscure BritPop, Drew. And maybe you'll be okay.
08/17/2007
Jeopardy's Alex Trebek, Drunk and Angry
I don't feel like I'm overstating when I say that Alex Trebek is one of the elder statesmen of television, a force of dignity and wisdom on the level with Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow. Maybe it's because he asks incredibly hard questions and looks like he knows the answers -- either way, what matters is that he has become one of our prime-time rocks. Even without the bitching 'stache.
So this clip from 1990, of the man flubbing take after take of some awful commercial for "Phone Jeopardy," is almost a little upsetting. Is this what Trebek is like in person? Does he maybe have a problem? I don't know the answer. If you do, please answer in the form of a question. Grant the man that one sign of respect.
03/15/2007
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Network TV's current fixation on ultra-dramatic quiz shows drives me more than a little crazy. But the show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" totally delights me.
After all, most adults have forgotten the basic knowledge taught in grade school, so a game show preying on their ignorance of elementary facts is a great concept. And when you are wrong on this show, the children laugh at you. Loudly.
So please enjoy the humiliation of Larry as he tries to remember how many Es are in the word "allegiance." I'd make fun of him, except that when I typed "allegiance" just now, I misspelled it. Fortunately, my spell checker doesn't giggle at me. (Often.)
