This week had good and not so good news in the world of game shows.
The best news, perhaps, is that CBS is planning a prime time version of Hollywood Squares next winter. So far we know Drew Barrymore is going to be the center square, and that's about all we know. We don't know who will host or how it will be staged. Forget returning champions, I suspect, but expect bigger money than we've seen in the past, most likely.
I should be excited about such a development. A classic quiz show being reincarnated for the third time, or more, depending upon how you count versions such as Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour and Hip Hop Squares.
I should be excited, but these days I'm expecting to be disappointed.
I have said, time and time again, that I miss the days of the basic quiz show served with a slice of luck. Take shows like Hollywood Squares, Tic Tac Dough, Joker's Wild, Sale of the Century and High Rollers. They were all quiz shows in some way. Hollywood Squares was played for laughs far more than Tic Tac Dough. High Rollers and Sale of the Century had plenty of trivia mixed in with general knowledge questions. But the outcome of each game depended, to some extent, on an element of luck.
I enjoy simple shows like that. I like Jeopardy, and there's a degree of luck involved, but less so than the others. And that's the only one out there five days a week, not counting anything GSN is producing, which I don't have access to.
We have some fun games in syndication at the moment, but nothing that's a classic quiz show, interjecting a tic-tac-toe board or dice into the outcome. I miss those.
So I should be excited about Hollywood Squares. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised. I hope they pick a good host, one that doesn't irritate me. I'm a broken record at this point. I don't want to watch a long-in-the-tooth comedian pretend to orchestrate a game. I just want a skilled emcee, a broadcaster who isn't trying to play to the crowd every chance s/he gets, or an actor who hasn't had a big hit movie in a while but would like a steady paycheck.
But I expect the worst. The few comments I've read about the new version of Hollywood Squares didn't exactly lavish praise on its choice of a center square. I don't think anyone considers Drew Barrymore to be quick-witted or naturally funny. She's had roles in comedy films, but she's not exactly telling knock-knock jokes in Vegas during her off weeks from her current talk show. She seems to have time for a second job, and somehow a prime time game show is the best way to showcase her talent. I'm skeptical.
I hope to be pleasantly surprised, and I'm not rooting against it. I'm just prepared to be disappointed, because I'm a traditionalist who doesn't need gimmicks and over production to enjoy a quiz show where knowledge is king and lady luck is queen. But I get it, I'm in the minority.
The not-so-good news is that we're also getting a brand new prime time game show this summer from ABC. This show, called Lucky 13, is a quiz show, the kind of show I should be welcoming, even if it doesn't feature a giant slot machine at center stage. It has a twist on the traditional question-and-answer quiz format, of course, and offers $1 million as its top prize. That sounds like a recipe for prime time success.
So why am I disappointed by the news of a new summer quiz show? It will have co-hosts, Shaquille O’Neal and Gina Rodriguez. O'Neal is well known by anyone who has watched TV to some degree during the past 30 years. He strikes me as personable and entertaining, and he has done his share of NBA commentating in recent years. Given he's a multi-time NBA champion, he should know a thing or two about the NBA.
But his broadcasting skills, or lack thereof, doesn't seem like a good fit for a big money quiz show. I doubt he's going to be smooth, and he's not a broadcaster. That's fine when he's talking NBA. When he's trying to emcee a quiz show, his lack of vocal skills are going to stick out like a sore thumb.
Perhaps that's why he has a co-host. I have no idea if she'll take the lead, or fumble through the game alongside O'Neal. I couldn't have told you who Rodriguez was when I read the news. And I'm not sure I've seen any of her work. Perhaps she'll surprise me. Perhaps she'll dazzle me with her emceeing prowess. I'll wager $5 she doesn't.
It might be a fun show, and the co-hosts may step up to the challenge. But it's disappointing to read O'Neal and Rodriguez will be at the helm of a new, big money prime time quiz show.
Somewhere between my cautious optimism about Hollywood Squares and my inevitable skepticism regarding Lucky 13 is the news that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is also coming back. Jimmy Kimmel returns as host, because one job is not enough to pay the bills in Hollywood these days. It's unknown if the show is returning with another round of celebrities playing for charity or if Joe Public will actually get a chance to win life changing money.
It's a solid format that has been tweaked plenty over the years and continues to entertain, albeit to far smaller audiences than it did when it premiered in 1999. But the audience numbers have been good enough to encourage ABC to keep trotting Kimmel out there for another run. This is not the worst news we've had, certainly.
Now who wants to bring back All-Star Blitz?
