Is there a perfect example of a show whose host has a tendency to outshine the game itself?

Besides Uncle Bill's shows, I would think Tom Kennedy sometimes upstaged the already-solid format of Split Second, or even Monty Hall as a fast-talking, ad-libbing salesman on Let's Make a Deal.

Are there any others?

This right there should tell you that you're not going to get a solid answer to this question.

Bob Barker wished.

Gene Rayburn on MG.

Louie Anderson Family Feud

Mark L. Walberg on Moment of Truth.

Heck, a bowl of petunias could outshine Moment of Truth.

*blinks*
*reads name of poster*
Oh.

Bobcat's Big Ass Show.

This could be a stretch... but how bout The Riddlers?

Richard Dawson always tried to make himself bigger than the show... bigger than the entire genre, really. Feud's subsequent longevity, I believe, has proven this to not be true.

I think an argument could be made for Bob Saget on 1 vs. 100. Any capable emcee could make that format work, and Saget spends a disproportionate amount of airtime making bad jokes.

My vote: Howie Mandel on Deal or No Deal.

Well, that's a gimme, since there's nothing to the show to begin with. (We're talking gameplay, here. The 26 mobile set pieces with the gorgeous pairs of...eyes don't count.)

Groucho's "You Bet Your Life", where the quiz portion was definitely given the backseat of a 1955 DeSoto!

quintessential: Betty White, Just Men.

/y'ever notice 30% of the time Tony Danza had the magic key?
//..or whatever..

My picks:

Allen Ludden, Password
Tom Kennedy, Name That Tune

Clementson's head just asploded.

Explain Blockbusters then.
Anyhow, I would have to concur with those who said Gene shined on MG.

I'd also say Monty Hall on LMaD. Very little game in "Which box do you want", but Monty manages to make it worth watching.

Well, you have these three people answering...oh, never mind.



Seriously, Blockbusters came closest to having a format equal to Bill's talents in the post-Price Is Right era. (Not counting his $25K Pyramid.) Of course, most of Bill's hosting jobs after that came through Bob Stewart, and let's be honest, most of them other than Pyramid needed a little more than they had - Eye Guess wasn't much of a game, but it did have some humor and Bill really brought it out. Let's face it, he rode some pretty swaybacked horses.

Richard Karn tried to steal the show to the point of being obnoxious about it. And he didn't succeed.

Hence the new set. The old one had his teeth marks all over it.

My picks:

*Howie Mandel, Deal or No Deal -- He almost succeeds in making it not look like a game of dumb-assed luck.

*Corbin Bernson, How Much Is Enough? -- Ditto.

*Kennedy, Friend or Foe -- Ditto.

*Anne Robinson on The Meanest Weirdest Weakst Link -- Face it, the game was really centered around her treating the contestants like $#!t. I could say the same of George Gray, but he leaves an even worse taste in my mouth than did Anne, so to hell with him.

Watch an episode and you'll realize that insults were meant in humor, and even the contestants chuckled from time to time.


Wow. Not the opinion, but the last part of your statement. I actually disagree with you, considering Gray played the insults up for laughs even more.

Even with a new week, Dale's run continues!

I sure wouldn't take any insult in humor, even if I knew it was in humor. Maybe it's because I was the target of about 8 bazillion (that's Numberwang!) insults while in school?



I was kidding about the "to hell with him" part. Seriously, though, I could tell that Gray played up for laughs even more than Robinson did -- and because of that, he came off to me as super-smug.

Congratulations, TPH, your post is the lucky one selected for this World Premiere:

http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/3293/fa...lmgalorera7.jpg

Triple score for the polar bear and Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

/If you want an animated Carl, try this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v342/hmt...ecrown/carl.gif

I LOVE it!

/The jpg, not the poster deep thoughtful comments.

And congratulations, Mr. Lemon, for making it to our Archives once again!

As much as I love it, I'm getting just a *smidgen* tired of random Numberwang proclamations every time someone says a number.

I don't think you're a bad person, TPH, but I think you're trying way too hard to be funny/clever here. Don't worry too much about "fitting-in", just be yourself and you'll do fine.

This from the man with Numberwang in his signature? ;)

As was I, but I also learned a thing or two about the psychology of young people.

And a well-flung insult with a proper dose of humor can be well-received among peers. If you accept the diss with grace and flair, you'll do better than sulking about it.

But you do seem to fit the portrait of That Guy in my Elementary School.


Maybe he was...doing his job?

Your Fail Meal comes with your choice of side salad, French fries or baked beans. $8.95 at the window. Thank you drive through.

Each of these things runs its course. Give it time. :)

/But not before we rotate the board!

Actually, trying too hard to be funny kinda sorta is being myself. Not that I'm trying to defend myself or anything, but I really do try to fire off a joke whenever possible.

Getting back on topic: Peter Tomarken outshone PYL's format, in my opinion... but the Whammys outshone him by about 100 fold.

/note that I actually typed out a number without mentioning "T***'* N*********!"
//if you get my drift

(note to DZ -- Sorry for the double post, but I just have to reply to this)



Please do elaborate on this point. I'm curious.



I have a real hard time buying that. Not that I'm saying you're wrong, but I'd like to hear more on this point too.



"Grace" and "flair" are two settings I don't have.

The problem is, you're not good at it. Which is why, less than a week ago, you promised to stop. All you're doing is disrupting threads.

The kids who picked on the outliers were harboring their own insecurities, and masked them through insults. But as an outlier I surely didn't do myself any favors either. It took me until 10th grade to figure that out.

You just DID say I'm wrong, and I know that among my circle of good friends an insult is a jibe, not an actual condemnation. (Cliffs Notes version: Lighten up.)

We see that every time you post. Every single time.

You ever seen a celebrity roast, either Dean Martin or the ones on Comedy Central? The whole point of those is to make fun of the "celebrity guest of honor". It's all in fun, and the celebrities often crack up laughing at their own expense.

I took my share of jokes as well, but trust me, using it to feel sorry for yourself isn't a good plan.

In fact, most of us have had that experience. And those of us who have been the butt of jokes still recognize that insults can be delivered for humorous value rather than as a means to hurt others.

I suspect that someone who, by his own admission, "sit(s) on (his) arse all day at this computer" might not have had enough human interaction to have seen this phenomenon up close.

Oh God, I give up.

I share the sentiment of this macro:
http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/3293/fa...lmgalorera7.jpg

/Playing the "self-depreciation" card doesn't help you either.

I had you up until the next to last sentence. You didn't do yourself any favors... how?



Was it only friends who insulted you? I never, ever got insulted by a friend (at least not to my face).



I have seen a roast or two. But that's different -- the point of a roast is to poke fun at them, not to crush their spirits like so many cigarette butts. When I was in school, it semed like everyone's favorite game was "let's make the 15-year-old, sheltered senior feel even more insecure".

The key is the phrase "as an outlier." When you behave differently from others, people will react to you differently. No one's making excuses for buillying, but if you act as though it's the job of everyone else to adjust to you, rather than the other way around, you're going out of your way to make it harder for yourself.


I won't speak for Travis, but in high school I got zinged both by those with malicious intent and those with humorous intent. And I knew the difference.


Actually, no, it's not substantively different. If you really believe that Anne Robinson and George Gray went on stage thinking to themselves "How can I make these guys feel like s**t for losing" rather than "How can I give them a laugh as they walk off stage," then you're seriously misreading things.

I always behaved differently from others, and that's (at least sometimes) why I was bullied. Act different, I'm screwed. Try to fit in, I'm screwed.



And I didn't know the difference. I still don't, it seems.



Yes I was misinterpreting greatly. If either host insulted me, I know I would feel like s**t for losing anyway, but that's just me.

EXACTLY!!!!!

Not every insult has to be about crushing the spirits of the other person. Sometimes it's for friends to poke fun at other friends, understanding that nobody is getting hurt. They're still insults. Quick, who's got a bald joke for me?

The term for this concept is "shades of gray". You do have a tendency to take things very literally and only see one side or the other.



Except by making a point about it, you basically did.

Unflushed deposits in the GSN commode outshine that monstrosity.
Hoping to steer this thread back on topic, my vote goes to Geoff Edwards on (The New) Treasure Hunt.

This Numberwang stuff has become way old and tired.

Mr. Lemon, do you have an appropriate "Everybodn's a Comedian" graphic?

Just find a picture of the Patron Saint Of Utterly Talentless Hack Comics, Carrot Top.

Hey, I only said a smidgen. ;-)

But the other Chris is right, "Numberwang" has pretty much run its course here. I've brought back the classic Ezekiel Barker macro back to my sig.

/But slashies never get old!

Well, I tried to get it back on topic, anyhow.
Okay, carry on. I'll make my exit so I don't get caught in the crossfire.

Speaking of such things...

Rebecca Grant almost made Throut and Neck worth watching.

Almost.

Dennis Miller, Amnesia

And for some people I know...

Drew Carey, The Price is Right

Thanks. I forgot about the formatting differences.