Game shows have always been a part of television…well, at least since as far back as I can remember. I’ve watched my fair share of them over the years; randomly flipping to Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, or Family Feud when there is nothing else on.
Lately though, my love for game shows has returned and I’ve become addicted to “The Newlywed Game” (which happens to be premiering a new season this Monday at 6 p.m.) and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Don’t laugh too hard, but it’s true.
I’ll start with the newlyweds and take note that I am not one. These couples are hilarious. The things that they are willing to say—on national television—about their sex life, are shockingly funny. The host, Carnie Wilson, is also a little bit freaky. If you have never watched it before, then you are missing out. But, I will let you in on a little bit of the fun that happens on this “Game Show Network” show.
Wilson introduces three newlywed couples and then splits the men and women up. She asks them the same question without their partner around and then compares the answers. Whoever matches their partner’s answer gets points and the couple with the most points gets a second honeymoon.
Enough about the rules though. The real fun is in the questions. The questions are meant to embarrass the couples. Wilson asks about sex toys, penis size, who is in control and just about anything else she can ask about. But, the thing that bothers me about this show is when the camera zooms in on Carnie Wilson it looks like she is sitting at a desk. She holds papers with the questions on them, but it appears (because of her size) that she is sitting down. When the camera zooms out though, to go to a commercial break for example, you can see that she is in fact standing up and hunched over.
It may seem rude or mean, but I hope that I look different from when I’m standing to when I’m sitting. She is so hunched over that she actually looks strange standing there. It’s not a big deal, and I may be the only one who notices it, but now that I’ve seen it I just can’t get it out of my head. Otherwise, it’s a great show.
Moving on now, I want to discuss the millionaire show. Do they just go looking for people who are celebrating their birthday for this show? The last several times I’ve watched this, it has always been the contestant’s birthday. That is fine, in fact it’s pretty cool to win a lot of money for a birthday present to yourself, but the little introduction is getting kind of old. There is only so many times the host can say, “Oh, it’s your birthday,” and still sound surprised about it.
Even with the awkward and comical introductions, I still find “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” awesome because no one ever becomes a millionaire. The whole premise is to give away a million dollars. But, none of these contestants ever really even get close to it. Watching their devastated faces when they choose the wrong answer and the lights/sound scream NO is sad and funny at the same time.
In my personal opinion though, Regis Philbin is still the best host of all time and he should return. The End.
Charlene D Said,
This comment has been removed by the author.
Posted on April 15, 2010 at 4:58 PM
Lydia Chandler Said,
I love the Game Show Network. Last year my boyfriend and I were in Miami for a golf tournament. We were flipping through the Channels and found GSN. We were hooked. It is all we watched while we were there. There are several shows on there that I would love to go on. There are always answers that are so easy and it kills me to watch the contestants struggle to come up with the answers. One of these days i'm going to be a contestant.
Posted on April 18, 2010 at 11:00 PM
Caleb Said,
I am also a big fan of game shows. I’ll watch millionaire from time to time, and I do agree that Regis was the best host of that show. The newlywed game sounds hilarious, and if I got the game show network I would definitely watch it. My favorite game show though, by far, is Jeopardy. I am a trivia junkie, and I like to see how I stack up against Jeopardy contestants with my random knowledge. I’m not always home when it comes on, but I dvr it every night. Sometime my roommate and I will sit down and watch 5 episodes straight…good times.
Posted on April 19, 2010 at 2:17 PM
life-of-Yarnell Said,
Its funny how you chose to write a blog on game shows right now. I was just talking to my friends about how game shows have come back and gotten big again. This is this one game show that has started recently called “Minute to win it”. I have to say this is one game show that I am so excited to watch every Sunday night.
This show is on NBC and consists of ten levels of complicated tasks with household products that you have to complete in a minutes time. Little games like bobbing the head to get 160 movements , geep two feathers above the ground using your mouth, keeping three balloons above the ground with your hands, getting 6 ping pong balls in a jar that is on your head by bouncing them off a wall… All of these separate games are to be done in a one minute time.
There are about sixty different small minute games and they are all posted online on NBC’s website for people to try at home before they come on the game show. To get to the million dollar prize, the contestants have ten levels to complete a random pick of those sixty.
It may seem easy if you can practice, but having a audience to watch you do it makes it very difficult. Definitely check out this new game show if you have a chance, I promise you will like it!
Posted on April 19, 2010 at 3:54 PM
Katherine Kenyon Said,
I haven't seen "The Newlywed Game" but we played it at my friend's engagement party last January! My friend was the host and I was the scorekeeper since we were the only single people at the party. I loved it because I would have been way too embarrassed to answer any of those questions, but the answers everyone gave were HILARIOUS! I really need to see this show! I agree too that Regis Philbin should go back to hosting "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"!!!
Posted on April 19, 2010 at 9:50 PM
Jim Said,
The best game shows were the ones on Nickelodeon back when were were kids. I don't remember all of their names, except of course for Legends of the Hidden Temple, which was the shit. But all of them usually ended up with some kids running threw a maze, getting dumped with slime, and winning, at most, a BMX bike. You have to admire than kind of joy. No millions of dollars. No grueling questions. No pressure. Just kids having a great time.
Posted on April 19, 2010 at 11:33 PM