Greatest Hosts of All Time - Results Thread

[Tim L]

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'134155\' date=\'Oct 11 2006, 02:54 PM\']

I am surprised she was up that high. I don't care if she has been successful as Millionaire host. She's a lousy emcee, and I will contend that to the day I die. Bad move, 9 balloteers.

What's so bad about Meredith Vieira (don't hold back, now)?
[/quote]


I havent watched Millionaire that much daily, but when I have I think Meredith is the best thing about the show..I've said this in the past, that even If I won no money on Millionaire, a highlight would be just to talk  to, shake hands or get a sympathetic hug from Meredith..

[gwarman2005]

[quote name=\'cweaver\' post=\'134150\' date=\'Oct 11 2006, 01:57 PM\']
[quote name=\'gwarman2005\' post=\'134045\' date=\'Oct 10 2006, 08:20 PM\']
I finally got a chance to catch O'Hurley's Feud the other day.  Am I the only that notices that he doesn't seem that interested in the game?  It's like the Chuck Henry mentallity, as soon as he came out it looks like he regretted signing the contract.
[/quote]

I haven't seen any other post here remotely like that nor have I seen any behavior like that when I watched Feud myself.  I've only caught one other criticism of O'Hurley at the board and even that one noted his being comfortable with the format, which is the opposite of what you suggested.
[/quote]

Honestly, of the shows I saw, you can only stand to hear the phrase, "Let's have some fun now." for so long that you think he's trying to remind himself of that.  Sorry folks, I just don't think this was the best format for him.  I could see him taking Alex's place on J!.  Just my two cents.

[Ian Wallis]

Oddly enough, I didn't have any of those five (35-31) on my list.  While I don't dislike any of them, I just found 20 others that I thought were better.

I know a lot of people don't think much of Jim Lange.  Personally I don't mind him.  I've enjoyed his work on most of the shows he's done.

Even though I watch WWTBAM every night, I just don't think Merideth belongs in the top 20....yet....but I think she does a good job on the show.

[Jay Temple]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'134125\' date=\'Oct 11 2006, 09:31 AM\']
[color=\"#CC33CC\"]32 Jim Peck[/color]
The Big Showdown, Second Chance, 3's a Crowd
(86 18/68)
[color=\"#CC33CC\"]31 Jim Lange[/color]
The Dating Game, Bullseye, Name That Tune
(87 16/68)
[/quote]
Am I the only one who gets these two confused?

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'134012\' date=\'Oct 9 2006, 07:42 PM\'][color=\"#CC33CC\"]40 Jeff Probst[/color]Rock and Roll Jeopardy, Survivor
(28 3/68)[/quote]I liked him on R&R Jeopardy!, he's great on Survivor, but being on a top fifty list? I dunno.

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'134012\' date=\'Oct 9 2006, 07:42 PM\'][color=\"#CC33CC\"]39 Howie Mandel[/color]Deal or No Deal
(31 3/68, including one first-place vote)[/quote]Even his place on a top list is doubtful, given that he's done only one show. But then again people voted for Ross Perot too. That's one of the perils of democracy.

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'134125\' date=\'Oct 11 2006, 07:31 AM\'][color=\"#CC33CC\"]35 Bill Rafferty[/color]Blockbusters, Card Sharks, Every Second Counts(50 8/68)
Working against him:  His best-known shows are associated with better-known hosts.[/quote] I certainly didn't hold that against him. He was by far better than Eubanks on Card Sharks, and he did bring something new to Blockbusters. I gave him points because I like his style, and wished that he had more jobs.

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'134012\' date=\'Oct 9 2006, 07:42 PM\'][color=\"#CC33CC\"]34 Meredith Vieira[/color]Who Wants To Be A Millionaire(52 9/68)
Our highest ranking female host, by far.[/quote] And I would gladly give her "best female host," hands down, but she's only had one job so far.

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'134012\' date=\'Oct 9 2006, 07:42 PM\'][color=\"#CC33CC\"]31 Jim Lange[/color]The Dating Game, Bullseye, Name That Tune(87 16/68)
Deserving of a spot for his longevity, but has he ever really been anybody's favorite?[/quote]<sob>

[PYLdude]

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'134155\' date=\'Oct 11 2006, 02:54 PM\']

I am surprised she was up that high. I don't care if she has been successful as Millionaire host. She's a lousy emcee, and I will contend that to the day I die. Bad move, 9 balloteers.

What's so bad about Meredith Vieira (don't hold back, now)?
[/quote]

You wanna know what I find so bad about Meredith, Chris? Okay, but remember...you asked for it.

As I've previously stated, there are more than a few reasons why I can't stand Millionaire. The primary reason, as it has been since I first watched the syndie show- Meredith sucks. And why does she suck? I'll give you a few reasons:

1) She brings nothing to the table in regards to being excited for the contestant when they start to climb the ladder and get up to the higher level questions. Yeah, I can understand how Regis put some people off (at times, he did seem a little over the top), but I expect a host to at least show some sort of sign that they're grasping the concept that the player's moving up. Every single time I've seen the show (admittedly not as much as in the past, due in part to the lousy timeslot it's in in NYC, but I do try to catch it when I can), Meredith gives off this vibe that she doesn't care whether the contestant wins $1,000 or $25,000. I can't speak for anyone else but myself, but she doesn't seem to get that you need to give a little more effort that what she does when a contestant is going for an upper level question.

2) Related to this, her hosting style drags the show down. When she acts like she doesn't give a crap, how is a viewer supposed to care if a contestant is doing well? There's more than a few that can look past that and appreciate what the contestant is doing, but to another group of people, they might just say "Oh, he just won $100,000. Why should I care?"

3) She's too boring to listen to. This goes hand in hand with #2, with her coming off like she doesn't give a crap. Whether you agree with point #2 or not, what you can't ignore is her tone of voice, which doesn't change at all throughout the course of the show (save for the end of a contestant's run when she has to yell over the crowd when she sends the contestant on their merry way).

I'm not gonna knock her effort- she is trying. But from what I can see, she keeps failing to keep my interest as a host. And that, IMO, is the main mark of a crappy host.

[clemon79]

So everything I'm reading there stems from your belief that she doesn't empathize with the contestants while they are playing their game. And I'm sorry, I just don't see it. I've always thought she was fine in that regard.

Sounds to me like you're knocking her because she doesn't do the Geoff Edwards "You...are...RIGHT!!!!" thing. Which is your right, but I think you'll find that opinion isn't shared by many.

[SRIV94]

And truth be told, just because Meredith isn't as over the top as Regis has a positive effect on me.  I rather like that she's calm, cool and collected.  Although Regis did seem to have a little better ability to come up with a witty line.

I didn't think of Tutu LaRue for my top 20, but only because there were 20 hosts I liked better (and Reege happened to be one of them).

Doug

[aaron sica]

My only gripe with Meredith is a tiny, microscopic one - she doesn't pronounce the entire show's name.

For example, when a new contestant starts, Regis would say "OK, let's play 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'" whereas Meredith just says, "OK, let's play 'Millionaire'".

For some reason, and just the tiniest bit, it rubs me the wrong way.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' post=\'134245\' date=\'Oct 12 2006, 07:40 AM\']
For example, when a new contestant starts, Regis would say "OK, let's play 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'" whereas Meredith just says, "OK, let's play 'Millionaire'".

For some reason, and just the tiniest bit, it rubs me the wrong way.
[/quote]
So did it "rub you the wrong way" when Richard Dawson would refer to his show only as "the Feud"? 'Cuz there's no difference at all.

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'134246\' date=\'Oct 12 2006, 10:52 AM\']
So did it "rub you the wrong way" when Richard Dawson would refer to his show only as "the Feud"? 'Cuz there's no difference at all.
[/quote]

It didn't rub me the wrong way when he did it, because he was the first host of the show and originated it. Regis was the first US Millionaire host so I got used to hearing things his way, and when I heard Meredith shortened it, it bothered me a little bit - not enough to rant and rave about it (I figured I would bring it up however, since Meredith was coming under fire a bit), to cause me to stop watching, or to cause me to toss my T.V. set out the window.

It's not just Regis and Meredith however; the same could be said for a lot of shows over the years where one host was established with a show, and then a new version started with a different host when it ran concurrently with the old version (85 Price is Right, first $25K Pyramid, etc.).  Along the same lines of my Meredith gripe is Tom Kennedy calling the TPiR train a "choo-choo". Bothered me a little bit but very insignificant. I guess it's just the idea of "someone different" hosting a show where someone else has or is hosting the same show on a different station, network, etc.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' post=\'134247\' date=\'Oct 12 2006, 08:02 AM\']
Along the same lines of my Meredith gripe is Tom Kennedy calling the TPiR train a "choo-choo". Bothered me a little bit but very insignificant. I guess it's just the idea of "someone different" hosting a show where someone else has or is hosting the same show on a different station, network, etc.
[/quote]
Yeah, I still don't get it. I certainly respect your right to have any opinion you like, but I totally don't see where Meredith being the second, fifth, or eighth host of the show has a thing to do with anything.

[DrBear]

I understand it, although it doesn't bother me. The first way we see something done, whether it's done well or not, is the way that sticks in our mind as the way to do it.

In recent decades, with new baseball teams and franchises moving, a lot of markets got their first experience to daily hometown play-by-play, and got the feeling that was how it should be done. When a new person, inevitably, took over, there seemed to be a lot of time needed to adjust.

If you grew up in St. Louis with Harry Caray, Jack Buck's style was going to be foreign to you - and if you grew up with Buck, his replacement (whose name escapes me) was going to cause some listening shock.

I don't think Richard Dawson was the best possible host for Family Feud, for example, but he established all the precedents, and seeing Ray Combs or Richard Karn or John O'Hurley do it in their fashion still triggers a little "this isn't quite right" in the back of my mind, no matter how well it's done.

[JasonA1]

I don't think Richard Dawson was the best possible host for Family Feud

I hate to hijack the thread so to speak, but do you think "Feud" would have been as big a smash if it were under the direction of...let's say two people who have oft been connected to it pre-Dawson in our circles - Geoff Edwards or Jack Narz? Jack especially I could see keeping the game a'movin' and not allowing for a lot of the humor that made the show popular.

I hate to drum up THIS sentiment again, but the only person I could see handling "Feud" in any way similar to Dawson would be Bill Cullen (of course, necessitating some pretty huge staging/etc changes).

-Jason

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'DrBear\' post=\'134250\' date=\'Oct 12 2006, 11:43 AM\']
I understand it, although it doesn't bother me. The first way we see something done, whether it's done well or not, is the way that sticks in our mind as the way to do it.
[/quote]

Most well said, Good Doctor. That's what I was trying to say but it came out as one long jumbled paragraph.