Bad Hosts

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'JMFabiano\' post=\'228382\' date=\'Oct 12 2009, 04:41 PM\']How about "casual Fridays" on Bergeron HS???[/quote]
It falls into the once a week category, so I'm okay with that. By the fifth or sixth season, however, Bergeron began wearing casual clothes everyday.

[crazdgamer]

[quote name=\'comicus\' post=\'228277\' date=\'Oct 11 2009, 08:11 AM\']Ex-athlete tends to equal lousy emcee: ... Summer Sanders[/quote] Let's be fair here.  I was 14-17 when Figure It Out was on the air, and I didn't think Summer Sanders was a bad host.  It's not like the show really demanded much from the emcee, as the show was more about the panel and the contestants (and their talents.)

Summer's role in the show was similar to Roger Lodge's role in Camouflage (as indicated up thread): introduce contestant, start round, say panelist's name when it's their turn, end and recap round, rinse and repeat.  Whether or not you want to call her "lousy" is certainly up to you; She did an ok job; not groundbreaking by any means, but she didn't bring the show down at all, IMO.

[Jimmy Owen]

[quote name=\'crazdgamer\' post=\'228459\' date=\'Oct 13 2009, 03:56 PM\'][quote name=\'comicus\' post=\'228277\' date=\'Oct 11 2009, 08:11 AM\']Ex-athlete tends to equal lousy emcee: ... Summer Sanders[/quote] Let's be fair here.  I was 14-17 when Figure It Out was on the air, and I didn't think Summer Sanders was a bad host.  
[/quote]

I was 36-39 and I thought she was great!

[JakeT]

[quote name=\'Twentington\' post=\'228304\' date=\'Oct 11 2009, 01:22 PM\']That screaming was my #1 problem with Donny.[/quote]

That and I absolutely detest hosts who ask the audience to shout out the answers to things that ARE ALREADY REVEALED to them, somehow in hopes of making the audience look bright and the contestant feel stupid.  Even the most brain-dead audience members can usually read at a basic level and shout "THINGS THAT MAKE YOUR BUTT ITCH" when cued by Donny.

And I say this in spite of getting my early-elementary school aged ass kicked frequently for being the only boy of that age to be a professed Donny Osmond fan and even bringing my treasured "Puppy Love" LP to school...so I clearly have no anti-Donny bias...

Jake

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'JMFabiano\' post=\'228348\' date=\'Oct 12 2009, 09:10 AM\']OT, but I think revisionist fanboi history hasn't been kind to Karn.  He wasn't GREAT (certainly better than Louie, but not a tall order), but I don't recall him getting annoying until the DTP! routine started.  And isn't it half the fault of the producers for encouraging the applause at said statement?[/quote]I think much of that can be blamed on the people who would make a Karn joke instead of contributing something. You couldn't psot something about a Richard Karn Golf Tournament without seeing a "But do they double the points on the third hole?" sort of thing. And ditto for Tic Tac 90. And so on. So we get this snowball of not-quite-humor that replaces what actually was.

Karn was competent, but the problem is that the host of Family Feud is at the forefront for almost the entire show. Anyone could read quiz questions and melt into the background, but someone like a Tom Kennedy, Art Fleming or Alex Trebek carry the job with class.

Hey, that reminds me, I have one for the bad list.

One of the things that bothers me most about a game show host is when he violates a cardinal rule: getting laughs at the expense of your contestant. And perhaps worse than Bob Eubanks is Regis Philbin. I would pick up my jaw at some of the things he would say to the Hot Seat contestants. Millionaire is one of the most tense shows on television when the action goes, and I think it is bad form to poke fun at your contestants when they're in such a state.

[trustno1]

[quote name=\'Loogaroo\' post=\'228220\' date=\'Oct 11 2009, 11:45 AM\']Stiffs - no engaging personality whatsoever. Examples: Ron Maestri, Joe Farago, Mike Reilly, Ty Treadway[/quote]

I have to agree with you on Mike Reilly.

[Neumms]

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'228484\' date=\'Oct 14 2009, 01:14 AM\']One of the things that bothers me most about a game show host is when he violates a cardinal rule: getting laughs at the expense of your contestant. And perhaps worse than Bob Eubanks is Regis Philbin. I would pick up my jaw at some of the things he would say to the Hot Seat contestants. Millionaire is one of the most tense shows on television when the action goes, and I think it is bad form to poke fun at your contestants when they're in such a state.[/quote]

That's a fine line there. Poking fun helps make a show a show. I'd say Regis is very good at giving grief in a charming, non-threatening way. Rayburn was good at it. Dawson and Barker both were, but became tired and surly. Maybe Ludden was the first to acknowledge dumb game play with his silent wink to the camera. Even Anne Robinson on "Weakest Link" knew to give the wink at the end of the show to say it's all in good fun.

Karn is a dud. He's capable but by no means smooth and not the least bit funny. Jim Lange at least wore a tie.

[whewfan]

I just wonder if Jim Lange was just a decent host given VERY weak formats. Dating Game hardly needed a host the way he did it, but then again, Barris was right that the CONTESTANTS drive the show, and the host's role is minimal for that show.

Name That Tune was very solid, and I felt Jim Lange was about as good as Tom Kennedy. Perhaps more variety in the games would've helped.

Bullseye was also a solid game, just slowed down with all the rules, especially when a Bullseye was hit in the main game.

Million Dollar Chance of a Lifetime was basically a well disguised WOF variant, but I felt Jim handled the show very well.

Take My Word For It, for me, was a little too cerebral, and the celebs either didn't try hard enough or tried too hard to be funny. Wordplay, a very similar show, at least attempted to have comedy writers write material for the celebs, which was hit or miss (more of the latter)

Triple Threat- Not a bad game. Celebs playing neither helped or hindered the gameplay, so I think the game could've also worked with all civilians.

Newlywed Game- Man was THIS awkward, but then again, it would be equally awkward to see Bob Eubanks host The Dating Game. A host switch might be interesting for one show, but for me, Eubanks will ALWAYS be Newlywed Game.

Give and Take- All you do is hit a button which randomly stops a spinning arrow... I mean, a game show where you literally only have to hit a button to win a prize... it would NEVER work (Oh wait... Press Your Luck, nevermind!)

[chad1m]

[quote name=\'JakeT\' post=\'228473\' date=\'Oct 13 2009, 11:26 PM\']I absolutely detest hosts who ask the audience to shout out the answers to things that ARE ALREADY REVEALED to them, somehow in hopes of making the audience look bright and the contestant feel stupid.[/quote]So you hate Richard Dawson, Ray Combs, Louie Anderson, Richard Karn and John O'Hurley on that basis alone?

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'chad1m\' post=\'228506\' date=\'Oct 14 2009, 04:51 PM\'][quote name=\'JakeT\' post=\'228473\' date=\'Oct 13 2009, 11:26 PM\']I absolutely detest hosts who ask the audience to shout out the answers to things that ARE ALREADY REVEALED to them, somehow in hopes of making the audience look bright and the contestant feel stupid.[/quote]So you hate Richard Dawson, Ray Combs, Louie Anderson, Richard Karn and John O'Hurley on that basis alone?
[/quote]
That's a bit different. The survey answers are still revealed after the fact, so the audience doesn't know the remaining answers any more than the family members do. In the case of Donnymid, the answer was sitting there for the better part of 60 seconds, so it's more of a "No s**t, Sherlock!" scenario for the contestant not getting it, and it rubs it in because the answer is blatantly there. On Feud, it's more like "Oh, of course! Why didn't I think of that?!" or "I was just about to say that!"