Who can host a game show?

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'239998\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 07:47 AM\'][quote name=\'mmb5\' post=\'239997\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 07:34 AM\']
And I'll also chime in that format does mean something.  You would not want Bill Cullen hosting Jeopardy.  His skills are best used in a loose game.[/quote]
Listening to Bill's radio work, I think he could adapt to a more serious J!-style game if need be.[/quote]
Bill could do straight, serious quiz, sure.  Blockbusters is the obvious example.  I believe Mike's point was that you didn't want Bill hosting a game that needs to move quickly.  The hyper Bill of the early radio days did not make the transition to television.  On TV, Bill was pretty laid back in his approach, and there are many shows for which that approach would not have been very effective.

[mmb5]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'240007\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 11:50 AM\']Bill could do straight, serious quiz, sure.  Blockbusters is the obvious example.  I believe Mike's point was that you didn't want Bill hosting a game that needs to move quickly.  The hyper Bill of the early radio days did not make the transition to television.  On TV, Bill was pretty laid back in his approach, and there are many shows for which that approach would not have been very effective.[/quote]
Actually there's a decent comparison point here.  I would guess that Bill would get on average 3 games of BB in during a show.  In watching Bob Holness, where he rarely bantered between questions, he could get 5 in.  It makes for a different show.  Bill likely would have been great on Split Second, but it definitely would have felt different.

It's not that Bill couldn't had adapted to Jeopardy, I just think it would have stifled what made Bill great.  I also think it's not just a case of quick-paced shows where he may not be the best choice, it's also those shows where there is moments of just over-the-top frenzy, like Whew.


--Mike

[chris319]

[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' post=\'240006\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 06:37 AM\'][quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'240001\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 08:31 AM\']

But he certainly doesn't deserve constant bashing.

He doesn't get "constant bashing". I made a simple statement of fact that Drew never had to audition for TPIR. Now tell me, how is that considered "bashing", and how does the occasional remark about Drew qualify as "constant"?

If you have problems with posts which contain strong opinions or which defile your personal icons as you seem to, Mr. Raygor, I would respectfully suggest that Internet discussion boards are not the place for you to be.
[/quote]

To be frank, you've been pissing me off with this, too. You've made it clear from the first fifty times you've repeated it that you don't think he's a good host and you don't like how Drew was picked without an audition, and now you're trying to argue semantics to claim that this isn't the fifty-first time. That sentence may be a "simple statement of fact", but it is one which is worded in a way that makes the author's opinion on the subject matter clear. That post would have worked without mentioning Drew Carey; in fact, without the sentence that mentions him, it would have been a wonderful insight from your time in the business, but it comes off completely differently when you throw in that little dig.

Bottom line, it's not about "If you don't have anything nice to say..." for me, it's about "If you don't have anything original to say...."
[/quote]
If you don't like it, you're welcome not to participate here -- both of you.

[chris319]

One of our complaints about Bill on P+ was that he moved the game along much more slowly than Allen.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'240007\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 10:50 AM\'][quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'239998\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 07:47 AM\'][quote name=\'mmb5\' post=\'239997\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 07:34 AM\']
And I'll also chime in that format does mean something.  You would not want Bill Cullen hosting Jeopardy.  His skills are best used in a loose game.[/quote]
Listening to Bill's radio work, I think he could adapt to a more serious J!-style game if need be.[/quote]
Bill could do straight, serious quiz, sure.  Blockbusters is the obvious example.[/quote]I can back this up to a T.  I was watching Blockbusters one day with some friends who aren't as into game shows as I am.  One of the first comments that was made was "Why is that old [fogey] taking so damn long.  This show takes forever". [quote name=\'chris319\']If you don't like it, you're welcome not to participate here -- both of you[/quote]A comment that is sure to invite productive discussion.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'240012\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 12:26 PM\'][quote name=\'chris319\']If you don't like it, you're welcome not to participate here -- both of you[/quote]A comment that is sure to invite productive discussion.[/quote]
Pretty sure that wasn't its intent.

[Bobby B.]

I have a few from the sports world that I think might be worthy:

Chip Caray (announcer for the Atlanta Braves)
Rick Allen (NASCAR announcer for Speed Channel)
Allen Bestwick (NASCAR announcer for ESPN)

[Otm Shank]

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'239985\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 12:28 AM\'][quote name=\'Otm Shank\' post=\'239915\' date=\'Apr 24 2010, 08:40 AM\']Format of the show is not relevant to the talent[/quote]It absolutely is.
[/quote]
I do agree. In my brevity, I wound up implying something else. I meant for the sake of discussion, let's leave the format aside. Seeing that would potentially stop the conversation, I did offer up a hypothetical. Essentially, the question is, as someone else put it more succinctly, where is the "undiscovered" talent?

But there have, indeed, been some really bad host/format mismatches.

My thought was some of the entertainment news programs: like Bob Goen, Billy Bush, and perpetual piloter Tim Vincent. (And didn't Pat O'Brien host something?) But I don't watch them to know who's on there.

Sportscasters are an interesting talent niche, but as long as there is sports, there is a forever job as long as you don't screw it up. Game shows, even good ones, get canceled.

Interesting suggestions so far.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Otm Shank\' post=\'240041\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 08:42 PM\'](And didn't Pat O'Brien host something?)[/quote]
I don't believe so...you might be thinking of Pat Kiernan (Studio 7, World Series of Pop Culture), who joins Mark L. Walberg in the category of "Deserves a Really Good Gig".

[Neumms]

A lot of old game show hosts were disk jockeys, and it could still be a source. Ryan Seacrest is a modern example.

[Jay Temple]

Good point, Neumms. While I can't imagine a "true" game show that I'd want to see Seacrest host, many of the traits that make a good disc jockey would also serve a host well.

\Dear God, I just pictured Howard Stern talking to a contestant.

[Neumms]

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'240095\' date=\'Apr 28 2010, 12:07 AM\']\Dear God, I just pictured Howard Stern talking to a contestant.[/quote]

There's all his experience with Lesbian Dating Game and such. And I suppose now that Sulu and his partner played Newlywed Game, that's not such a titillating prospect anymore.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'240095\' date=\'Apr 28 2010, 12:07 AM\']Good point, Neumms. While I can't imagine a "true" game show that I'd want to see Seacrest host, many of the traits that make a good disc jockey would also serve a host well.[/quote]I thought he did a fine job on Click, given his young age and the format.

[Joe Mello]

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'240110\' date=\'Apr 28 2010, 06:03 PM\'][quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'240095\' date=\'Apr 28 2010, 12:07 AM\']While I can't imagine a "true" game show that I'd want to see Seacrest host, many of the traits that make a good disc jockey would also serve a host well.[/quote]I thought he did a fine job on Click, given his young age and the format.[/quote]
Sure, but I can't imagine one that fully work outside of some music show or that new Trust Me, I'm a Game Show Host.

As an aside, I feel the disc jockey is pretty much extinct.

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'240010\' date=\'Apr 26 2010, 03:12 PM\']If you don't like it, you're welcome not to participate here -- both of you.[/quote]
You've sounded like you need a vacation for quite some time now.