Geez, am I the only one who took Chris's question as objective, and not as an attempt to bash The Price is Right or Drew Carey?
[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'240763\' date=\'May 12 2010, 08:40 PM\']Have the gimmicks they've tried during the past few years (e.g. Drewcases) really resulted in an outstanding show? Regardless of the fact that he's not up for an Emmy, they're still saddled with an emcee who can't even get the rules to the games right (yup Mr. Raygor, there's another swipe at your pal Drew). A case could be made that Jeopardy! deserves an award for being a great show without having to gum up the works with gimmicks.[/quote]
I honestly thought about that when you posted your question in an earlier post. To me, TPiR still has a lot of kinks to iron out, it just seems all over the place at times. So no, I probably would not give them the Emmy because it doesn't appear as polished on some days, compared to Wheel or J!
5th Grader is decent enough, and fairly polished. Don't watch Cash Cab enough to judge, but it is a fun enough game show from the eps. I've seen, and it has shown how to do a game show without a big, fancy studio set. The disco lights provide just enough chrome for what could be a pedestrian trivia game.
However, out of the five, I can say J!, and to a lesser extent, Wheel are more or less solid all the way around. Additions that compliment game play without distracting from it, sharp, consistent production, and so forth. Out of the five, J! (and again to a lesser extent Wheel) is a great example of a modern-day game show that still properly utilizes a lot of old-school production values you just don't see anymore. They're not nominated this year, but I'd say Millionaire is another good example. Honestly, I wish more games were produced like those three, although I sometimes question some of Wheel's puzzles.
To me, an Emmy award-winning game show should be just as enjoyable without the glitz, chrome, or gimmicks. When I watch an 80s or 90s episode of TPiR, I get that impression. Nowadays, I don't know what I'll get at 11am. That can be a good thing at times...if I'm judging for Emmy-worthy material, I'm not so sure.
TPiR's outside-the-box thinking has gotten a couple of laughs out of me. However, if the production is still all over the place, I'm crossing it off my ballot list.
