Refamiliarizing myself with Celebrity Name Game.

[PYLdude]

Awhile back, when we were first discussing CNG, I was one of the people that was really not pleased with what I saw (I gave it quite a scathing review, with a D- grade).

The recent Buzzr addition allowed me to get a second look at the show and I figure I'll share my impression with you all and see if you agree, disagree, or just think I'm talking out of my ample bottom.

I'm still not a fan of Craig as the host, because I don't think he really fit the role of a game show emcee. The recent re-watching has not changed that.

Even though I still think it's a Pyramid clone without the polish, on its surface the game really isn't that bad. It's still very one note, but at least it's done okay. I even grew to like Craig doing the cluegiving in the last round.

But the thing that I still cannot get past is how badly cast the show was. They could have done so much better, but instead were just woefully inconsistent and that to me is bad form because I'm part of what can make or break you and you need me more than I do you. (Wow, that's harsher than I had thought.)

In the end, even though it didn't light the world on fire for me, the show wasn't deserving of my initial D- grade; thus, I raise to a C. Better on second glance but too much work still needed to be done.

[BillCullen1]

Here are my thoughts on CNG:

Craig - yeah, he's not your typical host, agreed. He's a wise-ass, much like Rayburn and Sajak. But I'll take Craig over someone like John Davidson or Louie Anderson any day. I also thought Craig did a good job for the one show of The Price is Right that he hosted, but I digress.

Format - meh. Pyramid with names, basically. Craig is decent and funny in the head-to-head round, and that's okay. I like that in the bonus round, the contestants give the clues, so if they blow an answer, it's on them, not the celebs.

Playing of the game - Dear God! Some shows it was good and others it was a train wreck. Not knowing Nixon's first name, on three occasions someone saying Ben Franklin was a president. There were a few celebs who should NOT have been allowed to play, like Guillermo (sp?) from Jimmy Kimmel. But I will say to my knowledge, they didn't have Kellie Pickler on - and that's a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say.