[quote name=\'SplitSecond\' date=\'Jun 28 2004, 10:15 PM\'] Mike Reilly was indeed a contestant, not only for run-throughs, but on the Monopoly pilot that Peter hosted.
I don't know what happened between the pilot and the series, but one clue may have been in the fact that the pilot was shot for five-a-week syndication purposes. Someone at ABC may not have liked Tomarken or might have been told they didn't like Tomarken because the focus groups didn't like him.
In fact, this scenario seems plausible, if not based in fact: the typical self-appointed outspoken "leader" of a focus group expressed her disinterest in Tomarken as a host, said as a matter of hyperbole, "That contestant could host that show better!", and suddenly the ABC executives behind the two-way mirror, mutter, nod, and run with it. Voila. A star is born. [/quote]
I sort of wonder if the animocity between ABC and Tomarken (if there is any to begin with) has anything to do with Bargain Hunters, and Peter's true thoughts about that game show. hehe...
Reilly did a pretty good job I thought. Instead of going after a veteran host who was not working at the time (e.g. Perry, Lange, Martindale, Edwards), take a chance on a newcomer, like Griffin has done in the past with Woolery and Sajak.
I don't know about you, but I liked the format. When I heard that Monopoly was going to be turned into a game show, my one thought was, "something Reg Grundy Productions would pull off like they did with Scrabble".
Of course that wasn't the case.
