2015 was ritzy with vibrant cool:Mr. A review to come, but Ill say its better at beingDays of SummerthanDays of Summer.
People like me, who still use phrases like the tube.
A few trends are at play here, actually.
Credit: ABC
Celebrities playing games is more of a recent thing.
ABCs Sunday Fun & Games line-up turns us all into snarky sportscasters, a nation of gleeful Dick Buttons.
But what I see inMatch Game, et al.
(Nostalgia-driven franchise reboots?
Isnt that the soulless, gutless business of movies these days?)
A TV-loving romantic might argue that ABCs maneuver actually upholds the new summer spirit of novelty and risk-taking.
Watching Sunday Fun & Games last week, I found myself roaming between those two extremes.
Not what I want from TV.
An entire evening of them?
Family Feudis no revival.
Its an itinerant institution, the vagabond cousin to pre-primetime fringe fixturesJeopardyandWheel of Fortune.
I never likedFamily Feudas a game or wish-fulfillment.
It embarrasses the people who arent good at it and I know I wouldnt be good at it.
Harvey has been a worthy heir.
Hes even loosey-goosier in the celebrity edition.
This Sundays episode features NFL players (second tier names, mostly) and arent all that compelling.
He even gets giggles with the possibility of mocking them.
Dawson invited that wonder, too.
Either way, hes the only reason I watch.
Michael Strahan, host ofThe $100,000 Pyramid, cant afford to be as irreverent or ragged as Harvey.
with Kelly and Michael.
Hes actually a perfect fit forPyramid, where the game, not the shows host, is the star.
With creative, brainy, energetic yet disciplined players, the hour flies in exciting fashion.
ET), was undone by the pressure, but had fun with his folly and made it entertaining.
You didnt watchMatch Gamefor the sport.
Or at least I didnt.
You watched it for organized anarchy and the spectacle of famous people penning cornball double entendres.
Alec Baldwin is the host.
Let me repeat that: Alec Baldwin Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated Alec Baldwin is the host.
How the hell did that happen?
I dont know, but man, is he something to watch.
He, like the show, wantonly doubles down on the smut.
Sample question: The Pillsbury Doughboy said, Im so tired of people poking my tummy.
Just once, I wish someone would BLANK my buns.
Some have said Baldwin is doing a parody of a 70s game show host or himself.
(It is interesting how much he jokes about himself, be it his divorces or his brothers.)
During the premiere, I wondered if what I was watching was self-loathing in action.
Did someone blackmail him into hosting?
Was he trying to get fired?
Geez, does he so not want to be on this show.
This isnt interpretation; the actor himself puts it in writing.
(Or… not!
The second episode makes gross sport of Kim Kardashian, for example.
One of the hours civilian contestants comes off as somewhat defeated by the salaciousness of it all.
Theres one racy question where the obvious response is mouth.
She gives it, but so reluctantly I felt sorry for her.
ButMatch Gamesbrand is loony lewdness, and there is something admirable about the liberated way the revival practices it.
Rosie who rocks this game as well as she rocksPyramid should be on every game show.
Shes good at it and great fun.
If Baldwin ever decides to pass the torch of Reyburns magic mic, I nominate Rosie to take it.
