GSN is launching a new original on Tuesday, January 8th, called How Much Is Enough?. The game is honestly excessively simplistic and easy. A clock starts from $0 and goes to a predetermined dollar value or starts at a predetermined dollar value and goes to $0. Just don’t be the greediest person (or the cheapest either on the final $5,000 clock) and you win what’s on it. That’s it. No special bells and whistles. Not a gigantic neon set. Just a simple, nicely budgeted game of strategy and some body language, and that’s just fine. By just understanding that it’s not some spectacle of game play amazement, the show comes off as a fun half hour.

One keeping this show afloat is host Corbin Bernsen. He is absolutely fantastic. If he’s reading a teleprompter I can’t tell, and that’s what comes from a host who has TV experience and knows how to do things. With all due respect to people like Dylan Lane of Chain Reaction, if someone like him hosted the show would be terrible. Corbin keeps the game moving, can slow down the game and talk to the contestants while not making it boring, and creates a nice level of tension. Speaking of tension, watch out for the final clock where you’ll see tens of thousands of dollars available. Beyond Grand Slam, it’s the one of the more suspenseful thing I’ve seen on GSN in quite some time.

Honestly, if GSN tried to play it any more than it is, it would be bad. Admittedly, there is basically no gameplay. You’re just sitting and watching players hit buttons as money increases. However, they do a nice job of attempting a big split screen so you can see some of the body language players do to psych opponents out. Two of my biggest gripes about Duel is that you really can’t see if the contestants are bluffing, and even if they are it doesn’t seem to be doing any good. It’s doing some good here. It’s not over the heads of the contestants.

After the clock has run its course, players on How Much Is Enough? give exact details of why they buzzed in at a time, even down to seeing opponent’s eye twitches. Players jitter and shake and use as much body language as they can to convince their opponents that that they are calm and have buzzed in, making the opponent stay longer and more money available. This also comes from the fact that contestants aren’t brought in from the Endemol farm. They are normal, every day people who don’t scream every two seconds.

This isn’t to say there are issues. I really enjoyed the preview episode. However, this may have potential to get boring after the forty-episode season has run its course. This is not the type of show that’s going to rerun well also. This show is going to heavily rely on the contestants. If they don’t have interesting contestants who will attempt to psych others out, it’s going to get old quickly.

What could be changed? The stage setup is a bit odd. The set looks horrendously small because of this. Some round set would have been better, where all players can see each other at all times. GSN’s tried explaining it, but there are really weird “lighting fixtures” hanging above the audience that look like they came from the 60s and just do not blend in at all. If they serve a purpose on the set then I am missing it completely. Final note on the stage setup: how about instead of buzzers behind the backs we place the buzzers on the podiums with a casing around it and allow players to hit it from there? You can do more arm movement fake-outs like that. Also, I hate to say it, but the music is a bit crummy. They try for something suspenseful and militaristic, but it comes off overly synthesized.

Why am I not suggesting changes to the game play? Quite simply because I am taking it for what it is. If I tried to suggest game play changes, the entire thing would have to be different. They do all they can with the concept. You have to know when to hold it and, like the title says, how much is enough. If you’re expecting some gigantic spectacle of game wizardry from the people at GSN, then don’t bother because you’ll be upset. If you go in like I did knowing what it is and just expect a quick, painless, enjoyable; suspenseful half hour game of nerves of steel and some strategy; you will be happy. It has a better budget than most daily GSN shows since WinTuition, looks nice, and plays nice. Does it completely turn the genre on its head? No. Does it do what it’s supposed to do and entertain? It does so exceptionally. The show is perfectly made for short 40-episode half hour blasts. If they can keep it up and throw in more tweaks as the series goes on with time, then enough is never enough for How Much Is Enough.

How Much Is Enough? debuts on Tuesday, January 8th, at 9:00PM ET. It is not run twice. Another show will be seen at 9:30PM ET. What is it? You’ll find out soon enough…..

If you have questions about the format or anything involving the show, leave a comment and we’ll answer as soon as we can.