“Minute to Win It” Review: Not Bad, But Too Bland For Its Own Good

So if you read the site which I assume you do since you’re reading this, you’ve read what I’ve had to say about NBC’s new game show Minute to Win It.  I want to clear something up.  I’ve criticized the direction the show has taken.  Other news organizations know how identical it is to The Cube.  The host, Guy Fieri, even mentioned it today in a conference call.  But I didn’t know how the show would end up.  NBC amazingly wanted to send me a press kit for it.  First off for all the bad stuff I’ve said about how it’s royally ripped off ITV, I expected it to be spiders in the box or something.  It’s actually a “home game”, with a bunch of food, drink, and other objects to play with.  Good touch, and I’ll explain why soon.  They also sent a screener copy.  And I swear this is not me selling out but it’s been my mentality from the start: Minute to Win It is not that bad, it’s just nothing great, original, or tense.  In other words put Beat the Clock on the Deal or No Deal set, and this is what you have.

I’ve gone over the game a lot.  Play ten different games, not stunts as covert commenters connected to the show have pointed out repeatedly, and complete each in 60 seconds to win $1,000,000.  Once you finish the $50,000 game you can’t leave with less than that.  You get three “Lives” to fall back on if you fail, and once you run out, you lose.  You cannot leave once you fail a game.  If you commit to playing, you’re in for the win or leaving whatever your fall-back point in.  We’ve pointed out every single part that is similar to the UK version, so no point in rehashing those format points.  There’s really nothing to give opinion on about this.  If you know Who Wants to be a Millionaire‘s format and enjoy it, you’ll like this.  It’s the safest format in the world and the type that tends to do well, so no issues.  The bad thing is I did end up playing along with the show with what they gave me, so damn you, NBC.  You win this round.

The problem comes from everything else but the game.  It’s utterly bland and stereotypical.  The A.V. Club, as I said yesterday, brought this up better than I could have, so I’ll just go over it again.  There’s no telling this show apart from Deal or No Deal or Millionaire on face value.  It’s obvious that both this and The Cube take stuff directly from the classic game Beat the Clock.  The difference is Minute to Win It plays it so safe with the production that you don’t get wrapped up into it.  The Cube oozes with atmosphere, and the presentation and feel of it is the only thing that keeps it from turning up, well, like Minute to Win It.  Minute is just so bland and stereotypical.  It does nothing to stand apart from other game shows, and if you’ve noticed shows that fit in with the crowd disappear quickly.

The other issue comes from Guy Fieri.  He seems to do fine when he’s interacting with the contestant, helping them out, or explaining stuff.  He does fine with the general hosting.  When he talks to the viewer via the handi-cam during some games, I had to fast forward.  He got just a bit irritating.  I’ve never seen him before this, but I heard it from others and I didn’t know what to expect.  Now I do.  To bring it back to the stereotypical point, when he’s hosting you cannot tell him apart from your Howie Mandels or your Bob Sagets.  Finally, I want to mention the audience.  I can take the loud, involved audiences.  I adore the loud, involved audiences.  This one went a bit far, though if you pay people $10 to sit in one I’d jump like a maniac also.  They were giving people standing, jumping ovations for a $2,500 win or $5,000 win.  Come on, really?  People booed $100,000 on Deal or No Deal and now you expect me to believe people are naturally in tears over someone else winning $2,500?  Not a chance.

So in review, Minute to Win It is not a bad show and I do encourage you to watch it.  The game is fine.  Everything else isn’t so fine.  By sticking to the mold and not attempting to be remotely original, they’ve become another face in the crowd that’s going to go away quickly.  When you give people no memorable references, people forget you.  Millionaire was hugely different when it came out.  Deal or No Deal was really different.  The Cube is incredibly different.  Minute to Win It is too bland for its own good, and no decent game play can help that.