Alfonso Ribiero is a multitalented performer. But, not since the deaths of Larry Blyden, Burt Convy, and Bobby Van; or Peter Marshall (who claimed that he learned about hosting game shows from studying what Bill Cullen did, and how he did it, thus complementing what he already knew about playing “straight man”) has there been an actor (by trade) who is THAT skilled at emceeing a game show. I know, I know, I know, what about John O’Hurley, and Richard Karn? Karn’s better than Ribiero, for sure; to be fair, he did FF for how many years? …Compared to how long Alfonso’s been doing “Catch 21?” As for O’Hurley? He reminds me a little of the late Bert Parks (for those too young to remember, Mr. Parks hosted seemingly every other game show back in the days of radio, and in the early days of TV. He was best known, however, for hosting the Miss America pageant for eons. In addition, he acted in road company productions, as well as a few Broadway plays, most notably, “The Music Man.”) Point being, like Bert Parks, John O’Hurley always seems to come across (to me, anyway) as if he’s always “on,” and his ego’s showing.

As always, it your prerogative to disagree. And, no; I’m not lobbyng for an emceeing gig. But, having been in broadcasting for all these years, plus having been a game show fan for life, I do think I can, to a degree, see things from a perspective that others can’t, or don’t.

But presentation issues aside, it’s a solid game, and I figured a renewal was coming since it’s been able to hold onto two pretty good timeslots in reruns for quite some time.

I, for one, like this show. It’s actually a solid show. While the drastic set change in the bonus round, and the use of points in the first two rounds that then get erased in the third round makes no sense, the rest of the show is great.

BTW- Is there any feasible chance that points and the cards do not give the same person a win? If so, then the points mean something. If not, then why have the points in the first place?

The bonus game set wasn’t half bad, but I would have been amazed if they could morph the main game set into the bonus game set, right before the final commercial break. The players’ podiums could rotate away, revealing a green felt Blackjack table where the winner stands behind–facing Mikki, the cards, and the video screen.

I heard that Alfonso Ribeiro did better toward the end of the season which is great and I hope he keeps it up. This is his first show so give him time to get used to something he hasn’t done before in his career..

I don’t like that they are using points in the main game and they
could use the bonus round on the main set…

BTW, what do you guys think of this tweak for season 2: Have the endgame be a progressive jackpot (ala Lingo) starting at $25,000 and going up by $1,000 each day not won, potential for some exciting moments there.