Top 09 of 2009: Number Four

Winding down on our countdown and we go over to England for not really a moment, but a show.  We talk quite a bit about The Cube and, well, how much better and more inventive and more fun and more revolutionary it is compared to any other show that has come out probably since Deal or No Deal.  The show has its roots dug deep into the history of game shows.  If we want to get down to it the show is the classic game Beat the Clock.  But the extra high tech surroundings they put around it didn’t make the show into a traditional overblown primetime game show.  It transformed it into something a bit revolutionary and redefines what a game show can do.

The Cube bends the rules of game shows.  Some people like the pure, more live-to-tape feel, and that’s fine.  But The Cube creates an almost cinematic feel that has never been seen before.  The look and feel of the show brings a whole new life to the show.  It’s intimidating, beautiful, and it’s something we all have been asking for in the genre for ages: something fresh and brand new.  Beyond that, the game is the most exciting we’ve seen in ages, and it’s thanks to the look and feel.  In any other setting throwing a ball into a cup of water for $50,000 would be dumb.  The show makes you hold your breath.  It’s shout-out-loud television in its finest.  Fox picked up the show only to drop it for some unknown reason and replace it with Our Little Genius.  Some American network would be the smartest group in the country to pick the game up and give it a shot because this is truly the next step and the next big format, and some networks (coughGSNcough) really could use some help.  And for a group actively trying to move away from traditional game shows again (coughGSNcough), it makes sense.  It bends the rules of what a game show should and can do, and it’s one of the best of the decade for it.