Tag: game shows

Millionaire’s new era, where “serious money meets seriously funny,” isn’t an instant hit.

It’ll take some time getting used to Cedric the Entertainer hosting Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. Meredith Vieira’s successor is a response to Steve Harvey’s success on Family Feud. Though WWTBAM aims for memorable, silly moments, it still has the same difficult “shuffled questions for shuffled banked amounts” format. The current format and casting preference for personality over intelligence means anyone trying for even $250K is a rare event. Continue reading “Cedric the Entertainer’s First Day on Millionaire”

Episode title: “Portraits of a Killer Party”

LAST WEEK on Hollywood Game Night: NBC tries one last stab to make The Office something we should care about. TWO WEEKS AGO: Aubrey Plaza was neither awkward nor barefoot, Dominic Monaghan didn’t condemn the crowd with his hit song, “You All Everybody,” and Molly Shannon and Wilmer Valderrama were just happy to be there.

Jane Lynch welcomes us to the “House That Four Years in Track Suit Built.” Ha.

It’s been a fun eight weeks. Hollywood Game Night is a decent little show that NBC can use to promote its stars for the next few years. Jane Lynch is an inspired choice to emcee as she engages with everybody and maintains a fun atmosphere. Continue reading “Hollywood Game Night Week 8 (Season Finale) Review [SPOILERS]”

The fourth edition of Hollywood Game Night it titled “America’s Got Game Night.” Neither Howard Stern nor Howie Mandel didn’t show up, so this couldn’t been as curiously surreal as it could’ve been.

Emcee Jane Lynch calls both contestants “normies” instead of “civilians.” What’s next, calling the stars “gods of the pantheon of showbiz?” The celebs reached nowhere near Martin Short levels of annoyance, so I enjoyed this week’s episode.

Continue reading for details on this star-studded match. Continue reading “Hollywood Game Night Week 5 Review [SPOILERS]”

Episode Title: “Saturday Night Reunion”

The third episode of Hollywood Game Night premieres 25 July with guests Fred Armisen, Sean Hayes, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, Jason Sudeikis. There may be drunken shenanigans by the rowdy group. We’ll see if NBC has overblown the zany antics of the celebs. Continue reading “Hollywood Game Night Week 3 Live Review”

Looking for 25 July episode with Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, Sean Hayes, Jason Sudeikis, Dax Shepard, & Maya Rudolph?

Episode title: “Dont’ Kill My Buzz-er.”

It’s the second week of Hollywood Game Night, where we feel the glow of pure Hollywood star power! Or maybe it’s the monitor I’ve staring at for too long.

Anyway, emcee Jane Lynch is more easy-going and less shtick-y this week. Here’s our match: Continue reading “Hollywood Game Night Week 2 Review [SPOILERS]”

See Hollywood Game Night Week 2: Valerie Bertinelli, Yvette Nicole Brown, Sarah Chalke, Cheryl Hines, Matthew Morrison, and Rob Riggle.

Topper image credit: Trae Patton/NBC.

Hollywood Game Night is inoffensive fun. Are emcee Jane Lynch and friends treated as gods who’ll overpower the show from the mere mortal contestants? Not quite. HGN is light-hearted compared to the spectacle of someone taking home $50,000 under pressure of going home broke on The Winner Is. The party atmosphere is easily established with decor, the bar, and the live band.

Aside from references to alcohol, HGN could easily fit as a syndicated daily show. The $25,000 grand prize seemed less impressive after watching The Winner Is, but I was fine with it after watching the first episode in full.

Much credit goes to the Rayburn-esque Lynch for being engaging and keeping control. Martin Short is there for the “lulz,” but some of the actions could’ve been costly in a close game. Continue reading “Hollywood Game Night Review [SPOILERS]”

A review of the game where the Squares setting leaves Hollywood glamour for the NYC club scene.
UPDATE: Second episode video below.

I didn’t know what to expect from the new version of the classic Hollywood Squares format. I do appreciate that this durable televisual Tic-Tac-Toe is here on MTV2. I stay on the edges of hip-hop news so I recognized some of the stars but the ones I didn’t stop from enjoying the show. Mac Miller, in the tradition of Paul Lynde, Joan Rivers, Whoopi Goldberg, & the Internet-less Martin Mull, does center square duties in the premiere episode. Miller and the other celebrities made the show a breezy, fun time.

Continue reading “Fun With the Hip Hop Squares (VIDEO)”