And Here's Your Host...

Let's face it- I've always been a fan of game shows. The excitement of being able to win life changing money in 30 minutes has always been appealing to me. Being a game show host, however, would be awesome. I would want to be a game show host. Giving away a car to somebody who really needs one is an awesome prospect. The best part is that it's not my money. I get to play the part of Santa Claus without donning a red suit....unless of course, I somehow get pixelated and am turned into Buzz, the host of the Buzz! series of quiz games for the Playstation Suite.

Anyways, I've compiled a list of game shows that, if given the chance, I would host.

5: Card Sharks- This game was great because people won and lost tons of money by betting on cards. When I'm in Vegas and playing Blackjack, I'm that guy that verbally roots for the whole table to win. That would translate to Card Sharks well. Plus, the survey questions, for the most part, are thought provoking and can tell you a lot about people in geenral.

4: Body Language- This one isn't known by most people, but it's an old 80s game show hsoted by Tom Kennedy. Basically, you had 60 seconds to play charades and make your partner guess words or phrases. Each one you got right was inserted into this word puzzle, and it was the player's job to guess the puzzle. I've always been a fan of charades, and I alwyas thought this was a great execution of charades on television.

3: Family Feud- From what I've seen of Steve Harvey so far, he's going to be a great host. He actually SAYS what I'm thinking when bad answers are given. I'd be somewhere between him and Dawson as far as hosting styles are concerned. Besides, I get to adlib and interact with 10 people every day- how great is that?

2: The Price is Right- Drew Carey was spot on when he said that the show is like a little bit of church. People come to have a good time, and there's a party atmosphere throughout the whole episode. The bevy of games means that there's never the same comination played twice (well, at least not that often), and every 18 seconds a bell of some kind is going off. Bells mean winners. Winners mean happy people. Happy people means an awesome show. Besides, I figure I'll be near the target age of the new host when Drew retires in about 20 years.

1: The $25,000 Pyramid- Most people who know me would say Jeopardy!, but no, this is it right here. I'm good at Pyramid, and I can pull the "Dick Clark Is Better Than You" (i.e. after the Winner Circle is over, in many cases, Dick Clark knew the perfect clue to give the contestant to get them to the right answer...and in the process made the celebrities look like crap) better than most. Again, I'm into games that can be played in a living room, just as they can be played in a studio.

Honorable mention:
Scrabble: Great game, and Chuck Woolery was awesome, hands down. To me, it's as good a word game as Wheel of Fortune.

$ale of the Century: Another Reg Grundy creation, but with Jim Perry at the helm. He really shone in Instant Bargains, and the fast paced buzzer battle really does appeal to the College Bowl player in me.

Wheel Of Fortune: If the show were ever to get back to the atmosphere or feeling of the Chuck Woolery or mid 80s Pat Sajak days, It'd probably make my Top 5, but too many gimmicks and an uninspired set turn me off from hosting it. Considering it's #1 in syndication and has been for years, I guess I can't say anything.

Jeopardy!: Alex Trebek and Art Fleming are in a category of their own. How they are able to rattle off 61 clues an episode without missing a beat is beyond me. However, that's not the reason I can't host Jeopardy- I need a show that lets me be flexible in being me- Alex can adlib and whatnot during contestant interviews, but for the most part, he has to stay the course and finish as many clues as possible. Love the show, but hosting might grate on me after a while. That's not saying I wouldn't give it a try, though.