'TO TELL THE TRUTH,' I'D RATHER 'WIN BEN STEIN'S MONEY'
by Paul Rosenblum

Paul looks these two game shows and considers how far we've come from the 1950's.

Panelists Orson Bean and Kitty Carlisle and others along with bow-tied host Bud Collier in the original To Tell the Truth were perfectly cast to make this simple show work. There were three contestants, all claiming to be the same person. A signed affidavit was read explaining to everyone who they were and what they did to get them on the show. The panelists would have about 1 minute each to ask questions to determine which of the contestants was telling the truth. The stories of the contestants were always interesting.

The updated version of this show, like everything else, is full of free promotion for the contestants and of course, keeping in the style of the new daytime TV, the flaunting of female breasts at 11am on a weekday morning.

The episode of the new show that I watched had a "sexy Russian spy" dressed in a very revealing dress, wearing an eyepiece with a computer in it which her own company manufactures. Sex and free promotion at the same time! So efficient of the producers. I lost count of how many times host John O'Hurly said the phrase "sexy Russian spy" in the few minutes of this part of the game.

Rather than about a minute for each panelist to ask questions, it is now cut down to 30 seconds, and the entire game was played within 3 minutes of the show's beginning. After the first commercial, the panelists voted, and then - a new twist - the audience voted also. By the end of the segment, we knew the name of the company that the "sexy Russian spy" owned, the website where she sold her devices, and what the device was. Promo, promo, and promo.

Game: 3 minutes.

Promo: 5 minutes.

Game over -- channel changed -- forever.

If the game shows are really going to make a comeback on American television, we need to make these remakes better. To Tell the Truth is a great simple idea for a game show, but it just doesn't work if you cheapen it.

I'd rather Win Ben Stein's Money, even if Jimmy Kimmel isn't on the show any longer. Nancy Pimental is the new co-host and, although she doesn't have the timing that Jimmy Kimmel had, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. She's new. She'll have to find her own personality rather than taking Kimmel's and making his old job feminine.

This show is almost a parody of game shows, although it's a game show itself. The names of the categories (for example - "Who's Kidman Who?") are one of the highlights of this funny half hour. The creative "play on words" really makes the show. "Let Me Get My Bering Straight" is a category that is on their website if you want to play on the internet. If a contestant makes a mistake and answers a question Jeopardy! style, they have to wear a dunce cap for the rest of the round. It's a quiz show -- no, it's a half hour of comedy. In truth, it?s a very funny, well-produced half hour on (the cable tv channel) Comedy Central.

The new TV season is starting to trickle in, gang. This means that my favorite programs are going off the air. Buy a case of blank videotapes because some of the new shows this season won't be on for more than 2 weeks. That way, you can watch these shows over and over and over until the new entries in the Fall of 2001.

Paul Rosenblum is an author living in New York City, where he watches too much tv, thanks to the fact that he comes from a long line of tv production people.

Got a problem? Email Paul at filmmonthly@hotmail.com