PILOT REVIEW: It's Worth What?

IT'S WORTH WHAT?

Hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, Directed by Don Weiner

It's Worth What? is a new summer game show on NBC that is sort of a hybrid between The Price is Right and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Contestants climb a ladder of dollar amounts like Millionaire but earn it by correctly winning pricing games as on The Price is Right. However, in this game they are bidding on artifacts and collectibles such as a Wayne Gretzky signed hockey stick, classic French tapestries, a dress worn by Cindy Brady, and actual rare live animals.

I don't hold summer shows to the same standard that I hold in-season shows to. For me, the quality of summer shows boils down to - did it hold my interest? It's Worth What? did not succeed in doing so. Host Cedric the Entertainer seemed quite bored the whole time. He was basically just going through the motions the whole time even though he could have been quite entertaining. Not surprisingly, the contestants were over the top most of the time. Also, as is too often the case nowadays, the show seemed overproduced. I don't think game shows need to be so fancy from a production standpoint. The gameplay should be able to speak for itself if its a quality show - look at The Price is Right, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune. They also kept trying to make "it's worth WHAT?" happen but that seemed forced. The most interesting part of the show was the artifacts themselves which were interesting but that idea could wear thin after a couple weeks. It's a summer game show so I didn't expect much and I'd say it pretty much matched my expectations. It is what it is, an ok show to have on in the background if you have nothing better to do or watch.