I was remarking on Sunday about Gilligan's Island. In many ways I believe television programming nowadays is better than it's ever been. Production values on many prime time programs rival those in feature films. The screenplays of some programs are thoughtful and intelligent. There are some things that don't change much though. I still watch a lot of programs about cops. Rather that Adam-12, I now follow the various incarnations of CSI.
Moreover, game shows have always been a staple of television due to their cost effectiveness and audience reaction. This week there's a new game show entitled, Identity. In this program there are twelve people with varying characteristics who stand on podiums on an extremely flashy stage. A contestant is given twelve identities such as: nuclear physicist, heart transplant recipient, or belly dancer. The person must match the labels to the correct character based purely on their looks. Of course there are special rules and twists in the game. As correct matches are made, the values proceed to increase from $1000 up to $500,000. It's just What's My Line? updated for the new millenium. Of course it doesn't for allow any thoughtful questioning but proceeds purely on outward looks. How very 2006! I have watched two days of this and it'll be able to keep my attention for the rest of the week.It seems every so often a game show makes inroads into prime time. Which was first?
Who Wants to be a Millionaire (with ancient Regis) The Weakest Link (with that evil British broad)
