About Our Reviews
Sometimes, we review stuff. Generally, we review game shows. It comes with the territory. We’re taking a more exact approach to how we judge how good game shows are. Here are our criteria.
Game
Half of a game show is how solid the game is. There are some game shows (like Match Game, for instance) that have terrible, flimsy or otherwise lousy games. When we review game shows for the game, we ask if whether the game is fun for the players and viewers. Does the game have any flaws? Is the game easy to understand? Is the game difficult to master? All these things come into consideration when we talk about the game.
One: There is no game.
Two: There’s a lot of problems with this game.
Three: The game isn’t ground-breaking but it will do.
Four: This game showcases something interesting.
Five: The most intriguing, interesting and outstanding game on television.
Show
The other half of the game show is how fun the presentation is. If there’s something unique about the show (a coin pushing machine, a unique maze-like set, a talking cartoon), a show will get some points. Good hosts, clear on-screen graphics, good edits—everything that makes good TV gets judged under the Show.
One: Did Al-Qaeda shoot this?
Two: I have no idea what’s going on.
Three: Enough to be watchable.
Four: This show is doing something fun.
Five: Fast-track this show for an Emmy. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Game Show
Game shows are many things: they’re fun, they’re exciting, they’re entertaining. They’re also hard to define, but they’re easy to spot. We take that fun factor that the best game shows have and compare them with what we’re reviewing. The intersection between the game and the show meet for this category.
One: What did I just watch?
Two: Celebrity Paint Drying.
Three: A game like Million Second Quiz: Yep, it’s a game show.
Four: Something fun, unique or different, like The Chase.
Five: Mind-blowingly amazing, like The Genius.
All the scores are on a 0-5 scale, and are then averaged together to give a final score. Shows that score a 3.5 or higher generally are regarded as really good game shows. Shows that score a 1.5 or lower are throw-aways. Anything in the middle is average at best.