Scott Marinoff is the fifth or sixth person to send me some version of this question…
We're both old enough to remember the original You Bet Your Life with Groucho Marx, as well as at least two re-boots, with Buddy Hackett and Bill Cosby. Neither of those fared well, as I recall. I think there may have also been one (or possibly two) additional planned or piloted versions somewhere along the way.
So, do you have any thoughts about this latest You Bet Your Life or predictions about how well it might do?
You know, as much a fan as I was of Groucho, it was never because of the game show. I thought Groucho was wonderful when he was able to show irreverence to some authority figure…but as the host of that program, he was the authority figure. And he was also an authority figure who had a staff of writers coming up with his ad-libs…and an editing crew that cut the show to make him funnier.
I didn't care for the Cosby or Hackett versions but I don't think they did much or any of that. The working premise of those revivals seemed to involve relying on the host's ability to improvise…and the contestants won what little they won because they were willing to come on and be compliant stooges for the star's banter. It was honest but not particularly interesting.
I think the format is stale. Game shows today have to feel important…like there's Life-Changing Money riding on the outcome. If you're offering that kind of dough, you kind of have to have tough questions. That means screening contestants to find ones who were smart enough or good enough game players that they had a real shot at winning. But on past incarnations of You Bet Your Life, including Groucho's, they were always more interested in booking contestants who'd give the host lots of opportunities to be funny.
I generally like Jay Leno but I didn't like when he used to do those Jaywalking segments where he showed you how clueless the Man (or Woman) on the Street could be when you shoved a microphone in their face and were expecting/hoping for dumb answers.
Then again: I haven't seen the show. I'm not sure anyone has. Do we know if they've even recorded any? The show's website doesn't say when it debuts or where and a lot of the online images say "Available Fall 2021," which is what you say when you're trying to find a station that will buy your program. Has anyone yet? I'm as clueless about this as a Jaywalking contestant.
I don't like judging a show before I've seen it. I don't even see the point of forming an opinion based on how you think it might be so I won't say if it'll be good or bad. At this point, I'm not even sure if it will be. I just think it's going to take a lot to make that show work today with any host.