Bad fits for established hosts/announcers

[aaron sica]

And by "Bad fits", I don't mean an on-air meltdown.

I almost replied to BC1's comment on the "disappointments" thread until I thought maybe it would be better served spun off into its own thread.

It seems to be agreed upon (myself included) that Bill Cullen was not a good fit on TJW, as he ground the show to a halt (it bears repeating, but there was an episode where one question was asked for the entire 30-minute episode).

What's another show where either an established host or announcer, just was not a good fit?

Mine: Gene Wood when he filled in on "The Price is Right" after Johnny O passed away. I love Gene in just about everything else he did......But he did not fit in at all on Price.

[TLEberle]

Bill was a good fit in that he had a known name. Bert on Super Password, John Davidson on any game show really. Bob Eubanks on Card Sharks.

[snowpeck]

Bill was a good fit in that he had a known name. Bert on Super Password, John Davidson on any game show really. Bob Eubanks on Card Sharks.

Respectfully disagree on Bert. I loved him on Super Password and his goofiness brought something that I feel that version needed. On the other hand, Ludden grates on my nerves on Password Plus, and I actually prefer Kennedy's part of the run. Ludden, of course, was perfect on the original Password.

[PYLdude]

Monty Hall on Split Second. His style isn’t suited for a quizzer.

Dick Clark on Scattergories.

[chris319]

It seems to be agreed upon (myself included) that Bill Cullen was not a good fit on TJW, as he ground the show to a halt (it bears repeating, but there was an episode where one question was asked for the entire 30-minute episode).

We noticed that Bill was moving things along rather slowly when he subbed on P+. My spies at KCOP tell me he was starting to lose it and had a rough time subbing for Jack Barry on TJW, which is not that demanding a show to emcee.

Tom Kennedy's interview with Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters is worth watching. In it he says he was overwhelmed on TPIR with the wide variety of pricing games to learn. He says he felt awkward and was never really comfortable with the format.

TPIR never had a good announcer after Johnny Olson passed, and that includes Rod Roddy and Rich Fields. Rod was not a disciplined performer and made mistakes, resulting in pickups. Gene Wood didn't have the pipes for TPIR.

There exists somewhere a test show of TPIR with Bob Hilton announcing. He should have been made the permanent announcer.

[chris319]

Monty Hall on Split Second. His style isn’t suited for a quizzer.

Agreed. I can't watch Monty's version of SS, as smooth as he was on ANBTC.

Quoting Frank Wayne: "Monty wouldn't say 'shit' if he had a mouthful of it."

Bert was fantastic on Tattletales but was trying too hard to turn SP into a comedy show.

[BrandonFG]

I’m not sure Tom himself could’ve saved Split Second 86, and I say that as someone who enjoys the show for what it is. It was the first version I remember watching, but when you see the OG version you realize just how badly they watered down the material, esp. the bonus round.

Robin Ward has become a bit of a punching bag as host of Guess What, mainly because he’s so awkward and goofy. Doesn’t help that the show doesn’t really offer much in terms of meat and potatoes, but a Jim Perry or Alex Trebek-style host could prolly make it better.

[SamJ93]

Chuck Woolery's folksy, laid-back style wasn't really a great fit for a big-money quizzer like Greed, although he wasn't completely terrible either.

I like Joel McHale, but he was completely out of his element hosting Card Sharks--came off as way too snarky and cynical. I'll be interested to see if he can do any better with The 1% Club when its 2nd season premieres.

[chris319]

The current version of SS is much more watchable as it doesn't race against the viewer. They needed to put the brakes on.

[chris319]

Not exactly on topic, but Dick Martin was passable in office run-thrus of Mindreaders but was awkward in the studio.

[JasonA1]

There exists somewhere a test show of TPIR with Bob Hilton announcing. He should have been made the permanent announcer.

He did about 10-12 aired shows in early 1986. Solely on his voice, yes, I thought Bob Hilton was the best of the crop that included Gene, Rod, and Rich Jeffries. But as an on-air character, they ended up doing quite well with Rod.

-Jason

[Winkfan]

I still believe Divorce Court was the biggest waste of Jim Peck's talent!

Cordially,
Tammy

[tyshaun1]

I still believe Divorce Court was the biggest waste of Jim Peck's talent!

Story is that Jack was ready to retire from Joker on-air and permanently hand the reigns to Jim at the start of the 84-85 season, but his sudden death put the brakes on that.

[Eric Paddon]

I still believe Divorce Court was the biggest waste of Jim Peck's talent!

Cordially,
Tammy

I think his blink and you'll miss it appearance in the Battlestar Galactica pilot would top even that!

[Chief-O]

Seconded on Gene Wood/TPIR.

I'm not sure if we're really going to count fill-ins/guests around here, but I had recently listened to some intros from when Rod Roddy filled in on Dawson "Feud", and while his voice sounded like it could work, his pacing just wasn't right. I seem to recall Johnny Gilbert not faring much better in his fill-in stint, either.