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The host is decent.  The concept is decent.  The prizes are decent.  So why is this show completely unwatchable?

Back in 1963, Let’s Make a Deal premiered on ABC.  Contestants didn’t wear silly costumes; as a matter of fact, most were wearing suits and ties.  (A few weeks in, somebody brought a sign to the show, then somebody wore a silly hat, and it just snowballed.)  That (and the host) are about the only things that have changed dramatically in 45 years—the concept is the same, and Wayne Brady does a decent job.

So—why is the 2009 version of this show… not that much fun?

Let’s start with the host, Wayne Brady.  He does do a decent job, and he clearly has fun doing what he does.  His interactions with the contestants are pretty good.  At the same time, though—there’s almost a sense that he’s trying too hard to remember the mechanics of the game.  He still does get some QT with the contestants, but he just doesn’t look like he’s comfortable with the role.

As for the mechanics… the core concept of the show is relatively unchanged—do you want (x) or do you want to trade it for (y)?  Thing is—that’s not ALL the old show was about.  The old show had skill based pricing games (“price this item within 50¢”) as well; we probably won’t see any of those since the show is a “companion show” to The Price is Right.  Those were usually a nice separation between the regular trading games, and without them, the show does feel a little monotonous.

On top of that, the show is one hour long.  ONE HOUR.  Except for the Billy Bush version (the less said about that one, the better), every other LMaD series has run for 30 minutes.  It added a little bit of urgency to the show - “do you want the big box?  You’d better decide NOW NOW NOW!”.  Stretched to one hour, people spend quality time thinking over their decisions; that’s just fine in real life, but when broadcast, it’s very boring to watch.

Fans have also complained about the Big Deal at the end of the show.  In previous incarnations, the top two winners competed for the Big Deal, choosing Door 1/2/3.  Now, only the top winner gets that opportunity, and really, it makes the show more anticlimactic.  Instead of a 2/3 chance of watching somebody win the super-duper grand prize, the home viewer gets a 1/3 chance of seeing the payoff.  On top of that, it means that only one prize package has to be given away at the end of the show - so it saves on the budget.

And… that’s another problem.  The top prize in some games is somewhere between $1000-2000.  And that’s perfectly fine… except that this is a network game show.  By comparison, $1000-2000 is the price range for some of the prizes on The Price is Right - the ones that get you on stage to play for the REAL prizes.  There’s a difference between doing the show on a budget and LOOKING like you’re doing a show on a budget.

Not everything about the show is bad.  Brady and announcer Johnathan Mangum get along great.  The set looks spectacular.  The contestants are an absolute joy to watch.  The show has even introduced an audience game so that everyone in the audience gets a prize (usually a DVD or such - hey, it’s better than going home empty-handed).

But… there’s no spark there.

I want this show to succeed - especially since this is the first new daytime network game show since 1993 (bonus points if you can tell me which one and what network).  Compare that to, say, 20 years ago—when there were new game shows being rolled out every year.  I applaud CBS for taking a chance on this show to fill the Guiding Light slot—especially when they could have put another soap in the slot, or used that slot for a reality show.  I just hope the folks behind Let’s Make a Deal can reconfigure the show a bit to make it more watchable.