7.23.2007

Just When You Thought It was Safe to Watch Daytime Television

Drew Carey will be hosting The Price is Right. According to reports, he reveals it tonight on The Late Show with David Letterman.

I guess it makes sense. I mean, the whole time Carey hosted Whose Line is it Anyway?, he was the least interesting, least funny person on the show. And let's face it, it's not like Bob Barker really had a lot to do other than charm midwestern Claymates (please click on that link. Oh, pretty please.) and hold that weird lollipop microphone.

This makes much more sense than someone like Rosie O'Donnell for a host. Rosie's fiesty, sarcastic humor (her take on health-store customers: "you know the type: a lot of hair, not a lot of deodorant") would be squelched on a sanitized, wholesome show like TPiR. Just ask fans of old-school Ellen Degeneres. Sure, she's cute and friendly and funny on her daytime talk show, but Ellen really shines during her cable stand-up specials where her I'm-just-the-lesbian-next-door act drops and a more caustic, bawdy Ellen emerges.

Drew may have a darker, more outgoing side to him in his stand-up routines. But on his eponymous sitcom and WLiiA?, he was always upstaged by his funnier sidekicks like Diedrich Bader and Ryan Stiles. In fact, that seems to be Drew's actual talent, and it shouldn't be disregarded: surrounding himself, and sharing the spotlight, with skilled comedians who otherwise might not get noticed for their talents. On his own, however, he is perfectly capable of reading cue cards and smiling and stuff.

So The Price is Right fans get a perfectly pleasant host and prime-time television is guaranteed one more overpaid, bland comedian is too busy to star in another generic sitcom. (Why couldn't they create another game show and hire Charlie Sheen and Kevin James?) I should knock on wood, just to make sure.

Also check out: Martha Stewart: You Know You Love Her.
And: Obsessing Over Food I Never Eat with Giada de Laurentiis.

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