Tuesday Night Game Show Review: It's Worth What?

It's worth what? About an hour's
worth of watching, I guess.

NBC has always been a haven for great game shows. In the '70s and '80s, they had some of the best ones on their daytime schedule. In recent years, they've still had some game shows on, but they were all in primetime.

Being the kind of person who is usually willing to give things a fair shot, I decided to watch NBC's newest foray into the game show genre - Merv Griffin Entertainment's It's Worth What?. Hosted by promient comedian Cedric the Entertainer, the show, which airs at 8 PM (7 PM Central), features two contestants trying to discern the prices of several expensive collectibles. In the show's intro, Cedric mentions that they have over $50 million worth of collectibles to show their contestants, and it's no joke. Indeed, some of the items featured on It's Worth What? are worth a couple million at least.

There are several rounds of play, each worth increasing amounts of money. A perfect score in this game is $100,000, which can become up to $1 million in the final round.

In each round, the contestants are shown one or more items, and are asked to determine what they're worth, what's worth more, etc. Sound familiar? The Price is Right has been doing this kind of thing for nearly 40 years now. But It's Worth What? is markedly different from Price, from it's Art Deco set that resembles New York City's Grand Central Station, to its overall format.

It's been said that comedians often take well to hosting game shows, as they can use their humour, personality, and improvisational skills to their advantage when interacting with the contestants and the audience. Cedric the Entertainer tries to do so here, but sometimes, he comes off as a bit stiff. He's a decent conduit, and he cracks a few jokes here and there, but there are other times when he seems as stiff as a board. It doesn't help that a lot of his dialogue was added in post-production as well.

Some game shows are often known for having a memorable catch phrase or tagline, and It's Worth What? is no exception. The problem here is that the catch phrases are memorable for all the wrong reasons. When Cedric asks the contestants to lock in their answers, he first asks them if they are sure, and then if they are "sure sure". That lock-in phrase is okay the first couple of times, but it starts to get irritating after a while. Also irritating is Cedric's over-the-top pronounciation of the show's title when throwing to a commercial - "It's Worth Whaaaaaaaat?!" I understand he's fishing for some laughs here, but saying the word What with far fewer A's would be a much better idea. Just one A is fine, thanks.

Overall, this is a fun show to watch. It's got good play-along value, as it lets you be an armchair contestant and guess along with the in-studio contestants. I find it's fun to try and guess what the collectibles are worth, and then be blown away when I find out they're worth far more than I'd have ever thought. For example, I pegged the price of Spider-Man No. 1 at around $50,000; turns out it was worth far more than that - around $160,000, I believe.

If you like watching The Antiques Roadshow, Pawn Stars, or Storage Wars, and you're good at determining the values of certain items, then It's Worth What? is the perfect game show for you.

Rating: 3¾ out of five stars.