Minute to win ten million

No, the top prize on NBC's stuntfest Minute To Win It hasn't suddenly grown tenfold. But last night the Fieri fireworks managed to draw over over ten million viewers in the final half-hour of its two-hour run. More important for the almighty advertisers was the show's series-high 2.4 18-49 rating over the entire 120 minutes of silly human tricks, despite competition that included some talent contest called American Idol.

I've already confessed my soft spot for this latest knockoff of Beat the Clock. Even Guy Fieri becomes tolerable after a while because he's either having fun or faking it real good. For some odd reason, though, certain game show Internet posters (you know who you are) seem to begrudge the show its success.

Those folks still whine and whimper for The Cube, that supposedly superior British stunt show which has yet to leap the pond. I dunno, I've seen a fair amount of Cube on YouTube and it just seems slower and duller than Fieri and friends. CBS tried a Cube pilot with Neil Patrick Harris a year ago, but it never escaped development hell. Maybe the Eye network (Variety-speak!) figured NBC had beaten them to the punch.

But if Minute keeps pulling elephant-sized numbers for peanut-sized production costs, CBS may yet pay the show the sincerest form of flattery. So take heart, Cube freaks. Your day may come in the U.S.