The gimmick here is the use of compatibility scores to create kind of a Deal or No Deal vibe. On the debut episode two female roommates had to choose among ten more or less hunky males. Everybody had taken compatibility tests, and each gentleman was assigned a (secret) dollar amount depending on how compatible he was with each of the ladies. The more compatible, the bigger the amount.
(The "ladies and gentlemen" stuff sounds Victorian, I know, but I can't resist.) As the lovelies eliminated each of the men one-by-one in a series of excruciatingly silly games, his dollar amount was revealed and taken off the board. So you can see how things resembled Howie's old show. Except the top amount was fifty grand, not a million. The CW may be cheaper than cable.
Eventually one of the lovelies wound up with her $5,000 man. She got the money and a date. The show moved quick enough due to the half-hour length, and Arielle Kebbel hosted competently. The volume level was cranked way too high, but my ancient ears can only take so much twenty-something squealing. It wasn't the worst dating show I've seen, but this thing ain't pitched at my demo.
Nielsen gave the show a so-so response: 820K total viewers and 0.4/0.3 18-49 ratings for the first and second half-hours. Not terrible by CW standards but much worse than its lead-in Whose Line.
UPDATE: The CW doesn't like the show's numbers and bumps it to the Friday wasteland in August. So long, Arielle.
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