Not taking the money

It's time for America's favorite game, Is It a Game Show or Is It a Reality Show?

Alright, maybe it's not your favorite game, but it is a discussable topic. As Game Show Newsnet demonstrates, the line between the genres, always blurry, is getting pretty near invisible. I'm tempted to fall back on Potter Stewart's should-be tombstone inscription. Each of us has to know 'em when we see 'em.

The latest quandary concerns ABC's Take the Money and Run. Over at BuzzerBlog Alex Davis is treating this faux-larceny epic like any other traditional game show. That's Alex's prerogative, no doubt. It's his site, after all. Carrie Grosvenor covers Big Brother, the ultimate reality show, at her game show site.

But I'm just a little more persnickety. Not saying I'm any better, which would be ridiculous. Just more persnickety. Take the Money and Run looks too reality-ish to me. There's too much imitation "real world" (no pun intended, MTV) and not enough nitty-gritty gameplay. I'm not saying the show's bad, though I wasn't overly impressed by the bits and pieces I've seen. I'm just saying it doesn't really (that word again) feel like a game show to me, though others obviously differ.

So I'm not going to cover the show here. Does this make me a hopeless game show purist? Oh, maybe.