I know I've been a little rough on WML over the years. The show does rub my distrust of hoity-toitiness the wrong way. Game shows should be a raffish, (small-d) democratic kind of entertainment. The tuxes and long dresses and faux aristocratic atmosphere on What's My Line have always irked me.
And it only gets worse when an older-is-better Internet poster uses the show as a club to beat today's supposedly ill-mannered game shows. Oh, buzz off. Game shows should be ill-mannered, or at least not too scrupulous about etiquette.
But even my grubby anti-aristocratic self has to admit that WML could be (sort of) pleasant in its faultless manners. There were certain things that were just not done in John Daly's august presence. And while I can appreciate guest panelists like Groucho who tried to ride roughshod over the format, the "cultured" ambiance could occasionally charm.
Or at least it was a little different. Except I'm not sure I want to see all that culture in game shows again.
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