Underclassmen

I've grumbled some about our little genre getting strange new respect. Somehow, I like the stuffy condescension usually accorded to game shows by hoitier-toitier critics.

But a few media types are starting to take game shows a little more seriously. Or at least they make noises like these, in an interview with Drew Carey. "For a long time, game show hosting was sort of seen, rightly or wrongly, the way soap opera acting has been - a definite underclass of entertainment. That has changed as name comedians, such as Steve Harvey, have become game show hosts."

I don't know how much Steve Harvey has to do with it. Even a high and mighty news reporter like John Daly did a game show, though Daly wore a tux while doing so. And not even Daly could make the genre totally respectable, especially when the rigging scandals hit.

Drew Carey himself has no apologies. He burbles on about the joy of hosting The Price is Right and says he's not just picking up a check. (Though I understand the check is very pleasant, thank you.) Game show hosting is easy to screw up and hard to get right. Not to mention the extra burden Carey shouldered when he succeeded a living legend.

When Alex Trebek and Jeopardy cop a Peabody, maybe things are getting a little too respectable in these here parts. But the best hosts deserve some kudos, despite the job's lingering odor of underclass status.