In an earlier pop-culture era, a TV show that admitted it was lame magically became less lame. This trick worked for “Batman,” “The Gong Show” and many other forgotten programs.
“Minute to Win It,” a game show premiering this Sunday at 7 p.m. on NBC, starts right out by mocking itself, but the irony doesn’t hide the fact that this is a very conventional and mediocre program.
In the show, contestants try to complete up to 10 simple tasks, each one in 60 seconds. If they succeed at all of them, they win $1 million. At the beginning of the program, video showed unathletic types awkwardly competing while a deep-voiced announcer intoned, “These real people are destined for immortality and dedicated to master the greatest games ever played — with a bunch of stuff you can find in your house.”
The tasks involve things like blowing cups off a table with a balloon or picking up paper bags with one’s teeth, but they’re really no more elementary than most of the stunts from the old game show “Beat the Clock,” a clear inspiration for this program.
The host is Guy Fieri, a Food Network star who tends to yell and jab at the air like a pro wrestler. His bleached and spiked hair makes him look like he’s trying too hard to be cool. His banter, however, is strictly old school: Signing off, he says, “We’ll see you next time on ‘Minute to Win It,’ where sweatin’ the small stuff can bring you big bucks.”
The set and lighting are all straight out of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” with the contestant occasionally plunged into bluish darkness for no good reason.
The contestant in the episode NBC provided for review was energetic and likable, so one could imagine parents sitting down to enjoy this show with their kids. But then, once again trying to be cool, the producers went and gave naughty names to two of the tasks: The balloon challenge was called “This Blows,” and the bag challenge was called “Bite Me.”
Those same words might cross viewers’ minds right before they change channels.
Tom Conroy is a Connecticut writer and longtime TV critic.
