Twenty One

The NBC "Twenty One" revival, as hosted by Maury Povich, was an under-appreciated gem that never should have been canceled, but unfortunately just couldn't muster the ratings.

This version of "Twenty One" was based on the classic "Twenty One," which was the victim of a quiz show scandal featured in the film "Quiz Show." Maury Povich seemed like an odd choice to be tapped as host, but ultimately proved to be an adept emcee.

In each episode, two players were locked in isolation booths so that they would have no idea how their opponent was doing. They would then select a category and then choose to go for a multiple-choice question with a point value from 1-11. Obviously, 1 point questions were ridiculously easy and 11 point questions were rather difficult. The first player to reach 21 was the champion. The first game won was worth $25,000, but returning champions could play for up to 1 million dollars, and keep going! "Twenty One" had truly big money and a fun format. It also had thrilling music, contestants you generally wanted to cheer for and excellent suspense. At the end of two rounds of questions, Maury would ask if either play wanted to stop the game. This often proved to be a wise decision for some players, but backfired in other cases. Generally, a contestant wanted to stop the game if he/she believed there was a good chance their point value was great than their opponents' because when the game was stopped, whoever had the most points would win.

I wouldn't mind seeing this show revived again sometime and I'm thrilled GSN has picked up the repeat rights. This show is as compelling in repeats as it was originally.