Joel McHale is one of my favorite comedians, but his deadpan snark falls flat in Card Sharks. It almost reminds me of David Letterman hosting The Riddlers for one episode. McHale looks bored and that this whole thing is a waste of time.
I appreciate that the show returns to the original 1978 format, up to the poems to start each episode. Answer numerical survey questions and guess if the answer is higher or lower.
Doing one long row of ten cards vs. best out of three of five cards is an interesting choice. I get it that they want to fit two full games in every episode and not straddle like the original show did, but ten cards is a lot. It slows the game at times to a halt.
The money cards bonus round is back and in a similar format. However, now we have unnecessary "chips" to bet for each turn. Why?
The set is fine. The models do what they should do.
The contestants? More L.A. local actors trying to get "noticed." I miss shows where the contestants seemed like regular people. Why is it not that way anymore?
Overall, the potential is blunted by some questionable choices.
