The Bottom Line
Pros
- The format hasn't been toyed with all that much
- Carnie Wilson is enthusiastic and friendly, and the inuendo is still intact
- The set is tasteful and works with the format
- The Goldywed bonus round is the highlight of the show
Cons
- Only three couples play
- eHarmony sponsorship is consistently pushed
Description
- Airs: Weeknights at 6pm Eastern on GSN, encores Monday-Friday at 10pm
- First season is made up of 40 half-hour episodes.
- Hosted by Carnie Wilson
- Loyal to the original game, with questions asked of one spouse while the other is away, and then answers compared.
- Three couples compete rather than four.
- Points are assigned for each correct match, from 5-20 points per question.
- The winning couple gets a second honeymoon as their prize, and goes on to play the bonus round.
- Bonus round is a competition with the 'Goldyweds,' a couple who played the game sometime through the 60s to 90s.
- The Goldyweds can also win the bonus round, which consists of five questions.
- Bonus round prizes consist of high-end electronics or items for the home.
Guide Review - The Newlywed Game on GSN
It would be easy to compare this new version of the classic Newlywed Game to the original and dismiss it as another failure to capture the initial spirit of the show. This would be a mistake, however. What GSN and Executive Producer Michael Davies (and his company Embassy Row) have done here is both an homage to the classic, and a very enjoyable new take on the game.
The format is almost identical to the Newlywed Game that we all know and love. Three couples face off instead of the usual four, but the game itself doesn't suffer for this. The wives are asked three questions first, then there's the answer segment, and then the husbands are asked three questions followed by their wives' answers. The questions themselves are sometimes simple with multiple-choice answers, and other times more complicated - and fans of the original will be happy to note that there's still plenty of innuendo going on here.
What makes the show, at least for me, is the bonus game. The winning newlyweds face off against a Goldywed couple, which is a couple who played the game sometime through the 60s to 90s, and are still married today. The Goldyweds are introduced complete with a clip from their original appearance. The winning couple wins an additional prize, which could be electronics, gadgets, or home furnishings.
Carnie Wilson, quite frankly, is no Bob Eubanks, but we shouldn't expect her to be, either. She is a capable host who had to step in at the last minute, and she holds her own. She's upbeat and fun, and even if her smile seems forced occasionally, she keeps the game moving and relates to all of the contestants. She also has some great one-liners in there from time to time.
Fans of The Newlywed Game should definitely keep an open mind and give this revival a shot. It's a solid half hour of entertainment.
