The Thing About Game Shows

• Lori Palminteri
• Uncategorized
• February 13, 2022

The only time I watch game shows is when I’m in Florida visiting my parents. It’s part of their ritual routine. The only game show I consider admirable is ‘Jeopardy.’ The rest of it is shiny garbage.

But the truth is, I actually like to watch game shows with my folks. They like ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ and ‘Jeopardy.’ My mom thinks I would be great at ‘Jeopardy.’ I wouldn’t. Unless all the categories were film, music or literature. That’s all I know. The reason, however, I like to watch game shows with my parents is not because I love game shows. It’s because I like watching how my mom and dad react to it.

Because ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ is on during the day, I’m usually working my remote radio writing job when it’s on and I’m only half paying attention. Even though my folks will call many a costume dressed contestant an “idiot” or “moron” or occasionally something far worse, in general, they are rooting for them to win. Anyone I have watched any game show with, they are rooting for the player over the game. That, I think, is a lovely thing. That even if the person is an imbecile, they want to see them come away with a prize. Look, I’m not saying this is altruism at it’s highest form, but there’s something to it that speaks to the goodness of humanity. And as a person who reads news six days a week for my jobs, I need to be reminded that as a whole, we don’t suck as a species. That most people have families they love. Who just want to hold and be held and laugh. That is the thing about game shows I find endearing: their audience.

I wonder how much I feel the same about my own audience, when I’m on stage telling jokes.