I think the one thing that everyone should remember about Drew is that he is not a prototypical game show host.
I think all of us -- whether we like Drew's style or not -- understand that quite clearly. The problem is people who love Drew think people who don't care for his style need to be reminded of this fact.
They don't.As I mentioned in another thread, he's improved greatly from his very first show, though there's always going to be things he does that maybe doesn't seem right, or that Bob never did, but that's Drew.
I'm not sure that anyone thought when Bob Barker retired that they'd somehow find ANOTHER Bob Barker to do things exactly the same way.
What some of us hoped for was something more similar than what we have now, that's all.
And that leads me to my next point--in my mind, he's doing everything right. And by that I mean he's following the advice Bob gave him and making the show his own. Yes, he has a few quirks, but that's Drew doing the show his way.
I applaud Drew for not trying to copy Barker. Really.
But try to look at it this way: some of us who'd watched the show for a long time -- longer than some of the members on this board who think Drew is perfect have actually been alive -- were used to the "old school" of emcees who did not have stand-up comedy on their resumes.
Let me try to explain it in a different way: You've been driving long enough to have become used to driving a Mercedes-level automobile. Your Mercedes needs to be retired and you hope for another great car. You hope to find something at least at the level of a nice Lincoln if a brand new Mercedes isn't going to happen.
Then you're handed the keys to a station wagon.
That's what it felt like at first. Maybe, as he's improved over the years, it's more like he's a nice minivan now. But not a Mercedes minivan. Not even a Lincoln minivan.
I'm not knocking either a station wagon or a minivan in and of themselves. Each has their purpose and there are some really good ones out there.
But try to use the illustration to understand the difference some of us perceived in the quality of the two hosts and their own individual styles.
Maybe that sounds ridiculous to you. Maybe it is.
But your belief that it's a ridiculous way to feel does not in any way diminish those feelings for those who do have them.
Some of us are truly glad that there seems to be so many people who are genuinely enjoying the minivan so much. But for those of us who still feel that even with improvement, which no one is denying, the host and the show are a mismatch, and because of that, it's far less enjoyable to watch.
I don't fault anyone for thinking Drew is doing a great job now, and I don't know how anyone could possibly argue that he hasn't improved tremendously since his first season.
I'm glad the show is still successful and I'd love to see it hit its 50th, 55th and even 60th anniversaries and beyond.
If you think the magic is just as good as it has always been or is even better than it ever was, I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to argue that point with you or try to talk you out of your passion for the show. I'm happy you have so much love for the show as it is today. I hope you never lose it, in fact.
But for some of us, that magic just isn't the same, and watching often is too much of a reminder of how different it is. I sincerely hope none of the rest of you ever experiences a loss of the magic you feel in the program.