NBC
NBC is going whole hog on live programming this season with the return of The Voice the conversion of sitcom Undateable to a live production, and getting the season started with the new variety show Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris. Although “variety show” in this case is a bit of an archaic term. When most people hear those words, they think a collection of short sketches punctuated with a musical performance from a guest and a grand, musical finale a la The Carol Burnett Show.
While Best Time Ever certainly does a variety of things, there are no scripted sketches so it’s more a hybrid of The Ed Sullivan Show and Punk’d but with Harris as the focal point. And, you know what, it was actually a lot of fun in a frenetic, let’s see what works kind of way.
For those not in the know, the show is based on the British hit Saturday Night Takeaway hosted by Ant & Dec. That show is billed as a comedy-game show hybrid which suits the show better than “variety show” with its audience participation, filmed pranks and crazy stunts.
NBC
In the first live episode, we were introduced to the first celebrity guest announcer for the week, Reese Witherspoon, then Harris bounded through the audience to the stage for introductions. He then revealed things he knew about certain audience members, but picked out one couple in particular to bring to the stage. Turns out, Harris had been at key moments in their lives recently including their wedding, all moments that were revealed to them and the audience then and there. It was a pretty impressive stunt, and in the end the couple got a lavish honeymoon package as a prize. Off to a good start.
NBC
The next portion of the show involved random home viewers, who had no idea there were hidden cameras in their homes, participating in a round of karaoke where they had to fill in a word to the lyrics of “I Will Survive.” And they weren’t just singing along to a recorded track … Gloria Gaynor was there on stage singing, complete with a troupe of backup dancers! Two of the three completed the lyrics (who doesn’t know the words to “I Will Survive”?) and won $1000 each.
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A third segment was called “Neil vs.” where Harris is supposedly unaware of what is about to happen, but sidekick Nicole Scherzinger helps out by intro-ing the segment and telling him he’ll be competing in some type of mental or physical activity against a “random” person, be it an audience member, a mystery guest, or the celebrity guest announcer. Well, it was obvious with Witherspoon in the house that she would be his opponent. The two had to climb a massive structure outside the studio and zip line to the finish. The thing was seriously high and you have to give Witherspoon credit for being game and not quitting on live TV (I’m not so sure Harris was completely in the dark about the stunt based on his reaction to Witherspoon’s comments before the commercial break). But come on, Neil, couldn’t you have let your guest win since she was so game … and your guest? Oh, and the “Mystery Guest” was revealed to be Carrot Top.
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The next segment was a hidden camera prank where Harris went undercover as the new host of the Austrian version of The Voice. He awkwardly interviewed judges Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell before the taping of the show which left them all baffled. Then, unbeknownst to them, Harris (in character) took to the stage for a blind audition, badly singing “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” to which not a single judge hit their button to spin their chair. At the end, they were amused to see that weird guy again and then really relieved when they found out it was Harris. It was a pretty funny and elaborate stunt, but maybe a little too set-up as a promotional vehicle for the season premiere of The Voice, next Tuesday at 8:00 PM on NBC. Carson Daly also happened to be on stage to “coincidentally” hype his appearance on Wednesday’s Today show.
NBC
There was one more game with an audience member where Harris asked as many questions as he could in one minute. With each right answer, the contestant got to pick a number with a prize behind it. The audience member got seven correct answers and ended up with a new car, $5000 cash, a wine refrigerator, a year of roses, and more! The night ended with a wild and crazy musical number that featured dancers, acrobats on pogo sticks (Harris even did a backflip from his own pogo stick), a marching band, confetti and a blink and you’ll miss it cameo appearance by Ant & Dec. A perfectly eye-popping and over-the-top way to end the show that must have been really amazing for the people in the audience.
Overall, it was an entertaining hour that practically went off without a hitch for live TV (the mic guy looked like he was going to have a nervous breakdown trying to get Harris re-mic’d after the challenge segment as they were coming back from a commercial break), so it will be interesting to see how they’re going to keep the show fresh and vibrant week after week during the first season’s short run. Hopefully, Harris will bring in more guests so he doesn’t seem like a complete narcissist. It’s one thing to be the host and participant, it’s another to make everything about you.
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