You Don't Know Jack
You Don't Know Jack
| 20 June 2001 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES
  • 1
  • Reviews
    crmagicr

    I think this show could have worked. It might have even worked in its incarnation, with a couple of key changes. But it didn't. Why? Well, 5 reasons, really.Reasons # 1, 2, 3 -- Paul Reubens. It seems Mr. Reubens does not know how to temper his "comedic" ability and allow others (namely, the CONTESTANTS) to share stage with him. He is loud, crude, and overly boisterous through the whole show, and completely ruins it.Reason #4 -- Writing. The writers seemed bound and determined to turn this into a variety show rather than a game show, when they should have been trying to blend the quiz with the humour, as the video game so skillfully does. Want an example of a video game show that does this correctly? Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. It may have been a kiddy show, but it was a very popular one for this reason.Reason #5 -- Jack Attack. As the key element of a YDKJ! round, it should have been left EXACTLY as it is in the game. Instead, we see even more of Paul Reubens and far too crude humour.What saddens me is the game actually has potential as a TV show. Perhaps someday we'll forget this fiasco and go about doing the show right.

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    Willow192

    Gosh, this show was just plain bad. It was an embarrassment to me...because this show was allowed to be made in America which is a place that I call home. But I'm sure it's also an embarrassment to the creators of the game. The game was a wonderful and funny piece of entertainment. This is a boring and just plain bad piece of garbage. It just lacked the charismatic sarcasm that the game did. The Jack Attack was a shamble, and every joke that I think was meant to be funny just wasn't.The blame lies in the hands of the writers. But more in the hands of Paul Reubens. Poor thing will never get past his PeeWee Herman days (he wasn't funny on that either). The man is just not talented and I don't know why he has gotten where he has. The parts where they focus on his face and it spins around on the little screen are just ridiculous. The man shouldn't be doing close ups anyway because his skin is so bad that he has to wear layers and layers of foundation.I don't know if this is the first television show based on a video game. But I do hope that it is the last. Or maybe all of that should be in past tense considering that the show was canceled almost as soon as it was first aired.

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    Adam Lawrence Welsh

    I'm a huge fan of the popular video games called "You Don't Know Jack", so when I heard it was being made into a TV show, I was really excited. Now having seen a few episodes, I can honestly say that my expectations have not been met--they have been surpassed!!!If you never played the games, here's how it breaks down. People play for (fake) cash while a sarcastic host mocks you every chance they get. The show follows a similar tradition but with a lot more irreverance and satire. My only problem with the show is that Troy Stevens (played brilliantly by Paul Reubens) isn't nearly as merciless on the contestants as the video games hosts were. I guess they were worried that it might look like they were ripping of "Weakest Link" even though YDKJ came first!!Nonetheless, its a great show that I urge everyone to check out before in gets canceled. Sorry, but as much as I love this show, I doubt it will last as there simply doesn't seem to be any room these days for game shows that don't give out millions of dollars.Which is sad, since YDKJ is WAYYYYYYYYYY better than "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"Rating: 5 stars *****

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    laocoon-2

    AHHHHHH! I watched this for about 10 minutes and just couldn't stand it anymore. Paul Reubens is absolutely awful. He's mannered and contrived, and, ugh! I can't say enough bad things about it. If you've played the games, if you have a sense of humor, or if you have an IQ over 30, in the name of all that is good and decent come nowhere near this atrocity! It reminds me of what would happen if Bob Saget got his own game show and took his writers from America's Funniest Home Videos with him -- only it's worse if you can possibly conceive of that.Ok, I've heard that it's a parody of game shows, kind of. Seems like a cop-out, though, since it's just really really bad.

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