The newlywed games keep coming

More than a half-century ago, Chuck Barris got the idea to have newlywed couples hit each other with answer cards.

Okay, there was a little more to the idea than that. But on July 11, 1966 Newlywed Game winked into existence on ABC. Bob Eubanks hammed his way through the first of a zillion smarmy eps of matching and mismatching couples.

Merriam-Webster defines "smarmy" as "revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, or false earnestness; of low sleazy taste or quality." That's close enough for Newlywed Game and Chuck Barris' oeuvre in general. After many revivals and knockoffs, Newlywed Game has spawned one more effort on the CW affiliate in Raleigh, NC.

In a way, it's a nice story. An few amateurs staged a version of Not So Newlywed Game - the oft-performed live knockoff with long-married couples - and a producer for the local CW outlet happened to see the show. Next thing you know, there was a deal for eight TV episodes on the station.

Now they've got to find a permanent host. What's Bob Eubanks doing nowadays?

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