Cedric's warehouse

Maybe I shouldn't say this, but I often check Game Show Newsnet to see...who died. The site is great for obituaries.

I know, that sounds a little morbid, or a lot morbid. But GSNN also offers some worthwhile game show stuff. Yes, the misnamed site gives most of its space to copies of other sites' stories on reality TV, cooking shows, talent contests, miscellaneous ratings, anything and everything except game shows. But they occasionally publish interesting articles on "Games Gone By."

As the title suggests, these features explore defunct game shows and why they went defunct. Obituaries for shows, you might call them. (I told you the site is great on obits.) The latest article recalls It's Worth What, a 2011 NBC effort where contestants tried to guess the price of ritzy treasures and miscellaneous valuables.

As GSNN points out, the prizes were the stars of the show, with all sorts of impressive goodies on the set. Sadly, nothing else about the show worked very well. The gameplay was so-so, host Cedric Kyles was so-so, and not too surprisingly, the ratings were so-so.

Game Show Newsnet opines that the show might have flopped because 2011's non-ideal economic conditions made people resentful of all the nice prizes on display. I doubt it. The Price is Right had no trouble in 2011 with plenty of swanky merchandise on hand. The site says that the economy is "a LITTLE better" nowadays, so It's Worth What might have more of a chance if somebody revived it.

In fact, the economy is a whole heckuva lot better nowadays, with a very low 3.6% unemployment rate and hardly any inflation. But It's Worth What would need a lot more interesting gameplay and a lot better host to survive in any economy.

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