Pat Sajak, the Most Underrated Funnyman on Television? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 09-19-2009, 08:15 PM

Wheel of Fortune is A&W Root Beer. A Werther’s Original. As long as it stays on the air (which should be forever, considering how it consistently ranks among the highest-rated syndicated television), Wheel will be a quaint comfort object that never alters its formula, save a few label adjustments. Its emcee, Pat Sajak, has not been so consistent since he took Wheel’s helm from Chuck Woolery in 1983. He was awkward to start, but as the show progressed, Sajak eased into a snappy, sunny routine undercut by some of the drollest, bizarre one-liners in recent TV. Could the funniest (and sourest) man on TV be the face of parent-approved daytime programming?

As Sajak begins his 26th season, let’s bring a magnifying glass to his unusually speedy wit. Call his style the result of misery or boredom, but Sajak turns out punchy, trenchant comedy between the usual contestant spins and solves. He has acknowledged in interviews that his favorite television experience was his short-lived The Pat Sajak Show, in which he conducted sit-down interviews in a Tonight Show format. But that venture called for too much intimacy from Sajak, whose aloof commentary is best delivered with irony in a Merv Griffin-anointed stage spectacle. It should be noted, however, that as a Midwest-hailing onetime weatherman, his start in showbiz mirrors the career and style of David Letterman, not Bob Barker or Monty Hall.

http://www.movieline.com/2009/09/the...television.php

Scoobiedoo30 · 09-20-2009, 04:25 PM

yes Pat is a very funny man

Schmoopie · 09-21-2009, 03:48 AM

I would pick John O'Hurley as the funniest, but I can't imagine anyone else doing "Wheel of Fortune".

catlover79 · 01-24-2010, 01:23 AM

Pat has a very droll, dry sense of humor, which he put to great display as a celebrity contestant on Jeopardy - and totally creamed his competition!! I also loved his bit part as a news reporter in Airplane II way back in the day.

09-19-2009, 08:15 PM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Pat Sajak, the Most Underrated Funnyman on Television? Wheel of Fortune is A&W Root Beer. A Werther’s Original. As long as it stays on the air (which should be forever, considering how it consistently ranks among the highest-rated syndicated television), Wheel will be a quaint comfort object that never alters its formula, save a few label adjustments. Its emcee, Pat Sajak, has not been so consistent since he took Wheel’s helm from Chuck Woolery in 1983. He was awkward to start, but as the show progressed, Sajak eased into a snappy, sunny routine undercut by some of the drollest, bizarre one-liners in recent TV. Could the funniest (and sourest) man on TV be the face of parent-approved daytime programming? As Sajak begins his 26th season, let’s bring a magnifying glass to his unusually speedy wit. Call his style the result of misery or boredom, but Sajak turns out punchy, trenchant comedy between the usual contestant spins and solves. He has acknowledged in interviews that his favorite television experience was his short-lived The Pat Sajak Show, in which he conducted sit-down interviews in a Tonight Show format. But that venture called for too much intimacy from Sajak, whose aloof commentary is best delivered with irony in a Merv Griffin-anointed stage spectacle. It should be noted, however, that as a Midwest-hailing onetime weatherman, his start in showbiz mirrors the career and style of David Letterman, not Bob Barker or Monty Hall. http://www.movieline.com/2009/09/the...television.php Attached Images
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09-20-2009, 04:25 PM	#2
Scoobiedoo30 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Jun 27, 2002 Location: KENNER, LOUISIANA Posts: 27,654	yes Pat is a very funny man
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09-21-2009, 03:48 AM	#3
Schmoopie Keep Calm and Love Snoopy Forum Star Join Date: Jul 13, 2008 Location: Lynnwood, Washington Posts: 15,697	I would pick John O'Hurley as the funniest, but I can't imagine anyone else doing "Wheel of Fortune".
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01-24-2010, 01:23 AM	#4
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,382	Pat has a very droll, dry sense of humor, which he put to great display as a celebrity contestant on Jeopardy - and totally creamed his competition!! I also loved his bit part as a news reporter in Airplane II way back in the day.
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