Treasure on the Game Show Network, GSN. This British import, " The Chase ", is a game show that at once, informs you, boosts you, humbles you, and greatly entertains you. The best since " Jeopardy ", this program features " The Beast " and a beauty by the name of Brooke Burns who have great chemistry, as well as a trio of learned contestants. We have found a new subject of our admiration, Michael Labett, AKA The Beast, who stands six feet seven inches and weighs just a biscuit shy of 365 pounds. Labett cut his teeth as a pro rugby player, school teacher, and bouncer, after graduating from Oxford University. A major math man, The Beast complements his vast knowledge of things trivia, and such with very interesting anecdotes about the subject at hand. There is no big board, as on that other great show, Jeopardy, just a huge mass of humanity in battle against random questions, the clock, and highly skilled opponents. This hour long show, where new episodes are shown on Tuesdays, enshrouds The Beast in a cloud of smoke as he enters the set, and he sits high above the other folk as if some mythical sage, or yogi dispensing of wisdom from on high. Great packaging. The producers of this program, both here and abroad, apparently studied the storied history of Jeopardy, and decided to make a few corrections. Firstly, they granted the Beast regal elegance, as portrayed by Jeopardy's original host, Art Fleming. Also, the announcer's role has been eliminated. Kids nowadays know Don Pardo as the off screen pipes on Saturday Night Live, but he was the original intro man on the earlier Jeopardy broadcasts. Being a huge Anglophile, proud nerd, and trivial pursuer, I could listen to The Beast prattle on all day, and twice on Sundays. Haven't figured out what region he represents that promotes the use of the letter " F " in place of the letter " T ". Great hour spent. HRM
