Neil Patrick Harris may think of himself as an old fashioned song and dance man, whose appearances at awards shows, especially The Tonys, made network execs think that if anyone could revive variety shows, it would be him.
Unfortunately, “Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris” isn’t even remotely a variety show. Adapted from the British “Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway,” it’s more like a stream of pranks, game show bits and self-centered segments that remind one how bad Harris was in hosting the Oscars this year.
Charles Dickens could have written the review: It was the “Best Time Ever,” it was the worst time ever.
Being live didn’t add any particular excitement to the proceedings, but it did mean there were no advance copies of the show for reviewers to adequately warn viewers of the hodge podge it really was. In this it was like “Knock Knock Live,” a live game show/audience participation thing Ryan Seacrest did on Fox this summer that lasted all of two episodes.
The start of the show made it seem like it was some kind of entertainment adaptation of modern paranoia, as when he strolled into the crowd and knew more about the audience members than they imagined, as if he’d paid for some NSA info. But was any of this information remotely interesting? It seemed a little invasive (and the bigger question — Why was Perez Hilton in the audience? — was never answered).
For a couple from Alabama, Harris told them he knew all about their hotel because he had been their doorman; and their football weekend because he had been the mascot that approached them; or weirdest yet, their wedding because he was relentlessly photo-bombing them there.
That could have been camera tricks, and the mascot thing clearly could have been somebody else, but how creepy was it that he was invading so many of their moments (including breaking into their wedding suite) for this low grade entertainment?
Creepier still was a karaoke/name that tune bit where the forced contestants had their households pre-bugged so we could see their reaction when their name was announced from New York. It was surprising nobody left in a huff or refused to participate — or that in each case, households gathered around the set to watch a bad new NBC show as if it were the 1950s. Waiting for some unwilling contestant to file suit. At least in “Knock Knock Live,” they could choose just not answering the door. This was “Truth or Consequences” for the NSA era.
For the rest, Neil Patrick Harris thinks we are entertained merely seeing Neil Patrick Harris. So we had to see him climb up some rigging as if it were American Ninja Warrior, or sneak into “The Voice” auditions as if he were doing something other than promoting a new season of “The Voice.”
Then there was a straight game show segment that made viewers realize: I didn’t want to tune into a game show at 10:45 p.m.
Reese Witherspoon was a bona fide celebrity booked for the show, but her role was being announcer (and racing him up the rigging). Someone new will be in the position next week — sure to be one of the lowest grade guest slots available on TV for stars.
The thing ended with a marching band and pogo stick acrobats, reminding us that on this network, the sub-vaudvillian is still considered talent on “America’s Got Talent,” whose finals immediately preceded this.
Should it last more episodes than “Knock Knock,” “Best Time Ever” will manage to end the notion once and for all that Neil Patrick Harris equals entertainment. For now, it’s a bad foreboding of the fall TV season.