Lake Neuron

I make no secret of the fact that I loved Clive Anderson’s dry wit as the host of the original British version of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” While I had nothing against Drew Carey as host, I always missed Clive while watching the American version.

Drew is already scheduled to host a prime time game show, “The Power of 10,” which was taped a while back and will begin airing next month. But prime time game shows are a dime a dozen and tend to have short runs. The real prize in the game show world is the one Drew Carey was given yesterday, while sitting in David Letterman’s green room. He got a telephone call confirming that he will take the place of perhaps the famous game show host ever, Bob Barker of “The Price is Right.” But, you know what? I think he’s going to do a great job. In fact, I think he was an inspired choice.

Some of the other oft-mentioned candidates (Dave Price of “The Early Show,” John O’Hurley of “Seinfeld” and now “Family Feud”) are too much in the same vein as Barker, and would have a hard time living up to him.

Carey, on the other hand, takes the show in an entirely new direction. You can see from “Whose Line” that he enjoys interacting with audience members, and he’s got a quick wit. While he’s intelligent (his collection of short stories and autobiographical essays, “Dirty Jokes and Beer,” was surprisingly dark and subtle) he doesn’t take himself too seriously.

Rosie O’Donnell (who didn’t want to move to California) would have been a similarly off-beat choice. She loves game shows and she can be fun and entertaining when she works at it, but I think her occasional forays into politics and her tendency towards personal drama would have alienated some of the show’s core audience. In any case, I couldn’t have imagined her sticking with the show for very long.

No, I’m anxious to see Drew on “The Price is Right.” It should revitalize the show, not to mention Drew’s career.