Ca$h Cab

There is one thing that separates Cash Cab from the countless other game shows a person could watch. There is one singular difference that makes this show, about one man asking a group of contestants general-knowledge trivia questions, better than most others, and that is the premise.

The host drives around in an ordinary-looking cab in New York. The passengers that he picks up become the contestants. They answer general-knowledge questions all the way to their destination. If they miss three questions, though, they're kicked out and win nothing.

Nobody has prior knowledge that they are going to be on the show. Nobody has time to study or prepare for this. You may have one person, or a group, and this depends entirely on what they, as a person, know as part of their every-day knowledge. You can get a group of people who get three strikes right away, or you could get an individual who wins some obscene amount of money and then doubles it on the video-bonus question. Or you could get any mixture of the two. You never know, they never know, and that what makes this show great.

The show is not without it's faults. The host can be annoying at times, trying to be funny. And the melodrama is entirely over-blown. You have to wait an obscene amount of time before he confirms the question. After a while, it really begins to weigh the show down.

Still, Cash Cab is very much like a box of chocolates. You can get a bright bulb as much as you get a complete dud. But, no matter what, that's still good chocolate... I mean viewing.

All of the five others who have previously commented regarding this program have been complimentary, and I couldn't agree more.

I'm pretty quick to notice and be irritated by, say, Howie Mandel's saying "change your life" about 40 times per show; Bob Saget may be one of the most annoying presences on the planet; and the delays in conveying the information on their game shows, the mindless conversation and delays between questions and answers, etc., cry out for pressing the "mute" button.

However, having just discovered this program for the first time recently, I find the whole show enjoyable. It has spontaneity, something others in the genre lack. And even though the driver/host does delay slightly in revealing whether answers are correct ( but only sometimes) it's not at all excessive in my opinion.

Overall, the varied contestant base is interesting as well - from only slightly more intelligent than the proverbial "post" to sharp. With three "games/trips" per episode, things move along, and if you get a particularly unappealing passenger/contestant, their on-screen time is mercifully brief.

There is also amusement galore. I enjoyed th man and woman who won a decent amount, several hundred, and then missed the video question to double the loot. They weren't a couple, because she called her boyfriend, using this prerogative of the game, since the two of them couldn't identify the "element" from which diamonds are derived. Among all three, they came up with "coal," rather than carbon. Hell, I'm no chemistry or science buff, but almost everybody I know could have gotten that one. And most folks I know are well-aware "coal" is not a chemical element.

Finally, there's one detail I'm surprised none of the others added.

{(One did wonder about how driver obtained the questions, and whether his attention to driving might be diverted.) But I've traveled to NYC a lot and ridden in many taxis. This guy is far superior - even if he has to juggle the driving along with his other activities - to any those with whom I've ridden. He's also one of the few not from the Middle East or India/Bangladesh/Pakistan, Russia or another former SSR country.}

A refreshing, interesting, humorous, and (thankfully!!) quick-moving presentation, with a thoroughly pleasant and engaging host.

In terms of straight quiz shows, Cash Cab may be the best ever. Unsuspecting New York City taxi riders find themselves contestants on a game show within their own cab, asked questions until they reach their destination. If they get three wrong before they get there they have to exit the taxi. Your taxi driver/host Ben Bailey is the key to the show, with helpful real-life background as both a limo driver and comic. He obviously has fun playing the game with the riders and enjoys their company in an honest and un-condescending way. He's also a very sharp guy with a quick wit. The game is a lot of fun, the questions are really pretty hard after the first $50 category, fortunately the folks they get in the cab are usually pretty smart. Enjoy!

Best entertainment. It's 2022 and we're still watching some of the reruns. Between my wife and I and sometimes the kids join in, we try to answer some of the questions and compete against each other. Wholesome entertainment 😷👍

There's not much I can add, but I to answer one question and simultaneously rebut another posting.

Part of the reason you have to wait for answer confirmation and why Ben seems so incredibly knowledgeable is that he is being fed the questions and answers via an earphone in his upstage (driver side window) ear. Every now and again, you can catch a glimpse of the cable going down the back of his neck.

However, the fact that he can drive in all kinds of weather and conditions, listen to his prompter, ask the questions and chat with the contestants is amazing.