"Minute To Win It" (2013 GSN Revival) Review

Set Design- 10

Gameplay- 9

Show Flow- 6

Potential Viewer Ratings- 8

Play-Along Factor- 1

Host- 6

Overall Rating- 6.7

Premise- A team of two contestants will face a maximum of ten 60-minute physical challenges. Every time a team successfully completes a challenge, they will win the money at stake for the level. The money tree is as follows: $1,000 / $2,000 /$3,000 /$5,000 / $10,000 / $15,000 / $25,000 / $50,000 / $100,000 / $250,000. Afterwards, the team will decide whether to risk their winnings to advance to the next level or keep their winnings and stop the game. Once a team reaches either the $1,000; $10,000 or $25,000 milestones, they are guarantee to win that minimum amount no matter what happens in the rest of the game. If team is unable to complete the challenge in 60 seconds, they will lose a life. If a team loses all three lives, the game will end and team will win the last milestone amount they had achieved. If a team completes all ten challenges, they will win $250,000. 

And now, for the review...

If you were a fan of the NBC version of Minute To Win It, then you'll love this version even better mainly because this series focuses more on the actual gameplay rather than the emotional aspect of the show. GSN's version stays true to original version with a solid host and the same good lineup of challenging and physically demanding games to play. Sadly, this version also brought along the annoying "level win" music cues, the predictable pace of the show (ex. knowing how much a team will win based on how much time is left in an episode), the irritating spoilers in the commercial teases and the sudden commercial breaks in the middle of games in progress. With that being said, I do like the revamped money tree format and how it's not jam-packed with unnecessary milestones as well as the new top prize. On a quick side note, Minute To Win It's $250,000 grand prize is the most money ever offered for a GSN original game show. Although I believe the new money tree still has one too many milestones, it still works for the show makes the game more riskier and exciting to play than in the NBC version. It shows that the GSN version isn't so fixated on trying to force grand prize wins or giving away an outrageous amount of money with virtually no risk involved as the contestants delve deeper into the game. As the new emcee, Apollo Anton Ohno is a good, calm host for this show. He does a great job of controlling the pace of the show, the sometimes-distracting liveliness of the audience and he comments and shows genuine excitement where needed. I also like his calm presence and demeanor while consoling the contestants if they are hesitant or uncertain about facing a challenge late in the game with thousands of life-changing dollars at stake.

Overall, unlike the network's attempt to revive NBC's 1 vs. 100, I like what GSN has done with Minute To Win It. It would have been very interesting to see if the producers had taken the show in an alternate direction to emulate the U.K. version. Nevertheless, as good as this revival is, I firmly believe that GSN's Minute To Win It is going to be "one-and-done" by the end of the season. Well, I said the same thing about CW's Oh Sit and that show managed to get renewed for a second season. We will see what happens, though. 

Watch new episodes of Minute To Win It Tuesday beginning June 25 on GSN!!!

**All screenshots have been taken from the actual episodes of Minute To Win It. No ownership is implied.**