With all the ruckus around the holidays I forgot to mention that NBC's new late night poker show,
Poker After Dark, was starting up this week. I'm not sure of the scheduling everywhere, but we are getting it at 3AM up in the pacific northwest. That's mighty late for most folks, but with DVRs, VCRs, and the like, time doesn't matter much anymore.
I've been checking out the show in the morning before heading off to work, and I have to say, it's not bad. I think the most popular poker show going right now is probably GSN's
High Stakes Poker, and
Poker After Dark has taken a lot of clues from that show's success. They've brought in a a great group of pro players. This week features
Phil Hellmuth, Gus Hansen, Shawn Sheikhan, Annie Duke, Huck Seed and Steve Zolotow. Because of all those great personalities, the commentators mostly stay out of the way and let the interactions of the players power the show.
For me, getting Phil Hellmuth for the first week was perfect casting. There are few things I like more in poker than watching the results of Phil getting into a pot with the best hand only to be outdrawn. The reaction and his whole "If it wasn't for luck I'd never lose." schtick never gets old. And right now Shawn Sheikhan is under his skin.
Shana Hiatt, as host, is as cute as ever and does a good job interviewing the players at breaks in the game. It remains to be seen how the big rap-up episode is going to go, but I am looking forward to seeing how that all plays out. Overall, if you're not a fan of poker, PAD isn't going to make you one. But if you do like to watch poker on TV, it's one of the better options. If you want to get a look at what they're up to, there is a ton of stuff available over at the NBC Sports website for the show. Video clips, pictures of Shana, and streams of all the segments aired so far.
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-04-2007 @ 6:07PM
Design said...
Washington DC is getting it around 3am as well.
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 7:29PM
Matt said...
I caught it last night for the first time...Don't know what time it was except that the major major M*A*S*H marathon was over on TV Land. It was a good show. I will TiVo it in the future.
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 10:29PM
Will said...
I've seen a few minutes of it when I've left the TV running. I'm not into watching poker on TV anymore like I was a couple of years ago.
Reply
1-04-2007 @ 8:58PM
TedSez said...
I also Tivo'd it for the first time last night. It seemed okay, and this episode even featured Phil Hellmuth going into one of his trademark hissy fits and storming off when he thought one of the other players was talking too much. But what this show is missing is the kind of expert commentary they have on "World Poker Tour" and even "Celebrity Poker Showdown," which makes everything more entertaining and turns each episode into a high-level poker lesson. (On the other hand, I have to agree that Shana Hiatt is hotter than ever.)
Reply
1-05-2007 @ 12:02AM
purpleslog said...
The presence of Phil Hellmuth on Poker shows has kept me from watching them. I do not understand his popularity.
Reply
1-05-2007 @ 3:37AM
Paul said...
I really love this show. The reasons why I was originally excited about the show -- the fact that it followed the 6-person sit-and-go for a full week instead of just cutting the best hands of a tourney's final table into 1 or 2 hours -- still stand. As a poker player, I like to see the entire game unfold. Every low pot between 2 people can lead to the decisions later on in the game.
But what I didn't expect was how good the table talk would be! Normally you don't get to hear that much, as the commentators are babbling on about what hand means what, odds, etc. But really, if someone's watching poker in 2007, they probably already know how to play. Putting Hellmuth and The Sheik at the same table was a good move by the producers. It totally became like a soap opera-ish reality show. The Sheik is an ass, and Phil can be a baby at the table, so it made for some great entertainment.
And I think people are fans of Hellmuth because he really is one of the best Hold'em tourney players of all-time. 10 WSOP bracelets aren't an accident. But really, he just gets so riled up about stuff that happens in every game everywhere. If it's going on at a table with 6 of the best players in the game, it's not that unusual, Phil. But it's great to see him get all worked up!
Reply
1-05-2007 @ 11:22AM
Guido said...
I like it so far, but it's not as good as High Stakes which is to be expected I guess.
My complaint is that at least in Episode One, it's hard to hear a lot of the table talk going on. It's hard to follow 2 conversations at once, so maybe lowering some of the mics would help. Sheiky never shuts up the whole time.
Reply
1-05-2007 @ 5:03PM
Brent McKee said...
I'm not sure people are actually fans of Hellmuth's as much as they're fans of seeing his stage persona getting blasted. Some people at the World Series of Poker said that people applaud when Doyle Brunson is eliminated because they have so much respect for him; they applaud when Hellmuth is eliminated because they're glad to see him go.
Reply
1-11-2007 @ 2:11PM
Poker After Dark said...
Its an excelent show , click my name to find out how to qualify for free
Reply
1-15-2007 @ 1:28AM
Sean said...
Good show, entertaining and I agree with them focusing on the table talk rather than the commentator, but seriously, who's that dude in the background that randomly spits lame one-liners? does anyone else find this bothersome? I've noticed that a lot of what the "commentator" says doesnt even really make sense. They might as well do away with him completely. Also, I've noticed that some some of the most interesting hands were missed because the cameras were focused on interviewing one of the players, but maybe this aspect will become more organized.
Reply