Is this show still on TV? I haven’t watched it in decades.
Back when I was still a fan, I learned very soon that any video featuring a baby will win, no matter how stupid, insipid, unfunny, annoying, or obviously staged the video is. In particular there was one season where the $100,000 grand prize went to a baby rocking back and forth while watching aerobics on TV. That’s all – it wasn’t even dumb enough to be ironically funny. And yet the pointless baby video won, yet again. :smack:
In fact, the only time I recall a baby video NOT winning the $10,000 prize is when there were two such vids in the final three, and they split the vote.
We don’t watch the show but I was channel surfing and landed there just as they announced the finalists. I told my wife who would win, and who would always win from the formulae above.
My wife and I noticed this ages ago. We still watch AFHV (recorded, so we can FF through the inevitable dud spots) but never bother watching past the 50 minute mark.
I remember once, the Grand Winner for the entire season was some kid who was shouting his ABCs. Not only did I never find that one remotely funny, I’ve never even seen what the humor was supposed to be in it.
I recently clued my sis in on this. It’s been rigged this way even back when the audience got to “vote” on those hand-held gadgets. At least they quit that charade. I figure the reason why the kid always gets the money is because it’s a Disney program.
I recall an episode back in the 1990s that was called “Entries We Disqualified Because They Were Clearly Faked,” or something like that. After years of cute kids, silly animals, and guys getting hurt, this was a refreshing change.
It was a lot of over-the-top acting when things went wrong (as they were clearly planned to). I cannot remember the show very well, but I found it to be funnier than the original.
My daughter around age 3 would ask to watch “the Funny Animal Show where People Fall Down” Since that very accurately summed up the clips on AFHV, we’ve called it that ever since.
Talkin’ 'bout sick shows
Of America’s Funniest Home Videos
I can’t believe my eyes
When I see the kind of stuff that wins first prize
Somebody’s poor old mom
Falls down off the roof, lands right on the lawn
Face first on a rake
I hear they’ve got it on the seventeenth take
That’s funny as a kick in the crotch
And that kind of show, uh, I can’t watch