Ca$h Cab

When described as a "game show taking place in a NYC cab", it doesn't sound all that interesting...maybe downright weak. However, this show manages to take a completely mundane act -- getting a cab ride -- and turn it into a really fun, exciting, and sometimes extremely funny show! The first four "general knowledge questions" of each cab ride are worth only $25 each, which is paltry by today's game show standards. But that's part of what makes it so charming; the answers are actually facts that common people often actually know! (Thus, the low-scale payout of only $25.) Everyone enjoys being right, and they get more and more pumped as the ride goes toward their destination. Questions eventually go up in value and in difficulty. And then there's the ever-popular "Red Light Challenge," which I won't spoil by describing. The only thing to watch out for is the "three strikes and you're out!" rule, and it is completely enforced! Thankfully, contestants have one mobile shout-out (cell phone provided) and one street shout-out (ask a stranger right out of your cab window!). Both are fun, and often helpful. Anyway, my 12-year-old LOVES this show, and part of it is because she can answer some questions herself, much like the first few questions of the "Millionaire" game show. The questions are reasonable (and even educational) and the reaction of the cab riders is almost always amusing -- wouldn't YOU be incredulous to find yourself on a game show just because you hailed a cab? Add to that the fact that Ben Bailey's facial expressions are often hilarious. All in all, it has become our family's absolute favorite show. As Ben would say, "So whaddaya say? You in?"

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.

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 😷👍

CASH CAB is one the best TV shows on the air today. Unsuspecting passengers enter a NYC cab that turns out to be a game show, complete with driver/host Ben Bailey, who asks a series of general knowledge questions for money while on the way to their destination. If the passengers get three questions wrong, Bailey kicks them out on the spot, even if it's raining or snowing. But they can also win handsomely, and I have seen a set of very sharp passengers walk off with $3,000, a record for the show to date. The show is not dissimilar in its questions to ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIFTH GRADER. Bailey is the perfect host and the show is tightly edited and a load of fun to pay along with. One odd thing: It is apparent that Bailey hands the winners funny money, and they are always shown walking off down the street or into a building, waving their funny money. But in fact, they are mailed checks, minus the tax. Makes sense to me, both from the tax view and safety. This is Noo Yawk, after all. Would you wave three grand in the air while walking down a NYC street? I wouldn't. All hail the Cash Cab!

Good escape and fun series. Love the shots of NYC. Ben is a great host.