Question: Just watched the series premiere of Treasure Hunters, and I enjoyed it (especially the interactive portion, hokey as it was) in spite of myself. Someone should turn the producers on to a little show called The Amazing Race, if you ask me. But anyway, my question: Is host Laird Macintosh a robot? Really seems like it. Or is this one for Ask Ausiello? Thanks!
Answer: With Ausiello currently on a well-earned summer break, I guess I'll field this. Laird Macintosh may not be an actual robot, but he plays one on TV. Are those cell-phone instructions not the cheesiest use of a host since, maybe, the disembodied head on the repulsive Unan1mous? While Treasure Hunters isn't a bottom-feeder like that Fox atrocity, I found the setup needlessly, even comically, confusing, and the rip-off factor (not just of The Amazing Race, but of The Da Vinci Code and National Treasure) more than a little off-putting. I'm not wild about the teams-of-three setup: too many characters, not enough character
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