History Main / CarriedByTheHost

* Regis Philbin for ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire?'', in spite of the show having lasted almost four times as long with successors Meredith Vieira and Cedric the Entertainer.

* Dominic Diamond on ''GamesMaster'' (also notable for Season 3 being considered along the lines of CanonDiscontinuity for him being replaced by Dexter Fletcher for that season).

* ''The Golden Shot'' was hugely popular when BobMonkhouse was hosting it, but nobody else could ever get it to work.

* Just about any show hosted by BillCullen that wasn't the original ''Price is Right''. Most of the shows he was associated with went off the air in a year or less (''Winning Streak'', ''Hot Potato'', ''Child's Play'', etc.) but he was such a phenomenal host that he made even the most mediocre game format watchable.
** To be fair, though, many of those shows he hosted that did end up failing generally ended up doing so as a result of getting ScrewedByTheNetwork, not because of any formatting flaws. The lone exception, ''Blockbusters'' (which also qualifies), got a ''much'' longer run in the UK, but had a much ''shorter'' run a second time in the US (with successor Bill Rafferty).

* Dave Lamb carries the UK version of ''ComeDineWithMe'' - and that's as a voiceover without ever appearing on screen.

* Many WhoseLineIsItAnyway fans feel this way about Drew Carey, has his interactions with Ryan and Colin were often the best part of the show. Aisha Tyler hasn't had nearly as much luck.
** Drew himself is a poor substitute for Clive Anderson, the host of the British version.
* Series/DirtyJobs would be at best mildly entertaining without [[DeadpanSnarker Mike]] [[SelfDeprecation Rowe]] at the helm.

** A show that manages to get it right, but not ''quite'' as perfect as ''Series/MythBusters'' is ''TimeWarp'' as the two hosts actually knew the science behind most of what they were talking about and also had interesting personalities to help keep viewers from getting bored.

** Interestingly, the Series/MythBusters were originally [[ExecutiveMeddling encouraged]] to emulate the onscreen dynamics of another popular Discovery Channel show, ''Series/AmericanChopper'' (itself a prime example of this trope; the show has long since been more about family drama than anything to do with motorcycles). They eventually refused to keep acting this way, and their popularity has only waxed since.

* The various presenters of the otherwise cheap and one-shot ''Blankety-Blank'' all made the show work. Sir TerryWogan, then deadpan snarker LesDawson, and finally acid-tongued Scouse drag artist [[LilySavage Paul O'Grady]], all made a virtue of the show's legenday cheapness and the unbeleivably cheap and tacky prizes the members of the public were fighting for.

* Many WhoseLineIsItAnyway fans feel this way about Drew Carey, has his interactions with Ryan and Colin were often the best part of the show. Aisha Tyler hasn't had nearly as much luck

* Try and imagine ''Series/{{QI}}'' without StephenFry or Alan Davies for a second.

* Not only is ''Series/LetsMakeADeal'' Monty Hall's signature series, but Hall himself is ''Deal'''s signature host. Bob Hilton and Billy Bush... not so much. Hilton's version lasted one season; Bush's, '''five episodes''' (three of which aired). Hilton was actually replaced by Hall for his version's final weeks in a last-ditch attempt to save the show (which didn't work).
** Wayne Brady is another example.

* Fifteen total years, four Emmys, a slew of awesome and funny moments, and no less than three relatively unsuccessful revivals all add up to one universal truth: Only Creator/DickClark can host ''Series/{{Pyramid}}''.

* No one but Peter Tomarken could host ''PressYourLuck'', as Todd Newton painfully demonstrated with ''Whammy!''
** Peter Tomarken almost hosted ''Whammy!''. {{GSN}} filmed two pilots: one featuring Peter Tomarken and the other featuring Todd Newton. Just think about WhatCouldHaveBeen.

* Regis Philbin for ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire?''

** To be fair, though, many of those shows he hosted that did end up failing generally ended up doing so as a result of getting ScrewedByTheNetwork, not because of any formatting flaws.

* The various presenters of the otherwise cheap and one-shot ''Blankety-Blank'' all made the show work. Sir TerryWogan, then deadpan snarker LesDawson, and finally acid-tongued Scouse drag artist [[LilySavage Paul O'Grady]], all made a virtue of the show's legenday cheapness and the unbeleivably cheap and tacky prizes the members of the public were fighting for.

* Richard Dawson, and later Ray Combs, both were immensely popular hosts on ''Series/FamilyFeud'', and each brought a lot to the program. Louie Anderson, Richard Karn, John O'Hurley and Steve Harvey, on the other hand, provide excellent foils, as the show has never recaptured its former popularity with the four new hosts.

* The NBC version of ''TheSingingBee'' had some mediocre success with host Joey Fatone. However, when the show [[ChannelHop channel hopped]] to CMT, they hired stand up comic Melissa Peterman. It's been more successful, notably since Peterman's charisma is able to cover when a contestant is nervous, too quiet, or simply dull.

* ''WhereInTheWorldIsCarmenSandiego'' was made memorable entirely due to its terrific cast: Greg Lee, Lynne Thigpen, and, of course, Rockapella. Only Thigpen carried over to SequelSeries ''WhereInTimeIsCarmenSandiego'', which is the main reason that show is widely considered inferior.

** The British version, ''You've been Framed'', was pretty much so-so and just cheap infill on an early Saturday evening, before the good stuff started. And then off-the-wall conedian HarryHill took over doing the commentary and voiceovers. It's now the Harry Hill Show, with background film provided by members of the public.

* Robert Llewellyn on ''Series/ScrapheapChallenge''.

** Or Adam Growe in Canada

* Marc Summers of {{Nickelodeon}}'s ''[[DoubleDare1986 Double Dare]]''.

* Richard Dawson, and later Ray Combs, both were immensely popular hosts on ''FamilyFeud'', and each brought a lot to the program. Louie Anderson, Richard Karn, John O'Hurley and Steve Harvey, on the other hand, provide excellent foils, as the show has never recaptured its former popularity with the four new hosts.

* Robert Llewellyn on ''JunkyardWars''.
* For most people, ''{{Jeopardy}}'' just wouldn't be the same without Alex Trebek (at least since it was {{Uncanceled}} in TheEighties).
* ''{{Knightmare}}'' features Hugo Myatt presenting ''in character'' as dungeon master Tregard.
* Olmec of ''LegendsOfTheHiddenTemple'', much more so than the actual (rather mediocre) MC, Kirk Fogg.
* The '70s revival of ''MatchGame'' was all over this trope, taking what could have been a boring parlor game and putting it into the hands of six celebrities and emcee Gene Rayburn, all of whom were much more interesting to watch with their antics than the actual game they were playing. Even better were episodes to be shown later in the week (apparently, the shows for a week were all shot on one day, and somewhere around Wednesday's show everyone took a lunch break... for the celebrity panel, there were often three, four or five martini lunch breaks, and it showed through the increasingly anarchic behavior of those installments...)

* Jenny [=McCarthy=] and ''Series/SingledOut''. The show only lasted a season and a half after her departure, despite being replaced by Carmen Electra.$
* TakeshisCastle. Watching people falling in mud and injuring themselves: funny. Watching them do it to Craig Charles' commentary: hysterical.$$
* Creator/{{ABC}}'s ''[[{{Wipeout2009}} Wipeout]]'' (Not to be confused with Peter Tomarken's [[Series/{{Wipeout1988}} much older show of the same name]]): John Henson and John Anderson's commentary is as funny as watching the contestants trip and fall.

** The Swedish Wipeout also would be nowhere as good without its hilarious hosts.

* No one ever, ''ever'', tuned into the original ''Series/YouBetYourLife'' for game value.

** After a dramatic incident, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp0rVNahOtE see it here]] he left the show for good. They took lessons from the last time, and changed a lot about the show, to prevent his successor from becoming a ReplacementScrappy.

* Angus Deayton, the original chairman of ''HaveIGotNewsForYou'', remains popular among fans of the show, several years after being sacked for personal indiscretions. While the rotating guest hosts have produced many popular replacements, there is still a considerable segment that wants Angus back full time.

* Nicholas Parsons, host of ''JustAMinute'', and now the last surviving original participant. Over the years, the show has seen many, many different panellists and their personal styles, but they've ''all'' [[ButtMonkey made fun of the chairman]], and he's ''always'' {{lampshaded}} it.

** Ten years ago, it was being carried by Jupitus, Mark Lamaar and Sean Hughes, and the thought of continuing once Lamaar and Hughes left provoked the same reaction.

* Try and imagine ''{{QI}}'' without StephenFry or Alan Davies for a second.

* ''Wipeout'' (U.S. version) wouldn't be nearly as good without John Henson and John Anderson providing snarky narration. And it is now clear that Jill Wagner as the interviewer was seriously underestimated, as her replacement isn't nearly as good.
** And Richard Hammond as the announcer for the U.K. version.

* Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond on ''TopGear''. And The Stig, of course. Both Clarkson and May presented Old ''Top Gear'' before it was canceled, though not at the same time.

* Former driver Martin Brundle's commentaries for FormulaOne racing are noted by many as being one of the main reason's to watch in many English speaking countries. He's even got his own [[http://brundleandfriends.blogspot.co.uk/ appreciation blog]].

* Viewing of ''AmericanIdol'' dropped drastically every time judges were replaced. With Simon gone and now running the American version of ''[[TheXFactor X-Factor]]'', it is a safe bet Idol isn't long for life.