If you haven't seen the many preview clips of O'Hurley on Feud, go there now! The new set is basically 21st century Richard Dawson. The family poses and intro are now intact. The format and music remain the same.
O'Hurley brings in a welcoming breath of fresh air. He's exactly what the show's been needing for the last 6 seasons, a host with a quick wit that listens to the contestants and makes them feel at ease. He brings enough variety to keep the shows fresh and exciting.
Louie Anderson was funny, but his hosting style was inconsistent. Sometimes he was good, and other times he looks lost, and sometimes, tired. His voice was also grating to many, and the scoring format was a little unfair. It was 3 single rounds and one triple round. On quite a few occasions, a single family racked up a lot of points in the 3 rounds, and the strategy is to deliberately strike out and the other team couldn't possibly catch up no matter what answer they say. The set also had a "cold" feel with all the silver and blue. People I know have seen tapings of Louie's version of Feud and say that Louie makes a LOT of mistakes during a taping.
Richard Karn was... likable. Unlike Louie, Karn was VERY consistent and ran Feud like a well oiled machine. How can you NOT like Karn? Very nice, and a great smile. The set was also revamped with warmer earth tone colors. Unfortunately, just being likable doesn't cut it as a host for Family Feud. Truth be told, Richard Karn was never a quick witted guy, and while he had his moments, wasn't really that funny. He missed MANY opportunities for quick one liners when a BAD answer was given. If you watch especially the last season, it's easy to see that Karn has gotten stale. A good host can make every show different, and give people a reason to keep watching. With Karn, it seemed each show was pretty much the same. The set for Karn's final season was also all wrong. The set was overhauled with more lights, and a new backdrop that changed colors.
