As most of us are trying to limit our trips to the grocery store as much as possible to avoid contracting COVID-19 the days of leisurely strolling down the aisles in the search of the perfect watermelon or freshest loaf of bread are over. Maybe this show is so comforting because supermarkets right now are, for most of us, places of fear and anxiety. And of course, there’s the timeless American pastime of critiquing the strategy of reality competition show contestants. And don’t forget announcer Johnny Gilbert, the Jeopardy! icon who narrates the action with a genuine gusto. There’s host David Ruprecht, whose awkward questions, unbridled positivity, and dorky sweaters are endlessly charming. There’s also a real joy in watching the chaos of someone’s mom slamming six giant hams, wrapped in gleaming gold foil, into a grocery cart that’s already stuffed with diapers, oversized cans of coffee, and massive bottles of laundry detergent. The first episode I watched in Netflix’s new collection featured the (now discontinued) Kudos granola bars that my mom refused to buy because they were expensive and the store brand was “just as good.” Later, I watched two grown women dashing around the show’s set in search of the little boxes of Hi-C fruit punch that I downed by the dozen as a kid. As a ’90s kid, I have found myself endlessly interested in which products from my childhood will make an appearance, whether in the food trivia rounds (doing well in these provides advantages for the coming sweeps, like additional time to dash around the store), or in the “Mini Sweep,” which involves running around to find a specific item mentioned by the host for even more advantages. It’s pure ’90s nostalgia, with the hairstyles and ridiculous fashion to match. Supermarket Sweep is delightfully deranged, especially 30 years removed from its Lifetime Channel debut. On July 8, though, Netflix added several episodes of the show to its streaming line-up, and hopefully this television classic will finally get the respect it deserves. In 2000, a reboot returned to the airwaves on the now-defunct network PAX for another two years, and then virtually disappeared from the pop culture conversation. The team that wins the “Major Sweep” gets a chance at the final round, a scavenger hunt of sorts that yields its winner a cash prize and eternal Supermarket Sweep glory.Īfter five years of Supermarket Sweep, the show was cancelled in 1995. For those who aren’t familiar, the concept of both iterations is simple: Teams of two contestants, usually friends or spouses or siblings, use their knowledge of grocery products and pop culture to accumulate time used in a “Major Sweep,” where contestants race around the store, filling their shopping carts with the priciest items in the supermarket, like baby formula and massive wheels of imported cheese. Technically, the ’90s version of Supermarket Sweep is a reboot of a show that aired for two years on ABC in the 1960s. In the ongoing horror that is this global pandemic, a pure beacon of light shone down from the heavens onto my Netflix app in the form of several seasons of Supermarket Sweep, a 1990s game show that involves adult humans running around supermarkets like absolute maniacs.
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