How many standup comics does it take to host a game show?

At least five, counting Dennis Miller, now with NBC quizzfest "Amne$ia."

Miller joins Howie Mandel (NBC's "Deal or No Deal"), Bob Saget (NBC's "1 vs. 100"), Jeff Foxworthy (Fox's "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?") and Drew Carey (CBS' "New Price Is Right," "Power of 10") as funnymen turned game show hosts.

"I wasn't looking to host, but when they brought me ... uh, what's the name of the show again? Oh yeah, 'Amne$ia,' " he said, "I got excited because I realized it's a comedy wrapped in a game show package."

"Amne$ia" contestants earn cash by recalling life events.

"It's not just a game show where we're out there smacking buttons all the time and trying to do speed and alacrity. There's some sort of a whimsical walk through a person's life, sort of like Ralph Edwards on 'This Is Your Life,' " Miller says.

Standup comics have long been radio and TV mainstays. Their TV game show gigs date back to Groucho Marx, host of the 1950s hit "You Bet Your Life." Mandel's success with "Deal or No Deal" appears to have opened a fresh floodgate for quick-witted, fast-reacting comics.

"Comics have been steeled in the fire of nightclubs," Miller said. "You think on your feet because it's a fluid situation. Game shows are fluid situations. So you take the same skills, sort of flip them inside out, shepherd them through this, get your laughs, be a hail fellow, and everybody is happy."

Until "1 vs. 100," Saget spurned game show gigs. The opportunity to combine humor and spontaneity helped sell him: "There's a certain lightness and fun about a trivia show. I'm a cynical guy. But this gives you the ability to get real sometimes. I also get my 10 percent of innuendo humor. And I've coined the term shiggles." (That's his combination of a word unprintable in a family newspaper and giggles.)

Look for more standup comics as hosts. "Their experience with a live audience is invaluable," says "Deal or No Deal" producer Scott St. John. "They're relaxed ... And they're adept, because they've dealt with hecklers and know how to handle unexpected situations."