Favorite version of Hollywood Sqaures

[The Ol' Guy]

Growing up, Marshall's version was great, especially because the celebs were ones I grew up with. Didn't really watch the Davidson version. Pretty goofy. And didn't care for H2 with Whoopi. Too overbearing. Once she left and Henry Winkler took over production, I enjoyed it again. At least he tried to give it the charm and humor of the original. And now 'n then there would be an old favorite face in the lineup. It seemed to have some of the discipline and smoothness of the Marshall days. Even with the lowered budget.  The c- and d-list celebs who tried to make Davidson/Whoopi Squares their own personal playground instead of letting the game be the star turned me off.

[JasonA1]

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' post=\'220428\' date=\'Jul 18 2009, 10:42 AM\']Loved Martin Mull on Fernwood/America 2 Night.[/quote]

And I liked all the ways he got out of dancing in the new intro. The intro was okay, but I imagine taping those solo was beyond awkward. I don't blame Martin one bit.

-Jason

[joker316]

Count me among the Marshall fans. Especially the daytime version, it had a much more relaxed pace than nighttime. Perhaps because the games straddled. Second , for me, is Bergeron post Whoopi. And Martin Mull was a superb center square.

IIRC in an interview, Merrill Heatter was asked what he thought of all the versions of HS. Of Davidson's, he said that the show was "too much like a circus, and not true to the original." While the latter part could be subjective, the first part is true for me anyway.

/Before anyone asks, the quote I believe came from TV Guide, but I could be wrong.
//Mull on Fernwood/America 2-Night was the best! Should be on a dvd box set!!

[Ian Wallis]

The only problem I really had with Marshall's version was that it was too dry at times. Notice the Bergeron version has had more exposure on GSN, I'm guessing for that reason (ISTR the Marshall version getting pretty low ratings).

Even though I loved Marshall Squares growing up, and watched pretty well every syndicated show (school got in the way of the daytime version), I can totally understand why it didn't play well with GSN's audiences.  It had a much different pace than the Bergeron version, and sometimes the jokes would seem a little flat.  I had wondered at the time why Match Game reruns were doing so much better, especially since many of the stars on that were C-list as well, but MG had almost constant laughs and tom-foolery while HS had its share of serious moments which at times dragged on.  Even Paul Lynde on occasion would just give the answer if he couldn't think of a funny zinger, depriving us of an expected laugh.

When Davidson's verison first came on I really liked it.  The visual questions didn't bother me at first.  I thought they added a neat element to the show.

Bergeron's version was a can't miss for me most of the time - who can forget the "You Fool" episode?  I think it's just about the funniest game show episode in the history of the genre.  This version also had its share of D-list celebrities (such as the one-minor-hit wonder Vitamin C), and in the beginning there was too much Whoopi.  But the 6-year run did have its share of great moments, such as the two game show weeks, and Marshall stepping back behind the podium again.

To sum up, I like all three versions and can't really name a favorite.  At different times, each one has been a favorite.

[BillCullen1]

I remember on Marshall's daytime version of HS, they had a contestant who was the spitting image of Wally Cox. After Peter joked with him during the intro, the man picked Wally Cox to start the game. After much laughter, Wally said four words that brought the house down. "This game is fixed." Everyone, including Peter, lost it. That's the funniest moment I remember fronm the show.

[GameShowGuru]

I'm going to have to go against the grain here, but my order of preference is:

Davidson
Bergeron
Bauman
Marshall

Rationale:

Davidson: This was the version that made me like HS (I saw the Marshall version as a single digit-aged tot and didn't care for it, details later).  It actually was the wild, manic atmosphere and numerous "tangents" the show went on that made me like the show.  Put another way, it was what Match Game '90 should have been as far as the "onstage Hollywood party vibe" goes, and perhaps MG '90 was what HS '86 should have been as far as keeping the game moving along.  JM J. Bullock I thought was actually funny, and I had never suspected that he was gay.  Crazy as cats**t, yeah, but never gay.

Bergeron: Great revival, great stars, and Bergeron was the perfect straight man to Whoopi and the other celebs.  Whoopi I think just went overboard in some respects, but I thought it was a great show, even though Whoopi's final 1-2 seasons was making the show tank, but it bounced back beautifully when the Fonz took over.  I think if Fonzie took over one season earlier or TPTB gave HS one more season on the air (until 2005), then HS would've had a much longer run.

Bauman: Say what you will, but I thought MG/HS, with all its flaws was an orignal and novel concept and the merging of the two shows' formats was done brilliantly (why else would 'Net MG/HS Hour be such an Internet hit after all these years).  Further, the elimination of the "no tic-tac-toe by default" rule was a good one, i'll explain should anyone ask.  The two things that hurt the show was the caliber of celebs (mostly soap stars and NBC sitcom stars) and Jon Bauman, sad to say.  If Marshall was at the helm and some better celebs was selected, the show would've had a much more respectable run.  I like MG/HS on originality value alone.

Marshall: I want to say in no uncertain terms that Marshall's run was a great one and had most, if not all the A-list stars Hollywood had to offer.  However for me, I thought the show was just a little too dry (read: its humor was over my head).  As a kid, I always turned off HS for another game show on tv.  As an adult, I have a much higher level of respect for Marshall's version, but it doesn't put his version ahead of his successors' versions.

[davemackey]

Marshall
Bergeron
Davidson
Bauman

In order, best to worst. You cannot compare the chemistry of Marshall and his band of regulars - Paul Lynde, Charley Weaver, Wally Cox, Rose Marie, George Gobel, etc. - to whoever the celebrity bookers could get to fill Bauman's squares.

[76GMC]

Come to think of it, Abby Dalton and George Gobel were the only two HS big-time
regulars to ever do Bauman's version.

Anyone else notice that MGHS is one of the few, if perhaps ONLY, G-T celeb show
Betty White DIDN'T do??

[beatlefreak84]

Being a young'n, I grew up with Davidson's version and didn't see Marshall's until GSN started airing it.  Having only seen Bauman's version one time, I don't feel I'm at the level to comment on it, so I'll focus on the other three.

I think all of them had their good and bad points, but I personally felt the best was Bergeron-first/second Whoopi years and first H2 year.  I watched the show almost every day during these seasons and thought the show was a riot, especially with Bergeron as host.  He was a perfect straight man who also knew how to crack a joke every once in a while.  The overabundance of Whoopi and "double or nothing" bonus game turned me away (and having classes during the last season didn't help, either!).

I always liked Davidson's version as a kid, and I still kinda do, just less so than I once did.  I do think that the show moves along way too slowly, but I also liked the extremely fun, outgoing atmosphere that the show had.  I will admit that it slowed down the game considerably, and John's hosting didn't help too much, either.  My brother and I always were big fans of Jm J. when we were growing up, though...we thought he was just sooo crazy....

Marshall's version is, of course, the classic, and Marshall was great as a host.  But, except for the great zingers of Paul Lynde, Charley Weaver, and Rose Marie, I felt that the show was a little too subdued compared to the versions I grew up with (as well as MG).  Also, some of the celebrities pretty much gave monologues as zingers that would drive me up a wall, and I did not find Wally Cox funny at all.  Basically, it's a good show, but I can only take it a few episodes at a time.

So, although I can watch any version, in order of preference, and I almost feel the game show gods waiting to strike me for doing so, I'd go:

Bergeron
Davidson
Marshall

Anthony

[J.R.]

[quote name=\'GameShowGuru\' post=\'220449\' date=\'Jul 18 2009, 03:45 PM\']Further, the elimination of the "no tic-tac-toe by default" rule was a good one, i'll explain should anyone ask.[/quote]
Okay, I'll bite. Please explain. :-)

[golden-road]

[quote name=\'J.R.\' post=\'220472\' date=\'Jul 18 2009, 10:23 PM\'][quote name=\'GameShowGuru\' post=\'220449\' date=\'Jul 18 2009, 03:45 PM\']Further, the elimination of the "no tic-tac-toe by default" rule was a good one, i'll explain should anyone ask.[/quote]
Okay, I'll bite. Please explain. :-)
[/quote]

I think he means the rule where if your opponent goes for the block and misses, you have to earn the win yourself. MG/HS eliminated that rule; going for the block and missing results in a win for your opponent.

[DJDustman]

[quote name=\'golden-road\' post=\'220473\' date=\'Jul 18 2009, 11:43 PM\']I think he means the rule where if your opponent goes for the block and misses, you have to earn the win yourself. MG/HS eliminated that rule; going for the block and missing results in a win for your opponent.[/quote]

Davidson's squares also eliminated that rule.

[Johnissoevil]

I have no preference, actually.  I like every version...well, save for the HS half of MG-HSH.  Bauman, as great an actor as he is, couldn't host to save his life.  And this is just my opinion, but I didn't think John Davidson was as bad as people say.

[GameShowGuru]

[quote name=\'golden-road\' post=\'220473\' date=\'Jul 18 2009, 11:43 PM\'][quote name=\'J.R.\' post=\'220472\' date=\'Jul 18 2009, 10:23 PM\'][quote name=\'GameShowGuru\' post=\'220449\' date=\'Jul 18 2009, 03:45 PM\']Further, the elimination of the "no tic-tac-toe by default" rule was a good one, i'll explain should anyone ask.[/quote]
Okay, I'll bite. Please explain. :-)
[/quote]

I think he means the rule where if your opponent goes for the block and misses, you have to earn the win yourself. MG/HS eliminated that rule; going for the block and missing results in a win for your opponent.
[/quote]

Correct, golden road.  However, in hindsight I meant to have said, "I'll explain WHY the no tic-tac-toe by default rule was a good one should anyone ask.  Anyway, since I'm here, I'll explain it.

I think the rule was a good one because there was actually 1/3 of the entire game devoted to HS while 2/3 of the game was devoted to MG.  To help mitigate this "deficiency", HS needed to get in as many games as possible before time ran out.  One of the ways to do this was to eliminate the "no tic-tac-toe by default" rule.  And unlike MG, where score was kept in points, HS score was kept in dollars.  Is having only one HS round due to a Gilbert Gottfried-esque "YOU FOOL!" moment consuming the entire HS segment worth the $100 you won, knowing that you could win $200 in the next game (and $300 the game after that, to say nothing of the $25 per square)?  I think not.  

Just my opinion...

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'GameShowGuru\' post=\'220449\' date=\'Jul 18 2009, 01:45 PM\'](why else would 'Net MG/HS Hour be such an Internet hit after all these years).[/quote]
http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/oo216/0...ani/lol_wut.jpg

Further, the elimination of the "no tic-tac-toe by default" rule was a good one, i'll explain should anyone ask.

Yeah, I'd kinda like to hear this explanation too. (And this comes from someone who *likes* the Bauman show.)