GSN goes to MG '78

[aaron sica]

And Gene Rayburn says he loves the new set. I love it, too.

I was always more of a fan of set #2 as well. More colors, and of course, the Star Wheel. The Wheel was what hooked me to the show when I first saw it as a very young child.

[BrandonFG]

I dunno how to explain it, but the second set looked....."cleaner". Either that or, that even in 1978, the orange, shag carpet and stucco just looked really dated.

[PYLdude]

I dunno how to explain it, but the second set looked....."cleaner". Either that or, that even in 1978, the orange, shag carpet and stucco just looked really dated.

I say both statements are certainly accurate. New set was certainly brighter, for sure. And I might even argue the original set never really looked modern to begin with. To me, it always had that old parlor with the dingy furnishings and smoke stained wall look about it.

[BrandonFG]

"Smoke stained" is a perfect description. :-)

[jjman920]

The reason I enjoyed the original set more was because of how warm it was. It oozed literally every stylistic trope of the era. The updated set, while more modern, seemed cold and a bit too bright with all the white. It was such a stark contrast to what was there previously. I agree that by '78 the times were a changing, but that was a bit too much.

The original set also means to me, the apex of the show. The show was at its best on that set in my opinion. More time, zanier Gene. While the new set had nothing to do with that (they were going to lose time no matter what the set), I was still left with an impression of that version. Plus, I'm probably biased because dingy smoke stained orange and beige reminds me of the living room I was babysat in.

[BillCullen1]

And it has happened. As of the MG '78 episode aired on March 13, Dawson has left the building. Bob Barker sits in his chair on the second show aired. There was a noticeable edit when Gene acknowledges Barker. who mentions something about the British empire. Rayburn says "We thought he was going to be here forever." He then banters with the others and introduces the contestants.

[That Don Guy]

I dunno how to explain it, but the second set looked....."cleaner". Either that or, that even in 1978, the orange, shag carpet and stucco just looked really dated.

Did the "new set" switch colors at some point?  I seem to recall that the celebrity podiums were red at one time and blue at another.

[chrisholland03]

The corrugated backdrop behind the lower tier changed from a dark blue to a light blue (matching the corrugated contestant backdrop) after the first week or so.  They also switched up the background lighting from time to time (shades of orange and blue).

[WhammyPower]

The corrugated backdrop behind the lower tier changed from a dark blue to a light blue (matching the corrugated contestant backdrop) after the first week or so.  They also switched up the background lighting from time to time (shades of orange and blue).

And they also removed the white fill-in from the contestants score displays.
Compare:

Premiere of blue set:


Episode from final week:

[BillCullen1]

A rare MG sighting. A couple of weeks back, they aired the week when Raymond Burr made his only appearance on MG. He was in the Richard Dawson memorial chair. He got several matches.

[Neumms]

Perhaps the least star-studded panel the CBS version ever saw just ended on GSN: From Carter Country Guich Cook, BS, CNR, from What's Happening!! Mabel King, from Flying (or was it Flyin') High, Ken Olson, and MW.

Granted, the three newcomers were all working at the time--Gene noted that Mabel King was also in The Wiz with Nipsey Russell, and Gulch and Ken certainly tried their best--but it was weird to see that many unfamiliar faces, I suspect even watching in '78.

[aaron sica]

Bumping this because, per the GSN schedule for October 28, the second episode at 8:30am (EST) starts the journey back to MG78, episode 1216.

[JonSea31]

Bumping this because, per the GSN schedule for October 28, the second episode at 8:30am (EST) starts the journey back to MG78, episode 1216.

I don't see a PDF schedule for that week on Casey Abell's blog.

[BrandonFG]

Bumping this because, per the GSN schedule for October 28, the second episode at 8:30am (EST) starts the journey back to MG78, episode 1216.

I don't see a PDF schedule for that week on Casey Abell's blog.

Your source was your first mistake.

[whewfan]

Depending on the tape date, maybe the murder of Bob Crane had something to do with the sour mood?

No, I don't think so. He would've mentioned Crane's death on Family Feud, which to my recollection he never did. I do remember him mentioning Bing Crosby's death, and Crosby produced Hogan's Heroes. I don't think he was close to Bob Crane. He was at this breaking point as of this time though. There were rare moments where he was in better mood and interacted more, but he never really snapped out of it. In one of Gene Rayburn's interviews that someone did a while back, he said that the producers were playing backgammon with him to get him in a good mood (Richard loved backgammon) but obviously it didn't work too well.

One nice thing to say about Dawson though is that he always remembered people's birthdays and was generous with gifts, which is likely why on Family Feud, they always surprised Richard on his birthday. (That, and maybe Howard Felscher liked seeing a man with a big ego totally lose it and cry his eyes out on national TV)