MG 78

[narzo]

watching these MG78 episodes on Buzzr, which I had really not spent much time watching before on GSN, I can't help but notice in just 2 weeks (20 episodes) worth it seems like Gene Rayburn is more "burnt" than Richard, and possibly more responsible for the shows ending than Mr. Dawson.

His impatience with a contestnats bad answer is obvious, and lets face it, the producers seem to have "dumbed down" the contestants by now.  In fact, in general, his good humor toward a bad answer is now a "wow, you're stupid" which the viewer may have found offensive. 

He took his frustration with the way questions were worded to a brief on-camera "chat" with the team about how "this shouldn't happen in the future". He did that on an episode where a question had a written correction on it as opposed to a full-on re-writting.  This is most unprofessional. 

In general, the attitude has always been "Richard was a bad guy" but I'm actually finding him to be of good humor and contributing to the show.  As much as MG '74, no.  But he's working a great deal now and, when given the chance to add some fun and frolic, he always does. 

[whewfan]

The first month of '78 shows, Richard doesn't seem to be bored or annoyed, but at the same time he's contributing less than usual. I'd say it was at least within the next couple months when the frustration gradually sets in, and once he refused to smile, it was pretty much the point of no return. He was never really funny after that.

Gene  may have been frustrated too by Dawson's gradual change in behavior, as his lack of participation ruined the flow. Brett and Charles were obviously overcompensating for this, because usually Brett and Charles had some bit of schtick between them, then Richard was the comedy relief for the lower tier. With Richard only giving his answer in a low, monotone voice, there's no funny business in the lower tier.

[Jimmy Owen]

Richard seemed to still be in good humor on the Family Feuds of the same era.  Maybe 6 FFs and 6 MGs every week was starting to get to him.

[whewfan]

That's possible. Once Feud was a big hit in both daytime and syndication, Richard didn't really see any point of being on Match Game. In his last interview, Richard said he was put off by the questions getting raunchier as the series progressed. In another interview, he said that he took the Star Wheel as a "slight", since it took away his chance to give away money. As I recall, with the Star Wheel, Richard was the first panelist the wheel landed on, then it only landed on him a couple more times since, which led to speculation that they rigged the wheel so it wouldn't land on him

[Dbacksfan12]

As I recall, with the Star Wheel, Richard was the first panelist the wheel landed on, then it only landed on him a couple more times since, which led to speculation that they rigged the wheel so it wouldn't land on him

Speculation by who?  You? Dawson? A professional bowler?  I find it far fetched that Goodson would ever allow someone to fix any aspect of his shows.

[SRIV94]

As I recall, with the Star Wheel, Richard was the first panelist the wheel landed on, then it only landed on him a couple more times since, which led to speculation that they rigged the wheel so it wouldn't land on him

Speculation by who?  You? Dawson? A professional bowler?  I find it far fetched that Goodson would ever allow someone to fix any aspect of his shows.

And considering it's the contestant doing the spinning, I think it'd be hard to achieve.  Maybe I'm naive...

[BillCullen1]

As I recall, with the Star Wheel, Richard was the first panelist the wheel landed on, then it only landed on him a couple more times since, which led to speculation that they rigged the wheel so it wouldn't land on him

Speculation by who?  You? Dawson? A professional bowler?  I find it far fetched that Goodson would ever allow someone to fix any aspect of his shows. 

I have to agree with this. It was obvious that Richard was not happy on MG toward the end of his run there. On one show, Rayburn congratulated him for winning the Emmy for FF, and Richard couldn't have cared any less. He left a big void to fill, but if he wasn't happy, MG was better off without him. It went on for another year on CBS and three years in syndication after that.

The show after Richard left, Rayburn and Bob Barker (in Richard's seat) joked about it a little

Barker: There's a sign here that says the sun will never set on the British Empire
Rayburn: Yeah, we though he was going to be here forever.

With a few exceptions, Richard was not mentioned on MG after that.

[Adam Nedeff]

As I recall, with the Star Wheel, Richard was the first panelist the wheel landed on, then it only landed on him a couple more times since, which led to speculation that they rigged the wheel so it wouldn't land on him

CITATION NEEDED.

[Thunder]

Be careful with that. That Peacock guy will nominate you for deletion.