ABC bringing back Match Game

[BillCullen1]

The pics and reports are encouraging. I look forward to seeing this with my own eyes Thursday. I got an update from OCA saying to dress in layers, as the studio can get quite cold.

[golden-road]

By the way, I was posting via smartphone on the bus ride back from the Match Game taping.  (I just realized that I didn't convey that clearly.)  I had a terrific time.

Unfortunately, some of the other audience members seemed disappointed by the taping's slow pace.  This was about as far from live-to-tape as a game show can get (retakes and alternate takes galore).  Also, many people felt uncomfortably cold.  (An employee said that the studio has never been so cold in the five years he's worked there.)  Thankfully, I prefer cooler temperatures than most.

By the way, all of the music sounded (to my ear) like the actual 1970s recordings.  That was a pleasant surprise.  And I was pleased to take part in an audience poll for use in a future Super Match round.  (It contained eight items in the "[word] _____" format and four in the "_____ [word]" format.  Presumably, most won't actually be used.)

I feel like I can cross something off my bucket list.  But not just yet, as I'm headed back tomorrow morning. 

Out of curiosity, what was the format? I presume since the advertised top prize is $25,000 that there is no Star Wheel?

[TLEberle]

It's very unlikely that the top answer of the audience match pays $833 and the wheel can triple your money, or that it stays $500 but the wheel can quintuple your money, which is a shame because I thought the star wheel was a nice bit of excitement in the end game.

[Fedya]

Other than the celebs mindlessly yelling "Double, double, double", the randomization was a good idea.

[David Levy]

Out of curiosity, what was the format? I presume since the advertised top prize is $25,000 that there is no Star Wheel?

That's correct.  They're using pre-Star Wheel rules, but with no returning champions.  (And they shot an extra intro to enable the two games to be shown in either order within the hour.)

For the Super Match round, the top three audience responses are worth $2,000, $3,000 and $5,000, with a head-to-head match multiplying it by 5 to $10,000, $15,000 or $25,000.

[golden-road]

That's correct.  They're using pre-Star Wheel rules, but with no returning champions.  (And they shot an extra intro to enable the two games to be shown in either order within the hour.)

For the Super Match round, the top three audience responses are worth $2,000, $3,000 and $5,000, with a head-to-head match multiplying it by 5 to $10,000, $15,000 or $25,000.

Interesting payoffs. Oh, and I presume it's the PM format with three rounds?

[WhammyPower]

I presume it's the PM format with three rounds?

I'd guess the two round "daytime" version, given the lack of time networks give these days.

/If it is three rounds, I'll eat my hat.
//I do not own a hat.

[BrandonFG]

The set looks awesome!
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10209942922274593&id=1380727306

[BillCullen1]

I presume it's the PM format with three rounds?

I'd guess the two round "daytime" version, given the lack of time networks give these days.

/If it is three rounds, I'll eat my hat.
//I do not own a hat.

The one who called two rounds wins. 

Okay, just saw a taping of two shows. Celebs were in seating order - Tituss Burgess, Rosie O'Donnell, Michael Ian Black, Debra Messing, JB Smoove and Sutton Foster. Set looks like the one from Rayburn's era, orange carpet, turntable and all. Contestant desks have been modernized with monitors showing their name and score. Scoring is like the 70s version. A celeb who matches in Round 1 "lays out" in Round 2, so the most matches possible is six.

The Super Match question appears on a giant video screen. Answers are worth $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000. Three celebs are called on for verbal answers. The Head to Head match also appears on the giant screen. Worth 5x amount of Super Match. Chosen celeb writes their answer. I thought the Head to Heads were incredibly easy. I think they actually want to give money away, but if the contestant's a bonehead, well . . .

The host - Baldwin is okay. He can read questions and schmooze with the celebs. He has a long microphone as well as a mic clipped to his shirt. It became obvious that the long mic was just a prop, a throwback to the old days. Alec said a couple of things Rayburn would have never said (potty mouth). He didn't talk to the audience, but there were many pickups and retakes, so I don't hold this against him. The pace of the show overall moved along good. They did two half-hour games in less than two hours. Each show aired will feature two half-hour games with different contestants.

Questions are funny and some are raunchy. Questions at my tapings included "Will and Grace," the Baldwin Brothers and Donald Trump as subjects. Rosie had a couple of comments about the latter. The warmup guy, Joe somebody, did a bare minimum warmup and explained the basics. Little interaction once the taping started. If you wanted to ask Alec or the celebs a question, you were out of luck.

Overall, I enjoyed the tapings and cross my fingers that this show is a success.

[FlashStash]

I was at the same taping this morning, and other than an iffy judging call, and easy chances at big money that were blown, I'd say that pretty much sums it up! Definitely needs to be on at 10pm for the subject matter.

[TLEberle]

Other than the celebs mindlessly yelling "Double, double, double", the randomization was a good idea.

Are you proposing that the should have yelled mindfully--perhaps using their telepathic powers to stop the wheel on a particular space?

[Clay Zambo]

I too was at the 10:30 taping, and heartily co-sign the above reports. Looking back at earliest MG73 episodes, today's taping was no less polished, and the writing was as spotty: some questions evoked very clever answers and some were so open-ended as to have no definitive funny answer. As for the bawdy quotient, clearly we are in a post-cable age where the boundary of what's sayable on TV is much farther than it was in '73, but neither panel, host, nor players devolved into truly crass territory. (Sure, there were a couple of bits that will be bleeped, but they were not part of gameplay--and maybe they'll be simply edited out.)

Another beautiful production design, though. I had a relatively lousy seat (effectively behind the turntable), but the set was gorgeous on the monitor above me. And Sutton Foster was in the Betty White/Marcia Wallace chair. What (other than a young Betty White or Marcia Wallace) could be better than that?

[BillCullen1]

Another beautiful production design, though. I had a relatively lousy seat (effectively behind the turntable), but the set was gorgeous on the monitor above me. And Sutton Foster was in the Betty White/Marcia Wallace chair. What (other than a young Betty White or Marcia Wallace) could be better than that?

I too was in the far left section behind the turntable. Unlike Studio 33 in L.A., here the audience is practically on top of the set. A couple of other things:

The bell and buzzer sound exactly like the 70s MG.

The background music pieces are the same or similar when the celebs are writing answers. The Head to Head music is the exact same as the 70s.

Of the celebs at this taping, Rosie was probably the best celeb player. JB Smoove was the equivalent of CNR, taking his time writing answers. One time, the music ran out. Most of Alec's ad-libs are on the TelePrompter.

I know Rosie isn't everyone's favorite, but she did do something nice for one contestant. You'll see when it airs.

I think Gene, Brett, Charles and Mark Goodson are smiling up above. Fremantle did a good job with this.

[TLEberle]

Most of Alec's ad-libs are on the TelePrompter.

Then they're not ad-libs now, are they. (I saw this in a panorama shot. Are they that afraid that Alec Baldwin can't be funny or charming off the cuff?

/I wonder if they put "who are you and what do you do?" in there as well.

[BrandonFG]

In no way will this impact whether I watch it or not, but how does the intro look? Is it still "Get ready to match the stars!" with a flippy box effect? The scrolling mismatched heads from 1990? Something completely different?