The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Drinking Game

[calliaume]

"[Mark] Goodson likes bright primary colors.  Thank God he likes green." - Jim Agazzi.

[BrandonFG]

That’s my point. For all they paid for the giant wall, they could have just done static backdrops and graphics.

Even past the set not having pieces that looked like they came from the same show, the color schemes they used didn’t match at all. There’s a green and yellow set of podiums, a red, yellow and blue set of podiums, a gradient blue panel piece, nameplates with an orange border, and a shiny black floor. I’m not an interior designer, but it felt like the colors were chosen without any consideration to the theme as a whole.

I've been thinking this too. I'm sure it looked great in 1983, but you have a massive wall that was used for <10 of the 45 minutes of airtime, if that. I'm not counting the green and gold pattern used during the MG portion. Like you said, just have a static backdrop with that design, maybe with blue and gold to fit the color scheme. Put that on a turntable that rotates for the HS game.

The Super Match jackpot could've easily been displayed on an eggcrate tote like the 70s version.

/Dennis Roof had a much better design with Davidson's HS

[JMFabiano]

That’s my point. For all they paid for the giant wall, they could have just done static backdrops and graphics.

Even past the set not having pieces that looked like they came from the same show, the color schemes they used didn’t match at all. There’s a green and yellow set of podiums, a red, yellow and blue set of podiums, a gradient blue panel piece, nameplates with an orange border, and a shiny black floor. I’m not an interior designer, but it felt like the colors were chosen without any consideration to the theme as a whole.

Yeah, it's kind of like a stage show rather than an actual TV production. 

I'd guess they felt it didn't matter when they got to HS, as you just mostly see the contestant area head-on, and the panel head-on.  But you know, Match Game...

Question: how often, on the Marshall version, did we see what was between the squares and the contestant/host area? 

[Mike Tennant]

MG and HS are comedy game shows, and as such, they should have bright, colorful sets. The dark set with the giant wall, while impressive, really belongs on a more serious show. I do still like the tier that slides in for HS. The contestant areas don't bother me, though it would probably be possible to make one suffice for both segments.

[BrandonFG]

Question: how often, on the Marshall version, did we see what was between the squares and the contestant/host area?

I imagine never. You never even saw a wide shot of the set the way you did on subsequent versions. But, I believe that was due to staging; IIRC, the board directly faced the contestant area, as opposed to being about 90-degrees from Davidson and Bergeron.

[calliaume]

Question: how often, on the Marshall version, did we see what was between the squares and the contestant/host area?

I imagine never. You never even saw a wide shot of the set the way you did on subsequent versions. But, I believe that was due to staging; IIRC, the board directly faced the contestant area, as opposed to being about 90-degrees from Davidson and Bergeron.

There are pictures showing what it looked like (one is here), but they never showed it on the air.

https://eyesofageneration.com/ultra-rare-hollywood-squares-in-studio-shot-the-first-and-only-yesterday/

[Neumms]

There are pictures showing what it looked like (one is here), but they never showed it on the air.

https://eyesofageneration.com/ultra-rare-hollywood-squares-in-studio-shot-the-first-and-only-yesterday/

Interesting panel. I assume this came between Wally Cox's death and Charley Weaver's, so in 1973 or '74. Paul Lynde was entrenched as a regular but must've been taking the week off.

[BrandonFG]

Question: how often, on the Marshall version, did we see what was between the squares and the contestant/host area?

I imagine never. You never even saw a wide shot of the set the way you did on subsequent versions. But, I believe that was due to staging; IIRC, the board directly faced the contestant area, as opposed to being about 90-degrees from Davidson and Bergeron.

There are pictures showing what it looked like (one is here), but they never showed it on the air.

https://eyesofageneration.com/ultra-rare-hollywood-squares-in-studio-shot-the-first-and-only-yesterday/

My memory was off. Looks like the contestant area was 90 degrees from the big board in the Vegas season.

[clemon79]

My memory was off. Looks like the contestant area was 90 degrees from the big board in the Vegas season.

Staging is gonna have to be a little different there, though, because it's being blocked as a Vegas stage show in addition to a TV taping.

[TimK2003]

The only time I recall seeing the area between the host/contestant area and the grid was whenever they did a Storybook Squares with the stage-level entrances.

As far as MG/HS, They had static Christmas Tree graphics on the back wall around that time of year as I recall. 

[JMFabiano]

Leave It To Beaver week exclusive: take a drink whenever someone tells one of the cast members to recite a line from the show.  When Richard Deacon gets mad at the audience booing him. 

[TLEberle]

Oh goody. I thought this was done. Silly me.

[JohnXXVII]

Re: MG/HS Hour, this would have been a better show with just one host. To go from the madcap energy of Gene to Jon, who's basically playing it straight and didn't really have Gene's comedic flair, back to Gene, is really jarring.

Also to have Jon on the Match Game panel every single day... they really could have used his seat for another rotating celebrity.

They also could have paid more respect to the historic format of Hollywood Squares, adding a secret square, etc.

All in all, NBC might have been better off just trying to revive Match Game with Gene in 1983. It might have worked. Here we are, 35 years later, and that's the main reason most people are watching these episodes anyway, the Match Game portion.

It's sort of sad that this was the last iteration of Gene Rayburn's Match Game; that really was his show.

[Eric Paddon]

Some type of cash jackpot for a "Secret Square" that was non-score money (much like the Cashword on Super Password) in the 2nd HSQ game might have worked.   That way there'd be some legitimate money stakes to play for in HSQ and make even the multiple-choice questions more interesting.

[JMFabiano]

Have we seen any eps where Goodson/NBC did the bleeping and not Buzzr? 

If memory serves, Sybil Danning gave an answer that was a little too explicit and had to be OOPSed out.  Her episodes won't run for a couple of months.

Which just aired about a week ago indeed.  ("Ass" got OOPSed out)

More drinking....

...every time Gene says something was not a booable answer.

...if Jon goes to commercial saying they'll be back, you come back too.