Match Game-Hollywood Squares - Why two hosts?

[Strikerz04]

Jon wasn't bad, but could he have fared with a better format or different show?

[Stackertosh]

The Match Game segment was fine but I always thought the Hollywood Squares segment was too serious. The old version had the stars give silly answers and they seemed to have a good time.



Jon was too stiff and awkward on Hollywood squares. You had Hollywood Squares but sucked all the fun out of it. Thats how i looked at it.

[Neumms]

As bad as he was talking strategy on Hollywood Squares, he was worse at playing Match Game. You don’t want him leaving right after he’s announced, but Match Game would have been improved by his absence.

[JMFabiano]

Watching MG/HS Hour, you wonder if Jon had ever watched an episode of the Match Game or Hollywood Squares before, or ever realized what made those shows successful. These are supposed to be funny games. And the sort of humor was not the rather tame wordplay and puns that Jon tries to do on every single episode.

I think this overlooks the bigger question, which is if Mark Goodson ever watched an episode of Hollywood Squares, or understood what made that show successful.

He probably did.  It just wasn't his idea of what makes a game show successful.

Someone also mentioned this HS being more serious than the standalone versions. (and according to Bauman himself, "more honest")  Based on how Goodson felt about Match Game sometimes, that's no surprise too.  He gave the same treatment to MG when it came back 6 years later, as a matter of fact (playing for cash, Match-Up! rounds...) 

Forget watching a MG episode, of course Bauman was on several in the late '70s.  Like his hosting, I can go back and forth on how much I like him as a MG panelist too.  When he was on, he was on.  When he wasn't...meh...

[JasonA1]

I think this overlooks the bigger question, which is if Mark Goodson ever watched an episode of Hollywood Squares, or understood what made that show successful.

He probably did.  It just wasn't his idea of what makes a game show successful.

Someone also mentioned this HS being more serious than the standalone versions. (and according to Bauman himself, "more honest")  Based on how Goodson felt about Match Game sometimes, that's no surprise too.  He gave the same treatment to MG when it came back 6 years later, as a matter of fact (playing for cash, Match-Up! rounds...)

I think you're well-traveled enough to remember Match Game '90 started with more of what worked in the '70s - three rounds of questioning, played for points, in each of the pilots. It was an ABC focus group that dialed that version in to playing for cash with a Match-Up round.

-Jason

[TimK2003]

I know it never happened, but I wonder what contingency plan (if any) did Goodson have if either Bauman or Rayburn would not be able to make it to a taping due to an illness, emergency, etc...   I would think after Ludden's illness issues on P+, Goodson would have some sort of Plan B in place if something like that happened again.

Would the other host run both games and either have Goodson or one extra celeb fill the lower left seat for the whole hour?

[JMFabiano]

I think this overlooks the bigger question, which is if Mark Goodson ever watched an episode of Hollywood Squares, or understood what made that show successful.

He probably did.  It just wasn't his idea of what makes a game show successful.

Someone also mentioned this HS being more serious than the standalone versions. (and according to Bauman himself, "more honest")  Based on how Goodson felt about Match Game sometimes, that's no surprise too.  He gave the same treatment to MG when it came back 6 years later, as a matter of fact (playing for cash, Match-Up! rounds...)

I think you're well-traveled enough to remember Match Game '90 started with more of what worked in the '70s - three rounds of questioning, played for points, in each of the pilots. It was an ABC focus group that dialed that version in to playing for cash with a Match-Up round.

-Jason

Well haven't done as much traveling lately, but...sure. 

[Neumms]

It was an ABC focus group that dialed that version in to playing for cash with a Match-Up round.

The focus group said to have a dumb multiple choice round?

[JasonA1]

It was an ABC focus group that dialed that version in to playing for cash with a Match-Up round.

The focus group said to have a dumb multiple choice round?

The focus group responded positively to the Super Match.

-Jason

[TLEberle]

I think cutting the first Match-up round would have opened up the runtime to allow for a bit more in the way of shenanigans, but lord knows they can’t have that.

I wonder what was the impetus for bumping the Audience Match runner -up awards to 200 and 300.

[Sodboy13]

I think cutting the first Match-up round would have opened up the runtime to allow for a bit more in the way of shenanigans, but lord knows they can’t have that.

I wonder what was the impetus for bumping the Audience Match runner -up awards to 200 and 300.

Bob Boden's Canadian Match Game, which was very 1990 in its format, went with two standards rounds and Match-Up as the main game finisher. I thought that worked better.

I am of the mind that Match-Up, if you feel compelled to incorporate it, would make a good replacement for the Audience Match. Pick your star, go $100 per match for :30 or :45, and then the fates of the Star Wheel decide your partner for the big money.

[JasonA1]

I wonder what was the impetus for bumping the Audience Match runner -up awards to 200 and 300.

My hunch: the new amounts made it so a spin of a Double always did you better than winning 10x of the prize just above it.

-Jason

[Jimmy Owen]

Match-Up. Always pick A and hope the celeb catches on.

[vtown7]

Match-Up. Always pick A and hope the celeb catches on.

Maybe I'm not remembering correctly (it's really early for me as I type this) but I thought I had heard that the order that the celeb heard wasn't always the order the contestant had on the screen (ie. their order was continually shuffling).  Can anyone confirm this?
Ryan.

[nowhammies10]

Bob Boden's Canadian Match Game, which was very 1990 in its format, went with two standards rounds and Match-Up as the main game finisher. I thought that worked better.

I think that format was borrowed (along with the S1 set and filming location) from Atomes Crochus, the French-language version of MG filmed in Montréal. They bumped up the cash amounts for S2 when they moved to Toronto.