Your hottest game show takes

[Jeremy Nelson]

The 1990 Fun House looks more fun to run through than any Double Dare obstacle course configuration.

Also, how only a handful of teams in three seasons figured out that the most efficient run includes grabbing the first three visible tags then tagging out was kinda amazing.

[Neumms]

I always thought that touting your new series as "TV's ____est new game show" was a kiss of death.

https://youtu.be/FNX2Qrn6Pbg?feature=shared
Not for The Joker’s Wild. Evidently someone told Jack later that what he said was the way better way to top the show.

[clemon79]

Not for The Joker’s Wild. Evidently someone told Jack later that what he said was the way better way to top the show.

"Jack, you've got a rep. Maybe back off the hyperbolic superlatives for now, huh?"

[MikeK]

This might be crazy talk but Match Game in 1990 was as good, if not better, than Match Game in the 70s and 80s.

[BrandonFG]

This might be crazy talk but Match Game in 1990 was as good, if not better, than Match Game in the 70s and 80s.

Perfectly sane take. It might be because GSN and Buzzr's shown it continuously for 30 years, but I'm good on my MG7x/PM fix. It's not even because some of the humor or Gene's/the panelists' behavior aged like milk; I'm just burned out on that version of the show.

MG90 on the other hand? Buzzr did a marathon of the show last summer and the few eps. I watched was the most MG I'd seen prolly since Baldwin's version ended. Dunno if it's on my "came out a few years too early and a few too late" list, but it deserved longer than a year. Maybe CBS should've aired it?

[SuperMatch93]

I prefer Family Feud when it's played to 200 points, because Richard gets to chat more with the families.

[TimK2003]

This might be crazy talk but Match Game in 1990 was as good, if not better, than Match Game in the 70s and 80s.

Perfectly sane take. It might be because GSN and Buzzr's shown it continuously for 30 years, but I'm good on my MG7x/PM fix. It's not even because some of the humor or Gene's/the panelists' behavior aged like milk; I'm just burned out on that version of the show.

MG90 on the other hand? Buzzr did a marathon of the show last summer and the few eps. I watched was the most MG I'd seen prolly since Baldwin's version ended. Dunno if it's on my "came out a few years too early and a few too late" list, but it deserved longer than a year. Maybe CBS should've aired it?

I enjoy watching MG'90 -- it was better than the later years of Rayburn's MG, when they were heavily editing the gameplay (aka the "answer writing" portions). 

But I think the main reason Shafer's.version stands out was that it was a hell of a lot better than the MGHSH version.  The set didnt look so cheap and the caliber of celebrities was much better. 

And after all thse years, the Match Up rounds are finally starting to grow on me...

[Chief-O]

And after all thse years, the Match Up rounds are finally starting to grow on me...

It was a departure, but I thought it fit in well.

I'd probably put the Shafer version just above the Baldwin version. (another hot take: I thought the Baldwin version was pretty well done, thought it got gimmicky a little bit near the end) Yes, '7x/PM would forever remain as the peak of "Match Game", but I agree with BFG......across the 2 main game show channels, they've just been a constant presence for years.

[JasonA1]

'7x/PM would forever remain as the peak of "Match Game", but I agree with BFG......across the 2 main game show channels, they've just been a constant presence for years.

This is likely my answer. Tonight, I decided to test Mike's theory by picking out a Ross Shafer episode from YouTube, and had to skip the first two I found. The first, because Fred Travalena was in seat one AND Rip Taylor was subbing for Charles (why mess with the chemistry for my test purposes?)...the second, become Bruce Baum was on the panel (woof). I ended up settling for Fred anyway, as the next show in the queue had him joined by Vicki & Marcia Wallace. The episode was very, very good.

But my memory of watching the show day after day, when GSN last had it on, was that the star chemistry was very uneven. Had they settled on some genuine regulars, the show might have left an even better impression on me. I would have loved Vicki to join Charles, for one. Brad Garrett or Ronn Lucas were good in their own ways for me, as well.

-Jason

[tyshaun1]

This might be crazy talk but Match Game in 1990 was as good, if not better, than Match Game in the 70s and 80s.

MG90 on the other hand? Buzzr did a marathon of the show last summer and the few eps. I watched was the most MG I'd seen prolly since Baldwin's version ended. Dunno if it's on my "came out a few years too early and a few too late" list, but it deserved longer than a year. Maybe CBS should've aired it?

From what I've seen, Michael Brockman was determined to shore up ABC's non-soap lineup with games since The Home Show regularly came in third. I've read that the affiliates were vehemently opposed to it and Shafer's MG suffered with poor clearances as a result, giving it no real shot at success. It's amazing it ran as long as it did. I know Ross said there would be news "soon" about the show being on another network, but I think that may have been simply wishful thinking.

[Ian Wallis]

Perfectly sane take. It might be because GSN and Buzzr's shown it continuously for 30 years, but I'm good on my MG7x/PM fix. It's not even because some of the humor or Gene's/the panelists' behavior aged like milk; I'm just burned out on that version of the show.

In a lot of ways I agree with you, but for me, watching it every day was almost like comfort food.  By no means did I have every show memorized, so quite frequently I recognized the contestants but couldn't remember who won.  In recent years GSN has aired almost the entire CBS version (with the exception of '73, which I haven't seen in a while), but it's been quite a while since I've seen the syndicated version, or PM.  I kind of miss is every day at 1.

Having said that, in rewatching these episodes a few times now, I have noticed things I didn't before - such as how full of himself Rayburn seemed at times, plus all the kissing that they probably couldn't get away with today.

[MikeK]

Addressing something Jason said, chemistry with a consistent panel would have helped, but it seems like they had a healthy stable of celebs--Vicki, Edie McClurg, Marcia Wallace, Betty White, Khrystyne Haje, Brad Garrett, Ronn Lucas (and friend!), CNR, even people like Joe Alaskey, Bill Kirchenbauer, and Bruce Baum.  (Sorry Jason, Bruce Baum is an acquired taste.)

To Brandon's points, having seen MG 7x/PM/syndicated reruns for over 3 decades is a bit much and a change of pace is welcome.  Maybe my opinion is a case of recency bias.  Maybe it's because the last time I remember MG 90 airing 5+ times a week for any decent period of time was on GSN in 2001-02.
 Maybe it's due to some parts of the 70s version and Gene's schtick aging badly.  Maybe it's me being glad to see a show that I got to see a handful of times, when there was no school, the alignment of the stars was just right, and the weather complied, and even then, reception on my B&W TV was, at best, meh.

Match-Up was enough of a deviation from the norm that it worked well within the format.

[chad1m]

I've been trying to keep up with Buzzr's deluge of Match Game '90. It's been fun to see the show get into a groove, and Ross certainly grew more comfortable with his role. As he becomes more willing to inject his own comments, much of his humor is dry, wry, and understated. I appreciate him more watching so many at once and appreciate his style. However, by watching so many at once...

I think they went for the sex and Clinton jokes too often.

I've seen this bandied about in the years afterward, but this week has a grand total of one round of Clinton references. In the episodes that have surfaced on YouTube, it isn't prevalent there, either. Either way, it's 1998 - he's in the zeitgeist. I don't see anyone giving CBS's Match Game any flak for joking about Richard Nixon and Howard Cosell.

...this is a quote from a thread about Match Game '98. It becomes quickly apparent that Roseanne Barr is the target du jour, with multiple questions about her/questions where she's the "obvious" answer in a week. But again, it's curious to me that it never really comes up in discussions of this series.

[aaron sica]

It becomes quickly apparent that Roseanne Barr is the target du jour

It was roughly 10 days after MG90 premiered that she mangled the Star-Spangled Banner and grabbed her crotch...I do remember that incident being a question.

[Joe Mello]

It becomes quickly apparent that Roseanne Barr is the target du jour

It was roughly 10 days after MG90 premiered that she mangled the Star-Spangled Banner and grabbed her crotch...I do remember that incident being a question.

Also Roseanne had just finished its 2nd season the previous spring. Ratings-wise it went from #2 to #1, switching positions with The Cosby Show from the year before.

So even if there weren't Roseanne questions, there were certainly going to be Roseanne questions.