The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Mr. Brown on December 06, 2021, 10:11:07 PM
-
The wife and I are watching MGHSH tonight and a thought came across my mind: why didn't they just have Gene host the whole damn thing? Contractual reasons? Creative control? Just 'cuz? Something else?
My non-game show fan wife NEEDS TO KNOW.
-
That was an NBC thing. Goodson and company wanted Gene to host the entire hour, but NBC was adamant that the show have two hosts. (https://www.amazon.com/Matchless-Gene-Rayburn-Adam-Nedeff-ebook/dp/B017H0T8S0/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BCA6FRSNC9X&keywords=the+matchless+gene+rayburn&qid=1638848108&sprefix=matchless+ge%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-1)
-
That was an NBC thing. Goodson and company wanted Gene to host the entire hour, but NBC was adamant that the show have two hosts. (https://www.amazon.com/Matchless-Gene-Rayburn-Adam-Nedeff-ebook/dp/B017H0T8S0/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BCA6FRSNC9X&keywords=the+matchless+gene+rayburn&qid=1638848108&sprefix=matchless+ge%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-1)
And, if I'm not mistaken, someone at NBC really liked Bauman and insisted he host the second half.
-
That was an NBC thing. Goodson and company wanted Gene to host the entire hour, but NBC was adamant that the show have two hosts. (https://www.amazon.com/Matchless-Gene-Rayburn-Adam-Nedeff-ebook/dp/B017H0T8S0/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BCA6FRSNC9X&keywords=the+matchless+gene+rayburn&qid=1638848108&sprefix=matchless+ge%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-1)
And, if I'm not mistaken, someone at NBC really liked Bauman and insisted he host the second half.
I'd also imagine that it meant not having to book one extra celebrity, if you had the host not in play on the panel for each respective half.
-
I'd also imagine that it meant not having to book one extra celebrity, if you had the host not in play on the panel for each respective half.
I'm guessing that the host's salary is considerably larger than the fee they pay that extra celebrity.
-
I'd also imagine that it meant not having to book one extra celebrity, if you had the host not in play on the panel for each respective half.
I'm guessing that the host's salary is considerably larger than the fee they pay that extra celebrity.
But if it means that they didn't have to reach out to Mr. Smith himself to be a celeb, it made it much easier for the booker.
-
But if it means that they didn't have to reach out to Mr. Smith himself to be a celeb, it made it much easier for the booker.
You're silly. Clearly they would talk to Mr. Smith's agent.
-
I'd also imagine that it meant not having to book one extra celebrity, if you had the host not in play on the panel for each respective half.
I'm guessing that the host's salary is considerably larger than the fee they pay that extra celebrity.
But if it means that they didn't have to reach out to Mr. Smith himself to be a celeb, it made it much easier for the booker.
And this is ended up being a particularly valuable consideration. I've talked to one staffer who recalled that MG/HS had awful luck with celebrities dropping out day before or day of.
-
The best case scenario for this show would have been for Gene to host the whole thing himself.
Jon Bauman just does not seem like a professional Goodson-Todman host. I especially cringe each time Hollywood Squares ends and he attempts to recap the game and analyze where the losing contestant went wrong. It's just awkward and not entertaining; I'm surprised no one told him to stop that!
-
Sounds like we all have the same Intel. I know from dealing with Jon personally he was indeed seen as a budding young star and he ingratiated himself with many of them by personally lobbying for opportunities. Pop and Rocker Game was very well received even though it failed to get a large audience. By piggybacking him onto an established format and a proven pro it was seen as a way to minimize his downside. One shudders to think who we’d get today. I mean Alec Baldwin and Liza Koshy come to mind…
-
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.
If they had to have two hosts for this show, the least they could have done was find someone who had a similar sense of humor to Gene's, to at least make the show flow a little better tone-wise.
-
Sounds like we all have the same Intel. I know from dealing with Jon personally he was indeed seen as a budding young star and he ingratiated himself with many of them by personally lobbying for opportunities. Pop and Rocker Game was very well received even though it failed to get a large audience. By piggybacking him onto an established format and a proven pro it was seen as a way to minimize his downside. One shudders to think who we’d get today. I mean Alec Baldwin and Liza Koshy come to mind…
I'd like to see Liza Koshy get another game show. Maybe not MG or HS but I could see her hosting something loose and laid back like Whose Line.
-
The best case scenario for this show would have been for Gene to host the whole thing himself.
Jon Bauman just does not seem like a professional Goodson-Todman host. I especially cringe each time Hollywood Squares ends and he attempts to recap the game and analyze where the losing contestant went wrong. It's just awkward and not entertaining; I'm surprised no one told him to stop that!
I didn't think he was that bad even if he wasn't really needed. But I've heard he's a hell of a nice guy offscreen.
-
I've said this before, but I think it's a little unfair to bash Jon for two reasons:
1. It was one of his first hosting jobs (dunno whether this or Pop N Rocker started taping first), and
2. As of 1983 Peter Marshall was the show's only other host, on a show that just went off the air two years prior. Tom Bergeron and John Davidson prolly would've had just as much trouble filling those shoes. He was a mismatch alongside Gene Rayburn, and was given a weak format.
-
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.
-
Jon wasn't bad, but could he have fared with a better format or different show?
-
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.
-
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.
-
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...
-
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
-
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?
-
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.
-
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?
-
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
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
Match-Up. Always pick A and hope the celeb catches on.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
This is also what I've heard over the years, though I can't point to a solid confirmation of it offhand.
-
I wonder what was the impetus for bumping the Audience Match runner -up awards to 200 and 300.
If the player got skunked, did they give them $100 so they could play the Head-to-Head?
-
No. The wheel would start with $500 or $1,000 as a base value.
-
If the player got skunked, did they give them $100 so they could play the Head-to-Head?
https://youtu.be/XGCo8oveo2E?t=1065
-
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).
The Match Game '90 bible said the order was "sometimes" shuffled for the contestant. (It also said the choices weren't displayed until Ross finished the question, which helped explain the pacing of that round.) It was suggested here a contestant could still pick the choice that was alphabetically first, and game the system, but the chances of that becoming a known/repeated behavior would be slim IMO.
-Jason
-
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
Makes sense; numbers are random, sure, but all the same with the lucky spin you could win up to six large as opposed to a straight five large without it.
MG90 was my first exposure to Match Game, and I quite enjoyed it. I still quite enjoy it. And I have no issue with it being played for cash. Don’t get me wrong, I think the race to 6 format works as well, but call me crazy, I always felt that the idea of each match having payoffs and each panel member playing in both rounds was better for the gameplay.
Far as Match-Up went, I have said I liked it as a new little wrinkle in the game and I still feel that way. And having it as the thing that decides the game as opposed to the luck of the draw that the question choice was makes things a little more interesting. I don’t know if you really need to have two, considering how short the first one is, but it’s something that I would enjoy seeing if it was brought back to the show in some form.
-
Sorry to now add a tangent to a tangent, but in that episode linked above,
they had a midweek replacement celebrity for some reason. And since the intro is preproduced, they announced the original celebrity and not the replacement. EDIT: Ah, nevermind. She was in character.
Then, there was a slight edit on the second question of the first round where the celebrity's card was already revealed (apparently something-not-for-daytime was said in the buildup).
Then in the round 2 matches, probably the then-record-setting triple "OOPS!" I watched a lot of this version since my schedule allowed, and I only remember seeing a censored answer once.
Not to mention the fact that they should have thrown out the H2H match, on account of a homophone. Ross never spelled out the word so that it was unambiguous.
And there was a dog on the set? This was definitely a weird one.
-
MG90 was my first exposure to Match Game, and I quite enjoyed it. I still quite enjoy it
Same, although with both ABC stations we had electing to have news at noon and not bothering to reschedule/cast off to another station, viewing of it was far and few. How I wish I would have saved it, but I had someone fill a tape with the first 6 episodes (original airing w/ commercials). Some very generous soul has uploaded practically the entire run to YouTube; it's on my to-do list to binge.
-
MG90 was my first exposure to Match Game, and I quite enjoyed it. I still quite enjoy it
Same, although with both ABC stations we had electing to have news at noon and not bothering to reschedule/cast off to another station, viewing of it was far and few. How I wish I would have saved it, but I had someone fill a tape with the first 6 episodes (original airing w/ commercials). Some very generous soul has uploaded practically the entire run to YouTube; it's on my to-do list to binge.
I'm amazed said soul hasn't gotten C&D'd; he's got every circulating episode of the 1973-1982 era, and is filling out MGHS now.
-
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.
If they had to have two hosts for this show, the least they could have done was find someone who had a similar sense of humor to Gene's, to at least make the show flow a little better tone-wise.
I don't know if Jon ever watched a Match Game episode, but he did appear as a panelist as "Bowzer". In fact Buzzr had an episode of Match Game just today with him occupying the first seat on the upper tier.
-
The best case scenario for this show would have been for Gene to host the whole thing himself.
Jon Bauman just does not seem like a professional Goodson-Todman host. I especially cringe each time Hollywood Squares ends and he attempts to recap the game and analyze where the losing contestant went wrong. It's just awkward and not entertaining; I'm surprised no one told him to stop that!
Funny you said that, because according to Gene, after each taping (or at least after each taping day), he was debriefed by the producers and told what he did right and (more often) what he did wrong. I guess his game recap and over-analysis of the contestants' wrong answers was glossed over.
-
I can imagine him getting hosting tips for maybe a few weeks worth of shows, but you have to figure after a while, there was little they could do to make him any better. I do think Jon made more efforts to move the game along, but some celebs just didn't know how long to "vamp" before sounding like they're just wasting time. The original HS gave each star 45 seconds and no more. Jonathan Winters was maybe one exception, as it takes him a while to warm up as a character, and his ramblings are hit and miss. Peter just figured they could edit him however they please.