I was able to attend the first two of today's three tapings (but not the third). Panelists:
Show 5Upper row: Jack McBrayer | Niecy Nash | Jerry O'Connell
Lower row: Ellie Kemper | David Alan Grier | Natasha Lyonne
Show 6Upper row: Jason Alexander | Niecy Nash | Jack McBrayer
Lower row: Ellie Kemper | David Alan Grier | Sheryl Crow
The warm-up guy was
Frank Nicotero, whose game show experience was evident. Unlike Joe Bronzi, who approached the gig as one would a sitcom filming (by attempting to micromanage the audience via a series of visual signals, which he even used to dictate which answers to cheer and boo in accordance with his personal judgment), Nicotero simply encouraged the audience members to express their genuine reactions. As a result, the atmosphere was much more relaxed.
Jerry O'Connell, conversely, seemed lost. I got the impression that he'd never seen
Match Game, as he lacked even a basic grasp of what was expected of him. During the first game, he triggered a lengthy stopdown by swapping out his answer card at an inappropriate time. (When the confusion was finally resolved, his portion was restaged with his original response.) In footage that presumably won't be broadcast, Alec poked fun at Jerry by referencing this incident repeatedly.
The other panelists were fine (or better), though. Niecy seemed right at home, while David milked every comedic opportunity that arose (and never hesitated to make himself the butt of a joke when the situation called for it).
The questions' quality was much higher and the distribution was more balanced. For the most part, round 1's questions had multiple reasonable responses and round 2's questions pointed more in a particular direction.
Alec's hosting continues to improve. He's clearly become more comfortable in his role, with the initial stumbles giving way to confidence and greater spontaneity.
Overall, I'm very impressed.
