Season 5 Discussion

[sugarbaker design]

Final Hour?  That's the best she could come up with?

My favorite moment was when Melissa Fumero yelled at Mario Cantone "It doesn't have an R in it!".  Second favorite was his reponse "I knoooow!"

[joanne3482]

That was a good episode! I loved the lady leg pressing Michael Chicklis. That was crazy!  All in all a fun episode and I was glad it was back. (Although honestly final hour? that was so bad.)

[853fisher]

"Final Hour" was pretty bad.  But I thought "party in my pants" was worse.  At least they could've said "in my shorts / shohts."  That's one of the words that's stuck in my mind the way my New Hampshirite grandmother pronounces it.

It's not a bad idea to try these themed episodes to keep things fresh.  It wasn't overbearing, but a nice little frame.  The questions and panel made for a good season premiere.  I've been watching reruns going back to the 70s and 80s since I've been at home more often and am glad to have one of my favorite games back with new episodes.

I did feel a little funny watching a cop-themed episode under present circumstances, but there wasn't anything at all controversial, mercifully.

Edited June 2, 2020 by 853fisher
Investigating the case of the missing "p"

[iMonrey]

Yes it was a good panel and a funny theme, if untimely. But good grief, this show continues to pick the dumbest contestants they can find. Although to be fair the body-building lady got screwed: "car" was the definitive answer to that question.

That one lady who passed out the donuts looked so much like Katy Mixon I swear she could have been in her sister. 

[Blissfool]

The answer should have been True Detective.

[iMonrey]

Could have been so many things: True Story, True Blue . . . I can't even remember what my first thought was. I didn't think of True Love though. I think TV show titles are too specific.

Edited June 4, 2020 by iMonrey

[Blissfool]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Could have been so many things: True Story, True Blue . . . I can't even remember what my first thought was. I didn't think of True Love though. I think TV show titles are too specific.

Yes, I agree. So many.  But the theme of the show was tv detectives.

[lynxfx]

1 hour ago, Blissfool said:

Yes, I agree. So many.  But the theme of the show was tv detectives.

Which is why I went to True Crime. Even with the theme there were a lot of options. My wife went to True Love. 

I thought Yard for the Boston question. seemed like the most obvious for a party. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Which is why I went to True Crime.

Ah! That's what I first thought too. But that speaks more to my TV watching habits than to making a connection to the theme of the episode!

[sugarbaker design]

On 6/4/2020 at 1:54 PM, Blissfool said:

Yes, I agree. So many.  But the theme of the show was tv detectives.

Never even occurred to me!  I said True Blue.

[Cowgirl]

I was bummed -- my local station cut off most of the former detective/bodybuilder lady leg pressing Michael Chickliss. 

I thought yard was the best answer to the Boston question.  This was a fun episode!  Though, jail jumpsuits do not flatter Alec Baldwin!

[iMonrey]

Quote

Though, jail jumpsuits do not flatter Alec Baldwin!

You gotta hand it to him, though - he's an awfully good sport about this. Not that he isn't being well paid, I'm sure, but this probably isn't the career move he envisioned for himself. And yet, he's so damn good at it. 

[ams1001]

On 6/1/2020 at 2:53 PM, 853fisher said:

I did feel a little funny watching a cop-themed episode under present circumstances, but there wasn't anything at all controversial, mercifully.

I had the same thought...I would hope if there was anything bad given the historical moment we're in they would have either re-edited the show or aired a different episode instead.

(On a side note, the last two weeks' Jeopardy (teacher tournament) was obviously filmed a few months ago and there seemed to be a few "on point" categories/questions and I thought it was interesting how that worked out. Or maybe I'm just paying more attention.)

[sugarbaker design]

The drill sergeant seemed like a lovely woman, but gosh was she dumb.  The statue clue was essentially served to her on a marble platter.

I liked the panel as a whole.  While Caroline elated, the comic grated.

[DXD526]

Quote

The drill sergeant seemed like a lovely woman, but gosh was she dumb.  The statue clue was essentially served to her on a marble platter.

"Quiet". Ugh! That was painful to watch. Talk about a softball question! That one was lobbed right over the plate, and she missed.

I hated that guy's beard. I was hoping he'd lose so I wouldn't have to keep looking at it. 

[iMonrey]

For the clown question I felt like the definitive answer was Perrier. Usually they put water in their squirt flower, so a pretentious clown would use fancy water, right? I'm surprised only one person thought of it. There's nothing particularly pretentious about vodka. 

Technically that guy won on a dicey judge's call because if they hadn't allowed "expensive alcohol" as a match to "vodka" it would have been a zero to zero tie. 

Everyone was being pretty kind to Alec by saying the question would be "why do you have so many kids." I would have answered "why do you have so many wives."

I don't wish to denigrate any celebrities who appear on game shows but it surprises me to know someone like James Van Der Beek can't get a better gig.

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

For the clown question I felt like the definitive answer was Perrier. Usually they put water in their squirt flower, so a pretentious clown would use fancy water, right? I'm surprised only one person thought of it. There's nothing particularly pretentious about vodka. 

I said Perrier, too. I did think of champagne, but I had the same thought process you did about the water.

[DietCokeJunkie]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Everyone was being pretty kind to Alec by saying the question would be "why do you have so many kids." I would have answered "why do you have so many wives."

He’s been married to his second wife since 2012. Is that considered “so many” these days? 

[iMonrey]

Hmm. For some reason I was under the impression Alec had been married several times, not just twice. Color me surprised. (I guess I made that assumption because of the numerous stories over the years about his temper.)

[853fisher]

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I don't wish to denigrate any celebrities who appear on game shows but it surprises me to know someone like James Van Der Beek can't get a better gig.

I don't know where I get this from exactly, but I have the impression that he's a big family man and isn't really preoccupied with being an "A-lister."  These shows are probably not a bad way to make some money for relatively little effort.  The sense that he doesn't think this kind of appearance is below him makes him even more likable to me.  Being very shallow, if he'd just change this hairstyle, which I think ages him, we'd really be in business.

I thought this was another fun episode overall.  Ben Schwartz was suitably endearing for someone not doing too well at the game.  After a few years they've got a good mix of semi-regulars like Jane and Caroline who have easy chemistry with almost everyone.  The only thing that was sort of off for me was the strongman, who didn't really add anything.  I guess it doesn't hurt to have one or two bits an episode, but that was just silly.

[shapeshifter]

I think this show would be a lot more fun to watch if the contestants were chosen based on their answers during some practice rounds in the selection process. They seem to select them based on appearance and fun backstory rather than ability to come up with either a likely or imaginative answer. For instance, the sound that the body builder made should have been either when pooping or having sex, as the celebs guessed, whereas the contestant with the wonderful smile just said "lifting weights." If she didn't want to mention bodily functions on national TV, maybe something like "lifting Alec Baldwin," which, admittedly, isn't that fantastic of an answer and took me way too long to come up with, but that's (one reason) why I should not be selected as a contestant. I forget what the other contestant said for his question, but it was also both boring and wrong.  

Caroline Rhea did not look well to me. Either she needs a new stylist or a new doctor --probably both.

Edited June 9, 2020 by shapeshifter

[Enigma X]

I wonder if some of the contestants even watch the show. I mean their answers make it seem as if they just stumbled in off the street.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Being very shallow, if he'd just change this hairstyle, which I think ages him, we'd really be in business.

I agree, he seems to be clinging to his old Dawson's Creek hairstyle past its sell-by date.

Quote

Ben Schwartz was suitably endearing for someone not doing too well at the game.

He was also surprisingly low-key versus the obnoxious characters he usually plays on TV. I was much relieved to see he's not like that all the time.

Quote

I think this show would be a lot more fun to watch if the contestants were chosen based on their answers during some practice rounds in the selection process. They seem to select them based on appearance and fun backstory rather than ability to come up with either a likely or imaginative answer.

They are definitely chosen for personality rather than game prowess, as we have commented on many times. I can see why since this isn't exactly Jeopardy we're talking about here. That said, there needs to be more of a balance. When you have a constant string of contestants that are so bad at this, it's less fun to watch. 

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

They are definitely chosen for personality rather than game prowess, as we have commented on many times. I can see why since this isn't exactly Jeopardy we're talking about here. That said, there needs to be more of a balance. When you have a constant string of contestants that are so bad at this, it's less fun to watch. 

It doesn't help that they seem to have such a tight time schedule that Alec can't make quips about the bad answers or that the camera can't do a close up on Alec's reaction (like Steve Harvey in Family Feud).

[853fisher]

I was thinking about this last night but didn't want to turn on a dime from "J v d B seems like a lovely guy and I really liked the episode" to "and here's one big thing they need to fix," but I do agree with everyone who thinks something could be changed about contestant selection.

I've always liked the old 70s version and have been watching it even more now that I've been at home more often.  They regularly had contestants who were just awful at the game but utterly charming.  I agree that they don't allow the time to stretch out interactions with them anymore.  Even the intros seem edited to within an inch of their lives sometimes, but those could be some of the funniest moments with the spacier folks.

I have a tendency to prefer things "the old way" (and I'm 26 so I don't know what my problem is) and while I really do enjoy this revamp, and think this season is off to a fine start, it could be just a bit better.  They used to be able to do three rounds, two audience matches, and the head-to-head in a half hour, and still have that breathing room, but now we get slightly less content and yet it still doesn't seem to have any space.  I don't think that's all the increased commercial time of today either.

We could cut out the " 'so-and so is here!' - hold for applause - dull joke not related to much of anything" bits for all the celebs, from where I sit. Possibly not from where the celebs sit. ;) Gene occasionally had longer chats about what the panelists had to plug, but would do them while the panelists were writing their answers.  All he did in its own space was a quick sign-off: "watch Gary on 'M*A*S*H,' this beautiful lady on 'Search for Tomorrow,' don't forget this fella on 'Family Feud,' and Betty on 'Mary Tyler Moore,' I'm Gene Rayburn for 'Match Game 77,' good night!"  I really think that's all that's required, especially since we have Google now and can find what anyone who interested us is doing in seconds.  That would free up time.

Edited June 10, 2020 by 853fisher

[Racj82]

On 6/8/2020 at 12:27 PM, iMonrey said:

For the clown question I felt like the definitive answer was Perrier. Usually they put water in their squirt flower, so a pretentious clown would use fancy water, right? I'm surprised only one person thought of it. There's nothing particularly pretentious about vodka. 

Technically that guy won on a dicey judge's call because if they hadn't allowed "expensive alcohol" as a match to "vodka" it would have been a zero to zero tie. 

Everyone was being pretty kind to Alec by saying the question would be "why do you have so many kids." I would have answered "why do you have so many wives."

I don't wish to denigrate any celebrities who appear on game shows but it surprises me to know someone like James Van Der Beek can't get a better gig.

Why would this is in anyway be below Vanderbeek? He hasn't had anything largely successful in 20 years. He done things of course. But, he hit his apex in the late 90s. He's not above this at all. And James never seems to have an ego about himself and does a lot of things he finds fun. I'm sure this is one of them.

[shapeshifter]

6 minutes ago, Racj82 said:

Why would this is in anyway be below Vanderbeek? He hasn't had anything largely successful in 20 years. He done things of course. But, he hit his apex in the late 90s. He's not above this at all. And James never seems to have an ego about himself and does a lot of things he finds fun. I'm sure this is one of them.

Having now watched way too many reruns of the old Match Game and quite a few of the new version, it seems a requirement for a celebrity to be a regular on the show is that they obviously want to be there playing the game. For example,  when Raymond Burr was on a few episodes of the old Match Game, he was pretty good at it, but he didn't seem to want to be there.

[Phishbulb]

On 6/9/2020 at 12:31 PM, iMonrey said:

On 6/9/2020 at 12:31 PM, iMonrey said:

He was also surprisingly low-key versus the obnoxious characters he usually plays on TV. I was much relieved to see he's not like that all the time.

 

It was endearing that Ben is obviously such a "Simpsons" nerd that he was able to name by episode title ("Homer the Heretic") an episode where Homer is seen without pants. 

 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Having now watched way too many reruns of the old Match Game and quite a few of the new version, it seems a requirement for a celebrity to be a regular on the show is that they obviously want to be there playing the game. For example,  when Raymond Burr was on a few episodes of the old Match Game, he was pretty good at it, but he didn't seem to want to be there.

In the olden days, celebrities who were in shows that aired on the same network were contractually obligated to do some of these kinds of shows. 

[shapeshifter]

Shouldn't the Scooby-themed safe word have been "Ruh-roh"?

*****************

Wow. 
The popular answer to:
"Social _______"
(options: media, construct, security)

Times have changed. (in a couple of weeks from when it was recorded)
Would've been "distancing."

Edited June 15, 2020 by shapeshifter

[Maverick]

2 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Shouldn't the Scooby-themed safe word have been "Ruh-roh"?

 Yes, but Zoinks! would be an acceptable.   As would Jinkies!

 The doofus second winner with his 90s era Aresnio Hall first rolling/woofing was cringe-worthy.   Whatever woman he's proposing to needs to run.  

 

[ams1001]

Old-timey weapons...I thought musket or pistol. "Old timey" makes me think of, like, 1700s to early 1900s, not prehistoric (arrowheads and spears).

 

21 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Shouldn't the Scooby-themed safe word have been "Ruh-roh"?

*****************

Wow. 
The popular answer to:
"Social _______"
(options: media, construct, security)

Times have changed. (in a couple of weeks from when it was recorded)
Would've been "distancing."

I thought the same on both questions.

 

16 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 Yes, but Zoinks! would be an acceptable.   As would Jinkies!

 The doofus second winner with his 90s era Aresnio Hall first rolling/woofing was cringe-worthy.   Whatever woman he's proposing to needs to run.  

I didn't need a soliloquy on why he was picking each celebrity... 🙄

[iMonrey]

Quote

 Yes, but Zoinks! would be an acceptable.   As would Jinkies!

I thought Zoinks was going to be the definitive answer. I guess I was wrong. I never thought of Scooby Snacks as a safe word. Zoinks, or Jinkies for sure. 

Quote

"Social _______"
(options: media, construct, security)

Times have changed. (in a couple of weeks from when it was recorded)
Would've been "distancing."

Yes, I'm sure we would all have answered the same on that today. 

[Cowgirl]

For Carl's old-time weapon, I thought "catapult."  Guess I like alliteration.

[iMonrey]

I thought of bayonet for old-timey weapon. But musket is better. 

Edited June 15, 2020 by iMonrey

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Cowgirl said:

For Carl's old-time weapon, I thought "catapult."  Guess I like alliteration.

I couldn't think of the word "catapult" in the moment. My brain went to "trebuchet" for reasons related to when I was a high school librarian decades ago.

[sugarbaker design]

19 hours ago, Maverick said:

The doofus second winner with his 90s era Aresnio Hall first rolling/woofing was cringe-worthy.   Whatever woman he's proposing to needs to run.  

 

Just to add to his already established doofusness, there's his picking A for his brother Alan...and his sister Susan!

[Racj82]

I would have never said zoinks because while that phrase is synonymous with the show it's not with Scooby the character. Which is what I think the panel was taking into consideration. Shaggy and Scooby snacks are something that Scooby the character would say.

[853fisher]

I wish I had thought of ruh-roh.  That's very good.  I would've said jinkies, but did Scooby ever say that or was it Velma?  Clearly I need a Scooby-Doo rewatch.

They almost needn't've bothered halfway-blurring Raven's gesture.  It was super obvious what it was.  I liked her joking explanations about why this or that answer was a match after all, but she could've chilled that out a little bit for me.

On 6/12/2020 at 1:28 PM, iMonrey said:

In the olden days, celebrities who were in shows that aired on the same network were contractually obligated to do some of these kinds of shows. 

I know the ecosystem has changed in many ways since the 70s, but I'd still like to see more of the network's performer than we do.  There are some great supporting players on ABC shows they might call.  Then again, I'm pretty happy with the panels they generally have.

Edited June 16, 2020 by 853fisher
Jinkies, not pinkies!

[Cowgirl]

And, let's not forget, she called the Mystery Mobile the Scooby Van (or whatever she said).  That would be a hard question if you've never seen Scooby Doo.  

When I was in college marching band in the 80's our drum major would get on his ladder and yell, "Zoiks!"  We'd all put our hands in the air and and jazz hand shake them and reply, "Jinkies!"  Weird, but fun.

[theatremouse]

On 6/8/2020 at 9:27 AM, iMonrey said:

For the clown question I felt like the definitive answer was Perrier. Usually they put water in their squirt flower, so a pretentious clown would use fancy water, right? I'm surprised only one person thought of it. There's nothing particularly pretentious about vodka. 

In the moment I said Evian, but Perrier works too.

[JTMacc99]

Am I the only person who thought of the Three Little Pigs as opposed to Little Red Riding Hood when the question was "The big bad wolf is changing up his diet. From now on he's only eating free range [blanks]"?

Because free range pigs/pork/ham/bacon is a way better fit than anything from Little Red Riding Hood story.

[theatremouse]

That works, but I think "free-range grandmas" is funnier.

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, theatremouse said:

That works, but I think "free-range grandmas" is funnier.

I agree, and it would have been my answer had I thought of Little Red Riding Hood when I heard the question. I guess I was just wondering if anybody was like me and had the other fairy tale big bad wolf in mind. 

Two of the people said "Chicken". I have to think that if they had thought of the wolf from the Three Little Pigs, at least they could have made the easy substitute of Pig for Chicken. (Because Chicken is a terrible answer.)

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, JTMacc99 said:

I agree, and it would have been my answer had I thought of Little Red Riding Hood when I heard the question. I guess I was just wondering if anybody was like me and had the other fairy tale big bad wolf in mind. 

Two of the people said "Chicken". I have to think that if they had thought of the wolf from the Three Little Pigs, at least they could have made the easy substitute of Pig for Chicken. (Because Chicken is a terrible answer.)

Maybe they were thinking of Chicken Little? 
I'm not sure, but I think 3 Little Pigs did flash through my brain.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Am I the only person who thought of the Three Little Pigs as opposed to Little Red Riding Hood when the question was "The big bad wolf is changing up his diet. From now on he's only eating free range [blanks]"?

Yes! That was the other one I forgot about. I definitely would have said "pork" because I was thinking 3 Little Pigs . . . not Red Riding Hood.

(In fact, that Disney song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" is from The Three Little Pigs . . . for those of us old enough to remember.)

Edited June 17, 2020 by iMonrey

[lynxfx]

6 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Am I the only person who thought of the Three Little Pigs as opposed to Little Red Riding Hood when the question was "The big bad wolf is changing up his diet.

That was my go to as Big Bad Wolf is mentioned in the story. When they all went with riding hood I thought I was wrong or that he is also called that in Riding Hood's story. That said, free range grandmas or little girls is funnier. 

[Cowgirl]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

(In fact, that Disney song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" is from The Three Little Pigs . . . for those of us old enough to remember.)

OMG!  I'd totally forgotten this song until you named it!  Now it is going through my brain as an earworm.  I have a Disney album from the 70's and think that was on there.  Thanks for the memory! (But not for the earworm, LOL!)  Honestly, it never dawned on me that the Big Bad Wolf is in both fairytales!  I thought of Riding Hood, because I had just watched Into the Woods a few weeks ago. 

[Maverick]

On 6/16/2020 at 1:50 PM, Cowgirl said:

And, let's not forget, she called the Mystery Mobile the Scooby Van (or whatever she said).  That would be a hard question if you've never seen Scooby Doo.  

 It was the Mystery Machine

 Scooby didn't say Jinkies (that was Velma) or Zoinks (that was Shaggy), but the question said she was a fan of Scooby Doo.  I took that to mean she was a fan of the show not necessarily just the character, so any catchphrase from the show would make sense.    Hell, even Scooby Snack would make more sense than Doo Van or whatever dumbass answer she gave.  

[sugarbaker design]

I thought Confederate Flag was the definitive answer for the NASCAR clue.  I couldn't believe not one celebrity said it.