Season 1-3 Discussion

[Jaded]

I wanted to really enjoy this new version of Match Game. I was kind of bummed because a lot of things made that hard to do. I wasn't thrilled with most of the contestants except for the former NYPD lady. The other three I wanted to shoot with tranquilizer darts to calm them down. 

As some others have mentioned most of the answers given by the panel were too sleazy. I realize this version is being broadcast at night during prime time but that doesn't excuse those answers for me and I'm not a prude by any means. The occasional answer like that is ok with me like when it happens accidentally on Celebrity/Civilian Family Feud and the way it did earlier in the night on The $100,000 Pyramid. 

As for Alec hosting he did pretty well with what he had to work with. It's so hard for me sometimes to watch him in shows/movies that aren't scripted and not think of some of the things he's done in the past in his off-screen life. I'm hoping that as he gets more comfortable hosting those things won't be what I think of when those moments of mocking the contestants come up.

The only person who really annoyed me out of the celebrity panel was J.B. Smooth. Michael Ian Black who I usually like was kind of annoying but nowhere near J.B.'s level especially with that blank card answer he gave which was kind of shocking because he knew his answer was pertaining to the host's family. 

I'm going to keep watching and here's to hoping it will get somewhat better. 

[topanga]

8 hours ago, Snarkette said:

Viagra was used on both this and the pyramid. I smell product placement. 

I really thought he slipped her a "mickey" -- because rodent... and rhyming?

I don't know. People love slipping Viagra wherever they can.

I'm one of those people who would not have said hickey--I guess I was overthinking the question. Can rodents give hickeys? Wouldn't they just bite a person's neck? You need lips to suck, right? See, overthinking it. 

Otherwise, I enjoyed the show. Loved that Alec used the retro microphone, a.l.a. Gene Rayburn. JB Smoove is usually funny, but watching his non-stop antics actually tired me out. I'd hate to live with this man--or try to film a show with him around.

[starri]

According to some social media accounts of people who were at the taping, they had to stop filming a bunch of times because JB Smoove was completely out of control.  I'm hoping that means they won't have him back.

[Jaded]

I forgot to mention the limerick question. Hickey was the first answer that popped into my head. It wasn't until after that I thought mickey might have been an ok answer too. 

[Charlesman]

Ugh. JB Smoove was the worst. Always butting in and talking out of turn and trying to get the last word and/or biggest laugh on everything. Give up, man.

 

Thought it was fine. Totally worth watching on DVR so you can FF through the dumbness.

[seacliffsal]

I enjoyed this with one huge exception which has been mentioned already-JB Smooth.  Wow, trying to take over the show much?  What an attention hound-unbelievable.  He actually disrupted the pacing of the show which was always a huge part of the Match Game for me.  Part of the fun of the original was that all of the panelists were able to play their 'roles'; JB, however, would not allow the spotlight to land on anyone but himself.  He also ruined Talking Dead for me when he was on.  I believe that they had to edit around him per an earlier posting as there were a few times when he looked angry during the show.  Without him, I think it would have been much better.

I really liked Rosie and Michael.  Michael actually had down the Richard Dawson persona-a little snark but then a good answer.  I think Rosie would have been even better without JB.  What memories this brought back (and in a good way).  I wouldn't mind the rest of the panel returning (except JB) as I think the familiarity of the panel was a key ingredient to the earlier versions of the Match Game.

I loved how they kept so many elements of the older versions.

[BW Manilowe]

On June 29, 2016 at 0:37 AM, Snarkette said:

Viagra was used on both this and the pyramid. I smell product placement. 

I really thought he slipped her a "mickey" -- because rodent... and rhyming?

I thought of both "mickey" & "hickey", for what it's worth.

[Cekrypton1]

The thing of it is, if you look at her card, the "i" looks like she went back and added it. That she had it right, and THEN screwed it up.

[Cekrypton1]

The thing of it is, if you look at her card, the "i" looks like she went back and added it. That she had it right, and THEN screwed it up.

Well, the "C" doesn't help her at all.

[ketchuplover]

They should make the microphone longer every week.

[TheGreenKnight]

I really enjoyed this. Rosie and Debra were my favorite parts of the show and Alec Baldwin is great as the host. I hope they get two or three panelists who are always there like with the old show. It adds a little consistency.

[junemeatcleaver]

Brett Somers', Charles Nelson Reilly's and Richard Dawson's corpses would be better players than some of these celebs.  Adam Goldberg wrote "please help me"?  That Tituss guy said "BUSH"?  Jesus Christ.

Match Game has to be worst of ABC's game show revivals.

[Giuseppe]

I can't believe nobody came up with The Rock vs. The Pebble for the Justin Bieber question. Seemed like the obvious answer to me but it seemed like neither the contestant nor any of the panelists really "got" that question.

[TexasTiffany]

7 minutes ago, junemeatcleaver said:

Brett Somers', Charles Nelson Reilly's and Richard Dawson's corpses would be better players than some of these celebs.  Adam Goldberg wrote "please help me"?  That Tituss guy said "BUSH"?  Jesus Christ.

Match Game has to be worst of ABC's game show revivals.

Totally! Richard Dawson was awesome compared to these people! Brett and Charles would BOO these people!

Horatio and Adam? Really? They couldn't get SOMEBODY capable of cognitive thought AND be some sort of celebrity the rest of us would know to be on that panel? Also, they don't seem to know how this game is played. You are supposed to pick an answer you think will match the contestant so they can win money. Adam didn't even come up with an answer TWICE! "Help me please" is not acceptable.

I'm also pissed that again the questions are slanted to a body orifice answer. How about Questions that are clever? Questions that will have an answer? Questions that are fun? Again, too much filth than fun.

[Kromm]

Haven't seen it yet. I assume when you say "Adam Goldberg" you mean the idiot untalented shitty one with the beard and not the clever one who writes and produces "The Goldbergs". They're two different people.

[WendyCR72]

12 minutes ago, Kromm said:

Haven't seen it yet. I assume when you say "Adam Goldberg" you mean the idiot untalented shitty one

The Adam Goldberg who played Chandler Bing's creepy roommate on Friends when Joey briefly moved out, among other (very odd) roles...

[Racj82]

Adam F. Goldberg does the Goldbergs.

I thought of the Rock vs The Crock for the Rock/Bieber question.

[TheGreenKnight]

I only knew him from Will & Grace, when he played Will's high school bully.

I enjoyed the episode, but it was pretty rough for the contestants trying to match anyone. I don't think the guy from the first round could've won any way about it; none of the celebrities matched each other on either of the questions. I can't believe the guy from the second round didn't guess "Twerk" though. That was easy. I found Tituss Burgess hilarious even if his answers are usually off-the-wall.

[Gregg247]

I'm not a prude, but I gave up on this show after the Kim Kardassian question and all the filthy answers.   Those weren't funny, just dirty.  I haven't heard "jokes" like those since I graduated from Middle School.

[Irlandesa]

The writers are trying a little too hard to elicit innuendo or euphemisms in the questions they ask.  It's a flaw shared by Celeb Family Feud.  I guess they're trying to bring it up to make it worth being a prie time show which is why there are also a lot of pop culture references.  But overall, I think it works and I enjoy the show. 

[Racj82]

I don't care about the crass jokes. They are basically setting them up for outrageous answers. It's all in good fun. I'm pretty much never offended by things i see or hear on tv anyway. But, the reactions and riffing that comes from the questions are often the best part. I laughed the whole night through. So, good job.

[junemeatcleaver]

It's not that I'm offended by the naughtiness, I just think it's lazy.  Drilling Kim K's ass?  What about her empty head?  The Rock vs. the Cock?  What about the Pebble or the Marshmallow?

Just because you can say stuff now that you couldn't say in 1975 doesn't mean it's the best choice.

[teebax]

52 minutes ago, Racj82 said:

I don't care about the crass jokes. They are basically setting them up for outrageous answers. It's all in good fun. I'm pretty much never offended by things i see or hear on tv anyway. But, the reactions and riffing that comes from the questions are often the best part. I laughed the whole night through. So, good job.

It doesn't bother me either, but I do appreciate subtlety, which this game doesn't have.

Nevertheless, I enjoy it and will continue watching. I'm just glad to have some classic gameshows back.

[Actionmage]

Not all of the questions seem...inspired. There are the naughty jokes like the Schweddy Log ( which I thought was okay, but I understand now why they threw that in), the middling ones like Ted Cruz/ Mission: Impossible and Hugh Hefner/grotto questions, and there are the ones like the Rock/Bieber one where it's hard to come up with a good answer or joke, though I did like Horatio's answer better. (What? It's the WWE; they'd use that probably.)

I'm not offended, as such, just that innuendo is fun because it's subtle and as teebax said, this version has none currently. Then again, there was a contestants who seem to not understand what the point of the game is, despite having practice runs in even getting on the show, I imagine. Also, the bit answers showed up again.  Not helpful, celebrities.

Acceptable bit: Using two or more cards for an elaborate, actual answer, like Charles Nelson Reilly or Brett Somers would do from time to time.

Unacceptable bit: Not answering at all, or explaining your not-close-to-the-question answer saying you couldn't think of anything so  whatever you were thinking. It's not like there are rules against looking or asking someone for their opinion/answer. (The only time I didn't like it last night was during the individual matches. Let Rosie or whoever ask for help first! It's not like Rosie needed help in the other portions of the game.)

Still, it's pretty close to Match Game and , for now, that's better than no Match Game at all.

[KerleyQ]

12 hours ago, Giuseppe said:

I can't believe nobody came up with The Rock vs. The Pebble for the Justin Bieber question. Seemed like the obvious answer to me but it seemed like neither the contestant nor any of the panelists really "got" that question.

My two first thoughts were either "The Cock" or "The Pebble," depending on if you go with the rhyme or with naming a much smaller rock.  I loved Rosie's "well mine isn't as bad as that," when the contestant went with "The Pillow."  After thinking about it, I can see what he was going for with pillow - a rock is hard and a pillow is soft, so it works, but it's not the type of answer that springs immediately to mind for most people, so it didn't work in that context.  I think, sometimes, the contestants are so concerned with coming up with something super clever that they leave the more obvious answers just lying there.  A lot of the time, the best answer in Match Game is the low-hanging fruit. (Which is why that Baldwin brothers question last week just didn't work - there's no real obvious answer just begging to be said there.  I thought "annoyance" was probably the best answer given, but that question was almost a guaranteed "no match.")

I was so glad to see Rosie back, and I hope she's on every week, because she was just made for this.  

And I don't mind the naughty vibe.  I feel like the original had what was a naughty vibe for it's day, which was part of its appeal, and that's what this show is doing now.  (It's just that what passed for naughty in their day was a lot tamer, for the most part, than what passes for naughty now.)  Plus, as the last of the three, it's on at the 10/9 PM slot, so it's an appropriate tone for that time slot, as this is definitely the most "adult" of the three revivals.  Speaking of which, they should really swap the time slots for Family Feud and Pyramid.  Pyramid seems to have the most family friendly humor, and FF falls somewhere between Pyramid and this.  But I'm guessing they consider FF the strongest brand of the three, so, for ratings, they want it as the lead off.  

[iMonrey]

The music on this show just makes me so happy! I can't help bopping around to it.

I think Alec Baldwin is doing a pretty good job. You need a big personality to host this game and he's got that in spades. Plus he's a smart ass and is good at making fun of the contestants without making them feel too bad. I loved how he wouldn't let that whole "pillow" thing go. He was a good choice for this even though nobody will ever replace Gene Rayburn. 

They probably should have brought back the wheel of stars the contestant has to spin in the final round because everyone is going to pick Rosie. It makes me feel bad for the other "stars."

[rcc]

Alec is kinda creepy to me but watchable. Rosie makes this show fun to me. The innuendos are so different this time around but in this day and age anything goes. Also it's on at 10 p.m. ET.

[FormerMod-a1]

I wish they still had the winning contestant stay on to the next game until they lose.  Granted, this is a weekly show, rather than daily, so probably not as easy.  However, I doubt the are filming weekly, they probably film all at once anyway.

Other than that, I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected.  I don't like Alec Baldwin so almost didn't watch at all.

[Dreamboat Annie]

Have always liked Alec Baldwin because he's sharp, quick, witty, smart as a whip and charismatic.  I just think he's a little stiff.  Would like to see him relax and loosen up just a bit.  That would make him more natural in the role of host. 

Poor Sherri.  It was obvious she had no idea who Ted Cruz was.  I think she's out of her league.  That was painful to watch.

Rosie makes this show. 

[mtlchick]

Quote

I was so glad to see Rosie back, and I hope she's on every week, because she was just made for this.  

She tweeted last week that she filmed 4 episodes.  Whether she means 4 hour long episodes or 4 games (that would equal to two) is subject to debate.

Sherri makes me want to throw things, but then again seeing her, Tituss and "Jack Donaghy" made me long for more Queen of Jordan form 30 Rock.

 

About the innuendo...I've heard worse on earlier hours.  Have you seen the regular Family Feud these days?  The writers have a field day writing up the answers for the board.

[Racj82]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The music on this show just makes me so happy! I can't help bopping around to it.

I think Alec Baldwin is doing a pretty good job. You need a big personality to host this game and he's got that in spades. Plus he's a smart ass and is good at making fun of the contestants without making them feel too bad. I loved how he wouldn't let that whole "pillow" thing go. He was a good choice for this even though nobody will ever replace Gene Rayburn. 

They probably should have brought back the wheel of stars the contestant has to spin in the final round because everyone is going to pick Rosie. It makes me feel bad for the other "stars."

I don't feel bad for the other stars because all they need to do is give common sense answers and the players would be more inclined to pick them.

[WendyCR72]

9 minutes ago, Racj82 said:

I don't feel bad for the other stars because all they need to do is give common sense answers and the players would be more inclined to pick them.

Well, this happened in the '70s version. Richard Dawson always seemed to be the player picked for the Super Match (or whatever it was called) round. He seemed to care if the contestants won while many others were about the jokes. I read that is why the wheel with the celebs was eventually introduced, to spread things around. (And read that Dawson was not a fan of said wheel.)

[Kromm]

I actually loved that they found a clever way to cheat to ensure the right answer to "Drag BLANK".  Tituss speaking up and reinforcing that it was ROSIE O'DONNELL--a lover of Drag culture if not a participant--answering was a clue in of itself. I mean for certain other celebs Drag Race would have been a more logical match. But the combo of Tituss and Rosie steered it right to Drag Queen.

I suppose if Ru Paul were the celeb they might have had a problem (due to the name of Ru's show). But Ru is the exception.

Edited July 5, 2016 by Kromm

[St. Claire]

On 7/3/2016 at 11:07 PM, Giuseppe said:

I can't believe nobody came up with The Rock vs. The Pebble for the Justin Bieber question. Seemed like the obvious answer to me but it seemed like neither the contestant nor any of the panelists really "got" that question.

The Pebble was exactly what I would have said if I were the contestant! Fat lot of good it would have done, though, since none of the celebs said it. I also said Miley would make America twerk again, and was torn between a Twinkie and  Ho Ho in the Playboy Mansion grotto (am I the only one who refers to airheaded models as "twinkies"?)

I wish there was more subtlety to the risque answers. That was what made the old show fun- the censors wouldn't allow outright filth, so there was a lot of wink-nudge innuendo that made it funny. I do have to admit having laughed out loud when Sherri said "drill that ass!" that Tituss noted that her response was far from hetero.

[Mumbles]

My favorite celeb this week was Ana Gasteyer. She had a very dry approach that was a nice antidote to the rest of the show. And her refusal on occasion to go for the easy dirty answer (Schweddy logs going to a wood burning stove) was even funnier in comparison.

[Miss chi chi]

I also thought The Rock vs. The Pebble was the best answer.  

[HurricaneVal]

Adam Goldberg looked like he was being punished by serving on the panel.  Seriously, his reluctance and bad attitude just oozed out of him.  I think it really annoyed Alec Baldwin, who said probably the most cutting thing straight to Adam that I think I've ever heard on a TV show:  "Hey, weren't you in Saving Private Ryan?"  Whoa.  That was a fantastic burn....  That arrow hit its mark too.  I loved it.

[rcc]

Adam on this show and Anthony Anderson on the 100,000 Pyramid obviously didn't care about winning money for the contestants. Rosie said on her blog that they weren't paid much money. So, what was it then. I guess it was to get their face on television. 

Selfish, dumb and totally useless the both of them.

[Kromm]

5 minutes ago, rcc said:

Adam on this show and Anthony Anderson on the 100,000 Pyramid obviously didn't care about winning money for the contestants. Rosie said on her blog that they weren't paid much money. So, what was it then. I guess it was to get their face on television. 

Selfish, dumb and totally useless the both of them.

I don't know about Anderson. He's currently hosting his own game show, and the format of his doesn't seem to directly reward the contestants for performance (I think they're just paid a flat appearance fee).  So maybe he's got it in his head some notion that it's more about "putting on a show" and couldn't shake that notion for Pyramid.

Adam Goldberg just didn't give a crap. I agree. He's a horrid little man who plays other horrid little men in movies. 

[rcc]

2 minutes ago, Kromm said:

I don't know about Anderson. He's currently hosting his own game show, and the format of his doesn't seem to directly reward the contestants for performance (I think they're just paid a flat appearance fee).  So maybe he's got it in his head some notion that it's more about "putting on a show" and couldn't shake that notion for Pyramid.

Adam Goldberg just didn't give a crap. I agree. He's a horrid little man who plays other horrid little men in movies. 

Sorry, but I don't think rules for one game show negates the rules of another game show. Anderson was hired for Pyramid to play a game and give a chance for someone to win money. He just didn't give a damn.

[smittykins]

The week with Alex Karras on the panel was just...painful.  You could tell he didn't want to be there and it's no surprise he wasn't asked back.

[nonnybaby]

At first, it really bothered me that few of the panelists seemed to give a shit about helping the contestants win money. Then, I accepted that they are all just there to have a rollicking good time (including the contestants). If the contestants come on this show expecting to earn serious cash, they will likely be disappointed.

For example, I loved the attitude of the fireman contestant (he of "Rock vs. Pillow" fame). He laughed his way through his game and walked away with bubkes, except a fun story to tell his grandkids one day.

Also, I so appreciated that the level of screaming and hysteria from the contestants was much lower this second night.

[Mumbles]

Quote

The week with Alex Karras on the panel was just...painful.  You could tell he didn't want to be there and it's no surprise he wasn't asked back.

As bad as Scoey Mitchell's appearances? He looked so pissed to be there, I get douche-chills 40+ years later from the tension when I see those reruns. And yet he did more than one stint on the show! Must have been some contractual obligation with whatever show he was on.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I don't know about Anderson. He's currently hosting his own game show, and the format of his doesn't seem to directly reward the contestants for performance (I think they're just paid a flat appearance fee).  So maybe he's got it in his head some notion that it's more about "putting on a show" and couldn't shake that notion for Pyramid.

There's a big difference between hosting and being a panelist. I can see the importance of pumping up the crowd and putting on a good show when you're a host, but when you're a panelist, you should be more serious about the game. 

That said, there's a big difference between Pyramid and Match Game. The former is a fairly serious show, and Anderson was obviously stuck in "host" mode. He was more interested in cutting up and playing the clown when he was competing against another team for a higher score than he was on getting seven correct answers, and that's beyond the pale. Someone should have pulled him aside and straightened him out during the commercial break about what his job was there.

He would have been better suited to Match Game where it's always been perfectly acceptable to go for the joke answer, especially in Round 1 when the contestant has another shot at getting matches in Round 2. It's been that way since the golden days of Gene Rayburn, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly and Richard Dawson.

[Irlandesa]

On 7/5/2016 at 3:23 PM, rcc said:

 I guess it was to get their face on television. 

I think with someone like Anderson, it's network synergy.  If the network asks, you do it because that's part of being a team player. 

As for the others, I suspect they were offered some package deals since people like Ana appeared in two of the games.  And if your job is a comedian or as a "personality," then this could be good publicity.  I would also imagine that Alec can get a few people to do this.

[MerBearHou]

Though I generally think Alec is a blowhard in his personal life, I absolutely love his sense of humor.  He's smart and dry and sarcastic and quick.  I'm enjoying him tremendously as the host of this show.  He laughs easily at those who are truly funny.  His come-backs are clever.  I definitely agree that the overt risqué answers cheapen the show but man, the questions just set up these answers.  I watched the old Match Game and get a kick out of the new one, but it's always been a huge irritation to me when the stars don't seem to try to match, don't seem to try to make the contestant any money.  

[Racj82]

This isn't the thread about 100,000 pyramid but I just wanted to stick up for Anthony Anderson in that he seemed to be superflustered and confused by some hints that just through him off but I never for one minute doubted that he didn't actually not care about the players. On Hollywood game night, he's a ham there too because that's just Anthony but he's also one of the best players to have ever been on that show. To the point that him versus another veteran of the show was the selling point of an episode. Some Gane formats are just not for some people or they just off. Sorry,  just everyone keeps going in on him and Jb but neither one of them bothered me that much.

To bring it back here, I think it's fun to have wild cards. People there to have fun. I know it's hard to guess for them that way but I don't want a bunch of people up there just trying to be super earnest about the questions either.

[topanga]

On 7/3/2016 at 11:00 PM, junemeatcleaver said:

Brett Somers', Charles Nelson Reilly's and Richard Dawson's corpses would be better players than some of these celebs.  Adam Goldberg wrote "please help me"?  That Tituss guy said "BUSH"?  Jesus Christ.

Match Game has to be worst of ABC's game show revivals.

 

On 7/3/2016 at 11:16 PM, TexasTiffany said:

Totally! Richard Dawson was awesome compared to these people! Brett and Charles would BOO these people!

Horatio and Adam? Really? They couldn't get SOMEBODY capable of cognitive thought AND be some sort of celebrity the rest of us would know to be on that panel? Also, they don't seem to know how this game is played. You are supposed to pick an answer you think will match the contestant so they can win money. Adam didn't even come up with an answer TWICE! "Help me please" is not acceptable.

I'm also pissed that again the questions are slanted to a body orifice answer. How about Questions that are clever? Questions that will have an answer? Questions that are fun? Again, too much filth than fun.

The celebrities should be forced to watch a marathon of old Match Game episodes before their appearances to learn how it's supposed to be done (except for Rosie and Alec--they rock). Most of them just seem...dumb. And did Sherri really not have a better answer for Ted Cruz, or was she playing her usual "ditzy" role?

I'm still enjoying the show, mainly because I liked the original version so much. And since we're on the subject of subtly...is Tituss always so flamboyant? It's okay to be gay, and it's okay for people to know that you're gay, but is it really necessary for him to constantly roll his eyes and neck and make funny noises? It's like he's shouting, "Look at me! I'm the gay man on the panel!" Rosie doesn't do that. She's very comfortable with her sexuality and has made a few jokes about it, but it doesn't dominate who she is as a player or a celebrity. 

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, topanga said:

.is Tituss always so flamboyant? It's okay to be gay, and it's okay for people to know that you're gay, but is it really necessary for him to constantly roll his eyes and neck and make funny noises? 

He's sitting in the old CNR spot, yes? CNR seemed to sometimes play it low key like Rosie or he'd amp it up. (Probably depending on how blitzed the panel was. LOL!)

[Racj82]

3 hours ago, topanga said:

 

The celebrities should be forced to watch a marathon of old Match Game episodes before their appearances to learn how it's supposed to be done (except for Rosie and Alec--they rock). Most of them just seem...dumb. And did Sherri really not have a better answer for Ted Cruz, or was she playing her usual "ditzy" role?

I'm still enjoying the show, mainly because I liked the original version so much. And since we're on the subject of subtly...is Tituss always so flamboyant? It's okay to be gay, and it's okay for people to know that you're gay, but is it really necessary for him to constantly roll his eyes and neck and make funny noises? It's like he's shouting, "Look at me! I'm the gay man on the panel!" Rosie doesn't do that. She's very comfortable with her sexuality and has made a few jokes about it, but it doesn't dominate who she is as a player or a celebrity. 

The answer regarding Tituss is yes. He's not playing up anything for the game.