Season 1-3 Discussion

[dmeets]

The one time Leslie and Leah really got on my nerves was when they vehemently called bullshit on the judges accepting "tea" (I think) for "drink." I felt really bad for Michael that two of the panelists seemed to be actively rooting against him in that moment. I could see them getting that worked up on behalf of a contestant, but it was pretty shitty to try and bully the judges into taking away his one measly point.

[April Bloodgate]

On 7/18/2016 at 4:53 PM, FilmTVGeek80 said:

The celebrities colluding on answers also hasn't been too bad to me, except I did think they were doing it a little too much this last episode. But I don't know if it can be called cheating. I don't know what the official rules are, but unless it's explicitly stated that the celebs can't collaborate on an answer, then it isn't cheating.

Thank you! ITA. The show has established rules and judges. If this were against the rules, they wouldn't allow it. Since they're allowing it on a regular basis, it's not cheating according to the rules they've established. 

[sugarbaker design]

Recently a contestant gave the word "penis".  Tituss's answer was 'pinot noir', his slang term for penis.  The judges said no match, then Tituss bitched, then the judges relented and gave it a match.  Maybe celebs knew the judge's flip-flop easily.

[peeayebee]

It bugged me that Tituss wrote "Pinot Noir" whereas his song was "Peeno Noir."

[iMonrey]

Quote

The one time Leslie and Leah really got on my nerves was when they vehemently called bullshit on the judges accepting "tea" (I think) for "drink." I felt really bad for Michael that two of the panelists seemed to be actively rooting against him in that moment. 

Yeah - that bugged me too. In that particular instance, it felt like they didn't really understand what they were doing or how the game worked. The panelists should never argue against the contestant getting a match point. Jeez. It was like they thought everyone was playing Monopoly and the contestants cheated or something.

[Blissfool]

On 7/18/2016 at 9:52 AM, Racj82 said:

Some people don't like loud or over the top comedians (see people who can't stand JB and Anthony Anderson in these same situations). 

I had a self-revelation! I am one of those people that dislikes loud, in-your-face comics. I cannot stand the 2 you mentioned, JB Smoove and Anthony Anderson.  I also dislike Jim Carrey and Gilbert Gottfried. And today I found Leslie Jones obnoxious. 

On 7/18/2016 at 7:43 PM, FilmTVGeek80 said:

Also, one of my favorite moments - another Leslie one - was when she hooted and hollered as soon as the contestant answered "control" for the clue "remote blank." 

But with Pete Wentz it was out of character thus i found it endearing and cute/funny.

[Blissfool]

I don't understand why Josh didn't write "bikini" to match the rest of the celebrities? That was the only chance the contestant had to win---if she matched ALL of them. (And, yes, Leah had whispered her answer to him and he had peaked at LJ's answer as well. )

Edited July 23, 2016 by Blissfool

[Kromm]

7 hours ago, Blissfool said:

I had a self-revelation! I am one of those people that dislikes loud, in-your-face comics. I cannot stand the 2 you mentioned, JB Smoove and Anthony Anderson.  I also dislike Jim Carrey and Gilbert Gottfried. And today I found Leslie Jones obnoxious. 

I don't think those types are all necessarily the same. Or at least some of them have different tolerance points to meet and your feelings about them can change over time.

JB Smoove I have found massively irritating every time I've seen him since I FIRST saw him years ago on Last Comic Standing. I've rarely laughed at anything he's ever said, and covered my ears most of the time.

With Anthony Anderson, for me at least, it really seems to depend on his material. I don't think loud jokes are his only "go to" It's enough of it though that he disappoints fairly often.

Jim Carrey annoys more often than not, but he's on that Robin Williams level where at the very beginning it was very very charming and you sometimes can be reminded of that. In the last half of his career or so, when he was in comedic mode rather than "serious", Williams really highlighted how manic can be annoying, but Carey arguably showed that even earlier on (Ace Ventura stage, The Mask, etc,) But the earliest stuff from both (Mork & Mindy, In Living Color, some of Williams' comedy albums) showed it could be charming  too.

Gottfried is a really odd bird. It's 100% an act with him unlike a lot of these folks. The real guy underneath is totally different. In a way this actually makes him more self-aware of the line between annoying and simply dangerous and he plays with it a lot more deliberately than these others. Not that you'd notice a non-annoying version of him on air to contrast anything to, but when he's pushing your buttons with it, it's totally on purpose. Effectively that doesn't make any difference in hating hearing him, although it's worth noting his schtick is more about loud than manic.

I dunno. Leslie Jones still seems to fall on th side of charming rather than simply loud for me. That could change over the years if it just starts to feel repetitive. Then again I still find Tracy Morgan inherently charming after many many years and that's exactly his shtick too.

Trying to put my finger exactly on why even in the same broadcast I hated Leah Remini doing it and not Leslie Jones, I'd say (aside from the Scientology past) that Remini's version seems desperate, while Jones' version feels organic. Jones is being that way effortlessly.  Remini blurts stuff out in a deliberate attempt to "be funny", vs. just naturally being so.  As I said, a guy like Gilbert Gottfried does what he does fully consciously and in control, and a Tracy Morgan or Leslie Jones may be the polar opposite. But it's those folks in the middle who often fail the worst at it I think.

[peeayebee]

2 hours ago, Kromm said:

Trying to put my finger exactly on why even in the same broadcast I hated Leah Remini doing it and not Leslie Jones, I'd say (aside from the Scientology past) that Remini's version seems desperate, while Jones' version feels organic. Jones is being that way effortlessly.  Remini blurts stuff out in a deliberate attempt to "be funny", vs. just naturally being so.  

ITA. I also felt that Remini wanted to be in the spotlight, like she had to drag it to herself, whereas Leslie's personality just naturally brings the spotlight on herself. Kind of like a cartoon with Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny.

[theatremouse]

11 hours ago, Blissfool said:

I don't understand why Josh didn't write "bikini" to match the rest of the celebrities? That was the only chance the contestant had to win---if she matched ALL of them. (And, yes, Leah had whispered her answer to him and he had peaked at LJ's answer as well. )

My take was he genuinely believed his answer was the one she would give. If might not make sense since he knew she needed them all to win, so even if he did match, if he knew the rest weren't saying what he was it'd be a loss, but maybe he felt like he needed to stick to his own answer because he really thought she'd say it, just on the principle? Soif they all didn't match at least he could show his as some consolation? I don't know. Or maybe he didn't know everyone else's answers, just the two next to him, so if it were still split to some extent there's less reason to cave to the pressure to copy so he went with his gut.

[chitowngirl]

A great cast tonight!

[TheGreenKnight]

This is the first episode so far I was bored by. I liked a couple of the celebrities, but Baldwin is the only one I found funny throughout the show this time. Hopefully the next episode will have better panelists.

[Irlandesa]

It was lower key but I enjoyed it.  I thought Jack was funnier tonight.  But goodness, where do they find these people?  "Hair?"  "Chocolate love?"  (Although I would've only got two points since it was obviously "thunder" while three celebs went to "storm." )

I do like that Alec didn't kiss that woman.  I wouldn't have cared either way but I think this is the first time someone didn't cave to the expectation just because she said she wanted it.

[mortonsalt]

3 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

A great cast tonight!

I agree with Irlandesa that they were lower key, but it was nice. While some of them didn't give the best answers, I didn't feel like anyone wasn't into it like I did with all of the other episodes except for last week's episode. I thought it was a good balance between wanting to help the contestants and being entertaining. I would also add Niecy Nash to a permanent panel that consists of Rosie O'Donnell, Leslie Jones, and maybe Tituss Burgess because he and Rosie get along so well. 

However, I also agree with Irlandsea that I don't know where they find the contestants. I think that tonight's episode would have potentially matched last week's or came close if they contestants weren't so awful. Although to be fair to the girl in the second game, I think that she got stuck with two dud questions. She definitely would have won had she got the Kimye question. Those other three contestants though were pretty dumb especially the one that answered hair.

[Mama No Life]

I enjoyed the top row a lot tonight.  The bottom row, eh.  Was especially disappointed with Ellie Kemper...she wasn't funny at all. Maybe pregnancy brain....

I probably would have said viagra for the desert island question, and would have been very unmatched.  But how do you not get a weather term for Al Roker?  My true LOL moment of the night was when Jack Bayer said, "I almost said hair, but then I thought, no that's a really stupid answer' (paraphrase).  I love that they give the contestants grief.....

[readster]

The contestants were pretty bad, but Baker was the worst. I mean "hair"? Seriously? I loved Jason Alexander's response: "I don't have hair, but that isn't going to stop me being on a desert island with Scarlet Johanson." Plus, you add in not using a weather reference for Al Rocker? How do these people end up on game shows and I never get a phone call when I try? 

[mtlchick]

"Chocolate love!" "Hair!" Me: "what is WRONG with these contestants?"  Which also goes along with Ellie when Alec threw in "penis" and...she wrote it down.  Even David Alan Grier was like "He was KIDDING!"

However I did laugh hard at the second winner would was really trying to control her language...but then said in her excitement "I blew Kanye and I still did it!"   Then Jason Alexander was saying "can I quote you on that?"

Edited July 25, 2016 by mtlchick

[bybrandy]

I loved that the contestant kept explaining that his reasoning was that Scarlett Johansson has such great hair.   She does, but presumably it is with her on the island!  You don't need more of it.   Conditioner would have been a stupid answer, too.  But at least it would have made sense given his premise.   

[sugarbaker design]

He was nice, but he was a dizzy queen.  That is at least the worst answer given in this current incarnation of MG.

[DrScottie]

I understand the reasoning behind picking Kris Jenner, since that momager has been running Kim's life well before she met Kanye West and Kim is on her third marriage. Still though, it's obviously Kanye! 

Did she not pick Chocolate Thunder because that was the nickname of the late NBA star Daryl Dawkins? It had to be a weather related phenomenon. Where do they get these people? 

[jumper sage]

11 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

It was lower key but I enjoyed it.  I thought Jack was funnier tonight.  But goodness, where do they find these people?  "Hair?"  "Chocolate love?"  (Although I would've only got two points since it was obviously "thunder" while three celebs went to "storm." )

I do like that Alec didn't kiss that woman.  I wouldn't have cared either way but I think this is the first time someone didn't cave to the expectation just because she said she wanted it.

 

3 hours ago, readster said:

The contestants were pretty bad, but Baker was the worst. I mean "hair"? Seriously? I loved Jason Alexander's response: "I don't have hair, but that isn't going to stop me being on a desert island with Scarlet Johanson." Plus, you add in not using a weather reference for Al Rocker? How do these people end up on game shows and I never get a phone call when I try? 

I would study up on a game show I was going to appear on.  How do they not go with the most connected word usage common in today's society?  It is not that hard.  Kim = Kanye; Roker + weather = thunder.  COME ON!  How could someone win with only connecting to one answer in two rounds?

[readster]

42 minutes ago, jumper sage said:

 

I would study up on a game show I was going to appear on.  How do they not go with the most connected word usage common in today's society?  It is not that hard.  Kim = Kanye; Roker + weather = thunder.  COME ON!  How could someone win with only connecting to one answer in two rounds?

I completely agree, because Match Game has always been about that. Either current trends, people or places or obvious answers. I mean, not associating Kanye and weather related topics just make you go: "huh?" I can just see these episodes showing up on the new Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and the bots just going crazy.

[peeayebee]

I thought all the celebrities meshed well together and each had at least one funny moment. A great group.

I don't know much about the Kardashian clan. I was thinking that Kanye was supposed to be THE answer, but although a lot of people don't like him, my thought was that Kim does, so I didn't think that would be a deal with the devil. My answer was Taylor Swift. Maybe I overthought it.

For the Al Roker question, I said Chocolate Rain. 

The hair answer was definitely WTF. I love that Alec say he was invoking some clause in his contract to ask Baker to explain the answer. Of course the explanation didn't make sense either. And then I loved all the comments about that answer. Jack saying, "I was honestly going to put hair, but then I thought, That is the stupidest answer..." Alec saying to Baker, "Don't try to bail yourself out. Your answer was moronic," and when Baker lost, Alec said, "Baker, you lost by a hair." Another good one was Alec telling Jenilyn that to win, "All you have to do is be *this* much smarter than Baker."

In the second game, for the Barbie question I was trying to remember the name of Barbie's cousin. Midge? I'm not sure. I ended up saying Dream House. For the Judge Judy question, I said she told her husband to rise, as in "All rise."

I liked Jack's answer of tank top for the shark tank question. Maybe a little too clever. My answer was fin.

Edited July 25, 2016 by peeayebee

[mtlchick]

Quote

My answer was Taylor Swift. Maybe I overthought it.

It depends when this was taped which is probably earlier in the month before the Kimye/Swift feud really took hold.  Swift would more likely be a more used answer if this was airing in August.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I do like that Alec didn't kiss that woman.

Why? She only wanted a little kiss on the cheek and was clearly a big fan. I don't see why he couldn't have obliged her, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her. Maybe he did give her a peck at the end and they edited it out.

Overall I thought this panel was good, but not as entertaining as last week's. And I know next to nothing about the Kardashians so I wouldn't have gotten the Kanye thing. I'm vaguely aware one of them is or was married to him but I honestly would have blanked on that answer.

Baker really blew it with "hair" but the thing I love about this show is that neither the celebs nor Alec will let it go when a contestant gives a bone-headed answer like that. So they end up getting a lot of mileage from these kinds of catastrophic fails. 

[Phishbulb]

I was trying to think of something involving the word "briefs" for the Judge Judy question, like "Hand over your briefs", haha.

That might have been overthinking it a bit much, but that question seemed to lend itself to bad puns. 

[mortonsalt]

35 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

For the Al Roker question, I said Chocolate Rain. 

...

In the second game, for the Barbie question I was trying to remember the name of Barbie's cousin. Midge? I'm not sure. I ended up saying Dream House. For the Judge Judy question, I said she told her husband to rise, as in "All rise."

I liked Jack's answer of tank top for the shark tank question. Maybe a little too clever. My answer was fin.

For the Al Roker question, I guessed Chocolate Rain too. I was trying to think of weather related words and that popped into my head because of that guy from YouTube. Thunder or storm makes a lot more sense though.

Yes, for the Barbie question, I was thinking of Barbie's sister Skipper at first, but I figured that most of the celebrities probably wouldn't remember and changed it to clothes. Shoes wasn't exactly a bad answer, I thought, it's just that there was so many different ways that question could have gone. I also went with all rise for the Judge Judy question. 

Finally, for the Shark Tank question, I was thinking thong which probably would have gotten booed. Fin or tank top was a good answer though, but again like the Barbie question there's a lot of ways that it could go. 

It seems like there's a pattern of there being one really easy question like the Kimye one or the Scarlett Johannson question per round, and then there's the overthinking and/or dud question. I feel somewhat bad when one of the contestants ends up getting both of the bad questions especially if the other contestant doesn't seem very bright, but I guess they can't make all the questions too easy. 

[Princess Sparkle]

I almost wonder if for the Judge Judy question, if the contestant would've been better off answering "Have sex" and then try and hope that the judges would rule that some of those courtroom puns meant "sex."  Because that's clearly what she meant, but it looked like the judges would only let her match exactly, but I wonder if they would've been a little looser with the matching if she'd just said "sex."  That contestant got screwed twice though, because for the Shark Tank question I think they should've had "g-string" match.  

For the Kim Kardashian question, Kanye was my immediate answer, but Kris wasn't necessarily a bad answer.  That question did give me my hardest laugh of the episode, which was Jack McBrayer screaming "SHE IS A NATIONAL TREASURE!" after Ellie Kemper gave her answer.  

The person that surprised me the most was Sheryl Crow.  I love her music, but I never think of her as being funny, and I thought she did pretty well considering she's not a comedian.  And my god, she looks fantastic for being in her mid-50s.  

[Cherry Cola]

I am loving this new match game! Alec is a great host. I love his delivery of sarcasm. 

I too thought chocolate rain for Al Broker question.  I have never liked Jack McBrayer, but he seems sweet and is growing in me. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

The person that surprised me the most was Sheryl Crow.  I love her music, but I never think of her as being funny, and I thought she did pretty well considering she's not a comedian.  And my god, she looks fantastic for being in her mid-50s.  

I know she was just kidding, but - no, Sheryl Crow. If the Match Game theme song sounds suspiciously like your first hit single then they're the ones who should be calling their attorneys because that music pre-dates your career by at least 2 decades.

Quote

 I was thinking of Barbie's sister Skipper at first,

Was Skipper her sister? I was trying to work that out. Do they even make Skipper dolls anymore?

[seacliffsal]

I enjoyed the episode, but I thought the women who asked for a kiss from Alex was really off base.  Turn it around and a male contestant who never before met the celebrity female host and asked for a kiss...  It seems to me that many people feel that they 'know' celebrities and that celebrities 'owe them' or something.  I know it's not a life/death situation or anything, but we are losing the idea of social boundaries.  I'm getting old...

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Why? She only wanted a little kiss on the cheek and was clearly a big fan. I don't see why he couldn't have obliged her, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her. Maybe he did give her a peck at the end and they edited it out.

She asked for a "Hollywood kiss."  That's didn't make me think peck on the cheek. So unless she changed it later and I missed it, she wanted a full on smooch.

[mtlchick]

Quote

Why? She only wanted a little kiss on the cheek and was clearly a big fan. I don't see why he couldn't have obliged her, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her.

I think she was barking up the wrong tree...or in this case, brother.  I have a feeling Stephen would have obliged.  But Alec is probably be a hard no.  (I did laugh at his mouthed "kiss my ass" to the crowd.)

 

This shows how my mind works: I did think of "bang the gavel" and "shoes."  However I thought of "bait" for the Shark Tank question.

[jumper sage]

4 hours ago, readster said:

I completely agree, because Match Game has always been about that. Either current trends, people or places or obvious answers. I mean, not associating Kanye and weather related topics just make you go: "huh?" I can just see these episodes showing up on the new Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and the bots just going crazy.

It used to be there would be at least one person on the panel that would throw off the answer so we saw battles of highest scores.  Now hardly anyone on panel or contestants know what's going on.  Rosie does and I was surprised at Pete Wentz too.

[Lovecat]

5 hours ago, peeayebee said:

For the Judge Judy question, I said she told her husband to rise, as in "All rise."

 

4 hours ago, mortonsalt said:

Yes, for the Barbie question, I was thinking of Barbie's sister Skipper at first, but I figured that most of the celebrities probably wouldn't remember and changed it to clothes. Shoes wasn't exactly a bad answer, I thought, it's just that there was so many different ways that question could have gone. I also went with all rise for the Judge Judy question. 

My people!  I was also yelling "Skipper!!" and "All Rise!!" at the teevee.  They never listen.

[peeayebee]

Yay! It's nice to have company on our answers!

 

5 hours ago, Princess Sparkle said:

I almost wonder if for the Judge Judy question, if the contestant would've been better off answering "Have sex" and then try and hope that the judges would rule that some of those courtroom puns meant "sex."  Because that's clearly what she meant, but it looked like the judges would only let her match exactly, but I wonder if they would've been a little looser with the matching if she'd just said "sex."  

I think the thing here was that the question was hinting pretty strongly toward "have sex," so what was important was how the contestant phrased the answer. "Bang the gavel," "Rise," Present his briefs," etc., all imply the same thing, but the legal puns are different.

[Scott]

I noticed as they were playing off to commercial that Jack was talking to Niecy, saying something like "But then I could have said that 'approach the bench' meant 'have sex' as well", which supports your theory that the specific euphemism was the important bit for that question.

[Phishbulb]

18 hours ago, mtlchick said:

This shows how my mind works: I did think of "bang the gavel" and "shoes."  However I thought of "bait" for the Shark Tank question.

I thought of "Speedo" for that, the joke being that this person is so dumb they're going on the show "Shark Tank" thinking they're entering an actual shark tank, so they would bring their bathing suit (and Speedo is just a funny word).  

"Tank top" was pretty clever, though.

[Blissfool]

23 minutes ago, Phishbulb said:

I thought of "Speedo" for that, the joke being that this person is so dumb they're going on the show "Shark Tank" thinking they're entering an actual shark tank, so they would bring their bathing suit (and Speedo is just a funny word).  

"Tank top" was pretty clever, though.

That was my train of thought....i said scuba gear.

[Kromm]

On 7/25/2016 at 8:58 AM, readster said:

The contestants were pretty bad

It's been noted here before, but they really did fuck up with the contestant casting in total for the entire season. All these manic people who on some level all seem similar types. There's no sense of anyone ordinary/real being picked at any point.  Just a long succession of ding dongs who wave their hands in the air whenever the rotation platform brings them out and who all have prepared sound bites about themselves.

[Kromm]

23 hours ago, peeayebee said:

For the Al Roker question, I said Chocolate Rain. 

I think for anyone from an Internet Generation that would have been the obvious (and thus by the rules of the game, best) choice.

That said, Chocolate Thunder is a phrase/image that would probably resonate more with older more pre-Internet people. Especially big basketball fans (because of the famous Sixers player Darryl Dawkins). 

[iMonrey]

Quote

I enjoyed the episode, but I thought the women who asked for a kiss from Alex was really off base.  Turn it around and a male contestant who never before met the celebrity female host and asked for a kiss...  

You mean the way boys in the audience used to ask Carol Burnett for a kiss all the time back on her show? And she always obliged them. Have we gotten more Puritan or something in the last 40 years? 

Quote

She asked for a "Hollywood kiss."  That's didn't make me think peck on the cheek. So unless she changed it later and I missed it, she wanted a full on smooch.

While everyone in the audience was "wooing" and making a fuss they showed Betty just pointing to her cheek. 

Quote

It's been noted here before, but they really did fuck up with the contestant casting in total for the entire season. All these manic people who on some level all seem similar types. There's no sense of anyone ordinary/real being picked at any point.  Just a long succession of ding dongs who wave their hands in the air whenever the rotation platform brings them out and who all have prepared sound bites about themselves.

That's one thing that hasn't really changed much from the original version TBH. I don't think a lot of effort ever went into screening for entertaining contestants back in the 70s either. That's what the celebrity panel is for. 

[imjagain]

On 7/19/2016 at 9:15 PM, Kromm said:

SO "word" on both of those.  Both of these women could be portrayed as "attention hogs". But Leslie has that "Robin Williams in his prime" thing going on , where all of it feels earned, magnetic and hilarious. When it comes to Leah, it feels desperate.  That said, the editors and Alec himself kept pace well enough that we didn't get TOO much Leah.

Leslie did do that "consulting on every answer" thing I kind of hate, but even here she played it SO broad it was funny.

It's funny you mention Robin Williams, because I was thinking of him while reading about all the negative comments (all over the Internet,  not necessarily here)  about Leslie. 

Robin and Jim Carey were so over the top and attention stealing that it did bug me.  It just seems that Leslie Jones gets so much hate and Robin and Jim received so much love and applause over ever little thing they did. 

I have my own feelings as to why...  

 

Sheryl crow was so boring . David Allen Greer was hilarious... "Baker,  if that is your real name?"  lol. 

Hair? What the bloody hell Baker? 

I thought chocolate tornado, for AL. All the weather related answers made sense. I wonder if the young woman knew that AL was a weather man? Is that possible? 

Edited July 26, 2016 by imjagain

[Ottis]

Quote

Was especially disappointed with Ellie Kemper...she wasn't funny at all. Maybe pregnancy brain....

I haven't ever seen her be funny, so she was true to form for me.

Alec seemed to have dropped his standing Tony Bennett impression as host in this episode. I wonder why? He seemed much more like Alec and not Tony.

This panel was generally boring. And I am so glad and proud that me and the two African America panelists said chocolate "thunder." Pretty fly for a white guy.

[theatremouse]

8 hours ago, imjagain said:

I thought chocolate tornado, for AL. All the weather related answers made sense. I wonder if the young woman knew that AL was a weather man? Is that possible? 

It was part of the clue so even if she didn't know before (how could this be), she should've known in the moment if she were listening.

[snarkylady]

I was watching a re-run on BUZZR this morning and Kaye Sykes was on.  HORRIBLE!!!!  Probably my least favorite panelist of all. 

[sugarbaker design]

Kaye Sykes?

[Kromm]

4 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Kaye Sykes?

Not a clue here either. 

[FormerMod-a1]

Google didn't help me figure it out either.

[Princess Sparkle]

Could the poster have meant Kaye Stevens, who was on a decent amount of episodes?