Season 1-3 Discussion

[Kromm]

Alec did pretty okay on this. I know a lot of people have been saying he basically did it like he was "acting" the role of a game show host, but... it worked. He was consistently funny, never seemingly at a loss for words (although certainly a lot must have been edited out) and while the writers occasionally gave him some dumb shit to say (like the game question about Stephen)... he said it and moved on well even for those parts. 

[mtlchick]

I had to laugh at how easily an audience will turn on someone.  There was "color" marker (though to be fair I did say "black") for the contestant and Jerry's "Crack is wack!" "NOOOOO!!!!"

 

"You are what you eat: crabs!" My sides hurt from laughing.

[FormerMod-a1]

I loved Leslie Jones, she was so enthusiastic and really wanted to do well for the contestants.

[iMonrey]

I think the problem is they keep getting contestants that suck and have no idea how to play this game. They must be drawing from a different pool than Pyramid. Maybe they go fish them out of the line waiting to get into The Price Is Right, and are just looking for people that are high energy and good sports. Come to think of it, they had some real dummies on the original version too. 

I think the panel is fine and the questions are fine. There are clearly, as Alec called them, some "dum-dum" questions for people who can't get a single match in the first round. And I don't mind if all six panelists don't match on an easy question like the Girl Scout cookies because at least it gives the other contestant a fair chance. 

Jerry O'Connell . . . you are not a sex symbol, and whatever you have done to your face makes your eyebrows look really weird. 

[Scott]

2 hours ago, Phishbulb said:

and the ventriloquist one was obviously "vagina" since they made a point of making the ventriloquist a woman in the question.

I guess I was still thinking like the 70s version, where everyone would have snickered over the possibility of "vagina" as the answer, but then would have said "butt" because you couldn't be _too_ dirty.  

Of course, I also assumed The Middle-Aged and the ______ had to be "<something>-less", to correspond to restless.  Since none of the stars, nor the contestant, nor anyone who talked about it here said that, though, I suppose it wasn't as straightforward as I thought.  

[iMonrey]

I thought "well rested" was a good response to "The middle-aged and the blank." I also thought of "the sex-less" but maybe that wouldn't have fit, especially considering, Baldwin brothers.

[jumper sage]

5 hours ago, Phishbulb said:

 

I instantly thought "poke" for the Internet question, which is a dated reference (Facebook) but funny in the context of the question. "Swipe" is probably a more current reference. 

 

Loved when Alec said that the writers worked on the Carol Burnett show.  That may be the trouble.

[WendyCR72]

Alec is doing a good job, but Gene Rayburn was in a class by himself, I think. He could be just as dry, yet he was personable. And he was able to keep a semblance of order on set. Definitely not an easy task in the '70s version!

I think it blew when ET in the '90s revealed his age just as another revival was in the works, and that caused Rayburn to be dumped. Old or not, the man knew the game.

And, what's more, Rayburn led the group with style even in the most hideous '70s garb ever.  :-P  Mad respect for that. And originated that mike Alec loves so much!

GSN ran a documentary years ago about the BTS stuff on the '70s version, called Behind The Blank. (Narrated by Jamie Farr.) If you haven't seen it, here:

Behind The Blank...

[TheGreenKnight]

I agree, Rosie O'Donnell wasn't really funny, but you need to have at least one celebrity taking the game seriously for the contestants to rely on. Niecy tried to fill the same role the past few episodes, too, but I thought Rosie was more reliable with the answers.

Leslie Jones, Pete Wentz, and Tituss Burgess would be my other picks to return. Jack was okay, but as far as being off-the-wall goes, I laughed more at Tituss.

[Blissfool]

7 hours ago, Scott said:

 

Of course, I also assumed The Middle-Aged and the ______ had to be "<something>-less", to correspond to restless.  Since none of the stars, nor the contestant, nor anyone who talked about it here said that, though, I suppose it wasn't as straightforward as I thought.  

Yes. I thought "sexless".

[Kromm]

8 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I think the problem is they keep getting contestants that suck and have no idea how to play this game.

I can see why you might have this impression, but the thing is I don't think the contestants are significantly worse (in terms of game play) than most of the people they had on during the 70s. A BIT maybe, which is why they did this stuff with constructing more of the questions with one obvious answer, but the show always had a decent amount of dumb answers (from both the contestants and panelists--which is part of the reason why at least three of the celebs were always the same).  My only real problem with the contestants are the producer instructions they get when they come out to bounce around like they are high on esctasy or something. 

Actually in terms of the questions, what I think have been too easy are the bonus round questions. I really don't recall contestants getting the big money so often on the original show. I imagine though that ABC decided it was worth the occasional 25K to make viewers feel more invested in the show by seeing more winners.

[peeayebee]

9 hours ago, Scott said:

Of course, I also assumed The Middle-Aged and the ______ had to be "<something>-less", to correspond to restless.  

I kinda of went the opposite and tried to use the 'rest' part, coming up with The Middle-Aged and the Rested. I do like Sexless though.

I did not like Jerry O'Connell at all.

This ep was meh.

[Mumbles]

I am not ordinarily an Alec Baldwin fan but I think he's the MVP of the show and consistently funny and entertaining.  He can surpass a meh panel. In his own way he fits the Gene Rayburn role very well - funny and bemused and ready to call out terrible answers by both contestants and panelists. And, he doesn't take himself or the show seriously.

[Arcadiasw]

Wow. The first contestants were bad. I thought necklace but shoelace is also a good answer. 

Jack and Neicy need to come back next season.

Jerry is trying too hard with the belly dancing. 

[Kromm]

I know these were all in the bag weeks ago, but I hate that the producer instructed maniacal waving/whoop-whooing/fist pumping by the contestants on their way out is still there, insulting me, at the head of every episode!

These questions about the celeb panelists?  Another "no more next season" situation. I don't mind the questions about the Baldwins as much... but... those should probably go too.

"Drunk" was the obvious answer to the Baldwin question, of course.

Niecy was the MVP of a fairly weak panel, and Jerry O'Conell (annoying) and Ellie Kemper (boring) the real weak points.

Why does Natasha Lyonne suddenly sound like she's part of the cast of Goodfellas?  I know she's got an accent, but it was really full on here.

[FilmTVGeek80]

Quote

The girl scout one was clearly "pot" and the ventriloquist one was obviously "vagina" since they made a point of making the ventriloquist a woman in the question.

I honestly didn't find either answer as the only option. Even though Alec called it the "dumb-dumb" question I thought "butt" and "vagina" were equally viable answers. And I didn't even think of pot for the girl scout one. The first thing that popped into my head was crack. So I was glad I wasn't alone and a few of the panelists agreed with me for both questions.

I do think this episode had too many questions were the answer really could have been anything. I couldn't believe that woman answered "color" for marker. I have to assume her mind just blanked and she couldn't think of magic and said color instead.

[theatremouse]

They are still doing too many "include the host and.or panelist in the joke" questions. Because again, it still begged the question, ok do we need to think of something Baldwin-specific? or just run with the middle-aged and what counterpart could there be? I didn't come up with it myself but when I heard "tired" I thought that may have been what the writers were anticipating, or something more in that vein if you follow the "rest" train of thought. So I thought that was a reasonable answer.

The Ellie Kemper one really should've been pickles since that's the stereotypical food that gets named when people usually talk about pregnancy cravings X+pickles. Wouldn't have matched them all but better than the other options. Almost everyone overthought it.

I wasn't surprised no match on marker but I think the main options there were "magic" or "permanent". 

A question for those of you who thought "crack" was the obvious answer on the Girl Scout cookie one: Is that because people often refer to food as "like crack" when they find said food highly addictive/really good/something you want to eat a lot of? Because to me "weed" was the obvious answer because when folks talk about adding a "special ingredient" to baked goods, I assume they mean pot. ie "special brownies"="pot brownies" so based on the phrasing of the question, I thought weed was a damn good answer. Crack didn't occur to me at all, but since several on the panel did it and I see some posts here I'm now overthinking about it myself.

[FilmTVGeek80]

11 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

A question for those of you who thought "crack" was the obvious answer on the Girl Scout cookie one: Is that because people often refer to food as "like crack" when they find said food highly addictive/really good/something you want to eat a lot of? Because to me "weed" was the obvious answer because when folks talk about adding a "special ingredient" to baked goods, I assume they mean pot. ie "special brownies"="pot brownies" so based on the phrasing of the question, I thought weed was a damn good answer. Crack didn't occur to me at all, but since several on the panel did it and I see some posts here I'm now overthinking about it myself.

 

I didn't necessarily think crack was the obvious answer, but just the one that came to my head first. My reply was more about thinking that "weed" wasn't necessarily the only answer. And, yeah, it's basically for the reason you stated. Crack is so addictive and my thinking was that would be one way to get sales so high was by adding something so addictive. I do think weed is a damn good answer, too especially for your reasoning.

[Pallida]

I initially thought of crack because I've heard (and maybe said) that thin mints are like crack. And then I thought about the wording of the question and the need to increase sales, so went with marijuana. 

[peeayebee]

4 hours ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

I honestly didn't find either answer as the only option. Even though Alec called it the "dumb-dumb" question I thought "butt" and "vagina" were equally viable answers.

 

My first thought was vagina, or 'hoohah' as I figured I would have written. I was kind of surprised that butt was the most frequent answer because I figured the panel would go for the more risqué answer of vagina. Still, like you, I thought the two answers were about equal.

As for the Girl Scout cookie question, my immediate thought was cocaine, but as I waited for the panelists to finish writing their answers, pot popped into my mind because of pot brownies and also because of the munchies. 

[Blissfool]

6 hours ago, FilmTVGeek80 said:

I couldn't believe that woman answered "color" for marker. I have to assume her mind just blanked and she couldn't think of magic and said color instead.

Well, she was too busy dancing for Alec. I knew she was too distracted to be thinking of an answer.

[ajsnaves]

I wonder if it could be generational.  I know what a "Magic Marker" is, but I cannot say I have ever used the term.  I know it because teachers and other adults used it when I was a kid, oh so many years ago.  I honestly cannot say say when the last time I heard the term magic marker though.

[Kromm]

2 hours ago, ajsnaves said:

I wonder if it could be generational.  I know what a "Magic Marker" is, but I cannot say I have ever used the term.  I know it because teachers and other adults used it when I was a kid, oh so many years ago.  I honestly cannot say say when the last time I heard the term magic marker though.

I think that's only really a reason someone might say "permanent marker" (or perhaps "sharpie marker") rather than the fairly weak "color marker".  I think Magic Marker might have even been a brand name at one point (like Xerox).  Although oddly enough Bic still uses the term for a certain set of Dry Erase markers they sell (which are NOT permanent markers). 

[mtlchick]

Two thoughts

1) in game one: when 2 out of the 4 questions have the obvious answer of "booty", then they need new writers.

2) if I ever have to hear Sherri Shepherd constantly yell out "PENIS!" again in my life, it will be too soon.

[Arcadiasw]

Edie and Isaac should stick with their day jobs. 

The second contestant thought too hard. I said car keys. 

[sugarbaker design]

I said Alicia Keys!!!

The Nurse Jackie match:  I thought the definitive answer (ala Gene Rayburn) was hypodermic needle.  So much for my Match Game ability!

I did enjoy the Trump answers:  snake with a comb over eg.

[Phishbulb]

54 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

I said Alicia Keys!!!

The Nurse Jackie match:  I thought the definitive answer (ala Gene Rayburn) was hypodermic needle.  So much for my Match Game ability!

 

Lol, I thought Alicia Keys too. I don't know why that's the first thing that popped into my mind.

I also was really surprised that no one said "needle" for that question. I guess "IV" was the closest that someone came, but when I think of "nurse" I think of shots immediately. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Edie and Isaac should stick with their day jobs. 

Agreed, neither brought much to the panel. For that matter I'm not sure Rosie is the best panelist either. She's good a playing the game and plays it in earnest but she's not really all that funny. I'd rather have Niecy Nash.

I don't think anyone on the panel ever watched Nurse Jackie. They were taking their cue from "nurse" but Edie Falco did in fact have the definitive answer: Oxycontin. Or - any drug. The show wasn't about her being a nurse so much as it was about being a drug addict.

I thought Horatio was a good panelist though and I still love Alec Baldwin. "If you say bacon I'm going to kick you in the ass."

[mtlchick]

Quote

I said Alicia Keys!!!

Likewise.  Maybe I was thrown off because while there are several cars at my home, I don't have them all on the same key ring.

 

For the nurse Jackie one, I said syringe. (Never watched it.)

[iMonrey]

I thought of Florida keys before I thought of car keys. Then I wondered if "car keys" would even occur to someone used to keyless entry.

[WendyCR72]

For the "keys" answer, I thought "Florida" Keys. But "Car" is much more common.

[peeayebee]

6 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

I said Alicia Keys!!!

The Nurse Jackie match:  I thought the definitive answer (ala Gene Rayburn) was hypodermic needle.  So much for my Match Game ability!

I did enjoy the Trump answers:  snake with a comb over eg.

First off, I immediately thought Alicia Keys, though I thought it was spelled Keyes. Anyway, I quickly changed it to car keys.

Second, I too thought hypodermic needle was the definitive answer.

Third, I really enjoyed the Trump answers, but that was a hard question because it would be near impossible to match -- There are too many possibilities. I thought the absolute best one was what DL Hughley said he almost said: America goodbye. Perfect. Anyway, I said turd.

 

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I don't think anyone on the panel ever watched Nurse Jackie. They were taking their cue from "nurse" but Edie Falco did in fact have the definitive answer: Oxycontin. Or - any drug. The show wasn't about her being a nurse so much as it was about being a drug addict.

I've never watched it, but I knew the premise. The first thing that came to mind was drugs, pills specifically, but then it didn't make sense to me that she would "stick a pill in a tourist." Then I thought of heroin in balloons that you swallow (or insert up your culo), but I didn't think Nurse Jackie did heroin. So I backed off the drug angle and went for hypodermic.

For the Mrs Claus wanting to add spice to her marriage question, I said nutmeg. I was torn betw a risqué answer (like elves) and a Dumb Dora-type answer like nutmeg. I decided to see Mrs Claus as a sweet old lady.

That Peter Dinklage question was pretty appalling. 

Edited August 22, 2016 by peeayebee

[iMonrey]

I agree about the Peter Dinklage question; and I'm not sure what other answers there could have been to that question. Seemed like a tacky gimme. 

You're right about the Nurse Jackie question being oddly phrased though. "Stick in" is pretty limiting.

[FormerMod-a1]

My first thought for the Peter Dinklage question was "belly button".  Then after a while, but before the answer, I did think "butt" would probably be what most (on the panel) would say.

[Violet Penner]

I thought the Peter Dinklage question was mean. 

For Nurse Jackie, I thought thermometer. 

[Mumbles]

Quote

I did enjoy the Trump answers:  snake with a comb over eg.

Agreed, they were funny. What was Rosie's? "Demented Orange" or something like that? I just remember laughing hard.

I enjoyed the show like I enjoy this show in general, but the panel didn't "gel" like others had.  And in defense of Isaac Mizrahi, I liked how he referred to the classic show (calling Rosie "Brett.")

[Phishbulb]

Yeah, for the Trump question I would have said "pumpkin" because I was trying to think of something orange. I didn't think of the most obvious thing that's orange which is.....an orange, heh.

[Princess Sparkle]

19 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Agreed, neither brought much to the panel. For that matter I'm not sure Rosie is the best panelist either. She's good a playing the game and plays it in earnest but she's not really all that funny. I'd rather have Niecy Nash.

 

I'd rather have Niecy Nash too.  Rosie is funny, and she wants the contestants to win, but sometimes her answers are bafflingly bad - her Nurse Jackie answer sticks out as being the worst, but none of hers really seemed to hit for me.  It didn't surprise me that in round two, the final contestant didn't pick her for help at any juncture.  Though in Sunday's panel, I thought Horatio was the best panelist by a long shot.  

[Princess Sparkle]

I think my ideal panel of 6 (based on who we saw this season) would be:
-Horatio Sanz
-Niecy Nash
-Pete Wentz
-Leslie Jones
-Titus Burgess
-Maggie Q

And then Jack McBrayer and Josh Charles can be swapped in as needed.  While she was pretty low-key in her episode, Maggie Q had some really solid answers, and matched quite a few final round answers (even though the contestants never picked her).  Pete Wentz was goofy, but had decent answers and clearly loved being there.  The rest, I think, are a good mix of funny and good game players.    

[TheGreenKnight]

For me, Niecy is only a shade less annoying than Sherri Shepherd, to be honest. I really loved Hughley on this past episode, but none of the other new additions were any good, imo.

[Dreamboat Annie]

"Dumb Dora was sooo dumb..."

"HOW DUMB WAS SHE??"

"Dumb Dora was sooo dumb, they changed her name to Sherri."

 

I am not finding this show as entertaining as I think it should be.  The contestants and some of the panelists are just too stupid for it to be enjoyable to me.  I do realize it is more about showcasing the celebrities than it is about the contestants winning money.  But surely they could find contestants who are a little sharper and quick on their feet without being in danger of the contestants "stealing" the show (or could they?).  I'm not suggesting they jump through dozens of gruelling qualifying hoops, as for example Millionaire, but maybe just something that tests them for some proof they can compete on a TV game show.  As for the celebrities, IMO there's not much point in showcasing/promoting them if they are not bright at all.  I'm not looking for Mensa members here, I know what this is, but it would help if they could at least understand the questions.

 

I admit some of the questions could be worded differently, but he does repeat them, and there are key words.  For the Nurse Jackie question, the only words that mattered were "nurse" and "took method acting too far".  Then the part about sticking something into someone should fall into place.  Fork?  Seriously, Fork??  Thankfully, one of the panelists (I don't recall who) said something like "she's a nurse, not a chef".  Fork.  That was just so disappointing. 

Edited August 23, 2016 by Dreamboat Annie
Testing as my posts were not appearing.

[iMonrey]

I mentioned this upthread but I think on this show they're more interested in finding contestants that have "personality" than contestants that know how the game is played. This show is more of an entertainment venue than a serious competition. The prize money isn't all that much, and the show is really dependent on having a funny and entertaining panel. It actually works better when the contestant gives a dumb response and Alec and the panel can rib them about it. 

It's sort of like "The Price is Right" in that respect. From what I understand people stand in line for hours to get into that show and producers come out and hand-pick people they think will be "fun" and "good TV." Nobody is out there auditioning and proving they know about prices like they're trying to get onto Jeopardy. 

Another poster keeps pointing out how annoying it is when the contestants are introduced and they come out waving and jumping up and down like maniacs. That's obviously what the producers of this show are going for: big "personalities." You'll notice Alec always asks them about their quirks and weird hobbies. Nothing about how they used to watch this show in the 70s or how they love to play games or how competitive they are. The show isn't really looking for die-hard Match Game fans that play the home version and know how it works. They're looking for what they think makes "good TV."

Edited August 24, 2016 by iMonrey

[WAnglais1]

Agreed, because the maximum win of $25,000 just isn't that much anymore. $50,000 might make it more exciting. I'm not sure.

I do like Alec as the host. However, I want some of the contestants to come back on him, like when he was doing the bad southern accent. Ugh. A well-placed, "I like you. You have the boldness of a much younger woman," from a contestant to Alec would make me howl.

For the Drumpf question, I said "jackass."

[Kromm]

Okay, I was okay with a very minor bit of copying off each other when a celeb is genuinely stuck.  But last episode REALLY drove me up the wall. The celebs seemed to be jawing with each other over EVERY question. I realize they weren't always copying, but all of them showing their answers to each other before the reveal makes the viewers question everything.

[Kromm]

6 hours ago, WAnglais1 said:

For the Drumpf question, I said "jackass."

For me there were really only really "toad" for this, because "Jackass"=Donkey=Democratic Imagery (not Republican). 

[Kromm]

On 8/23/2016 at 0:56 PM, TheGreenKnight said:

For me, Niecy is only a shade less annoying than Sherri Shepherd, to be honest. 

I thought it's night and day between the two, despite them having aspects people probably confuse between them. Niecy IMO has earned her stripes as a comedienne many times over. Sherri Shepherd is just an idiot.  Even worse would be comparing her to NeNe Leakes, who is just a "personality".

[Scott]

I believe this may the most insignificant thing one could complain about regarding the show, but here goes.  In this incarnation of the Super Match, the graphics are obviously all digital, as opposed to the 70s version where Earl slid the panel to reveal the answers.  When the contestant matches one of the answers, it flashes, the background turns blue, all sorts of things.  I've been noticing that the background turns blue before they actually reveal the answer.  It's early enough that you can see it in real time, and of course I've stepped through it to confirm that I wasn't just seeing things.  In essence, it means you know the contestant has won before seeing that they've won.  And since the sequence is digitally created, it's either intentional, or they're *really* sloppy--either way, not good.

Like I said, I know this is as small of a nit as they come.  But it bugs me!

[Kromm]

5 hours ago, Scott said:

I believe this may the most insignificant thing one could complain about regarding the show, but here goes.  In this incarnation of the Super Match, the graphics are obviously all digital, as opposed to the 70s version where Earl slid the panel to reveal the answers.  When the contestant matches one of the answers, it flashes, the background turns blue, all sorts of things.  I've been noticing that the background turns blue before they actually reveal the answer.  It's early enough that you can see it in real time, and of course I've stepped through it to confirm that I wasn't just seeing things.  In essence, it means you know the contestant has won before seeing that they've won.  And since the sequence is digitally created, it's either intentional, or they're *really* sloppy--either way, not good.

Like I said, I know this is as small of a nit as they come.  But it bugs me!

It's a good spotting noticing that, and yeah they need to fix it, but I do have to say that likely most of us already know ahead of time when a contestant has won or not. We all know what's a clunker of an answer and what's a good one, and I bet most of us usually even have a pretty good idea which of the three positions a celeb answer will wind up in.  The surprises, when we occasionally get them, are in the bottom-most answer, which a few times has been one I'd not even considered. 

[Arcadiasw]

Wow. I was surprised Candance said child and even more surprised Sheryl said it too. I said arm on the shark question. Why did David Alan Grier have horns for the Facebook question?

For the question starring Jack, I said kiss. Kept it simple. The second show was better but isn't this the second time Sheryl's answer screwed it for the contestant? 

Good thing Sheryl helped David Alan Grier with the last answer. I don't think he wrote "Grand."

[iMonrey]

Overall I thought it was a pretty decent panel with the right blend of comedy and gamesmanship, although DAG might not be a good fit for this show. I thought "Soul Train" right off the top of my head but then I wondered if that show is even still around and how many people of a certain age would remember it.