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THE MATCH GAME-HOLLYWOOD SQUARES HOUR [3 episodes]
Two great tastes that should've tasted great together, except for a lack of regulars and a bizarre case of Goodson failing to understand what made Squares work. (NOTE: Celebrities are listed in the order they appear on Match, followed by the two added for Squares. Jon and Gene always sit in the lower-left corner.)
* June 29, 1984 ("Athol"): Jamie Farr, McLean Stevenson, Heidi Bohay, Linda Dano, Arsenio Hall, Paula Kelly, ARLENE FRANCIS, CHUCK WOOLERY. Joe vs. Chris (a girl), with Nancy (Day 3 - $22,350) playing later. Gene directly points out the flawed Squares questions at one point! Taped from WPTV, with a Scrabble debut promo (using pilot clips and audience testimony!) and a Ticket Plug! [D-23.1]
* July 26, 1984: Roger E. Mosley, Phyllis Diller, Charles Nelson Reilly, Fannie Flagg, Roxie Roker, Leonard Frey, Barry Gordon, Constance McCashin. Karen vs. Tara, with Zachary (Day 2 - $2,025) playing later. Taped from WBAZ with a Contestant Plug(?!), average quality, first five seconds missing, ends during credits. [D-23.2]
* July 27, 1984 (Unannounced Finale): Roger E. Mosley, Phyllis Diller, Charles Nelson Reilly, Constance McCashin, Fannie Flagg, Leonard Frey, Barry Gordon, Roxie Roker. Begins with Angela vs. Sallie. Taped from WNBC with a Ticket Plug(?!), tape speeds up just before Jon is introduced in the second half (but rewinds back to the beginning of that half), ends during credits. [D-30.1]
MERV GRIFFIN'S CROSSWORDS [17 episodes]
Merv's last game had an great concept but failed almost everywhere - cheap payouts, no audience, no returning champs, an airing schedule that played Payout Hopscotch, and a robotic host in Ty Treadway who never improved at all. THIS managed to last 45 weeks?! (All episodes taped from WFLX.)
Crossword Getaways present, Crossword Extras have no betting and no sponsor, bonus round offers a trip for finishing the board plus $100 per solved word (first episodes taped)
* September 28, 2007 (dr): Ira vs. Jean. Spoilers: Gerald, Julie, Ivan. Original commercials. [44.4]
Crossword Getaways present, Crossword Extras have betting and no sponsor, bonus round offers $2,000 and a trip (first episodes aired)
* September 10, 2007 (Premiere/27th taped): NEVILLE FOGARTY vs. Pam. Spoilers: Richard, Ramit, Scott. LAST-SECOND BONUS WIN! Original commercials. [40.6]
* September 28, 2007: Phil vs. Megan. Spoilers: Ellie, Tody, Diana. Original commercials. [44.3]
* October 8, 2007: Mark vs. Cathy. Spoilers: Nan, Jeremy, Lynnette. Original commercials, crackling noise almost throughout. [45.1]
* October 8, 2007 (dr): Irwin vs. Nancy. Spoilers: Jerry, Diane, Morris. Only $300 and a trip to Vegas is given away! Original commercials. [45.2]
* October 29, 2007: Byrnes vs. Terry. Spoilers: Ken, Jeanne, Benjamin. Original commercials. [48.3]
* October 29, 2007 (dr): Andrew vs. Jennifer. Spoilers: Kirven, Nan, John. Only $1,200 is given away! Original commercials. [48.4]
* November 2, 2007 (dr): Leo vs. Kristin. Spoilers: Evan, Rebecca, Patrick. Original commercials. [49.9]
* April 1, 2008: Tim vs. Pam. Spoilers: George, Catherine, Michael. 65-second bonus win! Original commercials. [58.4]
Crossword Getaways not present, Crossword Extras have betting and sponsor, bonus round offers an Xbox 360 along with the $5,000 and trip
* November 2, 2007: Jim vs. Bernadette. Spoilers: Penny, Dave, Amy. Original commercials, intro and second contestant interview missing. [49.8]
* November 7, 2007: Frank (really freaky smile) vs. Dian (looks like Brett Somers). Spoilers: Sewell, Eva, George. Original commercials. [50.3]
* November 8, 2007: Gary vs. Jeanne. Spoilers: Mitch, Jonathan, Stephen. Original commercials, no intro. [50.7]
* November 9, 2007: Matt vs. Bunny. Spoilers: Don, Eva, Richard. Very painful to watch... Original commercials, no intro. [50.10]
Crossword Getaways not present, Crossword Extras have betting and no sponsor, Edd Hall introduces Spoilers, bonus round offers $5,000 and a trip
* September 10, 2007 (dr): John vs. Barbara. Spoilers: Robyn, Martin, Terry (a girl). Huge winner! Original commercials. [40.7]
* December 25, 2007: Richard (really dumb) vs. Vimala. Spoilers: Julie, Don, Carolyn. PAINFUL Bonus Round! Original commercials. [53.7]
* December 25, 2007 (dr): T.J. vs. Jan. Spoilers: Barry, Lisa, John. Weird event in Round 3! Original commercials. [53.8]
* April 1, 2008 (dr): Noah (sounds bored) vs. Esther. Spoilers: MICHAEL FALK, Jim, Julie. Original commercials. [58.5]
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH [1 episode]
Exploitation doesn't get much more naked than this, and the only top prize winner had to accuse her father of some heinous things. (Three seasons were produced, but Season 3 never aired in the US.)
Season 1 (January-April 2008)
* January 30, 2008: Begins with George Ortuzar at Question #8. Taped from WFLX, with commercials. [56.3]
MONOPOLY [1 episode]
Good-but-not-great adaptation with bad time management and at least one format hole as a result. Oh, and the host sucks. Awesome set, though.
* August 11, 1990: Chris vs. Helen vs. Victor. Hostess: Michelle Nicholas. Has an odd issue involving "Walla Walla Washington", and it's completely Mike's fault. Taped from WMBB with commercials, ends during credits. [D-8.3]
MY GENERATION [1 episode]
Good spiritual successor to The Generation Gap, with a great "virtual set" that probably looked like crap in reality. 48 episodes were produced.
* March 1998: Mark & Chuck (1968) vs. Rhandi & Mike (1984). Apparently an early episode. [D-17.4]
THE NAME'S THE SAME [2 episodes, 2 clips]
Great show from the early days of ABC that also got Gene Rayburn under the watchful eyes of Goodson-Todman.
Robert Q. Lewis (1951-54)
* July 7, 1953: Carl Reiner, Joan Alexander, Gene Rayburn (his debut!). Players: Huey P. Long, Ruby Lips. Special Guest: Peter Lawford. GSN broadcast. [D-29.7]
* July 28, 1953: Full segment (6 minutes, 23 seconds); Carl Reiner, Joan Alexander, Bill Stern. Contestant: A. Hen, and Robert forgets who's sponsoring the show! GSN broadcast. [D-32.7]
* August 4, 1953: Full segment (7 minutes, 26 seconds); Carl Reiner, Joan Alexander, Bill Stern. Contestant: A. Harem, in a HILARIOUS segment! GSN broadcast. [D-32.8]
Bob Elliott & Ray Goulding (April-June 1955)
* April 25, 1955: Roger Price, Audrey Meadows, Walter Slezak, Laraine Day. Players: A. Red Cheek, Arthur Godfrey, Mrs. Paul Catellera. Special Guest: Emmett Kelly. Original commercials, plus Ticket and Contestant Plugs! [D-28.4]
NATIONAL BINGO NIGHT [1 episode]
Boring 50/50 guessing games with broken/convoluted rules (even if you win, you can still lose), cheap/lame prizes ($10,000 K-Mart gift card, woo), tons of post-production crap, and a "seeded" home-viewer contest (any unnecessary in-show balls are removed, so One Aways/Bingos happen on-air when they shouldn't). It's just not worth your time.
Hostess: Elizabeth Flores (Premiere only)
* May 18, 2007 (Premiere): Bingo 500, Win the VIN, Wedding Game. Game 1 shows why some people (including myself) don't like this show. Taped from WPLG with commercials (including a Cavemen promo; yaaay), three-second blackout during Game 2 explanation. [31.5]
THE NEWLYWED GAME (Bob Eubanks/ABC Daytime, 1966-74) [2 episodes]
Early shows were relatively tame, but that quickly changed. Probably the most recognizable Barris format, although it was really made by Nicholson-Muir. (Both of the below are from GSN airings.)
* 1972: Paul & Emma Bohanek vs. Robert & Shannon Carr vs. Archie & Sandra Brown vs. Pete & Bev Farr. "What is the last thing you commemorated?" ...is that so hard? First few seconds missing. [D-32.1]
* December 20, 1974 (Finale/Reunion Day): Lore & Frey vs. Kenny & Debbie vs. Tim & Sandy vs. Jay & Francine. Cast and crew celebrate Christmas during the credits! 12/31/99 "Y2Play" airing, with an intro by Charles Nelson Reilly. [D-32.2]
THE NEW NEWLYWED GAME (Bob Eubanks/Syn., 1985-88) [1 clip]
The height of the show's run, getting better and better (the blue set/logo were great, and the money-based format was a nice touch).
Yellow set and logo (1985-87)
* 1986: Ray & Celeste vs. Paul & Rose vs. Adonis & Donna vs. McConnell? & Lisa. GSN broadcast from 3/20/03 repeat, final segment only - and don't blink or you'll miss the Contestant Plug! [34.1]
THE NEXT BEST THING [2 episodes]
Weird-but-generally-fun show featuring celebrity impersonators, some of whom were amazingly dead-on. (All below taped from WPLG.)
* June 27, 2007 (Semi-Final #1): Tina Turner, George W. Bush, Elvis Presley, Lucille Ball, Tim McGraw, Paris Hilton, Shania Twain, Jay Leno, Celine Dion, Bono, Simon Cowell, Madonna, Al Pacino, Robin Williams. Original commercials, first two minutes missing. [36.5]
* July 11, 2007 (Semi-Final #2): Little Richard, Robin Williams, Barbara Streisand, Elvis Presley, George W. Bush, Gloria Estafan, Dolly Parton, Howard Stern, Roseanne Barr, Frank Sinatra, Kenny Chesney, Jackie Gleason & Art Carney (as Ralph Kramden & Ed Norton), Jack Nicholson, Rodney Dangerfield. Original commercials. [37.1]
THE NEXT GREAT AMERICAN BAND [3 episodes]
Basically FOX attempting American Idol WITH BANDS! (The first episode below is two hours, while the others run an hour each. All of below taped from WFLX.)
* October 26, 2007 (taped 10/24?/07): The remaining 12 bands face off. Original commercials. [48.2]
* November 9, 2007 (taped 11/7/07): The remaining eight bands perform. Original commercials. [51.1]
* December 21, 2007 (Finale, taped 11/19/07): The remaining three bands compete to get an exclusive contract. Original commercials. [52.10]
THE OBJECT IS... [1 episode]
...A Password clone, although it really isn't that bad. The humble beginnings in the genre for Dick Clark, who would transcend to game show greatness once 1973 rolled along.
Second format: two celebrities, two contestants (March 1964, last two weeks only)
* March 26, 1964 (2nd-to-last): Joan Caulfield & Stubby Kaye. Nola (Champ) vs. Leonard, continued from yesterday with Stephanie playing later. Original commercials, plus Stubby plugs the debut of Shenanigans! [D-11.8]
OH MY WORD (KGO, 1965-69?) [1 episode]
Primitive version of Wordplay that even predates Liars Club! And it's a fun game, too.
* November 13, 1965 (#34?-OMW-65, taped 11/3/65): Merla Zellerbach, Paul Speegle, Kathryn Ish, Scott Beach. Buddy Greco vs. Sal Mineo. Studio master with slate! [D-10.4]
OKAY MOTHER [1 episode]
Saluting mothers and what they do. Quite fun.
* July 18, 1950: First game is Mother-Grams, and a man becomes a "Lucky Mother"! Special Guest: Judith Doniger. Original commercials, VERY highly recommended! [D-27.1]
1 VS. 100 (NBC, 2006-08) [1 episode]
Prove you're smarter than 100 people, win big money. Bob Saget does well here, and the formats aren't that bad, but did they really have to go and spoil the only $1,000,000 win of the series?
Season 2 (January-February 2008; debut of Format #3, awarding money for every ten Mob members removed)
* January 4, 2008 (Season Premiere/Battle of the Sexes): Katherine vs. 100 Men, then Jason vs. 100 Women. $1,000,000 WIN! Taped from WPTV with commercials, pretty grainy video that screws up at times and flickers between color and B/W occasionally (going to even grainier monochrome with brief color flickers for the last 15 minutes or so). [55.3]
ON THE LOT [1 episode]
Great but short-lived FOX show where aspiring film directors vie for a job at DreamWorks. Like the Sundance Film Festival, only televised.
* August 21, 2007 (Finale, Part 2): Will vs. Jason vs. Adam. Judges: Carrie Fisher and Garry Marshall. Films: Die Hardly Working, Under the Gun, Catch. Taped from WFLX with commercials, "crackly" audio for first two minutes. [39.2]
Now where to?
A-C
D-H
Family Feud
I-L
Jeopardy!
P-R
Password
The Price Is Right
S-U
V-Z
Wheel of Fortune
You Bet Your Life
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