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Match Game 1990-91 thoughts

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Adam Nedeff:

--- Quote from: chris319 on February 15, 2025, 05:32:35 PM ---Did this version have any contract panelists?

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Charles was a regular on this version.


--- Quote ---Match-Up seems like a throw-away that didn't integrate particularly well with the rest of the show.

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I just pulled up my interview notes from Matchless...Robert Sherman indicated that Match-Up was Jonathan Goodson's brainchild and the idea was to accomplish what his dad was hoping for, infusing more GAME into the format. I don't dislike the concept of Match-Up, I just think it was used incorrectly. I think a better place for it would have been as Curt Alliaume once suggested--using it in place of Audience Match as a way to build up the jackpot.

BrandonFG:
I like the concept of Match-Up, and didn't mind there being two sets per day. But there's a clip where a contestant only needed one correct match to win. He and the celebrity whiffed on every single choice.

The idea works on paper but IMO, having the game come down to blind guessing doesn't sit right with me for whatever reason. It feels like you could essentially go 6/6 on each of your riddles but still lose because your opponent made the better coin flip. I like the idea of replacing the Audience Match with Match-Up.

Sodboy13:

--- Quote from: BrandonFG on February 15, 2025, 10:07:22 PM --- I like the idea of replacing the Audience Match with Match-Up.

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As do I. You pick your star for it and go for :30 or :45 at $100 a pop, and I think it would work really well.

An idea that's been bouncing around my head too long: If you made Match-Up your stake builder for the bonus round, would an Audience Match game work in between two rounds of the front game? You do Round 1 at $50/match, the Audience Match at something like 250-100-50, 300-200-100, or even rework it to 300-200-150-100-50, and then Round 2 at $100/match is your finisher.

chris319:

--- Quote ---I think a better place for it would have been as Curt Alliaume once suggested--using it in place of Audience Match as a way to build up the jackpot.
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That would have been better. For one thing it would mean Match-Up got played once by the winner of the main game.

TimK2003:

--- Quote from: Adam Nedeff on February 15, 2025, 03:35:15 PM ---
--- Quote from: BrandonFG on February 14, 2025, 08:49:59 PM ---
--- Quote from: wdm1219inpenna on February 14, 2025, 06:51:50 PM ---I know Brett Somers was on at least one week of episodes and that Charles was on a bit more frequently as a celebrity player.  I also know that Gene Rayburn had been in line to get the gig until I think it was Entertainment Tonight made mention of Gene's age at the time due to a Happy Birthday announcement and that ultimately cost him getting the job in favor of a younger host in Ross Schaefer (who I felt did a really great job as host by the way!).

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Was this ever confirmed or is it game show urban legend, kinda like Alex being drunk on the High Rollers finale? Gene wasn't only a few years older than Barker and TPiR didn't seem to suffer.

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Gene himself said this a few times, and ageism exists in show business but...I'll just say that this is probably the version of the story that gave Gene the most personal comfort. I've talked to some people who crossed paths with Gene in the 1980s and I've learned the following...

#1. People who dealt with Gene in the 1980s remember attitude problems.
#2. The feeling among people who had the power to hire him saw his recent work and concluded that regardless of age, his prime had passed.
#3. He tested shockingly poorly with focus groups in the 1980s.

Again, I'm sure that "He's in his 70s? Oh, geez, let's see if someone ELSE can do this" absolutely figured into it a bit, but there were a few other things going on that cost Gene work.

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Another thing to consider:  Gene lived on the East Coast, and any show he did would have involved him doing a cross country commute.  It's likely Gene was not willing to travel as much as he used to, or the taping schedule would not mesh as well with his travel demands.

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