Match Game

Match Game
CBS
January 15, 1982
Game Show
DVD
C+

And so ends the "Best Of," with an episode that feels off.  Despite Brett drinking, Charles being random, and Betty being sweetly snarky about Richard Dawson, the glory days are clearly over.  Maybe Match Game wasn't supposed to run long enough for "Day O'Connor" to be an answer for "Sandra _____."  (I foolishly thought "Bullock" and then changed to number one answer "Dee.")  Maybe a cable-ready television shouldn't be one of the prizes.  And maybe McLean Stevenson shouldn't be a guest when he has a cold and a career in shambles.  As for the other two guests, you've got the forgettable Melinda O. Fee and the aggressively unfunny Skip Stephenson.  I still played along, obviously, but this is as good a time as any to end this.

Since the DVD has nine years unevenly distributed, I won't grade by season.  But the thirty episodes have a narrow range of C+ to B, with most of those B-.  (The '62 pilot also got a B-.)  I think it's more a matter of great moments than great episodes, since, unlike with a narrative program, the first five minutes might have little to do with the last five minutes on a game show.  This is, by the way, the 500th program of mine to air on CBS.  Other than the last season and a half of McLean's old show, there won't be a lot more.

Match Game PM

Match Game PM
CBS
November 16, 1980
Game Show
DVD
B

This episode is mainly notable for the flirtation between Debralee and the contestant named Earl, and of course everyone else's reaction, including Dolly Martin (Dick's wife) matchmaking them.  And Debralee mentions Richard Dawson at one point.  Jimmie "JJ" Walker is the other celebrity.

Match Game PM

This looks like it was an earlier,
more '70s appearance of Sutton.

Match Game PM
CBS
November 2, 1980
Game Show
DVD
B-

Along with more familiar contestants and two Vegas stars, pitcher Don Sutton appears.  Since it's the PM edition, there are two audience-matches, with double the potential money for the celebrity wheel.

Match Game

Match Game
CBS

September 5, 1980

Game Show
DVD
B-

Richard Paul might be the least familiar panelist this episode (well, maybe tied with Braverman), but he was at the time recognizable for Carter Country among other things, and he would guest on M*A*S*H a couple months after this; he often played police, ministers, and other figures of authority, including Jerry Falwell in a TV-movie.  I'm actually more surprised to see Jamie Lee Curtis back.  The episode is also notable for Gene breaking down a wall.  (The man seems to have had anger issues, or at least hostility towards the set.)

Match Game

Phyllis Davis, definitely this week.

Match Game
CBS
August 24, 1980
Game Show
DVD
B-

Well, it looks like this is the earlier of the two episodes from this date, although it's on Disc 2 and the other is on Disc 1.  Equally entertaining.

Match Game

A different episode with Donner.

Match Game
CBS
August 24, 1980
Game Show
DVD
B-

No classic moments but generally entertaining with two very bubbly contestants and a nice celebrity line-up, including Mork's Robert Donner, Vegas's Phyllis Davis, and Trapper John regular Charles Siebert, who was Mr. Ramsey on What's Happening!!

Match Game

Match Game
CBS
September 8, 1979
Game Show
DVD
B-

Rita Moreno is the "new kid" and, as Brett points out, having spacy Bill Daily be the one to show her how to play is not the best idea.  If I haven't mentioned it before, this seems to be the year that the composites of faces really got going.

Match Game

Foster Brooks fits right into the tipsy action.

Match Game
CBS
August 26, 1979
Game Show
DVD
B-

This is another oddball episode, with "the man in the box" out of the box when it's time for the Super Match, and then an audience member coming up with the definitive answer, "Wella Balsam," causing all the celebs to momentarily walk out.

Match Game

The other celebrity, Robert
Walden from Lou Grant

Match Game
CBS
August 4, 1979
Game Show
DVD
C+

This episode feels off, as exemplified by "Hard Knocks" being the top match for "College of _____."  Even when Gene goes out into the audience, he gets answers like "Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh."  It's nice to see Bill Daily, telling us he doesn't need this show since he's got Bob Newhart Show residuals, so that helps balance out the still obnoxious Elaine Joyce.

Match Game

28-year-old Kirstie Alley

Match Game
CBS
July 21, 1979
Game Show
DVD
B-

More of the same, with Kirstie leaving after her two games.

Match Game

Match Game
CBS
July 21, 1979
Game Show
DVD
B-

We see more of Kirstie, Brett continues to seem plastered, and I start matching mostly Betty.

Match Game

Match Game
CBS
July 21, 1979
Game Show
DVD
B

A funny episode with everything from Betty, Brett, and Charles teasing each other to Gene pretending to die while waiting for one of the two "rotten contestants" to come up with an answer.  I can't believe "Catcher in the Rye" was the $100 answer while "Ham on Rye" was $500, but it figures that Jamie and I are too smart for the room.  And, yes, this is the debut of interior decorator Kirstie Alley.

Match Game

From that week

Match Game
CBS
July 21, 1979
Game Show
DVD
B-

The "best of" collection includes four episodes with this date, but this is definitely the first one, since it has Gene welcoming the "new kid," 20-year-old Jamie Lee Curtis, with a couple kisses.  Meanwhile, Charles gives some really random answers, like "war bonds" for a cattle drive.  I was thinking this was a "PM" episode, since the contestants face each other twice, but there's no mention of it in the title.

Match Game PM

That says "Truck."

Match Game PM
February 17, 1979
CBS
Game Show
DVD
B-

I won't swear to it, but I think this is one of the episodes I saw taped, since I remember being there when Gene defended Arte Johnson's answer of "Inter-" for "Blank Course."  I was ten going on eleven, but I knew this was something naughty.  The episode is also notable for its unique line-up: besides Brett, Charles, and Arte, there are Kukla & Ollie (as a team), Eva Gabor, and Fannie Flagg.  By this point, I believe Dawson was doing Family Feud but I don't know if he'd left the daytime version of MG yet.  In any case, we are in the "star wheel" era.  And there will be a lot more '79 episodes down the road.

Match Game '78

Different episode from that week

Match Game '78
CBS
April 29, 1978
Game Show
DVD
B-

Gene gets so tired of Brett and Charles bickering that he rips out CNR's chair and has him move downstairs.  And Elaine Joyce manages not to annoy me.  This is it for MG '78, but the Best Of collection has quite a bit for '79.

Match Game '77

Match Game '77
CBS
February 29, 1977 [sic]
Game Show
DVD
B

Obviously there was no Leap Day that year, and since this aired on a Friday, the date was more likely the 25th, but the DVD packaging says the 29th, so we'll go along with it.  And if that seems arbitrary, it's nothing compared to the infamous "school riot."  Judge (and producer) Ira Skutch decides that "college" matches "school," and so does "scuba diving school" but not "finishing school" or (arguably the best match) a frightened Patty's "night school.  Richard and Debralee are understandably upset, and the audience rebels, too.  After the commercial break, Brett and Charles make peace through humor, although there's still a bitter aftertaste.  (Luckily, just about everyone says "hooker" for the next question.)

Match Game '77

Match Game '77
CBS
February 5, 1977
Game Show
DVD
B

This has one of the classic moments of the show, when the lower tier, with the help of a few props, imitates the upper tier.  Richard and Fannie spar and tease affectionately, like Brett and Charles, with additional mannerisms, like Brett's drinking and Charles's smoking.  The real surprise here is Jo Ann's twinkly-eyed, grinning version of Dick G.  Brett isn't the only one who enjoys this all thoroughly.

Match Game '77

A calmer moment

Match Game '77
CBS
February 5, 1977
Game Show
DVD
B-

In which the men trade neckware, Preparation H is a winning match, and Gene attacks a camera.  Also memorable for an early example of the face mash-up thing.  Note that both this and the succeeding episode supposedly aired on a Saturday (according to the DVD packaging), which seems unlikely.  From what I recall as a studio audience member in the later '70s through mid '80s, a week's worth of a game show would be done in one day, generally a weekday, and they would all air on weekdays.

Match Game '76

A different Mary Wickes episode

Match Game '76
CBS
December 10, 1976
Game Show
DVD
C+

Notable things about this episode:

• A female contestant says she doesn't have any children but she's going to have a dog;
• Gene whacks a tech guy with a cue card for not cuing him in time;
• Richard kind of annoys me, by overdoing a frog joke and by mocking Charles's perfectly fine answer;
• A winning match for "Daisy ____" is "Mae," which I doubt would work these days;
• and Brett claims Betty has had plastic surgery, little realizing that Ms. White would outlive everyone.

Match Game '76

Yes, Nancy Kulp was in what
someone called "the bimbo seat."

Match Game '76
CBS
October 27, 1976
Game Show
DVD
B-

Mostly notable for more ties than usual, starting with a tie-breaker and ending with the winner tied with someone else.  Oh, and an old lady gets kissed by Richard and Gene.