Rate The Last TV Show Episode You Watched

[AndyDursin]

THE MATCH GAME/ HOLLYWOOD SQUARES HOUR (1983-84)

Though it only lasted a single season, I have fond memories of this weird coupling of MATCH GAME with HOLLYWOOD SQUARES, since it aired on afternoons on NBC right when I'd come home from 3rd grade. Gene Rayburn hosted MATCH GAME, then halfway through the episode, he'd switch places with SQUARES host Jon Bauman (Bowzer from Sha Na Na!), who wasn't in character, but would sit on the MATCH GAME panel for the 1st half. So they would literally trade places and the microphone and then you'd have Rayburn sitting on the SQUARES panel in the 2nd half.

Even though it was "2 shows in 1," it was really just a single, connected show. Whatever contestant won the MATCH GAME portion would challenge the returning champ from SQUARES, with the celebrity panel adding 3 celebs in the 2nd half (they'd rotate them daily it seems since they'd only need 5 guests in the MATCH GAME portion). And if you think that's confusing, when SQUARES ended, the bonus round was actually the MATCH GAME bonus round, with Rayburn taking the lead mic again!

Somehow or other, this show managed to be pretty funny in an awkward way with the right celebrities. They had a LEAVE IT TO BEAVER week that was dreadful, but other shows with Arsenio Hall or Jay Leno or Michael Winslow (pre POLICE ACADEMY) mixed with REAL PEOPLE cast members like Skip Stephenson once in a while produced something amusing.

Bauman has said the show didn't have lots of writers so the responses and lines weren't canned -- which is both good and bad, as it's entirely dependant on who's sitting on the panel. I also always thought it was weird how Gene Rayburn allegedly used to KNIT on flights back to Cape Cod during his career -- but you can kind of see it with him sitting on the SQUARES panel, where he's notably laid back and acting like a normal human being as opposed to his cranky host self.

This show was co-produced with Orion TV (for whatever reason) so reruns were held up for years. It's recently started airing on BUZZR after decades of dormancy, which I don't get but can be viewed for free on PLUTO TV streaming (on Roku or any other devices).

It's weird and worth a look -- if nothing else for the awesome theme, written by game show guru Ed Kalehoff. It's one of his best! (and here's a full hour of the theme and assorted cues!)

[Eric Paddon]

I watched this regularly when it was on originally at age 14. I had been a fan of the earlier 70s MG and was happy to see a new version back on the air but it was obvious this version was lacking in key areas. First, they didn't give us the old Match Game regulars and semi-regulars (Charles Nelson Reilly appeared a few times, as did a couple semi-regulars, but Brett Somers not once and not even Betty White!) and second the Hollywood Squares portion was really poorly conceived. HSQ was a show that depended entirely on the brilliant timing of scripted punchlines and was not a free-wheeling ad-lib show like Match Game was. They were both great shows in their classic heyday but putting them together wasn't a Reeses "Chocolate in my peanut butter" combo, it was more like "you got chocolate sauce over my pizza!"

But part of the reason for that failure was that for this version, the rights for HSQ were leased from Orion TV (who had bought out original HSQ creator Merrill Heatter which was why Heatter was no longer in the picture) to Mark Goodson and Goodson had always *hated* HSQ in its prime. Consequently, Goodson wasn't going to do any of the things that made HSQ successful like having scripted adlibs or giving the stars some general ideas of the questions to "help them with their bluffs" (celebs on classic HSQ didn't know actual questions but they knew the subjects they would get asked to be prepared). This meant every question had to be multiple-choice, either/or and the "humor" seemed to derive more from the question rather than whether the celeb would be clever.

The show incidentally was always intended by NBC to be a placeholder on the schedule until their soap "Santa Barbara" was ready. Delays in that allowed MG/HSQ Hour to last nine months but even if it had strong numbers, it wouldn't have survived. The last show had no mention of it being the last show and it was Rayburn's last time hosting a version of his famous show as he got passed over for the 1990-91 ABC daytime revival of "Match Game" (hosted by Ross Shafer).

It is a fascinating time capsule in a few respects. This is the show where I first learned who Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall were. And the overpromotion of NBC properties in 1983 is staggering (pay attention to all the hype for the forgotten show "Mr. Smith" about a talking orangutan the show gets!). And there were great female panelists like Markie Post (who actually started out as a game show production worker in the 70s for shows like "Split Second" and had been a sub model on the Jim Perry "Card Sharks").

Incidentally, Buzzr has for now recycled back to the first week. Supposedly they'll go further in the run after they go through this cycle of the first nine weeks again.

[Paul MacLean]

...mixed with REAL PEOPLE cast members like Skip Stephenson once in a while produced something amusing.

I wonder, did Family Feud ever do a "Real People vs. That's Incredible" show?

[mkaroly]

I loved 'Santa Barbara' back in the day...lol...my brother called it 'Santa Boobra'.

[mkaroly]

Right now I am going through both seasons of F TROOP. The outcry against this show would be massive in today's PC climate. For me at least the show's greatest asset (actor-wise) is Larry Storch...that dude is hilarious. The show is full of silly physical, vaudeville-esque comedy that he, Ken Berry, and Forrest Tucker were really tops at performing. Lol...enjoying season one for now!

EDIT: so I just found out Melody Patterson was under 16 when she started the show...yikes!!!! I thought she was older than that! Unbelievable.

[Eric Paddon]

I think actually 16, not under 16, but yeah she fooled everyone regarding her age. Today it's the opposite where there are 30 year olds and older who still seem like they have the gravitas of someone 16.

I have finished the Christmas season watching a large number of vintage TV show Christmas episodes. I always save for last my two favorites, the Dragnet "Christmas Story" episode involving the investigation of a Nativity scene statue of the infant Jesus, and a first season "Dr. Kildare" episode "Season To Be Jolly" starring Dan O'Herlihy as a drunken Santa brought in angry and railing at the world and who turns out to be a missing Episcopalian minister who has gone into the gutter after painful family tragedies. Ordinarily, stories like these when they give us restoration of faith moments tend to do them a bit mawkishly but this episode powerfully goes for quiet introspection on O'Herlihy's part and the end result is the most faith-affirming hour of vintage television I have ever seen (and which could sadly never be made again). I'm sorry that Jeff Alexander's score for this episode wasn't included in the FSM CD release of Kildare scores.

[AndyDursin]

But part of the reason for that failure was that for this version, the rights for HSQ were leased from Orion TV (who had bought out original HSQ creator Merrill Heatter which was why Heatter was no longer in the picture) to Mark Goodson and Goodson had always *hated* HSQ in its prime. Consequently, Goodson wasn't going to do any of the things that made HSQ successful like having scripted adlibs or giving the stars some general ideas of the questions to "help them with their bluffs" (celebs on classic HSQ didn't know actual questions but they knew the subjects they would get asked to be prepared). This meant every question had to be multiple-choice, either/or and the "humor" seemed to derive more from the question rather than whether the celeb would be clever.

The HSQ portion really almost seems like a "tagged on" afterthought. I think by this point I've seen all the episodes Buzzr has aired (I guess they're supposed to be rolling more out over time?) and it's a very strange show...the HSQ portion doesn't seem long enough and they end it often in an arbitrary manner. One show I was watching, this older challenger guy was a correct question away from tying up the cute younger girl champion. And he needs 1 more question for the tie, but instead Marcia Wallace pontificates on her stupid unfunny answer for 2 minutes so that the "show's over!" alarm goes off just as he's about to tie it up. You could see in his face he knew the fix was in!

You can also see how the questions were, like you said Eric, supposed to be the jokes in the HSQ portion and the stars weren't drilled on answers ahead of time. This is both good and bad. It's not especially funny, but it does result in some revealing moments. Like when Edie McClurg is asked any number of sex related questions, she genuinely seems repelled and becomes extremely uncomfortable.

Overall the show casts a hypnotic spell. The canned audience screaming belittles the actual interaction there is between the hosts and whoever's out there. The giant blocky Atari 2600 panels that do nothing but blast the stars' names. I also laugh whenever Johnny Olson is doing the opening announcing and he awkwardly times his announcements with their appearance on the Atari-Tron ("It's the Match Game...Hollywood Squares...Hour...With FROM STELSEWHERE Ed Begley Jr.!").

[AndyDursin]

Eric you were right on about the incessant NBC cross-promotion. Leonard Frey was on so much from MR. SMITH they stopped referring to him as being from that show after a few months. Plus the cast of WE'VE GOT IT MADE (the terrible THREE'S COMPANY quasi-ripoff) were on there constantly.

My favorite cringe-worthy exchange there was when Bauman asked one of the supporting female cast members of the show if she had any "real life sparks" with her on-screen boyfriend, Tom Villard. She clearly was taken aback for a second, then responded she was married already...weird Bauman would ask that question since Villard was (quite obviously) gay and died of AIDS, like Frey, years later.

I also found it hilarious how they started showing the audience at some point weeks in -- and a good lot of them seemed to be families with young children, wholly unsuited for the innuendo of the show. (Also went to show how "canned" the audience track was for the show too)

[Eric Paddon]

They had to stop referring to him as being from the show since by this point (January 1984) the show had finally been cancelled thankfully.

Re: Villard. Even if Bauman was ignorant, I'd note back in the day that Goodson game shows were a bit notorious for letting closeted gay celebs try to conceal that because several would actually go on "Tattletales" with a fictional "significant" and usually someone else who was gay. The fake pairing that really comes to mind they did was Dick Sargent and Fannie Flagg.

I'd be surprised if there were children in the audience because I have seen game show tickets and they generally had a rule that no one under 18 (or maybe in some cases 16) was allowed in. And yes, NBC was the network known for it's "Mother Mackenzie" laugh track that sweetened many a daytime game show (the old Hollywood Squares frequently).

[AndyDursin]

There were definitely kids there when they showed the audience . Rayburn walked into the audience in one show and asked someone where they were from (coincidentally RI) and you could see adults with kids who were nowhere close to being teens scattered about. Like 8-12, definitely not 16-18.

Least in this one show there was more than one group of them. Maybe they were kids of the stars, who knows...seemed like a small audience anyway, and was off set to the left (it was visually weird how everyone would look back at them when referencing the audience).

[mkaroly]

Just finished up Season 2 of Columbo...overall I enjoyed most of the season. Robert Culp (The Most Crucial Game) continues to be a great evil villain when he guest stars. The season starts out strong with Etude in Black (chilling murderer reveal at the end...Blythe Danner's expressions are fantastic) and The Greenhouse Jungle. I am not really a fan of Dagger of the Mind though - the resolution especially seemed like a bit of a 'cheat' to me. And I am not a big fan of Columbo being in "a fish out of water" type environment.

Anne Baxter is always a pleasure to watch, and I enjoyed Requiem for a Falling Star. Leonard Nimoy is a chillingly fabtastic criminal in A Stitch in Crime, though I found his motive to be kind of weak...maybe that was the point though...he is so selfish and ambitious that it didn't take much to want to murder his partner. The two last episodes of the season were strong as well - The Most Dangerous Match and Double Shock. Martin Landau was just a great actor...though I didn't care for how out-of-it Columbo was in that final episode. Although his bumbling schtick was meant to be funny, I have a hard time believing someone as smart as him could be so aloof in several moments in the Double Shock episode.

Still, I find these shows on the whole to be irresistably entertaining. I plan on starting season 3 right away...

[Eric Paddon]

It is a strong season. "Most Crucial Game" could have been a disaster because the motive is unclear and all Columbo does is break the alibi, which still doesn't prove Culp is the killer. But Culp's performance, the directing and the editing saves the episode completely. The climax is so brilliantly directed, acted and edited that it takes you longer to realize that maybe Culp shouldn't be sweating *that* much!

"Dagger Of The Mind" I confess I always liked though admittedly its payoff clue is a bit of a cheat. The sense of style and the fact they did some location shooting helps, plus it has a great ensemble (a very rare US TV performance by Honor Blackman).

"Double Shock" is a good episode but I agree that it's one of those episodes that starts to turn Columbo into a caricature more compared to the more methodical person we saw in S1. Jeanette Nolan's raging at him is just unfunny and unwelcome. OTOH, the moment when Columbo drops his facade with Nimoy in "Stitch In Crime" is a great moment showing that there's more to this guy beneath the surface. (Trivia point-Nimoy's second victim is Jared Martin, who later played the Spock knockoff character in the short lived "Fantastic Journey" in 1976)

[mkaroly]

Yes Eric - loved that "show of force" moment in A Stich in Crime where Columbo slams the object down on the desk.

I went ahead and journeyed through all of Season Three of Columbo this weekend rather than do my normal stuff. This is another strong season, IMO, which starts out and ends with two great episodes. It starts out with the beautiful Vera Miles in Lovely But Lethal - she gives a powerful performance...great acting. Any Old Port in A Storm is a strong one too because of Donald Pleasance's performance. By the end of the episode I actually felt really sorry for him - his character is nerdy but tragic. I like that Columbo is willing to be hard with the really evil villains but also somewhat sympathetic and understanding toward the more tragic villains (or at least showing sadness at the whole thing in the end).

Candidate for Crime (with Jackie Cooper and a very young Katy Sagal) has Watergate-era stuff all over it. Cooper is not sympathetic as a villain at all (generally speaking the most unlikeable villains in Columbo episodes tend to be tied to politics). Double Exposure again stars Robert Culp in another solid performance - the subtle changes in his facial expressions/tones of voice each time Columbo confronts him are very entertaining to me.

Publish or Perish is okay...not a great episode but loved seeing him take down Greenleaf. Mind Over Mayhem is okay as well but too gimmicky with Robbie the Robot (a negatively distracting element in the show). I am drawing a blank on his name (shame on me), but Charlie X does his yelling schtick as well which takes away from the episode for me. However, the ending confrontation between the killer and Columbo is kind of moving.

While I have great respect for Johnny Cash, Swan Song is a weaker episode for me (though I applaud Cash's pouting moments in the episode). A Friend in Deed is a heck of an episode which pays off on Columbo's toughness - very slimy villain in high office, his slimy accomplice/murderer, Columbo's investigation and his enlisting the aid of a tough guy criminal on the streets, and his willingness not to back down all make this a suspenseful and very, very pleasing episode with a great finale. Strong season!

There is a bonus Mrs. Columbo episode on the Season 3 DVD (I didn't even know this show existed)...I always liked that I never got to see Columbo's mysterious wife in the series. Kind of don't want to watch it because I don't want to put a face to her...lol...

[Paul MacLean]

Outlander (6/10)

I started watching this series, largely due to a long-time interest in Scottish history.

But despite the intriguing premise, and impressive visual style and attractive Scottish locations, it is too offset by graphic violence, rape, etc.

And if this is is any indication of what else is yet to come, I'm glad I bailed when I did...

[Eric Paddon]

I have to admit I always had trouble with "Any Old Port In A Storm" because I just didn't buy Donald Pleasance as sympathetic. I read where the part was originally written for Victor Buono but he backed out.

"Double Exposure" is notable for the fact that Arlene Martel, Culp's co-star from the famous Outer Limits episode "Demon With A Glass Hand" is credited as the talked about character Tanya Baker but we never see her in the final cut of the episode. I think it's clear this episode was filmed for a two hour slot and then got hacked to a 90 minute format which ended up eliminating all her scenes (I think they were supposed to take place pre-murder because the episode starts with a "joined in progress" feel with Culp already doing the murder preparations).

"Publish Or Perish" ended up solving the problem of how to fit to a shorter time slot without losing material by borrowing that "Thomas Crown Affair" technique of the split screen action.

Notice in "Mind Over Mayhem" that the name of the boy genius is "Steven Spelberg"? That was a purposeful inside-joke reference to Spielberg. Robert Walker, Jr. is who you're thinking of. I admit that the end of the episode may be the most blatant case of entrapment Columbo ever engages in to coerce a confession that may not stand up in court but in general we're supposed to look past those kind of things.

"Mrs. Columbo" was a godawful mistake by Fred Silverman in the infamous early 1979 NBC debacle that also gave us "Supertrain". Neither Levinson nor Link wanted anything to do with it, especially when Silverman decided he wanted young, glamorous and oh-so-wrong Kate Mulgrew for the part. After a handful of episodes they did some retooling that actually made the character *divorced* and when that didn't go over well, they actually renamed the character "Kate Callahan" and dropped all the connections that we wish didn't exist with "Columbo." This was Mulgrew's most infamous claim to fame before she got the "Voyager" role (there's a Mad Magazine spoof of "Voyager" which shows a picture of Falk as Columbo behind Captain Janeway that says "Take my wife, please!") Real Columbo fans disregard the existence of "Mrs. Columbo" for the same reason Galactica fans disregard "Galactica 1980!"