Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour

I admit, I've seen Rayburn doing the Match Game a number of times on GSN. That was a really good show, pretty funny. He continues this on the Match Game-Hollywood Squares hour.

Bauman on the other hand. Why did NBC get this guy to do Hollywood Squares? Granted I never saw the Marshall version of Hollywood Squares (I wasn't even born before he aired) but with Marshall just coming off a huge run on it, it would seem that he would get the nod for this. The questions were more funny then the celebrities, which is one bad thing, but Bauman ran the Hollywood Squares part at a slow pace, much slower than what I would have expected.

Super Match, no real comment on it, not a bad bonus game.

Overall, not a bad show, but Bauman was awful.

I was a big fan of both of these shows in their original incarnations. And in the 80s, I didn't even know this show existed. I just saw an episode on Buzzr. It was interesting only out of curiosity for seeing what became of the games in the reboot.

Match Game suffered from not having the half stable of regulars from the 70s, and the Hollywood Squares segment was a pale shadow of the original. The lack of Peter Marshall was a heavy hit, but really, there is no true Hollywood Squares without Paul Lynde.

Set design was poor. The celebrity area was small and cramped, even though it was swallowed by the surrounding studio.

Even had I known of this show in the 80s, and been able to watch, I would have abandoned it after a couple of weeks, max.

In theory, this should have been a powerhouse game show that lasted more than one year. Two of the most popular game shows on television combine in an hour-long format with a big, $30,000 end game. Unfortunately, it lacked in many areas. Jon Bauman was a lackluster host, Gene Rayburn didn't really seem as enthused about hosting anymore (auto-pilot) but was even less enthusiastic when he served as one of the panelists on Squares. The Hollywood Squares questions (all multiple choice) did not allow for much comedy from the celebrities. Many of the celebrities were from ABC soaps and lesser-known shows.

I was always a fan of Match Game,and Gene Rayburn and his laughing/interactions with his regulars (Particularly Charles Nelson Reilly and Bret Somers).This show furthered that along.However,John Bauman was not my cup of tea.I never liked his large mouthed Sha Na Na bit,and his addition to this show didnt change my mind.Shame they couldnt get Peter Marshall for the job).Otherwise it was a worthy show that would be fun to watch.I even remember Gene and John commenting on the new year (1984) and they wished "many more" for the show.Alas,it wasnt to be.

I don't understand all the criticism about "The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour." The critics believed this show was an uneven marriage of two game shows that had been popular, that Bowzer wasn't good hosting his "Hollywood Squares" segment, etc.

I beg to differ. Sure, I was in sixth grade the year this program aired, and it's been 18 years since I've seen an episode, but I liked "The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour." It was a "must see" program for me, every afternoon after school.

I had enjoyed both "Match Game" and "Hollywood Squares" as a younger child, and thought the two segments together made for the perfect marriage. I don't remember too much about how good the celebrities actually were playing the game, but the gameplay to me seemed to go off without a hitch.

What I enjoyed most was the "Super Match" segment, played at the end, for a possible $30,000 jackpot. All the contestant needed to do was choose the celebrity they believed had the elusive "30" multiplier (the others had either 10s or 20s, making for lower jackpots). That made for a lot more excitement than simply choosing a celebrity to play for a flat 10 times whatever they had won in the "Audience Match" half of the game, though it compares very favorably with the "Star Wheel" used on latter-day "Match Game" (where 20 times the stakes were possible).

The critics often cite the concept as to what led to the demise of "The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour" after just nine months. Others seem to think that viewers were still tuning into "General Hospital" in droves.

Say what you will about why this show didn't last, but I sure hope to be able to see it again sometime. I sure hope Game Show Network will acquire the rights to show this unique program, which died before its time.