Hollywood Squares

This may be the third edition of the show, but it's worth watching.Whoopi is absolutely funny as the center square, it seems as if no effort is needed to make the show entertaining, Tom Bergeron is an excellent host, and it's nice to see Shadoe Stevens back in the announcer's chair.I hope this show is on well into the 21st century.

I'm as a big a fan of this show as they come, so I have a love/hate relationship of this incarnation. It started out with promise; a lot of new faces on the show (Gilbert Gottfried, Penn & Teller, and the very attractive Judy Gold were my favorites) and a few old regulars like Joan Rivers and Louie Anderson. Shadoe Stevens was back in the announcer's chair, although his role was severely limited compared to the Orion version, and Tom Bergeron proved to be very adept for the hosting role. So what could go wrong with this crowd?

The big downfall was none other than Ms. Whoopi Goldberg. While most celebrities were able to bluff or deliver one-liners efficiently, Whoopi would hog the spotlight for as long as she could, either stretching a semi-funny joke to the point where it was embarrassing, or even interrupting, whether it was other celebrities with her shtick, or even the contestant introductions by making some comment about their job or life. I really did not find her entertaining in the least and it was obvious she designed this show as an ego boost for herself. Face it, when the show opens with "...and starring Whoopi Goldberg!", and she is an executive producer, you know what's more important here Some other weaknesses were celebrity choices; the show suffered greatly from Caroline Rhea and Martin Mull overkill, and other celebrities seemed to treat the show more like a party and big joke and didn't really respect it. That was most disappointing to see.

Thankfully after 4 years, Whoopi moved on to other projects, and Henry Winkler came on to take her spot at co-producer. The show finally became enjoyable again with new themes, a new set, and no egos to deal with on screen. Now that "Whoopi Goldberg's brown-nosing sidekick" was no longer part of his job description, Tom Bergeron really blossomed as a host and proved why he was selected for the job in the first place. He proved to have as a good of a wit as the stars (or at least the joke writers) and made the show his own. The center square saw a different mix of panelists, including Magic Johnson, Brad Garrett, and Pamela Anderson among many many others. I admit that I didn't like the idea of rotating center squares at first, but it did keep the show fresh. And who could forget both Game Show Weeks? Particularly the first with the triumphant return of Peter Marshall. Between this, his book, and the classic squares returning to GSN, 2002 was a great year to be a Hollywood Squares fan! The only downside was replacing Shadoe Stevens with Jeffrey Tambor and John Moschitta, Jr. respectively. Both had very little announcing experience and it showed. They weren't terrible, but I think that is one thing I wish the Fonz had left alone.

Sadly the audience slowly slipped away and after two years, Squares was canceled. However, the two seasons under Winkler really saved it in my opinion. Nothing against Whoopi personally, as she has done a lot of good for many people and is a brilliant actress and comedienne in her own right, but Squares wasn't her forte, and her ego wasn't very well hidden on here.

My favorite star of the show is Whoopi Goldberg. The way the game is played is they have various actors or actresses. Then at the end the winner teams up with a star and plays a sudden death round. Then when time is up the contestant is asked whether he/she wants to keep the money or whether they want to play for more money of course if they got there bonus question wrong they don't win anything.

This is one terrific show! Whoopi makes a great Center Square and Tom is a totally awesome host who never fails to make people laugh. Squares 98 pulls out one surprise after another, you never know what to expect next until the next joke is cracked. Definite Emmy material! It truly is hip to be Square!

When I got to see the current rival of Hollywood Squares I got tired of it pretty quick. What I got tired of was Whoopi Goldberg and Bruce Vilanch. It seems that others were getting tired of them as well. Even Peter Marshall who was the original "Master of the Squares" said that Whoopi was a poor choice. By the way he will guest host H2 on the December 12, 2002, and regular host Tom Bergeron will play center square for a day.

Enter Henry 'The Fonz' Winkler. Although H2 was his first game show he got involved with, Winkler has done a good job and his brought new life to H2. When Whoopi was center square, she got picked first most of time (99%). The center square still gets picked in the Winkler version but you get different celebrities each week. Bergeron is no longer second fiddle to Goldberg and really does carry the show. Although the front game has cut to accommodate the "How Much You Know about Stars" end game H2 has great energy. The end game is great in which the winning contestant much agree/disagree correctly about statements about the weeks squares within 30 seconds. The more they guess correctly the greater their changes are in winning cars, cash, and trips.

If you have not seen H2 Winkler style, check it out. It's really a 'Square Biz.'