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{{Infobox_television
| show_name = The Match Game<br>Match Game 7"x"<br>[[Match Game PM]]
| image = [[Image:Mglogo copy.jpg|right|200px|Match Game 1978-1982 Logo]]
| caption = ''Match Game'' logo from 1978-1982.
| format = [[Game show|Game Show]]
| runtime = 30 Minutes
| creator = Mark Goodson and Bill Todman
| starring = [[Gene Rayburn]] (1962–69, 1973-82 & 1983-84)<br>[[Ross Shafer]] (1990–91)<br>[[Michael Burger]] (1998–99)<br>Along with many regular celebrity panelists
| country = {{USA}}
| rating={{TV-PG}}
| network = NBC (1962–69 & 1983–84)<br>CBS (1973-79)<br>ABC (1990–91)<br>Syndicated (1975–81, weekly), (1979–82, daily and 1985-86 in reruns) & (1998–99, weekdays)
| first_aired = [[December 31]] [[1962]]
| last_aired = [[September 10]] [[1999]]
| num_episodes =
|}}
'''''The Match Game''''' was an [[United States|American]] [[television]] [[game show]], most often hosted by [[Gene Rayburn]]. The show featured celebrities and contestants answering fill-in-the-blank questions. The most famous versions of the 1970s and 1980s, starting with '''''Match Game '73''''', were remembered for their bawdy and sometimes rowdy humor and involved contestants trying to match six celebrities.
==Hosts and celebrity panelists==
*Hosts:
**[[Gene Rayburn]] (1962-1984, with breaks)
**[[Bert Convy]] (1990 pilot), [[Ross Shafer]] (1990–1991)
**[[Charlene Tilton]] (1997 pilot), [[Michael Burger]] (1998–1999), [[John Laroquette]] (guest host, 1998)
**[[Fred Willard]] (2004 pilot)
**[[Ricki Lake]] (''Gameshow Marathon'', 2006)
Regular and semi-regular celebrity panelists on the 1973-1982 version included [[Brett Somers]], [[Charles Nelson Reilly]], [[Richard Dawson]], and [[Fannie Flagg]].
The panelists on the 1973-82, MG/HS and 1990-91 versions of the program were always arranged in two rows of three panelists, alternating between male and female in most cases. (The 1998-99 version featured a similar layout; though the bottom row only had two people.) While not required by rule, Match Game custom almost always had the top left corner answer first, followed by the person to the panelist's left (viewer's right).
==Broadcast history==
The original version of ''Match Game'', ''The Match Game'', premiered [[December 31]], [[1962]] continuing through [[September 26]], [[1969]] on [[NBC]] for 1,760 episodes. The program aired at 4 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Central. Only four episodes of ''The Match Game'' are reported to survive {{fact}}; the show was originally broadcast live from New York, and most episodes were not recorded for posterity.
In the summer of [[1973]], [[Mark Goodson]] and [[Bill Todman]] resurrected the show as ''Match Game '73'' for [[CBS]], with Rayburn returning as host. The title would be updated for the next six years. This version saw two solo contestants attempting to match the answers given by a six-celebrity panel. [[Richard Dawson]] was the first regular panelist. Famous celebrity panelists [[Brett Somers]] and [[Charles Nelson Reilly]] become regulars near the end of 1973.
The CBS/syndicated version was produced by veteran Goodson-Todman producer Ira Skutch. Aside from being involved with the writing of some of the questions, Skutch also acted as on-stage judge. The CBS/syndicated version was directed by Marc Breslow, and Robert Sherman acted as associate producer and head writer.
[[Image:1977regularsrayburnshot.jpg|275px|thumb|[[Richard Dawson|Dawson]], [[Charles Nelson Reilly|Reilly]], [[Brett Somers|Somers]] and [[Gene Rayburn|Rayburn]] in 1977]]
[[Image:77baloonscrew.jpg|275px|thumb|The ''Match Game'' cast and audience ring in ''Match Game 78'']]
[[Image:Image118.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The "Match Game" segment of "The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour"]]
[[Image:mg90set.jpg|thumb|The "Match Game '90" set]]
Like [[Bob Barker]] when Goodson-Todman and CBS revived ''[[The Price Is Right]]'' the previous September, Rayburn advised viewers of the first 1970s show it was still their same show from the 1960s, modernized. "This is your old favorite, updated with more action, more money and as you can see, more celebrities." CBS placed the show at 3:30 p.m./2:30. Due to intense coverage of the [[Watergate]] hearings, the network delayed the start one week from its slated date of [[June 25]] to [[July 2]].
At the very beginning of the show's revival, some of the questions (in the spirit of the first run) were somewhat bland and perfunctory, and some of them contained humor. Soon, the tone of Rayburn's questions changed notably, leaving behind the staid topics of ''The Match Game'' for more risqué, [[schtick]]y, and [[double-entendre]]-laden humor. Suddenly, ''Match Game '73'' underwent a meteoric rise in the ratings and, by [[Thanksgiving]], became television's highest-rated daytime program. Eventually it surpassed records as the most popular daytime program ever with an astounding record of 11 million daily viewers, one that held until the "Luke and Laura" storyline gripped viewers on ABC's ''[[General Hospital]]'' some years later.
Every [[New Year's Eve]], the 2-digit year designation in the ''Match Game'' sign was updated to reflect the coming of the new year, resulting in a [[New Year]]'s party between the cast and the audience. This lasted until [[1979]]; with a new ''Match Game'' set and sign, a whole new sign no longer had to be built. Instead the old year designation extension was simply taken off the end of the revamped ''Match Game'' sign and replaced with a new one. The year was deleted entirely when the show went into syndication.
In 1975, a weekly nighttime edition, called ''Match Game PM'', was [[television syndication|syndicated]] to local stations. In 1976, the show's success -- and celebrity panelist Richard Dawson's popularity -- prompted Goodson-Todman to develop a new show for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] entitled ''[[Family Feud]]'', with Dawson emceeing. This show became a major hit in its own right, eventually exceeding the parent program. ''[[Family Feud]]'' was said to be based on Richard's expertise on ''Match Game'''s "Audience Match" where he was always picked (pre-star wheel).
Meanwhile, the daytime version of ''Match Game'' kept its high standing in the ratings, despite a short-lived move ahead one half-hour during summer and fall 1975. In late 1977, however, CBS made a serious mistake by briefly moving the show to a morning time slot. The ratings sagged because much of the show's audience were students who were in school at that time of day; many of these did not return even after the network corrected its action. As a result, ''Feud'' quickly supplanted ''MG'' as television's highest-rated game show. Dawson, increasingly unhappy with his role on ''Match Game'' and probably viewing it as superfluous by that point, left the show in the summer of 1978.
After more time-slot changes and significant ratings drops, CBS aired its 1,445th and final ''Match Game'' on [[April 20]], [[1979]]; however, enough interest in the show as a daytime program prompted Goodson and Jim Victory Television, syndicator of the still-airing weekly nighttime version, to resume daily production. ''Match Game'' — without a year attached to the title (and with Rayburn eventually referring to the show on-air with the "the" back in the title) — returned on [[September 10]], [[1979]]. In many cases, they ran on CBS-owned stations that had aired the network edition (including flagship [[WCBS-TV]], although they eventually moved to [[WWOR-TV|WOR-TV]] by the end of the show's run). ''Match Game PM,'' which by this point ran only in markets where the weekday version did not air, ended after the 1980-81 season, and the daytime syndicated show's 525th and final episode aired on [[September 10]], [[1982]], a full three years after it debuted. Reruns of this version aired in some markets between 1984 and 1986.
In 1983, 1990 and 1998, ''Match Game'' returned in short-lived revivals with new hosts and slightly altered formats. Today, the 1973-1982 incarnation is shown in reruns daily on [[Game Show Network]] and is the network's [[50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time (GSN)|"Greatest Game Show of All Time"]]. Virtually all episodes of this version are still existent, although many cannot be seen due to celebrities' (including Anitra Ford, Jimmie Walker, and Adam Arkin) refusals of clearances. The 1990 version has also been shown on GSN, though it is not on the network's current schedule. On November 26, 2006 GSN broadcast an hour-long documentary on ''Match Game'' featuring rarely seen footage of the 1960s version, many odd or memorable moments from the main 1973-82 series, and interviews with Rayburn, Somers, Dawson, DeBartolo, producer Ira Skutch, and others involved in the show's production.
[[Johnny Olson]] was lead announcer for ''The Match Game'' and the 1973-82 incarnations. [[Gene Wood]] announced the 1983 and 1990 revivals. [[Paul Boland]] was the announcer on the 1998 version.
In the summer of 2006, ''Match Game'' was featured on ''[[Gameshow Marathon (US TV series)|Gameshow Marathon]]'' hosted by Ricki Lake.
Current "Price" announcer Rich Fields was the announcer on ''[[Gameshow Marathon (US TV series)|Gameshow Marathon]]''.
==Programming history==
(run times including commercials, 30 minutes unless noted)
''The Match Game''
*NBC weekdays at 4:00-4:25 p.m. (25 min.): [[31 December]] [[1962]] – [[26 September]] [[1969]]
''Match Game '73-'74-'75-'76-'77-'78–'79''
*CBS weekdays at 3:30-4:00 p.m.: [[2 July]] [[1973]] – [[8 August]] [[1975]]
*CBS weekdays at 3:00-3:30 p.m.: [[11 August]] [[1975]] – [[28 November]] [[1975]]
*CBS weekdays at 3:30-4:00 p.m.: [[1 December]] [[1975]] – [[4 November]] [[1977]]
*CBS weekdays at 11:00-11:30 a.m.: [[7 November]] [[1977]] – [[16 December]] [[1977]]
*CBS weekdays at 4:00-4:30 p.m.: [[19 December]] [[1977]] – [[20 April]] [[1979]]
''Match Game PM''
*Weekly nighttime syndication: [[8 September]] [[1975]] – [[13 September]] [[1981]]
''Match Game''
*Daily daytime syndication: [[10 September]] [[1979]] – [[10 September]] [[1982]]
*ABC weekdays at 12 NOON-12:30 p.m.: [[16 July]] [[1990]] – [[12 July]] [[1991]]
*Daily syndication: [[21 September]] [[1998]] – [[10 September]] [[1999]]
''Match Game - Hollywood Squares Hour''
*NBC weekdays at 3:00-4:00 p.m. (60 min.): [[31 October]] [[1983]] – [[27 July]] [[1984]]
''Match Game'' on ''[[Gameshow Marathon (US TV series)|Gameshow Marathon]]''
*CBS primetime at 8:00-9:00 pm (60 min.): [[22 June]] [[2006]]
(all times are Eastern)
== Game play ==
=== Main game ===
Two contestants, including a returning champion, competed. The contestants were always a man and a woman or two women; at no point did two men compete head-to-head. The champion was seated in the upstage (red circle) seat and the challenger was seated in the downstage (green triangle) seat. On [[Match Game PM]] and the daily syndicated version, a coin toss was held backstage to determine the positions. The object was to match the answers of as many of the six celebrity panelists as possible on fill-in-the-blank statements.
The main game was played in two rounds. The challenger was given a choice of two statements labeled either "A" or "B." Rayburn then read the statement. While the contestant pondered his/her answer, the six celebrities wrote their answers on [[index card]]s. After they finished, the contestant was polled for his/her answer. Rayburn then asked each celebrity — one at a time, beginning with #1 in the upper left hand corner — to give his/her response.
While early questions were similar to the NBC version (e.g., "Name a type of muffin" and "Every morning, John puts _________ on his cereal"), the questions quickly became funnier. Comedy writer [[Dick DeBartolo]], who had participated in the 1960s ''Match Game'', now contributed broader and saucier questions for host Rayburn. Frequently, the statements were written with bawdy, double-entendre answers in mind. A classic example: "Did you catch a glimpse of that girl on the corner? She has the world's biggest _________."
Frequently, the audience responded appropriately as Rayburn critiqued the contestant's answer (for the "world's biggest" question, Rayburn might show disdain to an answer such as "fingers" or "bag", and compliment an answer such as "rear end" or "boobs," often also commenting on the audience's approving or disapproving response). There were a handful of potential answers that were prohibited, the most notable being any synonym for [[genitalia]].
[[Image:GeneRayburnandContestants.jpg|275px|thumb|Seen here in 1976, Gene Rayburn greets two contestants and several million Americans.]]
The contestant earned one point for each celebrity who wrote down the same answer (or reasonably similar as determined by the judges; for example, "rear end" could be matched by "bottom", "behind," "derrière", "fannie," "hiney," etc.) up to a maximum of six points for matching everyone. After play was completed on one contestant's question, Rayburn read the statement on the other card for the opponent and play was identical.
Popular questions featured "Dumb Dora" (or her male counterpart, "Dumb Donald"). These questions would always begin "Dumb Dora/Donald is/was so dumb…" to which the audience would respond "how dumb is/was he/she?" and Rayburn would finish the question. Other common subjects of questions were Superman/Lois Lane, King Kong/Fay Wray, panelists on the show (most commonly [[Brett Somers]]), politicians, and [[Howard Cosell]]. Rayburn always played the action for laughs, and frequently tried to read certain questions in character; for example, a question involving a made-up character named "Old Man Periwinkle" would be recited in a weak, quavering voice.
The challenger again began Round 2, with two new questions, unless he/she matched everyone in the first round. Only celebrities that a contestant did not match could play this round. On ''Match Game PM'' and the daily syndicated version from 1979-1982, whoever led after a round got to choose a question first in the next round.
The second round questions were generally easier and were usually [[pun]]s that had a "right answer" (for instance, "Did you hear about the new religious group of dentists? They call themselves the ''Holy _____.''", where the answer would be "''Molars''"), whereas the first round usually had a number of possible answers. This was to help trailing contestants pick up points quickly.
On ''Match Game PM'', a third round was added after the first season as the games proved to be too short to fill the half-hour. Again, the only celebrities who played were those who did not match that contestant in previous rounds.
====Tiebreaker rounds====
If the players had the same score at the end of "regulation", the scores were reset to 0-0. On ''PM'' (or on the daytime show, if a tie was still not broken after two tiebreaker rounds), a time-saving variant of the tiebreaker was used that reversed the game play. The contestants would write their answers first on a card in secret, then the celebrities were canvassed to give their answers. The first celebrity response to match a contestant's answer gave that contestant the victory; if there were still no match (which was rare), the round was replayed with a new question. On the CBS version, the tiebreaker went on until there was a clear winner. If it came to the sudden-death tiebreaker, only the final question (the one that ultimately broke the tie) was kept and aired.
The CBS daytime version had returning champions and the show "straddled" — that is, episodes often began and ended with games in progress.
On the CBS daytime show, champions could stay until defeated or reached the network's limit of $25,000. Originally, that was the maximum earning for any champion, but the rule was later changed so that while champions were still retired after exceeding the $25,000 limit, they got to keep everything up to $35,000. During the six year run of ''Match Game'' on CBS, this only happened one time, and during the later "Star Wheel" bonus round era of the show.
On the daily '79-82 syndicated version, two contestants would play two matches against each other, and then both were retired. The show was timed out so that two new contestants appeared each Monday; this was necessary as the tapes of the show were shipped between stations, and weeks could not be aired in any discernible order (a common syndication practice at the time, known as "bicycling"). If a Friday show ran short, audience members sometimes got to play the game; this occurred on only three occasions.
Episodes of [[Match Game PM]] were self-contained, with two new contestants each week.
===Super Match===
The winner of the game went on to play the Super Match, which consisted of the Audience Match and the Head-to-Head Match segments, for additional money. On the CBS version, the winner of the game won $100.
====Audience Match====
A fill-in-the-blank phrase was given, and it was up to the contestant to choose the most common response based on a studio audience survey. After consulting with three celebrities on the panel for help, the contestant chose an answer. The answers were then revealed; the most popular answer in the survey was worth $500, the second-most popular $250, and the third most popular $100. If a contestant failed to match any of the three answers, the bonus round ended. [[Image:RayburnSuperMatchGame.jpg|275px|thumb|A contestant playing the Audience Match.]]
====Head-to-Head Match====
The contestant then had the opportunity to win 10 times what he or she won in the Audience Match by exactly matching another fill-in-the-blank response with a celebrity panelist of his or her choice (ergo, $5000, $2500 or $1000). If successful, he/she won the money accumulated in both parts of the round. Thus, a maximum of $5600 ($100 won for winning the match) could be won on the daytime version, or $10,600 when the Star Wheel was instituted.
[[Richard Dawson]] was the most frequently chosen celebrity in the 1970s version. His knack for matching contestants was so great that producers tried to discourage contestants from repeatedly choosing him, even before the introduction of the Star Wheel; a short-lived rule in 1975 stipulated that a returning champion could not choose the same celebrity again for the Head-to-Head Match, but this only lasted six weeks.
====The Star Wheel====
The "Star Wheel" was introduced in 1978 and was used until the show ended in 1982. Contestants spun the wheel to determine which celebrity they played with in the Head-to-Head Match, and could double their potential winnings if the wheel landed on one of the gold stars under each celebrity's name. The "Star Wheel" was also used in the 1990 version of the show.
===Ticket plugs===
''Match Game'' featured unusual ticket plugs where the producers would superimpose either the face or mouth of one celebrity or contestant onto another's head or use split-screens to combine these two people's faces into one image. They were first introduced in the summer of 1975 although it wasn't until the show moved to daily syndication in the summer of 1979 that they were shown on a daily basis. The 1990 revival used this sequence in the opening of the show, introducing the stars.
==Rule changes in other versions==
===''The Match Game'' (1962–1969)===
[[Image:08 jpg.jpg|thumb|An all-star episode of ''The Match Game'' from 1964.]]
For most of its life, the original series of ''The Match Game'' was aired live from [[New York (City)|New York]] on [[NBC]] during the late afternoons, and was a solid if unspectacular hit for the network at the time.
The gameplay of ''The Match Game'' bore little resemblance to its more famous descendant. Two three-person teams (one celebrity and two contestants) attempted to match answers to simple fill-in-the-blank questions, like "To a millionaire, ______ dollars is nothing," or "Name something you can open and shut." Two matching answers earned $25 for the team, and if all three answers matched, the team earned $50. The winning team moved on to a bonus round, the "audience match," and would guess the answers to a recent audience survey ("We asked 100 women, 'How much money should you spend for a hat?'"). Each teammate would think of an answer they felt was given most frequently by the audience, with each match being worth $50; thus, the top possible payout was $450.
Questions on this show were far less risqué than on its 1970s incarnation; most were simple open-ended questions, such as "Name a kind of flower" or "What is the first thing you do when you wake up?" This question format would later be used on ''[[Family Feud]]'', which in a very real sense was a ''Match Game'' spinoff. Also, these types of questions were common during the early weeks of ''Match Game 73''' revival on [[CBS]]-TV in 1973.
On [[March 27]], [[1967]], the show added a "Telephone Match" game, wherein a home viewer and a studio audience member attempted to match a simple fill-in-the-blank question similar to the 70s series' Head-to-Head Match. A successful match won a jackpot which started at $500 and increased by $100 per day until won.
===''The Match Game-Hollwood Squares Hour'' (1983–1984)===
[[Image:DzlItem426.jpg|right|175px|thumb|"It's time for the ''Match Game''...]]
[[Image:DzlItem425.jpg|right|175px|thumb|...''Hollywood Squares''...]]
[[Image:DzlItem427.jpg|right|175px|thumb|...''Hour''!]]
{{main|Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour}}
These rules were roughly the same as ''Match Game PM'' with both contestants given three chances apiece to match each panelist once. The major difference was in the tiebreaker. Four possible answers to a Super Match-like statement (example: "_____, New Jersey") were secretly shown to the contestants (examples: "Atlantic City," "Hoboken," "Newark," "Trenton"). They each chose one by number. The host then polled the celebrities for verbal responses, just as on the ''PM'' tiebreaker. The first panelist to give an answer selected by one of the contestants won the game for that contestant. The winner of the ''Match Game'' segment played the returning champion in the ''[[Hollywood Squares]]'' segment with the eventual winner of ''Squares'' playing the Super Match. The Audience Match featured payoffs of $1000, $500 and $250, while non-matching players were given $100. For the Head-to-Head Match, the contestant picked a celebrity, who revealed a hidden number (10, 20, 30); that number was multiplied by the contestant's Audience Match winnings to determine the grand prize ($30,000 was the top possible amount). Champions remained on the program for five days, which meant that a payoff of over $150,000 was possible, but no one ever won the Head-to-Head Match five days in a row on this version.
All episodes are presumed to be intact, but because of the cross-ownership ([[King World Productions]] currently owns the rights to ''Hollywood Squares,'' which at the time of ''MGHS'' was owned by [[Orion Pictures|Orion Television]]; [[FremantleMedia]] owns ''Match Game''), the ''Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour'' has never been rerun on any network.
===''Match Game'' (1990–1991)===
[[Image:mg90logo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The "Match Game" logo]]
[[Image:Image249.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The "Match Game" of 1990–1991]]
On the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] version, matches were worth money instead of points. Each match during the two Match Game rounds was worth $50. All panelists played both questions for each player, whether or not they matched in the first round.
After each round of questions, contestants were given a chance to build their scores further by playing a new round called "Match-Up!" with one panelist of their choice, similar to the Head-to-Head Match rules from 1973-78. This was a rapid-fire series of Super Match-style questions, with two possible answers given; the contestant chose one secretly, and the panelist picked the one s/he felt the contestant picked. This process continued until time expired. The first Match-Up! round was played for 30 seconds at $50 per match, while the second lasted 45 seconds for $100 per match. Whomever had the most money at the end of the second Match-Up! round won the game and kept the money; the loser went away with only parting gifts.
The Super Match was played identically to the 1978–82 version of the round (with a green arrow spinning around the Star Wheel instead of the actual wheel spinning and two red dots on each star's space as "double" spaces). Originally, the payoffs of $500–$250–$100 for the Audience Match were identical to the CBS version's payoff structure, with 'no match' giving the contestant the right to play for $500 or $1,000 in the Super Match. After a few weeks it changed to $500–$300–$200 for each Audience Match answer, or $1000/$2000 in the Super Match if unsuccessful.
In a [[GSN]] documentary about game show bloopers, there was a reel from this version where in the intro, Gene Wood introduced Ross Shafer, as a typical intro. Except, when Ross came down the stairs, he tripped and landed on his shoulder. Thankfully, he wasn't hurt, but the panel got around to teasing him that entire episode.
Due to many ABC stations carrying news at noon, the show did not get many clearances and was cancelled one year after its premiere -- its time slot being replaced by the expansion of "Home" from 60 to 90 minutes.
According to reports, [[Gene Rayburn]] had expressed interest in hosting this incarnation of ''Match Game'', but network executives considered him to be too old. [[Bert Convy]] also hosted a pilot for this version, but couldn't host due to a brain tumor, which later claimed his life. Charles Nelson Reilly was a regular on the show, and Brett Somers also appeared in several episodes.
All episodes of this version of the show are believed to be intact.
===''Match Game'' (1998–99)===
[[Image:matchgm0.jpg|thumb|the "Match Game '98" logo]]
[[Image:Mg985.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The "Match Game" of '98-'99]]
This incarnation of ''Match Game'' featured a panel of five celebrities instead of the usual six. Questions in this version were not labelled A or B, but instead, titles with puns were a clue as to the content (à la ''[[Win Ben Stein's Money]]''). Each match was worth one point in round one and two points in round two. As on the 1990–91 version, all five panelists played each round regardless of whether they matched a player on the first question. After two rounds, the highest scorer played Super Match, which was played identically to its 1973-78 incarnation, even matching the top prize of $5,000. If no match was made in the Audience Match portion of the Super Match, the contestant played for $500 in the Head-to-Head Match.
This version was noted for its sometimes over-the-top risqué humor of the celebrities and contestants. For instance, the prohibition on answers such as genitalia was no longer existent. On many episodes, answers that were deemed inappropriate for daytime TV were edited out with a "cuckoo" dubbed over the audible answer and a "CENSORED" graphic over the answer card and sometimes the person's mouth.
This version lasted a year and was cancelled in 1999; it has never been rerun, though brief clips have been seen on various game show blooper specials.
===''Gameshow Marathon'': ''Match Game'' (2006)===
On [[June 22]], [[2006]], ''Match Game'' was the sixth of seven classic game shows featured in CBS's month-long ''[[Gameshow Marathon (US TV series)|Gameshow Marathon]]'', hosted by [[Ricki Lake]]. The contestants were [[Kathy Najimy]] and [[Lance Bass]]. The game was played as the second of two "semi-final" games in the tournament, with panelists [[Betty White]], [[George Foreman]], [[Kathy Griffin]], [[Bruce Vilanch]], [[Adam Carolla]], and [[Adrianne Curry]]. Lake used the same signature long and skinny [[Sony]] ECM-51 microphone Rayburn used during the CBS version. In this episode, Najimy won the game, scoring five matches to Bass' three.
The format was that of ''Match Game PM'', except that the Head-to-Head Match was played for 50 times the amount won in the two Audience Matches. A revamped "''Match Game'' '73" sign was used.
==Music==
''Match Game'' has had several theme songs throughout its 35+ years. For the 1962 version (and continuing to 1967), the instrumental version of ''[[A Swingin' Safari]]'' was used as the theme. From 1967 to 1969, a new theme composed by [[Score Productions]] was adopted.
With the launch of ''Match Game '73,'' Goodson-Todman once again turned to Scrore Productions for a music package. A new theme was composed with a memorable "funk" guitar intro that grew to become one of the most famous game show themes of the 1970s. There are also alternate versions of the theme -- one shorter and one with bongos. The 1970s music package also contained the show's "think cues," i.e. cues used when the panel wrote down their answers, as well as two separate Head-to-Head Match cues, the ticket plug/consolation prize cue and a separate "[[burlesque]]" music cue.
In keeping with the zany atmosphere, the music supervisors would also use other notable musical works to add to humorous situations. Among the non-Score Productions music heard on occasion were the "burlesque" music ("[[The Stripper]]"), "[[There's No Business Like Show Business]]," "[[When the Saints Go Marching In]]", "[[Alexander's Ragtime Band]]," and "[[Stars and Stripes Forever]]." "[[Auld Lang Syne]]" was played on every New Year's Eve show from 1973 until 1979.
The music for the ''Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour'' was composed by [[Edd Kalehoff]]. None of the music used from the 1970s version was used in this revival. The main theme song and several of its cue versions are still used on ''The Price is Right''.
For the 1990 revival, Score Productions re-orchestrated the 1970s theme with more modern instruments. The think cues were also re-done, but stayed the same throughout; and one "Super Match" cue was penned. A new, simple opening cue was composed, but this cue was not used as a think cue.
The 1998 revival used music from Score Productions, but this theme was more of a spoof of the 1970s theme than a re-recording.
==Ratings==
===NBC version===
The original 1960s version consistently won its 4:00pm time slot on NBC. After the network suddenly cancelled its most popular game shows in 1969 in a major daytime programming overhaul, it was replaced with ''[[Letters to Laugh-In]]'' at a time when ''The Match Game'' was still doing well in the ratings. It finished third among all network daytime game shows for the 1963-1964 and 1967-1968 seasons, its highest season rating.
===CBS version===
When CBS revamped ''The Match Game'' in 1973, with more of a focus on risque humor, ratings more than doubled in comparison with the NBC incarnation. Within eleven weeks, ''Match Game '73'' was the most watched program on daytime television. By the summer of 1974, it grew into an absolute phenomenon with high school students and housewives, scoring remarkable ratings among the 12-34 year old age demographic. The show broke records as the highest-rated daytime television show ever. The best ratings this version of ''Match Game'' saw were in the 1975-1976 season when it drew an outstanding 12.5 rating with a 15 share (11 million viewers), higher numbers than that of some primetime series.
Among all network daytime television programs:
*1973-1974: #1
*1974-1975: #1
*1975-1976: #1
*1976-1977: #3
*1977-1978: Not in Top 3
*1978-1979: Not in Top 3
Among all network game shows:
*1973-1974: #1
*1974-1975: #1
*1975-1976: #1
*1976-1977: #1
*1977-1978: #2
*1978-1979: Not in Top 3
==Pilots==
*The original [[television pilot|pilot]] was produced in 1962 with celebrity guests [[Peggy Cass]] and [[Peter Lind Hayes]].
*The pilot for "the 1973 edition of ''Match Game''", as Olson called it on-air, circulates among video tape collectors. The celebrities in that episode were [[Bert Convy]], [[Arlene Francis]], [[Jack Klugman]], [[Jo Ann Pflug]], [[Richard Dawson]] and [[Betty White]], all of whom appeared in the series at one time or another. Differences from the series were purely cosmetic (slightly different contestant & panel podiums, minor color differences, SUPER-MATCH originally called "Jackpot Match", etc.).
*A version of ''Match Game'', hosted by [[Gene Rayburn]], had been planned to broadcast in syndication starting in fall 1987. Everything was set to go until (reportedly) an episode of ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'' aired before the show started taping had reported Rayburn's true age as 70, instead of the early-to-mid-sixties that the producers had believed. The version was scrapped, as it was believed that Rayburn was "too old."
*[[Bert Convy]] was originally selected to host the 1990 ABC version, but he was diagnosed with a [[brain tumor]] before the series went into production and was replaced by [[Ross Shafer]]. Convy died just three days after the last episode of that version aired. A clip from one of the Convy-hosted pilots aired on [[VH1]]'s ''[[Game Show Moments Gone Bananas]]'' in 2005.
*A pilot was shot in 1997 for a revised version of the show, to be called ''Match Game 2,'' with [[Charlene Tilton]] (a panelist on the 1979-82 version) to host. It featured gameplay routines unheard of in the history of the show:<br>- Instead of the celebrities writing down answers and contestants providing them verbally, ''MG2'' switched the roles around, similar to the tiebreaker in Match Game PM.<br>- In the Super Match, the Head-To-Head Match was thrown out and a "Panel Poll" took its place. In the "Panel Poll," each celebrity was given a choice of three adjectives, and the contestant had to guess who picked what at $100 per match. (In the Audience Match, instead of having the third, second and most popular answers worth money, they were worth multiples of the contestant's earnings: the third most popular would double the "Panel Poll" winnings, the second most popular would multiply it by 4, and the most popular would multiply it by 5 for a top prize of only $2,500.)<br>Many elements of the pilot, such as a change from a six-celebrity panel to a five-celebrity panel, were kept in for a second pilot shot a year later (with Michael Burger as host), which would eventually lead to the 1998 revival.
*Vanity Fair and TVgameshows.net [http://www.matchgameomeedy.i8.com/custom2.html reported in May 2004] a pilot for a remake of ''Match Game''. Called ''What the Blank!'', it was taped for [[FOX]], and hosted by [[Fred Willard]]; however, this production is now officially dead. It was said that the game was apparently an incorporation of 21st century elements into the classic game and also, a feature was added that people from along the streets would be able to participate for matching with contestants and celebrities in ''[[Street Smarts (game show)|Street Smarts]]''-style.
*FremantleMedia pitched a new version of ''Match Game'' in syndication for the 2007-08 season; a pilot was made, but was not picked up, and the production is now officially dead. As of yet, there are no new plans to revive the game show.
==Related products==
===Home versions===
{{main|Match Game (home game)}}
[[Milton Bradley Company|Milton Bradley]] created all the home versions of the show from the 60s and 70s versions. Six editions were created for the 60s show, differing from the series in scoring and bonus game format. The more popular 70s version had three editions, the first two consisting of generally straightforward questions; the third edition better reflected the show's change into a comedy-driven game. In addition, [[Endless Games]] will be releasing a DVD edition of the game in late 2007. They have already released DVD editions of ''[[The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)|The Price is Right]]'', ''[[Password (TV series)|Password]]'' and ''[[Newlywed Game]]''.[http://endlessgames.com/new1.html#matchdvd]
===Internet versions===
After success with the online version of ''[[Family Feud]]'', Uproar.com released a single-player version of ''MG''. However, as of [[September 30]] [[2006]], Uproar.com shut down, no longer offering games or content of any kind.
[[Game Show Network|GSN]] offered an interactive version of the game on their website that allows users to play along with episodes of the show as they air. However, as of January 1, 2007, only those shows airing between 7 PM and 10 PM are interactive; ''Match Game'' is not among these.
===DVD editions===
A "Best of" DVD of the 1970s edition was released on [[November 21]], [[2006]]. This "best of" set consists of four DVDs with thirty original episodes including prize plugs and ticket plugs. The set includes a selection of notable episodes along with random episodes from throughout the run. Notable episodes include the first CBS Daytime episode, [[Kirstie Alley]]'s appearances before she became an actress as well as a young [[Jamie Lee Curtis]] on the panel (also notable for Gene destroying the doors in the intro), the 1962 NBC pilot, the last syndicated episode, a female contestant responding to a question with an answer "boobs", the lower tier impersonating the upper tier, Gene striking the cue card holder as well as fighting with a camera, the "School Riot" episode, and Brett and Charles' first appearances on the panel.
Another DVD is currently in the works called ''Best of Match Game: Dumb Dora Special Edition'', with a release date of March 13, 2007. Apperently, this DVD is the first disc that was included in "The Best of Match Game" collection.
===Slot machine===
''Match Game'' has been incorporated into a casino slot machine. This version features five simulated reels and a simulation of Rayburn as the host. It recreates the 1973–1982 version of the show, with Reilly, Somers, [[Jimmie Walker]], [[Rip Taylor]], [[Vicki Lawrence]] and [[Morgan Fairchild]] as the celebrity players. The slot machine's bonus rounds are faithful to the original game format -- one round is adapted from the main game, the second from the "SuperMatch" bonus round. (Morgan Fairchild never appeared as a panelist on the Rayburn version of Match Game.)
==Versions outside the United States Of America==
In the [[United Kingdom]], it was known as ''[[Blankety Blank]]'' and was presented by [[Terry Wogan]], [[Les Dawson]] and [[Lily Savage]].
In [[Australia]], it is known as ''[[Blankety Blanks]]'', and has been presented by [[Graham Kennedy]], [[Daryl Somers]] and [[Shane Bourne]]. (This show is not to be confused with an [[Blankety Blanks (US game show)|American show by the same name]], appearing on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] and hosted by [[Bill Cullen]].) Like many Australian game shows during the 1970s-1990s, the 1977-1980 Kennedy version was remarkably similar to the American show, right down to the set, "spinning box" opening and "Get ready to match the stars!" tagline. The signature music from the American version was not used, however.
''The Match Game'' also had an Australian spinoff with the same name hosted by Michael McCarthy.
[[The Netherlands]] also had its own version during the mid-1980s. It had the same title as the UK version.
In [[Germany]], ''Match Game'' had a 150-episode run as ''Punkt, Punkt, Punkt'' (Dot, Dot, Dot - an allusion to an [[ellipsis]]) in the early 1990s on satellite and cable network [[:de:Sat.1|Sat.1]]. The show was hosted by [[:de:Mike Krüger|Mike Krüger]].
In [[Mexico]], the game was called ''Espacio en Blanco'' (Blank Space) and was hosted by Mauricio Barcelata. The show had a 40-episode run in 2006.
In [[Quebec]], the game was called ''L'union fait la farce'' and aired in the late 1970s on TVA.
==References in pop culture==
{{Trivia|date=June 2007}}
*In July 2006, it was a mentioned topic in the 1973 episode of [[VH1]]'s nostalgia miniseries, ''[[I Love the '70s Volume II]]''.
*In the 2001 ''[[Family Guy]]'' episode, "[[Mr. Saturday Knight]]", Chris is seen watching reruns of ''Match Game'', with Gene Rayburn reading this question to the panel: "Forgetful Freddy was so forgetful that when ever he tried to remember someone's name, he drew a blank."
*A 1994 episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', entitled "[[Bart Gets Famous]]", implies that the set of ''Match Game 2034'' would be similar to the post-modern atmosphere of ''[[The Jetsons]]''.
*In the movie [[Private Parts (1997 film)]], based on [[Howard Stern]]'s book of the same name, Stern and company are shown playing ''Match Game'' during one of his morning shows, with Stern himself playing ''Gene Sternburn''.
*''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' referenced the show in a parody of ''[[Inside the Actor's Studio]]'', featuring [[Alec Baldwin]] as Charles Nelson Reilly, in 2001. [[Will Ferrell]] as [[James Lipton]] raves about the show in flowery terms, making up a word - [[scrumtrilescent]] - to describe its brilliance. Rayburn also made a cameo in an earlier episode of SNL in 1990 as himself.
*''Match Game'' is mentioned numerous times in Reilly's 2006 motion picture, [http://www.charlesnelsonreilly.com ''The Life of Reilly''].
*[[TV Guide]] and [[TV Land]] created a television special in December 2005 which counted down their list of the 100 most unexpected TV moments. The ''Match Game '77'' School Riot, in which panelists Debralee Scott and Richard Dawson revolt when the judges do not accept "finishing school" as a match for "school", ranked #82 on the list.
*In January 2001, ''Match Game'' was listed as #10 on [[TV Guide]]'s list of the 50 greatest game shows of all-time.
*"Match Game" is a recurring segment on the radio programs ''Loveline'' , ''The [[Don and Mike]] Show'' and ''[[The Dan Patrick Show]]'', as well as on local morning shows across the country.
*A modified Match Game would occasionally be played on MTV's ''[[Remote Control (game show)|Remote Control]].'' Host Ken Ober's questions would generally be raunchier than ''MG'' standards, and the contestant scored points for matching either co-hosts Colin Quinn, Kari Wuhrer or musician Steve Treccase.
* [[Mystery Science Theater 3000]] made several references to the show while watching movie segments and, in one of the sketches, Crow T. Robot does a one man show ("Give 'em Hell, Blank") about the Match Game, playing Gene Rayburn as well as all six panelists, including Nipsey Russell and Charles Nelson Reilly. He closes with an unusually somber monologue (as Rayburn) about growing old.
* A ''[[Will & Grace]]'' episode showed the main characters watching eight back-to-back episodes of ''Match Game '73'', with [[Karen Walker (character)|Karen]] humming the theme tune and remarking how she loved the [[Game Show Network]].
==External links (12)==
* [http://mywebpages.comcast.net/matchgame/ The Match Game Wallpaper Factory]
* [http://members.lycos.co.uk/gameshowpage/GSP.html The ''Match Game'' Homepage]
* [http://thematchgamewebsite.com/ The Match Game Website]
* [http://mg.dpcphoto.com/ Match Game PM - The Definitive Site]
* [http://www.topiclink.com/gameshows/Shows/matchgame All Game Show Page : Match Game]
* [http://www.curtalliaume.com/mg.html/ ''Match Game '75/Match Game PM'']
* [http://www.ukgameshows.com/index.php/Blankety_Blank UK Gameshows Page: ''Blankety Blanks'']
* [http://sgsa.gameshowvideos.com/mg.php Funny Match Game answers]
* {{imdb title|0055688|title=The Match Game (1962)}}
* {{imdb title|0072541|title=Match Game PM}}
* {{imdb title|0069608|title=Match Game '73}}
* {{imdb title|0098860|title=Match Game '90}}
=== Match Game Video Clip Site(s) (4) ===
* [http://youtube.com/user/SuperPAC SuperPAC's YouTube Match Game Video Collection]
* [http://youtube.com/profile?user=mrmatchgame The Match Game Website on Youtube(Temporary Home)]
* [http://youtube.com/botsicle5439 Botsicle's Match Game 7x Videos]
* [http://mywebpages.comcast.net/matchgame/ The Match Game Wallpaper Factory]
[[Category:Panel games]]
[[Category:American game shows]]
[[Category:Goodson-Todman game shows]]
[[Category:NBC network shows]]
[[Category:American Broadcasting Company network shows]]
[[Category:CBS network shows]]
[[Category:First-run syndicated television programs]]
[[Category:Television series by FremantleMedia]]
[[Category:1962 television program debuts]]
[[Category:1969 television program series endings]]
[[Category:1973 television program debuts]]
[[Category:1982 television program series endings]]
[[Category:1960s American television series]]
[[Category:1970s American television series]]
[[Category:1980s American television series]]
[[Category:1990s American television series]]
[[simple:Match Game]]
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