At last, the show that became my favorite as a pubescent and post-pubescent boy in the 1970s is out on DVD! Where else could a kid pick up vocabulary like "boobs" and "tinkling" and "derriere"? Gene Rayburn was one of the most underrated TV personalities of all time, starting out as the "Ed McMahon" to Steve Allen's Tonight Show; and Match Game was the feather in his cap. With an ensemble to loonies like Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Richard Dawson, Betty White, Fannie Flagg, Joyce Bulifant, and Patti Deutsch, I could count on a half-hour party every day I came home from school. However, my parents might not have approved, but luckily they were both at work!
I had watched the reruns on Game Show Network, but couldn't stand the cropping, the annoying logos, and worst of all, speeding up the tape to make room for more commercials. Now at last, I can sit back and watch 30 episodes mostly complete, and I say "mostly" because the famous ticket plugs (where one celebrity's face would be superimposed over another's body and so forth) are missing.
I rate the DVD set an 8 mainly because the episodes chosen cover a general spread of the show's nine year run instead of concentrating more on MG's peak years in 74-77. It does have an interview with Match Game's reigning queen, Brett Somers, but the interview was not edited well. (It was just a question flashing on the screen then cutting to Brett for the answer). Also, Brett appears in the brief tribute to Gene Rayburn, which could also have been better, but better than nothing. And nowhere does Match Game's "prince" Charles Nelson Reilly appear in any interviews. Not sure if it's because Charles did not want to participate or if the producers of this DVD didn't think to ask him for an interview (???), but this is a glaring omission.
Other than that, I'm blankin' happy with the DVDs and hope it's the first of many more releases to come.
I had watched the reruns on Game Show Network, but couldn't stand the cropping, the annoying logos, and worst of all, speeding up the tape to make room for more commercials. Now at last, I can sit back and watch 30 episodes mostly complete, and I say "mostly" because the famous ticket plugs (where one celebrity's face would be superimposed over another's body and so forth) are missing.
I rate the DVD set an 8 mainly because the episodes chosen cover a general spread of the show's nine year run instead of concentrating more on MG's peak years in 74-77. It does have an interview with Match Game's reigning queen, Brett Somers, but the interview was not edited well. (It was just a question flashing on the screen then cutting to Brett for the answer). Also, Brett appears in the brief tribute to Gene Rayburn, which could also have been better, but better than nothing. And nowhere does Match Game's "prince" Charles Nelson Reilly appear in any interviews. Not sure if it's because Charles did not want to participate or if the producers of this DVD didn't think to ask him for an interview (???), but this is a glaring omission.
Other than that, I'm blankin' happy with the DVDs and hope it's the first of many more releases to come.