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Einzelgaenger
Reviews
The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blanks (2006)
Not bad, but could've been better
Maybe it's my own personal bias after being a fan of Match Game since 1975, but this retrospective, while a nice effort, needed MORE. Perhaps because it was only about 42 minutes (after commercials), or because there were no interviews with Fannie Flagg or Joyce Bulifant or Patti Deutsch, the semi-regulars who had their own special rapport with the cast. The most glaring omission interview-wise is Charles Nelson Reilly, who provided that inimitable manic lunacy with on-screen cohort Brett Somers, who was terrific in the interviews. I'm not sure why Reilly was not interviewed, though there are rumors he's in ill health. But then again, there were rumors he died several years ago, (which he took great offense at), so who knows.
Also, the brief interview clips of Richard Dawson were not recent. You can tell because his hair still has some brown in it, and the last time Dawson appeared on a Family Feud special on GSN, his hair was snow-white. (This was at least six years ago.) On the plus side, the interview with Gene Rayburn's daughter Lynn was very touching, and kind of sad when she talked about her father's last years. And of course, a vintage interview with the man himself from the early 1990's was quite charming.
The choice of clips were appropriate; as were most of the interviewees (except for Louie Anderson). Let's hope a DVD version is released with much more material.
Match Game 73 (1973)
Finally a DVD set!!
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.