It was 45 years ago today

A critic on a pop culture site reminds us that Match Game - or at least its most memorable version - celebrates an anniversary today. Forty-five years ago on July 2, 1973, after a delay because of the Watergate hearings, Gene Rayburn and friends unleashed the first episode of what would be nine years of dumb Dora and old man Periwinkle. YouTube has the first ep if you're historically inclined.

Richard Dawson was in the, well, Richard Dawson seat, but Brett and Charles were nowhere in sight. It's a little odd to see Vicki Lawrence sitting where Brett should sit, and more than a little odd to see Brett's eventual ex Jack Klugman sitting where Charles should sit. Funny how things go round.

The linked article is okay, though the writer goes SJW with a required racial dump: "Okay, it's really white but it's still diverse for 1973" [emphasis in the original]. In fact, one of the contestants on the first ep was African-American - a lady named Stanley, believe it or not - and there would be plenty of other panelists and contestants of various ethnicities over the years. The article plods on with more such p.c. pleading, though you get used to that stuff in the pop culture media nowadays.

Of course, what the show really was, was fun. Even nowadays you can set aside your cares and worries and just let the silly humor coast you through a half-hour. And yes, it was the greatest game show ever.

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