Missed it

After all the hoopla on the game show Interwebs about Buzzr digging up Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour, I have a confession to make.

I just forgot about Buzzr's mini-marathon of the show yesterday. In fact, I didn't watch much TV at all on Sunday, except for a little Cash Cab on GSN. But I remember MGHSH (what an acronym) from its first run, and I've recently seen some of it on YouTube. So my forgetfulness was no big deal.

When I rambled through the game show boards today, I was soon reminded that at least a few other people caught the Buzzr eps. The reaction was mixed, to say the least. One conflicted poster put it this way...

I must say the show is such a strange mess, I kind of love it.

I think the real meaning of this comment is: "I must say the show is such an old mess, I kind of love it." Really, except for nostalgia values - they kept the fee plugs! - the reaction around the boards was very subdued. And these were oldies fans, the easiest audience in the world for the show.

Long story short, conventional wisdom is right about this effort. The Match Game half was so-so and the Hollywood Squares half was a disaster. Mark Goodson, always haunted by the rigging scandals, wouldn't allow scripting of the celebs, and that's necessary for Hollywood Squares to work. And Jon Bauman was too stiff, dull and all-round awkward.

The show is now gone from the Buzzr schedule. It'll be interesting to see how much play it gets whenever it returns.

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