Milestones ain't what they used to be

In a puff piece about ABC's upcoming Thursday of game shows, a show biz site claims that the debuting episode of Match Game is a "milestone" for host Alec Baldwin. After all, it will be his 58th ep of the storied fill-in-the-blanks format.

I'm not sure about that number. Wikipedia (usual caveats) says that the show has already run 59 episodes. But whatever the exact count, it strikes me that the "milestone" is a little cheap compared to the show's classic format, the 1973-82 run. The same Wikipedia article counts more than 2,200 eps of that memorable version.

Somewhere out there is an oldies freak who knows the exact episode count for the old Match Game. I once did a quick estimate based on the online episode guide, and lost track when I got up over two thousand.

Nowadays any prime time series that can last for sixty or so eps has something to be proud of. So I don't begrudge the current Match Game's "milestone." In fact, I think the ABC show is the best effort yet to revive the beloved 1973-82 version. Alec and company have never been a runaway hit, but their show is far from terrible.

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