The Best Of Match Game (BCI Eclipse/1973 version)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B Episodes: B+
The game
show began on the radio, but was itself in the spirit of contests that range
from lotteries to contests in theaters to other games of chance. When they came to television, some were this
and most of the early ones were interesting.
Some were TV versions of shows that were hits on the radio. With TV being a more visual medium, seeing
the prizes like on The Price Is Right
made it a more interesting show and seeing things like dollar amounts and words
heightened the visual involvement. No
show managed to find the total synergy of all the new possibilities and take
them to new highs though like Match Game.
Previously
a so-so success in a different format for NBC, Mark Goodson & Bill Todman tried the show again by
upping the stars ala Hollywood Squares,
but picked more character actors and interesting personalities with exceptional
wit. In addition, the show was the first
with a hip Rock/Funk theme song and at a time when so many game shows were good
and smart (Joker’s Wild, Password) treating the viewer with
regard and respect, Match Game
relaunched in 1973 and not only became a hit, but a true event.
Never had
a game show featured so much chemistry and wit on screen, as well as
exceptional taste and talent behind the scenes.
Only matched by the endurance of the Bob Barker Price Is Right, the amazing energy, cleverness and good taste the
Goodson/Todman showed with Match Game
is nothing short of remarkable. They
kept finding the best material for contestants to respond to, we sly in the way
they played the censors at the time and the show picked up like a pebble
becoming a giant comet that reflected the mood of the country and
counterculture all the way to the end.
The new 4-DVD Best Of Match Game
set from BCI Eclipse does a great job of picking the best shows to demonstrate
the rise and rise of the series.
Even the
packaging imitates the sets and its lighting to a tee, especially when you move
it back and forth in the light. It is
one of the best pieces of DVD packaging we have ever seen, but even more
exciting are all the great shows inside the DigiPak pullout. If anything, when you remove the commercials,
the show is even more hilarious. See too
how the sets change, the big wheel is introduced and also changes and how the
show just gets funnier and funnier.
The first
disc has a few of the early shows starting with the pilot, then the set jumps
around to show key episodes throughout its legendary run, a run that feels like
it has never ended long after the series folded. The one word that describes the show and the
reason people always watch is surprises.
The answers are some of them, the responses to those are another. How they match always offers the
unexpected. Then there are the many
stars. Obviously, Brett Somers, Charles
Nelson Reilly, Fannie Flagg and Richard Dawson became the most successful and
popular celebrities the show featured in making them more popular, but the
guest list seems unreal when you think of stars today. Betty White was also a regular.
This
offer stars you’ll find in this set include McLean Stevenson, Jack Klugman,
Michael Landon, Vickie Lawrence, Jo Ann Pflug, Anita Gillette, Bert Convy, Jaye
P. Morgan, Steve Allen, Kaye Ballard, Eva Gabor, Arte Johnson, Avery Schreiber,
Nancy Kulp, Joyce Bulifant, William Shatner, Lee Meriwether, Mary Wickes, Ed
Asner, Debralee Scott, Patti Deutsch, Jamie Lee Curtis, Foster Brooks, Marcia
Wallace, Elaine Joyce, Dick Martin, Robert Pine, Bob Barker, Bart Braverman,
Richard Paul, Arlene Francis, Richard Thomas, Dick Gautier, Jack Carter,
Shelley Winters, Scoey Mitchell, Joan Collins, Bill Daily, Robert Walden and
Rita Moreno.
If you
don’t know all those celebrities by name, you sure know them on sight in many
cases and should if not. Once you start
watching them here, you’ll see why. But
let’s not forget host Rayburn, who managed to be the most hilarious ringmaster
possible. He kept the show going and to
juggle all the content, talent and energy was not easy. He was amazing and like so many of the
celebrities here, it is hard to believe he is no longer with us. After all, here they are will all kinds of
life, joy and laughs. It is no surprise
that Match Game is the first classic
game show to hit DVD. The rewatchability
of this set is amazing and is one of the best TV on DVD sets we’ll see all
year.
If you
have been watching the show on TV all your life, you will be surprised how good
the 1.33 X 1 analog, professional, full color NTSC image looks throughout this
set. Color and definition are even
better than the various broadcast copies we have seen over the years. One of the reasons is the sets are just great
and were nicely lit in a way no game show had lit their sets before. Makes you think the upping of stars made the
producers think Laugh-In. Either way, they hold up as well as most
videotaped TV productions in their time and that is amazing.
Besides
the classic theme song, the Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono has the stars, Rayburn and
players dialogue to concern itself with.
I wonder why this was not 2.0 Mono, but this still sounds better than
many other 1.0 TV and film releases we have heard on DVD. Hopefully, its popularity made the archivists
take care of the masters. The
combination is better than any previous presentations of the shows, which make
them all the more fun to watch.
Extras
include stills, A Tribute To Gene Rayburn, series highlights, exclusive
interview with a very blunt Brett Somers who hosts the previous programs and
the debut of the original version of the show in 1962. This pilot was launched on NBC, was in black
and white, was hosted by Rayburn and had a very different set-up. Two teams of two contestants were each joined
by a celebrity helper and they tried to match the puzzles. It’s amazing how a few changes made it into a
classic. There are more laughs here than
in most comedy collections and it is no wonder why this is one of the most
celebrated and even loved game shows of all time.
The Best Of Match Game showcases well one of the few
game shows that ever became a watershed classic. If you have only seen it on TV, you should
see this set. We hope to see more.
- Nicholas Sheffo
