User:Daniel Benfield/Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour Video Archive

NBC Daytime: October 31, 1983 - July 27, 1984 (191 episodes, taped at NBC Studios in Burbank)

The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour was a great idea with a phenomenal audiovisual package...but what made Mark Goodson think Squares should be treated like Match? No Zingers were given to the celebs, and the insipid style of questions they started using partway into the run meant no room to bluff and far less "punch" to whatever Zingers the celebs could come up with. There were no regular panelists from week to week, either, which really hurt the chemistry and prevented the show from developing any rapport like the ones that had helped make Match a nine-year hit.

It doesn't help that, per Adam Nedeff, Peter Marshall was never involved - he planned to pitch a Squares revival himself due to owning a stake in the show, but made a bad business deal and lost that stake...and then a couple of NBC execs got pissed off at him for some reason and made the Hour deal behind his back. Goodson's original idea for the Hour was to have Gene Rayburn host throughout, but NBC insisted that Squares needed a separate host - and, evidently still pissed at Marshall, insisted on Jon Bauman.

It's clear Gene's having fun during the Match portions, but when Squares rolls around his mood drops. He openly lamented the botched Squares execution in at least one episode, and in later years he remarked that while Bauman was a nice guy, he simply "didn't have hosting chops". Bauman, on the other hand, apparently didn't have great experiences with the show, though I think he did his best with what he was given.

This is, also, to date, the last time that Squares has been revived on network television. The revivals that have been done since then were either syndicated or on cable.

The Hour seems to have been quickly forgotten, as it was the subject of a Jeopardy! clue (itself part of a "Game Shows" category) on October 1, 1985 and nobody buzzed in. For context, the other clues included references to College Bowl, Just Men!, and Split Second, and the players understood those just fine. I think it really says a lot when a show that ended just 14 months earlier gets blank stares while a clue asking for an Allen Ludden show where he quizzed "campus combatants" gets a correct response (especially since he left in 1962 and had been succeeded by three hosts since then).

Ever since production of first-run episodes ended, the Hour had never been in reruns due to cross-ownership - Fremantle owns Match, whereas MGM Television owns the 1965-89 eras of Squares due to having bought Orion in 1997 (they had bought Marshall-era syndicator Filmways around 1982, which had itself bought Heatter-Quigley Productions around 1970); current Squares owner CBS has no involvement. This changed in 2019, when Buzzr aired a four-episode marathon on February 17 and adding the show to the regular schedule on September 30. This also permanently debunks the long-circulated rumor that Gene put an embargo on the show (though he definitely put one on his next series, Break the Bank, mainly because Kline & Friends kinda treated him terribly - but that's for another Video Archive).

Celebs are listed in the order they're introduced: the five for Match, then the other three for Squares. Big thanks to MatchGame.org (via Internet Archive) for much of the below placement. :)

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos, none of which were uploaded by me, for the purposes of research and as a public record. Footage ©1983-84 Mark Goodson Productions/Orion Television/Fremantle and associated entities.

AND ANOTHER THING: A bit silly, but also pretty interesting - courtesy of Adam Nedeff and Brendan McLaughlin, here's a list of 10 (technically 12) celebs who were strangely absent from this show for its entire run.

Pilot
Had three players in the Match portion (the third podium was simply removed for the series) and the Squares contestant podiums were blue, but the biggest change was in the Head-To-Head Match - instead of each star having a multiplier, they instead had two tabs with an "X" and "O". One had their name, the other had a random amount. Picking the amount added it to the Audience Match earnings, while picking the name meant playing the Head-To-Head with that celebrity. Revealing all nine amounts meant playing the Head-To-Head with the last picked celeb for $100,000.


 * October 25, 1983 (Debut promo, with pilot clips)

1983
For at least the first three weeks, Gene and Jon give a brief explanation of the show after they walk out. For the rest of the run, barring a couple of special weeks, after walking out they go straight over to the celebrity area and Jon takes his seat.

Originally, there was no pattern of tiny squares on the front of Jon's podium (in the blue portion surrounded by small squares). That was added in December.

No episode aired on November 24 (Thanksgiving).

October-November
 * October 31, 1983 (Promo)
 * October 31, 1983 (#001/Premiere: Skip Stephenson, Alison Arngrim, Jimmie Walker, Twyla Littleton, Phil Proctor, Tom Villard, Barbi Benton, Bill Daily; Laurie vs. David, with designated champ Stacy; taped from WNBC with most commercials and a Contestant Plug, ends during sponsor list)
 * [The Squares questions are actually pretty straightforward, and several are even open-ended! Why didn't these stick?!]
 * November 1, 1983 (#002: Tom Villard, Barbi Benton, Skip Stephenson, Alison Arngrim, Bill Daily, Jimmie Walker, Twyla Littleton, Phil Proctor; begins with Sarah vs. Randy; Buzzr broadcast, with commercials {alternate copies: full show #1, from original broadcast with Ticket Plug; full show #2a, #2b, and #2c, same as alt #1; intro only, from a master copy})
 * November 3, 1983 (#004: Skip Stephenson, Alison Arngrim, Bill Daily, Twyla Littleton, Phil Proctor, Tom Villard, Barbi Benton, Jimmie Walker; Conny vs. Laurie {not the same one as above}, with Gary {Day 2 - $5,975} playing later; taped from WNBC, with commercials and a Ticket Plug!)
 * [Gene, after a rotten Match answer: "I think Dream House is working next door."]


 * November 10, 1983 (#009: Bonnie Urseth, Fred Travalena, Nedra Volz, Eddie Mekka, Arsenio Hall, Ed Begley Jr., Shannon Tweed, Charles Nelson Reilly. Sari vs. Bermia, with Joseph {Day 3 - $3,600} playing later; Buzzr broadcast {alternate copy from original hroadcast with Ticket Plug, uploader watermark in bottom-left corner throughout, audio/video issues during second question of Match Round 1})

December
 * December 1983 (Martha Smith, Fred Grandy, Michael Winslow, Edie McClurg, McLean Stevenson, Jay Leno, Karen Witter, Charles Siebert; studio master, Squares clip only)
 * [From the week of December 5-9. Jon's podium still has no pattern of squares in the blue rectangular portion.]

Pattern of squares added to blue rectangular portion of Jon's podium (began by 12/26/83)
 * December 26, 1983 (#040/Salute to Leave It To Beaver, Day 1: Gallagher, Barbara Billingsley, Richard Deacon, Ken Osmond, Jerry Mathers, Frank Bank, Jeri Weil, Rich Correll; Rene vs. Kay, with Cindy {Day 3 - $32,800!} playing later; has a Contestant Plug!)
 * [Jon notes that this is the start of a brand-new week for the champ, and that she won the $30,000 on her first day. Also, Gallagher only really seems to be here to fulfill the show's "at least one comedian on the panel per week, because no regulars and also shut up" protocol.]


 * December 29, 1983 (#043/Salute to Leave It To Beaver, Day 4: Gallagher, Richard Deacon, Ken Osmond, Jeri Weil, Jerry Mathers, Barbara Billingsley, Frank Bank, Rich Correll {Part 3, Part 4}; Patti vs. Andrea, with Rick {Day 2 - $1,600} playing later; has a Contestant Plug, begins just after Gallagher leaves the stage during the intro, average quality, "whiny" audio)
 * [Jon notes that Rick was on "yesterday".]

1984
No episodes aired on January 2, July 4, or July 6.

The Telephone Match, last seen on the original Match Game in 1969, is used at least three times this year: the weeks of January 23, February 13, and June 4.

For at least the February and June contests, the rules were like this: of the cards sent in by viewers and received no later than a specified date (February 3 and May 16, respectively), one would be drawn for each episode and that viewer called (Gene notes "in the evening", adding "on weekends" for the February contest) to play a Head-To-Head Match with one of that day's Match celebs. Being called awarded $500, which was the viewer's to keep regardless, although matching the celeb of their choice awarded an extra $5,000 and an appearance on one of the network's soap operas. The February and June contests also had different address graphics and slightly different addresses.

Sometime between February 13 and March 2, the bumper slide displayed at some commercial outros and after the first mid-show fee plug was slightly altered from using a three-tone blue background (itself based on the front of the celebrities' area) to using a solid blue using the darkest blue shade from the previous slide.

Sometime between March 26 and April 23, the bumper was overhauled from the show's logo to a 20-square grid with 11 silhouettes. By about May 10, this was shrunk down to 12 squares and six silhouettes, with Gene and Jon's heads put onto two of them.

January
 * January 16-19, 1984 (Ellen Bry, Richard Kline, Lyle Waggoner, Phyllis Diller, BILL CULLEN!, Linda Dano, Brian Mitchell, Jay Leno; most of Super-Match segment with Susie Fantuzzi, "shaky-cam" upload but really good quality otherwise)
 * [Per the uploader, Susie won $20,000 the next day (Phyllis had the 30 on that show).]


 * January 23-27, 1984 (Promo for this week's Telephone Match contest)
 * [Time frame based on the preceding promo for World War III (first aired 1/31/82), airing Saturday; said miniseries was re-shown 1/28-29/84. Gene doesn't mention the $5,000 (only "a day on an NBC soap opera"), suggesting that the cash was added later.]


 * January 31, 1984 (Tom Poston, Fern Fitzgerald, Constance McCashin, Marty Cohen, ALAN THICKE, Stephen Schnetzer, Gloria Loring, Nipsey Russell; Janet vs. Laurie, with Ron {Day 4 - $4,875} playing later and a Match question about NBC; taped from WTCN with Ticket and Contest Plugs, begins as Constance walks out during the intro {first two names' order is guessed})
 * [I think this episode, perhaps more than any of the others I've seen, demonstrates what I said above about Gene's mood: he's upbeat and clearly having fun during Match (especially when he has rotten answers to play off of or, in this case, a Contest Plug that's a mile long and full of legalese), but when Squares rolls around...not so much.]

February
 * February 6-9, 1984 (Larry Manetti, Charles Nelson Reilly, Marcia Wallace, Helen Reddy, PAT SAJAK!, Tim Reid, SALLY JULIAN!, Bruce Baum; Denise vs. Sandi, with Adrienne playing later; brief Squares clip only)
 * [Between #069 and #072.]


 * February 13, 1984 (#074: Richard Kline, Bill Daily, Leonard Frey, Nancy Stafford, George Gobel, Tom Wiggin, Elaine Joyce, Jimmie Walker {taped 2/84}; Mark vs. Kari, with Desiree {Day 2 - $21,875!} playing later; taped WNBC with commercials and a Contestant Plug, video is a bit "frizzy" but otherwise fine)
 * [First day of a Telephone Match contest. Home viewer says she wrote in for the contest "about three days ago". Bumper slide still looks the same as it did at the beginning of the run.]

March

Bumper slide background becomes solid blue (began by 3/2/84)
 * March 2, 1984 (#088/Too Close for Comfort Week, Finale: Ted Knight, Nancy Dussault, Lydia Cornell, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Jm. J. Bullock, Elyse Knight, Arsenio Hall, Bart Braverman {taped 2/19/84}; Mike vs. Michele, with Joyce {Day 3 - $33,050!} playing later; studio master with slate and Contestant Plug, audio/video is a bit off)
 * [Jon notes that Joyce has been on two days and won the Super-Match both times (for $20,000 and $10,000, respectively). For whatever reason, Deborah's name graphic during the intro reads "VAN DEBORAH VALKENBURGH"...which looks kinda sloppy.]


 * March 6-8, 1984 (BOB EUBANKS, Martha Smith, Christopher Rich, Charles Nelson Reilly, Fred Travalena, James Sloyan, Erin Moran, Nancy Frangione; June vs. Sylvia, with Charlotte playing later; has a Contestant Plug, announcer-related portions only, ends shortly after fee plugs)
 * [Johnny Olson fills in for Gene Wood this week. Bumper slide is still the same as it was on the 2nd.]

April

Bumper slide changed to pattern of squares (began by 4/23/84)
 * April 23, 1984 (#124: Rene Enriquez, Richard Kline, Abby Dalton, Phyllis Diller, Charles Nelson Reilly, Chuck Wagner, Lydia Cornell, Leonard Frey; Sibyl vs. Patti, with Geoff {Day 5 - $10,175} playing later; has a few commercials and a Contestant Plug, audio is a bit low)
 * [Mention is made of a five-day limit for champs.]

May

Bumper slide shrunk down, with Gene and Jon's heads added (began by about 5/10/84)
 * May 1984 (NBC Soap Stars Week, Day ?: Leann Hunley, Deidre Hall, Wayne Northrop, Marcia McCabe, David Forsyth, JOHN DE LANCIE, Nancy Frangione, Christopher Rich; Martha vs. Juli, with Arla {Day 3 - $23,275!} playing later; has Contestant and Contest Plugs, video is a bit bright and a bit blurry, video issues for part of Match Round 1)
 * [From the week of May 7-11. Gene and Jon's comments indicate this is Wednesday or Thursday. Jon notes that Arla won $20,000 on her first day.]


 * May 15-17, 1984 (Salute to the Fifties, Day ?: Jay Leno, Fabian, Troy Donahue, Elinor Donahue, Angela Cartwright, Bob Denver, EDD BYRNES!, David Nelson; Steve vs. Charisse, with Maria {Day 4 - $34,075!} playing later and something that only happened a few times during the run; has a Ticket Plug, first few seconds missing, portion of credits missing {and based on the "audio pause" right before the jump-cut, said portion had network voiceover promos})
 * [Rich Jeffries fills in for Gene Wood this week. Jon notes that Maria win $20,000 "yesterday" and Gene mentions "tomorrow" at the end, so between #140 and #142. Also, Leno only really seems to be here to fulfill that aforementioned show protocol.]

June-July
 * June 29, 1984 (#173/"Athol": Jamie Farr, Heidi Bohay, Linda Dano, McLean Stevenson, Arsenio Hall, Paula Kelly, CHUCK WOOLERY!, ARLENE FRANCIS!; Joe vs. Chris, with Nancy {Day 3 - $22,350!} playing later and Gene trashing the Squares format during one of his questions!; taped from WPTV with a Ticket Plug, clips only)


 * July 27, 1984 (#191/Unannounced Finale: Phyllis Diller, Constance McCashin, Roger E. Mosley, Charles Nelson Reilly, Fannie Flagg, Roxie Roker, Leonard Frey, Barry Gordon; Angela vs. Sallie, with Tara {Day 2 - $11,550} playing later and one last "Old Man Perriwinkle" question for the road; taped from WNBC with a Ticket Plug{?!}, ends during credits)
 * [Neither Gene nor Jon make mention of "next time" or "Monday". Has a full credit roll.]