History Series / MatchGame

** Caroline Rhea, among others, is this in the 2016 revival.

The format everyone remembers debuted on Creator/{{CBS}} in [[TheSeventies 1973]], again with Rayburn as host. This time, two contestants tried to match answers with six panelists, including regulars Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Richard Dawson. By 1976 or so, the questions — and the stars' answers -- featured DoubleEntendre and {{Unusual Euphemism}}s. Beginning in July, Dawson began hosting a quasi-SpinOff of the show, ''Series/FamilyFeud'', for Creator/{{ABC}}; subsequently, he became more and more bored with ''Match Game'' until finally leaving in 1978. Concurrently with the CBS series, Rayburn was the host of ''Match Game PM'' in UsefulNotes/{{syndication}} until 1981.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** The 1970s version built its ''reputation'' on seeing how much they could get past the radar. Any question involving a female and a pluralized blank usually led to at least one person (not always on the panel) offering "boobs" as an answer. Phased out towards the end of the run due to changing attitudes with the viewing public.
** Once, Brett Somers [[http://home.comcast.net/~matchgame/Brett_BirdFlip.html flipped off the audience]] when they vociferously booed an answer of hers.
** Richard Dawson slyly shot the judge the bird [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNc33xxGaWE during the "School Riot" episode]] (at around the 3:00 mark).
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVwfn3f6Exk "I never saw the tip come off before...."]]
** When a contestant was picking celebrities for the Audience Match:
--->'''Contestant:''' I haven't tried Betty yet.
--->'''Gene:''' I've tried Betty.
** Once, [[PrecisionFStrike Bob Barker dropped an "oh, shit"]] as the Star Wheel they were using at the time got close to him. Since it's a little muted compared to the crowd's noise, it skated right by the censors. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC6kGdst1Mo#t=1m56s Here's the moment.]]
** After Gene asked a female contestant if she wanted one of the three celebrity suggestions for the Audience Match or one of her own:
--->'''Contestant:''' I don't have any.
--->'''Gene:''' You don't have any? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irbsriZVdJY I wouldn't say that.]]
** Fannie Flagg would occasionally stand up during the opening run-through of the stars, leaving only her boobs in frame.
** Averted in the question "Ed Sullivan said, 'Tonight, right here on this very stage, King Kong will _____ the Lennon Sisters.'" Louisa Moritz wrote down "Rape", but a clip was obviously edited in of her showing a card with "Ravage" written on it instead. In addition to the jump cuts, the "Rape" card can briefly be seen when she discards the card after revealing her answer.

* HalloweenEpisode: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE-2jb2E6KA 1990 revival]] had host Ross Shafer (Dracula), the celebrities (including Charles Nelson Reilly as Superman[!] and Vicki Lawrence as a sexy Little Red Riding Hood [[note]]Vicki joked about it, calling it [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar "Little Red Riding Crotch"]][[/note]]) and the contestants in costume.

** "Now, wait/hold on a minute...", said by Gene when the audience booed any answer that he thought was reasonable.

The British version was called ''Series/BlanketyBlank'', hosted by Terry Wogan (1979-83) and Les Dawson (1984-90) during its original run on [[Creator/TheBBC BBC1]]. It was resurrected in 1997, hosted by Lily Savage (aka Paul O'Grady) first on [=BBC1=] (1997-99) and then Creator/{{ITV}}1 (2001-02). It also became ''Blankety Blank'''[[InsistentTerminology s]]''''' in Australia when Graham Kennedy hosted a version of it on Creator/NetworkTen from 1977-1978; prior to that, a straight-up remake of ''The Match Game'' had aired in the 1960s. A French-language version for the Canadian market, ''Atomes Crochus'', began production in 2010 on V; an English-language equivalent (titled ''Match Game'', the first foreign remake to use the original title since Australia's ''The Match Game'' in the 1960s) began airing on Creator/TheComedyNetwork in 2012 (it is essentially ''Match Game '90'' with the ''Series/VideoOnTrial'' regulars as the regulars).

*** The contestant originally chose a star to play against in the Head-to-Head Match, with most of them picking Richard Dawson because he was so good at it. In 1975, a rule was added that a contestant could not pick the same panelist to face off consecutive times. This rule was discarded after six weeks. In 1978, the Star Wheel was introduced to randomly determine which star would play and whether the stakes would be doubled. (A previous attempt to vary things up forced a contestant playing their second Head-to-Head Match to select a different celebrity than their first attempt.) Guess whose name it stopped on when it was used for the very first time? This caused one of the many (joking) walk-outs on the part of the celebrities.

*** The contestant originally chose a star to play against in the Head-to-Head Match, with most of them picking Richard Dawson because he was so good at it. In 1978, the Star Wheel was introduced to randomly determine which star would play and whether the stakes would be doubled. (A previous attempt to vary things up forced a contestant playing their second Head-to-Head Match to select a different celebrity than their first attempt.) Guess whose name it stopped on when it was used for the very first time? This caused one of the many (joking) walk-outs on the part of the celebrities.

* TheSouthpaw: Brett was the show's resident left-handed panelist.

* DelayedReaction: On the "School Riot" episode, Debralee Scott's answer of "Finishing School" was initially accepted but given the buzzer half a second later. Neither the celebrities nor Gene noticed this until Richard Dawson's
answer, also "Finishing School", got rejected.

** Lynde was once asked "What's the best reason for pounding meat?" His response? "[[ADateWithRosiePalms Loneliness.]]" According to reports, the audience laughed for fifteen minutes after the line.

* MustMakeAmends: After what happened during the "School Riot" question, the contestant who played that question was invited back to play on another episode.

** For Week 2 of ''[='=]73'', Richard Dawson was seated in the upper right (the spot Charles Nelson Reilly would eventually claim) and Brett Somers would switch between the upper middle and lower left until finally settling in the former permanently in Week 14.

* MustMakeAmends: After what happened during the "School Riot" episode, the contestant who played that question was invited back to play on another episode.

** Averted in the question "Ed Sullivan said, 'Tonight, right here on this very stage, King Kong will _____ the Lemon sisters.'" Louisa Moritz wrote down "Rape", but a clip was obviously edited in of her showing a card with "Ravage" written on it instead. In addition to the jump cuts, the "rape" card can briefly be seen.

** "Get ready to match the stars!" [''lists off all six stars, whose faces appear framed in a rotating orange box''] "As we play the star-studded, big money ''Match Game!''"

** The first panelist was Scoey Mitchell, who gave the contestant a DeathGlare before revealing that his answer matched... well, sort of.

** The first panelist was Scoey Mitchell, who gave the contestant a DeathGlare before revealing that his answer matched...well, sort of.

* SelfDeprecation: Charles and Brett would sometimes dis the ThinkMusic played while the celebrities wrote down their answers.
** Richard called one of the newer think musics "The Battle Hymn of South Korea".

-->"Dumb Dora was ''so'' dumb..."\\
'''Audience:''' "HOW DUMB WAS SHE?!"

!!GameShowTropes in use:

* Personnel:
** TheAnnouncer: Johnny Olson announced from 1962-82. Gene Wood (who had been a panelist for a week in 1974 and also announced ''Series/TheMatchGameHollywoodSquaresHour'') held these duties on the ABC version. Paul Boland announced the 1998-99 version. Steve French announces the current ABC version. For a brief week in the summer of 1975, CBS announcer Bern Bennett filled in for Johnny Olson on the CBS show.
** GameShowHost:
*** Gene Rayburn hosted from 1962-82.
*** Bert Convy filmed pilots for what became the 1990-91 revival, but was ultimately replaced by motivational speaker Ross Shafer due to Convy being diagnosed with a brain tumor (Convy died after this version ended in 1991).
*** Michael Burger hosted the 1998-99 version
*** Alec Baldwin hosts the current revival.
*** The 2012 revival on Creator/TheComedyNetwork is hosted by comedian Darrin Rose, who doubles as announcer (one less salary to pay - the show also only has two regulars instead of three).
** StudioAudience
* SpeedRound: Match-Up!, played at the end of each round during the Shafer version. The first playing was $50 per question in 30 seconds; the second was $100 per question for 45 seconds. The Canadian version utilizes this as well, but only at the end of the second round; the first season had each match worth $50, but was doubled during the second season.
* ThinkMusic: A variant; music plays while the stars write down their answers on the cards.
----
!!"Get ready to match the tropes":

* AccentOnTheWrongSyllable: A ''Match Game '73'' episode had a contestant answering "bosom" to a question but pronouncing it as "booze-um" rather than "buh-zum" or even "ba-zoom".
* TheAce: Richard Dawson was very good at matching the contestants' answers, or at least choosing the definitive answer among the panelists. He was pretty much the go-to guy for the Head-to-Head Match, and was often chosen for the Audience Match as well. This is because he would take contestants aside prior to the show and tell them that most everyone else would try to give answers that were funny while he was actively working to help them win by trying to give an answer to match theirs.
* AnticipatoryBreathSpray: Part of Gene's standard welcome when there was a first-time female panelist (or occasionally, for laughs, a first-time male panelist).
* AudienceParticipation:
-->"Dumb Dora was ''so'' dumb..."\\
'''Audience:''' "HOW DUMB WAS SHE?!"
* BlatantLies: A question once said that UsefulNotes/{{McDonalds}} was charging double for burgers because "____ fell into the meat grinder". Brett, referring to Ronald [=McDonald=], wrote "The clown whose name I can't remember". Charles complains that he has been accused for weeks of copying off Brett. He says his answer will prove he doesn't copy, only to reveal "The clown whose name I can't remember".
* BriefAccentImitation: Most of the regulars and Gene would occasionally do this-notably Gene, when reading Old Man Periwinkle questions, would often do an old man voice. (Similarly, when he portrayed Dracula.) Averted, however, in the Head-to-Head match where Gene would read the question using a flat delivery in order to avoid suggesting a particular answer; Rayburn would also do a straight delivery of front-game questions at least once, usually after all celebrities have played the question.
* ButtMonkey: Brett Somers in the '73 to '79 version, particularly in her VitriolicBestBuds sniping at Charles Nelson Reilly. Others, such as Jack Klugman, Richard Dawson, Fannie Flagg, or any other sixth-panel celebrity, would also get into it if the question itself was a jab at Brett Somers, often beginning their reveal with "My good friend Brett" before saying something outlandish. And then there's her whole ongoing feud with the judges buzzing incorrect answers, causing Brett to complain, only for the judges to give her another, often harsher buzz.
* CampGay: Charles Nelson Reilly, the [[Creator/MarkGoodson Mark Goodson-Bill Todman]] answer to [[Creator/MerrillHeatter Merrill Heatter-Bob Quigley's]] [[Series/TheHollywoodSquares Paul Lynde]]. Reilly wore a ''caftan'' on national television.
* CallBack: The Canadian reboot seems to film several episodes back-to-back with the same people on the panel, letting the panelists do this on occasion.
* {{Cap}}: With exception to the Ross Shafer version, each ''Match Game'' format has a highest possible score:
** '70s, ''PM'', and 2016: Six points, one per celebrity.
** The Bert Convy pilots topped out at 24 points per player (six points in each of the first two rounds, twelve points for the third).
** The Michael Burger 1998 version high a highest possible score of 15 (five points in Round 1, ten for Round 2).
* CatchPhrase:
** "Get ready to match the stars!"
** Rayburn typically said "Slide it, Earl!" ("Orrie" later in the run) when asking to reveal the $500 answer in the Super Match.
** Sometimes when the questions got a little ''too'' un-PC, Charles and/or Brett would say "We're gonna get letters..."
** For Brett, it was "Good Gravy, Marie!”(or occasionally, “Criminy Dutch!”)
** Whenever neither contestant made any matches during the first round, Gene would point to the 0-0 and say "[[DeadpanSnarker My, we have a real pitcher's duel going on here!]]"
** Sometimes Richard would give his answer as "[[ElSpanishO El-_______-O]]."
** In the Canadian reboot, Sean Cullen has "What I was going to say was...[[MadLibsCatchphrase (ridiculous answer)]]."
** Gene, introducing a question: "<Subject> was so <adjective>..." is expected to be met with the audience, contestants, and panelists interjecting [[PhraseCatcher "HOW <ADJECTIVE> WAS HE/SHE?"]] before Gene finishes the question. If the audience's timing was off, Gene would sometimes give the audience another shot, and at other times he would say something indicative of the audience's half-hearted effort, dismiss the audience's half-hearted response and continue to read the question.
** When a new celebrity was introduced on the panel, Gene would say "We have a new kid on the block", followed by (if it was a woman) spraying his mouth with breath freshener to prepare for a kiss.
** "Now, wait/hold on a minute...", said by Gene when the audience booed any answer that he thought was reasonable.
** "But first, we gotta do a little business with America", whenever Gene throws to commercial.[[note]]For much of his time as host of fellow Goodson-Todman show ''"Series/ThePriceIsRight"''; Bob Barker would use a similar phrase stating that ''Price'' would be back "...after we do a little business with you".[[/note]]
** "No help audience. We appreciate your help, but your answers may be rotten", Gene during the Head-to-Head Match.
* CensoredForComedy: From which the majority of the humor is derived.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}:
** Patti Deutsch is probably the best example among the panelists. Her answers generally had some sort of warped internal logic to them, but they were still far removed from anything either the contestants or the other regular panelists might offer. In some cases her answers may have been more entertaining for their bizarreness, but it did undermine the goal of giving an answer which the six panelists would match if one panelist had a penchant for extremely unlikely answers.
*** To her credit, she usually gave the oddball answers only in the first round, usually constructed with questions which had more than one obvious fill to the blank..
*** Even better, sometimes Patti would be the only one to match a particularly crazy response from the contestant.
** [=McLean=] Stevenson was either this or the WackyGuy whenever he was on as his antics were much more outlandish than most of the other regular panelists and he seemed to have trouble keeping still. This includes once doing the show half naked and in a later episode pretending to make out with Gene Rayburn.
** Soap star Jacklyn Zeman filled this role on the 1990 version.
** Emma Hunter fills this role on the 2012 Canadian reboot.
** And then there's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cVn912HK7ms#t=296 Joyce Bulifant]]. [[MadnessMantra (Junk...yard...)]]
** Caroline Rhea, among others, is this in the 2016 revival.
** Generally speaking, the person in the sixth spot is the most likely to have a weird answer. In addition to Deutsch and Bulifant, the iconic 1973-82 run also featured Fannie Flagg. Notable aversions to this rule included Marcia Wallace and Creator/BettyWhite.
* CreativeClosingCredits: In the 1973-82 era (with the exception of the first few episodes), on a full credit roll (usually on Fridays), the credits roll sideways from right to left, instead of vertically.
* {{Crossover}}:
** ''Series/TheMatchGameHollywoodSquaresHour''.
** A few times Gene Rayburn would host Bert Convy's ''Series/{{Tattletales}}'' and Bert, while not actually hosting officially, would read a ''Match Game'' question or two so Gene could play.
** The main cast from ''Series/TheCarolBurnettShow'' (including MG regular Vicki Lawrence) made a special appearance and played a round where Gene threatened to replace Brett with Vicki permanently.
** ''Match Game'' and ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' shared the same announcer (Johnny Olson) and much of the same production staff; also, Bob Barker was a semi-regular, leading to several in-jokes. One of the best was a Super Match with "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rVOYsJ8hb8 Come On _____]]" and the contestant did ''not'' call on Barker first.
--->'''Bob Barker:''' Gene, ''where'' did you find this girl?
*** And the same studio (Studio 33, now the Bob Barker Studio)! The fact that both shows used turntables extensively is not a coincidence. Same turntables.
*** Models Janice Pennington, Anitra Ford, and Holly Hallstrom all appeared on the panel as well. Holly a few times, including after the show left CBS.
*** Bob was also known to make jokes referring to the "other" show, including offering refrigerators to the entire audience.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Johnny Olson once sat on the panel for one episode due to Gary Burghoff (who himself was filling in for Charles Nelson Reilly) forgetting to set his clock forward for Daylight Saving Time. Another time, Creator/MarkGoodson himself subbed as a panelist- Charles was late for the taping (according to Gene, he was "getting his hair nailed on").
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: This happened on a 1978 episode in which Gene portrays Old Man Periwinkle:
--> '''Gene:''' Old Man Periwinkle said... ''(goes into Mr. Periwinkle mode)'' "Hear about the wild party at the home? Old Lady Perkins got so drunk, she gave away her (blank)." ''([[{{Beat}} pauses]], then continues on as Periwinkle)'' Wait a minute. I don't see so good 'cause I'm 102 years old. Stop the music. I put the blank in the wrong place. "Old Lady Perkins got so drunk, she gave her (blank) away." ''([[{{Beat}} pauses as he looks upward]])'' Eh, it's the same thing.
* DirtyOldMan: Gene would often act this way toward the female panelists--either as himself or Old Man Periwinkle.
* DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: Charles Nelson Reilly.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** The 1962-69 run can be seen as this for the franchise as a whole, as every latter-day edition of the series has been based off the 1973-1982 format, which, save for a few scant elements, was almost entirely different.
** Early ''[='=]73'' episodes can seem quite weird, since the questions were far more straight and generic (no "Dumb Dora" or "boobs"-type questions), and the overall mood less silly since the panel had not yet had time to gel. Also, neither Charles nor Brett were on the panel for the first several weeks (and neither were in their usual spots when they debuted, and occasionally afterwards as well). By early 1974, the show had begun to hit its stride.
** The first season of ''PM'' (1975-76) used two rounds per game just like the daytime version. All episodes afterward used three rounds per game, because two rounds led to lots and lots and lots of filler.
** The ticket plugs were basic with the ticket information superimposed on a background of rotating lights. They were changed to the more familiar mixed-faces beginning in the summer of 1975.
** The orange box rotated more slowly during the first few shows' openings.
** For Week 2 of ''[='=]73'', Richard Dawson was seated in the upper right (the spot Charles Nelson Reilly would eventually claim) and Brett Somers would switch between the upper middle and lower left until finally settling in the former permanently in Week 14.
* EpicFail: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiE31W_5ySo This contestant]] on a 1977 episode failed to give an answer to "Carl the Cannibal went to Hollywood, and he got diabetes after he ate _____." According to the comments, this is one of only two known times that a main question was thrown out due to the contestant not giving an answer.
* EvenTheSubtitlerIsStumped: In one game, Pat Morita writes an answer in Japanese and Gene demands the judges deem it a match or not. They respond by simultaneously dinging and buzzing it.
* FreudianSlip: One frequently-seen outtake has Gene remarking about an attractive female contestant, "Doesn't she have pretty nipples... er, pretty dimples?"
* FunTShirt: Fannie, usually with an animal on it ([[{{Fanservice}} or emphasizing her boobs]]).
* GenderBlenderName:
** One of the two female contestants on the first aired episode of ''Match Game '73'' was named Stanley.
** Three episodes later, Stanley faced off against another female contestant named Gary.
** Of course, Brett Somers.
* GeniusDitz: Despite their sniping, snarking and general craziness, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, and frequent sixth-panelist Betty White were often able to match contestants and give ranking answers on the Audience Match portion.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** The 1970s version built its ''reputation'' on seeing how much they could get past the radar. Any question involving a female and a pluralized blank usually led to at least one person (not always on the panel) offering "boobs" as an answer. Phased out towards the end of the run due to changing attitudes with the viewing public.
** Once, Brett Somers [[http://home.comcast.net/~matchgame/Brett_BirdFlip.html flipped off the audience]] when they vociferously booed an answer of hers.
** Richard Dawson slyly shot the judge the bird [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNc33xxGaWE during the "School Riot" episode]] (at around the 3:00 mark).
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVwfn3f6Exk "I never saw the tip come off before...."]]
** When a contestant was picking celebrities for the Audience Match:
--->'''Contestant:''' I haven't tried Betty yet.
--->'''Gene:''' I've tried Betty.
** Once, [[PrecisionFStrike Bob Barker dropped an "oh, shit"]] as the Star Wheel they were using at the time got close to him. Since it's a little muted compared to the crowd's noise, it skated right by the censors. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC6kGdst1Mo#t=1m56s Here's the moment.]]
** After Gene asked a female contestant if she wanted one of the three celebrity suggestions for the Audience Match or one of her own:
--->'''Contestant:''' I don't have any.
--->'''Gene:''' You don't have any? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irbsriZVdJY I wouldn't say that.]]
** Fannie Flagg would occasionally stand up during the opening run-through of the stars, leaving only her boobs in frame.
** Averted in the question "Ed Sullivan said, 'Tonight, right here on this very stage, King Kong will _____ the Lemon sisters.'" Louisa Moritz wrote down "Rape", but a clip was obviously edited in of her showing a card with "Ravage" written on it instead. In addition to the jump cuts, the "rape" card can briefly be seen.

** '''2016:''' Largely identical to the 1973-82 opening (even with an orange rotating box, albeit a CGI one), but "star-studded, big money" became just "star-studded" ($5,000 as a top prize isn't that impressive nowadays).

** Fannie Flagg would occasionally stand up during the opening run-through of the stars, leaving only her boobs in frame. Some of the more attractive female stars, including Flagg, also wore rather revealing clothing that was only just enough for modesty's sake.

* HalloweenEpisode: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE-2jb2E6KA 1990 revival]] had host Ross Shafer (Dracula), the celebrities (including Charles Nelson Reilly as Superman[!] and Vicki Lawrence as a sexy Little Red Riding Hood[[note]]Vicki joked about it, calling it [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar "Little Red Riding Crotch"]][[/note]]) and the contestants in costume.

* HotterAndSexier: Questions on the 1998-99 version tended to be more overtly sexual (translation: lots of UsefulNotes/BillClinton jokes) than on any previous version. Nearly every episode had at least one answer that had to be beeped out and have the panelist's card censored (although that happened at least once on the 1990-91 version, and at least four times in the 1973-82 run).
** As one example of how bad that version got: A contestant trailed in Round 2 by nine points after his opponent had finished her question, meaning that he needed to match all five panelists (at two points per match) to win the game. The question was read, the stars wrote down their answers, and the contestant gave an answer — one that was promptly censored so viewers could neither hear nor lip-read what was said...and one that ''all five stars'' also wrote. The contestant had achieved an amazing come-from-behind victory with an answer that nobody watching at home would ever see.