I don't understand all the criticism about "The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour." The critics believed this show was an uneven marriage of two game shows that had been popular, that Bowzer wasn't good hosting his "Hollywood Squares" segment, etc.
I beg to differ. Sure, I was in sixth grade the year this program aired, and it's been 18 years since I've seen an episode, but I liked "The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour." It was a "must see" program for me, every afternoon after school.
I had enjoyed both "Match Game" and "Hollywood Squares" as a younger child, and thought the two segments together made for the perfect marriage. I don't remember too much about how good the celebrities actually were playing the game, but the gameplay to me seemed to go off without a hitch.
What I enjoyed most was the "Super Match" segment, played at the end, for a possible $30,000 jackpot. All the contestant needed to do was choose the celebrity they believed had the elusive "30" multiplier (the others had either 10s or 20s, making for lower jackpots). That made for a lot more excitement than simply choosing a celebrity to play for a flat 10 times whatever they had won in the "Audience Match" half of the game, though it compares very favorably with the "Star Wheel" used on latter-day "Match Game" (where 20 times the stakes were possible).
The critics often cite the concept as to what led to the demise of "The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour" after just nine months. Others seem to think that viewers were still tuning into "General Hospital" in droves.
Say what you will about why this show didn't last, but I sure hope to be able to see it again sometime. I sure hope Game Show Network will acquire the rights to show this unique program, which died before its time.
