TV News: (Blank) to Air Updated “Match Game”?

I was a huge game show fan as a child, and the original “Match Game” was one of my favorites. I remember watching it every morning at my grandmother’s house; I’d watch the “P.M.” edition at home, too, if my father was busy enough reading the newspaper to let me have control of the television. I even watched it on a nearly daily basis when Game Show Network began airing reruns of it in the late ‘90s.

As game shows go, Match Game wasn’t exactly “Jeopardy!” Heck, not even “Wheel of Fortune,” really, in terms of intellectual value. But it was always a blast. Host Gene Rayburn would ask contestants a question that included a “blank” — some were mundane and obvious, like a bonus question of “filthy _____”, while many were intended as opportunities for naughty answers. The fun came as contestants attempted to match answers with celebrity panelists. It was far less about the contestants and how much they won, and far more about the banter amongst panelists, which most notably included Brett Somers, Richard Dawson, and Charles Nelson Reilly.

Now we have news that Robert Smigel (writer for “Saturday Night Live” and sometimes collaborator of Adam Sandler) has created a “revival” Match Game for TBS, using the sets from the late ‘70s version of the show. Celebrities on the panel for the first taping, last Thursday, included Sarah Silverman, Norm MacDonald, Niecy Nash (of “Reno 911”) and “Kids in the Hall” comedian Scott Thompson. (Interesting side note via IMdB — comedian Carrot Top’s real name is also Scott Thompson. I find that strange and somewhat disturbing.)

To be honest, I was a little worried about the new version when I first read about it on AICN. The ‘70s Match Game worked because television was a completely different culture back then — this was a time when only three networks existed, married couples were just beginning to be shown sharing the same bed, and lingerie was advertised on mannequins and not models. Most of the funny came from celebrities and contestants coming up with naughty answers while trying not to be too blunt about it. I had to wonder whether that same vibe could be recreated in today’s society, where thanks to Trey Parker and Matt Stone, you can say pretty much anything, even on basic cable. (Not that I’m complaining. I still love “South Park”.)

And apparently, my concerns were warranted, if the “eyewitness report” that has been added to the AICN item is any indication. There may still be hope — apparently a few of the celebrities’ answers were genuinely funny. But I don’t think I’ll watch for very long if it turns into an exercise of celebrities being dirty just for the sake of being dirty. The original Match Game may not have required its contestants to be particularly smart, but it worked because of the smart comedy. If the revival version can’t develop that, I’ll just stick to the GSN reruns.