The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour

The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour was a short-lived game show that aired from September 1983 to September 1984. As it implies, it fused mh:besttvshows:Match Game and The Hollywood Squares into an hour-long show, however, it was dropped and cancelled during the start of NBC's 1984-85 season, along with Bay City Blues and The Duck Factory.

Why It Sucks

 * 1) Jon Bauman was a terrible host.
 * 2) The Hollywood Squares format was butchered.
 * 3) Lack of zingers.
 * 4) The set, while it was inventive, it could've been a bit better.
 * 5) Gene Rayburn hated working with Jon Bauman.
 * 6) It was so bad, its cancellation likely contributed to longtime Goodson producer Ira Skutch's departure from Mark Goodson Productions (despite Skutch not having any involvement with this show).

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) Great theme song, which was later used as a car cue on mh:besttvshows:The Price is Right and the Bob Eubanks version of mh:besttvshows:Card Sharks.
 * 2) Gene Rayburn is still excellent as the host.
 * 3) The show does have its fair share of funny and hilarious moments.
 * 4) Memorable celebrities like Nedra Volz, Bill Cullen, Charles Nelson-Reilly, etc.
 * 5) The Telephone Match from the original 1960s version of The Match Game returned in 1984 after a 15-year long absence.

Trivia

 * The Match Game-Hollywood Squares hour was Mark Goodson's second hour-long game show, the first being mh:besttvshows:The Price is Right.
 * In the past, Jon Bauman occasionally made appearances on Match Game (by his nickname Bowzer from Sha Na Na), particularly from 1978-1980.
 * Butch Hartman, who famously created Nicktoons like The Fairly OddParents and Danny Phantom, was a contestant on this show on December 22, 1983 (his episode is first shown on January 3, 1984.)