A few thoughts...
Received my copy about a week ago and have had only
the opportunity to skim through some of the shows across
all 4 discs, but did manage to watch ALL the bonus material
along the way.
I must say, watching this
Best of Match Game disc
was a real guilty pleasure. I would never have thought that
a DVD full of game show episodes would make for entertaining TV,
but this is really one FUN DVD to watch.
The bonus materials actually start on Disc #2 and continue
through #4. All are hosted by Brett Summers, whom I had no
idea was still alive. Though Brett looks awfully worn after all
these years, she is still extremely spirited and does a remarkable
job of taking us through the best moments of the show.
There are a lot of great moments that take you outside the
show itself. One sequence involves an audience member guessing
the answer which caused a mutiny amongst the celebrity panelists.
Another sequence has Charles Nelson Reilly getting ready for his
big "Indian" moment while Gene Rayburn wrestles with camera #1.
Of course, there are those many moments when props won't work
or doors won't open that get resolved in humorous ways.
The one piece of bonus material that surprised me (and I won't
ruin it for you) was the inclusion of a contestant who was a few
short years away from becoming a major TV celebrity. What
amazed me was that you could pretty much see that this female
contestant was on her way to becoming "somebody." She not only
has an uncanny stage presence, but is also incredibly HOT! I
would estimate she is probably the sexiest contestant ever to
appear on the show.
Many of the "best of" moments seem to be pulled from the same
episodes, so I sort of wonder just how much research went into
finding the most bizarre moments across the entire show's 9 year
run. Still, the material that is included here is quite fun to watch --
especially for the number of celebrities that are included here. I
mean, it's sort of interesting to be taken back to a moment in
time when
Jimmy Walker and
Skip Stephenson were actually
TV stars.
....and man oh man, I always had a crush on Debralee Scott
(Welcome Back Kotter) whom we see falling all over a contestant
she's obviously attracted to.
Also included in the bonus material is a tribute to Gene Rayburn
(hosted by Brett Summers). It was interesting to learn how Gene
started as a NBC page, worked in radio, and later moved up into
the game show circuit.
Finally, a Q&A bit with Brett Summers gives us answers to the
questions,
What was a typical taping day like and
How did
you and Charles end up sitting together?
All in all, I was very surprised by this DVD set. When you get
a whole lot more entertainment value out of something you didn't
expect much from, you know you made a good purchase!
