Dawson gets a lot of crap for this little episode, but honestly, I think it was warranted. And he seems to be genuinely pissed that the contestant is getting screwed.
choclytgremlins He wanted the fair outcome on both MG and FF. If you want another prime example of bad judging look up Match Game 77 Richard Explodes Again. Its just like this. The contestant gave the answer of 'bag'. Some celebs wrote paper bag/sack which were considered matches. Richard wrote plastic baggie and was buzzed. Ira refused to match him since paper and plastic dont match. But the contestant never specified a particular bag. As long as its a bag shoudlnt it match???? Richard got a bit agitated that time too and rightly so.
CULTURED pearls would certainly fit (go to) "finishing school" perfectly! And "night school" fits because of the idea of education. I think Charles was allowed because he circled "school", he's designated the main part of his answer that way before. The judge's decisions were outrageous, an exact answer wasn't required for first and second round questions.
My impression is that the Dawson/Producer conflicts on MG/FF came from the fact that Richard always had the contestant's back no matter what. The producers didn't like it because it cost them prize money/fed Richard's ego, but at the same time, Richard knew that the whole point of the game was for the contestants to relax, have fun, and win some money. I really think a lot of the stories about Richard Dawson being some monstrous egomaniac are either false or grossly exaggerated by Hollywood execs who thought they ruled the world. Watch Howie Felscher in the Family Feud doc on E! and tell me that's a reliable witness.
It was nice to see this clip in its entirety as opposed to bits and pieces that was shown on a game show special a few years back. This was classic, and Match Game is FOREVER!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!
Everyone is missing the reasoning the judge was using. A scuba diver would find pearls, which was the subject of Dora's stupidity; so there were two matches in that answer. "Night school" only has one match, and it's tenuous.
But "finishing school" is a type of school, as is "scuba diving school" (which bizarrely, WAS accepted!). They're all types of school, therefore they are all correct.
Gene: Patti will you show us your answer? Patti: I'm afraid! LOL, this is probably the funniest thing ever. Debralee and Richard made me laugh so hard, as did Charles. LOVE THEM ALL!!!!
In fairness, it's not uncommon for British people to point at something with their middle finger, although I suspect that had someone questioned him, that would have been his cover story.
Asner and Brett's answers were technically correct, although not the exact word. Charles enclosed the word in a box, so it is a general and rightfully accepted. Debralee and Richard's answer, while specific, DID contain the word school, even though it's a grey area. Richard was correct. College is not the word 'school', but it is a higher form of the word. Patti's answer should have been accepted, as college classes could be scheduled at night, hence night school. Match Game's lax rules caused many problems. Take a look at the response in the final CBS episode. Gene said the contestant's answer had to be the exact match. She responded "Snug as a bug in a rug". Brett's answer was "Snug as a bug", and the judges accepted that answer.
@@jasonbeard4713 Since I wrote my comment 16 years ago (it just came up in my memories since you responded!), I've watched many episodes of MG on the Game Show Network, and they have been incredibly lax over the years. I saw answers that were far more diverse, rung up as matches. The contestant gave a blanket response which should have netted him 6 matches.
WoW. I'm with Richard when he said he couldn't believe it! If they allowed Scuba diving school, they should of allowed any kind of school. finishing school, night school, dance school, art school, charm school, the list could go on forever!! either the judges were idiots, or they really didnt want that guy to win!!
Scuba Diving School was accepted for School, yet Night School and Finishing School was not accepted for school?!? YET, a Party Girl is considered a Hooker? I've seen some bad judging calls in the past, but I think this was the worst of such cases. I'm just watching this episode right now on the GSN Marathon and I still can't believe it!
The best answer was finishing school. Since the pearls were cultured and back in that era, girls were sent to finishing school to BE cultured so they could catch a good husband.
Actually, Richard left Match Game to pursue hosting Family Feud full-time. Good catch with the middle finger, though. It definetely looks deliberate...and the censors missed it.
HERE`S my summary on it he (the contestant) said school, school could mean any type of school doesn`t matter thus he should of got all 6. Maybe the judge should go to judge school LOL
If I'm not mistaken, they invited the guy back on a later show, and admitted that it was a gaf not giving him credit for the three other points eh should have had
Gene always seemed very neutral when it came to that. And really, with a show like this, you need him to be that way with the panelists and judge going at it.
The judging on this program was bizarre. This show was fun, but there was a fundamental problem with it. There was some prize money involved and yet NOBODY took the game seriously. Not even the judges.
There's a reason why this is my favorite game show of all time, and this is it. Everyone fights for the answers to match the contestants, and sometimes, it gets downright weird.
I remember the B questions were always slam dunks, usually the punchlines to famous jokes. Almost on the level of "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other (blank)."
According to Webster's Dictionary, "finishing school Function: noun Date: 1832 : a private school for girls that emphasizes cultural studies and prepares students especially for social activities" He should have got all 6. Night school is classes at night.
The other factor that Ira forgot is that some of the panel use the play on words in the question, considering if you listen to the clip that Gene emphasized "Cultured pearls" hence Finishing School, Scuba Diving school, College which are play on words and fits his answer for Dumb Dora.
It would have been interesting to see what would have happenedif all the "school" answers had come before the "college" answers. There was absolutely no logic to the judge's decisions.
As I recall this was the BIGGEST bone of contention between the judges, the panelists and the contests-trying to match a general answer with one that wasmore specific.
The general rule, as I understood it, is that you can't match a general "school" with a specific, "Finishing School" and "Night School". They should NOT have accepted "Scuba Diving School". "College" on the other hand, being a general answer in itself, is an acceptable answer. The judges fouled up. I'm glad to hear they invited him back for another shot.
Gene Rayburn & Richard Dawson are my mom's top 2 favorites in The Game Show World. To see them have an argument was hilarious!... I wonder what would have happened if my top 2 favorites in The Game Show World had an argument... that'd be way cute!
I wish we had more gameshows like this. They should consider revitalizing the Match Game, maybe put people like Regis Philbin, Bob Saget, all I can think of right now.
Come to think of it, how do the answers given relate to the mention of cultured pearls in the question? I guess "scuba diving school" (or "lessons") is the best answer.
Gene Rayburn was cool, but he never seemed to support the contestants very much. He took the "corporate" viewpoint more often when it came to matching.
That is just unreal that CNR was able to reverse the decision and then Richard literally is in the same boat and what the hell, it’s not acceptable for him?
Guy says the word "school." Celebrities give "Finishing school." That's a "specific kind of school" that doesn't match...but COLLEGE does?! Yeah, obviously the answers that were also a *specific type of school* _and_ didn't have the contestant's answer anywhere in them should be given, and the others that actually match the word (and mean close to the same thing as "college") shouldn't...makes total sense.
Could have been inside politics that we do not know about. Bear in mind, that Gene was only a host and as we have seen over the years, many of the biggest stars have been simply dismissed and replaced. That's my take on it. Some people are fearful of rocking the boat.
My only possible explanation is that the judges were confused mid-way through and thought he said college, which is a specific type of school. Not trying to defend the judges, but trying to figure out how this could have happened
2:30 Not judges. A judge. My theory about how everything went off the rails is that the judge got pissed at the way Charles argued his case. (Spelling out school & talking down to him.) And then the judge decided to flex his authority w/Debralee & Richard. It was a battle of egos & the poor contestant was caught in the middle of it.
The game shows at that time were under strict judging rules dating from the 50s Quiz Show scandals...Gene could NOT have overruled or have replaced the judge appointed by CBS Practices and standards.
The other factor that Ira (the idiot judge) forgot is that some of the panel use the play on words in the question, considering Gene emphasized "Cultured pearls" hence Finishing School, Scuba Diving school, College which are play on words and fits his answer.
The contestant's answer was so general, the judges assumed he meant regular school, so that was why college was taken and not finishing school. MY OPINION, since he gave a general term, ALL ANSWERS SHOULD HAVE BEEN ACEPTED!
I'm amazed at how they accepted some but rejected others which weren't really all that different. How weird. Anyway, I had loved the show as a kid but forgotten how it worked. I think it was pretty tough!
In case anyone was wondering, this contestant lost this game, but he was brought back during a later episode. I don't quite remember the outcome of that one.
Unfortunately, not they should not have. The rule was used multiple times throughout the series. No general to specific matches - so CNR's answer should have been disallowed as well, despite the stress on the term itself. College is a synonym of school, and is therefore acceptable. Rough, but it is consistent.
