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June 16, 2016 - 10:20 p.m.
"match game meets match game: worlds colliding"

Hey Journal!

WOW! Today was ALL ABOUT MATCH GAME! I felt like I was living a day in history. I don't even know what that means but I just felt like I was stepping back in time to a time before I was even born!

So, the day started really early -- at 5:15am! We got up and got dressed and headed off to the city to attend a taping of the upcoming reincarnation of Match Game!

I was very concerned about this new version of the show upholding the integrity of the original game...perhaps more than I should have been! I was also very concerned about the panelists and the host. I didn't think I was going to like Alec Baldwin as the host and I couldn't wait to see who the panelists were and WHO, if any, of the original stars were back!

We hit a little traffic on the way in to the city and the whole trip took about an hour and 45 minutes. I had printed out three parking garage coupons yesterday and I took them with us. Along with that, I had also looked up the alternate side of the street parking rules and made a list of some streets with available street parking.

We didn't want to waste much time looking for a spot but before heading to the garage, we made a quick pass of a couple of the streets to see if we could find anything. We hit the jackpot when someone pulled out in a PERFECT spot, just in front of a school but the LAST spot before a parking restriction. This was great because nobody could park in front of us and either block us in or hit us trying to get in to a spot!

The tickets said that we should be on line at 10:30 in order to make sure we would get in to the taping. We had some time to kill since it was only about 7:30 so we looked for somewhere to eat breakfast! We decided to go to a place called Smiths which was about a five minute walk from where we had parked.

It was a nice restaurant and there were only a few other people in there while we arrived. I ordered the Steak and Eggs and it was very good. The steak was perfect. The eggs were a little runnier than I had ordered them but it wasn't a big deal!

I went to the bathroom before we left the restaurant and the bathrooms were really cool. They were downstairs and I don't really know how to describe them but there were no doors. There was a central sink area and then to one side was a little switchback-like doorway to the ladies and on the other side was the same for the men.

When we were finished, we walked past the main ABC headquarters in Lincoln Center and past the Eyewitness News studio. There wasn't anything to see since no news was on at the time but we had some time to kill so we hung around for a while.

Eventually we walked down to the studio where the taping of Match Game was going to be. We were a little over an hour early for it but there were already people lined up and waiting!

We stood there for a while and then, at about 10:00, they started letting us into the building. We went through the metal detectors and then formed a long line against the wall and just waited until it was time to go upstairs. I went to the bathroom while we waited and then around 11:30 they took everyone up - one small group at a time - in the elevators. I feel like they should have just let everyone walk up the stairs instead! If anyone couldn't do the stairs, they could have requested the elevator, but waiting for one elevators to go back and forth so many time is crazy! We were the third group to get on but the people at the back of the line had to wait forever!

As a sidenote, this was filmed in the same studio that The View used to be filmed in. Recently, The View moved over to the main studios.

Anyway, we got off the elevators and headed in to the studio.

This was the moment of truth as far as the set was concerned. As soon as I saw it I loved it. I felt like it was modern enough but had all of the vintage Match Game touches. It was very obvious that they paid attention to detail and REALLY tried to make the set feel like the original show with a new twist!

We had to wait about an hour while they tested stuff out and fixed a few issues with the set but then the game started! It was about 12:00.

Before I go into detail about the games -- you know I said I was worried about Alec Baldwin doing a good job hosting. I thought he did an excellent job. I felt like he was good, a little funny, and very likeable.

So the set and the host were good -- but what about the panelists?

Well, they introduced them to the audience as they came out on stage and took their seats! They were, in their order on the game, Tituss Burgess (I had never heard of him!), Rosie O'Donnell, Michael Ian Black (also never heard of), Debra Messing, "JB Smoove" (never heard of AND turned out to be the most obnoxious person), and finally... Sutton Foster (never heard of, but she was pretty good.)

Rosie was by far the best player, followed by Debra Messing, Sutton Foster, and then the rest was a mix. JB was the absolute worst. He gave terrible answers and wasted so much time getting up and doing stupid things instead of playing the game. Starved for attention.

When they started filming, Alec came out on stage and then these giant letters came out from the sides of the stage that said "MATCH GAME!" We noticed, however, that there was a COFFEE CUP on the M in GAME! It was sitting right there on top! Woops!

They played the first round and then, when they took the first commercial break, Dan mentioned it to the audience coordinator! It was ridiculous! They went up and removed it and I really can't wait to see if you can spot it on TV!

We had a great seats. Probably the best you could have! It all worked out so well for us.

So, they recorded two full games and there were some things they had to redo a few times! It was so weird. I understand that they want to make a really smooth TV show but at the same time, having the contestants re-do their excited winning scene is just a little weird. You can never believe anything you see on TV. lol

They re-did a lot of stuff, mostly things Alec didn't say or do exactly correctly. I feel like that takes away from the energy of the game. Even if you don't realize that it was refilmed when you watch on TV, it's not the same as watching Gene Rayburn.

The panelists didn't even know how the game was played. You'd think someone would have told them! At one point, Rosie was explaining to them how the game was played and what was coming up next!

The taping ended around 1:45 and we made our way down the elevator and back to the ground floor. I stopped in the bathroom and then we hurried to our car to hit the road and TRY to avoid some of the traffic on the way home.

Of course, even though we were on the road at 2, the traffic heading back was terrible. It took us over two hours to get home.

We were so done with being in the car and we were also very hungry. We went right to Branchinelli's for lunch. I got the Spaghetti with Sausage (2)! Yes, I strayed from the Meatballs (4)!

We had a nice lunch and then after that we went to Price Club to get things we needed for our Father's Day BBQ. We were going to go on Saturday but this worked out perfectly. Now we don't have to fight the crowds on the weekend. It was nice and quiet there this afternoon.

Dan went to get a haircut after we got home and I took a shower and TRIED to take a nap. I may have slept for about 30 minutes but not much more than that.

When Dan got home from his walk, we watched a couple of episodes of Match Game... WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU EXPECT!? And now it's time for bed.

After watching this show today and then re-watching the original, it's so obvious what an amazing host Gene Rayburn was and how he knew this game like the back of his hand and he was such a professional. He was amazing. I always knew I liked him as a game show host but he was really really impressive.

So, now it's time for bed. Hoping feel refreshed in the morning and not be tired all day!

Until tomorrow...

Goodnight. :)