Match Game Taping

On this blog, I typically write about upcoming events and cool and interesting places that you should go to. Today, I’m going to do something different, and write about something cool that I did several years ago, in hopes that it will encourage you all to do something similar!

A few years ago, ABC had several game shows as part of their lineup, and my favorite out of all of them was Match Game. The premise of the show was that two contestants were asked two random and bizarre fill in the blank questions, which they had to fill in with what they felt was the right answer, and their answer had to match as many of the six celebrity panelists as possible, and whoever matched more went on for a chance to win $25,000. What made the show great was its host Alec Baldwin, who would always crack jokes either at the contestants, the panelists, or himself, the panelists, who either made fun of the contestants or each other for their terrible answers, and how funny the questions were, as it was also fun for me to come up with my own answers as I was watching. When I found out that the show taped in New York City, I knew that I had to go see a taping of it. When they announced tapings in the fall of 2017, me and my parents signed up to be notified for tickets on any of the days it was going to tape. When we were notified by the company that was responsible for the tapings, it was one day before we would have gone, which I felt was too last minute for something that I felt would have required a lot more planning. 

When they announced that the show would be taping again in early summer 2018, I decided that I was going to try to go to a taping. Since the show taped three episodes in a day, we chose to go to the second taping, as that way we wouldn’t have to go down to the city super early or get home super late. When we got there, we had to stand outside the studio for a while, and then we entered the lobby of the studio, where we had to wait even longer and was even more crowded. At one point, the people working there told everybody in the line to move forward, then immediately told them to move back, but nobody did, which made it feel even more crowded. At this point, I was done standing in a crowded line for what seemed like the longest time, and I started telling my mom that I wanted to go home. We asked one of the workers if we could step out of the line, and they let us. Then, another worker saw us and saw that I was crying and decided to help. She took us to “her office,” which was really just another part of the lobby we were already in, and then she let us wait in line by sitting on a bench to the side, and she also said that we would be in the first group of audience members. From there, I decided to stay and wait for something that I knew was going to be fun. Before we went up to the studio, one of the workers said that we were going to hear some inappropriate language during the taping, which I found funny. When we got up to the studio, I was amazed that something I enjoyed watching at home was right in front of me, and also how much smaller it was than I was expecting. They also hadn’t removed the name cards from the previous taping, so I could see the first names of the celebrities that were there, and also make guesses for the ones that I wasn’t sure about. Once they brought out the names of the celebrities for our taping, we made guesses as to who they were, and they were all correct. The panelists were Joel McHale, Rachael Ray, Jason Biggs, Caroline Rhea, Donald Faison, and Vanessa Williams, the last of which was very cool because both she and my mom went to the same high school. The taping itself was so much fun, and I was amazed at how crazy it got, and how much footage didn’t make it to the actual episode once it aired. When the taping was over and it was time to leave, they started putting up the names of the celebrities at the next taping, and me and my mom made predictions for the ones we had guesses for, that ultimately turned out to be right again. When the episode itself aired on TV, I could hear the sound of my mom whistling in the audience. Overall, while it started off stressful, it turned out to be one of the most fun things I have ever done!

When they announced that they were going to tape again in early summer 2019, I knew that we had to go again. Due to some convincing from my dad, I decided to get tickets for a second day, which in hindsight was one of the smartest choices I have made. When we went down to the first taping, we saw the worker again that let us sit on the side and brought us up with the first group of audience members. When we got up to the studio, the screen said, “Match Game: Code Blue,” which I was intrigued by, as I had no idea what it meant. When I saw the names of the celebrities that were going to be at our episode, my mom and I were very excited, as they were Joel McHale, Mayim Bialik, Kal Penn, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, and Bebe Neuwirth. We then found out that “Match Game: Code Blue” was referring to the fact that all six panelists had played doctors before, and how they included Joel McHale in this was funny as they included him because he played a doctor in one scene of a show called “Dimension 404.” The taping of this episode was also very funny, as the panelists also had spray bottles, and at one point, Joel McHale and Donald Faison ended up spraying each other, derailing the show in the process, and forcing Mayim Bialik to have to clean up their mess. Bebe Neuwirth was also entertaining, answering a question about magazines being so old by saying that they had an interview with Alec Baldwin, and genuinely seeming curious about a question about a “Grey’s Anatomy” theme park as if it were a real thing. Another funny moment was when Alec had repeated the “Grey’s Anatomy” theme park question several times already, and after saying it one last time, the contestant asked if she could hear it again and then Alec got down on his knees. One moment that also stood out to me was when the winning contestant made it to the final round, and they brought out his family. They ended up being seated right in front of us, and when the episode aired on TV, I could see us sitting behind them, which I thought was very cool. When I left the studio, the worker came outside with us, and gave me an all access pass for the show, which I still have today.

When we went to a third taping, more of the workers there recognized me, which I thought was cool. When we got to the studio, I saw the names of the celebrities at the previous taping, and I was grateful that we didn’t go to the previous one because one of the panelists was Dr. Oz. I also was able to figure out who the other panelists were at that episode from seeing their first names as they had all been on the show before, but it took me a year to figure out who the last celebrity was, as I didn’t know any celebrities named Laura who had done game shows before, and I didn’t know who Laura Benanti was. When I saw which celebrities were going to be at our episode, I knew we were going to be in for a great time. They were Michael Che, Kirstie Alley, Chris D’Elia, Sherri Shepherd, Mark Duplass, and Brooklyn Decker. When the celebrities first came out, Chris D’Elia did a panoramic shot on his phone, and when I went into Instagram after the taping, I saw that I was in his story, which was very exciting for me. Some of the high points during this taping included the first game, which had a contestant who was so crazy, that by the end of the game, Mark Duplass wrote on a card that Alec Baldwin showed to us that the contestant was insane. That same contestant was also funny, as there was one point where he mistakenly called Kirstie Alley “Kristie,” and when Alec Baldwin told him of his mistake, he jokingly called him “Alex.” In the second game, during one question, the celebrities were writing down their answers, when all of a sudden, a voice came on over the loudspeaker and told Brooklyn Decker “You can’t draw that,” and to get another card, which I found very funny considering how much is censored on the show when it actually airs. When the episode itself aired, there was one point when the audience made groaning noises and I could clearly hear my voice, which I thought was funny. The next day, I went to get lunch with one of my friends, and when I told her I had been to two tapings of Match Game that week, she said that she had also been to one, which I thought was an incredible coincidence.

I was ready to go to more tapings the next year, but unfortunately, the pandemic happened, and nobody could do anything. I initially thought that there would be more tapings once the pandemic had begun to calm down, but it didn’t happen, and other game shows on ABC were being taped at the same time, which made me think that the show might have been done. One year later, in April 2022, it was announced that the show had been cancelled, which had me disappointed, but also grateful that I had gone to three tapings in the past, and that I made the choice to go to two tapings the second time around.

What I am going to say to all of you right now is that if there is a show that you really like that has a live audience, get tickets to see it in person while you still can. It’s an incredible feeling seeing the set in person, and it’s fascinating to see how that show is made and all the footage that is cut out when it airs on television. I had three amazing experiences seeing one of my favorite shows in person, and I hope that all of you can do the same with your favorite shows!