This has to be one of the funniest game shows produced by Goodson-Todman. The only thing that keeps a lot of people from remembering it is the fact that it was lost in the shuffle with their other two panel shows that were running at the same time, "What's My Line?" and "I've Got a Secret". Also, another thing that probably didn't do it any favors was that it was not on CBS as the other two shows were. Instead, it was on ABC, which wasn't exactly dominating the Nielsen's at the time. However, it had all the elements that made a great panel show, a great host in Robert Q. Lewis and a great panel with Meredith Wilson, Joan Alexander and Jerry Lester. (Note: as of this writing, GSN has not started showing the episodes featuring Bess Myerson, Gene Rayburn or future "60 Minutes" anchor, Mike Wallace). Another thing that made this show so special was the fact that it was a little ahead of its time. Whenever a person with a name that pertains to an action, especially a somewhat suggestive one, would appear on the show (eg. I. Kiss, A. Caress), the audience would giggle a little bit. However, whenever the panelists ask if they would do this, especially Joan Alexander, the audience would break out in uncontrollable laughter. This show should be remembered more fondly than it has been. Lucky for us, we now have GSN and we can now enjoy this forgotten classic.
Review of The Name's the Same
