User Reviews

It used to be funny and good in the seventies and eighties better celebrities that were actually funny the new ones in the early 2000s stunk the center square always occupied by some annoying celebrities it was so irritating when asked a question the celebrity would make a quip which usually was not funny and the lol button was pressed for the audience..the beginning got stupid showing people dancing was irritating just roll your eye moment..it used to be good but jumped early 2000s just was dull anymore and the contestant's were really dumb to agree with half the questions like really.. The y always picked the middle square like can't you pick any other squares besides that one.

I'm as a big a fan of this show as they come, so I have a love/hate relationship of this incarnation. It started out with promise; a lot of new faces on the show (Gilbert Gottfried, Penn & Teller, and the very attractive Judy Gold were my favorites) and a few old regulars like Joan Rivers and Louie Anderson. Shadoe Stevens was back in the announcer's chair, although his role was severely limited compared to the Orion version, and Tom Bergeron proved to be very adept for the hosting role. So what could go wrong with this crowd?

The big downfall was none other than Ms. Whoopi Goldberg. While most celebrities were able to bluff or deliver one-liners efficiently, Whoopi would hog the spotlight for as long as she could, either stretching a semi-funny joke to the point where it was embarrassing, or even interrupting, whether it was other celebrities with her shtick, or even the contestant introductions by making some comment about their job or life. I really did not find her entertaining in the least and it was obvious she designed this show as an ego boost for herself. Face it, when the show opens with "...and starring Whoopi Goldberg!", and she is an executive producer, you know what's more important here Some other weaknesses were celebrity choices; the show suffered greatly from Caroline Rhea and Martin Mull overkill, and other celebrities seemed to treat the show more like a party and big joke and didn't really respect it. That was most disappointing to see.

Thankfully after 4 years, Whoopi moved on to other projects, and Henry Winkler came on to take her spot at co-producer. The show finally became enjoyable again with new themes, a new set, and no egos to deal with on screen. Now that "Whoopi Goldberg's brown-nosing sidekick" was no longer part of his job description, Tom Bergeron really blossomed as a host and proved why he was selected for the job in the first place. He proved to have as a good of a wit as the stars (or at least the joke writers) and made the show his own. The center square saw a different mix of panelists, including Magic Johnson, Brad Garrett, and Pamela Anderson among many many others. I admit that I didn't like the idea of rotating center squares at first, but it did keep the show fresh. And who could forget both Game Show Weeks? Particularly the first with the triumphant return of Peter Marshall. Between this, his book, and the classic squares returning to GSN, 2002 was a great year to be a Hollywood Squares fan! The only downside was replacing Shadoe Stevens with Jeffrey Tambor and John Moschitta, Jr. respectively. Both had very little announcing experience and it showed. They weren't terrible, but I think that is one thing I wish the Fonz had left alone.

Sadly the audience slowly slipped away and after two years, Squares was canceled. However, the two seasons under Winkler really saved it in my opinion. Nothing against Whoopi personally, as she has done a lot of good for many people and is a brilliant actress and comedienne in her own right, but Squares wasn't her forte, and her ego wasn't very well hidden on here.

My favorite star of the show is Whoopi Goldberg. The way the game is played is they have various actors or actresses. Then at the end the winner teams up with a star and plays a sudden death round. Then when time is up the contestant is asked whether he/she wants to keep the money or whether they want to play for more money of course if they got there bonus question wrong they don't win anything.

Tom Bergeron is just not a host when you compare him with Peter Marshall. This is one of the major handicaps this revival of Sqaures has. There are some others too.

The game is basically UN-changed from the old one. The center square does not have a real talent. They tried several, most notably Whoopie Goldberg whose problem is she is a better "straight" comedy person to feed someone else the punch lines as she is poor a delivering punch lines. Goldberg is an Abbott trying to be a Costello but she needs a Costello badly. Bergeron could not fill that bill.

This show almost certainly had too much entrenched competition when it was originally syndicated at night. it could not break the grip of other shows in the time slot. It did not get an easy middle of the day time slot & a lot of practice to get established like Peter Marshall's series did.

Sadly, times had changed when this went on too. Viewers were too sophisticated & the panelists themselves are just not as talented as the ones on the original series.

Maybe the lack or voters is an indicator that long time viewers didn't vote. For a game show, it wasn't too big of a deal but the personalities were the attraction: Charlie Weaver, Rich Little, Paul Lynde, Buddy Hackett, Foster Brooks, Joan Rivers, Wayland and Madame to name a few. The celebrity and the answers were what made the show. I'd watch the early years again and definitely give it at least 8.5 stars.

First off, I must say that this is a fun game show. Also, I haven't seen every episode. However, I do know the show very well. Every time I've watched it, I had a lot of fun playing along and watching. This makes me long to be a contestant. The thing I like most about it are the questions. Despite the fact that I don't know that many answers, I still have fun playing along. I hope that it will be on the Game Show Network keeps it on for years to come so I can keep playing along and watching. If that happens, I will be really happy. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever. Now, in conclusion, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good.

A good host, a great center square, hilarious lines and ad-libs;what more could this show need? I think it is one of the funniest and best game shows on and never miss it. It is worth watching just to see who is on it, and I love it. Whoopi Goldberg and company make it all worthwhile.

Always enjoyed watching this show with my family. Great show! Great comedy! Never a dull moment. Good family fun. Whoopi is the best, and the host is perfect. Hoping it is available to watch soon!

Everything that people hate about this show is everything I love. Sure, not every episode is a winner, in fact, most are rather bad. But if you can find an episode with the wittiest of celebrities, it's sure to be a grand ol' time. 10/10 would recommend to anyone who isn't a total snob. Have an open mind, this show rules. Hollywood squares for the win! You suck, this show rocks. What more could I say? Yeah okay, jokes are low-brow, the "celebrities" are hardly famous, and some episode are very Ellen heavy (which nobody wants). But give it a chance, it'll win your heart, grow your soul, and make you smile.

Henry Winkler and Michael Levitt made some nice changes to the Hollywood Squares. It's hard to compare it with the popular Peter Marshall version, but this version is more entertaining than the version's run by Whoopi Goldberg or Orion (1986-89).

Thumbs up:

Tom Bergeron as host. Whoopi Goldberg made the perfect call for Bergeron to take the reigns. His amicable and occasionally sarcastic style blends well with the straight man that one needs to be as a Squares host. He should be around for more shows to come.

The new end game. Facts about stars climaxing with a one-in-x chance to win a car/trip/cash jackpot. It moves well and stays entertaining to the end.

The question writing. It's a nice mix of pop culture, truly ridiculous facts (that might be false), and historical references. In the end, it's all about the questions.

Audience input. The producers actually ask for it. Granted, some of the recorded calls are used as amusement more than advice, but at least these are producers that listen.

Nice array of celebrities. The center square has had a decent mix of leading entertainers, such as Alec Baldwin, Ted Danson, Reba McIntyre and even Gloria Estefan. The remaining eight squares are filled with entertainers from all different facets and age groups. It's an eclectic mix where contemporary actors mixed in with comedy legends such as Rich Little, David Brenner, and Buddy Hackett. This edition is not afraid to honor squares of the past, and even granted Peter Marshall a December week as center square (hosting one show).

Thumbs down:

Audience direction. Does the audience need to applaud EVERY SINGLE TIME a contestant calls upon a star? This is over the top, and slows down the game.

Teena Marie (yes, the 1980's one-hit wonder) on theme song vocals. The music itself is quite good, but her vocals are a little screechy and annoying.

Ellen DeGeneres as center square. Mixing up the center square from week to week is a decent idea, but Ellen chooses to slow down the game by trying too hard to be funny. H2 would be wise to edit out her comments (quips?) and go straight to her answer.

H2 is guaranteed to run though 2003-04, but it's uncertain if the show will be shelved after that.

I loved this show in the 1960's when Peter Marshall was the host, with stars such as Rose Marie, Wally Cox, Charlie Weaver, and who could forget Paul Lynde? I frankly gave up on the show when that awful, preening, self-important John Davidson fawned over and flirted with female contestants (and the show let them win 80% of the time). But Tom Bergeron is the perfect host for the most recent incarnation of the show, and who could forget the "YOU FOOL!!!" episode. That one, along with the Richard Simmons episode of "Whose Line is it Anyway?" will never fail to make me do multiple spit-takes laughing as long as I live.

This may be the third edition of the show, but it's worth watching.Whoopi is absolutely funny as the center square, it seems as if no effort is needed to make the show entertaining, Tom Bergeron is an excellent host, and it's nice to see Shadoe Stevens back in the announcer's chair.I hope this show is on well into the 21st century.

This show has many of sorts of ways to make you laugh like the wonderfully comic Whoopi Goldberg (Center squuare), Caroline Rhea (Sabrina TTW, actual regular), Bruce Vilanchi (Comic, writer of this show & a certain award show 1 time ago, also an actual regular), Bobcat Goldwaiht (Bobcat's Big@^& show on FX), Gilbert Gottfried (from the Disney Aladdin movie series), George Wallace (known comic), and many many more. Even if you think some of the celebs bluffs (actual name of the jokes on this show) aren't all that funny more than likely some of the other celeb.s might humor up the show for you. (oh & for those who never saw the show before know comics aren't the only ones who try to humorize the show. Just about anyone who's in the squares tries to (except for those like Kerri Strug), oh & perhaps I'll go ahead and clear some common misconceptions about the show. 1st you don't nescessarily have to live in California to be a contestant on the show, film stars(movie,T.V or both) aren't the only ones - sports to magazine people were on the squares too. Now that I cleared those up, the film has a highly quality amount of hilarious humor & funny game show antics for the new "Hollywood Squares".

When I got to see the current rival of Hollywood Squares I got tired of it pretty quick. What I got tired of was Whoopi Goldberg and Bruce Vilanch. It seems that others were getting tired of them as well. Even Peter Marshall who was the original "Master of the Squares" said that Whoopi was a poor choice. By the way he will guest host H2 on the December 12, 2002, and regular host Tom Bergeron will play center square for a day.

Enter Henry 'The Fonz' Winkler. Although H2 was his first game show he got involved with, Winkler has done a good job and his brought new life to H2. When Whoopi was center square, she got picked first most of time (99%). The center square still gets picked in the Winkler version but you get different celebrities each week. Bergeron is no longer second fiddle to Goldberg and really does carry the show. Although the front game has cut to accommodate the "How Much You Know about Stars" end game H2 has great energy. The end game is great in which the winning contestant much agree/disagree correctly about statements about the weeks squares within 30 seconds. The more they guess correctly the greater their changes are in winning cars, cash, and trips.

If you have not seen H2 Winkler style, check it out. It's really a 'Square Biz.'

The most recent incarnation of the legendary game show was brought to life by Whoopi Goldberg,who served not only as the center square for four seasons but as executive producer. Previously obscure--but HUGELY capable--TV host Tom Bergeron got the nod to pick up the mantle of MC and was able to supply a good give-and-take with Whoopi,regulars Bruce Vilanch and Caroline Rhea among others.

The show's game format was probably the weakest part,and in fact they changed the configs constantly of both the main game(mostly the money prize amounts)and the end game,which went from a simple win front-game,pick celeb,get prize(toward the beginning)through a series of end game bonus questions/money rounds and,eventually,back to the classic Hollywood Squares "pick a key" win try at a car/vacation/large jackpot/etc.

The last two seasons of the show's run saw the show change hands,with Henry Winkler taking over as producer when Whoopi either quit or was forced out(I forget the details exactly as to how that all played out). While the game element of the show may've smoothed out by then,the show had simply undergone too much change(in my opinion)and was not perceived as "with it" or "sexy" compared to reality television.I suspect that it also couldn't roll a steadier viewer-ship the way more established stand-bys like "The Price is Right","Wheel of Fortune" or "Jeopardy!" could.

As of the past March GSN's been re-running the show from the beginning. Plenty of good chances to either re-acquaint with or discover this very spirited and fun addition to the Squares legacy.

This is one terrific show! Whoopi makes a great Center Square and Tom is a totally awesome host who never fails to make people laugh. Squares 98 pulls out one surprise after another, you never know what to expect next until the next joke is cracked. Definite Emmy material! It truly is hip to be Square!

Contrived jokes, poor acting, and some of the biggest morons as game contestants, this show is a perfect example of how NOT to make a game show. It is not so much a game show as a thinly disguised PR machine for both celebrity has-beens that are desperately trying to revive their career and minor celebrities that are still willing to debase themselves and lose whatever remaining shreds of human dignity they have.

'Hollywood Squares' is another average game show. That's not saying much, considering that the whole genre is one of the worst on TV. The show bears almost no relation to Hollywood or the movie scene, except for the would be stars set up in tic-tac-toe fashion along the wall (come on, who are these people, other than Whoopi Goldberg, who is the show's only bright spot, I've never even heard of most of these people).

The show isn't exciting, the format is just plain terrible, the questions are obscure, and there's no charisma in the host. Stay away, all I can say is that it's better than 'Twenty-One' or 'Greed', but not by much.

2/10