The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: AH3RD on January 07, 2004, 10:48:40 AM
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JANUARY 8, 1979
"It's more than 'Password', it's 'Password+Plus'!"
Password+Plus, a fourth incarnation of Goodson-Todman’s tried and true War Of The Words, premiered @ 12:30 p.m./11:30 a.m. Central on NBC Daytime (following the debut of All-Star Secrets, a Bob Eubanks-hosted vehicle). Originally announced in Variety as Password '79, a decision was made two weeks before the debut to change the title to Password+Plus. 59-year-old Allen Ludden was back in the saddle as emcee, as Gene Wood was tapped to be announcer; Elizabeth Montgomery and Robert Foxworth, both topnotch Password players of the past, were the first-week celebrities. (John Harlan [who announced ABC’s Password], Bob Hilton and Johnny Olson also took their turns at announcing during the run.)
Here, 2 celebrity/contestant teams compete. The object here is to solve a "Password Puzzle", a famous person, place, thing, or title. Up to 5 Passwords are geussed by the teams, with each Password working as a clue to The Password Puzzle. Teams alternate giving clues, with each team receiving 2 chances. When a team guesses a password, they are given a chance to solve The Password Puzzle to win the round. Teams alternate playing first and giving/guessing as in the classic Password game. Rounds 1 & 2 are worth $100 each, rounds 3 & 4 $200 each. The first team to amass or exceed $300 wins the match and earns the right to play the bonus round: "Alphabetics," a revamped edition of the old “Lightning Round” in the Passwords of the past (and borrowing a bit from ABC’s The $20,000 Pyramid).
Alphabetics is played with ten Passwords that start with ten consecutive letters of the alphabet. The celebrity has 60 seconds to convey the Passwords to the contestant as in The Lightning Round. Each Password must be solved or passed before the next Password is revealed, and a celebrity can only go back to those words he/she passed on after revealing all ten. Each Password solved is worth $100, and completing all ten Passwords wins the contestant $5,000. If the celebrity gives an illegal clue, the potential jackpot was lowered by $1,000.
The game managed to survive the loss of Allen Ludden, who, due to illness, was forced to retire from the show in October 1980 and was superceded by Tom Kennedy. (Ludden took a 4-week sabbatical in April 1980 to have surgery done on him, and Bill Cullen hosted in his stead.) An all-celebrity week was scheduled for the first Kennedy week of shows in order to ease the transition, which was comprised of Jim Perry from Card Sharks, Greg Morris, Judy Norton-Taylor and Nancy Walker. Tom said some heartfelt words about Allen before the start of his first show, and then moved right into the game. Kennedy did indeed guide Password+Plus and its viewers through its most trying transitional period, even in the wake of Ludden’s passing in June 1981 (which was never mentioned on the show).
Rich Jeffries had replaced Gene Wood as announcer by this point. Near the end of the run, in March 1982, Jack Narz, Tom Kennedy’s brother, swapped places with him for one game during his week playing Password+Plus. Jack hosted and Tom played. On March 26, Password+Plus wrapped up a shaky yet nice 3 ½-year run, after 807 shows. The final celebrity panelists were Audrey Landers and Tom Poston. Tom Kennedy mentioned his late friend and colleague in the show’s fading moments:
"This is the last in our series of Password+Plus. Even though our dear friend Allen Ludden is not with us at this particular moment, as you well know he hosted this show as only he could do for something like 18 years. I was very proud to have the last year and a half here at the helm. All I can say is you know the show is going to be back soon..."
Sure enough, 2 years later, in September 1984, Password was back on NBC…in the form of the newly revamped Super Password, emceed by Bert Convy.
(Sources Of Info: The Rules Of The Game: "Pasword" (http://\"http://www.chris-lambert.com/RULES/Password.html\"), The Allen Ludden Page-Password Plus: 1979-82 (http://\"http://web.archive.org/web/20010713062735/www.public.usit.net/sbeverly/ludden3.htm\"))
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[quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 10:48 AM\'] Password+Plus, a fourth incarnation of Goodson-Todman’s tried and true War Of The Words, premiered @ 11:30 a.m. Eastern on NBC Daytime [/quote]
Actually, it debuted at 11:30 am Central time. Wheel Of Fortune was NBC's 11:30am Eastern time program followed by Jeopardy! starring Art Fleming.
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 09:15 AM\'] [quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 10:48 AM\'] Password+Plus, a fourth incarnation of Goodson-Todman’s tried and true War Of The Words, premiered @ 11:30 a.m. Eastern on NBC Daytime [/quote]
Actually, it debuted at 11:30 am Central time. Wheel Of Fortune was NBC's 11:30am Eastern time program followed by Jeopardy! starring Art Fleming. [/quote]
That follows, since it aired at 10:30 out here on the West Coast, from what I remember. For much of its run Wheel was a 10:00a show, too. And Sale Of The Century, both incarnations of Blockbusters, Las Vegas Gambit, Classic Concentration, Time Machine, and many others that aren't popping into my head right now were all in the 9:00a-9:30a timeslot.
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[quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 10:48 AM\'] Alphabetics is played with ten Passwords that start with ten consecutive letters of the alphabet. The celebrity has 60 seconds to convey the Passwords to the contestant as in The Lightning Round. Each Password must be solved or passed before the next Password is revealed, and a celebrity can only go back to those words he/she passed on after revealing all ten. Each Password solved is worth $100, and completing all ten Passwords wins the contestant $5,000. If the celebrity gives an illegal clue, the potential jackpot was lowered by $1,000.
[/quote]
Question: were contestants ever allowed to give clues in Alphabetics, or on Super Password's bonus round*?
*I'm not debating what the SP end game was called. :-P
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 12:54 PM\'] Question: were contestants ever allowed to give clues in Alphabetics, or on Super Password's bonus round*?
*I'm not debating what the SP end game was called. :-P [/quote]
No, they were not. In fact, I recall one instance when the contestant accidentally sat in the giver's chair and Allen said to her, "You're over there. Scoey sits here".
And as far as I'm concerned, the Super Password end game was Alphabetics, no matter what Bert Convy wanted to call it, which I know is a nice grown-up attitude.
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 01:07 PM\'] [quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 12:54 PM\'] Question: were contestants ever allowed to give clues in Alphabetics, or on Super Password's bonus round*?
*I'm not debating what the SP end game was called. :-P [/quote]
No, they were not. In fact, I recall one instance when the contestant accidentally sat in the giver's chair and Allen said to her, "You're over there. Scoey sits here".
And as far as I'm concerned, the Super Password end game was Alphabetics, no matter what Bert Convy wanted to call it, which I know is a nice grown-up attitude. [/quote]
I'm convinced NBC had some influence in retitling and/or revamping shows that came back shortly after their original cancellation. I can think of four specific instances where a revival (discounting The Magnificent Marble Machine where a revival occurred two years or so after the cancellation of a previous version:
Name That Tune (1974-75, 1977)
High Rollers(1974-76, 1978-80)
Battlestars/The New Battlestars(1981-82, 1983)
Password Plus/Super Password(1979-82, 1984-89)
I'm just thinking the network said, "Hey, make a few changes so people think they're getting something different and not the same thing they wouldn't watch last time" in the latter two cases. I have no other explanation for Bert calling Alphabetics "Super Password," or whatever he called it.
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 11:54 AM\'] [quote name=\'AH3RD\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 10:48 AM\'] Alphabetics is played with ten Passwords that start with ten consecutive letters of the alphabet. The celebrity has 60 seconds to convey the Passwords to the contestant as in The Lightning Round. Each Password must be solved or passed before the next Password is revealed, and a celebrity can only go back to those words he/she passed on after revealing all ten. Each Password solved is worth $100, and completing all ten Passwords wins the contestant $5,000. If the celebrity gives an illegal clue, the potential jackpot was lowered by $1,000.
[/quote]
Question: were contestants ever allowed to give clues in Alphabetics, or on Super Password's bonus round*?
*I'm not debating what the SP end game was called. :-P [/quote]
So, that didn't mean the word was forfeited in the event of an illegal clue?
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[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 04:42 PM\']So, that didn't mean the word was forfeited in the event of an illegal clue?[/quote]
Not on Password Plus, no. I remember a rather humorous Alphabetics where Jack Klugman thinks he's lost the $5000 for the contestant entirely and is despairing, and it takes Allen Ludden a good half-minute to explain to him that his illegal clue only knocked the prize down to $4000.
ObNitpick: It's "Password Plus", not "Password+Plus". Nor is "The Price Is Right" really titled "$the price is right".
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[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 05:23 PM\'] [quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 04:42 PM\']So, that didn't mean the word was forfeited in the event of an illegal clue?[/quote]
Not on Password Plus, no. I remember a rather humorous Alphabetics where Jack Klugman thinks he's lost the $5000 for the contestant entirely and is despairing, and it takes Allen Ludden a good half-minute to explain to him that his illegal clue only knocked the prize down to $4000.
ObNitpick: It's "Password Plus", not "Password+Plus". Nor is "The Price Is Right" really titled "$the price is right". [/quote]
That rule, while good for the contestant, really disrupted the flow of the mo.
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Oh, OK. So they just plain skipped the word in the event of an illegal clue and went back to it, just like if they CHOSE to skip it, right?
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[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 05:07 PM\'] Oh, OK. So they just plain skipped the word in the event of an illegal clue and went back to it, just like if they CHOSE to skip it, right? [/quote]
On SUPER PASSWORD? No. An illegal clue meant forfeiture of the big money (but they still got $100 for each word garnered legally).
Doug -- soon to celebrate 300 posts
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 05:30 PM\'] That rule, while good for the contestant, really disrupted the flow of the mo. [/quote]
Insert Jm J. Bullock joke here?
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Rich Jeffries had replaced Gene Wood as announcer by this point.
No, Jeffries was only a fill-in; Gene was the main announcer for the entire run.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 05:16 PM\'] [quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 05:07 PM\'] Oh, OK. So they just plain skipped the word in the event of an illegal clue and went back to it, just like if they CHOSE to skip it, right? [/quote]
On SUPER PASSWORD? No. An illegal clue meant forfeiture of the big money (but they still got $100 for each word garnered legally).
Doug -- soon to celebrate 300 posts [/quote]
Well, not just Super Password, but also Password Plus as well, was what the question was referring to.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 12:34 PM\']
That follows, since it aired at 10:30 out here on the West Coast, from what I remember. For much of its run Wheel was a 10:00a show, too. And Sale Of The Century, both incarnations of Blockbusters, Las Vegas Gambit, Classic Concentration, Time Machine, and many others that aren't popping into my head right now were all in the 9:00a-9:30a timeslot. [/quote]
Both Blockbusters runs and Classic Concentration(original run) had the NBC 10:30EST time slot(9:30 PST) for their enrire runs.
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[quote name=\'zachhoran\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 04:41 PM\'] [quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 12:34 PM\']
That follows, since it aired at 10:30 out here on the West Coast, from what I remember. For much of its run Wheel was a 10:00a show, too. And Sale Of The Century, both incarnations of Blockbusters, Las Vegas Gambit, Classic Concentration, Time Machine, and many others that aren't popping into my head right now were all in the 9:00a-9:30a timeslot. [/quote]
Both Blockbusters runs and Classic Concentration(original run) had the NBC 10:30EST time slot(9:30 PST) for their enrire runs. [/quote]
You're right. I meant to say "9:00a & 9:30a" timeslots above.
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OK, in Alphabetics (and Super Password round), if a word is said the INSTANT the clock hits zero, is credit given?
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OK, in Alphabetics (and Super Password round), if a word is said the INSTANT the clock hits zero, is credit given?
Yes it is.
As a matter of fact, I saw an episode in which a contestant said the last word well after the clock hit double zero, and she was credited with the win and $35,000.
The Inquisitive One
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Battlestars/The New Battlestars(1981-82, 1983)
I'm just thinking the network said, "Hey, make a few changes so people think they're getting something different and not the same thing they wouldn't watch last time" in the latter two cases. I have no other explanation for Bert calling Alphabetics "Super Password," or whatever he called it.
From what I heard, the ratings of the original "Battlestars" were actually quite good. I believe it was only cancelled to make room for soaps (wasn't "Texas" moved into that time slot?) I remember reading the ratings for the 11:30 slot weren't as good for several years after.
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[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jan 8 2004, 09:05 AM\']
From what I heard, the ratings of the original "Battlestars" were actually quite good. I believe it was only cancelled to make room for soaps (wasn't "Texas" moved into that time slot?) I remember reading the ratings for the 11:30 slot weren't as good for several years after. [/quote]
Battlestars and Blockbusters were axed and made way for Texas to move from 3PM EST to 11AM EST on 4/26/82. CHiPs reruns took the 3PM time slot from 4/26/82-9/10/82(Fantasy premiered the following Monday)
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[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 05:40 PM\'] [quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 05:16 PM\'] [quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 05:07 PM\'] Oh, OK. So they just plain skipped the word in the event of an illegal clue and went back to it, just like if they CHOSE to skip it, right? [/quote]
On SUPER PASSWORD? No. An illegal clue meant forfeiture of the big money (but they still got $100 for each word garnered legally).
Doug -- soon to celebrate 300 posts [/quote]
Well, not just Super Password, but also Password Plus as well, was what the question was referring to. [/quote]
You know, it's funny. I don't recall an instance on P+ where both an illegal clue was given and the correct word wasn't guessed (that's not to say it never happened, just I that don't recall seeing it happen), so I'm not really sure whether going back to that word after the others had been guessed or passed was allowable under the rules. Chris C. would almost assuredly know better than I would.
But we do know that an illegal clue on SP meant contestants were going for a maximum of $900.
Doug
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As a matter of fact, I saw an episode in which a contestant said the last word well after the clock hit double zero, and she was credited with the win and $35,000.
There was another ep where the contestant guessed the last word well after the buzzer...the producers decided to let Bert make the call to determine this potential $20K win, and while I definitely wouldn't have given it to the contestant, I guess Bert was more the generous sort. :-)
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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And a clip of that moment can be found at JRJ's site.
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[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Jan 7 2004, 06:07 PM\']Oh, OK. So they just plain skipped the word in the event of an illegal clue and went back to it, just like if they CHOSE to skip it, right?[/quote]
I don't think anyone's quite caught what you're asking here (and maybe I'm not either, but):
When an illegal clue was given in Alphabetics on P+, the "illegal clue" sound would play, but the password at hand would still be the one in play. For example,
(DROPOUT)
Giver: "High school"
(illegal sfx)
Giver: "quitter"
Receiver: "dropout"
(ding)
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I know FreChuckle hasn't been the sharpest tool in the shed, but do ya think they might give Password(or whatever title they will use like p+, or Super Password) another try. It has been 15 years since the Convy version signed off for good IIRC. Hopefully they won't botch the hell out of it like they did with MG98 and the train wreck aka Card Sharks 2001.
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The official rule:
If a celebrity gives an illegal clue (even if it is the actual password itself), play continues on the password which the illegal clue was intended to communicate. Despite the illegal clue, this password must be guessed by the player in order to win the big money. However, each illegal clue reduces the contestant's potential winnings on that play of Alphabetics by $1,000 (if they exceed four illegal clues, the value of winning Alphabetics remains at $1,000).
So a contestant could get nine passwords with nine illegal clues being given and still win $900 without penalty.
SP had a better scoring system for Alphabetics.
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Hopefully they won't botch the hell out of it like they did with MG98 and the train wreck aka Card Sharks 2001.
You're dreaming.
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[quote name=\'HSquares2003\' date=\'Jan 9 2004, 10:55 AM\'] I know FreChuckle hasn't been the sharpest tool in the shed, but do ya think they might give Password(or whatever title they will use like p+, or Super Password) another try. It has been 15 years since the Convy version signed off for good IIRC. Hopefully they won't botch the hell out of it like they did with MG98 and the train wreck aka Card Sharks 2001. [/quote]
$20 says they would drop the one thing that made the show so challenging: single-word clues. They'd keep the puzzle setup just so they can say they're different than Pyramid.
I'm dead serious, they left a huge flaw in CS 01 and Feud, and I would not put it past them here.
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And in Cincinnati, NBC programming was still being pre-empted by the still-going Bob Braun (a game show host in the past, but that's another story) Show. P+ would only be seen twice during its run on WLWT, both in October 1979 due to baseball playoffs (that was a long time ago - 25 years ago I was a huge baseball fan, but when greed and big and bigger money contracts killed much of the appeal of the game...)
Brian
The Jehovah's Witnesses distribute Mad magazine?
We want some more pro wrestling (STILL) and NASCAR questions!