The password is…revival!

[Robert Hutchinson]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'166262\' date=\'Oct 11 2007, 01:07 AM\'][quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'166257\' date=\'Oct 10 2007, 09:25 PM\']Really . . . before today, wouldn't most of our reactions to the phrase "Million Dollar Password" be "punchline"?
[/quote]I'm with Matt. There's a very good possibility it still will be.[/quote]
And, um, you're both with me. I meant that "Million Dollar Password" is a punchline, not a good show idea.

[bandit_bobby]

I hope this really works out for the "Password" fans.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'166397\' date=\'Oct 11 2007, 06:39 PM\']
The team with the highest score will then have to decide whether or not to keep their earnings or move on to a tension-building final round
[/quote]
I get the impression that it's an all-or-nothing bonus round...I don't like that, too many shades of Card Sharks 01.

Fremantle, you've screwed up too many other classics. At least act like you have a clue with this one.

[ITSBRY]

[quote name=\'TwoInchQuad\' post=\'166265\' date=\'Oct 11 2007, 03:01 AM\']
The ultimate corruption of a classic game concept.  And if Carol Burnett and Betty White are smart, they'll stay a million miles away from this trainwreck.

Too depressing for words.
[/quote]

I think it's a bit early for a judgement this harsh. I'm excited about this revival and somewhat hopeful. I do tend to be less critical if I enjoy the way a show is presented though. I quite enjoy both "Crosswords" and "Temptation" despite their flaws.

I've always thought an 'olympics' of Password would be a neat way to revive the show. I'm also encouraged that Reege has been tapped to host. That's a big plus, I think.

The concerns I have are:

1. An hour of Password may be a little too much. I'm not sure that there's enough variety in the format to make the average viewer want to watch it for an hour. Of course, people seem to love watching suitcases being opened for an hour, so what do I know?

2. I REALLY hope they don't go the way of : "The Password is....'masturbate' "...ding.  

[TwoInchQuad]

Well, the initial shock has passed-- feeling a little better now.    :^)

I suppose I was unduly harsh in my initial reaction-- the ultimate corruption of a classic game would be "Extreme Concentration 2008", or some such thing-- but I think it's undeniable that much of the game's lasting appeal is not about money being won, but rather the results of the chemistry of blending clever celebrities with civilians, and having them tackle the nuances of the English language.  If you start mixing in big money, all of a sudden, it's not so charming when Eva Gabor gives someone a lousy clue, just because she doesn't understand the language.

At it's core, "Password" is a simple parlor game, played with famous people as your partner.  When you actually have to start caring who wins, it loses its charm-- which is one of its major assets.

-Kevin

(Now having said this, don't think for a moment that I won't try out when the opportunity presents itself-- CBS finally brought back the one program that I can't resist, and if there's any aspect of the old "Password" in the new format, I **have** to be there.)

[That Don Guy]

Since everybody else seems to have their idea of how the show will work, here's mine:

Since most people are familiar with Password Plus / Super Password, the head-to-head game will use that format.  (I would prefer a cross between the "classic" and newer versions - words start at $100 and go down $10 per clue to $50, plus $500 for each puzzle, with $2000 needed to win (and you don't win until you solve a puzzle and then have $2000).  I will also assume that games can carry over from one episode to the next.)

The end game consists of varying levels of the "Betting Word" ABC used in its early-1970s version (which is pretty much Ca$hword but with a 15-second limit instead of a three-clue limit); the first word is worth $5000, the second $10,000, and so on up to the million-dollar word.

"The million-dollar password is...'serendipity'."

-- Don

[toddyo]

Since this is going to be taped in NYC, I think Alan Kalter would and should be the perfect announcer. Bring back a connection to the Lee/Gene days. He's already done "the password is...." and "tonight's Will It Float object is.....".

Whaddyathink??

[Neumms]

Boy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot. I saw toetyper's thread and thought it was all hypothetical.

If it's a Cashword for $1,000,000, no risk, that wouldn't be so bad. The TPIR $1M shows aren't thrown out of whack by the wheel; it's just a harmless extra. Granted one celebrity's clues might be better than another's, but they're usually not that bad, and the answers are tough enough that you'd need lots of luck anyway.

Now if you're betting 100 G's on Anita Gillette, yeah, that's a big problem.

[MTCesquire]

I'm happy that "Password" coming back, but a million dollars is way too much for a show like this.  A payout like they had on "Super" where the jackpot starts at $10,000 and grows $10K for each loss would be sufficient enough. Then, let them come back and play again for as many games until defeated. Let the viewers at home emotionally invest with a contestant (be it rooting for their success or their eventual failure).

This is what's missing from today's game shows. Everything is one-and-done. With the exception of "Jeopardy!", all games on the air nowadays are about what "creative" ways can they throw as much money at a contestant as possible within an hour's timeframe. That's all well and good for the short term, but after the novelty wears off, if your game's not solid, you'll lose your audience. I feel like with a solid game (which "Password" most definitely is, as long as they don't stray too far away from it), letting natural excitement build in seeing a contestant try to go as far as s/he can beats trying to squeeze out the tension and force/create artificial excitement within a sixty minute timeframe.

What we'll more than likely end up getting is Regis doing a great job hosting a broken game, consisting of 5 to 7 minutes of actual "Password", followed by the rest of the show being like ten rounds of Alphabetics with each round being worth more money and lifelines like stopping the clock for extra think time, being able to fill in letters to the word, etc. Oh yeah, and no returning champs. Frankly, it's going to blow.

Yeah, yeah, wait till it airs to pass judgment, blah, blah, blah...folks, this is Fremantle we're dealing with here. Let's not kid ourselves.

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'166522\' date=\'Oct 12 2007, 01:32 PM\']If it's a Cashword for $1,000,000, no risk, that wouldn't be so bad. The TPIR $1M shows aren't thrown out of whack by the wheel; it's just a harmless extra. Granted one celebrity's clues might be better than another's, but they're usually not that bad, and the answers are tough enough that you'd need lots of luck anyway. [/quote]Except here you fall into the same problem that TPIR had with the million dollar spin. Assuming that no one won a spin during either SCSD, the winner of the showcase barely gets a chance to celebrate before they're thrust in front of the wheel to try for the million bucks. And if they fail, then the show ends on a down vibe, when it oughtn't to--after all, that person just won $100k or so.

Consider a contestant who just won $25,000 in Alphabetics. Regis then whips out the Magic Toaster for a one-clue, one-response shot at a million bucks. And since the word is "Hydrochloric," the million stays with the production company, and we don't focus on the Alphabetics win, but rather the missed million.

I don't think there's a way that Password and "million dollar payoff" can coexist.

[mcsittel]

After almost 20 years, I'm glad to see *someone* bring it back to TV-I wasn't sure it was ever going to be resuscitated.  And if they screw it up, well... we always have GSN reruns... for now anyway.  

If they screw it up, so be it... but at least it's getting another incarnation.  It's better than nothing.

[fishbulb]

I love Password, and I really, really hope they don't screw this up.
However, I have an idea what the million dollar round might be like:

(Regis, the contestant, and the celebrity partner move to the dimly-lit million-dollar area of the stage.  Let's call the contestant Jill.)
(Brooding, suspenseful music plays)

Regis:  Now, Jill, if you can guess one more password with just one clue, you'll win one million dollars!

Announcer (quietly): The password is "obstinate".
(Suspenseful music continues)

Regis: Jill, choose your million dollar clue from these clues numbered 1 to 5.

Jil: I'll pick clue number 4.

(The celebrity participates by reading the clue. Jill guesses wrong.)

Regis:  Now, Jill, you can still leave with $100,000 if you get the password on the next clue!

...
You can probably fill in the rest.
I hope the show's better than this, but I agree with those who say we probably won't see classic Password played for a big part of the hour.

[HYHYBT]

Sorry, don't know why I thought the problem with the title was really that it was a bad title and not the idea... of course a million is too much to have riding on one clue, or even one round, with a celebrity partner.

But since we don't yet know the format (and quite possibly neither do those coming up with it), how about a departure from the risk-your-winnings-at-every-step multiplication money tree? Imagine, by some miracle, a pretty much straight revival of the old shows, with some plain passwords and some puzzles in the main game, an Alphabetics bonus round for 50 or 100k (still has to be around this large for the ultimate goal to remain plausible but if you're playing again anyway it's not as bad), once you win a game the money's yours to keep, players stay until another contestant beats them or they reach a million in winnings. Straddling allowed since WWTBAM does it, and if it's going to be done in short runs edit so that the last episode of a batch ends in an appropriate spot (also like Millionaire, and 80's Match Game before it).

It would take a pretty grand miracle, at a level somewhere between parting the sea and raising the dead, but it sure would be fun to watch. Which theoretically is the point.

[Clay Zambo]

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'166553\' date=\'Oct 12 2007, 09:23 PM\']
Consider a contestant who just won $25,000 in Alphabetics. Regis then whips out the Magic Toaster for a one-clue, one-response shot at a million bucks. And since the word is "Hydrochloric," the million stays with the production company, and we don't focus on the Alphabetics win, but rather the missed million.
[/quote]

But the same can be said of "Millionaire."  You've just won $500,000.  Now you have a chance to play for a million, or walk away.  We don't spend all that much time celebrating your $500K win.

[Kevin Prather]

[quote name=\'Clay Zambo\' post=\'166601\' date=\'Oct 13 2007, 05:59 AM\']
But the same can be said of "Millionaire."  You've just won $500,000.  Now you have a chance to play for a million, or walk away.  We don't spend all that much time celebrating your $500K win.
[/quote]
I don't entirely agree. Yes, that's how it panned out occasionally, with the win happening and the lights immediately coming back down, but more often than not, they would pause to celebrate at least a little, then throw to break. One that sticks in my mind is Ogi Ogas' win last year.