Password

[kayrharris]

Here's a bit of information about the new format. The writer has a bit of a biased opinion, but we can tell how the game works, for now anyway.

From: TV Squad
Million Dollar Password -- An early look
05-30-2008
Million Dollar Password
Here's the thing about game show revivals: you have to satisfy people on two levels. For fans of the old show, you have to make the gameplay of the new show familiar enough to keep them happy and coming back. And, in order to attract new fans, you have to modernize and add touches that will suck in viewers and help build drama. That's one of the reasons why most new game shows have Who Wants to Be a Millionaire-style darkened sets with swirling lights, and depend on ominous music and tight camera angles to create drama.

Million Dollar Password, premiering Sunday at 8 PM ET, has all of that. They even nabbed Millionaire's original American host, Regis Philbin, to give it that extra bit of primetime oomph. But does it work? Well... sorta. Fans of the Allen Ludden / Tom Kennedy / Bert Convy incarnations might be dissatisfied with what they've done to their old favorite, but even an objective observer can see that the gameplay has some flaws that are going to need to be worked out for the show to succeed.

The idea behind Password has always been simple: one member of a celebrity / contestant pair tries to guess one-word answers based on the one-word clues given by their partners. In the! old ver sions, the game would bounce back and forth between the pairs until the word was guessed or the number of guesses ran out. In this version, however, the game is played more like Pyramid: each pair has a series of five Passwords to guess in 30 seconds in an attempt to get as many points as possible. The pair with the most points after four rounds goes to the bonus round. That was a disappointing change on the producers' part; I know they want to build tension, but there was nothing wrong with the old method, where contestants and celebs can steal words based on the clues their opponents gave. Maybe they just thought it was too slow and "think-y" for them.

And, like most game shows these days, that's where the fun really begins. It's a graduated system, with each round being worth increasing amounts of money. Here, the range is from $10,000 to $1 million (there's a weird jump from $250k to the million, but that's a small quibble). The object is for the contestant and his or her partner to guess five passwords in a minute and a half. They only get three clues per word. As each round progresses, the words get harder and there are less chances for the contestant to pass or get something wrong. And, of course, the contestant has the chance to stop after each round and keep the money they've won or press onward, risking it all.

Well, not all. One of the glaring weaknesses of the bonus round is that if the contestant passes the second round of clues, he or she can't go home with anything less than the $25,000 won there. Not that "safety levels" can't work; Millionaire has two of them. But to have one so early, after a relatively easy round, really kills the bonus round's tension. So, all of a sudden we have a "nothing to lose" set of clues after two relatively easy bonus rounds. If it were me, I'd make the $100,000 level the safety level and give the contestant some real decisions to make as the rounds progres! s.

But, then again, one of the reasons they may do it that way is because the contest doesn't depend on one person. If the celebrity you're paired with screws up somehow, you might go home with nothing (there are no returning contestants here... two complete games were played in the episode sent for preview). In the opening episode, the celebs are Neil Patrick Harris and Rachael Ray. Harris, who it seems grew up watching game shows, is an excellent player, giving good clues and pulling words out of his hat when he's on the receiving end. Ray? Well, let's just say that for a Password panelist, she's a good cook.

Other celebs scheduled to appear are Rosie O'Donnell, Tony Hawk, and Susie Essman, among others. And, of course, Betty White -- who has been doing Password for so long that she met her future husband, Ludden, on the show in the early sixties -- will be there. Whichever contestants get White should consider themselves lucky, since she's probably the best Password player alive right now.

So, what about the rest of the show? Well, Regis is Regis: he busts on the contestants during the interviews and kisses up to the celebrities. This show is perfect for him. The lights and music and closeups give the show a more immediate feel than the old versions ever had, but that's par for the course in primetime. And, as you'd expect, the first episode contains a lot of choppy edits and fill-in voiceovers as Regis and the producers get a feel for explaining the game while keeping the flow going. That'll all get smoothed out over time.
Million Dollar Password needs to be tweaked, no doubt about it. And I wish the format of the play-in game was more akin to the old version than what they have now. But the show has the potential to grow on me. And considering I've been a Password fan for almost thirty years, that's saying a lot.

[peacock2121]

I am thinking they will be revamping the rules and all if it makes the cut.

I am hoping it makes the cut.

[fantine33]

In this version, however, the game is played more like Pyramid: each pair has a series of five Passwords to guess in 30 seconds in an attempt to get as many points as possible. The pair with the most points after four rounds goes to the bonus round. That was a disappointing change on the producers' part; I know they want to build tension, but there was nothing wrong with the old method, where contestants and celebs can steal words based on the clues their opponents gave. Maybe they just thought it was too slow and "think-y" for them.

I'm not sure I like the speed thing (although I like Pyramid), why does everything have to be fast, fast, fast? They can't spend 5 seconds watching somebody try to think of a clue? I would think that they will probably sacrifice tougher passwords and quality clues in pursuit of speed.

Another problem with the speed thing is the celebrities. They mention Betty White and, yes, all other things being equal, she'd be dynamite. But when you add the speed thing, and please nobody take offense, she's kind of up there in years. She certainly seems to have retained all of her faculties and sparkling personality when I see her, but the reflexes and synapses have to be slowed down when you get to be of a certain age, don't they? If not, then tell that to the blue hairs counting pennies out of their change purse at the register.

I'm with them on the stealing thing, though. When we play games at home, my sister and I are usually split up and I hate doing Password because I hate giving a great clue that I know my clueless (ha) teammates won't get, but my sister will be on the other side of the table salivating with the thought of jumping on it.

Harris, who it seems grew up watching game shows, is an excellent player, giving good clues and pulling words out of his hat when he's on the receiving end. Ray? Well, let's just say that for a Password panelist, she's a good cook.

Why did I know that Neil Patrick Harris would rock at this? That's the problem with celebrity teams, I would be highly pissed if somebody else got a celebrity like NPH or Kirstie Alley (she was on BITD as a contestant and cleaned up) and I got stuck with a block of giggling wood like Rachael Ray. I don't want people who use words like 'sammy' and 'yummo' to be my Password partner, thanks.

So, what about the rest of the show? Well, Regis is Regis: he busts on the contestants during the interviews and kisses up to the celebrities. This show is perfect for him. The lights and music and closeups give the show a more immediate feel than the old versions ever had, but that's par for the course in primetime.

I watched Regis and Kelly a couple weeks ago when Jason and Cristian were on (if you need last names there, it won't matter to you, anyway) and he was carrying on about having to 'go save CBS now' and how they didn't give him something, I can't remember what it was, and 'was that any way to treat the saviour of the network' and so on. So, it's the same old schtick, but he must have been given a gag order, because he avoided saying ABC or the M word.

[kayrharris]

It does remind me of Pyramid, because the outcome of the game could depend on your celebrity big time.

It does sound like Regis hasn't changed his game plan any at all. After Millionaire's success, he was making mega bucks. Wonder what his starting pay will be this time?

[MarleysGh0st]

Ray? Well, let's just say that for a Password panelist, she's a good cook.

Ouch!

[earendel]

OK, I watched the show, and, as the commercial used to say, "It ain't your father's" Password. The reviewer had it right. Rather than the more leisurely format of old, with the announcer revealing, in hushed tones, the password, and the contestants, seated across from each other, going through the process one clue at a time, now it's more frenetic with each contestant having 30 seconds to get five passwords. The contestants both give and receive clues and they switch celebrities, all in the name of equalizing opportunities. And all that is just the preliminary round. The "money round" has a six-tiered payoff system, starting with $10K and going to $1M, with $25K (the second tier) being a "safe haven". Contestants give the clues (no choice) to the celebrity with whom they scored the most points in the preliminary round. They have 1:30 to get five passwords, but can only use three clues for each one, and any they skip don't come back. At each level the number of total passwords goes down (starting with 9), so the option to pass becomes less at each level.

Spoiler

Both of the contestants decided to go for $100K and neither of them made it. I suspect that most contestants wiill go for the $50K because they have nothing to lose, and if they get it, will gamble and fail. I don't foresee many $1M winners coming out of this.

[peacock2121]

Spoiler

What earendel said was not exactly accurate. The second guy had the $100,000 and went for $250,000. Before doing that, he got to see the first 5 of the 6 words he had to get Doogie to say 5 of. He went for it and couldn't get him to say the 5th one, which was corner. Then the 6th one was revelaed - fiasco. yikers.

The poor guy was beside himself with grief.

I think the first few success or failure stories will greatly influence how many go for it.

[earendel]

Spoiler

What earendel said was not exactly accurate. The second guy had the $100,000 and went for $250,000. Before doing that, he got to see the first 5 of the 6 words he had to get Doogie to say 5 of. He went for it and couldn't get him to say the 5th one, which was corner. Then the 6th one was revelaed - fiasco. yikers.

The poor guy was beside himself with grief.

I think the first few success or failure stories will greatly influence how many go for it.

Oh, yeah, that's right. Thanks for the correction.

[Ritterskoop]

I liked it, and thought it was as fair as they can make it.

[MarleysGh0st]

I'll take my father's Password, thank you. If Reege had to come back for a gameshow with a $1 million prize, TPTB picked the wrong one.

Too much of a rush, too much noise, too much...

I like that the contestants get a turn with each celebrity, so there's no disadvantage to being stuck with a bad one. But the competition round is way too short compared to the multiple money rounds for the winner and a celeb who's not up to par spends a lot of time on the sidelines.

Winning that $1 million prize will be very tough!

Spoiler

The show moves so quickly, it's hard to play along at home. But when that guy was trying to get Neil to guess "corner" I was hoping that after saying "street" he'd give the clue "intersection".

[Ritterskoop]

It must make a difference for me that I did not see the original version. Without comparing it to something else, it stands on its own fine for me.

[NellyLunatic1980]

Spoiler

"Corner" looks inocuous, but coming up with that word in three clues or less is more difficult than a lot of people think. I probably would have given "walls, intersection, point".

And "fiasco" was just an evil word. There is no way anybody can convey that, even with thirty clues. The producers were definitely banking on a contestant blowing either "canteen" or "corner".

[fantine33]

How long do we have to spoil stuff since it already aired yesterday? To avoid, the Wrath of Marley, I'll play along until given the all clear.

Spoiler

What earendel said was not exactly accurate. The second guy had the $100,000 and went for $250,000. Before doing that, he got to see the first 5 of the 6 words he had to get Doogie to say 5 of. He went for it and couldn't get him to say the 5th one, which was corner. Then the 6th one was revelaed - fiasco. yikers.

The poor guy was beside himself with grief.

I think the first few success or failure stories will greatly influence how many go for it.

Spoiler

I do like that they give you a hint as to the words, I was wondering how they'd entice people to go higher when it's such a crapshoot as the rounds can be completely different from each other. I figured from the sneak peek that he'd miss "corner". Llike Marley, I was screaming "intersection, you dumbass!" (okay maybe not exactly like Marley, ha!).

I knew that, if he didn't get that one, then #6 would be a bitch and a half. Although he gave suckass clues. My first thought was "I hope my celebrity would be hip enough to know who Lupe Fiasco is!", but if I had, say, Betty White, I'd probably go with "disaster" "debaucle" and "snafu".

I don't like the speed thing. As I feared, they've greatly simplified the passwords in the name of speed. Which takes away playing along at home. And that was the best part of Password, trying to figure out what you'd say for 'paradigm' that wouldn't give it away to the other team if your partner missed.

I don't mind the speed in the bonus round. It's really necessary there since there are so many rounds. If they're going for a Pyramid hybrid, it would be nice if they keep the same contestants for the whole show. Except I can understand not wanting to give somebody TWO million dollars. At least let the loser have a second whack at it!

[earendel]

I'll take my father's Password, thank you. If Reege had to come back for a gameshow with a $1 million prize, TPTB picked the wrong one.

Too much of a rush, too much noise, too much...

I like that the contestants get a turn with each celebrity, so there's no disadvantage to being stuck with a bad one. But the competition round is way too short compared to the multiple money rounds for the winner and a celeb who's not up to par spends a lot of time on the sidelines.

Winning that $1 million prize will be very tough!

Spoiler

The show moves so quickly, it's hard to play along at home. But when that guy was trying to get Neil to guess "corner" I was hoping that after saying "street" he'd give the clue "intersection".

I thought that very same thing, Marley (regarding the spoiler). As to the show, the pace is too fast, but then in the ADD age I guess that's what makes a good game show.

[trevor_macfee]

I was surprised how much I enjoyed the show. I grew up watching Password among the many other game shows during the day when I was off from school, and didn't know how much I'd appreciate the radically changed format.

It is indeed a different game, but for prime time - and for an hour - the old format probably wouldn't work. Sure, the set and lighting and stuff was over the top, but the game itself was pretty exciting. And, unlike Duel, it was very easy to follow. My 11-year old daughter picked up on it right away.

The format was fair with each contestant getting equal time with the two celebrities - especially important if the celebs are going to be so unevenly matched in game play ability. And Regis handled the proceedings well without getting in the way of the game.

All that being said, I'm glad I didn't make the cut for this show (some of you may remember I journeyed to NYC in December on a lark to try out and failed their 6-word test). I would've hated to miss out on my shot at Jeopardy, not because of how I did or didn't do on J!, but because J! was much more of a long-term goal/dream.

[MarleysGh0st]

And, unlike Duel, it was very easy to follow.

Have you seen the second series of Duel, Trevor? They've simplified and improved the rules a lot, getting rid of that "so much per chip left" rule and making the winnings go up a ladder depending on the number of questions played, which makes a long, hard-fought battle worth more than an instant win against a clueless opponent.

All that being said, I'm glad I didn't make the cut for this show (some of you may remember I journeyed to NYC in December on a lark to try out and failed their 6-word test). I would've hated to miss out on my shot at Jeopardy, not because of how I did or didn't do on J!, but because J! was much more of a long-term goal/dream.

We should all have such problems.

[trevor_macfee]

And, unlike Duel, it was very easy to follow.

Have you seen the second series of Duel, Trevor? They've simplified and improved the rules a lot, getting rid of that "so much per chip left" rule and making the winnings go up a ladder depending on the number of questions played, which makes a long, hard-fought battle worth more than an instant win against a clueless opponent.

No I have not. Just the first series, which I enjoyed once I figured it out but I'm sure a casual viewer tuning in just once would've been lost.

One more thought about last night's show:

Spoiler

I wonder if the contestants would've done better to receive clues during the bonus round, especially when partnered with such a proficient celeb. The Password test was totally based on how well one guessed some pretty hard words based on some so-so clues, so I wonder if guessing might be more of a strength for those who get on the show.

[MarleysGh0st]

One more thought about last night's show:

Spoiler

I wonder if the contestants would've done better to receive clues during the bonus round, especially when partnered with such a proficient celeb. The Password test was totally based on how well one guessed some pretty hard words based on some so-so clues, so I wonder if guessing might be more of a strength for those who get on the show.

Spoiler

Maybe, but I think most contestants would feel more in control of their destiny giving clues than receiving them.

[Bob Juch]

How long do we have to spoil stuff since it already aired yesterday? To avoid, the Wrath of Marley, I'll play along until given the all clear.

Until I can watch it on my TiVo.

[kayrharris]

It must make a difference for me that I did not see the original version. Without comparing it to something else, it stands on its own fine for me.

Yesterday GSN has a marathon of Password and Super Password. It's also on their daily schedule around mid-afternoon I think.

[MarleysGh0st]

How long do we have to spoil stuff since it already aired yesterday? To avoid, the Wrath of Marley, I'll play along until given the all clear.

Until I can watch it on my TiVo.

All clear!

Unless you fear the Wrath of Juch!

[KillerTomato]

As a fan of the old "Password", I was sorry to see any changes at all, but on the whole I liked this version a lot. I could see myself playing, and doing well with the right celeb.

But didn't they give the first contestant the option to give or receive in the bonus round???? I could have sworn they did. I would have chosen to give, too, though...

[MarleysGh0st]

But didn't they give the first contestant the option to give or receive in the bonus round???? I could have sworn they did. I would have chosen to give, too, though...

Both contestants were given that choice.

[kayrharris]

I also remember Regis asking her if she wanted to give or receive the clues. I had a lot going on the 2nd half of the show and wasn't pay close attention to the other player.

[silverscreenselect]

1) I don't think you will see a $1M winner. I don't think you will see anyone risk 250K to go for it.

2) 90 seconds is a long time and there should be no need to pass on any clue unless a contestant draws a complete blank, and even then repeating a past clue might allow someone to guess the answer.

3) The show does minimize the dud celebrity factor as much as possible.