Password, or Password Plus?

[uncamark]

Personally, my heart will always be in old school "Password," but after the initial "what is this?" reaction, I grew to respect the "Plus/Super" format--and if I were in charge of a revival, that's probably the format I'd use.  It just plays better today than the original format.

[Mike Tennant]

I'm 33.  I barely remember P+ when it was on originally (though I did convince my grandfather to get me the home version at the time and have since seen some of it on GSN) and saw more of SP in its original run.  I've only caught a couple episodes of the original series.

I like the fact that there's a payoff of sorts (in the form of the puzzle) in P+, but I will also agree with previous posters who say that this format (a) limited the choice of regular passwords and (b) sometimes made later passwords easier to guess.  I like the more difficult passwords that were available in the original.  (Playing home versions of both P and P+ has made me like the tougher words even more.)  Alphabetics is somewhat more clever than the Lightning Round, but I can take either one.

I'll give P+ my vote because I find the puzzle format more satisfying than randomly selected words.  However, if I were to revive it, I might try to do a round of classic Password as well as some puzzles, plus Alphabetics, to mix it up and make it more of an intellectual challenge.

[CarShark]

I'm 18, and I would go for Password before anything else. I just didn't like how the + or the Super affected the Password. The worst part to me was that Ludden really seemed to clam up, for fear of "blowing" the puzzle.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'tvrandywest\' date=\'Mar 7 2005, 01:40 PM\']E-I-E-I-O.

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Which reminds me of a great Pat O'Brien line.  O'Brien had CBS studio duty during one year of the NCAA basketball tourney, in which Eastern Illinois played Indiana in a first-round match-up.  When throwing it over to the game shortly before tip-off, he said, "Coming up, Eastern Illinois and Indiana--hmm, it's the Old McDonald game."  And said nothing more, leaving the subtle joke to the imagination.

While this has nothing to do with the subject at hand, a few people here probably liked that little anecdote.

And I preferred P+ to PASSWORD.

Doug

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Mar 7 2005, 05:27 PM\']Which reminds me of a great Pat O'Brien line.  O'Brien had CBS studio duty during one year of the NCAA basketball tourney, in which Eastern Illinois played Indiana in a first-round match-up.  When throwing it over to the game shortly before tip-off, he said, "Coming up, Eastern Illinois and Indiana--hmm, it's the Old McDonald game."  And said nothing more, leaving the subtle joke to the imagination.

While this has nothing to do with the subject at hand, a few people here probably liked that little anecdote.

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Don Howard, run!

[Jimmy Owen]

I liked Password best because the words were unrelated and the superior lightning round, All-Stars was fun to watch, too, but I grew to accept and embrace Password Plus and I can see why it has many fans.

[aaron sica]

Being 30, my memories of P+ are hazy. Because WGAL (my affiliate at the time) didn't carry it due to "Noonday on 8" once the show moved to noon, I didn't see it as a kid. I actually remember being surprised when I saw a Washington Post TV section with it still listed on channel 4 in early 1982 (at 9:30 am, I think??).

Super Password was the first one I really remember. Both stations where I lived at the time (WNBC-4 NY, and WBRE-28 Scranton) carried it at noon, so I was able to see it. That's when I became familiar with the gameplay, and really enjoyed it.

When GSN came along I was finally able to see the original Password. I actually find the original concept (pre P+) boring, the original lightning round boring, and I prefer P+/SP gameplay where all the pw's connect to a puzzle. That's so fun to play along with, and my favorite. Not to mention the progressive jackpot that SP has. It's probably one of the few shows where I prefer the revivals over the original.

[The Ol' Guy]

As one of the geezers, I'm also torn between two of them. I like Password Plus because of the bright pace and the double play-along at home factor. Alphabetics was pretty good, too. True, it makes regular Password seem dull by comparison, but what I like about the old format is not unlike what I've come to appreciate about baseball - Password was all about guessing the words directly to win, as compared to guessing the puzzle in Plus. The cluegiver was kinda like a good pitcher - thinking how to get the best clue across the plate for his teammate to hit and score on. It's fun to watch the mental wheels turn in the cluegiver's mind as they make the decision as to which clue to give - wondering if the person across from them is on the same track. With unrelated words, you couldn't look up on the wall and anticipate the next password based on the puzzle clues. So I guess if you think baseball's too slow, original Password is a dinosaur. But I like the amplified agony of what clue to use for all the marbles in the original.

[joshg]

I wasn't aware of just 'Password' until reading some of the game show books available at the time (Maxine Fabe, anyone?). Plus, with all those Plus signs all over the set and that puzzle, P+ was, as the youngins say, the shiznit. I have seen some old Passwords on GSN and it's a nice game, but P+ really took it to the next level; as opposed to All-Stars taking it down 3 levels in the wrong direction. Super Password to me wasn't anything special, just a pale version of P+ with a barren set.

Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that All-Stars was "lost"... hmm

Josh

[Game Show Man]

I'm a P+ man, myself at the age of 26.

And that's P+ over not only the original Password, but SP as well, for one reason: Allen Ludden.  The P+/SP is one of the coolest game formats I've ever seen, and no one, but NO ONE does Password like Allen did.  Don't get me wrong: original Password is fun with all the A-list celebrities and SP had the better overall format (including Cashword, thank you), but P+ is tops with me.  Oh yeah, P+ had the pass/play option.

Okay, that's two reasons.

And yes, Randy, you can transfer the VHS recordings of P+ to DVD-, ASAP on the QT, because you're not only a V.I.P., but because you're O.G., too.

[mystery7]

It's only natural I have a soft spot for + (as opposed to - or +/-) since it was there to greet me home from preschool every day. Now that I've seen all the Passwords (except for ABC's), I have an appreciation for each of them.

The original: With the right players, it could be very exciting. It's nice to go back 40 years to see the very beginning of this phenomenon, and the evolution of the modern game show.

Plus: The puzzle-in-a-puzzle was a neat twist and the Alphabetics round was a nice change of pace. + was a nice bridge between the original and...

Super: The Ca$hword was kind of a frill. Bert Convy went more for laughs than Allen or Tom did, but I don't think that was a bad thing. A good update.

All in all, Plus is my grudging first among equals, mainly for sentimental reasons.

[TwoInchQuad]

Classic CBS version.  No contest.

And it could still work today... but you need **real** stars, with brains and a little glamour about them.

Meryl Streep, for instance.

-Kevin

[calliaume]

Curt, 42, poli sci major!

As one of the few here who's seen all versions, there were none that I disliked.  My original reaction to Password All-Stars was really positive (remember, I was 12 at the time, and since I first sampled that version the same week The Big Showdown and The Money Maze debuted I was probably in a happy daze the whole time), but my favorite version now is Password Plus.  Better gameplay, better bonus round, and more exciting than its successor.

Oh, and to contribute to the other part of the thread, I bring you the lyrics Allan Sherman, father of Password Plus and Super PasswordRobert Sherman.

Harvey And Sheila
Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila,
Oh, the day they met.
Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila,
No one will forget.
Harvey's a CPA.
He works for IBM.
He went to MIT and got his PhD.
Sheila's a girl I know,
At B.B.D.& O.
She works the PBX,
And makes out the checks.
Then came one great day when
Harvey took the elevator,
Sheila got in two floors later,
Soon they both felt they were falling,
Everyone heard Sheila calling,
"Ring the bell,"
But they fell.
Harv and Sheila fell in love.
Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila,
Chose a wedding ring.
Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila,
Married in the spring.
She shopped at A & P.
He bought a used MG.
They sat and watched TV
On their RCA.
Borrowed from HFC,
Bought some AT&T,
And on election day, worked for JFK.
Then they went and got a
Charge-A-Plate from R.H. Macy,
Bought a layette, pink and lacy,
Then they had twin baby girls,
Both with dimples, both with curls,
One named Bea,
One named Kay,
Soon they joined the PTA.
Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila,
Moved to West LA.
Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila,
Flew TWA.
They bought a house one day,
Financed by FHA.
It had a swimming pool, full of H2O.
Traded their used MG
For a new XKE.
Switched to the GOP,
That's the way things go.
Oh that Harvey he was
Really smart, he used his noodle.
Sheila bought a white French poodle,
Went to Europe with a visa,
Henry's rich, they say that he's a
VIP!
This could be,
Only in the USA!

[Robert Hutchinson]

[quote name=\'calliaume\' date=\'Mar 7 2005, 10:15 PM\']Oh, and to contribute to the other part of the thread, I bring you the lyrics Allan Sherman, father of Password Plus and Super PasswordRobert Sherman.

Harvey And Sheila
Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila,
Oh, the day they met.
Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila, Harvey and Sheila,
No one will forget.
Harvey's a CPA.
He works for IBM. [. . .]
[/quote]

Dammit, I got way too far into that before realizing "the other part of the thread" was the bit with initials. I was trying to sing it to (one of) the original Password theme(s).

"A cee! pee-ay . . . he works for aye-aye-bee-eh-emm . . ."

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'TwoInchQuad\' date=\'Mar 7 2005, 09:29 PM\']And it could still work today... but you need **real** stars, with brains and a little glamour about them.
[/quote]
An oxymoron if you ask me.
Can anyone picture Coolio playing Password?