$otC Revived Before Password?

[tpirfan28]

Who here, honestly, is a little surprised that a Sale of the Century revival has hit the airwaves before a Passwordrevival?

I figured Password would have gotten a nod when All-American Television went on a failed revival spree (Card Sharks and Match Game come to mind).  I thought for sure we would have seen it before Sale came back.

[Casey]

I must have missed it... Where's the info about a revival of $OTC?

[MikeK]

[quote name=\'isucgv\' post=\'163137\' date=\'Sep 9 2007, 04:32 PM\']I must have missed it... Where's the info about a revival of $OTC?[/quote]
Just a little show premiering tomorrow* called Temptation, The New Sale of the Century.

* or last Wednesday, if you want to call the AI preview show the premiere.

[Jimmy Owen]

Who'da thunk "Wipeout" would have come back before "Password."?

[alfonzos]

I, too, would like see Password revived. Perhaps in a format that would have the Alphabetics/Lightning Round as the show's climax.

[tvrandywest]

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'163136\' date=\'Sep 9 2007, 01:14 PM\']
Who here, honestly, is a little surprised that a Sale of the Century revival has hit the airwaves before a Passwordrevival?
[/quote]
While Password in its many incarnations had a longer run and can be considered a far greater success than SOTC, it's no surprise to me that a Password revival hasn't been in the pipeline nor on the air.

SOTC is Q&A game that can be written to any level of intelligence and sophistication. Password requires a command of the nuances of language that is sorely lacking in modern times. Did you hear Miss Teen South Carolina try to speak about maps?! And from the living room side, a great part of the available audience lacks the language skills to play along. If you don't believe it, grab some random folks and try your own informal runthrough.

(harp gliss begins dream sequence)

"The Password is 'miser'"

Jack Benny: "Me"
Partner: "Celebrity"

Carol Burnett: ""Cheapskate"
Partner: "Rollerblade"

Jack: "Hoarder"
Partner: "Prostitute"

Carol: "Scrooge"
Partner: "Semen"

Jack: "Tightwad"
Partner: "Diarrhea"

Home viewer: disgusted or simply confused


Randy
tvrandywest.com

[Jay Temple]

I'd love to see Password come back, too. I think the biggest problem is that there's no good way to keep it from straddling, which in today's market seems to be a deal-breaker.

Seconding what Randy said, consider that even by 1984 they needed to allow opposites for the game to move forward.

[davidhammett]

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'163136\' date=\'Sep 9 2007, 04:14 PM\']
Who here, honestly, is a little surprised that a Sale of the Century revival has hit the airwaves before a Passwordrevival?
[/quote]
I'll agree with Randy and also offer this... $otC (nee Temptation) has had a decent enough track record overseas in recent years to make it a bit more attractive for American possibilities.  On the other hand, as I understand it, Super Password (i.e., the most recent version of Password) lasted as long as it did mainly because of its low production costs and its time slot (where it faced little competition, especially in eastern markets).  With its ratings, if it had been placed in a more competitive slot, it would have been clobbered.

That being said, my own personal preference would be for Password to return, but I totally understand (and have no problems with) Temptation getting the nod.

[entguy1]

Wasn't some exec quoted a few years back (maybe about the time Donny Pyramid was on) that "Password" would never come back because it was "too intelligent" for the average viewer.

Don't shoot the messenger...

[Casey]

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'163152\' date=\'Sep 9 2007, 06:21 PM\']
Seconding what Randy said, consider that even by 1984 they needed to allow opposites for the game to move forward.
[/quote]
Aside from most of the run of Password Plus, didn't Password always allow opposites?  Seems like they did on the 1960s episodes I've seen.

[That Don Guy]

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'163152\' date=\'Sep 9 2007, 04:21 PM\']
I'd love to see Password come back, too. I think the biggest problem is that there's no good way to keep it from straddling, which in today's market seems to be a deal-breaker.[/quote]
I assume the obvious solution to straddling - instead of a point limit for victory, impose a time limit (and maybe throw in a per-word amount in addition to a puzzle amount - say, $50 a word, plus $250 for the first puzzle, $500 for the second, $750 for the third, and so on), and play the bonus round at the end of each show - has a problem of some sort?

-- Don

[That Don Guy]

With all of the talk about Sale vs. Password, what chance is there of bringing back Concentration?
Is there still some sort of rights issue with NBC?

-- Don

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'That Don Guy\' post=\'163257\' date=\'Sep 10 2007, 12:54 PM\']
has a problem of some sort?
[/quote]
Yeah, it uses puzzles.

There has to be a way to develop a non-straddling Password format that just sticks with the very basic tenet of the game: one word, one response. Maybe it twists the rest of the formats we know around, but as long as you stick to the very simple word-communication thing, it's totally doable.

(Say, a Speed Round to end the game. Think Final Match-Up, but Password.)

[Jay Temple]

[quote name=\'That Don Guy\' post=\'163257\' date=\'Sep 10 2007, 02:54 PM\']
[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'163152\' date=\'Sep 9 2007, 04:21 PM\']
I'd love to see Password come back, too. I think the biggest problem is that there's no good way to keep it from straddling, which in today's market seems to be a deal-breaker.[/quote]
I assume the obvious solution to straddling - instead of a point limit for victory, impose a time limit (and maybe throw in a per-word amount in addition to a puzzle amount - say, $50 a word, plus $250 for the first puzzle, $500 for the second, $750 for the third, and so on), and play the bonus round at the end of each show - has a problem of some sort?

-- Don
[/quote]
The problem is that you can build up such a lead that the last puzzle or two can't change the outcome. As I think about it, that's only a small problem if you're playing for cash. OTOH, if only the winner gets the money, which seems to be the case more and more, it's a big problem.

I'll back-pedal. If you get a host who can chew up time with the celebrities like Convy did, it would be fairly easy to make it self-contained. Short games keep all the chatter; long games get edited down; and unsolved puzzles get edited out most of the time.

[BrandonFG]

I don't understand how Feud plays to a dollar amount without any straddling issues, but it becomes a problem with Password. Does the celebrity spontaneity really provide that big of a problem? I mean, Feud is a pretty spontaneous show as well.

As for keeping the show from straddling, I have an idea, kinda half-assed.

If the puzzle's not completed, perhaps do a toss-up style puzzle where the remaining words are revealed one-at-a-time. First contestant (no celebrity) who thinks they have an idea about the puzzle can buzz in, but if wrong, the opponent gets a free guess. Kinda similar to what Scrabble used for Speedword. If no one guesses, maybe do one final word (similar to the qualifiers for the Password All-Stars format). Or maybe even do the one word regardless and have that add money to determine the game.
 
Do so after a team has already gotten a chance to convey a word, and to make it fair, have the other team get one more guess before starting the toss up.

If I come up with something better, I will.