This is something I've been wanting to try for some time now.
I would like to compare various game play elements with two similar shows, as well as hosts, sound effects, announcers and music.
Password Plus hosts were Allen Ludden, then Bill Cullen substituted when Allen was ill, Allen came back, sadly took ill again and Tom Kennedy ended up taking over as host for the remainder of the series. All three did a sensational job in their own right.
Bert Convy was a friendly host but he seemed a bit too much of a "chatty Cathy" for my liking and clowned around a bit too much for my taste. Bert also was notorious for giving away puzzle answers far too often. I know Allen and Tom had that happen on occasion on Password Plus, I don't recall Bill Cullen ever doing that, but Bert did so far too often in my opinion.
Advantage for hosting - Password Plus
Game Play - Password Plus had the option to either pass or play on a password, Super Password did not have that option which took away some of the fun of strategic playing. The end game was similar except Super Password had a progressive jackpot where Plus did not until late in its run. I did like that Super Password had an added mini-bonus game known as the CA$HWORD...that proved rather exciting.
Advantage - Tie
Scoring - Password Plus' original scoring system worked nicely, $100 for the first two puzzles then $200 for the last two, first to $300 won. Nice and simple. Later in the show's run, they gunked up the works by having the first three puzzles worth $100 then remaining puzzles worth $200. This could at times require as many as six puzzles to be played before being able to play the Alphabetics end game and made the front game drag on far too long. Super Password's scoring system in the front game was better to me. The first game was a "warm up" of sorts, worth $100 which didn't really matter for the scoring system. After the $100 puzzle was played, it became basically a best 2 out of 3 match. I also liked that Super Password had the contestants switch partners after the $200 puzzle. Plus did not do that until late in its run with the long dragged out front game.
Advantage - Super Password
End Game - Essentially the same exact bonus game, Password Plus was "Alphabetics" while Super Password's end game was just "Super Password", kind of meh. Both required ten passwords to be solved within a 60 second time limit, both had those ten words in alphabetical order running from A through J or B through K or Q though Z, etc. If an illegal clue was given during Password Plus, a 20 percent penalty for the top prize was applied, so a $5,000 win could be reduced to $4,000 or even $3,000. In both versions every solved word scored $100 for the contestant. With Super Password though, one illegal clue and the top prize was out of play entirely which I thought was better. Both clocks had similar sound effects with the beeping during the counting down. I rather liked the wall on Password Plus that opened up to show the Alphabetics game board vs. nothing with Super Password. One other thing I really liked better with Password Plus was Allen would almost always ask the celebrity if they had a clue in mind for the first word, then he would say "do you have a second clue"? Allen really seemed to go out of his way to want to help the contestant win the big money.
Advantage - Tie (I honestly cannot decide which end game was better, both had pros and cons that equal out in my humble opinion).
Theme Music - Advantage Super Password. Plus had a really great and upbeat theme too but Super Password's theme was fantastic, especially a bonus game win cue...just thinking about it now gives me goosebumps!
The Set - Super Password was more electronic looking and futuristic while Password Plus set was more cozy and all the plus signs on the wall gave it a certain charm. Advantage - Password Plus
Celebrity Guests - It seemed that Password Plus had a better quality of celebrity guests overall who played the game and played it better. I know Elizabeth Montgomery who was a sensational player refused to appear after Allen passed away. Greg Morris was also a terrific player one of my alltime favorites. Super Password seemed to have some really quality celebs but also some who were a bit too clownish to me, so for this category I give the advantage to Password Plus.
I'd love to hear your individual takes about these shows and also feedback as to whether you like this idea of comparing two similar shows or if you dislike this idea.
