“Million Dollar Password” Returns December 21st

14 Nov

Posted by Alex Davis as CBS, Password, Schedule Change

CBS finally announced the return of Million Dollar Pyramid, er Million Dollar Password after taping a long time ago. It’ll come back on Sunday, December 21st, at 8PM ET. At least they aren’t doing the same mistake they did with Power of 10 by putting it in a suicide slot against shows like American Idol. I’m not a big fan of this new version of Password, but it deserves better. On the first episode, the celebrities will be Aisha Tyler from CSI and Talk Soup, and William Shatner from everything.

We were given the official rules a bit ago. It included their rules for judging clues; we’ll have to post that up here this weekend possibly. But the only change this season is that the $250,000 level is now a milestone. If you win a quarter of a million dollars, you can’t leave with less than that and you get a free shot at the million. You also get a preview of the six words you will play at the quarter million dollar level; you only need five.

I’m not really a big fan of the free shot at a million. It really takes away the drama of the big gamble for the money. I’m not saying all or nothing, but just something. I mean I’m not going to feel bad if someone loses because they have a quarter of a million no matter what. It won’t be that thrilling to see a millionaire really. the only people who will be jumping for joy are those who get amused by big numbers. And looking at how popular Deal or No Deal was for a while, I don’t see any big issues. Am I the only one who doesn’t like the guaranteed free shot at $1,000,000?

33 Responses

MrQuiz
1
November 14th, 2008 at 2:14 am

No, ALex, you’re not alone on this one. Personally, I’ve always felt that PASSWORD was one game show that was never meant to have a $1M payoff. It almost makes me wonder what’s next for Fremental, er, uh, FreMANTLE if they really got crazy…MILLION DOLLAR BEAT THE CLOCK?
What’s scary is that one just COULD work!!!

All wackiness aside, if I had it my way, Password would revert to the original format; if you (they) wanted to jack up the stakes with a Lightning Round, Alphabetics, Cashword, or whatever, then so be it. But at the very least, there must be celebrities and contestants chosen, who “get it” with regard to how this game is (supposed) to be played. I mean, that’s part of the fun of watching the old shows. Maybe I took things too literally, when you shared the original press release earlier this year, when someone from FreMANTLE stated in so many words, that contestants would be the types of people audiences would like and relate to. As far as I’m concerned, as important as the people are, the game still matters. But, don’t take my word for it; that was Mark Goodson’s feeling also. I wonder how he’d feel (and for that matter, how ’bout Bill Todman, too ) about how FreMANTLE has handled things.
Joe Mello
2
November 14th, 2008 at 2:18 am

I understand your position, but there’s an odd aesthetic to this that I like. I don’t think the point was to necessarily get a millionaire, but just to have people play deeper. Round 5 is now not just another rung on the ladder, but $250K and a free shot a a mil, which is going to entice more people than just the 1 from last season.

Gameplay-wise, it may not be good, but it should make for better TV, and it’s certainly less detrimental I think than whatever Gimmick or No Gimmick is doing.
Scott Meckley
3
November 14th, 2008 at 2:26 am

I don’t like the free shot idea at the million. What they ought to do is this. If you are at $250,000 and you go for the million and miss it you drop down to $100,000. $100,000 is a lot of money. I also would love to see returning champs. Also players that lose leave the game with at least $1,000.
Neville
4
November 14th, 2008 at 3:35 am

I’ll be the first to dissent. I like the idea of the “free” shot at the million - I use free in quotes because getting to 250K is not a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t see what’s so darned exciting about a “chance” at something if no one will go for it. Example: 5th Grader (and I can’t believe I’m praising the program) makes it a reasonable decision for the player, based on her knowledge of the final topic. Power of Ten, though, made it a 1 in 11 RANDOM shot to win the 10M or drop to 100K with 1M in pocket - odds nearly no one will (rather, would) take. This strikes me as an attempt to make going for both the million and 250K alluring. It doesn’t dumb down the program, and I wouldn’t say it makes it any easier for contestants. It does guarantee them a little more and us a little more, should they get that high. I guess I’m not a fan of the drama created by people taking a blind risk for so much. Although Scott, I wouldn’t take issue with your idea of a smaller drop down, but if we’re going to have a milestone, they should make it worth more than the second step. Perhaps a “Create Your Own Milestone?”

Mind you, I’m not saying that the show is that grand overall, but this is a (small) step, in my view, in the right direction. I’d much rather watch a new Password in the older vein. But they will have Bill Shatner on there, and he is a STITCH, so I know I’ll watch. If you haven’t seen a clip of him on Pyramid, I suggest you find one somewhere in the tubes.
Pinwiz
5
November 14th, 2008 at 4:02 am

The only problem I have with the show is that I’m not on it… stupid final interview. :)

I agree with the person above that stated the changes make the contestants want to go for $250K. I think that’s a good thing, because it gives us the drama of the preview list.
Doug Morris
6
November 14th, 2008 at 6:40 am

Rule #1 when offering $1,000,000 as a top or bonus payoff: Make the road to same improbable. Not impossible — just improbable.

WoF did it *JUST* right when replacing the $10,000 third of the special bankrupt space with $1M — and making related adjustments to the rules from there. TPiR, whether attaching $1M as a bonus to the big wheel or a pricing game, does it just right as well — even though it’s better the way it is now with Drew than it was before with Bob.

MDP — oy. I’m wondering if they’re going to slot harder word beyond $25K. Sounds like — no.
Steven
7
November 14th, 2008 at 8:36 am

This is what I’d have
Round 1:$250 a word, Round 2:$500, R3:$750, R4:$1,000
most $ goes on to Alphabetics

10 in 60 the first time $25,000 bonus
after winning 2nd reg. game 10 in 60 the 2nd time $50,000 bonus
after winning 3rd reg. game 10 in 60 the 3rd time $100,000 bonus
after winning 4th reg. game 10 in 60 the 4th time $200,000 bonus
after winning 5th reg. game 10 in 60 the 5th and final time $1,000,000
$2,000 for each word if bonus not won

The only way to be able to play for $1,000,000 is to win each of the bonus games beforehand. Almost like the H2 bonus scoring from a few years ago. Improbable, definitely, impossible, no.
DeVares
8
November 14th, 2008 at 10:01 am

I, for once, have mixed feelings about this. Sure a “free” shot at $1m is good, but, I think you should have some sort of leverage. Here’s how I would do it: if you win $50k, you can’t go home with less than that. And, if you don’t win, you come back and compete to try it again. If you win 5 games in a row, then you automatically win $1 million (similar to Duel).

To MrQuiz: Million Dollar Beat The Clock? Not a bad idea for a game show. Seeing as the last version on Pax didn’t last a season, they’re do for a revival.
MrQuiz
9
November 14th, 2008 at 10:33 am

As I stated eariler, if it were up to me, I’d take PASSWORD back to its original format, albeit streamlined:

Main game-”classic” format, but streamlilned similarly to PASSWORD PLUS/SUPER PASSWORD: two attempts per team per word. “Pass/Play” option incorporated. Scoring starts at 100 points, and drops by 25 in each ensuing attempt. Maximum six (6) passwords played. On fifth password, value doubles to 200 points, dropping by 50 after the first try.
Sixth (final round) is “sudden death.” Team trailing gets option to plasy or pass. Only one attempt alowed on this word. Failure to guess the password give opponents won by default. Otherwise, first team to score at least 250 points, wins the game.

Let the current bonus round stand, but without any guarantee, with one exception, to be stated at the end of this paragraph. Instead, let’s make that contestant the “champion,” and allow him/her to defend their title against a new player. Five victories, or winning the $1M retires the contestant. If the player wins five games, THEN you can incorporate the $250K guarantee.
David Howell
10
November 14th, 2008 at 10:44 am

Principle is more reasonable than it looks, but I think $100,000 might have been a better place for it. I guess we’ll see how it goes. It’s a decent timeslot for it at least, as I can’t imagine this has too much audience crossover with NFL.
Douglas Crawshaw Jr.
11
November 14th, 2008 at 11:11 am

“I don’t like the free shot idea at the million. What they ought to do is this. If you are at $250,000 and you go for the million and miss it you drop down to $100,000. $100,000 is a lot of money. I also would love to see returning champs. Also players that lose leave the game with at least $1,000.”

I like the idea of returnning champions. Even though the 50s game shows were scandalous, the returning champions concept did work in upping ratings! In the non-scandalous world of game shows, Ken Jennings is a perfect example.

I also like Stephen’s idea of one ladder at a time.
Intelligentfan777
12
November 14th, 2008 at 1:40 pm

Heck, these days you can take ANY classic game show and turn in into a Million-Dollar show. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. I don’t like Fremantle that much, but I have to hand it to them here. MDP actually is a good modren-day remake, although a few tweaks here and there would make it great. I’m glad the show is back.

The $250,000 safety net has strong arguments on both sides. I don’t mind it, personally, but I think a $100,000 saftey net would have been better. On the other hand, it does entice contestants to go further, making for deeper games.
insaneben
13
November 14th, 2008 at 3:08 pm

Once again, Fremantle has lived up to its reputation as “The House Of Bad Ideas”. Sure, the $250,000 safety net might’ve sounded like a good idea on paper (to whom, I’d like to know). But what if someone makes it to the $50,000 or $100,000 level and completely blows it? Do they get nothing for their hard-fought efforts? I thought the $25,000 safe zone worked just fine. Way to pull a “Fremantle”, uh… Fremantle. Other than that, I don’t really have any other major problems with the main game or preliminary rounds (except for giving contestants nothing for their efforts, and Fremantle’s final interview sessions screwing potential big winners out in favor of good-looking nimrods).

I think a syndicated Super Password spin-off would work just fine (if only networks would cut back on all those damn commercials).
William
14
November 14th, 2008 at 4:05 pm

Perhaps if they fail on the level they’re on, they can “go down” a level. (e.g., a player at $250,000 going for the million that loses her game goes down to $100,000).
George
15
November 14th, 2008 at 5:00 pm

I think will see more people going home with $0. Not very exciting TV but Fremantle has a way of destroying shows. kind of sad i thought it was a decent show.
myke25
16
November 14th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

I like the milestone at $250,000. I have no problem giving $250K winners a free shot at $1M. No one in their right mind would risk a quarter of a million…or $225,000.
The $100,000 Pyramid (The greatest freakin’ game show ever) never made players risk their winnings to get to the next level, it was all based on the number of games you won. My only real problem with Million Dollar Passwordamid is the 6-tier bonus game. I agree with one of the previous posts. Winners should have to defeat another contestant to try for the next money tier. And 5 games to win $1M makes sense to me.
(I’d lose the $10,000 level…no one really gets excited about winning $10K anymore. $10K is the new $5K!)
That said, I love the game play. I always suspected that if they brought Password back, it would be all speed rounds. The old shows, as much as I loved them growing up, are almost painfully slow-paced today.

It’s a shame there won’t be any chairs on the set for Shatner to throw!
GrahamGB
17
November 14th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

I think that some people are reading this wrong. Isn’t the second level a milestone as well? (I believe it was the $25,000 level.) This should prevent most people to leave with more than nothing. I just hope that the get better celebrities than the later shows that they showed. It’s too bad they can’t get Neil Patrick Harris on there as a permanent fixture since he is such a good player.
MrQuiz
18
November 14th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

You an credit the fast pace to the fact that younger audiences (this is an “if the shoe fits…” scenario, here) have less patience, and have shorter to no attention spans. This at least partially explains why MDP has supplanted the “classic” element for the fast pace. IMO, it’s still a bad idea.

And to DeVares, the only way I’d buy into a MILLION DOLLAR BEAT THE CLOCK would be if:

A) Fremental, er,uh, FreMANTLE would reinstitute the show’s “signature” clock; replete with those little lights, that “positvely existential” tick, that fat, honking 60-cycle buzzer, and…

B) I got to emcee it! (hey, compared to Gary Kroger, I’m Bud Collyer! But, wait a minute, lets’ be afir about this, OK? Compared to Gary Kroger, EVERYBODY is Bud Collyer!!!!)
Bob H.
19
November 15th, 2008 at 1:41 am

When I first heard about the show, I thought the money tree would go from $10,000 to $500,000, and then you are given THE $1,000,000 password: 1 word, 3 clues, 15 seconds.

Still, just because someone gets a free shot at the $1,000,000 does not necessarily mean they will win it. 5 out of 5 is an incredible task to complete. If it were up to me, I would make the risk that if you decide to go for the $1,000,000 and miss it, you only drop back to $100,000 (so you go down one level).
DeVares
20
November 15th, 2008 at 9:25 am

Insaneben, you got me thinking. A syndicated version of Pyramid…..I mean, Password sounds good to me. Fremental….I mean, Fremantle (darn you, MrQuiz. lol) could pair it with Family Feud.

MrQuiz, if you host the revival of Beat The Clock, I’ll watch it. Fact is Gary Kroeger is a terrible host (see ‘96 version of the Newlywed Game) as well as a terrible announcer (see Card Sharks ‘01 and Whammy). To be even more fair, a snail is Bud Collyer compared to Gary Kroeger.
MrQuiz
21
November 15th, 2008 at 11:39 am

Even though I haven’t watched it on a regular basis in decasde, Gary Kroger wasn’t even all that much to write home about when he was on SNL!
MrQuiz
22
November 15th, 2008 at 11:39 am

apologies for all typos; my fingers are dyslexic! (LOL)
Alex Davis
23
November 15th, 2008 at 11:42 am

Just a small reminder if you want, you can edit your comments for like a half hour after you post. Just click the timestamp of your post. It all works.

Edit: Just testing the edit. It apparently works.
Alex
24
November 15th, 2008 at 9:17 pm

Yay. More Fremantle Media bashing. Didn’t Golden Road.net all teach us back in July 2008 that that’s NOT a good idea? -_-

Give it a chance, THEN bash it. As GrahamGB above me stated, we haven’t yet heard if they got rid of the previous safety net. So, those who don’t get to the $250,000 level may still leave with something if they screw up. And I’m not entirely convinced that this new safety net is a “free” shot at a million.

So, looks like I’ll have to watch it in order to form an opinion, huh? D:
MrQuiz
25
November 15th, 2008 at 11:42 pm

To Alex: regarding the editing element…if I may quote the late, but eternally lovely Dick Martin, “I didn’t know that…”
DENo1MatchGameFan
26
November 16th, 2008 at 2:26 am

To make “MDP” more fun for us classic game show fanatics, get some classic “Password”/”Password Plus”/”Super Password” celebrities to play the game along with Betty White - surely there is room for the like of Vicki Lawrence, Marcia Wallace, Carol Burnett, and many of the other celebs who are still alive to play in the game - look at the high ratings that the cast of “The Carol Burnett Show” got for their reunion specials, and also the game show personalities that appeared on “H2″ in 2002 - that would be something to watch!
kaos
27
November 16th, 2008 at 3:26 am

“Classic PASSWORD Celebrities”?

You suppose Zsa Zsa Gabor and/or Jerry Lewis are available?

I’ve seen them on the B/W episodes of Password
SeanB
28
November 16th, 2008 at 1:24 pm

CBS doesn’t care if the small subset of “classic game show fanatics” are pleased or not.

And I’m totally in favor of the free shot at $1,000,000. If words like “fiasco” are going to be in the $250,000 stack again, then anybody that wins on that level deserves to keep it.
Intelligentfan777
29
November 17th, 2008 at 11:42 am

I think those that perceive the $25,000 milestone is gone are wrong. (which ONCE AGAIN proves that game show bloggers are WAY too reactive!)

It has to be $25,000 AND $250,000 are both milestones. I could have sworn that it was mentioned in an early post about the new episodes.
Alex Davis
30
November 17th, 2008 at 11:56 am

Excuse me? When did I ever say $25K is gone? The $25K milestone is still there. I only said $250K is now a milestone. Don’t put words in my mouth.

And to Sean, I’m not a classics fan, at all, but come on. $250K questions on Millionaire are brutally hard. Do they deserve to keep their money? Even on Super Millionaire, $1M questions were insanely hard at only question 12, do they deserve to keep it? I’m not saying it’s an awful change. I just think it ruins the drama. Part of a game show is the risk, and the show lost it for the most part. If the show did this to say, “You know what, the show’s hard enough, let’s reward people that get that far,” fine, I’ll buy it. But the show’s saying, “People lose interest unless we have a millionaire, let’s make it as easy as we can to get people to win it.”
Intelligentfan777
31
November 17th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

No Alex, I said those that “perceived” the $25k milestone was gone, were wrong. A few posts in this thread (if you look at them) seemed to think it was gone, but it’s not. I also never said I thought it was gone, because I knew it wasn’t. Also, I never insinuated you thought it was gone either. The earliest post about new episodes confirmed that the milestone was still there.

Context Alex, context.
Jay Temple
32
November 25th, 2008 at 12:04 am

One thing is lost in all this. 7E/6C Sunday was a great time slot—in the summer. Unfortunately, it’s the Almighty-only-knows-when-it’ll-start slot for at least part of that six weeks because of football.
Joe Capitano
33
December 5th, 2008 at 6:30 pm

Quit yet whining! Just be glad we have another GT show to watch! Don’t like it, change the channel