Password

"Password" was one of those rare game shows in which contestants had to rely on mental abilities *other* than memory. Contestants on games such as "Jeopardy" and "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" rely on their memories, or those of others, to come up with answers.

Unfortunately, the game placed people who do not have a great command of the English language at a disadvantage. People who have English as a second language may not have done too well in this game.

Nevertheless, "Password" demanded that the contestant make an intellectual effort to take a word (idea) and convey it someone else. That kind of effort takes imagination and insight in the nuances of language to do well. It's a cerebral game; maybe that's why Allen Ludden said: "Some time, somewhere, some day there will be another game show, but never one with the class of this one."

First off, I must say that this is a fun game show. Also, since I'm 24, I haven't seen every episode. However, I do know the show very well. Every time I've watched it, I've had a lot of fun playing along and watching. Despite the fact that it's finished its run, this makes me long to be a contestant. The thing I like most about it are the questions. Despite the fact that I don't know that many answers, I still have fun playing along. I hope the Game Show Network keeps it on so I can play along and watch again. If that happens, I will be really happy. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that I'll always remember this show in my memory forever. Now, in conclusion, I hope that you catch it one day before it goes off the air for good.

Alan Ludden was truly a class act. One of a very few of the great game show hosts like Bill Cullen and Tom Kennedy. Password was a show that required the contestants to at least have a vocabulary--something that's sadly missing in today's game show world.

I remember the last episode of Mr. Ludden's tenure--they drank champagne on air.

Can anybody help me on this?: I was very young, but I seem to remember one of those 5 word bonus rounds they played with George Peppard--8 seconds! Am I right? Was this the record? Can't find any internet or you tube references. Anyone? Bueller?

... with Jeopardy. They are the two "pure" game shows in the history of television. No gimmicks and very little luck were involved to succeed at this game. What contestants needed was a good command of language and quick wits to come up with clues and guess the password.

Stars like Elizabeth Montgomery, Carol Burnette, Tony Randall, and Peter Lawford excelled at the game, with Lawford owning the record "Lightning Round", getting 5 passwords in 12 seconds.

The show was also notable as the venue where Alan Ludden first met Betty White. A few years later they married and remained so until his death eighteen years later, in 1982.

I was fortunate to see the show during the summers as a kid, and watched it again on the Game Show Network. Unfortunately, many episodes were lost when the network reused the tapes for Family Feud!

The excitement and fun of a retro game show can be found in "Password," the famous TV game show where two teams, "$100,000 Pyramid" style, try to win big bucks. One person reads out a clue on a folded up piece of paper while the other person tries to guess the word. There are up to five clues revealed on the board above, and one team must figure out what the actual word really is!!!!! And now, my two favorite variations that currently run on GSN:

• "Password Plus:" It stars Allen Ludden, who looked (no offense) really awful, like he always wore a raincoat to the show or something. Anyways, it had the most colorful set, and it had "Alphabetics," which gave the contestant a chance at big bucks!!!!! I once saw a man go through it fast and correctly about a week ago and that was awesome!!!!!

• "Super Password:" It stars Bert Convy and the set looked different, like a huge NES system; almost! Everything's the same, except that there's "Ca$hword" now. I also like how the word appears on screen and the noise that accompanies it!!!!!

C'mon, folks!!!!! These versions of "Password" meant good entertainment for everyone; this is stuff our parents (and us as little children) watched when they just got married!!!!! So watch them on GSN or else!!!!!

10 stars