On Wednesday, the first reincarnation of Password marks its 35th anniversary.
Password Plus bowed on January 8, 1979, airing not on ABC or CBS, but on NBC, where host Allen Ludden had presided over a short-lived series, Stumpers, several months earlier. For the most part, the game remained the same. The Plus in the title was the new bonus game, Alphabetics, in which a contestant had to identify 10 passwords in alphabetical order in 60 seconds for some serious cheddar. Alphabetics would be retained in the next incarnation of the series, Super Password.
As the original Password was marked with bad network decisions at both CBS & ABC, Password Plus was benchmarked with tragedy. Ludden took ill about a year or so into the series, and took a leave of absence, during which time fellow game show icons Bill Cullen and Tom Kennedy filled in. In fact, after Ludden's passing, Kennedy became the permanent host for the remainder of the run. Between the two of them, Cullen & Kennedy have their own separate wings in the game show museum somewhere. I am not kidding.
Anyway, let's go back to January 8, 1979 for the opening installment of Password Plus. The husband & wife team of Robert Foxworth (ex-Storefront Lawyers) & Elizabeth Montgomery (ex-Bewitched) are the guests.
Alphabetics actually added to the excitement. It was certainly more fun than the Lightning Round in the original series.
Rating: A.
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