View source for Password Plus and Super Password

{{Short description|American television game shows}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox television
| name                 = Password Plus
| image                = PasswordPlus.jpg
| genre                = [[Game show]]
| camera               = [[Multiple-camera setup|Multi-camera]]
| runtime              = 22 minutes
| location             = [[The Burbank Studios|NBC Studios]]<br>Burbank, California
| creator              = [[Bob Stewart (television producer)|Bob Stewart]]
| developer            = Robert Sherman
| presenter            = {{Ubl||[[Allen Ludden]]|[[Bill Cullen]]|[[Tom Kennedy (television host)|Tom Kennedy]]}}
| producer             = Robert Sherman<ref name="eotvgs plus">{{cite book |last = Schwartz |first = David |last2 = Ryan |first2 = Steve |last3 = Wostbrock |first3 = Fred |title = The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows |edition = 3rd |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bI11r4a0Gx0C&q=The+Encyclopedia+of+TV+Game+Shows |year = 1999 |publisher = Facts on File, Inc. |isbn = 978-0816030941 |pages = 165–166 |url-access = subscription |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
| executive_producer   = [[Howard Felsher]]<ref name="eotvgs plus"/>
| director             = George Choderker<ref name="eotvgs plus"/>
| announcer            = {{Ubl||[[Gene Wood]]|[[Rich Jeffries]]|[[Johnny Olson]]|[[Bob Hilton]]|[[John Harlan (announcer)|John Harlan]]}}
| theme_music_composer = [[Score Productions]]<ref name="eotvgs plus"/>
| country              = United States
| network              = [[NBC]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1979|01|08}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1982|03|26}}
| related              = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[Password (American game show)|Password]]'' (1961–1967, 1971–1975)
* ''Super Password'' (1984–1989)
}}
| num_episodes         = 801 (1 unaired)
| company              = [[Mark Goodson]]-[[Bill Todman]] Productions
}}
{{Infobox television
| name                 = Super Password
| image                = SuperPassword.jpg
| genre                = [[Game show]]
| camera               = [[Multiple-camera setup|Multi-camera]]
| runtime              = 22 minutes
| location             = {{Plainlist|
* [[The Burbank Studios|NBC Studios]]
* Burbank, California
}}
| creator              = [[Bob Stewart (television producer)|Bob Stewart]]
| producer             = {{Plainlist|
* Diane H. Janaver
* Joe Neustein<ref name="eotvgs super">{{harvp|Schwartz|Ryan|Wostbrock|1999|p= 213}}.</ref>
}}
| executive_producer   = {{Plainlist|
* [[Chester Feldman]]
* Robert Sherman
* [[Howard Felsher]]
}}
| director             = George Choderker<ref name="eotvgs super"/>
| presenter            = [[Bert Convy]]
| announcer            = {{Plainlist|
* [[Rich Jeffries]]
* [[Gene Wood]]<ref name="eotvgs super"/>
}}
| theme_music_composer = [[Score Productions]]<ref name="eotvgs super"/>
| country              = United States
| network              = [[NBC]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1984|09|24}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1989|03|24}}
| related              = {{Plainlist|
* ''Password Plus'' (1979–1982)
* ''[[Million Dollar Password]]'' (2008–2009)
}}
| num_episodes         = 1,151
| company              = [[Mark Goodson|Mark Goodson Television Productions]]
}}

'''''Password Plus''''' and '''''Super Password''''' are American TV [[game show]]s that aired separately between 1979 and 1989. Both shows were revivals of ''[[Password (American game show)|Password]]'', which originally ran from 1961 to 1975 in various incarnations. With only subtle differences between them, both ''Password Plus'' and ''Super Password'' retained the format of play as their predecessor, with two teams of two people each—a celebrity and a contestant—attempting to guess a mystery word using only one-word clues. New features included a series of five passwords as clues to an overarching puzzle for the teams to solve, as well as a [[bonus round]] requiring the winning team to guess ten passwords under a time limit to win a cash jackpot.

''Password Plus'' and ''Super Password'' aired on [[NBC]], and were taped on Stage 3 at [[The Burbank Studios|NBC Studios]] in [[Burbank, California]]. ''Password Plus'' was a [[Mark Goodson]]-[[Bill Todman]] Production and ''Super Password'' was a Mark Goodson Production. ''Password Plus'' aired from January 8, 1979, to March 26, 1982, for 801 episodes. The program also won a [[Daytime Emmy Awards|Daytime Emmy Award]] for [[Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show|Outstanding Game Show]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000206/1982/1 |title=Daytime Emmy Awards (1982) - IMDb|website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> ''Super Password'' aired for 1,151 episodes from September 24, 1984, to March 24, 1989.

==Cast==

===Hosts===
''Password Plus'' was hosted by original ''Password'' host [[Allen Ludden]] from its debut until April 1980, when he took a leave of absence after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. [[Bill Cullen]], who at the time was hosting the show that preceded ''Password Plus'' on NBC, ''[[Chain Reaction (game show)|Chain Reaction]]'', filled in until Ludden returned a month later.<ref name="eotvgs plus"/> Ludden left the program again in late October 1980 due to further health problems and was replaced by [[Tom Kennedy (television host)|Tom Kennedy]]. (By this time, Cullen was hosting ''[[Blockbusters (American game show)|Blockbusters]]'', another Goodson-Todman production also airing on NBC.)<ref name="eotvgs plus"/> Ludden made no further television appearances before his death on June 9, 1981, and Kennedy hosted the remainder of the series.

[[Bert Convy]] was the host for the entire run of ''Super Password''.

===Announcers===
[[Gene Wood]] was the regular announcer on both ''Password Plus'' and ''Super Password''. [[Johnny Olson]], [[Bob Hilton]], [[John Harlan (announcer)|John Harlan]], and [[Rich Jeffries]] substituted for Wood on different occasions on ''Password Plus''.

Jeffries was the announcer for the first nine weeks of ''Super Password''; he was replaced by Wood on November 26, 1984. Jeffries and Hilton occasionally substituted for Wood.

==Gameplay==

===Main game===
The rules for ''Password Plus'' and ''Super Password'' were almost identical. Two teams, each composed of a contestant and a celebrity, competed. The object, as on the original ''Password'', was for the clue-giving partner to get the receiving partner to guess a given word (the "password"). The giving partner on the first team offered a one-word clue, to which the receiving partner was allowed one guess. There were brief time limits for both the clue and the guess. Teams alternated giving one-word clues until the password was guessed, or until each side had given two clues (three in the early days of ''Password Plus'' until June 15, 1979).

The following infractions by the clue-giver forfeited the receiver's chance to guess the password:

* Giving more than one word, or a hyphenated word.
* Giving a word that was not dictionary-valid, as determined by a panel of off-stage judges.
* Taking too much time to give a clue.
* Excessive gestures or physical movement.
* Saying the password or any form of it.

Capitalized words, proper names, and foreign words were allowed, as were vocal inflections intended to lead the receiver to the password. A clue-giver was allowed to repeat a previous clue or guess from either team.

As on the ABC run of ''Password'', the team with initial control of a password on ''Password Plus'' had the option to give the first clue or pass to the other team. Originally, the team that did not get the previous password was given the option, but this changed on August 13, 1979. ''Super Password'' eliminated the option entirely, requiring the team that guessed a password to give the first clue on the next one.

The rules regarding clue-giving were the same as on all previous versions of ''Password'', with the exception of two instances exclusive to ''Password Plus''. Beginning with the April 23, 1979 episode and continuing until the series' end in 1982, two rules were put into place. The first disallowed any password's direct opposite, or [[antonym]], as a legal clue (such as "loose" for "tight"). The second expanded a penalty already present in the game. When the series began, if the clue-giver given the option to play or pass did not decide in time or failed to give a clue, the other team's clue-giver was allowed to give two clues to his/her partner. After the change, the two-clue penalty was extended to any time a clue-giver failed to give a clue in time. In all cases, the two clues had to be given separately, with one guess at the password after each.

===Password Puzzle===
The new element of the revivals was the "Password Puzzle". Each password, once revealed, became one of five clues to a puzzle referring to a person, place, or thing. The passwords themselves were not worth any money; only the puzzle affected the scores. Correctly guessing a password allowed that participant one chance to solve the puzzle. If a password was not guessed by either player, it was added to the board without a guess at the puzzle. If that occurred on the final password, or if the solution to the puzzle was inadvertently revealed in any way, the puzzle was removed from play, and a new one was played. If a clue-giver said the password or any form of it (including the final password), or if his/her partner guessed it based on any infraction by the clue-giver, it was added to the board and the guesser on the opposing team was given a chance to solve the puzzle as a penalty.

For the final password in a puzzle, if the guesser was incorrect, his or her partner was given a guess as well. On ''Password Plus'', if both teammates did not guess correctly, the puzzle solution was revealed and a new puzzle was played. On ''Super Password'', if one team failed to guess the puzzle after all five words were revealed, the opposing team's contestant and celebrity partner were each given a final chance to solve it.

A correct guess by either team won money for its contestant, and any remaining passwords were revealed. Additional puzzles were played until one contestant reached the designated goal to win the game.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin-right:0"
|-
! style="width:50px;"|From
! style="width:50px;"|To
! style="width:50px;"|Goal
! style="width:75px;"|Round 1
! style="width:75px;"|Round 2
! style="width:75px;"|Round 3
! style="width:75px;"|Round 4+
|-
| 1979
| 1981
| $300
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|$100
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|$200
|-
| 1981
| 1982
| rowspan="2"|$500
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|$100
| $200
|-
| 1984
| 1989
| $100
| $200
| $300
| $400
|}

In 1981, the switch in celebrity partners that normally took place before the start of each game was moved to after the third puzzle. On ''Super Password'', the contestants switched partners before the $300 puzzle. However, on All-Star Specials, partners did not switch after the Cashword game.

===Cashword===
"Cashword" was an additional bonus on ''Super Password'' played by the winner of the second puzzle for an accumulating cash jackpot. The celebrity gave clues to a more difficult password. The contestant won a jackpot which started at $1,000 and increased by that much each time it was not won by guessing the password within three clues. This round did not affect the scores and only awarded bonus money. If the celebrity gave an illegal clue, the Cashword ended immediately.

===Alphabetics/Super Password===
The winning team played for a cash prize in the bonus round, called "Alphabetics" on ''Password Plus'' and "Super Password" on ''Super Password''.

The gameplay of the round was the same on both shows. The contestant had 60 seconds to guess 10 passwords beginning with consecutive letters of the alphabet (e.g., "A" through "J"), with the celebrity giving one-word clues as in the main game. The celebrity could see only the current password until the contestant either guessed it or the celebrity passed. He/she could use multiple words to form a sentence, but had to pause distinctly after each one. For the period on ''Password Plus'' in which opposites were forbidden, this was enforced in Alphabetics as well. The contestant won $100 per guessed word, and a cash jackpot for solving all 10 before time expired.

On ''Password Plus'', Alphabetics was originally played for $5,000, with the jackpot reduced by $1,000 for every illegal clue given. Coinciding with the changes made to the front game in 1981, for each time Alphabetics was not won, $5,000 was added to the jackpot. Illegal clues resulted in a reduction of the jackpot by twenty percent of its current value; for example, if Alphabetics was played for $20,000, each illegal clue would reduce the value of the jackpot by $4,000. Like the other changes, these remained in place until the end of the series, save for a brief period when the reduction was $2,500 in 1981.

''Super Password''{{'}}s bonus round was also played for the same accumulating jackpot as in the final months of the ''Plus'' run. However, if an illegal clue was given, the word in play was removed.

Champions retired after playing the bonus round seven times on ''Password Plus'', or five times on ''Super Password''.

==Merchandise==
Three editions of the ''Password Plus'' board game were made by [[Milton Bradley]] in the early 1980s. Milton Bradley made an eight-track cartridge version of the game for its [[OMNI Entertainment System]].<ref name="8track">{{Cite web|url=http://www.8trackheaven.com/archive/omni.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414184228/http://www.8trackheaven.com/archive/omni.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 14, 2012|title=Omni Game|website=8trackheaven.com|access-date=2017-08-08}}</ref><ref name="techmoan">{{Cite web|url=http://www.techmoan.com/blog/2017/8/5/mb-omni-entertainment-system-the-8-track-games-machine-from.html|title=Techmoan - Techmoan - MB OMNI Entertainment System: The 8-track games machine from 1980|website=www.[[techmoan]].com|language=en|access-date=2017-08-08}}</ref>  In 1983, a version for the [[Atari 2600]] and [[Intellivision]] was going to be made by The Great Game Company. However, both versions were scrapped later on due to [[North American video game crash of 1983|the Video Game Crash]] at the time.

A ''Super Password'' video game was released for [[MS-DOS]], [[Apple II]], and [[Commodore 64]] by [[Gametek]] in 1988. A version for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] was also planned around that time, but never surfaced. In 2000, a ''Super Password'' hand-held game by [[Tiger Electronics]] was released.

==Program information==

===Broadcast history===

====''Password Plus''====
''Password Plus'' was first shown at 12:30{{nbsp}}pm [[Eastern Time Zone|ET]]/11:30 am [[Central Time Zone|CT]] and [[Pacific Time Zone|PT]], filling part of the time left when the talk/variety program ''[[America Alive!]]'' was cancelled. On March 5, 1979, two months after its debut, the series made its first time slot move to Noon/11:00 am following the cancellation of NBC’s revival of ''[[Jeopardy!]]''. It moved back to 12:30/11:30 on August 13, 1979 when the Goodson-Todman game ''[[Mindreaders]]'' premiered at Noon/11:00. On June 20, 1980, three other NBC game shows were canceled to make room for [[David Letterman]]'s [[The David Letterman Show|morning talk show]] and in the shuffle that followed, ''Password Plus'' was moved on August 4, 1980 to 11:30/10:30 when the daytime drama ''[[The Doctors (1963 TV series)|The Doctors]]'' moved from 2:00/1:00 to 12:30/11:30 (this time facing the second half-hours of CBS' ''[[The Price Is Right]]'' and reruns of ''[[The Love Boat]]'' on ABC), with ''[[Card Sharks]]'' taking the Noon/11:00 slot on June 23, 1980, replacing ''[[Chain Reaction (game show)|Chain Reaction]]''.  The series returned to Noon/11:00 on October 26, 1981 upon the cancellation of ''Card Sharks'', and remained there for the rest of its run. The final episode aired on March 26, 1982, and through a scheduling shuffle its place on NBC's schedule was replaced by ''[[Search for Tomorrow]]'' (which had moved to the network from CBS).

====''Super Password''====
The program returned in September 1984 as ''Super Password'' and aired in the noon Eastern time slot, facing, for its first two weeks, the then 8-year-old ''Family Feud'', then ''[[Ryan's Hope]]'' on ABC. Despite some of NBC's affiliates preempting the 12:00 pm hour in favor of [[Local news#Television|local newscasts]] or [[Broadcast syndication|other syndicated programming]], as it was also the case with ''Password Plus'', ''Super Password'' remained in the top-of-the-hour time slot for its entire 4½-year run. Later in the decade, however, NBC affiliates began dropping most of the network's entire daytime programming, along with ''Super Password''; the increasing number of stations carrying local newscasts at noon during that time caused the program to experience a decline in viewership. The show's final episode aired on March 24, 1989, the same day ''[[Sale of the Century]]'' aired its series finale.{{efn|NBC returned the 12:00 pm timeslot to its affiliates after ''Super Password'' ended its run.}}

===Episode status and reruns===
Both shows exist in their entirety, and can currently be seen on [[Buzzr]]. Both shows were previously aired on [[Game Show Network|GSN]]. However, certain episodes were not shown due to celebrity clearance issues that were out of GSN's control.

Beginning on July 2, 2018, [[GameTV]] in [[Canada]] began airing the first 65 episodes of ''Super Password''.<ref name="GameTV">{{cite web |url = https://www.igametv.com/shows/1609/ |title = Super Password schedule |publisher = GameTV |access-date = June 25, 2018 }}</ref>

===Kerry Ketchem===
In January 1988, a man later discovered to be a previously convicted felon with active warrants for his arrest appeared on ''Super Password''.<ref name="LA Times">{{cite news |url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-15-me-24141-story.html |title = The Password Is Fraud: TV Show Champ Arrested : He Came to Pick Up Winnings, Got Picked Up on Old Warrants |newspaper = [[Los Angeles Times]] |last = Muir |first = Frederick |date = 15 January 1988 |access-date = 13 April 2022}}</ref> Kerry Ketchem, who competed on the program under the name "Patrick Quinn", won a total of $58,600 in cash over four days on ''Super Password'', which included a record-tying $55,000 jackpot win in the bonus round. However, his appearance on the show led to his apprehension on charges of fraud.
	
Ketchem's arrest came as the result of an investigation started when a bank manager in [[Anchorage, Alaska]], called the [[United States Secret Service]] after having seen his episodes. He was discovered to have outstanding fraud warrants in Alaska and [[Indiana]], and producer Robert Sherman was contacted by the Secret Service shortly thereafter. Around the same time, Ketchem—claiming that he was leaving the country on work-related business—called Mark Goodson Productions and asked if he could collect his winnings in person instead of having a check mailed to him, which is the usual standard procedure. Sherman said yes, with the knowledge of the Secret Service, and gave him a date and time. When Ketchem showed up to the Goodson offices he ran down eleven flights of stairs and was apprehended and taken into custody by local officials after being found in the restroom. The arrest came two days after his appearances finished airing.<ref name="Orlando">{{cite news |title = 'Super Password' Then Jeopardy Big Winner On Game Show Identified As Wanted Con Man |url = https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1988/01/16/super-password-then-jeopardy-big-winner-on-game-show-identified-as-wanted-con-man/ |access-date = March 4, 2016 |newspaper = [[Orlando Sentinel]] |agency = [[United Press International]] |date = January 16, 1988 }}</ref> Booked on the outstanding Indiana warrant, Ketchem was found to have used his "Patrick Quinn" alias (which came from the name of one of Ketchem's college professors) to commit [[credit card fraud]] in Alaska;<ref name="Orlando"/> to defraud a used car dealer; and to [[insurance fraud|collect illegally on an insurance policy]] on the life of his ex-wife.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/16/us/luck-runs-out-for-a-winner-as-tv-publicity-boomerangs.html |title = Luck Runs Out for a Winner As TV Publicity Boomerangs |newspaper = [[The New York Times]] |date = January 16, 1988 |access-date = September 15, 2013 }}</ref> Ketchem, who had previously spent 18 months in prison on an unrelated felony charge, agreed to a plea deal in May 1988 on charges of mail fraud. He was sentenced to five years in prison<ref name="LA Times"/> and his winnings were rescinded as he was ruled to have violated contestant eligibility rules by using a false name.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-02-03/news/8902040031_1_ketchem-password-adding-insult |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140225213252/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-02-03/news/8902040031_1_ketchem-password-adding-insult |url-status = dead |archive-date = February 25, 2014 |title = The luck of Kerry D. Ketchem ran out the day... |newspaper = Orlando Sentinel |date = February 3, 1989 |access-date = September 15, 2013 }}</ref>

==International versions==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left; font-size:100%; line-height:17px;"
|-
! Country !! Title !! Broadcaster !! Presenter !! Premiere !! Finale
|-
| rowspan="2"| {{flag|Portugal}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rCKrJEMtDo | title=Tesourinhos Deprimentes - Palavra Puxa Palavra | website=[[YouTube]] | date=April 23, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nit.pt/cultura/03-10-2016-os-concursos-da-rtp-nos-quais-toda-a-gente-queria-participar/attachment/19810 | title="Palavra Puxa Palavra" (1990) }}</ref> || rowspan="2"| [[:pt:Palavra Puxa Palavra|''Palavra Puxa Palavra'']] || [[RTP2]] || rowspan="2"| António Sala || 30 September 1990 || 28 March 1993
|-
| [[RTP1]] || 8 July 1993 || 11 June 1994
|-
| {{flag|Sweden}} || ''[[:sv:Femettan|Femettan]]''|| [[Sveriges Television|SVT]] || [[Staffan Ling]]|| 7 February 1983 || 1994
|}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==See also==
* ''[[Password (American game show)|Password]]''
* ''[[Million Dollar Password]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0197176|Password Plus}}
* {{IMDb title|0086811|Super Password}}

{{Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show}}


[[Category:1970s American game shows]]
[[Category:1979 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1982 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1980s American game shows]]
[[Category:1984 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1989 American television series endings]]
[[Category:Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show winners]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:NBC game shows]]
[[Category:Television series by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions]]
[[Category:Television series by Fremantle (company)]]
[[Category:American television series revived after cancellation]]