Hey, compared to the lower-tier "celebrities' I'd heard about at earlier tapings, Harris and Ray and O'Donnell, and even Tony Hawk, certainly qualify as stars by any game show standard. Whether they can play the game or not is a different matter, but at least we're not dealing with Donnymid types.

Neil and Rachael seem like they'd play well. Good casting call.

Regis also mentioned that Harris was a fantastic player, and that Rachel Ray was nervous.

Given he's played a few of them now, and seems to do fairly well at them, it's about time we realize that Harris is a fan.

ISTR him saying as much in an interview on at least one occasion.

(Harris in Barney's character) Master ...WAIT FOR IT!!!... mind.

I read that he had offered personal input in the writing of the TPiR episode of his "How I Met Your Mother" -- which actually turned out to be pretty funny despite the incestual CBS cross-pluggeroo..

/obOtherThread but mildly relevant: i caught dave price's weather bit today and he had about 20 people behind him compared to the Today Show's 800. yes, even prime time celebs do have their lackluster moments..

Coolio and Kathy Griffin have just crossed you off their holiday card lists..

Oddly, I met Coolio -- at a Donnymid taping!

How was he as an usher?

No, no, Usher sang that song with Lil Jon. Coolio had "Gangsta's Paradise" among other songs. Better luck next time, enjoy your Turtle Wax.

Oh, I'm not saying it's a BAD choice to have her on. I just can see justifiable reasons for not inviting her. She did play pretty well on Pyramid in 2002--but the Winner's Circle seemed to fluster her tremendously.

Flustered because of her age, or because of their version of the Winners Circle?

Exactly.

. o O ("Tom Cruise's friggin' dentist? You gotta be kidding me.")

Heh. But no, the categories weren't too egregious, as I recall. (And she was sometimes getting flustered on timed rounds even back in the 1980s.)

As a recent convert to Password and a now-daily watcher of Super Password on GSN, I'll watch Million Dollar Password with an open mind, however from what I've read about it, I'm not too optimistic.

I hate the idea of a modern, neon/dark space-age set - it's nice when, despite the tension in the game, you can actually SEE the set and not just the players/host surrounded by blackness.

I don't like the idea that the contestants stand up. What, they couldn't have one less neon tube and throw some dough at chairs?

It really bugs me that "U.S." passes as a legal clue. Case in point, on today's Super, a password was California; Los Angeles was used and beeped as an illegal clue.

Oh, and one other thing - given the formats described for gameplay, I assume there'll be no whispered Gene Wood-esque voice announcing, "The password is...password." That ain't right either.

Well, the Super Password episodes you're watching right now don't have it either.

Password Plus slid by just fine without it too.

ah.. that only happened at the auditions, which were led by yer typical non-game-show-watchin temporary craiglist-gig-taker. i am going to assume that on the actual show they will at least have on staff some people that know the real rules (if not some holdovers from any of the original runs)

Because giving "Sacramento" as a clue would have required too much mental effort...

Well, the problem there is that the Password wasn't "shiatpile". :)

/has a friend who lives there
//she speaks from authority

From someone who saw a taping of this extravaganza, I'll tell you this:

Yes, the contestants stand. Regis had a stool-like chair behind his podium, which he used during breaks and stopdowns. During the actual taping, he stood. You probably won't be able to notice the chair during the telecast.

Given the "lightning round" format used, there's no time for an announcer to say "the password is . ."

We all had to sign release forms, but since Rosie blogged about it, I can tell you I saw the show with Rosie and Tony Hawk. A few people guessed Hawk from the hint I give earlier, give yourself a pat on the back.
To her credit, Rosie played the game rather well, and kept to playing the game. (Gameplay information deleted. -DZ)

One more thing. During the taping, my friends and I sat behind a man named John, who won $250K on Merideth's Millionaire. Can't remember his last name, it's Italian. He was also featured on the GSN special where Millionaire was inducted into GSN's "Hall of Fame." The taping was a fun experience for me.

I got to see Monday's taping and as was said about Sundays ...the celebs were quite recognizable and I'd say A or A- listers...
I really liked the game as well... a great cross between Password and Pyramid. I couldnt find any flaws in the format (Like SP's useless $100 puzzle) Regis also makes a great host. The hour (even at the 21/2 hr taping) flies by fast.
I know many miss the puzzle but when you wach this show you will see it doesnt belong here... this game is very fast paced and very exciting. And, while the time element does emulate Pyramid ... it's definately Password. And I should point out ... wth the rules of Password 5 words in 30 seconds is quite difficult.

And they included a safe zone... unlike some other prime time shows ...at $25,000 which is cool. To get to 25K you first must win $10,000 by guessing 5 moderate Passords out of 10 in 90 seconds.
[After the show, I got to speak with a losing contestant whose family I was sitting with -I was told that a player actually gets 2 chances at the $10,000 level if they blow the first one--- no llamas here!]
Then for the lock at $25,000 the task is to guess 5 similar level Passwords out of 9. (No more than 3 clues per word allowed- so you must think this out)

I think this is the best prime time game to come along in quite a while. It was great fun and one that should gain a regular place on the schedule

Bill Cullen 1: ...You must have sat behind John Castellano a great guy who was in my play group when I was on Millionaire in 2004.

Getting on my soap box for a minute. I worked in Cincinnati with those that helped invent black and white, and then color, television. Cincinnati was even referred to as Colortown USA (WLWT and WNBC perfected color tv).

Anyway my fuming annoyance of these new shows: they are DARK. Here we now have high definition television and the sets are BLACK. Why? Where are the Ted Coopers? Where are the "game show colors"? Bright oranges, reds, greens and blue. That RGB cable does stand for something!

This is where Donnymyd jumped the shark immediately. (Outside of the obnoxious plug for Sony Laptops). It was dark. Dark equals sinister. Bright colors = fun and excitement. Even IGAS' latest remake had color.

So, without seeing two fields of video and based on what's been mentioned here, I'm going to be disappointed with this remake. What's sad is that the Game Show Marathon took painstaking steps to recreate sets....why can't Freemantle do the same for its true remakes of programs (Along with Sony)?

Could you imagine Treasure Hunt in monochromatic silver? Or the Gong Show or Jackpot?

Any chance this show will be aired in HD? The password is NO

What? What?

What happens if you don't make it the second time?

/'l

pat pat pat

Yes, that was his name, and he mentioned you by your actual name GameShowGuy. I was with the friends you and I both know, and they mentioned you were on Millionaire around that time. As Corbin Bernsen would say, "Well played."

Regis mentioned on his talk show that Rachel Ray and Neil Patrick Harris were on the last MDP taped on Monday, which is the show you saw, so we know the celebs for two of the six shows. I saw Rosie and Tony Hawk.

So the players are given a "Mulligan" at the 10K level in the end game. But as another poster inquired, what happens if they blow the second $10K round. You figure if that happens, maybe the civilian should not have gotten on the show to begin with.

At the taping I saw, there were no carryover contestants from the last show, and it turned out that no contestant carried over when the show ended. They may be producing these shows to be self-contained, so they don't have to air them in any order. We'll find out soon enough.

Even Who Wants To Be a Millionaire had/has colorful lights in its set, which the other shows that based their sets on Millionaire's failed to grasp.

It wasn't that dark. It was just boring. The set, I mean. One would think that with the show named for a geometric figure, the geometric figure would be more prominent on set, not just on monitors and a little framework.

Maybe they didn't invite Betty because everyone would feel bad about making her stand so long. Cripes, what's the problem with stools? Or a lectern to lean on?

Game play note: apparently the idea of changing pace during an hour of television has escaped them. If the bonus round will be one lightning round after another, why is the front game/elimination round also a lightning round? Play a brisk 25-point game of basic Password for heavens' sake. It makes too much sense.

To answer a question:
I think that if you blow the 10K twice you llamaed ($0)

Also... the same contestant who told me about this rule stated and a voice over pick up (these were all done by Regis on Monday) seemed to confirm something that would leave me to believe that a celebrity on taped show #2 will leave most here VERY pleased.
Though its a combination of second hand info here and a clue from Regis' pick-up...

Also heard a tie breaker is "classic" Password.

The more I read and hear about the differences from Passwords of the past and the similarities to another Stewart show, the more I wish we could've just gotten the full-fledged The $1,000,000 Pyramid instead.

Considering how often even the best players found themselves bogged down in a "brisk" 25-point game, I have to say I'm at least glad they're not doing that. (Limiting each password to six clues, a la '70s Password, would help, of course.)

Regarding the celeb on show #2, here's my deduction:

Clue 1: actress - Clue 2: Ludden - Clue 3 - wife

IF it's her, Fremantle did something right here!!

Just going by "rumor" and a voice over pick up by Regis admonishing this familar (first) name on an illegal clue that was given. Can't think of other currently famous people with that name so I think we are all going to be very happy with this choice.

My guess: America Ferrera, and Regis got her mixed up with the character she plays.

Just as an aside: Thanks to her, there is now a good one-word clue for "America."

"Beau-ti-ful." (sung in the style of "America The Beautiful")

Yeah, well, not in primetime. Singing isn't allowed. They don't want to worry about rights issues.

Also, they don't want to fight with you about "America the Beautiful" being public domain. Just no singing.

(At least that's how we were briefed.)

Okay. That COULD be a douchier rule, but I don't know how.

What other perfectly reasonable clues are they disallowing because they're legal cheapskates / pussies?

Here's a brief list of disallowed clues:

12. Words that are used commonly in a vulgar or inappropriate manner (i.e. head, noggin, thrust, erect, etc.).

19. Words that may be deemed offensive or inappropriate to people of non-Anglo Saxon cultures (i.e. jolly, juke, etc.)

23. Words that are expressed with excessive facial expression (i.e., rolling eyes, arched eyebrows, etc.)

37. Words that, when printed and squinted at, can be mistaken for vulgarity (i.e. Clint, flick, 'Dillos, etc.).

51. Words that appear in Hitler's Mein Kampf (i.e. struggle, dream, worker, pizza, etc.).

77. Words that have been used in previous incarnations of Password.

78. Words commonly used in conjunction with "hella" (i.e., lame, fly, stupid, etc.)

85. Words that appear on even-numbered pages of the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Opposites? Oh wait... that's been done already.

Seriously, they could also say no to the trademark vocal inflection -- the increase in pitch/head tilt that indicates "opposiiiiiite...".

That's allowed and encouraged. Too bad too many of the celebs / contestants couldn't think to use that in their clues.

It would have to be. We disallow them most of the time when we play at our game nights, to make the game more challenging. Clearly, "more challenging" isn't a priority here.

Not being able to think of specific examples at the moment, some words on Password Plus were near impossible without the use of vocal acrobatics (usually with words involving names). I like the pure, straight-laced clue-giving myself.

Which is amazing, considering how they drilled that in the briefings. (Perhaps the celebs didn't get the same Password 101.)

I don't feel like starting another thread, but this thought occurred to me: The people behind the execution of $1MP and the ones behind DOND, 1v100 and a couple other shows should get together. The people behind $1MP could explain the benefits of a game that moves quickly, while the other group could explain that, contrary to some appearances, audiences' attention span still does exceed that of a gnat. If either side is even a little successful, at least one show out of the group would be greatly improved!

What? You mean there IS a purpose for the constipated phony pause that DOND and Lyrics and everything else directed by R. Brian. Last time I look...I didn't see an EMMY category for best pause in the direction of a multi-camera, mutated video program.

They all need to watch the Ludden episode that ran yesterday, rushing everyone to get a game in before time ran out. Producers with stopwatches....what a concept! Maybe Bruce Burmeister should return to the Director's lecturn and teach these lads a few things!

You sure the director is at a lectern? It's not a podium? Or a desk? ;)

And it's not the director's fault. DiPirro calls "Lingo" and called "Whammy!", where at least everything ran at a good clip. It's the producers (and the network weasels) who want all of the pregnant pauses. And DiPirro (and Ron DeMoraes and Alan Carter and Don Weiner and Debbie Palacio and Michael Simon) gives it to them.