Host: Regis Philbin
Executive Producer: Cecile Frot-Coutaz
Series Premiere: Sunday June 1st, 2008
Network: CBS
Top Prize: $1,000,000
Million Dollar Password follows in the footsteps of the classic game show Password, complete with celebrities and lots of fun.
Password is one of the ultimate classic game shows, and has been remade several times.
Two teams, each made up of one celebrity and one contestant, go head to head to guess clues to secret "passwords." One person on each team has the words, and has to use synonyms or related words to help their partner guess the passwords. The clue-giver and guesser swap roles after each round, and halfway through the game the celebrities swap partners.
Each team plays four rounds, guessing up to five words within a 30 second time limit. Points are scored with each correct word, and at the end of the round the contestant with the most points is given the chance to move on.
The contestant with the most points moves on with the celebrity he or she earned the most points with, to play the bonus round. This round works in much the same way as the regular rounds do, but is limited to three clues per password.
Here's where it gets a little bit tricky. The contestant must guess a total of five passwords correctly within a 90 second time limit, progressing through a series of levels according to the following money tree:
- 5 out of 10 words: $10,000
- 5 out of 9 words: $25,000
- 5 out of 8 words: $50,000
- 5 out of 7 words: $100,000
- 5 out of 6 words: $250,000
- 5 out of 5 words: $1,000,000
Contestants can quit after any level and take the money they've earned at that point. If they reach the $25,000 level, they are guaranteed to win at least that much money.
In the bonus round there are two levels that, if reached, become safety nets, meaning that the contestant cannot leave with less than that amount. Those levels are $25,000 and, starting in season two, $250,000. This new safety net at the $250,000 point guarantees that contestants can try for the million without risking what they've already banked.
The celebrities that appeared on season one of Million Dollar Password include Rosie O'Donnell, Betty White, Tony Hawk, Neil Patrick Harris, Shanna Moakler, Monique Coleman, Steven Weber, and Rachel Ray.
Stars confirmed for season two so far are Betty White, William Shatner, Aisha Tyler, Craig Ferguson, Julie Chen, Phil Keoghan, Chelsea Handler, and Adam Carolla.
