3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
(Mostly) Timeless 1960's Game Show, December 31, 2008
This review is from: Best of Password (DVD)
I was born decades after this show aired but I love it. The celebrities are classy and the contestants are clearly enjoying themselves. Some of the celebrities are still famous today, including names like Dick Van Dyke, Johnny Carson, James Mason, Jane Fonda, Joan Crawford, Betty White, Sammy Davis Jr, Lucille Ball, Paul Anka, and Carol Burnett. Even the lesser-known stars have lots of personality. The contestants don't win much but that doesn't matter, in fact the word-game is actually quite addictive and can be played at home. I hope more episodes are released on DVD, including the eight 1970's episodes stored at the UCLA. Still, these 32 1960's episodes are a blast.
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A disappointing experience, due to video issues..., December 29, 2008
This review is from: Best of Password (DVD)
There is no substitute for "Password" in the Goodson-Todman archive when it comes to "star power". It was the first show to pair "civilians" with celebrities, and was one of the most challenging (and entertaining) game shows that ever aired. So it's particularly painful to have to give this set such a low mark, particularly when it's based on easily avoidable technical concerns in the presentation.
The worst problem with this DVD set is in the conversion for tape to disc-- although "Password" was preserved on beautifully crisp quad videotapes (particularly the black-and-white episodes), you'd never know it to watch this set. Unfortunately, the tapes have been transferred as 30 fps progressive images, instead of their original interlaced format. This unnecessary de-interlacing not only has the abysmal consequence of softening the image, but also results in any sudden motion causing a flickery, "flutter" in the moving parts of the image, which thoroughly robs the program of its live "video look". While still highly enjoyable in terms of content, the visual presentation is now noticeably degraded.
The disc authoring also leaves much to be desired... on my players, the video is stuttery for the first minute of each episode, and then slowly settles down and corrects itself as the episode unwinds.
So caveat emptor, "Password" fans-- with the recent shutdown of BCI (the company that issued this set) the problems in this set are never going to be fixed... but if you don't mind the quality compromises, there is still a lot to like. It **is** "Password", after all...!!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE PASSWORD IS "GREAT", December 15, 2008
This review is from: Best of Password (DVD)
I am so glad that this is out. I have most of these episodes on tape but to see them in great quality is super! What I am curious about is if we are going to get a big surprise if a second volume comes out called "The ABC Years 1971-1975" This would be a great release but the ABC episodes are presumed to be lost. The UCLA TV archive has about 10 episodes and GSN has ran 1 episode from the 1973 season with Jack Klugman and Brett Somers. There is also an episode from 1972 with Sheila MacCrae and Martin Milner that exists as well. Let's keep our fingers crossed and if you love classic game shows, this is a keeper!
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