password

In an announcement that most who remember the older versions of Password would consider a no-brainer, it has been revealed that Betty White will be returning as a guest panelist on CBS' new Million Dollar Password series. And, really, if she wasn't even being considered would it even be Password?

White, who is 86-years-young, was a staple of the original version of Password when it started back in 1961 as well as the revived 70s and 80s versions of the show. Much of that connection came from her marriage to original Password host Allen Ludden. White and Ludden were married in 1963 and remained together until his death from stomach cancer in 1981.

The summer schedule on NBC won't be filled with just reruns, apparently. The network wants to up their game quotient. That said, American Idol's producer, FremantleMedia North America and NBC are planning a celebrity version of Family Feud. Although there have been multiple variations of the Feud -- daytime, syndication, board game, internet edition, et. al -- this will be the very first time the game show will air as a regularly-scheduled primetime network show. John O'Hurley, who is the current host on the syndicated Family Feud, could be anchoring NBC's primetime celeb affair, but that has not been announced as yet.

Remember the '88 Writer's Strike? Well, while it didn't impact scripted television as much as the current strike, as it occurred largely during the off-season. Yahoo! reminds us that it was during this period that a network was finally willing to take a chance on an unscripted series. Nineteen years later, Cops is still on the air. And back then, reality wasn't even a genre.

Now, networks are all about this alternate form of entertainment/schedule filling. Even if the strike is resolved relatively soon, it may be too late to save the new year's schedule, and thus reality shows are being picked up by the bucketloads to fill the gaps. If the strike continues much into 2008 look for more and more to be put on the air.

Ah, the world of TV, where everything old is new again. Failed sitcoms become cartoons, Adam West gets reimagined as a doddering cartoon mayor, and every old game show is remade into a new, more sparkly version.

Now the twirling-light, ominous music treatment has reached an old favorite: Password. According to Variety, CBS and Fremantle Media are teaming up to produce a new version of the word-association game show, redubbing it Million Dollar Password. And, not only will the old show will be recycled, so will an old host: Regis Philbin has been tapped to host his first prime-time game show since the ABC version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire breathed its last a few years ago.

Yes, like you, I had just assumed she died several years ago, but Kitty Carlisle Hart lived a long, happy life and passed away today at the age of 96 after contacting pnuemonia in December.

TV fans will remember her for her long-running spot on To Tell The Truth. She was on the show from 1956 to 1967. Other TV appearances include a Kojak movie in 1990, The Howard Stern Show, I've Got A Secret, Password, and What's My Line.

She was also in the classic Marx Brothers comedy A Night At The Opera, as well as the films Radio Days and Six Degrees of Separation. She also appeared in several operas and Broadway plays and was awarded the National Medal of Arts from President Bush in 1991.

You know, if I was 37 years older, I think I'd have the hots for Betty White. She seems like a cool lady. And if I haven't said too much, please read on.

This Xmas day, GSN is having a marathon of Betty White episodes:

• noon: What's My Line (1955 - her first game show appearance)
• 12:30: Password (1963, with her husband, host Allen Ludden)
• 1:00: Tattletales
• 1:30: Match Game PM
• 2:00: Password Plus
• 2:30: To Tell The Truth
• 3:00: Family Feud
• 3:30: Body Language
• 4:00: Match Game
• 4:30: Match Game

[via TV Tattle]