Rather than pairing Raymond Burr with the compatible legal drama The Defenders at 10, Aubrey split up the two courtroom shows and sandwiched Password , opposite the second half-hour of NBC's popular Dr. Kildare and ABC's hot Bewitched , and the awful Baileys of Balboa comedy between. Ironically, Elizabeth Montgomery, one of Ludden's favorite Password players, would be partially responsible for the downfall of prime time Password . Nighttime Password went to its reward in September 1965 but was resurrected in December 1966. CBS had slotted the evening edition of To Tell the Truth Sundays at 5 in the fall of 1966 but pressed Bud Collyer's troops back into a Monday prime time slot prior to Christmas. Password became the choice for the Sunday afternoon slot, launched with Betty and Gifford in the celebrity positions.
Todman panel shows to be booted.
Password was placed in the impossible slot of attempting to combat the second half-hour of ABC's Big Valley. By June, the nighttime show was gone in favor of 13 episodes of a dramatic show which had failed to make the CBS regular season lineup, Coronet Blue . In the fall of 1967, the 10-11 Monday hour would be handed over to Carol Burnett, who had appeared on the premiere telecast of nighttime Password . Interestingly, Carol raised a major vocal protest and led a brief uprising of CBS performers over the cancellation of Password . Four years would go by before America would rediscover its favorite television word game and the revival was almost an accident.