[1][3] The host and producers initially had difficulty selecting women panelists for Fighting Words but eventually featured guests such as Solange Chaput-Rolland and aired a few episodes with an all-female panel.
[15] Just prior to that episode, CBC management restored the series after receiving a substantial number of letters from viewers demanding that Fighting Words be returned.
Cohen noted that CBC's significant audience of children at that time constrained the types of subject matter that Fighting Words could address.
[5] Two episodes in 1958 were recorded in England, one of these aired on 15 June 1958 with guest panelists Julian Huxley, Hugh Trevor-Roper, Violet Bonham-Carter and Stephen King-Hall.
[17][1] The final episode of the original series aired 22 July 1962 with guest panelists Arnold Edinborough, Robert Fulford, Marcus Long and Charles Templeton.
Jennings issued a memo in 1958 expressing concerns that the program portrayed an unbalanced presentation of views and lacked good taste, charging that other members of the panel did not have the sufficient background to provide contrary arguments to Ellis.
[1] Bob Blackburn of the Ottawa Citizen described Fighting Words as "the most outspoken program on Canadian television", noting that it "violates practically all of the taboos".
[22] Author Paul Rutherford noted the series addressed "weighty issues of ethics and morality, politics, or the arts" while crediting Cohen's moderation skills.
[25] Peter Gzowski hosted another revival of the series in 1982 with guest panelists such as Bella Abzug, Barbara Amiel, Claire Hoy, Irving Layton, Bob Rae, Morton Shulman, Gordon Sinclair and Larry Solway.