Game Description: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - See if you can answer all 15 questions and reach $1 Million! © Valleycrest Productions Ltd. And Buena Vista Television. Charles Ingram and his accomplices sneakily find a way to cheat his answers on the show, winning him the final prize. #WWTBAM #CharlesIngram #GameShow Subscribe to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? | |
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Created by | |
Original work | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (United Kingdom) |
Owned by |
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Films and television | |
Television series | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (see International versions) |
Audio | |
Original music | Scores composed by Keith and Matthew Strachan |
Miscellaneous | |
Theme park attraction(s) | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It! (U.S.) |
First aired | 4 September 1998 |
Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (abbreviated WWTBAM and informally known as simply Millionaire) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Television, contestants tackle a series of multiple-choice questions to win large cash prizes in a format that twists on many game show genre conventions – only one contestant plays at a time, similar to radio quizzes; contestants are given the question before attempting an answer, and have no time limit to answer questions; and the amount offered increases as they tackle questions that become increasingly difficult. The maximum cash prize offered in most versions of the format is one million of the local currency.
The original British version debuted on 4 September 1998 on the ITV network and was aired until its final episode on 11 February 2014. A revived series of seven episodes to commemorate its 20th anniversary aired from 5 to 11 May 2018. The revival received mostly positive reviews from critics and fans, as well as high viewing figures, leading ITV to renew the show for another series. Since its debut, international variants of the game show have been aired in around 160 countries worldwide.
- 2Gameplay
- 2.1Rules
- 2.1.2U.S. format
- 2.1.3Other international formats
- 2.2Lifelines
- 2.1Rules
- 4International versions
- 5Hallmarks
- 6Reception
- 8Other media
History[edit]
The format of the show was created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight, who had earlier created a number of the promotional games for Tarrant's morning show on Capital FM radio, such as the bong game. Tentatively known as Cash Mountain,[1] the show took its finalised title from a song written by Cole Porter for the 1956 film High Society, starring by Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm. Since the original version launched, several individuals have claimed that they originated the format and that Celador had breached their copyright. While many pursued litigation, none was successful, and each claim was later settled out-of-court on an agreement/settlement.[2][3][4]
In March 2006, original producer Celador announced that it was seeking to sell the worldwide rights to Millionaire, together with the rest of its British programme library, as the first phase of a sell-off of the company's format and production divisions. British television producer Paul Smith first had the idea to franchise the UK programme internationally. He developed a series of standards for international variants that ensured they mirrored the British original closely. For example, all hosts were required to appear on-screen wearing Armani suits, as Tarrant did in the UK; producers were forbidden from hiring local composers to create original music, instead using the same music cues used by the British version; and the lighting system and set design were to adhere faithfully to the way they were presented on the British version.[5] Some of Smith's rules have been slightly relaxed over the years as the franchise's history has progressed.
Dutch company 2waytraffic ultimately acquired Millionaire and all of Celador's other programmes. Two years later, Sony Pictures Entertainment purchased 2waytraffic for £137.5 million.[6]. Sony Pictures Television currently owns and licenses the show's format. Disney–ABC Domestic Television, the Walt Disney Company's in-home sales and content distribution firm controls the U.S. version independent of Sony.
Gameplay[edit]
Rules[edit]
A group of contestants on each episode play a preliminary round called 'Fastest Finger First'. All are given a question by the host and four answers which must be placed within a particular order; in the first season of the original version (1998) and the first four seasons of the Australian version (1999–2002), contestants have to simply answer a multiple-choice question. If any contestants are visually impaired, the host reads the question and four choices all at once, then repeats the choices after the music for this round begins. The contestant who not only answers correctly, but in the fastest time, goes on to play the main game. In the event that no one gets the question right, another question is given; if two or more contestants answer correctly but with the same time, they are given a tie-breaker amongst them to determine who will move on. This round is only used when a new contestant is being chosen to play the main round, and can be played more than once in an episode amongst those remaining within the group seeking to play the main game. In celebrity editions, the round is not used; celebrities automatically take part in the main game.
Once a contestant enters the main game, they are asked increasingly difficult general knowledge questions by the host. Each features four possible answers, in which the contestant must give the correct answer. Doing so wins them a certain amount of money, with tackling much tougher questions increasing their prize fund. During their game, the player has a set of lifelines that they may use only once to help them with a question, as well as two 'safety nets' – if a contestant gets a question wrong, but had reached a designated cash value during their game, they will leave with that amount as their prize. While the first few questions are generally easy, subsequent ones after them will prompt the host to ask if the answer they gave is their 'final answer' – if it is, then it is locked in and cannot be changed. If a contestant feels unsure about an answer, and does not wish to play on, they can walk away with the money they have won, to which the host will ask them to confirm this as their final decision; in such cases, the host will usually ask them to state what answer they would have gone for, and reveal if it would have been correct or incorrect.
Original format[edit]
During the British original, between 1998 and 2007, the show's format required contestants to answer fifteen questions. The safety nets in this format were set to £1,000 and £32,000 respectively, with the payout structure being as follows:[7]
- For the first group of five questions: £100, £200, £300, £500, £1,000
- For the second group of five questions: £2,000, £4,000, £8,000, £16,000, £32,000
- For the final group of five questions: £64,000, £125,000, £250,000, £500,000, £1,000,000
After 2007, the format was changed, reducing the number of questions to twelve; the overall change in format was later incorporated into a number of international versions over a period of four years, including the Arab, Bulgarian, Dutch, French, Polish, Spanish, and Turkish versions. The payout structure, as a whole, was subsequently changed as a result, with the second safety net relocated to £50,000:[8]
- The first two questions: £500, £1,000
- The next five questions: £2,000, £5,000, £10,000, £20,000, £50,000
- The final five questions: £75,000, £150,000, £250,000, £500,000, £1,000,000
When the game show was revived for British television in 2018, the format was changed a second time, reverting to the original arrangement used before 2007, but with one notable difference, in that the second safety net was made adjustable – once a contestant reached £1,000, the host would ask them, before giving the next question, if they wish to set the next cash prize amount as the second safety net, with this allowing them to set up as high as £500,000 in their game as a result.
U.S. format[edit]
An American syndication of the game show was conceived after the British original proved successful, debuting in 2002. The only difference between it and the British version was that episodes were halved in length – 30 minutes, as opposed to the 60-minute length of the original version. The change meant that the preliminary round of the show was eliminated, and contestants had to pass a more conventional game show qualification test. Exceptions to this arrangement, in which it was used under the name 'Fastest Finger' included: primetime special editions of the programme; the 2004 series that was dubbed Super Millionaire, in which the final prize was increased to $10,000,000;[9] and for the 10th anniversary special of the US edition, run during August 2009 for eleven episodes. The decision to remove this round would later occur in other international versions, including the British original.
Clock format[edit]
In 2008, the U.S. version changed its format so that contestants were required to answer questions within a set time limit. The limit varied depending on the difficulty of the question:[10]
- 15 seconds for questions 1–5
- 30 seconds for question 6–10
- 45 seconds for question 11–14
Time for each question began counting down immediately after a question was given and its answers were revealed (but before reading all the answers) but was temporarily paused when a lifeline was used. If a contestant exceeded the time limit, they were forced to walk away with any prize money they had won up to that point. Any time not used in these questions was banked for use in the final question. This format change was later adopted into other international versions – the British original, for example, adopted this change for episodes on 3 August 2010.[11]
Shuffle format[edit]
On 13 September 2010, the U.S. version adopted a second and more significant change in its format. In this change, the game featured two rounds. The first round consisted of ten questions, in which the cash prize associated to each value, along with the category and difficulty for each question is randomised per game. As such, the difficulty of the question in this round, is not tied to the value associated to it, and a contestant does not know what amount they won unless they provide a correct answer, or choose to walk away. As part of this format, the amount of money a contestant won in this round was banked, but if they walk away before completing the round, they left with half the amount that had been banked; if they gave an incorrect answer during this round, they left with just $1,000.[12] If they answered all ten questions correctly, they then moved onto the second round, which stuck to the standard format of the game show – the remaining questions are set to general knowledge and feature cash prizes of high, non-cumulative values. The contestant can, at this point, walk away with the total amount banked from the first round; otherwise, an incorrect answer meant they left with $25,000. The format was later modified for the fourteenth season of the US version, but retained the same arrangement for the last four questions.
In 2015, the so-called 'shuffle format' was scrapped and the show returned to a version that closely resembled the original format.[13]
Other international formats[edit]
Risk format[edit]
In 2007, the German version modified the show's format with the inclusion of a feature called 'Risk Mode'. During the main game, contestants were given the option of choosing this feature, in which if they chose to use it, they gained the used of a fourth lifeline that allowed them to discuss a question with a member of the audience, in exchange for having no second safety net – if they got any question between the sixth and final cash prize amount wrong, they would leave with the guaranteed amount given for correctly answering five questions. This modified format was subsequently adopted for use in a variety of international versions abroad, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Switzerland and Venezuela.
Hot Seat format[edit]
In November 2008, the Norwegian version modified the show format under the title of 'Hot Seat'. In this variation of the game, six contestant took part, with each taking it in turns to answer questions and build up their prize fund. Utilising the time limit format introduced in the US version, this variation on the format granted a contestant the right to pass the question on to another player, who cannot pass it on themselves, while eliminating both the option of walking away from a question, and the use of lifelines. If a contestant cannot pass on or correctly answer a question, they are eliminated, and the highest cash value they made is removed. The game ends when all contestants are eliminated or the question for the highest cash value is answered – if a contestant who answers the final question gives a correct answer, they win that prize; otherwise, the last contestant to be eliminated receives a small prize if they reach the fifth question safety net. This format was later introduced to various markets over the course of a four year-period from 2009 to 2012, including Italy, Hungary, Spain, Vietnam,[14] Indonesia, Australia, and Chile.[15]
In 2009, Australia's version was modified to use the Norwegian's Hot Seat format. In 2017, as part of new modification to the format, the game incorporated the use of the Fastest Finger First round, with the winner able to select a lifeline, out of three that the show provided. or to keep a check for a AU$1,000.
Lifelines[edit]
During a standard play of the game, a contestant is given a series of lifelines to aid them with difficult questions. In the standard format, a contestant has access to three lifelines – the contents can use each only once per game, but can use more than one on a single question. The standard lifelines used in the original format of the game show include:
- Ask the Audience: the audience takes voting pads attached to their seats and votes for the answer that they believe is correct. The computer tallies the results and displays them as percentages to the contestant.
- 50:50: the game's computer eliminates two wrong answers from the current question, leaving behind the correct answer and one incorrect answer. From 2000, the selection of two incorrect answers were random.
- Phone a Friend: the contestant is connected with a friend over a phone line and is given 30 seconds to read the question and answers and solicit assistance. The time begins as soon as the contestant starts reading the question.
In the US, 'Ask the Audience' and 'Phone a Friend' had corporate sponsorship at different periods. The original AT&T sponsored 'Phone-a-Friend' during the original ABC primetime show and the syndicated version's first season; the current AT&T sponsored the 2009 primetime episodes. From 2004 to 2006, AOL sponsored 'Ask the Audience' and allowed users of Instant Messenger to participate in the lifeline by adding the screen nameMillionaireIM to their contact list. When a contestant used the lifeline during the show, users would receive an instant message with the question and the four possible answers and would vote for the correct answer. The computer would tally these results alongside the results from the studio audience.[16]
Contestants pre-select multiple friends for 'Phone a Friend,' and as soon as the contestant begins to play, producers alert the friends and ask them to keep their phone lines free and await three rings before answering.[17] On 11 January 2010, the US version eliminated the use of 'Phone a Friend' in response to an increasing trend of contestants' friends using web search engines and other Internet resources to assist them during the calls. Producers came to feel that the lifeline was giving contestants who had friends with Internet access an unfair advantage, and they also believed it was contrary to the original intent of the lifeline, by which friends provided assistance based on what they already knew.[18]
During tapings of the current British version, security personnel from the production office stay with contestants' friends at their homes to ensure integrity. During The People Play specials in 2012 and 2013, friends traveled to the studio and stayed backstage. When a contestant used the lifeline, the friend they called appeared on a monitor in the studio, and both the friend and contestant were able to see and communicate with each other.[19][20]
Unique lifelines[edit]
During the course of the game show's history, there were a number of unique lifeline additions in various versions of the programme:
- Switch the Question – Used in the US version between 2004 and 2008, and in the UK original during celebrity specials between 2002–03 and standard episode between 2010–14, this lifeline became available after a contestant answered the tenth question of the game. The computer replaced the current question with another of the same difficulty. The contestant could not reinstate any lifelines used on the original question.[10] A variation of this lifeline for the US version, called 'Cut the Question', was brought into use in 2014 for a week-long run of special episodes that featured child contestants, in which it could only be used within the first ten questions.
- Double Dip – One of two lifelines created for the Super Millionaire spin-off of the US version. When used, this lifeline allowed contestants to make two guesses at a question, but forbade them from using any other lifelines they had left or from walking away. If the contestant first used 50:50 and then used Double Dip on the same question, it would guarantee them the correct answer. When the standard US format incorporated a time limit on questions, the show retired 50:50 and replaced it with Double Dip.[10] This lifeline was also used in the Russian version (without a clock format) but did not replace 50:50.[21]
- Three Wise Men – The other lifeline created for the Super Millionaire. When chosen, a sequestered panel of three experts (chosen by the producers) appears via face-to-face audio and video feed to provide assistance. Like 'Phone a Friend,' this lifeline incorporated a 30-second time limit for its use. This lifeline was also used in the Russian version between 2006 and 2008 but did not feature experts.
- Ask the Expert – Inspired by 'Three Wise Men,' this lifeline provided the contestant with one person, an expert selected for them, to help them with the question. Unlike its predecessor, this lifeline had no time limit on its use, but was only available after the fifth question;[22] after 'Phone a Friend' was removed in 2010, it was made readily available at any time in the game. In the US version, the lifeline was sponsored by Skype for its live audio and video feeds.[22] In the Hong Kong edition, it replaced the 'Phone a Friend' lifeline for one-off special in 2001 and for two celebrity specials in 2018, though with the celebrity contestants able to ask a panel of experts for help, present in the audience, all of whom had the question and possible answers visible to them.
- Ask One of the Audience – Used in the German version of the show, this lifeline was designed for use as part of its 'Risk Mode' format. When used, the contestant selects someone from the audience, whereupon the host rereads the question and the possible answers and asks them to choose one. If the contestant goes for the answer they chose and it proves correct, the audience member is given a small cash prize in return. This lifeline was implemented as part of the Costa Rican version, but made available after passing the first safety net.
- Ask Three of the Audiences – Used in the Vietnamese version of the show, this lifeline was designed for use as part of its Original format. When used, the contestant selects three from the audiences, whereupon the host rereads the question and the possible answers and asks them to choose one. If the contestant goes for the answer they chose and it proves to be correct, the audience members are given a small cash prize in return (600000 ₫ divided to members that answered correctly in the 3 audiences). This lifeline was implemented as part of the Vietnamese version, but made available after passing the 5th question. In the Philippine version, the lifeline is called People Speak, which can be used at any point in the game.
- Jump the Question – Used in the US version of the show, as part of the 'Shuffle Format', from the start of the ninth season to the end of thirteenth season. When used, prior to giving a final answer, a contestant would skip the current question and move on to the next one, but would earn no money from the question they skipped; the lifeline could not be used if they have reached the final question. Unlike other lifelines, it could be used twice during a game, except for the thirteenth season – the introduction of 'Plus One' led to the lifeline being modified as a result. The lifeline was removed following the 2014–15 season.
- Crystal Ball – Used in the US version of the show, as part of specially designated weeks that used the 'Shuffle Format'. When used during the first round, the contestant is allowed to see the cash amount that is designated to the question they are currently on.[23]
- +1 – Used in the US version of the show from 2015 to 2019. Based on 'Ask One of the Audience', the lifeline allows a contestant to invite on a friend from the audience to come and help them answer the question. There is no time limit, but after that question has been answered the friend has to return to the audience.
- Ask the Host – Used in the 20th anniversary of the British original, the French revival, and the Italian revival. When used by the contestant, the host uses their knowledge of a question's subject, gives their thoughts about the question, and tries to assist them with finding the correct answer out of the choices given. The lifeline features no time limit, and the host reassures all they have no connection to the outside world and receive the question and possible answers for it at the same time as the contestant, and thus have no knowledge of what the correct answer is.
Top prize winners[edit]
Out of all contestants that have played the game, few have been able to win the top prize on any international version of the show. The first was John Carpenter, who won the top prize on the U.S. version on 19 November 1999. Carpenter did not use a lifeline until the final question, using his Phone-a-Friend not for help but to call his father to tell him he was about to win the million.[24]
Other notable top prize winners include Judith Keppel, the first winner of the UK version;[25] Kevin Olmstead from the U.S. version, who won a progressive jackpot of $2.18 million;[26]Martin Flood from the Australian version, who was investigated by producers after suspicions that he had cheated, much like Charles Ingram, but was later cleared;[27] and Sushil Kumar from the Indian version, who is often referred to in Western media as the 'real-life Slumdog Millionaire'.[28][29][30][31][32]
Original version[edit]
Chris Tarrant was host of the original British version, from its debut in September 1998, until its final episode in February 2014
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? debuted in Britain on 4 September 1998, with episodes broadcast on the ITV network. When it began airing, the show was hosted by Chris Tarrant, and became an instant hit – at its peak in 1999, one edition of the show was watched by over 19 million viewers.[33] While most of the contestants were predominantly members of the general public who had applied to take part, the show later featured special celebrity editions during its later years, often coinciding with holidays and special events.
On 22 October 2013, Tarrant decided to quit the show after hosting it for 15 years. His decision led ITV to subsequently make plans to cancel the programme at the end of his contract, with no further specials being made other than those that were already planned.[34][35] Tarrant's final episode was a special clip show entitled 'Chris' Final Answer', which aired on 11 February 2014.[36]
Four years later, ITV revived the programme for a special 7-episode series, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the British original.[37] This series of special episodes was hosted by Jeremy Clarkson and aired every evening between 6 May and 11 May 2018. The revival received mostly positive reviews from critics and fans, and, as well as high viewing figures, led to ITV renewing the show for another series with Clarkson returning as host.[38]
International versions[edit]
Since the British original debuted in 1998, several different versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? have been created across the world, including Australia, the United States, and India. In total over 100 different international variations have been made.[39]
Australia[edit]
On 18 April 1999, Nine Network launched an Australian version of the game show for its viewers. This version ran until its final episode, aired on 3 April 2006.[40] After the first version ended, a second version was created, running for six episodes across October and November 2007,[41] before a third version, entitled Millionaire Hot Seat, made its debut on 20 April 2009.[42][43] The original version was hosted by Eddie McGuire, until he was forced to sacrifice his on-air commitments upon being made the CEO of the network;[44] after his resignation from this role,[45] he resumed his duties as host of subsequent versions of the programme.
United States[edit]
On 16 August 1999, ABC launched an American version of the game show for its primetime viewers. Hosted by Regis Philbin,[46] it proved to be a ratings success, becoming the highest-rated television show during the 1999–2000 season, with its average audience figures reaching approximately 29 million viewers.[47] However, ABC overexposed the series, causing viewers figures to drop.[48] This version was cancelled as a result, with its final episode aired on 27 June 2002.[49] On 16 September 2002, Meredith Vieira launched a daily syndicated version of the programme,[50] in which she presided as host for 11 seasons until May 2013.[51] After her departure, the show was hosted by Cedric the Entertainer in 2013,[52] and Terry Crews in 2014,[53] before Chris Harrison took full hosting responsibilities in Autumn 2015. On 17 May 2019, the American version was canceled after a total of 20 seasons encompassing both primetime and first-run syndication; the final episode of the series would air on 31 May.
Russia[edit]
On 1 October 1999, NTV launched a Russian version the game show, entitled О, счастливчик! ('Oh, lucky man!!!'). This version ran until its final episode on 28 January 2001,[54] whereupon a few weeks later it was relaunched under the Russian translation of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, on Channel One. The relaunched version was hosted by Maxim Galkin until 2008, when he was replaced as host by Dmitry Dibrov after that.[55]
India[edit]
On 3 July 2000, an Indian version of the game show was launched. The show was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan in his first appearance on Indian television,[56] and received additional seasons in 2005–06,[57] 2007, and then every year since 2010.[58] Subsequent Indian versions were also made, including one on 9 April 2012 entitled Ningalkkum Aakaam Kodeeshwaran, and hosted by Suresh Gopi.[59] The original Indian version became immortalised in 2008, within the plot of Danny Boyle's award-winning drama filmSlumdog Millionaire.[60] adapted from the 2005 Indian novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup. [61][62]
Sri Lanka[edit]
On September 18, 2010 a Sinhalese version called, 'Obada lakshapathi mamada lakshapathi'(ඔබද ලක්ෂපති මමද ලක්ෂපති) was launched by Sirasa TV of Capital Maharaja Television Network. Since then, it has grown its popularity immensely through local audiences. It is presented by Chandana Suriyabandara, a senior commentator in Sri Lanka. It offers 2 million rupees (Sri Lankan rupees-LKR) as the ultimate prize.
Philippines[edit]
In 2000, a Filipino version of the game show was launched by the government-sequestered Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation. Hosted by Christopher de Leon, and produced by Viva Television,[63][64] it ran for two years before being axed. On 23 May 2009, the show was relaunched on TV5,[65] with Vic Sotto as the new host.[66][67] The relaunched version was aired until 7 October 2012, when it was replaced by the Philippine version of The Million Pound Drop Live, but returned the following year on 15 September 2013, following the success of Talentadong Pinoy that year.
Italy[edit]
It was first launched by Endemol (until 2011) on Canale 5 with the name “Chi vuol essere miliardario?”. In 2001, it changed its name to “Chi vuol essere milionario?” after that Italian Lira was replaced with the Euro. In 2018 it broadcast four special episodes for the 20th anniversary, followed by another eight special episodes in 2019[68] but the new season is produced by Fremantle Italia's unit Wavy. The host was Gerry Scotti for every edition from 2000 to 2011 and for the 20th anniversary special edition.
Nepal[edit]
Ko Banchha Crorepati (Who Wants to be a Millionaire; also simply known as KBC Nepal, Nepali: को बन्छ करोडपति) is a Nepali television game show based on the British program Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. The show first premiered on 2 February 2019 on AP1 Television and will run for 52 episodes. It is hosted by Rajesh Hamal and produced by SRBN Media Pvt. Ltd. Contestants can win a huge cash prize up to 1 crore (10 million) Nepali rupees.
Other versions[edit]
Other notable versions created in other countries, include the following:
- In 1999, a Dutch version of the game show, entitled Lotto Weekend Miljonairs, was launched on SBS 6. It was hosted by Robert ten Brink. In 2006, the show was moved to RTL 4 until it was cancelled in 2008. The show was later revived on SBS 6 in 2011 with as host Jeroen van der Boom. In 2019 the show was relaunched on RTL 4 with a new name: Bankgiro Miljonairs, hosted again by Robert ten Brink.
- On 3 September 1999, a German version was launched by RTL Television, with Günther Jauch hosting the game show.
- In 2000, the Hungarian version of the show, Legyen Ön is milliomos! was launched. Its iconic host was István Vágó until 2008.
- On 20 April 2000, a Japanese version called Quiz $ Millionaire was launched by Fuji Television.[69] Hosted by Monta Mino, it ran as a weekly programme for seven years, after which it aired as occasional specials; the final episode aired on 2 January 2013.[70]
- On 3 July 2000, a French version, Qui veut gagner des millions ?, was launched on the TF1 network, and hosted by Jean-Pierre Foucault and since 26 January 2019 by Camille Combal.
- In 2001, a Hong Kong version called Baak Maan Fu Yung was launched by Asia Television. It ran until 2005, and was hosted by actor Kenneth Chan.
- Singapore hosted its own version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in both English and Chinese versions (dubbed Bai Wan Da Ying Jia), and ran until 2003. It was hosted by Taiwanese actor Timothy Chao. The series produced no top prize winners, but one contestant, Steven Tan, won $250,000 on December 27, 2001, and Tan remained as the biggest cash winner in Singaporean game show's history since[71][72].
- In 2007, a Chinese version was launched, hosted by Lǐ Fán. It ran until the end of 2008.
- On 6 May 2017, a Brazilian version entitled Quem quer ser um milionário (which is a segment of the variety show Caldeirão do Huck) premiered on Rede Globo. A similar show entitled Show do Milhão (which was hosted by Silvio Santos) aired on SBT between 1999 and 2003 (with a further revival in 2009).
- In 2018, a Nepalese version of the game was launched under the title of Ko Banchha Crorepati. The show is hosted by Rajesh Hamal on AP1 HD.
- On 11 August 2018, a Mauritian Version has been launched on MBC 1 by the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation.[73] The show is present by Sandra Mayotte, 14th female host for the franchise 'Qui Veut Gagner Des Millions?'.[74]
- In 2019 re-launched in Hungary, hosted by Gábor Gundel-Takács.
- In 2019, a Thai version entitled ใครอยากเป็นเศรษฐี on PPTV. A similar show entitled เกมเศรษฐี (which was hosted by Traiphop Limpapath) aired on Channel 3 and iTV between 2000 and 2008.
Hallmarks[edit]
Music[edit]
The musical score most commonly associated with the franchise was composed by father-and-son duo Keith and Matthew Strachan. The Strachans' score provides drama and tension, and unlike older game show musical scores, Millionaire's musical score was created to feature music playing almost throughout the entire show. The Strachans' main Millionairetheme song takes inspiration from the 'Mars' movement of Gustav Holst's The Planets, and their question cues from the £2,000 to the £32,000/£50,000 level, and then from the £64,000/£75,000 level onwards, take the pitch up a semitone for each subsequent question, in order to increase tension as the contestant progressed through the game.[75] On Game Show Network (GSN)'s Gameshow Hall of Fame special, the narrator described the Strachan tracks as 'mimicking the sound of a beating heart', and stated that as the contestant works their way up the money ladder, the music is 'perfectly in tune with their ever-increasing pulse'.[1]
The Strachans' Millionaire soundtrack was honoured by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers with numerous awards, the earliest of them awarded in 2000.[75] The original music cues were given minor rearrangements for the U.S. version's clock format in 2008; for example, the question cues were synced to the 'ticking' sounds of the game clock. Even later, the Strachan score was removed from the U.S. version altogether for the introduction of the shuffle format in 2010, in favour of a new musical score with cues written by Jeff Lippencott and Mark T. Williams, co-founders of the Los Angeles-based company Ah2 Music.[76]
Set[edit]
TV studio of ¿Quién quiere ser millonario?, the Salvadorian version of the show.
The basic set design used in the Millionaire franchise was conceived by British production designerAndy Walmsley, and is the most reproduced scenic design in television history.[5] Unlike older game shows whose sets are or were designed to make the contestant(s) feel at ease, Millionaire's set was designed to make the contestant feel uncomfortable, so that the programme feels more like a movie thriller than a typical quiz show.[1] The floor is made of Plexiglas[5] beneath which lies a huge dish covered in mirror paper.[1] The main game typically has the contestant and host sit in 'Hot Seats',[1] which are slightly-modified, 3 foot (0.91 m)-high Pietranera Arco All chairs situated in the centre of the stage; an LG computer monitor directly facing each seat displays questions and other pertinent information.
The lighting system is programmed to darken the set as the contestant progresses further into the game. There are also spotlights situated at the bottom of the set area that zoom down on the contestant when they answer a major question; to increase the visibility of the light beams emitted by such spotlights, oil is vaporised, creating a haze effect. Media scholarDr. Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University, stated that the show's lighting system made the contestant feel as though they were outside a prison while an escape was in progress.[1]
When the U.S. Millionaire introduced its shuffle format, the Hot Seats and corresponding monitors were replaced with a single podium and as a result, the contestant and host stand throughout the game and are also able to walk around the stage. According to Vieira, the Hot Seat was removed because it was decided that the seat, which was originally intended to make the contestant feel nervous, actually ended up having contestants feel so comfortable in it that it did not service the production team any longer.[77] Also, two video screens were installed–one that displays the current question in play, and another that displays the contestant's cumulative total and progress during the game. In September 2012, the redesigned set was improved with a modernised look and feel, in order to take into account the show's transition to high-definition broadcasting, which had just come about the previous year. The two video screens were replaced with two larger ones, having twice as many projectors as the previous screens; the previous contestant podium was replaced with a new one; and light-emitting diode (LED) technology was integrated into the lighting system to give the lights more vivid colours and the set and gameplay experience a more intimate feel.[78]
Catchphrase[edit]
Millionaire has made catchphrases out of several lines used on the show. The most well-known of these catchphrases is the host's question 'Is that your final answer?', asked whenever a contestant's answer needs to be verified.[79] The question is asked because the rules require that the contestants must clearly indicate their choices before they are made official, the nature of the game allowing them to ponder the options before committing to an answer. Regularly on tier-three questions, a dramatic pause occurs between the contestant's statement of their answer and the host's acknowledgement of whether or not it is correct.
Many parodies of Millionaire have capitalised on the 'final answer' catchphrase. In the United States, the phrase was popularised by Philbin during his tenure as the host of that country's version,[49] to the extent that TV Land listed it in its special 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catchphrases, which aired in 2006.[80]
On the Australian versions, McGuire replaces the phrase with 'Lock it in?'; likewise, the Indian version's hosts have used varying 'lock' catchphrases. There are also a number of other non-English versions of Millionaire where the host does not ask '[Is that your] final answer?' or a literal translation thereof.[81] Besides the 'final answer' question, other catchphrases used on the show include the contestants' requests to use lifelines, such as 'I'd like to phone a friend'; and a line that Tarrant spoke whenever a contestant was struggling with a particular question, 'Some questions are only easy if you know the answer.'[79]
Reception[edit]
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? has been credited with single-handedly reviving interest in, and breaking new ground for, the television game show.[1] It revolutionised the look and feel of game shows with its unique lighting system, dramatic music cues, and futuristic set. The show also became one of the most popular game shows in television history, and is credited by some with paving the way for the phenomenon of reality programming.[1]
Awards, accolades and honours[edit]
In 2000, the British Film Institute honoured the UK version of Millionaire by ranking it number 23 on its 'BFI TV 100' list, which compiled what British television industry professionals believed were the greatest programmes to have ever originated from that country.[82] The UK Millionaire also won the 1999 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Programme, and four National Television Awards for Most Popular Quiz Programme from 2002 to 2005.
The original primetime version of the U.S. Millionaire won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show in 2000 and 2001. Philbin was honoured with a Daytime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Game Show Host in 2001, while Vieira received one in 2005 and another in 2009, making her the second woman to win an Emmy Award for hosting a game show, and the first to win multiple times.[83]TV Guide ranked the U.S. Millionaire No. 7 on its 2001 list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time,[84] and later ranked it No. 6 on its 2013 '60 Greatest Game Shows' list.[85] GSN ranked Millionaire No. 5 on its August 2006 list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time,[86] and later honoured the show in January 2007 on its first, and so far only, Gameshow Hall of Fame special.[1]
Charles Ingram cheating scandal[edit]
Charles Ingram became infamous for cheating on the programme with a method that staff had not anticipated
Although the show employed many ways of preventing cheating, no one working on the British original was prepared for a unique style employed by one contestant – British Army MajorCharles Ingram. In September 2001, Ingram took part in the game show for two days, joined by his wife Diana and college lecturer Tecwen Whittock. After his first day, he devised a plan to help him win the £1 million cash prize the following day – for each question he faced, Ingram would read out the answers for a question, whereupon Whittock, who sat amongst the contestants who would play Fastest Finger First, would cough whenever the correct answer was spoken out. As Ingram drew close to the top prize, production staff backstage became suspicious over the amount of back noise Whittock was creating with his coughing. In addition, they also became concerned that Ingram showed no sign of having specialist knowledge on any subject he faced in his questions, in contrast to previous contestants. After the episode had been filmed, an investigation was ordered. Ingram was informed that he was suspected of cheating, and thus was not allowed to take his winnings; his reaction to this news further justified suspicions he had cheated. When the footage was reviewed, staff began to notice the pattern between Whittock's coughing and Ingram's behaviour when he chose an answer. After suspending the broadcast of both episodes Ingram featured in, police were called in to investigate the matter further.
In April 2003, Ingram, Diana, and Whittock were taken to court on the charge of using fraudulent means to win the top prize on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. During the trial, the defence claimed that Whittock had simply suffered from allergies during recording of the second episode, but the prosecution refuted this by revealing footage that showed his coughing stopped, upon Ingram leaving the set and Whittock subsequently taking his turn on the main game. The trial concluded with all three being found guilty and receiving suspended sentences.[87] After the trial, ITV aired a documentary about the scandal, along with Ingram's entire game, complete with Whittock's coughing sounds. As a joke, Benylin cough syrup paid to have the first commercial shown during the programme's commercial break.[88]
Other media[edit]
Merchandise[edit]
Three board game adaptations of the UK Millionaire were released by Upstarts in 1998, and a junior edition recommended for younger players was introduced in 2001. The U.S. version also saw two board games of its own, released by Pressman Toy Corporation in 2000.[89][90] Other Millionaire board games have included a game based on the Australian version's Hot Seat format, which was released by UGames;[91] a game based on the Italian version released by Hasbro;[92] and a game based on the French version which was released by TF1's games division.[93]
An electronic tabletop version of the game was released by Tiger Electronics in 2000.[94] Six different DVD games based on the UK Millionaire, featuring Tarrant's likeness and voice, were released by Zoo Digital Publishing[95] and Universal Studios Home Entertainment between 2002 and 2008. In 2008, Imagination Games released a DVD game based on the U.S. version, based on the 2004–08 format and coming complete with Vieira's likeness and voice,[96] as well as a quiz book[97] and a 2009 desktop calendar.[98]
The UK Millionaire saw five video game adaptations for personal computers and Sony's PlayStation consoles, produced by Hothouse Creations and Eidos Interactive. Between 1999 and 2001, Jellyvision produced five games based on the U.S. network version for PCs and the PlayStation, all of them featuring Philbin's likeness and voice. The first of these adaptations was published by Disney Interactive, while the later four were published by Buena Vista Interactive which had just been spun off from DI when it reestablished itself in attempts to diversify its portfolio. Of the five games, three featured general trivia questions,[99][100][101] one was sports-themed,[102] and another was a 'Kids Edition' featuring easier questions.[103] Two additional U.S. Millionaire games were released by Ludia in conjunction with Ubisoft in 2010 and 2011; the first of these was a game for Nintendo's Wii console and DS handheld system based on the 2008–10 clock format,[104] with the Wii version offered on the show as a consolation prize to audience contestants during the 2010–11 season. The second, for Microsoft's Xbox 360, was based on the shuffle format[105] and was offered as a consolation prize during the next season (2011–12).
Ludia also made a Facebook game based on Millionaire available to players in North America from 2011 to 2016. This game featured an altered version of the shuffle format, condensing the number of questions to twelve—eight in round one and four in round two. Contestants competed against eight other Millionaire fans in round one, with the top three playing round two alone. There was no 'final answer' rule; the contestant's responses were automatically locked in. Answering a question correctly earned a contestant the value of that question, multiplied by the number of people who responded incorrectly. Contestants were allowed to use two of their Facebook friends as Jump the Question lifelines in round one, and to use the Ask the Audience lifeline in round two to invite up to 50 such friends of theirs to answer a question for a portion of the prize money of the current question.[106]
Disney Parks attraction[edit]
The building housing the California version after its 2004 closure
A theme park attraction based on the show, known as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It!, appeared at Disney's Hollywood Studios (when it was known as Disney-MGM Studios) at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida and at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California. Both the Florida and California Play It! attractions opened in 2001; the California version closed in 2004,[107] and the Florida version closed in 2006 and was replaced by Toy Story Midway Mania!
The format in the Play It! attraction was very similar to that of the television show that inspired it. When a show started, a 'Fastest Finger' question was given, and the audience was asked to put the four answers in order; the person with the fastest time was the first contestant in the Hot Seat for that show. However, the main game had some differences: for example, contestants competed for points rather than dollars, the questions were set to time limits, and the Phone-a-Friend lifeline became Phone a Complete Stranger which connected the contestant to a Disney cast member outside the attraction's theatre who would find a guest to help. After the contestant's game was over, they were awarded anything from a collectible pin, to clothing, to a Millionaire CD game, to a 3-night Disney Cruise.[108]
References[edit]
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(help) - ^ abc''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' Kicks Off Seventh Season by Introducing New Changes to the Game, Creating New Levels of Excitement, Emotional Drama and Heart-Pounding Tension for Both Viewers and Contestants'. The Futon Critic. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
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(help) - ^''I've loved every minute': An emotional Chris Tarrant bids farewell as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire bows out after 16-years'. Daily Mail. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
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- ^Gibson, Joel (4 April 2006). 'No McGuire, no Millionaire'. The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 5 August 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
- ^'Nine boss David Gyngell puts Eddie McGuire to work'. Herald Sun. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
- ^Knox, David (7 April 2009). 'Game on. It's Eddie v Andrew'. tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^Devlyn, Darren (8 April 2009). 'Eddie McGuire and Andrew O'Keefe to go head to head'. Herald Sun. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^Hogan, Jesse (9 February 2006). 'McGuire CEO show live on air'. The Age. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
- ^Harrison, Dan (18 May 2007). ''I wasn't given the flick''. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
- ^Seidman, Robert (9 August 2009). 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Returns for its Ten Year Anniversary'. TV By the Numbers. Zap2it. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
- ^'TV Ratings 1999–2000'. fbibler.chez.com. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ^Carter, Bill (29 November 2001). 'ABC's Millionaire May Not Survive Beyond the Current Season'. The New York Times. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
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- ^'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Kicks Off Coast to Coast Bus Tour'. BusinessWire. 23 July 2002. Retrieved 19 January 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^Stelter, Brian (11 January 2013). 'Vieira to leave 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire''. The New York Times Media Decoder. Retrieved 17 July 2014.Italic or bold markup not allowed in:
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(help) - ^'Cedric the Entertainer Will Host 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' Replace Meredith Vieira'. The Huffington Post. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^Andreeva, Nellie (7 May 2014). 'Terry Crews Named New Host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'. Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ^The history of the game 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' on Russian TV schastlivchik.com (in Russian)
- ^Kto khochet stat' millionerom?: Information on the projectArchived 30 August 2014 at the Wayback MachineChannel One official site. (in Russian)
- ^Saxena, Poonam (19 November 2011). 'Five crore question: What makes KBC work?'. Hindustan Times. Archived from the original(Article, Interview with Amitabh Bachchan) on 22 November 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- ^'India scraps millionaire TV show'. BBC News. 25 January 2006. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^'KBC 4 beats Bigg Boss 4 in its final episode'. One India. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
- ^'Ningalkkum Akam Kodeeswaran's debut'. Kerala TV. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
- ^Robinson, Tasha (26 November 2008). 'Danny Boyle interview'. The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
- ^The New York Times (11 November 2008). 'Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' Captures Mumbai, a City of Extremes – NYTimes'. Somini Sengupta.
- ^'The 81st Academy Awards (2009) Nominees and Winners'. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ^Who Wants to Be A Millionaire: Feature Show Archived retrieved via www.viva.com.ph 04-05 2009
- ^WWTBAM Feature Article coutesy of www.telebisyon.netArchived 8 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine retrieved via www.telebisyon.net 04-05-2009
- ^Fragment of the old show retrieved via www.youtube.com 04-05-2009
- ^Created With Knorr. 'Vic Sotto hosts his first game show via Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?'. PEP.ph. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
- ^Who Wants to be a Millionaire on TV5 hosted by Vic SottoArchived 25 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine retrieved via www.tv5.com.ph 05-16-2009
- ^'Chi vuol essere milionario, Gerry Scotti sfida la storia: torna dopo 7 anni, la spiazzante novità nel quiz'. liberoquotidiano.it. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^Tomoko, Yamakawa. 'Japan, Power Exporter of Program Formats'. Webzine. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2014.Italic or bold markup not allowed in:
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(help) - ^'Visiware and Sony successfully launched the 2nd-screen application for Fuji-TV's Who Wants to Be A Millionaire in Japan'. Visiware. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ^http://showbiz.omy.sg/Showbiz/E-News/Story/OMYStory200910141507-97995.html
- ^8 days (3 January 2002). 8 days Issue 587. Singapore: MediaCorp. p. 12.
- ^'Qui veut gagner des millions ?'. millions.mu. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^'Qui veut gagner des millions ?'. millions.mu. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ abSmurthwaite, Nick (21 March 2005). 'Million Pound Notes: Keith Strachan'. The Stage. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011.
- ^'Ah2 Music Marks 10th Anniversary'. TrailerMusicVibe. 21 August 2014.
- ^'Season 23, Episode 8'. Live! with Regis and Kelly. 15 September 2010. Syndicated.
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- ^ abCommentary provided by Tarrant on the DVD Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?: Magic Moments and More.
- ^The Star Ledger. 11 December 2006
- ^Certain non-English Millionaire shows' hosts, in their 'final answer' phrases, translate these words as 'definitive answer', 'final decision', etc.
- ^'The BFI TV 100 at the BFI website'. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 24 May 2009.
- ^'Meredith Vieira biography'. www.hollywood.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
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- ^Fretts, Bruce (17 June 2013). 'Eyes on the Prize'. TV Guide. pp. 14–15.
- ^The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time. 31 August 2006. GSN.
- ^'Millionaire trio escape jail'. BBC News. 8 April 2003. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^Day, Julian (22 April 2003). 'The cough carries it off'. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'. BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2nd Edition)'. BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Hot Seat – Australia Board Game'. Millionaire Store. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- ^'Chi Vuol Essere Milionario – Italy Board Game'. Millionaire Store. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- ^'Qui Veut Gagner des Millions – France Board Game'. Millionaire Store. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- ^Millionaire Tabletop instructions
- ^'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? DVD Game – UK'. Myreviewer.com. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
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- ^The rules of the Facebook game are sourced from the following page: 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire on Facebook'. Ludia. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^Shaffer, Joshua C. (2010). Discovering the Magic Kingdom: An Unofficial Disneyland Vacation Guide. Author House. p. 207. ISBN9781452063133.
- ^Marx, Jennifer and Dave (29 December 2006). 'Who Wants to Be a Winner? Passport Tips for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It!'. PassPorter.com.
External links[edit]
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? at the National Film and Sound Archive[permanent dead link]
Who Wants To Be Millionaire Online Game
- Original United Kingdom version
I Want To Become A Millionaire Game
- Official website at itv.com
- Who Wants to be a Millionaire? at UKGameshows.com
- Internet Movie Database pages
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (UK) on IMDb
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US – 1999–2002) on IMDb
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US – current) on IMDb
- Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire (US) on IMDb
- ¿Quién quiere ser millonario? (Argentina) on IMDb
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Australia) on IMDb
- Die Millionenshow (Austria) on IMDb
- Qui sera millionnaire? (Belgium – in French) on IMDb
- Wie wordt multimiljonair? (Belgium – in Dutch) on IMDb
- Tko želi biti milijunaš? (Croatia) on IMDb
- Hvem vil være millionær? (Denmark) on IMDb
- Haluatko miljonääriksi? (Finland) on IMDb
- Qui veut gagner des millions? (France) on IMDb
- Wer wird Millionär? (Germany) on IMDb
- Ποιος Θέλει Να Γίνει Εκατομμυριούχος (Greece) on IMDb
- 百萬富翁 (Hong Kong) on IMDb
- Legyen ön is milliomos! (Hungary) on IMDb
- Viltu vinna milljón? (Iceland) on IMDb
- ?מי רוצה להיות מיליונר (Israel) on IMDb
- Kaun Banega Crorepati (India) on IMDb
- Chi vuol essere milionario? (Italy) on IMDb
- クイズ$ミリオネア (Japan) on IMDb
- Lotto Weekend Miljonairs (Netherlands) on IMDb
- Vil du bli millionær? (Norway) on IMDb
- Milionerzy (Poland) on IMDb
- ¿Quiere ser millonario? (Spain) on IMDb
- Vem vill bli miljonär? (Sweden) on IMDb
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Who_Wants_to_Be_a_Millionaire%3F&oldid=920403578'
(Redirected from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (U.S. game show))
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | |
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Genre | Game show |
Developed by | Michael Davies |
Directed by |
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Presented by |
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Composer(s) |
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Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 20 (3 on ABC, 17 in syndication) |
No. of episodes | ABC: 363[1] |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
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Running time | 39–48 minutes (ABC) 19–25 minutes (syndication) |
Production company(s) |
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Distributor |
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Release | |
Original network | ABC(1999–2002, 2004, 2009) Syndication(2002–2019) |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV) (1999–2011) 720p/1080i (HDTV) (2011–2019) |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | ABC: August 16, 1999 – June 27, 2002 Syndication: September 16, 2002 – May 31, 2019 |
External links | |
Website |
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (often informally called Millionaire[note 1]) is an American television game show based on the same-titled British program and developed for the United States by Michael Davies. The show features a quiz competition in which contestants attempt to win a top prize of $1,000,000 by answering a series of multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty (although, for a time, most of the questions were of random difficulty). The program endured as one of the longest-running and most successful international variants in the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? franchise.
![I Want To Be A Millionaire Game I Want To Be A Millionaire Game](/uploads/1/2/6/1/126126431/641980030.png)
The original U.S. version aired one, two or three evenings a week on ABC from August 16, 1999, to June 27, 2002, and was hosted by Regis Philbin. The weekday syndicated version of the show began airing on September 16, 2002, and was hosted for eleven seasons by Meredith Vieira until May 31, 2013. Later hosts included Cedric the Entertainer in the 2013–14 season, Terry Crews in the following season (2014–15), and Chris Harrison, who hosted from September 14, 2015, until May 31, 2019, when the syndicated series was canceled.[2]
As the first U.S. network game show to offer a million-dollar top prize, the show made television history by becoming one of the highest-rated game shows in the history of American television. The U.S. Millionaire won seven Daytime Emmy Awards, and TV Guide ranked it No. 6 in its 2013 list of the 60 greatest game shows of all time.
- 1Gameplay
- 1.2Format history
- 1.4Lifelines
- 2Personnel
- 3Production
- 4Broadcast history
- 5Special editions
- 7Other media
Gameplay[edit]
Core rules[edit]
Screenshot illustrating how question text and answer choices appear on-screen
At its core, the game is a quiz competition in which the goal is to correctly answer a series of fourteen (originally fifteen) consecutive multiple-choice questions. The questions are of increasing difficulty,[3] except in the 2010–15 format overhaul, where the contestants were faced with a round of ten questions of random difficulty, followed by a round of four questions of increasing difficulty.[4] Each question is worth a specified amount of money; the amounts are cumulative in the first round, but not in the second. If at any time the contestant gives a wrong answer, the game is over and the contestant's winnings are reduced (or increased, in the first two questions) to $1,000 for tier-one questions, $5,000 for tier-two questions, and $50,000 for tier-three questions. However, the contestant may choose to stop playing after being presented with a question, allowing them to keep all the money they have won to that point.[4] With the exception of the shuffle format, upon correctly answering questions five and ten, contestants are guaranteed at least the amount of prize money associated with that level. If the contestant gives an incorrect answer, their winnings drop down to the last milestone achieved. Since 2015, if the contestant answers a question incorrectly before reaching question five, he or she leaves with $1,000, even on the first question that is worth only $500. For celebrities, the minimum guarantee for their nominated charities is $10,000. Prior to the shuffle format, a contestant left with nothing if they answered a question incorrectly before reaching the first milestone. In the shuffle format, contestants who incorrectly answered a question had their winnings reduced to $1,000 in round one and $25,000 in round two.[5]
Format history[edit]
Original format (1999–2008)[edit]
From 1999 to 2002, 10 contestants played a round of the Fastest Finger to determine who would play in the hot seat. The participants would be confronted with one question and four answers, and they would have to set the four answers in the correct order (ascending, chronological, etc.) in the fastest time. The competitor who did so correctly in the fastest time would play. If nobody got the correct order, the round was played again, and when a tie breaker occurred, the remaining participants answered a second Fastest Finger question. This round was removed when the syndicated version began in 2002, though it returned in 2004 for Super Millionaire and in 2009 for the 10th Anniversary shows. The format remained unchanged, except for changes to the money staircase and the addition of a new lifeline, until 2008.
Clock format (2008–2010)[edit]
In 2008, the format was altered to include a time limit on each question. The amount of time for each question was as follows:
- Questions 1–5: 15 seconds
- Questions 6–10: 30 seconds
- Questions 11–14: 45 seconds
- Question 15: 45 seconds, plus the total of all unused time from the previous 14 questions
The timer began to run as soon as the four answer options were revealed, and the contestant had to give a final answer before it reached zero. If time ran out, the game ended and the contestant left with whatever money they had won to that point. If this happened while the Double Dip lifeline was in effect, the contestant's winnings were instead reduced to the last safe haven they had reached.
While the clock format was in use, the contestant was shown the categories of all 15 questions in the order they would be asked.
Shuffle format (2010–2015)[edit]
The format was overhauled in September 2010, splitting the game into two rounds. The first round consisted of 10 questions, each in a different category and worth a different amount from $100 to $25,000. Both the category order and the amounts were randomized at the start of the game, with the latter hidden from the contestant's view. The difficulty level and value of each question were not tied to one another. The value of each question was revealed only after the contestant answered it correctly or chose to 'jump' (skip) it; a correct answer added the money to the contestant's bank, while a jump put the value out of play. The maximum bank from this round was $68,600. If the contestant missed a question in the first round, they left with $1,000, even if their bank was lower than this total. Choosing to stop allowed the contestant to keep half their bank.
The second round presented four questions of increasing difficulty in the traditional format, each of which augmented the contestant's total winnings to a set value. A miss in this round reduced their winnings to $25,000. Categories for these questions were not given ahead of time.
From 2011–2014, some weeks were 'Double Your Money' weeks, in which one first-round question was randomly designated as being worth double value. The maximum potential bank from this round thus became $93,600.
Final format (2015–2019)[edit]
With the hiring of new host Chris Harrison, the format was changed once again to resemble that of the original Millionaire. Each contestant faces 14 general-knowledge questions of increasing difficulty, with no time limit or information about the categories. As of 2017, a contestant who misses any of the first five questions leaves with $1,000, even if the missed question is of a lower value.
Payout structure[edit]
Five different ladders have been used over the course of the series:
Question number | Question value | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999–2004 | 2004–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–15[5] | 2015–19 | |
1 | $100 | $500 | Random values $100, $500, $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $5,000, $7,000, $10,000, $15,000, and $25,000 | $500 | |
2 | $200 | $1,000 | $1,000 | ||
3 | $300 | $2,000 | $2,000 | ||
4 | $500 | $3,000 | $3,000 | ||
5 | $1,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | ||
6 | $2,000 | $7,500 | $7,000 | ||
7 | $4,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | ||
8 | $8,000 | $12,500 | $20,000 | ||
9 | $16,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 | ||
10 | $32,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 | ||
11 | $64,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 | ||
12 | $125,000 | $100,000 | $250,000 | ||
13 | $250,000 | $500,000 | |||
14 | $500,000 | $1,000,000 | |||
15 | $1,000,000 |
The $500,000 and $1,000,000 prizes were initially lump-sum payments, but were changed to annuities in September 2002 when the series moved to syndication. Contestants winning either of these prizes receive $250,000 thirty days after their show broadcasts and the remainder paid in equal annual payments. The $500,000 prize consists of $25,000 per year for 10 years, while the $1,000,000 prize consists of $37,500 per year for 20 years.[4]
From 2017–2019, contestants who answered one of the first five questions incorrectly received a $1,000 consolation prize.[6] On the original primetime version and in earlier seasons of the syndicated version prior to 2010, contestants who missed one of the first five questions left with no winnings.
Lifelines[edit]
Forms of assistance known as 'lifelines' are available for a contestant to use if a question proves difficult. Multiple lifelines may be used on a single question, but each one can only be used once per game (unless otherwise noted below). Three lifelines are available from the start of the game. Depending on the format of the show, additional lifelines may become available after the contestant correctly answers the fifth or tenth question. In the clock format, usage of lifelines temporarily pauses the clock while the lifelines are played.
- Ask the Audience (1999–2019): The audience members individually use four-button keypads to register the answer they believe is correct. The percentage of votes for each answer is immediately shown to the host, contestant, and home viewer. Beginning in 2004 and ending a few years later, AOL Instant Messenger users who added the screen name MillionaireIM to their buddy list and were online were able to receive and register answers they believed to be correct to Ask the Audience questions in real-time; these results were then shown as a separate chart to the contestant.[7]
- 50:50 (1999–2008, 2015–2019): Two incorrect answers are eliminated, leaving the contestant with a choice between the correct answer and one remaining incorrect answer.
- +1 (2014–2019): The contestant may invite a friend onstage from the audience to assist with the current question. After the question result, the friend must return to the audience.
Former lifelines[edit]
- Phone a Friend (1999–2010): The contestant called a pre-arranged friend and was then given 30 seconds to discuss the question with that person. In 2010, this lifeline was eliminated due to an increasing use of search engines by home viewers to look up answers.[8]
- Switch/Cut the Question (2004–2008): Earned after answering 10 questions, this lifeline allowed a contestant to discard the current question and replace it with one of the same value. It has been used occasionally during Whiz Kids Week in the current version and is available from the outset.
- Double Dip (2004, 2008–2010): First used during Super Millionaire, this lifeline allowed a contestant to make a second guess at the answer if his/her first one was wrong. The contestant had to invoke the lifeline before making the first guess, and it was removed from play regardless of which guess was correct. In addition, the contestant could not walk away from the question after invoking the lifeline. It was introduced to the main series in 2008, replacing 50:50.
- Three Wise Men (2004): Used during Super Millionaire, this lifeline allowed the contestant 30 seconds of advice from a panel of three experts, who were sequestered backstage and saw the question only when their help was requested.
- Ask the Expert (2008–2010): Based on Three Wise Men, the lifeline was earned after answering five questions correctly until 2010, when it was given to the contestant immediately following the removal of Phone a Friend. The contestant was connected to an expert via a video call, and the two could discuss the question with no time limit.
- Jump the Question (2010–2015): This lifeline allowed the contestant to skip the current question, but the money associated with it was removed from play. It could be used twice per game from 2010–2014, but only once from 2014–2015.
- Crystal Ball (2012–2015): Used occasionally during the 'shuffle' round, this lifeline allowed the contestant to see the value of the current question before either answering or jumping it (if Jump the Question had not yet been used).
Top prize winners[edit]
Over the course of the program's history, 12 people have answered the final question correctly and walked away with the top prize. These include:
- John Carpenter – Became the first winner of the top prize on November 19, 1999.[9][10]
- Dan Blonsky – Second person to win the million on January 18, 2000.[10]
- Joe Trela – Third person to win on March 23, 2000.[10]
- Bob House – Won on June 13, 2000.[10]
- Kim Hunt – Won on July 6, 2000.[10]
- David Goodman – Won on July 11, 2000.[10]
- Kevin Olmstead – Won the top prize on April 10, 2001; however, because of the jackpot having been set to increase by $10,000 each episode, he won $2,180,000 – making him the biggest winner in television history at the time. The jackpot never accumulated like this again.[11]
- Bernie Cullen – Won the million just five days after Olmstead's win on April 15, 2001.[12]
- Ed Toutant – Won on September 7, 2001. Originally appeared on January 31, 2001, when the jackpot was at $1,860,000 when he was ruled out after answering his $16,000 question wrong. However, it was determined that there was an error in the question, so he was invited back and won the jackpot as it was at the time.[13]
- Kevin Smith – First syndicated millionaire, winning the top prize on February 18, 2003.[14]
- Nancy Christy – Won the million on May 8, 2003. She is the only female top prize winner.[14]
- Sam Murray – Answered the last question correctly during the Million Dollar Tournament of Ten and remained the only contestant to answer his question correctly on November 11, 2009.[15]
Personnel[edit]
Hosts[edit]
Regis Philbin, host of the original network version
The original network version of the U.S. Millionaire and the subsequent primetime specials were hosted by Regis Philbin.[16] When the syndicated version was being developed, the production team felt that it was not feasible for Philbin to continue hosting, as the show recorded four episodes in a single day, and that the team was looking for qualities in a new host: it had to be somebody who would love the contestants and be willing to root for them.[1]Rosie O'Donnell was initially offered a hosting position on this new edition, but declined the opportunity almost immediately.[17] Eventually Meredith Vieira, who had previously competed in a celebrity charity event on the original network version, was named host of the new syndicated edition.[18]
ABC originally offered Vieira hosting duties on the syndicated Millionaire to sweeten one of her re-negotiations for the network's daytime talk show The View, which she was moderating at the time.[19] When the show was honored by GSN on its Gameshow Hall of Fame special, Vieira herself further explained her motivation for hosting the syndicated version as follows:
I did the show because I fell in love with the show, and really, first and foremost, as a parent, [I feel that] there aren't that many shows on television that you can watch as a family. And when Michael Davies approached me and said, 'Would you be interested in hosting the syndicated version?', I said, 'Just point me toward the contract! I am so there!'[1]
From 2007 to 2011, when Vieira was concurrently working as a co-host of Today, guest hosts appeared in the second half of each season of the syndicated version. Guest hosts who filled in for Vieira included Philbin,[20]Al Roker,[21]Tom Bergeron,[22]Tim Vincent,[23]Dave Price,[24]Billy Bush,[25]Leeza Gibbons,[25]Cat Deeley,[26]Samantha Harris,[27]Shaun Robinson,[28]Steve Harvey,[29]John Henson,[30]Sherri Shepherd,[31]Tim Gunn,[32] and D. L. Hughley.[33]
On January 10, 2013, Vieira announced that after eleven seasons with the syndicated Millionaire, she would be leaving the show as part of an effort to focus on other projects in her career. She finalized taping of her last episodes with the show in November 2012.[19][34] While Philbin briefly considered a return to the show,[35]Cedric the Entertainer was introduced as her successor when season twelve premiered on September 2, 2013.[36][37] On April 30, 2014, Deadline announced that Cedric had decided to leave the show in order to lighten his workload,[38] resulting in him being succeeded by Terry Crews for the 2014–15 season.[39] Crews was succeeded by Chris Harrison, host of The Bachelor and its spin-offs, when season 14 premiered on September 14, 2015.[40]
Production staff[edit]
The original executive producers of the U.S. Millionaire were British television producers Michael Davies and Paul Smith,[41] the latter of whom undertook the responsibility of licensing Millionaire to American airwaves as part of his effort to transform the UK program into a global franchise.[42] Smith served until 2007 and Davies until 2010; additionally, Leigh Hampton (previously co-executive producer in the later days of the network version and in the syndicated version's first two seasons) served as an executive producer from 2004 to 2010. Rich Sirop, who was previously a supervising producer, became the executive producer in 2010 and held that position until 2014, when he left Millionaire to hold the same position with Vieira's newly launched syndicated talk show,[43] and was replaced by James Rowley. Vincent Rubino, who had previously been the syndicated Millionaire's supervising producer for its first two seasons,[41] served as that version's co-executive producer for the 2004–05 season,[44] after which he was succeeded by Vieira herself, who continued to hold the title until her departure in 2013 (sharing her position with Sirop for the 2009–10 season).[41]
Producers of the network version included Hampton, Rubino, Leslie Fuller, Nikki Webber, and Terrence McDonnell. For its first two seasons the syndicated version had Deirdre Cossman for its managing producer, then Dennis F. McMahon became producer for the next two seasons (joined by Dominique Bruballa as his line producer), after which Jennifer Weeks produced the next four seasons of syndicated Millionaire shows, initially accompanied by Amanda Zucker as her line producer, but later joined for the 2008–09 season by Tommy Cody (who became sole producer in the 2009–10 season). The first 65 shuffle format episodes were produced by McPaul Smith, and from 2011 onward, the title of producer was held by Bryan Lasseter. The network version had Ann Miller and Tiffany Trigg for its supervising producers; they were joined by Wendy Roth in the first two seasons, and by Michael Binkow in the third and final season. After Rubino's promotion to co-executive producer, the syndicated version's later supervising producers included Sirop (2004–09), Geena Gintzig (2009–10), Brent Burnette (2010–12), Geoff Rosen (2012–14), and Liz Harris (2014–16), who was the show's last co-executive producer.[41]
![Game Game](/uploads/1/2/6/1/126126431/388199974.jpg)
The original network version of Millionaire was directed by Mark Gentile, who later served as the syndicated version's consulting producer for its first two seasons; he went on to serve as the director of Duel (which ran on ABC from December 2007 to July 2008) and Million Dollar Password (which aired on CBS from June 2008 to June 2009). The syndicated version was directed by Matthew Cohen from 2002 to 2010, by Rob George from 2010 to 2013, and by Brian McAloon in the 2013–14 season. Former The Price Is Right director Rich DiPirro (who later directed Mental Samurai) became Millionaire's director in 2014, and was later replaced by Ron de Moraes after the 2016–17 season, who remained as director until the show's cancellation.[41]
Production[edit]
The U.S. version of Millionaire was a co-production of 2waytraffic, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Valleycrest Productions, a division of The Walt Disney Company. 2waytraffic purchased Millionaire's original production company Celador in 2008,[45][46] while Valleycrest remained throughout the show's history,[47] and holds the copyright on all U.S. Millionaire episodes to date. The show was distributed by Valleycrest's corporate sibling Disney-ABC Home Entertainment & Television Distribution (previously known as Buena Vista Television).
The U.S. Millionaire was taped at ABC's Television Center East studio on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York from 1999 to 2012. Tapings were moved to NEP Broadcasting's Metropolis Studios in East Harlem in 2013,[48] and production moved to studios located in Stamford, Connecticut the following year.[49] For the final three seasons, production relocated to Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.[50] Episodes of the syndicated version were produced from June to December.[4] The show originally taped four episodes in a single day,[1] but that number later changed to five.
Origins[edit]
When the U.S. version of Millionaire was first conceived in 1998, Michael Davies was a young television producer who was serving as the head of ABC's little-noticed reality programming division (at a time when reality television had not yet become a phenomenon in America).[1] At that time, ABC was lingering in third place in the ratings indexes among U.S. broadcast networks, and was on the verge of losing its status as one of the 'Big Three' networks.[51] Meanwhile, the popularity of game shows was at an all-time low, and with the exception of The Price Is Right, the genre was absent from networks' daytime lineups at that point. Having earlier created Debt for Lifetime Television and participated with Al Burton and Donnie Brainard in the creation of Win Ben Stein's Money for Comedy Central,[1] Davies decided to create a primetime game show that would save the network from collapse and revive interest in game shows.[1]
Davies originally considered reviving CBS's long-lost quiz show The $64,000 Question, with a new home on ABC.[52] However, this effort's development was limited as when the producer heard that the British Millionaire was about to make its debut, he got his friends and family members in the UK to record the show, and subsequently ended up receiving about eight FedEx packages from different family members, each containing a copy of Millionaire's first episode. Davies was so captivated by everything that he had seen and heard, from host Chris Tarrant's intimate involvement with the contestant to the show's lighting system and music tracks, that he chose to abandon his work on the $64,000 Question revival in favor of introducing Millionaire to American airwaves, convinced that it would become extraordinarily popular.[1]
When Davies presented his ideas for the U.S. Millionaire to ABC, the network's executives initially rejected them, so he resigned his position there and became an independent producer.[1] Determined to bring his idea for the show to fruition, Davies decided that he was betting his whole career on Millionaire's production, and the first move that he made was planning to attach a celebrity host to the show. Along with Philbin, a number of other popular television personalities were considered for hosting positions on the U.S. Millionaire during its development, including Peter Jennings,[1]Bob Costas, Phil Donahue, and Montel Williams,[53] but among those considered, it was Philbin who wanted the job the most, and when he saw an episode of the British Millionaire and was blown away by his content, Davies and his team ultimately settled on having him host the American show.[51] When Davies approached ABC again after having hired Philbin, the network finally agreed to accept the U.S. Millionaire.[1] With production now ready to begin, the team had only five months to finish developing the show and get it launched, with Davies demanding perfection in every element of Millionaire's production.[1]
Audition process[edit]
With few exceptions, any legal resident of the United States who was 18 years of age or older had the potential of becoming a contestant through Millionaire's audition process. Those ineligible included employees, immediate family or household members, and close acquaintances of SPE, Disney, or any of their respective affiliates or subsidiaries; television stations that broadcast the syndicated version; or any advertising agency or other firm or entity engaged in the production, administration, or judging of the show. Also ineligible were candidates for political office and individuals who had appeared on a different game show outside of cable that had been broadcast within the past year, was intended to be broadcast within the next year, or had played the main game on any of the U.S. versions of Millionaire itself.[4]
Potential contestants of the original primetime version had to compete in a telephone contest which had them dial a toll-free number and answer three questions by putting objects or events in order. Callers had ten seconds to enter the order on a keypad, with any incorrect answer ending the game/call. The 10,000 to 20,000 candidates who answered all three questions correctly were selected into a random drawing in which approximately 300 contestants competed for ten spots on the show using the same phone quiz method.[note 2] Accommodations for contestants outside the New York City area included round trip airfare (or other transportation) and hotel accommodations.
The syndicated version's potential contestants, depending on tryouts, were required to pass an electronically scored test[54] comprising a set of thirty questions which had to be answered within a 10-minute time limit. Contestants who failed the test were eliminated, while those who passed were interviewed for an audition by the production staff,[55] and those who impressed the staff the most were then notified by postal mail that they had been placed into a pool for possible selection as contestants. At the producers' discretion, contestants from said pool were selected to appear on actual episodes of the syndicated program; these contestants were given a phone call from staff and asked to confirm the information on their initial application form and verify that they met all eligibility requirements. Afterwards, they were given a date to travel to the show's taping facilities to participate in a scheduled episode of the show.[54] Unlike its ABC counterpart, the syndicated version did not offer transportation or hotel accommodations to contestants at the production company's expense; that version's contestants were instead required to provide transportation and accommodations of their own.[4]
The syndicated Millionaire also conducts open casting calls in various locations across the United States to search for potential contestants. These are held in late spring or early summer, with all dates and locations posted on the show's official website. The producers make no guarantee on how many applicants will be tested at each particular venue;[54] however, the show will not test any more than 2,500 individuals per audition day.[4]
In cases when the show features themed episodes with two people playing as a team, auditions for these episodes' contestants are announced on the show's website. Both members of the team must pass the written test and the audition interview successfully in order to be considered for selection. If only one member of the team passes, he or she is placed into the contestant pool alone and must continue the audition process as an individual in order to proceed.[54]
Music[edit]
Originally, the U.S. Millionaire carried over the musical score from the British version, composed by father-and-son duo Keith and Matthew Strachan. Unlike older game show musical scores, Millionaire's musical score was created to feature music playing almost throughout the entire show. The Strachans' main Millionairetheme song took some inspiration from the 'Mars' movement of Gustav Holst's The Planets,[56] and their question cues from the $2,000 to the $32,000/$25,000 level, and then from the $64,000/$50,000 to $500,000 level, took the pitch up a semitone for each subsequent question, in order to increase tension as the contestant progressed through the game.[56] On GSN's Gameshow Hall of Fame special, the narrator described the Strachan tracks as 'mimicking the sound of a beating heart,' and stated that as the contestant worked their way up the money ladder, the music was 'perfectly in tune with their ever-increasing pulse.'[1]
The original Millionaire musical score holds the distinction of being the only game show soundtrack to be acknowledged by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, as the Strachans were honored with numerous ASCAP awards for their work, the earliest of them awarded in 2000.[56] The original music cues were given minor rearrangements for the clock format in 2008; for example, the question cues were synced to the 'ticking' sounds of the game clock. Even later, the Strachan score was removed from the U.S. version altogether for the introduction of the shuffle format in 2010, in favor of a new musical score with cues written by Jeff Lippencott and Mark T. Williams, co-founders of the Los Angeles-based company Ah2 Music.[57]
Set[edit]
The U.S. Millionaire's basic set was a direct adaptation of the British version's set design, which was conceived by Andy Walmsley. Paul Smith's original licensing agreement for the U.S. Millionaire required that the show's set design, along with all other elements of the show's on-air presentation (musical score, lighting system, host's wardrobe, etc.), adhere faithfully to the way in which they were presented in the British version; this same licensing agreement applied to all other international versions of the show, making Walmsley's Millionaire set design the most reproduced scenic design in television history.[42] The original version of the U.S. Millionaire's set cost $200,000 to construct.[1] The U.S. Millionaire's production design was handled at different times by David Weller, Jim Fenhagen and George Allison.[41]
Unlike older game shows whose sets are or were designed to make the contestant(s) feel at ease, Millionaire's set was designed to make the contestant feel uncomfortable, so that the program feels more like a movie thriller than a typical quiz show.[1] The floor is made of Plexiglas[42] beneath which lies a huge dish covered in mirror paper.[1] Before the shuffle format was implemented in 2010, the main game had the contestant and host sit in chairs in the center of the stage, known as 'Hot Seats'; these measured 3 feet (0.91 m) high, were modeled after chairs typically found in hair salons,[1] and each seat featured a computer monitor directly facing it to display questions and other pertinent information. Shortly after the shuffle format was introduced to Millionaire, Vieira stated in an interview with her Millionaire predecessor on his morning talk show that the Hot Seat was removed because it was decided that the seat, which was originally intended to make the contestant feel nervous, actually ended up having contestants feel so comfortable in it that it did not service the production team any longer.[58]
The lighting system was programmed to darken the set as the contestant progressed further into the game. There were also spotlights situated at the bottom of the set area that zoomed down on the contestant when they answered a major question; to increase the visibility of the light beams emitted by such spotlights, oil was vaporized, creating a haze effect. Media scholarDr. Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University, stated that the show's lighting system made the contestant feel as though they were outside of prison when an escape was in progress.[1]
When the shuffle format was introduced, the Hot Seats and corresponding monitors were replaced with a single podium, so that the contestant and host stood throughout the game and were also able to walk around the stage.[58] Also, two video screens were installed–one that displayed the current question in play, and another that displayed the contestant's cumulative total and progress during the game. In September 2012, the redesigned set was improved with a modernized look and feel, in order to take into account the show's transition to high-definition broadcasting, which had just come about the previous year. The two video screens were replaced with two larger ones, having twice as many projectors as the previous screens had; the previous contestant podium was replaced with a new one; and light-emitting diode (LED) technology was integrated into the lighting system to give the lights more vivid colors and the set and gameplay experience a more intimate feel.[59]
Broadcast history[edit]
ABC[edit]
The U.S. version of Millionaire was launched by ABC as a half-hour primetime program on August 16, 1999.[60] When it premiered, it became the first U.S. network game show to offer a million-dollar top prize to contestants.[1] After airing thirteen episodes and reaching an audience of 15 million viewers by the end of the show's first week on the air, the program expanded to an hour-long format when it returned in November.[61] The series, of which episodes were originally shown only a day after their initial taping, was promoted to regular status on January 18, 2000[62] and, at the height of its popularity, was airing on ABC five nights a week.[63] The show was so popular during its original primetime run that rival networks created or re-incarnated game shows of their own (e.g., Greed, Twenty One, etc.), as well as importing various game shows of British and Australian origin to America (such as Winning Lines, Weakest Link, and It's Your Chance of a Lifetime).
The nighttime version initially drew in up to 30 million viewers a day three times a week, an unheard-of number in modern network television. In the 1999–2000 season, it averaged No. 1 in the ratings against all other television shows,[64] with 28,848,000 viewers. In the next season (2000–01), three nights out of the five weekly episodes placed in the top 10.[65] However, the show's ratings began to fall during the 2000–01 season, so that at the start of the 2001–02 season, the ratings were only a fraction of what they had been one year before, and by season's end, the show was no longer even ranked among the top 20.[66] ABC's reliance on the show's popularity led the network to fall quickly from its former spot as the nation's most watched network.
As ABC's overexposure of the primetime Millionaire led the public to tire of the show, there was speculation that the show would not survive beyond the 2001–02 season. The staff planned on switching it to a format that would emphasize comedy more than the game and feature a host other than Philbin,[67] but in the end, the primetime show was canceled, with its final episode airing on June 27, 2002.[68]
On May 8, 2003 (the same day that Nancy Christy became the second top-prize winner on the syndicated version), ABC broadcast footage from Charles Ingram's run on the British version of Millionaire as a special episode of Primetime; the documentary was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2003 as an episode of Tonight that was hosted by Martin Bashir. During that program, Ingram was interviewed by Diane Sawyer.[69]
Syndication[edit]
In 2001, Millionaire producers began work on a half-hour daily syndicated version of the show, with the idea being that it would serve as an accompaniment to the network series which was still in production. ABC's cancellation of the network Millionaire ended that idea; however, the syndicated Millionaire still had enough interest to be greenlit and BVT sold the series to local stations for the 2002–03 season.[18][68] The syndicated series nearly met the same fate as its predecessor, however, due in part to worries that stemmed from a decision made by one of its affiliates.
In the New York media market, BVT sold the syndicated Millionaire to CBS's flagship station, WCBS-TV. In the season that had passed, WCBS' mid-afternoon schedule included the syndicated edition of NBC's Weakest Link,[70] which aired at 4 pm from its January 2002 premiere. Joining Millionaire as a new syndicated series was a spinoff of The Oprah Winfrey Show hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw.[71] WCBS picked up both series for 2002–03, with Dr. Phil serving as lead-in for the syndicated Millionaire, which was plugged into the time slot that Weakest Link had been occupying.
At mid-season, WCBS announced that for the 2003–04 season it had acquired the broadcast rights to The People's Court[72] after WNBC, which had been airing the revived series since its 1997 debut, dropped it from its lineup. WCBS announced plans to move The People's Court into the time slot that was occupied by Millionaire and the still-airing 4:30 pm local newscast once it joined the station's lineup in September 2003. This led to speculation that the syndicated Millionaire would not be returning for a second season, and BVT's concerns over losing its New York affiliate were compounded by the fact that there were not many time slots available for the show in New York outside of the undesirable late-night slots that syndicators try to avoid.[72]
In June 2003, a shakeup at one of BVT's corporate siblings provided the series with an opening.[72] ABC announced that it would be returning the 12:30 pm network time slot to its affiliates in October of that year following the cancellation of the soap opera Port Charles. ABC's flagship, WABC-TV, was thus in need of a program to fill the slot and BVT went to them asking if the station would pick up Millionaire. WABC agreed to do this and when the new season launched that fall, the station began airing Millionaire at 12:30 pm.[73]Millionaire continued to air on WABC in the afternoon for over a decade, eventually moving to the 2:00 p.m. hour to accommodate an expansion of the station's midday Eyewitness News broadcast in 2014. Millionaire briefly was reduced to an overnight slot when WABC picked up the talk show FABLife for its afternoon lineup; as a contingency Disney sold the series to WLNY for its daytime lineup. The arrangement did not last beyond the 2015–16 season as FABlife was cancelled at midseason, leading WABC to bring Millionaire back to daytime and WLNY to drop the show.[74]
According to e-mails released in the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack, Millionaire narrowly avoided cancellation after the 2014–15 season. The show's declining ratings prompted DADT to demand a dramatically reduced licensing fee for renewal, which SPE was hesitant to accept. The series was nonetheless renewed for the 2015–16 season, with various cuts to the show's production budget and a return to the original format (but with only 14 questions).[75] Had the show not been renewed, SPE would have placed the show on extended hiatus for three years, reclaimed full rights to the show (without the innovations and format added in the syndicated run, to which DADT owns intellectual property rights), and shopped the revived show to another network or syndicator.[76] On January 17, 2017, it was announced that Millionaire has been renewed through 2018.[77] Millionaire was subsequently renewed through the 2018–19 season on January 17, 2018.[78]
On May 17, 2019, it was announced that Millionaire would be canceled after the 2018–19 season and would not be returning in syndication for the 2019–20 season.[79]
GSN[edit]
Game Show Network (GSN) acquired the rerun rights to the U.S. Millionaire in August 2003.[80] The network initially aired only episodes from the three seasons of the original prime-time run; however, additional episodes were later added. These included the Super Millionaire spin-off,[81] which aired on GSN from May 2005 to January 2007, and the first two seasons of the syndicated version, which began airing on November 10, 2008.[82] On December 4, 2017, GSN acquired the rerun rights to the Harrison episodes of Millionaire (seasons fourteen and fifteen), which began airing December 18, 2017.[83][84]
Special editions[edit]
Various special editions and tournaments have been conducted which feature celebrities playing the game and donating winnings to charities of their choice. During celebrity editions on the original ABC version, contestants were allowed to receive help from their fellow contestants during the first ten questions. The most successful celebrity contestants throughout the show's run were Drew Carey,[68]Rosie O'Donnell,[68]Norm Macdonald,[68] and Chip Esten,[85] all of whom won $500,000 for their respective charities. The episode featuring O'Donnell's $500,000 win averaged 36.1 million viewers, the highest number for a single episode of the show.[86]
There have also been special weeks featuring two or three family members or couples competing as a team, a 'Champions Edition' where former big winners returned and split their winnings with their favorite charities, a 'Zero Dollar Winner Edition' featuring contestants who previously missed one of the first-tier questions and left with nothing, and a 'Tax-Free Edition' in which H&R Block calculated the taxes of winnings to allow contestants to earn stated winnings after taxes, and various theme weeks featuring college students, teachers, brides-to-be, etc. as contestants.[87] Additionally, the syndicated version once featured an annual 'Walk In & Win Week' with contestants who were randomly selected from the audience without having to take the audition test.[88]
Special weeks have also included shows featuring questions concerning specific topics, such as professional football, celebrity gossip, movies, and pop culture. During a week of episodes in November 2007, to celebrate the 1,000th episode of the syndicated Millionaire, all contestants that week started with $1,000 so that they could not leave empty-handed, and only had to answer ten questions to win $1,000,000. During that week, twenty home viewers per day also won $1,000 each.[89]
Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire[edit]
In 2004, Philbin returned to host 12 episodes of a spin-off program titled Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire in which contestants could potentially win $10,000,000.[90] ABC aired five episodes of this spin-off during the week of February 22, 2004, and an additional seven episodes later that year in May. As usual, contestants had to answer a series of 15 multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty, but the dollar values rose substantially. The questions for Super Millionaire were worth $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $4,000, $5,000 (the first safe haven), $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, $50,000, $100,000 (the second safe haven), $500,000, $1,000,000, $2,500,000, $5,000,000, and $10,000,000.
Contestants were given the standard three lifelines in place at the time (50:50, Ask the Audience, and Phone-a-Friend) at the beginning of the game. However, after correctly answering the $100,000 question, the contestant earned two additional lifelines: Three Wise Men and Double Dip.[90] The Three Wise Men lifeline involved a panel of three experts, one of whom was always a former Millionaire contestant and at least one of whom was female. When this lifeline was used, the contestant and panel had 30 seconds to discuss the question and choices before the audio and video feeds were dropped. Double Dip gave a contestant two chances to answer a question. Once used, the contestant must answer the question without using any further lifelines; moreover, if the 'first final answer' was incorrect, the contestant could not walk away. If the 'second final answer' was also wrong, the contestant left with $100,000.
10th Anniversary Celebration[edit]
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Millionaire's U.S. debut, the show returned to ABC primetime for an eleven-night event hosted by Philbin, which aired from August 9 to 23, 2009.[91] The Academy Award-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire and the 2008 economic crisis helped boost interest of renewal of the game show.[68]
The episodes featured game play based on the previous rule set of the syndicated version (including the rule changes implemented in season seven) but used the Fastest Finger round to select contestants. Various celebrities also made special guest appearances at the end of every episode; each guest played one question for a chance at $50,000 for a charity of their choice, being allowed to use any one of the four lifelines in place at the time (Phone-a-Friend, Ask the Audience, Double Dip, and Ask the Expert), but still earned a minimum of $25,000 for the charity if they answered the question incorrectly.[91]
On August 18, 2009, New York City resident Nik Bonaddio appeared on the program, winning $100,000 with the help of the audience and later, Gwen Ifill as his lifelines.[92] Bonaddio then used the proceeds to start the sports analytics firm numberFire,[93] which was sold in September 2015 to FanDuel, a fantasy sports platform.
$1,000,000 (15 of 15) – 4:39 time limit | |
For ordering his favorite beverages on demand, LBJ had four buttons installed in the Oval Office labeled 'coffee', 'tea', 'Coke' and what? | |
• A:Fresca | • B:V8 |
• C:Yoo-hoo | • D:A&W |
Ken Basin's million-dollar question |
The finale of the tenth anniversary special, which aired on August 23, 2009, featured Ken Basin, an entertainment lawyer from Los Angeles, CA., who went on to become the first contestant to play a $1,000,000 question in the 'clock format'. With a time of 4:39 (45 seconds + 3:54 banked time), Basin was given a question involving President Lyndon Baines Johnson's fondness for Fresca. Using his one remaining lifeline, Basin asked the audience, which supported his own hunch of Yoo-hoo rather than the correct answer. He decided to answer the question and lost $475,000, becoming the first contestant in the U.S. version to answer a $1,000,000 question incorrectly. After Basin finished his run, Vieira appeared on-camera and announced that all remaining Fastest Finger contestants would play with her on the first week of the syndicated version's eighth season.[94] After this, the million dollar question was not played again on a standard episode until September 25, 2013,[48] when Josina Reaves became the second U.S. Millionaire contestant to incorrectly answer her $1,000,000 question, but only lost $75,000 as she used her Jump the Question lifelines on her $250,000 and $500,000 questions.[95]
Million Dollar Tournament of Ten[edit]
Although the syndicated Millionaire had produced two millionaires in its first season, Nancy Christy's May 2003 win was still standing as the most recent when the program began its eighth season in fall of 2009. Deciding that six-plus years had been too long since someone had won the top prize, producers conducted a tournament to find a third million dollar winner.[96] For the first nine weeks of the 2009–10 season, each episode saw contestants attempt to qualify for what was referred to as the 'Tournament of Ten'. Contestants were seeded based on how much money they had won, with the biggest winner ranked first and the lowest ranked tenth. Ties were broken based on how much time a contestant had banked when they had walked away from the game.[97]
The tournament began on the episode aired November 9, 2009, and playing in order from the lowest to the highest seed, tournament contestants played one at a time at the end of that episode and the next nine. The rules were exactly the same as they were for a normal million dollar question under the clock format introduced the season before, except here, the contestants had no lifelines at their disposal. Each contestant received a base time of 45 seconds. For each question they had answered before walking away, the contestants received any unused seconds that were left when they gave their answers. The accumulated total of those unused seconds was then added to the base time to give the contestants their final question time limit.[97]
Each contestant had the same decision facing them as before, which was whether to attempt to answer the question or walk away with their pre-tournament total intact. Attempting the question and answering incorrectly incurred the same penalty as in regular play, with a reduction of their pre-tournament winnings to $25,000. If the question was answered correctly, the player that did so became the tournament leader. If another player after him/her answered correctly, that player assumed the lead and the previous leader kept their pre-tournament winnings. The highest remaining seed to have attempted and correctly answered their question at the end of the tournament on November 20, 2009 would be declared the winner and become the syndicated series' third millionaire.[97]
The first contestant to attempt to answer the million dollar question was Sam Murray, the tournament's eighth-seeded qualifier. On November 11, Murray was asked approximately how many people had lived on Earth in its history and correctly guessed 100 billion. Murray was still atop the leaderboard entering the November 20 finale as he remained the only contestant to even attempt to answer his or her question. The only person who could defeat him was top seed and $250,000 winner Jehan Shamsid-Deen, who was asked a question regarding the Blorenge, cited as 'a rare example of a word that rhymes with orange'. Shamsid-Deen considered taking the risk, believing (correctly) that the name belonged to a mountain in Wales. However, she decided that the potential of losing $225,000 did not justify the risk and elected to walk away from the question, giving Murray the win and the million dollar prize.[15]
Reception[edit]
Since its introduction to the United States, GSN credited Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with not only single-handedly reviving the game show genre, but also breaking new ground for it.[1] The series revolutionized the look and feel of game shows with its unique lighting system, dramatic music cues, and futuristic set. The show also became one of the highest-rated and most popular game shows in U.S. television history, and has been credited with paving the way for the rise of the primetime reality TV phenomenon to prominence throughout the 2000s.[1][61]
The U.S. Millionaire also made catchphrases out of various lines used on the show. In particular, 'Is that your final answer?', asked by Millionaire's hosts whenever a contestant's answer needs to be verified, was popularized by Philbin during his tenure as host,[68] and was also included on TV Land's special '100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catch Phrases', which aired in 2006.[98] Meanwhile, during his tenure as host, Cedric signed off shows with a catchphrase of his own, 'Watch yo' wallet!'[38]
The original primetime version of the U.S. Millionaire won two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show in 2000 and 2001. Philbin was honored with a Daytime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Game Show Host in 2001, while Vieira received one in 2005, and another in 2009.[99]TV Guide ranked the U.S. Millionaire #7 on its 2001 list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time,[100] and later ranked it #6 on its 2013 '60 Greatest Game Shows' list.[101] GSN ranked Millionaire #5 on its August 2006 list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time,[102] and later honored the show in January 2007 on its only Gameshow Hall of Fame special.[1]
Other media[edit]
Merchandise[edit]
In 2000, Pressman released two board game adaptions of Millionaire[103][104] as well as a junior edition recommended for younger players.[105] Several video games based on the varying gameplay formats of Millionaire have also been released throughout the course of the show's U.S. history.
Between 1999 and 2001, Jellyvision produced five video game adaptations based upon the original primetime series for personal computers and Sony's PlayStation console, all of them featuring Philbin's likeness and voice. The first of these adaptations was published by Disney Interactive, while the later four were published by Buena Vista Interactive which had just been spun off from DI when it reestablished itself in attempts to diversify its portfolio. Of the five games, three featured general trivia questions,[106][107][108] one was sports-themed,[109] and another was a 'Kids Edition' featuring easier questions.[110] In 2007, Imagination Games released a DVD version of the show, based on the 2004–08 format and coming complete with Vieira's likeness and voice,[111] as well as a quiz book[112] and a 2009 desktop calendar.[113] Additionally, two Millionaire video games were released by Ludia in conjunction with Ubisoft in 2010 and 2011; the first of these was a game for Nintendo's Wii console and DS handheld system based on the clock format,[114] while the second, for Microsoft's Xbox 360, was based on the shuffle format.[115]
Ludia made a Facebook game based on Millionaire available from 2011 to 2016. This game featured an altered version of the shuffle format, condensing the number of questions to twelve—eight in round one and four in round two. Contestants competed against eight other Millionaire fans in round one, with the top three playing round two alone. There was no 'final answer' rule; the contestant's responses were automatically locked in. Answering a question correctly earned a contestant the value of that question, multiplied by the number of people who responded incorrectly. Contestants were allowed to use two of their Facebook friends as Jump the Question lifelines in round one, and to use the Ask the Audience lifeline in round two to invite up to 50 such friends of theirs to answer a question for a portion of the prize money of the current question.[116]
Album[edit]
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: The Album (Celador Records), by Keith Strachan, Matthew Strachan, and various artists, was released August 1, 2000 and features songs based on the show.[117]
Disney Parks attraction[edit]
The building that housed the Californian version, shown here after its 2004 closure.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Play It! was an attraction at the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park (when it was known as Disney-MGM Studios) at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida and at Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim, California. Both the Florida and California Play It! attractions opened in 2001; the California version closed in 2004,[118] and the Florida version closed in 2006 and was replaced by Toy Story Midway Mania!
The format in the Play It! attraction was very similar to that of the television show that inspired it. When a show started, a Fastest Finger question was given, and the audience was asked to put the four answers in order; the person with the fastest time was the first contestant in the Hot Seat for that show. However, the main game had some differences: for example, contestants competed for points rather than dollars, the questions were set to time limits, and the Phone-a-Friend lifeline became Phone a Complete Stranger which connected the contestant to a Disney cast member outside the attraction's theater who would find a guest to help. After the contestant's game was over, they were awarded anything from a collectible pin, to clothing, to a Millionaire CD game, to a 3-night Disney Cruise.[119]
Notes[edit]
- ^The simplified title is often used by hosts and in promotional materials.
- ^To qualify for 2004's Super Millionaire spin-off, potential contestants were required to answer five questions. Each person who successfully answered all five questions chose one tape date, and the contestants for that tape date were drawn from that pool.
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Further reading[edit]
- Fisher, David; Davies, Michael P. (2000). Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: The Official Book from the Hit TV Show. Cader Books. ISBN0-7868-8577-7.
External links[edit]
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US – 1999–2002) on IMDb
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at TV.com
- Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US – current) on IMDb
- Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire (US) on IMDb
Preceded by Win Ben Stein's Money | Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show 2000–2001 | Succeeded by Jeopardy! |
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Who_Wants_to_Be_a_Millionaire_(American_game_show)&oldid=919670526'