How ABC’s “Million Dollar Mind Game” Works
It’s been a very long time since ABC taped their game show Million Dollar Mind Game, based off a popular Russian program. Usually we hear some sort of feedback regarding the show soon after taping, but the only thing we heard about this one is how hard it is. Couple that with the fact that it doesn’t appear to follow the Millionaire mold completely, not to mention ABC basically ignores it, and it feels like it’s going to be shelved. I do get a lot of questions regarding how the show works, though. I got an email from yesterday from someone who has seen one of the episodes, and that person let us in on the workings of the Vernon Kay hosted logic-based quiz show. If the show makes it to air you’ll know how it works, or if it doesn’t air then you’ll maybe know why and at least understand the game.
Million Dollar Mind Game involves a team of six people, all who know each other usually, playing together. In the episode our source saw, it was a team of six teachers who all teach the same subject. A logic based question is asked and they will be given 60 seconds to talk it out and come up with an answer. After time is up, the team captain (which rotates after each question) must give an answer. The team will be given three lifelines to help them out. One gives them 30 extra seconds of thinking. The second lets them throw away a question and receive a new one. The third lets the team overturn the team captain and give an answer by themselves.
Image courtesy Variety
Each correct answer puts the team further up the money chain which starts at $6,000 and goes to $12,000; $36,000; $72,000; and up a few more levels until you get to the top two figures of $600,000 and $1,000,000. After each right answer each team member will do a secret vote to either stop with the money or go to the next question. The vote to stop the game must be unanimous or the game will continue.
The show is themed relatively similar to the Russian version. The host (Vernon Kay) and contestants all wear tuxedos when playing. The contestants sit around a table which has a screen in the middle displaying questions, time, and other information. Our source says the reviews for the show were middling. The general consensus was that people would watch if they stumbled upon it but not make it appointment viewing. Also, group consensus was that they did not like Vernon Kay.
So what do you think? I’ve always had a weird feeling about this show. I was confused when it got picked up because, while it sounds interesting and it’s different than things we see typically, the logic based questions in this country don’t seem like they’d fly. Hearing the rules of the show, it does retain the comfort level of the Millionaire mold, but the questions just worry me. Still no idea if we’ll see it air, but at least you know how it works now.
By the way, our source gave us three sample questions. These aren’t verbatim. These are from memory. Can you come up with the answers? We’ll tell you in comments later.
*Champagne has it but ginger ale does not, a foreigner has one but an immigrant doesn’t. What is it?
*In 1931 President Herbert Hoover asked Americans to turn off their lights for one minute to mark this event.
Vernon Kay’s dreadful performance hosting “Skating with the Stars” for the Alphabet makes me wonder if ABC wants to deal with him again.
It wouldn’t hurt to show these episodes over the summer to see how they do. ABC has a few holes on the summer schedule — Mondays will have “Bachelorette” and “Bachelor Pad,” Tuesdays will have “Wipeout” and I’m guessing Thursdays and Sundays will feature “Rookie Blue” and at least two other scripted shows that ABC green-lit. Air the show, say, Wednesdays or Sundays at 8p ET — little or no competition that will allow “Mind Game” to find and develop an audience.
Air the episodes before, say, “America’s Got Talent” and “Big Brother” premiere, and don’t schedule the show opposite either, as well as “Hell’s Kitchen” and possibly “So You Think You Can Dance” (though the latter appears to be running out of gas). Also, who knows what else ABC has up its sleeve for the summer.
The answer to the second one is the death of Thomas Edison. No idea on the first one, though.
Don’t know for #2, but #1 seems to be a consecutive g-n, whereas the others are g-letter-n.
Could the technical English term for the “gn” sound combination be a diphthong? If so, that’s your answer…
Or a “silent ‘g’.”
A silent G, and the death of Thomas Edison, respectively.
What do I win? ;-)
You win the admission of me saying I’m impressed, haha. I could not figure out the first one when it was sent to me.
10-Q. 10-Q. ;-)
Silent g for the first one.
What is the third sample question?
“Million Dollar Mind Game”= Tag Team version of “Millionaire”
These questions suck. They really do. Each question in such a game should be a little drama, a revelation, a story. The answers should shock, break the stereotypes, open minds. Trust me, I know.
The second one is OK for some beginner’s league. Or for TV game for that matter.
The first one is really annoying.
What is more surprising is the team build-up – seven teachers teaching the SAME subject – how can one expect them to answer questions in different fields.
If ABC does run this, ABC will have extremely low ratings, probably from the second episode onward.
If these are sample questions, then this show is too smart for the average television viewer. This show makes the mistake of over-estimating the intelligence of the American people.
This show would, however, be a good fir for PBS–if PBS weren’t run by snobs for snobs!
I know that I am selling my fellow countrymen short. But the average television viewer of my acquaintance doesn’t want to have his or her mind expanded. That person comes home from work, turns the television set on, and turns his or her brain off. They want to laugh, they wand to cry–but they do not want to be challenged mentally.
I hear what you say about this would be too cerebral for the U.S. It’s a shame that we live in a country where intelligence isn’t that appreciated. And PBS, unlike the public broadcasting systems in other countries, would not air game shows. They tried it in 1994, and it only hurt their image.
Yes, because “Think Twice” was so popular and such a bad show. Hurt their image? Seriously? If game shows hurt PBS’ image, they wouldn’t have aired two different Carmen Sandiego game shows for most of the 90s.
Well, airing a game show (and a sitcom that year as well) did not exactly sit well with critics. Here’s what Entertainment Weekly thought of it: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,305104_3,00.html
I really wish this would air in the states. It’s completely different than what we’re used to and quite frankly I wouldn’t mind seeing question that actually cause people to think instead of choosing at random at a multiple choice question. If millions of people tune into Jeopardy! daily I’m sure they would enjoy this show. I really like the idea behind this show and can’t wait for it to air. Please give us something to watch besides MDMD.
I took a team of my students to the tryout, and made it back for a second tryout in front of the producers which did not go as well, but that’s as far as it went.
The first tryout was interesting in that the guy running the tryout was a bit of a jerk, to the point where I finally called him out on it after he was harassing one of my female students one too many times. After we passed the first tryout, he apologized and said that the reason he was doing it was because the host (who I knew to be Vernon Kay at the time, thanks Buzzerblog) was going to be acting that way to introduce “tension” into the show, since the six people around the table were probably friends and would not start screaming.
The two example questions were pretty standard. Most of the questions were either around wordplay or were an obscure trivia question that had enough of a hook that a group of people could probably/hopefully get around to the answer eventually.
Some examples (which I’m pulling from memory, so forgive me if they’re not spot on):
1. The state of Arizona renumbered State Route 666 and saved millions of dollars as a result. Why?
2. To reduce hooliganism in its soccer matches, the Ethiopian soccer federation instituted a punishment for unruly fans at its games. The punishment was immediate, and the punishment was so effective that hooliganism nearly disappeared from the sport. What was it?*
3. Shown a picture of a fountain pen nib where the hole in the nib looked like a spoon, we were asked to figure out what profession used it as its logo.
4. UPS instituted this rule in 2005 for its drivers that saved millions of dollars in gas, reduced accidents, and speed up deliveries, what was it?
* Our team missed this one in the second tryout, but there was really not enough of a hook to get what was the correct answer, and even when we eventually came up with the correct answer, there was way too large a set of possible equally good answers.
That’s really interesting, thanks Paul. I’d find it difficult to imagine Vernon Kay acting in a proper jerk capacity, he’s usually light and fluffy on shows over here.
BB,
Yeah, I was a little surprised by that as well. I don’t have anything particularly against VK, but if we had gotten on and he got too much on my nerves, I’d have had to figure out how to slip in some comment about sending naughty texts to women who were not my wife.
I got the feeling they were shifting the structure of the game all through the tryouts. Originally, individuals were trying out for the game, then they switched to teams with a captain, then they switched to teams with rotating captains.
In retrospect, it is a semi-blessing we didn’t get on, since if I had made it I would’ve been unable to try out for Jeopardy for quite a while (it would’ve been my third show in four years).
Can you remember any more questions right now? I could found their answers by searching on the net, but in a minute and without the internet it seems to be impossible.. Can you tell me if you remember anymore?
The problem is it’s not similar with Russian version. In Russia the questions are from TV audience and are sent via e-mail. If the team fails to answer a Q, the amount of money goes to the author of the question.
Firstly, the original format was killed. Secondly, the killed format was badly rated. The key is to renew the format to let the TV audience send Qs via e-mail
The idea of having the audience submit questions is actually a lot older than the Russian version of :”The Six”. You can go back to “Information Please”, whose opening slogan was “Wake Up, America! It’s time to stump the experts!”. Home listeners whose questions were used got a small prize, and, if they stumped the panel, they got a set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica–no small prize then or now!
If this format appeals to any segment of the audience, it’s the segment that considers itself too intelligent to watch network television!
You have to build an audience that will create questions. I bet these were at least in part translated from Russian questions database (db.chgk.info). Very nice questions for the first airing – not very hard, answers that ‘click’. Substantial dose of ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?” (building up winnings, three choices) are aimed at US viewer.
At least now I can show what we do in Toronto game club every other Sunday (toronto.chgk.info).
I only remember Vernon Kay from that “Hit Me Baby One More Time” show on NBC a few summers ago. And, while I know it is a British pronunciation thing, it still bothered me when he kept saying “Vaniller Ice”.
In Russia, questions ask *you*!
Hell, I like it
Can you remember any more questions right now? I could found their answers by searching on the net, but in a minute and without the internet it seems to be impossible.. Can you tell me if you remember anymore which suit to this format?
The questions seems to be too simple compared to the Russian version and would rather suit to “super blitz” rounds where one selected player answers three questions during one minute. I hope it is just “growing pains”. I hope as players’ experience improve and viewers’ circle expand questions will be become more interesting.
A good question must be like koan. The solution must arise feeling of catharsis. Not that every question in the Russian version is like this but every game must include at least one or two beautiful questions which seems impossible to solve. And when (or if) the effect of team play works and such a question is answered, it seems like a little miracle.
I can’t see how Kay was ever right tonally for this show. Pressumably it’s meant to be tense, intellectual, quite sinister and brooding even. That’s basically the opposite of Vernon Kay. Brit producers know this so he’s only ever used on light and corny stuff. He’s not even considered ‘serious’ enough to do talent shows in the UK – so why they’ve put him on ‘Skating With…’ is beyond me.
Presumably the logic behind putting Kay on Mind Game was ‘Ahhh, he’s British – therefore the audience will associate that with intellectualism’. That’s rubbish, and I don’t actually think the US audience are stupid enough to fall for that. When Cat Deely was used on Millionaire it was obvious that she didn’t have the gravitas for it and having a UK accent wasn’t going to change that.
It’s nice to see my country-folk become stars in the US but US networks obsession with British talent has now got to the point where it’s negatively impacting the genre as a whole. Especially if entire series are being canned because the wrong host decision was made. Dermot O’Leary on US X Factor would be a disaster.
Kay’s been trying to break into the U.S. market for some time now, having hosted “Hit Me Baby One More Time” for NBC a few years ago. ABC must have seen something with him to give him two shows to host, one of which aired live.
As I mentioned previously, “Skating” was dreadful, and Vernon Kay’s hosting didn’t help matters. Was he completely to blame for the fiasco? No — the show looked like it was poorly put together, and was essentially a disaster from the get-go. But a good host is able to work above the mediocrity around him/her and put a positive spin on things. Kay couldn’t do that on “Skating” — he stumbled and bumbled around like a first-year communications student learning how to work on-air for the first time.
It is mistake to consider it a “logic game”. You can not solve the question by simple logic. It is an insight game. Induction rather than deduction. Flash of intuition born by intensive command work. And may be this game has taught its viewers for so many years that that intuition and insight are skills which can be trained.
Just to FYI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%3F_Where%3F_When%3F — on of the best Russian question shows if not the best. And “Million Dollar Mind Game” is an adaptation of it.
There are some leagues of that game across Russia. The “silent G” or “Death of Edison” questions would not even been thought to have been asked, really. Those are for preschool kids. On the real show the questions are really heavier to answer.
The questions may be too difficult for middle America, but what makes this show fun to watch is seeing and hearing the teams as they try to figure out the answers together. Isn’t that more interesting than watching one person think on Jeopardy?
The show is scheduled to begin airing October 23rd on ABC. Check your local listing for time.
Spread the word and tune in!!!!!!!!!
Watching it now and its fun. The questions are more like trivia riddles but I appreciate what they are trying to do.