Ratings Update: “Millionaire” Not So Hot
Ratings for the last week of syndicated and network game shows are in. ABC’s 10th anniversary edition of Who Wants to be a Millionaire ratings have been a roller coaster which hit the bottom a bit last night. It started at 7 million and 3rd place, but still respectable on the first night. On the second night it stuck at 7 million and was at first place. But last night against reruns of NCIS and America’s Got Talent, as well as a new Hell’s Kitchen, the show could only muster a 3.9 rating and 5.9 million viewers. Likewise the most recent ratings for the daytime edition, in reruns, shows Millionaire at 2.4. I don’t know what’s happening with it really. Are the changes to the show not clicking with the primetime audience, or is the show just passed its prime? I want to see it do really well and come back for more, so be sure to tell people it’s back on. I don’t know how much it’ll do but we won’t be seeing the primetime edition back if not. Regis is getting a small bit better at the clock, though, and at least contestants are starting to interrupt Regis who continues to crack jokes during the time running costing people time and money.
For the other daytime games, Deal or No Deal has been stuck at a 1.4 rating. It’s been frozen around that area for the better part of 2009. The show’s moved to Connecticut to save budget but I still have to think that ratings level has to pick up if we want a third season. From what I’ve been told the new season is the same as last one, down to the $500,000 top prize and the set. Family Feud is also at a 1.4 and if Deal with a far higher budget can survive at that level, I think John O’Hurley will be the longest lasting host of this current edition of the Feud. Wheel of Fortune continues to put most primetime shows to shame getting a 5.8 and Jeopardy! at 4.8. Also, did you know Trivial Pursuit is still around? Apparently not many do, because it dropped to a .5. Enjoy it while you can, because it’ll be gone in the next month.
The clock should be reworked
There are pros and cons for the show in my opinion that pretty much reflect everyone else’s comments. I enjoy the clock because having the sense of urgency certainly plays to my taste. Back in the day, if a contestant spent 6 minutes answering a $4,000 question, there was no suspense or excitement. It was boring and I would end up fast forwarding on my TiVo through the early questions because of it. Now, however, it’s more common to get some type of excitement out of the earlier questions watching the contestant make split second decisions in order to keep playing. At worst, they run out of time, say goodbye, and we get another contestant who may do better. Especially in the later questions (which we haven’t seen really that many of) and it makes it that much more exciting when someone is going for a life changing amount of money but they have to think quick.
Of course, when things happen like Regis losing it and cracking up on a $100 question and almost costing the contestant their game, it’s pretty bogus. I’ve never really liked the idea of all of the answers appearing at once and then the host reading them, but I understand why they had to do it that way out of fairness – all contestants must have the same amount of time on a question. It’s pretty evident that Regis sometimes has a hard time pronouncing the answers, so starting the clock after he finishes could potentially give a contestant much more time to ‘think’ about the question while Regis gets tongue-tied. At least some of them are smart enough to just plain out interrupt him.
It’s also pretty lame that because of Regis, the show is having to bend their own rules of gameplay. I can count at least 2 or 3 times since the 10th anniversary celebration started that they’ve had to lock in a contestant’s answer without them saying “final” because Regis had started cheering or told them they were correct before they said it. I won’t even try to count the amount of times that the clock had started up on it’s own after the use of a lifeline because Regis doesn’t bother (or forgets?) to say “start the clock.” One last thing I’ll say in regards to the rules of the game – they clearly state that a contestant must indicate that their answer is final because “at no time will the host ask if the answer is final,” which Regis seems to ignore. That’s really not a biggie, just throwing it out there.
All in all I really enjoy the show and Regis seems to be getting better at it, and I don’t mind the clock (as long as it’s played out correctly) because it keeps things moving and exciting. They could get rid of the celebrity at the end though and I wouldn’t shed a tear. That does seem to be a pretty big waste of time.
"they clearly state that a contestant must indicate that their answer is final because "at no time will the host ask if the answer is final""
Really? I thought the host (whoever it was) asked if it was the final answer. I guess that's changed.
I was excited for this version, hoping it would be like the old days of Millionaire. But I’m not. There’s nothing that distinguishes this version from the daytime show except for fastest finger. This is why:
I just hate how the questions are so wordy. It makes it so annoying for the contestants especially if they have to phone-a-friend and read the question and 4 choices. It eats away a lot of their time The questions are too long and need to be shortened. I remember how the questions in the early years of the shows were short and straight-to-the-point.
And the clock needs to go. It doesn’t fit Regis’ style. They could do it like the Australian version where if a contestant is taking too long, they use the clock.
The celebrities are unnecessary. Having celebrities on is not going to help ratings. It’s what killed the original version.
I was excited for this version, hoping it would be like the old days of Millionaire. But I’m not. There’s nothing that distinguishes this version from the daytime show except for fastest finger. This is why:
I just hate how the questions are so wordy. It makes it so annoying for the contestants especially if they have to phone-a-friend and read the question and 4 choices. It eats away a lot of their time The questions are too long and need to be shortened. I remember how the questions in the early years of the shows were short and straight-to-the-point.
And the clock needs to go. It doesn’t fit Regis’ style. They could do it like the Australian version where if a contestant is taking too long, they use the clock.
The celebrities are unnecessary. Having celebrities on is not going to help ratings. It’s what killed the original version.
I have other gripes as well but I’m not going to mention all of them.
The clock is like having a tie in baseball, it stinks. I have no problems with it during the daytime Syndicated version, but for a primetime show, it hasn't really grabbed my fancy.
I still think Regis knows how to host it, it's just a new twist to a format he is otherwise familiar with. I rarely get to see the daytime version, so I have no clue how Merideth adapted when the clock was first introduced. I just see no time for this rushed atmospehere in a primetime setting. I think there were some great tense moments with Millionaire, during it's early success.