Rumor Control: Potential “Millionaire” Changes
A dress rehearsal for the new series of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? was done yesterday and we have some of the potential changes released to us. We don’t know what will stay to the new season since, again, it was a rehearsal, so take this as you will. Most thanks to reader James for the email and to Millionaire message board users for the information. Some of the changes make the show basically seem like Super Millionaire Lite to me.
*Time limits are now being used. Fifteen for the first five, 30 seconds for $2K and onward and probably some differences from there on.
*A new Lifeline, Ask the Expert, is being introduced and sponsored by Skype. A former big winner will be asked the question via video phone, similar to Phone a Friend.
*Speaking of Phone a Friend, you can only have three Phone a Friends on your list of who to call instead of five. Also, you have to provide a picture of them beforehand so they can appear on the big screen when called.
*Double Dip seems to be coming back, and it may or may not be a replacement for 50/50. It was not made clear to us. Double Dip will be available before the $25,000 level supposedly.
*Subjects for upcoming questions are told at one point in the show.
Again, we don’t know what is staying around and what was being used for rehearsal. I’m hoping for either lifeline substitutions or deletions if they are definitely including those new one. Right now, if they keep Switch the Question, that’s six lifelines (five if Fifty/Fifty is gone). All of these changes are screaming, “We need to save money and make contestants lose earlier,” to me. Millionaire has issues giving away big money as it is. Does the game really need to be any harder?
Cautious optimism aside, I have to say that I don’t care for time limits on Millionaire. I went to a taping last season, and they do some serious editing on the program. I’m hoping that the time limit was just a dress rehearsal bit, because I enjoy watching people squirm over the higher questions. To me, part of the allure of Millionaire is the lack of a time limit.
Plus, even though this is an expert, video phone takes away the magic of Google :)
Some thoughts on the proposed changes…
1) Good to see the Double Dip back, even if it means the end of the 50/50. (Six lifelines seem to be too much. IIRC, Super Millionaire originally planned on six lifelines, but pulled Switch the Question).
2) I’m curious how “Ask the Expert” will work. Will it be third-tier only? I’m also presuming that contestants that won at least $250K will be eligible, so I’m out (fell two levels short there :) )
3) Time limits are a bit sketchy to me. I can understand using them for the first five questions, but some third-level questions require some thought by the contestant. Granted, I wouldn’t want to see a contestant stew for 51 minutes on one question (as a contestant did during the Regis era), but that’s why pencils have erasers, and why there’s such a thing as “post-production editing”. How about 5-10 minutes for third-tier, 2-3 minutes for second-tier, and 30-60 seconds for first-tier?
4) No problem with the PAF photos, as long as the show maintains its policy of one POF appearance a season. I’ve been on six PAF lists, and I’d like to keep going :)
If these rumors are true, I’m not sure it has anything to do with saving money. A lot of it has to do with contestant quality and psyche. Believe me, I was a $0 winner the first-time around — you can be confident the first time around, but once the hot lights hit you, you become a big bowl of Jell-O. It took the second appearance to restore my confidence and calm my nerves.
When I watch the show now, I see contestants making the same mistakes I made the first time around. They know the answer, but they’re afraid to pull the trigger, and promptly burn 1-2 lifelines in the process.
Also, the loss of the phone tryouts has changed the look of contestant searches. While I understand the reasoning for getting rid of the phone tryouts, it seems some contestants are chosen based on looks and backstory than actual quality.
I know I’d like to remain cautiously optimistic, and I would definitely like to continue enjoying WWTBAM. I’ve continued to hope year after year that we’ll finally get another $1,000,000 winner here sometime soon. And I still do.
That aside, a number of these changes just don’t appeal to me. Time limits? I mean, I did hear that for the syndie version, they had some sort of a limit for each Q, but that they were generous enough that they didn’t have to be mentioned on the air, and it continued to look like there was none. But to restrict each question to mere seconds? That doesn’t sound like such a good idea.
Ask the Expert… Okay, I don’t really mind that one, though I hope they treat it like Switch-the-Question (as in, it doesn’t appear until the upper tier).
Double Dip… It’s a neat lifeline, but with everything else going on, it’s probably a bit too much to add that here. If they’d bring back Super Millionaire (yeah, I know, HUGE if), I’d leave that lifeline there.
Giving subjects for future questions… I don’t know. Seems a bit pointless to me.
Overall, though, regardless of what happens, I will keep watching. I do hope that whatever they do decide to add to WWTBAM doesn’t ruin it, but I’ll keep watching.
Uh-oh. I dunno about you guys, but I don’t like messing around with a format that works. Millionaire’s been pretty solid for almost 10 years now, but we haven’t had a jackpot winner in 5 years. I don’t think we need to make it any harder.
The time limits I can understand for Millionaire-Play It! a while ago, but for the big show? Yecch. I mean, watching them ponder over a question with that tense music playing in the background made half the show to me. I don’t think we need to add any other lifelines, either. C’mon, 11 people won the million with only the original three lifelines. It’s not the game that’s flawed; it’s the contestants. Leave the game as is and get smarter contestants!
I don’t like this time limit rumor. While it made sense for the theme park attraction to use them, It takes away something paramount to the original success of the show.
For me, the lack of time limit is what set Millionaire apart from other game shows. Jeopardy! is all about a fast pace of rapid trivia. Millionaire allowed its contestants (and us) to thoughtfully consider each question and talk it through. A lot of the fun in my family is trying to talk and give our theories about the higher tiered questions. Adding a time limit is just going to turn this show into 15 rounds of final Jep.
Ask-The-Expert doesnt sound particularly helpful to me. How many times in Super Millionaire did the THREE wise men not have an answer? This sounds like more of an excuse to use their big screen.
To be honest the only new lifeline I like is the double dip, and I HOPE they don’t get rid of the 50/50 for it. I still say the DD should remain in the third tier, as thats when it would be most dramatic to use it. Again most contestants lose their 50/50 before they hit 25,000 so it wouldnt be a big deal. Plus you might see contestants make bigger gambles in NOT using their 50/50 to try to carry it over into the third tier so they can bypass a question.
Other than that, the photos for the phone a friend sound like a nice and welcome addition. They really need to find more uses for the screen.
I hope in all of this, the lighting gets an update. They don’t have to change it entirely, But I liked it better on ABC, when it would get darker faster.
I’ve gone from cautiously optimistic to just plain worried. The time limit will make an already hard game unnecessarily harder. It’s like the new password during the bonus round. The time limit makes things so much harder than it needs to be and it’s just used to save money plain and simple. Not to mention it destroys the fundamental idea of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” which is to take your time and work your way through the questions before you answer them. Seriously if they use this idea I almost guarantee that it will be cancelled this season.
Other than that the new lifelines are a no brainer and I’m glad to see the double dip and the expert line return. But this is just a drop compared to the tidal wave that is the major screw up known as the time limit. Who ever thought of that idea should be hung up by their you know whats.
Wow…just…plain…wow. I will say this again…Why mess with a format that works? The format spread around the world and has survived with generally little change for the past 9 years. These changes are horrible. The time limits are disgusting, and do not fit with the show at all. All that will force is more $0 winners. That’s not what the public wants to see. Plus, why not dumb down some of the questions a bit so they can get a $1 mil winner sometime soon? I know they’d like to save some money, but I’d be happy if I produced a show that got the ratings it does in syndication and normally gives away only $25,000 on average to each contestant.
Sigh…this spells the end of this show. I always say that timkering with a proven format always proves to get the opposite results that they are looking for.
I wouldn’t call this “the end of the road” if at least some of these changes are made. The big problem, as most of us have been ranting about, is the time limit. Unless there is confirmation of this, I’d take a “wait and see” on time limits.
Another comment on “Ask the Experts” — I think it’s a nice touch by the show to remember the contestants who made WWTBAM history and what makes the show great. Yes, the first version done on Super Millionaire flopped — but part of that, from what I’ve heard, had to do with how unorganized the process of creating and recruiting people for the lifeline was. Some experts were allegedly contacted a day or two before tapings to participate — it came off as not being planned in advance.
This time around, the show has several weeks to put together a lineup of experts to participate, go over what they can and can’t do, and put them on the air.
If time limits are to be added, I think they should be more like this:
30 seconds for 100, 200, 300
60 seconds (1 min) for 500, 1000
120 seconds (2 mins) for 2000, 4000
180 seconds (3 mins) for 8000, 16000
300 seconds (5 mins) for 25000, 50000
600 seconds (10 mins) for 100000, 250000
No time limit for 500000 or 1000000
The time limit should increase every couple of questions as the level of difficulty raises.
As the the Ask the Expert lifeline, I’ll reserve judgment on that one until I see it in practice. I think this one could go either way, depending on how it is executed.
Finally, the Double Dip. In my opinion, getting rid of the 50/50 for it is a mistake, as is having the Double Dip accessible before the 25k level. IMO, the entire point of Double Dip is to be used in conjunction with the 50/50 and guarantee yourself a correct answer. And in syndie Millionaire, very few make it to the 25k level with their 50/50 still in hand. So, it would provide added incentive to not burn it early.
Subjects being revealed ahead of time? Not so sure about that one. If this were to be added, I think is should be done that you start with one or two “chips” at the beginning of the game and they allow you to see the subject of the next question before answering it.
Is anybody attending a taping of the show next week to confirm these changes? I’m going to a show in August…
anyways, if Double Dip does replace the 50:50, it would be an alright change. Technically, both lifelines give you a 50% chance of answering the question. Replacing DD would save the agony of “wasting” a 50:50 because most of the time, it leaves the two most popular answers (of both being the ones the contestant thinks they are.) Instead of selecting only one of the answers from the two, players can select BOTH they feel are the two they are confident with by using the DD.
Also, in conjunction with the revealing of subjects, and because I like Switch The Question better than Ask the Experts (Three Wise Men), why not allow the contestant to pick a favorite subject of theirs, and attach it to the Switch the Question lifeline (similar to the Debt bonus round and IYCoaL.)
Other than that, I feel the timed questions may only be used for “studio play.” By which I mean the home audience won’t be shown the time remaining, but the time would only be used for taping, so that new contestants could be introduced, and the game would move faster.
I’m very interested (and a little apprehensive) about the rumored changes, but I’ll reserve judgment until I have more details. I like the idea that they found a way to involve past contestants in the game, including some from the Regis era. I don’t see much point in revealing the subject of upcoming questions. Questions can be easy or difficult, without regard to the subject matter. The “Ask An Expert” lifeline might be a misnomer, if that’s what they call it. It sounds kind of like the “Ask A Complete Stranger” lifeline that was a feature at the Disney Play It attraction. Without having practiced with the contestants, I think some experts may find it a humbling experience.
If the rumors of a time limit are true, that may be cause for concern. On the day I reached the hot seat, the carryover contestant took a very long time to answer a few of the questions, like 30 or 40 minutes for each. In at least one case, I don’t blame her, and I would have taken just as much time. She was asked what was the most common given name of US Presidents (William, John, James, or George). That is the kind of question you have to approach systematically and keep careful track of your detailed thought process. It is not the kind of question you should have to answer under the pressure of a clock ticking down to zero seconds. Math questions also sometimes fit into this category. For example, if they ask how long it takes light to travel from the Sun to Pluto, or how many heartbeats an average person has in a lifetime, a good contestant can solve those questions if given enough time. But if you have to answer in 30 seconds, it might as well be just a random guess.
If there is a clock, I wonder what the motivation is. If it’s just to make the taping day schedule more predictable, and the audience never sees it, that’s one thing. If the intent is to show the clock on screen to the home audience to enhance the drama, that’s a whole different deal. It might actually backfire on them and drag the show out longer than it is today, if contestants start taking the maximum allowable time on every question. It would make it harder to edit the show, since you’d have to watch how long it took before the contestant answered, whereas today, any boring stuff gets snipped out.
One way to handle this might be to give each contestant an initial bank of minutes, to use as needed. By answering the easy questions quickly, it would provide an extra buffer that could be used for subsequent harder questions. It would add more strategy to the game, and might be more interesting and fairer than a fixed time limit per question.
I’m sure everyone involved with the show wants it to succeed at least as much as we do, and I think Michael Davies has generally good instincts, so I’ll just stay tuned and hope for the best.
Here we go again. Another hit game show being “tweeked”, although I do admit that I like some of the changes.
For one: the “double dip”. I loved it when it was on “Super Millionaire” and thought that they should incorporate it on the daytime version
2. Ask the experts. This should be alternate to “phone a friend”. If they make it to the $25000 mark and doesn’t have the phone a friend then that should be added.
The only thing I don’t like is the time limit rule. Why should they rush the contestants? the worst that could happen is they get the wrong answer. the best they could do is just plain guess and get lucky. So give them all the time they need.
All in all, good changes for Millionaire.
The lifelines and having photos for PAF isn’t a problem. Actually, having photos for PAF might work here as there are still a few people who act the same PAF from time to time.
The strict time limits I do worry about as it defeats one concept to the format where “there is no time limit”. If they wanted to do time limits, then they should’ve adapted how Aussie Millionaire did it last year. For their live shows, if Eddie McGuire think they are taking too long then he would apply a shot clock which would run for one minute. If the contestant cannot decide to lock in their answer within that minute then they would walk away with the money they got.
And, if they keep 50:50 with the Double Dip, that would be a guaranteed correct answer. Use 50:50, goes to two answers. Use Double Dip after that, you get two answer picks. If you save them both till the $1,000,000 question, you are an instant winner.
I’m actually pretty excited about almost all of the rumored changes. I do think Davies was trying to modernize the show — it hasn’t changed significantly in almost a decade. Both Jeopardy and Wheel have had facelifts during that time.
I think the new lifelines will be much more fun to watch (Switch the question is boring; Ask the Expert means you’ll get to watch an expert on a video screen as they interact with the contestant; And the Double-Dip is both more exciting and more likely to result in a correct answer than the 50/50).
The “menu” aspect — where you can see the categories ahead of time — really enhances the Millionaire format, IMHO. It allows contestants to strategize more wisely with their lifelines, and allows home viewers to imagine how they would have done if the contestant bows out when the viewer would still have lifelines left.
The timer is probably going to be the most controversial change. I think it will make the show more exciting to watch for the vast majority of (ordinary) contestants, though it might impose a slight handicap on “hardcore” players who are really trying to hit the big money. Then again, the new lifelines make it a little easier to get through the stack, so perhaps it will all balance out for said “hardcore” player.
But with Millionaire ratings slumping, I’m glad game show genius Davies is trying to inject some Botox into the format! I’ve got my fingers crossed!
Hi, Ogi. I don’t think you can say for sure that the Double-Dip is more likely to produce a correct answer than 50-50. Consider the case where you don’t know the answer, but you can eliminate one of the choices. With 50-50, you might get lucky and leave the correct answer and the one you know is wrong, thus assuring a correct response. If you use the Double-Dip instead, you might choose two of the wrong answers. But unlike the 50-50, once you use the Double-Dip, you’re committed to answering the question, so it’s likely to result in some wrong answers that would have previously resulted in either a correct answer or the contestant walking away. A lot of people are going walk away with the Double-Dip still on the table. No one would ever walk away with the 50-50 still on the table. That alone will limit the value and effectiveness of the Double-Dip.
It will be fun to see how these changes play out on the show. For now, we’re just debating theories of what effect they might have, and whether they will lead to the demise or the salvation of WWTBAM. I’m hoping for the latter.
You know Ed… I think you’re right that the situation is more complicated than it appears. I was brushing aside the 50/50 too quickly.
But geez, the more I think about it, the more complicated it seems… I’m going to do a little back of a napkin math here…
First off, as always, glad to have Ogi and Ed here.
We’ll be getting press releases of the official changes soon. I like the ideas for the lifelines (If you two aren’t contacted to be Experts I’ll be amazed), but the clock is the only thing that worries me as far as game play goes. Like Ed said, I can just see a lot of people crapping out quickly because they are trying to focus on the question and the clock.
And I would just like to say I’m a huge fan and supporter of Michael Davies, EP of Millionaire. I trust him more than any other person involved with game shows today. Which is why, as what has become the motto of the summer, I’m just remaining cautiously optimistic over the changes before an official press release comes out some time next week.
I like what Ed and Ogi are saying about the whole Double Dip and 50:50 philosophy. What it boils down to is you still have a 50% chance of getting the question right. What Ed is saying is that with the 50:50, you can increase those odds of having an answer you definitely know is wrong left as the two possible answers, giving you a better chance at answering the question correctly. We saw that most of time, when players used the 50:50, they say that the two answers left remaining were the exact two they had in mind, and this has been done on numerous occasions. So by looking at this from another view, Double Dip also gives you the chance to go with your two strongest, gut answers with a good chance of one of them being right. The game is all about first instincts and gut instincts. That is why I believe Double Dip will be used many time when players feel good about an answer of two.
But I do have to say, to go almost a decade without significant chances on the show, is amazing. Sure, we had the STQ lifeline added in the syndicated season and the money tree changed at the third tier, but the core game will still be here. 15 questions for $1,000,000 with some new lifelines to help you out. Even though I like STQ, lifelines are meant to help you answer a question, not throw it away completely. So seeing STQ possibly being scrapped won’t be a big deal. The audience poll is still there and is a HUGE staple to the show, as well as Phone-A-Friend.
In the end, the time issue is getting people worried, but we’ll see how that pans out when we see the shows begin to broadcast.
I ended up posting a (flawed!) analysis of 50:50 vs DD on the WWTBAM Bored, where plenty of people took up the challenge of figuring out which is better.
The consensus is, it depends.
It depends on the psychology of the individual contestant, and how much you know about a particular question.
But an easy summary would be, if you can eliminate one choice for certain, but don’t know anything else, then the 50:50 is preferable.
In just about every other circumstance, the DD is preferable. When you can eliminate 2 choices completely, of course, then the DD guarantees you the right answer.
And everything in between these two (if you have a strong hunch, for example) favors the DD.
But most importantly, the DD will definitely be more fun to watch, and so I think Davies made a winning change with this lifeline! :)