Specifics on “Millionaire: Hot Seat”
All the people that complain about the clock and new editions to this season of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? should really thank Michael Davies personally that we’re not getting the new edition that 2waytraffic is shopping around called Millionaire: Hot Seat. We’ve discussed it briefly before. Thanks to a commenter, we got the specific rules to the show. It’s tough to screw up Millionaire but 2waytraffic and Australia’s Channel Nine have done it amazingly.
We’ve gone over the rules previously. Six players, all in a line of chairs. The first in line comes to the Hot Seat. If the player gets the question right, he or she stays on and moves up the money chain like normal. If the player gets the question wrong, that player is eliminated from the game, the next player in line comes to the Hot Seat, and the top dollar value on the money chain drops off. Each player has a “Pass” lifeline to use, where they can pass the question to the next player in line, and the player who used the “Pass” moves to the back of the line. A wrong answer just eliminates the contestant when a “Pass” is used; it doesn’t knock off the top dollar value. It’s not awful to start with. It’s just a total ripoff of Millionaire that they shoved the branding with to gain some easy eye balls. The money chain is where it gets screwed up. They completely messed with it. Here’s the chain.
15: $1,000,000
14: $250,000
13: $50,000
12: $25,000
11: $15,000
10: $10,000
9: $6,000
8: $4,000
7: $2,500
6: $1,500
*5: $1,000*
4: $500
3: $300
2: $200
1: $100
The $1,000 is starred because it’s the only milestone. If you miss a question above that level you walk with $1,000. There’s no walking away either. Why this sucks is because everyone is going to be lucky to walk away with anything over $10,000. It’s extremely cheap. It’s at GSN level budget here. Were they that afraid someone was going to win huge? The money chain’s not even worth it at this point. The chain won’t dip below $10,000 so the money chain is completely pointless. The old $250,000 level is $50,000. That’s a gigantic drop and makes it look flat-out cheap.
I wasn’t expecting them to go huge money, but this is almost embarrassing. They are trying to compete against Deal or No Deal. This looks cheap and pathetic compared to it. I expected them to put a bit more effort into it. Did we just manage to completely luck out with the daytime version of Millionaire? No one seems to have tried it before, or if they have it’s failed for reasons I can’t figure out. Did we just get lucky. This doesn’t seem the way to do it. 2waytraffic, although they have a lot of other good shows, just seem to want to milk Millionaire for all they can, and it hasn’t worked yet.
The Money tree is really cheap, that’s for sure…even the Italian version had 3000 Euros as their milestone level..in fact, it was the same tree as they have now on their regular version:
500
1000
1500
2000
3000
5000
7000
10000
15000
20000
30000
70000
150000
300000
1000000
I know it’s daytime and not primetime, but DoND over there isn’t that stingy with the money they give out (even if the regular contestant doesn’t win a lot, at least a couple of people on the podiums usually win $500 for correct case guesses, if not more). This makes no sense to me at all- even a last five of $25K, $50K, $100K, $250K, $1 million would look better….
The concept for the show isn’t so bad, IMHO, I think it’s actually pretty good, but I am in agreement that it falls apart at that money tree…
Oy, if I’m understanding those rules right, yeah, this show will be cheap, and not in a way that 9 and 2waytraffic can get away with it. In fact, originally reading the rules, I would’ve thought an INFLATION of the money tree was necessary to produce the same number of winners that the original show would have.
This is, unless the material gets so ridiculously dumbed down, which would be a travesty for a show like this. Maybe it’ll come off better on the tube than in the writing, I can just hold my hopes up…
Remember that the money figures are in Australian Dollars. Currently, an Austrailian dollar is worth 71.82 cents here in the U.S. That means that the milestone is only equal to $718.20 American, the 10th question is worth $7182 and the 13th is worth $35910. Makes it look that much cheaper.
Yeah, it’s a different game, and it dilutes WWTBAM’s appeal with some of the worst elements of Weakest Link. It sounds like the six players are part teammates, part opponents. Even someone like Ken Jennings would have his fate determined by the other five people on the show. I’d love to be a contestant if I could put together my own group of six and split the winnings evenly.
Ah the amazing paradox of the spin-off. We complain that the show is ruined and that they’ve changed the format too much, and it’s barely even Millionaire now.
And yet, if any other company had made it, we would be hearing cries of ‘rip-off’ and ‘it’s too much like Millionaire!!’. I guess the only appropriate action, in more ways than this, is to simply not make it at all.
I’m calling it now: I say Millionaire will NOT last through its 20-day run. Especially not with Deal against.
Actually Alex, the Rulesheet doesn’t mention a change to the walking rule. Where did you hear that that was changing?
That’s…a trainwreck. And all I have to say about it. This is GSN-caliber cheapness — heck, it’s “MERV GRIFFIN’S CROSSWORDS”-caliber cheapness.
And that’s sick.
You all are counting that the problem is to launch a “big money” gameshow in Aussie land is extremely dangerous, as to get any decent audience to have advertisers to support it you’d have to be in prime-time clearance. There is absolutely nothing like daytime gameshows, remember TPiR there became a prime-time show to win a condo.
I’m in support of almost any type of “Millionaire” revival, but this is just garbage. I’ve seen the foreign versions of WWTBAM that use these rules, and I hate them. It’s just a bad setup, and this money tree is terrible. And you’re hearing this from someone who really enjoys all of the changes that the U.S. syndicated version of “Millionaire” went through this season.
I hope that the proposed 10th anniversary U.S. primetime revival of “Millionaire” (PLEASE make it happen this August, ABC) follows the traditional rules and not the “Hot Seat” rules.
The rules seem to make absolutely no sense to me. Seems like the players who go first have a trememdous advantage.
If Millionaire comes back to prime time, it needs to be Super Millionaire…that was a masterful reworking of the format.
And yet, it seems that Channel Seven is exerting some sort of fear as to this format: they’re bringing their Double Shot back! Remember, they used that at the premiere of Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune?
Looks like that monkey’s out of a job for the next few weeks…
I agree, ScottNotSteve, Super Millionaire really was as good as game shows get. I think of Super Millionaire as the perfect game show experience, and I’d love to see it back.
Any work yet on how is hosting this spin-off and when it starts taping?
Correcting typo- Any word yet on WHO is hosting this spin-off and when it starts taping?
For one thing change the money chain to the following
16: $5,000,000
15: $2,500,000
14: $1,000,000
13: $500,000
12: $250,000
11: $125,000
10: $75,000***
9: $50,000
8: $25.000
7: $10.000
6: $5,000
5: $2.500***
4: $1,000
3: $500
2: $300
1: $100
Have 5 contestants take part in a fastest finger. Whoever got the best score picks the first seat. Each person will be asked one question. If they get it right the lowest amount left will be removed but the highest will if they aren't right. After all 5 have played another fastest finger is played and the lowest scorer is knocked out of the game and the game continues as before.
When you are eliminated you win $1,000+$1,000 for every person eliminated before you.
My way of moving up the latter is far better if you are trying to make it a big money game show because 15 questions=16 rungs on the money latter.
What do you mean " It’s tough to screw up Millionaire" because we did it pretty well right here since we did add a clock
Well, it seems that your opinions have changed recently. :P