Top 09 of 2009: Number One
It’s our top moment of 2009, and it really shouldn’t come as a big shock. It’s, of course, Ken Basin’s memorable loss on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. When ABC brought back the show this summer to “celebrate the tenth anniversary”, they essentially took the entire package of the syndicated version and added Fastest Finger. We saw a few issues, like Regis not handling the clock well at all and the fact that the daytime difficulty is a bit of a damper in primetime since no one can win barely anything anymore. It definitely got better as the series progressed, but Ken Basin saved the best for last. He made it to the $1,000,000 question which was the following:
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 answered C and Regis uttered one of the more memorable quotes on the show ever, “It’s not the final answer…you just lost a lot of money.” It was Fresca. Ken became the first contestant in the history of American Who Wants to be a Millionaire to miss the million dollar question, losing a staggering $475,000 to drop down to $25,000. Why was this so painful when other shows with equal or greater losses haven’t been? Probably because Ken was actually smart and earned it. I feel nothing for contestants that lose a ton on Deal or No Deal or Fifth Grader, because it’s not particularly impressive to me to win big money having the knowledge of a ten year old. Ken was smart, got a wrong hunch, and had one of the most, if not the most, depressing moments in Millionaire history. Not only that, but the picture given out of his loss has to be one of the best press pictures for the genre I’ve ever seen. It was a moment no Millionaire fan will forget and it was sure to be the most memorable moment of 2009.
Agreed, good choice… and Happy New Year!!!
This guy was exceedingly cocky, and somewhat of a pompous ass, especially given the things he was saying (getting the audience riled up, saying "Give me my million dollars", etc.). He got what he deserved.
Sometimes, smart people do dumb things which prove costly in the end. This guy did just that, and wound up committing hara-kiri in front of millions of people across North America. Brilliant, eh?
Indeed, my friend. If you're gonna commit financial suicide like that, you might as well look good doing it too. Ken was bright being that he was a 24 year-old lawyer at the time. That quote from Regis summed up my feelings about the best moment of 2009. Sometimes, it doesn't have to be a big winner, it just has to be a moment that grabs you at every twist & turn. This moment certainly fit that billing.
Indeed, my friend. If you're gonna commit financial suicide like that, you might as well look good doing it too. Ken was bright being that he was a 24 year-old lawyer at the time. That quote from Regis summed up my feelings about the best moment of 2009. Sometimes, it doesn't have to be a big winner, it just has to be a moment that grabs you at every twist & turn. This moment certainly fit that billing.
What a devastating loss. I must say that this was one of the most exciting contestants on this show's history. When this moment happened, i was completely shocked that a moment like this would happen (due to the amount of money to risk and the frequency of it occurring around the world) and i thought Ogi Ogas not going for it and getting it right was devastating. Nevertheless it's a episode of Millionaire that nobody will ever forget (not to mention that million dollar loss cue, which reminds fans of the Price is Right losing cue).
Oh and for those of you that haven't seen it yet, Ken posted an entry in his blog about his run. It's a really interesting read.
http://kbasin.blogspot.com/2009/08/official-postm...
What a devastating loss. I must say that this was one of the most exciting contestants on this show's history. When this moment happened, i was completely shocked that a moment like this would happen (due to the amount of money to risk and the frequency of it occurring around the world) and i thought Ogi Ogas not going for it and getting it right was devastating. Nevertheless it's a episode of Millionaire that nobody will ever forget (not to mention that million dollar loss cue, which reminds fans of the Price is Right losing cue).
Oh and for those of you that haven't seen it yet, Ken posted an entry in his blog about his run. It's a really interesting read.
http://kbasin.blogspot.com/2009/08/official-postm...
Couldn't agree more. Painful and depressing??? I felt it was the opposite. Watching this tool lose was the feel-good moment of the year!
Sure, Ken was average-Jeopardy-contestant smart, but come on, he even admitted Davies was serving him up an easy stack for the end of the run. The dude got cocky and paid the price. Hope he makes smarter decisions for his clients.
Couldn't agree more. Painful and depressing??? I felt it was the opposite. Watching this tool lose was the feel-good moment of the year!
Sure, Ken was average-Jeopardy-contestant smart, but come on, he even admitted Davies was serving him up an easy stack for the end of the run. The dude got cocky and paid the price. Hope he makes smarter decisions for his clients.
What really gives credence to the audience results is that unlike many of these high-level questions, the audience had no idea that Ken was indeed leaning towards Yoo-hoo, so the votes are not biased. Everyone seems to dismiss the audience as something Ken should never have listened to on such a huge question, but obviously didn't watch the show properly.
That's also a good point. The only bias that the audience could have had was for "some warm milk" from Regis. :P
Audience or no audience, Ken's original instinct was Yoo-hoo, just to let you know.
Audience or no audience, Ken's original instinct was Yoo-hoo, just to let you know.
That's also a good point. The only bias that the audience could have had was for "some warm milk" from Regis. :P
That's also a good point. The only bias that the audience could have had was for "some warm milk" from Regis. :P
Oh, please. You probably don't even realize what you're saying while you're in the Hot Seat, with all the adrenaline flowing, realizing that you're at a quarter million or larger. If he came off as way too cocky and an ass, I don't think he actually wanted it to be like that.
About his guessing at the final answer, Ken has stated multiple times that it was not a guess. He said that he eliminated B and D in his head, and had a hunch (albeit incorrect) that it was C, Yoo-hoo. When he asked the audience, which were full of previous contestants and big winners, they also backed up that hunch. Ken also said that he later remembered that there was a picture of LBJ with the Beatles drinking a Yoo-hoo, although he hasn't been able to find that picture as of yet. So it wasn't like he took a blind stab at the million.
And to those that said he had an 'easy stack', it was only bumped up one question. $25,000 became $50,000; $50,000 became $100,000; etc. It's not as if he had a bunch of $16,000 questions to answer. Half of everyone commenting here would, at least in the Hot Seat, not have been able to get as far as Ken had.
That being said, this was one of my favorite moments of the year, despite it being a loss. I feel bad for Ken, but it was very exciting and his game was definitely at the edge of my seat. It takes luck to just so happen to know the million dollar question; it takes a player like Ken to get there!
Oh, please. You probably don't even realize what you're saying while you're in the Hot Seat, with all the adrenaline flowing, realizing that you're at a quarter million or larger. If he came off as way too cocky and an ass, I don't think he actually wanted it to be like that.
About his guessing at the final answer, Ken has stated multiple times that it was not a guess. He said that he eliminated B and D in his head, and had a hunch (albeit incorrect) that it was C, Yoo-hoo. When he asked the audience, which were full of previous contestants and big winners, they also backed up that hunch. Ken also said that he later remembered that there was a picture of LBJ with the Beatles drinking a Yoo-hoo, although he hasn't been able to find that picture as of yet. So it wasn't like he took a blind stab at the million.
And to those that said he had an 'easy stack', it was only bumped up one question. $25,000 became $50,000; $50,000 became $100,000; etc. It's not as if he had a bunch of $16,000 questions to answer. Half of everyone commenting here would, at least in the Hot Seat, not have been able to get as far as Ken had.
That being said, this was one of my favorite moments of the year, despite it being a loss. I feel bad for Ken, but it was very exciting and his game was definitely at the edge of my seat. It takes luck to just so happen to know the million dollar question; it takes a player like Ken to get there!
Oh, please. You probably don't even realize what you're saying while you're in the Hot Seat, with all the adrenaline flowing, realizing that you're at a quarter million or larger. If he came off as way too cocky and an ass, I don't think he actually wanted it to be like that.
About his guessing at the final answer, Ken has stated multiple times that it was not a guess. He said that he eliminated B and D in his head, and had a hunch (albeit incorrect) that it was C, Yoo-hoo. When he asked the audience, which were full of previous contestants and big winners, they also backed up that hunch. Ken also said that he later remembered that there was a picture of LBJ with the Beatles drinking a Yoo-hoo, although he hasn't been able to find that picture as of yet. So it wasn't like he took a blind stab at the million.
And to those that said he had an 'easy stack', it was only bumped up one question. $25,000 became $50,000; $50,000 became $100,000; etc. It's not as if he had a bunch of $16,000 questions to answer. Half of everyone commenting here would, at least in the Hot Seat, not have been able to get as far as Ken had.
That being said, this was one of my favorite moments of the year, despite it being a loss. I feel bad for Ken, but it was very exciting and his game was definitely at the edge of my seat. It takes luck to just so happen to know the million dollar question; it takes a player like Ken to get there!
Ken was a great contestant and he seems like a good guy, but I'm still very curious about what caused him to have a false memory of LBJ and the Beatles drinking Yoo-hoo together. As far as I can determine, LBJ never met the Beatles, with or without Yoo-hoo. I'm sure there would be photos available if any such meeting actually occurred. But if Ken really thought he remembered seeing that, he did the right thing to go for it when he was in the hot seat. I'm confident that Ken will do well in life and he'll eventually think of this as just a minor setback.
Ken was a great contestant and he seems like a good guy, but I'm still very curious about what caused him to have a false memory of LBJ and the Beatles drinking Yoo-hoo together. As far as I can determine, LBJ never met the Beatles, with or without Yoo-hoo. I'm sure there would be photos available if any such meeting actually occurred. But if Ken really thought he remembered seeing that, he did the right thing to go for it when he was in the hot seat. I'm confident that Ken will do well in life and he'll eventually think of this as just a minor setback.
Agree with everything. I saw the title for this video on Youtube and was prepared to cry at the end, to feel SO bad for him…but he set it up to be just an awesome piece of karma in action. "Lawyers don't ask their clients those kinds of questions!"
I'll never get over the "oh my god this is going to be on freaking youtube tomorrow" look he had on his face as soon as he saw the wrong answer. And the way Regis slammed him afterwards… "It is NOT the final answer, and YOU JUST LOST a LOT OF MONEY." Woo!
Agree with everything. I saw the title for this video on Youtube and was prepared to cry at the end, to feel SO bad for him…but he set it up to be just an awesome piece of karma in action. "Lawyers don't ask their clients those kinds of questions!"
I'll never get over the "oh my god this is going to be on freaking youtube tomorrow" look he had on his face as soon as he saw the wrong answer. And the way Regis slammed him afterwards… "It is NOT the final answer, and YOU JUST LOST a LOT OF MONEY." Woo!
And do you want to know the sad thing? I was actually cheering for that guy.