Weekend Replay: “Secret Fortune” Series Two Premiere
This was a very busy weekend for British game and competition shows. The big one, The X Factor, was on ITV this weekend. As was their version of Family Feud called All Star Family Fortunes. Then we had the live celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire which has lost a ton of its luster since changing production and getting rid of all celebrities. And finally we had one of my favorites: BBC’s lottery quiz show Secret Fortune, which recently shot a pilot for CBS with Donny Osmond hosting. Secret Fortune was sadly the sacrificial lamb against Simon Cowell and The X Factor, but anyone watching caught a great dramatic episode.
For those that don’t remember the show or never saw it, 24 envelopes are presented to the contestants. Each has a value from £100 to £100,000. Through a series of questions where the contestants must determine which answer is most correct (the questions are such that answers can be ranked from best to worst), six values remain. Five more questions are played, and if you give the best possible answer you can remove the smaller values and hopefully work your way to the £100,000 top prize. It was won once last series. The couple in play has the big £100,000 check in one of the six envelopes in front of them. Can they be the second team to win the grand prize? Watch and find out.
I’d still love to see the show make it to CBS. Fingers are crossed we’ll get the chance to see it. Video courtesy BBC and Wild Rover.
If CBS doesn’t pick up Secret Fortune, it would be a disaster of epic proportions. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if CBS throws the pilot to the wolves. We are talking about the same network who hired Neil Patrick Harris to host The Cube, then dropped the series faster than seeing a bowling ball fall off a cliff.
I was surprised at how quickly the pilot went nowhere, but last I heard the problem was the same as Million Dollar Drop….not enough winners.
If you want the show, it’ll have to be hosted by Julie Chen :(
Dear god, NO NO NO NO NO.
Keep Julie “Married to the CEO” Chenbot away from Secret Fortune, for all that is holy!
I absolutely agree. She already has two show, Big Brother and The Talk!!!!! So let’s leave it at that.
I don’t think I could take any more “But first…”
Great game! I was afraid this game was going to be a clone of Deal or No Deal. It has a great play-along factor, in which I got almost every question right (though I’m American). Even if you don’t answer the question correctly, you have a great chance of eliminating a small amount (depending on the number of envelopes left).
It took me a couple of airings to figure out why this show strikes a different chord in me than most big-money shows, but I finally figured it out after this episode.
Most shows advertise a top prize of 1 bajillion dollars, but in order to win that sum you need a combination of drunken foolhardiness and karma-defying luck. Secret Fortune isn’t like that at all – it welcomes and even encourages as many contestants as possible to win the top prize. In a era where shows like this weekend’s new entry Epic Win can’t get off the ground without a desultory (and frankly insulting) element of risk, Secret Fortune’s honest, come-and-have-a-go structure is a breath of fresh air. It shows that you can have a suspenseful show without adding an all-or-nothing component.
Here’s hoping it finds a home over here.
It would be nice to see this here in the states as long as Donny Osmond is not hosting. The problem with a lot of shows is finding a good classic game show host which seems to be a problem. The only two that remain are Alex and Pat, I can only imagine what’ll happen when their gone.
I have to say that this top prize win was epicly boring.
Unfortunately, CBS seems to make bad hosting decisions quite often. As Chris mentioned above, they may even consider getting Julie Chen to host it, if they decide they don’t like how Donny Osmond hosted the pilot episode.
What makes Secret Fortune a great game show is that it has a simple premise (pick envelopes and answer questions), great music (which is lacking in many of today’s modern game shows), and a top prize that’s actually achievable. Many recent game shows in the U.S. offer a top prize of $1 Million paid out over 20 or 40-some years, but it’s practically impossible to win that prize from the start (if you don’t believe me, see Downfall, Minute to Win It, etc.). Secret Fortune gives you the chance to actually win $1 Million (assuming they keep the scheduled $1 Million prize for the American pilot) if you know your trivia knowledge.
I have to say that was the perfect way to kick off the second series of this program!!!! Here’s hoping that it makes it to the states.
Great game and great episode. It’s like DOND with the requirement that contestants have to know something. Great play-along value. I think Donny would have the requisite empathy and sense of humor needed for a show like this. My only fear is that the game will be perceived as too complicated for some American audiences. Million Dollar Money Drop did not exactly rock the ratings in the US (though I hear it is coming back).
I remember hearing about that when season one ended back in January!!!! It would be great to give that show another chance!!!!
FOX cancelled Million Dollar Money Drop several months ago, when they removed the page for it off their website. The official statement confirming its cancellation was released several weeks ago. So unless GSN or another network picks it up, it looks like the Money Drop has officially been dropped for good.
I’ve not had the (mis)fortune to see any of Donny Osmond’s game show work. But, at his age, he’s got to find something to keep himself going, doesn’t he?
One observation: he does himself no favors by continuing to bill himself as “Donny”. Surely a switch to “Don” would bespeak a maturity that he must surely have attained by now.