It seems to me that Millionaire was expected to have so-so ratings throughout. It started out OK but not smashing, but we all know where it was when the two weeks was up. That being said, I'll work a review in here to justify why I don't think this one's going to last long.
I'm not sure at all that this is going to be another "Millionaire." In 1999, the prime time game show was a thing of the past, and "Millionaire" was the first major attempt at it in years (not counting WoF or J!). It was a simple game with just enough drama and certainly enough play-along factor to keep it very interesting.
Duel's host didn't exactly impress me. In fact, he reminded me of a toned-down version of (gag) Patrick Wayne with his repetitiveness. At least I didn't hear any "YOUUUUUUU WINNNNNN" from him. He was also painfully slow. If he would keep the game moving at a faster pace, it might do a better job of keeping my attention. Fortunately, the music cues have enough bass to keep my sound system rattling the floors -- and me awake.
The game itself does have some neat ideas, particularly the gambling and competitive aspect. The pressure tactic is an interesting twist, IMO, but beyond that, this game really doesn't introduce anything really novel. Everyone's doing the idea of going to commercial before revealing answers. Everyone's doing multiple choice questions (or multiple guess, and even then with four chips, it's not really a guess). I did like the set and particularly the SFX/music cues, but I felt that they distracted from the show more than add to it. This stuff should compliment the game, not become the game. Way too much glitz & glamour for my taste.
The most annoying thing is not the game itself, but the commercials ABC keeps airing. I'll add my voice to the chorus on this one ... they're spoiling the game. What's the point of watching when I know who's going to win and play later -- and know for how much they'll be playing. I watched the episode online, and I saw the commercial showing the challenger from the game in progress getting to pick her next challenger!! It became a matter of how many questions we'd see before the inevitable happened to the first champion.
I'm not holding my breath on this show, but it does have plenty of room to go up. It could be worse, but it needs to be a lot better if it's going to make it.
