WWTBAM doing their own "Million Dollar Mission"...

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'Speedy G\' post=\'224756\' date=\'Sep 2 2009, 08:54 PM\']Rather than Wall O'Text in response, I offer the following analogy:

If you eat dessert with every meal, dessert isn't as good anymore.

What you're proposing is eating just dessert, and removing the meal.

I understand that you're disappointed that there's almost never any dessert these days.  You could even argue that the... well, Millionaire Menu-setters have explicitly taken dessert off the menu.

But even if there's no dessert, you're still guaranteed a meal with Millionaire.  

For an example of what happens when a show gorges on dessert, see Deal or No Deal.  Or even the new money tree on the UK version, where they cut the size of the meal, so it's not as filling anymore.[/quote]
Great analogy.

Millionaire, up until last year, came on during the 4:00 hour, which worked perfectly with my work schedule. And with the horrible big money game shows that have emerged in just the last five years, Millionaire was the only one I watched on a regular basis (wait, that and 1 vs. 100). I didn't watch for the big dollar amounts thrown about randomly, I watched to test my mind, and watched others do the same. The dollar amounts offered were secondary because, in the end, I knew I was getting a challenging quiz show, something that is sorely lacking on TV nowadays, other than Jeopardy! (Gotta get those insipid VH1 shows in there somewhere I guess!)

A shorter money tree just to get contestants closer to the million is going to turn me off the same reason all the other shows did: boatload of money thrown about for absolutely no effort (see Or No Deal, Deal, Money, Show Me the, and Life, Set for). Even though it's a cheesy gimmick, I can respect Wheel because they still make the million somewhat difficult to win (there it's circumstancial more than skill-based).

Long story short, I watch to see contestants rack their brains over what should be difficult trivia. Not saying it's why you should watch, but to shorten the tree just to expedite the process cheapens the thrill IMO. I want to see the road to the million...it's like me watching my football team play in the Super Bowl without seeing how they got to that point, or watching some college squad win the National Championship without at least watching the March Madness road to the Final Four.

/Just my two copper Lincolns

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'CarShark\' post=\'224677\' date=\'Sep 1 2009, 01:11 PM\']10 $1 MILLION[/quote]Unless you have a bunch of PHBs running the show, game shows rarely come about by accident. Things are tested to see what works, what doesn't, and what people liked. Before the show went to series, the producers fiddled around with a twenty-question game, with prizes from £10 and redoubling up to 5.2 million pounds. Other early contenders were £25 up to 13 million. There was also £100 to £52m, as well as twenty-one questions from £1 and doubling up.

But they eventually came up with fifteen questions because they thought it would make the best show.

The first five serve as a practice round, to familiarize players with the chair, the screen, the surroundings, and so on. And a chance to get in some humor before the "real" game begins. (And if the contestant really believes that the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the fire escape, well, tough beans.) To squeeze the game like that removes that practice portion of the game, and I don't think that's fair to the contestant.


[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'224762\' date=\'Sep 2 2009, 06:34 PM\']Jeopardy![/i] (Gotta get those insipid VH1 shows in there somewhere I guess!)[/quote]I think this is a brilliant point, and should not be overlooked. The money has meaning; it is not just numbers on a board.