Author Topic: Millionaire just isin't the same (Read 7937 times)

BrandonFG · « **Reply #15 on:** December 04, 2009, 06:06:28 PM »

[quote name=\'petek66\' post=\'231602\' date=\'Dec 4 2009, 11:16 AM\'][quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'231596\' date=\'Dec 4 2009, 02:48 AM\'][quote name=\'petek66\' post=\'231592\' date=\'Dec 3 2009, 10:29 PM\']this Million Dollar Tournament did end up generating some serious suspense at the end.[/quote]
In what WORLD is "I quit. #7 wins." suspenseful AT ALL?
[/quote]

Did you even see the program? She was hovering over the right answer,
down to the final ten seconds. A simple "C Final Answer" and she wins a
MILLION DOLLARS and another guy loses a MILLION DOLLARS in the same
moment. Maybe they should have cut to a commercial with a "we'll find out
the answer... RIGHT AFTER THIS" and today's audiences would find it
suspenseful.
[/quote]
I watched the clip of the win...I found it completely anticlimactic, and extremely confusing. To me, the show wanted to break the losing streak, and took a desperate measure that was one notch higher than what Donnymid did: give the $1 million away to say you did so. That does nothing to excite me, esp. given that it went down exactly as Chris described it. I think I smiled for about half a second, then went on about my life, completely unfazed.

Joe Mello · « **Reply #16 on:** December 04, 2009, 07:25:32 PM »

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'231633\' date=\'Dec 4 2009, 06:06 PM\']I watched the clip of the win...I found it completely anticlimactic, and extremely confused.[/quote]
Watched it live, and the only thing that was interesting about it was that it went down to the wire. I wasn't sure which would've been worse: the win by concession or for her to get the million and have Mr. Murray left holding the bag.

I'm sure this made money for the show; ratings were up, and they saved probably 3-3.5 regular shows worth of material (and contestants), but this was at the price of reducing the non-tournament game to little more than an afterthought to make room for a stunt that had way too many things going against it and was one man short of falling completely on its face.

I'm on Joe's side. There comes a point where the profits don't justify the product. I don't consider myself a fan of soccer or Charlize Theron, but the World Cup Draw was more interesting than Millionaire, even with Regis.

/Though I don't know why Regis makes it better.
//And I may become a Theron fan.

petek66 · « **Reply #17 on:** December 04, 2009, 07:57:19 PM »

I am not defending the stunt. I merely claim that the end was suspenseful.
I agree the aftermath-- celebrating a winner who answered his
question days ago-- was awkward and not exciting. I would rather see a real
million dollar winner who didn't have the benefit of modified rules or dumbed
down question stacks to make it happen.

J.R. · « **Reply #18 on:** December 04, 2009, 08:25:22 PM »

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'231634\' date=\'Dec 4 2009, 06:25 PM\']I wasn't sure which would've been worse: the win by concession or for her to get the million and have Mr. Murray left holding the bag.[/quote]
Or the incredibly awkward possibility that she goes for it, is incorrect and a stumbley "Oh, sorry, you just lost $225,000... hey someone else wins the tournament thanks to your failure!"

I was like Brandon. After the million was won, I barley cracked a smile or showed any real emotion whatsoever. I just sorta went "Ah, congrats to him" and turned the TV off.

The "tournament" idea just plain sucked.

clemon79 · « **Reply #19 on:** December 04, 2009, 08:35:47 PM »

[quote name=\'petek66\' post=\'231637\' date=\'Dec 4 2009, 04:57 PM\']I am not defending the stunt. I merely claim that the end was suspenseful.[/quote]
And you are entitled to that claim, and I invite you to defend it. In the meantime everyone else seems to disagree with it.

MizzouRah! · « **Reply #20 on:** December 05, 2009, 06:50:08 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'231644\' date=\'Dec 4 2009, 08:35 PM\'][quote name=\'petek66\' post=\'231637\' date=\'Dec 4 2009, 04:57 PM\']I am not defending the stunt. I merely claim that the end was suspenseful.[/quote]
And you are entitled to that claim, and I invite you to defend it. In the meantime everyone else seems to disagree with it.
[/quote]
So I've wondered how this would have played out if someone had run the board and won the million during the qualifying time. Obviously the odds were highly against a daily million winner, but would they have placed this person at the top of the chain and given them a chance to risk $975,000 for an additional million? Unless they asked what color is an orange, I can't imagine anyone risking this, so day 10 would have had all the excitement of watching paint dry.

TLEberle · « **Reply #21 on:** December 05, 2009, 06:54:37 PM »

[quote name=\'MizzouRah!\' post=\'231679\' date=\'Dec 5 2009, 03:50 PM\']So I've wondered how this would have played out if someone had run the board and won the million during the qualifying time. Obviously the odds were highly against a daily million winner, but would they have placed this person at the top of the chain and given them a chance to risk $975,000 for an additional million? Unless they asked what color is an orange, I can't imagine anyone risking this, so day 10 would have had all the excitement of watching paint dry.[/quote]It was my understanding that a $1m winner during the tournament period meant that there would be no tournament.

clemon79 · « **Reply #22 on:** December 05, 2009, 07:33:26 PM »

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'231680\' date=\'Dec 5 2009, 03:54 PM\']It was my understanding that a $1m winner during the tournament period meant that there would be no tournament.[/quote]
Wow, I bet THAT would have been a fun phone call to make.

"Hi, Phil? Yeah, you know that tournament you qualified to play in? Well, we, erm, we're not doing it anymore. Yeah, someone else won, so we don't need to do the ratings stunt. Kthxbye."

BrandonFG · « **Reply #23 on:** December 06, 2009, 03:55:57 AM »

I'm thinking about this, and I haven't followed the show closely enough to know how everything worked, but to me, this cheapened the thrill mainly because it cut some serious corners for the route to the million.

John Carpenter's win was thrilling, and not just because it was something you hadn't seen before. Doug Van Gundy and Michael Shutterly were also cool to watch because you were watching everyday people sweat out difficult trivia, one step at a time. Even three-and-a-half years later, well after the shelf life expired for big money game shows, when Nancy and Kevin won their money, it was still an exciting process. The one thing I always liked about Millionaire was that they never resorted to blatant gimmicks...I could even forgive that progressive jackpot from 2001.

I understand the show wanted to break a nearly seven-year drought, but they went about it the wrong way. I'm happy for the gentleman who won this tournament, but it still leaves me a bit soured. Even if someone had won by answering the question outright, the effort to win $1 million isn't nearly as exciting of those who won between 1999-2003. Even the guy who went for it during anniversary week and lost had a more exciting run...

Other than making the questions considerably easier, there is no way you can guarantee someone winning a million dollars without making it look contrived. Even if they took a cue from The $50/100K Pyramid, and had tournament contestants compete until someone wins, it would still undercut all the 15-question wins. However, I wouldn't feel as apathetic watching a clip...

Chuck Sutton · « **Reply #24 on:** December 08, 2009, 12:29:50 PM »

Well it was dropped last week without comment. It was back this week without comment. I don't think it was a rerun, it was not listed as one, and I hope I would remember the two middle players if it was.

Either the episodes are filmed out of order, or they just wanted to keep Regis a secret, until just before it aired, and they were afraid phone a friends were five or six more people that could leak it.

Joe Mello · « **Reply #25 on:** December 08, 2009, 12:48:43 PM »

[quote name=\'Chuck Sutton\' post=\'231852\' date=\'Dec 8 2009, 12:29 PM\']Either the episodes are filmed out of order[/quote]
This. I think it was even the most recently-taped episodes, too.

MSTieScott · « **Reply #26 on:** December 08, 2009, 09:31:36 PM »

[quote name=\'Chuck Sutton\' post=\'231852\' date=\'Dec 8 2009, 12:29 PM\']Well it was dropped last week without comment. It was back this week without comment. I don't think it was a rerun,[/quote]
I saw the tail end of Regis on "Millionaire" on Friday (I assume it was the Friday episode), and didn't it end with a contestant in the middle of a game? I also want to say Regis even mentioned that the contestant would be back with Meredith on Monday.

Am I making up memories, or did the contestant simply not appear on Monday's episode (which would lead me to believe that the episodes were taped out of order)?

xavier45 · « **Reply #27 on:** December 08, 2009, 10:24:38 PM »

[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' post=\'231940\' date=\'Dec 8 2009, 09:31 PM\'][quote name=\'Chuck Sutton\' post=\'231852\' date=\'Dec 8 2009, 12:29 PM\']Well it was dropped last week without comment. It was back this week without comment. I don't think it was a rerun,[/quote]
I saw the tail end of Regis on "Millionaire" on Friday (I assume it was the Friday episode), and didn't it end with a contestant in the middle of a game? I also want to say Regis even mentioned that the contestant would be back with Meredith on Monday.
[/quote]
You are not imagining things. It all happened.