My first words upon reading the press release were "Are we
sure Fremantle has nothing to do with this?", quickly followed by "Are we
sure the show isn't trying to kill itself?"
Now, the first question of the game could be worth $25,000 and quite possibly paired with the easiest question of the day. Conversely, contestants could end up facing a more difficult question attached to a lower dollar amount – or anything in between!
Seriously, what the hell?! That's not exciting; that's completely and utterly overhauling the gameplay into a mess that promises a trainwreck (as has been explained above) and problems similar to the 50:50 in its last 1-2 seasons.
The legendary “Millionaire” Hot Seat is gone and both the contestant and host Meredith Vieira will now stand throughout the show, allowing for more personal interaction and uninhibited emotion as the contestant accumulates winnings.
This is the exact same thing Michael Davies did with his most recent
Pyramid pilots, claiming it would "bring the show to its feet". Why are shows so concerned with having people stand all the time?! And with the new set you might as well oust Meredith, strap the contestant to a bed, and have the computer host the show.
[T]his upcoming year promises to be a real game changer! From the very first question, viewers will see more strategy, unpredictability, excitement and tension ... the same great [show], but with some new twists and turns that will add even more risk, reward and fun.
From the very first question, I see the money and difficulty being almost entirely irrelevant to each other, resulting in a very uneven playing field from game to game. I see high risks on low rewards (and vice versa), with lowest-common-denominator questions making some obscenely-rich while others have to forfeit half their "earnings" just to quit on a super-hard question worth $100; and I definitely see no fun in getting rid of Ask The Expert, Double Dip, and the show's centerpiece for no discernible reason...
All this said, I will watch this year -- if for no other reason than to watch a trainwreck. :-) A shame, though -- before this plethora of changes,
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was pretty awesome.