Millionaire matter of opinion question, contestants only please.

[PYLdude]

I made a brief mention of this in the recap thread for Thursday's show, and am going to attempt to indulge my curiosity.

I don't know exactly how many Millionaire alums we have but they span the generations, for lack of a better term (as in playing the original version with Regis and Meredith, clock version, and Randoquiz with all three of the hosts that presided over it).

So let me pose a couple of questions.

Question one, what did you feel while you were sitting/standing center stage? For example, were you nervous, were you excited, were you worried as to how you might come off once you saw yourself, etc.

And question two, how do you imagine things might have gone if you played in one of the other eras? Meaning how do the Hot Seaters think they might have performed in the shuffle era and vice versa, if the setting was changed?

(unasterisked now that we have a rep from Chris Harrison era)

[tvmitch]

I was a contestant on the primetime show back in April 2000. (Almost 16 years ago! Insanity!) My answers might be disappointing for this thread, though...

1. I did not make it out of the Fastest Finger circle in the two opportunities I had on the show. The only time I sat at center stage was when we were in rehearsal, and practicing how to get into the hot seat without falling down. For what it's worth, I remember being a complete nervous wreck for the entire show. I was very excited to have won the phone game lottery to get on the show, but very nervous.

2. I was never a huge fan of the shuffle era; I think I would have done alright, but there were quite a few times I remember watching the shuffle shows to see contestants derailed by tough questions very early on, so it's hard to say. I think I would have done very well with the clock era, that was my favorite of the rule tweaks.

I will say that a regret that I have from my appearance is not putting all my time and energy into practicing fastest finger type questions. I wish I would have worked on my speed to work out those questions as fast as possible, rather than trying to study up on facts.

[DoorNumberFour]

Sat in the hot seat across from Meredith in October of 2009 (aired January 2010), under the clock format.

1) I cared zero about how I would come off on TV or how well I would do (as evidenced by how well I did, apparently). My goal wasn't to win a million dollars, as silly as that may sound; my goal was to get on the show, meet Meredith, and play the game. I mean, winning big money would have been great, but I wasn't stressing it. I was so excited to be in that studio, I was deaf to everything else.

2) If there had been no clock, I think I would have made it a bit further up the ladder. I think the idea of time running out on me spooked me a bit, which is why I walked away with 15k instead of just hazarding a guess. If it was back in the day, and I could have sat for however long I wanted to while I reasoned the question out, I probably would have gotten it. But I have zero regrets.

[tomobrien]

As one of the dinosaurs from the Regis era (June 2000)...

1) Excited, of course, but my goal was to keep my wits about me while sitting in the hot seat. I came really close to llama-ing and that actually helped me focus more on the following questions.

2) I can't even imagine playing in the shuffle era.  That format of the game just didn't make any sense to me.

[Brandon Brooks]

Long time lurker, even longer time member.  I was on during Meredith's last season.

1) Nervous.  As.  Hell.  I was freaking out to meet Meredith and to be on TV.  The fact that it was never truly quiet (there was always mumbling, you just don't hear it on camera) added to my nerves.  I was sweating bullets, but I made sure to wear proper clothing that I wouldn't sweat through.

2) I would've won much more money if I wasn't playing during the "Super Mix" era, without a doubt.  I crashed I think at question 10, and all I got was a lousy grand.

[PYLdude]

As always, any input I get is appreciated. Thanks a bunch, fellas.

Far as I go, I can relate to Brandon's experience well because that's almost to a T what I went through. Although I didn't hear much in the way of sounds, from offstage chatter to music. Was still exciting, and I was glad to have gotten the chance to be there. And I got to meet a lot of interesting people, too.

If I had been on in the Hot Seat era, I don't know for sure how I'd have handled it. I was looking forward to the Fastest Finger game had I been chosen to play Super Millionaire in '04, though, because I thought I had gotten that part down at least.

I really didn't like the clock format and considering how nervous I can get sometimes when the pressure is on, you probably would've seen me llama if I was on in that era of the show. I honestly believe I'd have been that nervous. Without the clock, I think I might've done about as well as I did moneywise (well, at least before I crapped out), but who knows?

[Clay Zambo]

Nervous and delighted, having a blast (until I wasn't), trying to take it all in, trying to remember it was just a game, the whole freaking gamut of emotions. Including despair, not just at screwing up my one-last-chance at a Fastest Finger question but at realizing that in order for there to *be* the Fastest Finger question I screwed up I'd had to root against the current Hot Seat holder, a guy I'd gotten to know just a little and liked.

I think I'd do better in any version of the game that didn't have a clock, but it's highly unlikely I'd've been chosen as a contestant: back in the Fastest Finger era, middle-aged white guys were contestants with far more regularity than they've been since. Ah, well.

[GiraffeBoy]

The "Play It!" attraction in Anaheim in 2004. Host: Ken Parks.

(1) I felt excited, expecting a fun game, hoping to get through 10 questions and win the polo shirt. Sitting in the Hot Seat felt being a goldfish in a fishbowl with 500-600 looking down at you. There were TV screens showing the proceedings in the studio. I didn't worry too much about how I saw myself. I just wanted to have fun.

(2) Had I played on the real show, given the same stack, I probably would've gone for Question 12 to secure $125K, but #13 was much too hard and I wouldn't have risked $93-$100K to answer it. But in Anaheim, I was only playing for Disney pins, so, what the heck?

--Charlie

[Kevin Prather]

When I was standing across from Chris, I was actually far more focused than I ever thought I'd be. The producers, and particularly the producer assigned to me, were great at making sure I was prepared before going out on stage. Having Jason Block as my Plus One was also very valuable to me. He's a great guy and he was a wonderful coach, and who better than someone who has done it before, and done it well?

Except for hearing the cheers, you almost forget the audience is even there during each question. The way the lighting is situated, along with the haze in the room, you can barely see shadows of people in the audience, but no faces are distinguishable. I don't remember if there was any mumbling going on. If there was, I didn't hear it. I really feel like when I stopped talking, you could hear a pin drop.

I wasn't terribly worried about how I would come across on TV. The producers promised that if we said or did anything too awkward, they would edit around it. They said their job was to make us look as good as possible, and I'd say they do a damn good job of it. Of course, I braced myself for the friendly ribbing I knew I'd get from friends and family over the questions I didn't know, but I embrace that as part of the experience.

I don't know if I would have done better or worse on Shuffle. On the one hand, Shuffle made it easier to slop in to big money quickly. You could blow out all the lifelines early and walk away on question three, but if you got a good draw on the values, you could be walking with $20,000. On the other hand, getting any question wrong in round one means only $1,000. A far cry from $5,000, and if you traveled to be there, your trip would be in the red.

All in all, I'll echo the sentiments of the previous posters in this thread. No regrets at all.

[Thunder]

... along with the haze in the room, you can barely see shadows of people in the audience, but no faces are distinguishable...

What's the source of that haze? A fog machine?

[Kevin Prather]

... along with the haze in the room, you can barely see shadows of people in the audience, but no faces are distinguishable...

What's the source of that haze? A fog machine?

A fog machine, I'm pretty sure.

[PYLdude]

... along with the haze in the room, you can barely see shadows of people in the audience, but no faces are distinguishable...

What's the source of that haze? A fog machine?

A fog machine, I'm pretty sure.

I read somewhere (Wikipedia, so take it as you will) that the haze isn't from a fog machine but instead from a treatment they put on the lights themselves, so it's more like steam rising.

From what I also read, the higher up you got, the more dramatic the effect would be because the lights would be turned up brighter.

Like I said, grains of salt and all...

[MSTieScott]

I've never been to Millionaire, but on every show I've worked that had Millionaire-style lighting, there were always fog machines in the studio. The light beams from the Vari-Lites don't look like complete columns without some kind of particles in the air to illuminate.