Millionaire Returns To Escalating Money Tree, Revives 50:50 For New Season

[BrandonFG]

Interesting that you can whiff the first question and still walk away with more money. That said, I do like the $1,000 house minimum. Will a contestant still have to forfeit half of his or her jackpot for walking? I never was a big fan of that rule.

Wouldn't mind seeing them ditch the "theme song". I found it completely generic and forgettable.

[TLEberle]

Will a contestant still have to forfeit his or her jackpot for walking? I never was a big fan of that rule.

I have to think that rule is going to disappear as well, because you wouldn't have dollar figures that climb if that was the case.

What's curious to me is that I thought the Super Mix format was created because the production company couldn't use the original recipe formula. What happened to change that? Sure, there's one fewer question and the money climb is different, but just about anybody would look at the new format and say it is very similar to what we first saw in 1999.

[BrandonFG]

I think your point still applies, but I modified my post to say "half of his or her jackpot".

[TLEberle]

I think your point still applies, but I modified my post to say "half of his or her jackpot".

Right, I think it's gone back to the old way that you can stop with the actual value of the last question you answered correctly.

[chad1m]

Correct. If the contestant has correctly answered the question worth $10,000 and chooses to walk away instead of answering the question valued at $20,000, he/she will receive $10,000.

[PYLdude]

I'm also curious to see why they're suddenly allowed to use the old format again as opposed to Randoquiz. Was there a moratorium in place?

And count me in the camp of liking the current theme better than the old one.

[Johnissoevil]

Starting this fall, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire has eliminated the randomized dollar figures, returned to an escalating money tree and replaced Jump the Question with 50:50. More details have been posted in an article on my blog:

http://chadmosher.com/wordpress/millionaire-roots/

Does placing the show closer to its original form make you more likely to watch?

I never stopped watching despite the change.  But it's nice to see the show revert the money structure back to what it was, and good to see 50/50 reinstated.

[narzo]

and off it goes to 1am in Austin, from 3pm, so Tyra's new talk show can have a home. 

[Marc412]

It'll come on at 1AM in Philly too, where it used to air at 2PM.

[MikeK]

Consider yourself lucky.  Millionaire won't be seen at all in Cleveland after next Friday, for a second stint in the last 5 years.

[PYLdude]

In New York, Millionaire is moving to a new station (sorta).

WLNY, now the sister station to original syndie Millionaire home WCBS, will be airing the double run weekday afternoons beginning at 4:00 PM. This will replace The Queen Latifah Show, which occupied that spot and only that spot after WCBS dropped it in favor of adding Hot Bench in its place. It also puts Millionaire back in Judge Judy's crosshairs for the first tine since 2003.

WABC will keep the show for a twelfth consecutive season, but like WPVI is reducing the episodes to the late night airing. The show's also moving back twenty-eight minutes and will air at 1:35 AM, replacing the Live Well and Byron Allen shows that occupied the slot since the station dropped Scrubs two years ago. I don't know what, at the moment, is taking its 1:07 slot. They're obviously not expanding Nightline, so I would figure it's a flip flop of the timeslots, sight unseen.

Similar things happening in Lalawood, as KDOC is doing the same thing that WLNY is while KABC keeps the late night airing.

KTRK is also reducing to late night, KFSN is keeping the show at 11:30 AM, and KGO and WTVD are keeping the double runs. WLS doesn't air the show.

[BrandonFG]

According to the TV Guide online listings, it stays put in the 12:00 hour on WVBT, but I found out there's going to be a 2:30 pm episode on WNLO. The thing is, WNLO is the CW affiliate...for Buffalo.

How that showed up in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach listings, I have no idea. :-P

[PYLdude]

Update to my previous post: apparently WABC is making the 1:07 to 1:35 Millionaire move on Monday.

So their post-primetime is going to look like this:

11:00- Eyewitness News
11:35- Jimmy Kimmel Live
12:35- Nightline
1:05- Eyewitness News rebroadcast (had been airing at 2:07 AM)
1:35- Millionaire
2:05- OK! TV (new pickup, WLNY dropped the show after airing it since the premiere)
2:35- World News Now

I'm assuming that after next week, the Daytime Jeopardy! experiment is over, right?

[J.R.]

According to the official site, it appears that "Millionaire" will make its return after a multi-year absence to the Des Moines market.

It will air on KDSM 17 (Fox affiliate) at 8:00 AM and 3:30 PM.

[bosox1256]

Millionaire is out in Providence this year, WJAR replacing it with "Crime Watch Daily", a new show.