Super Millionare

[Timsterino]

[quote name=\'gameshowhost1\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 11:50 PM\'] Are the 3 Wise Men going to change nightly? [/quote]
Yes, they are to change nightly. Also, the "three wise men" see the question when the 30 second clock starts (as Regis reads it), this news is from Nancy Christy directly.

Tim :-)

[Clay Zambo]

[quote name=\'JRaygor\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 10:53 PM\'] Personally, I think they could of toned down the flash down a tad. All the huge ultra-bright lights and the 360 spin after the $100K almost gave me a headache and feeling of wooziness.

They also, IMO, went overboard with the dramatic music in the upper-tier. [/quote]
 I'm pretty sure that's exactly the intent.  And if you think that white lighting made you woozy, I guar-oonnn-TEE it freaks out the Hot Seat player even more.  Which is the intent, too.  (And, yes, I know, the HS player doesn't see the camera shot--but s/he hears and sees the camera itself, which is probably just as bad.)

All in all, I'd say the production effects are as over-the-top as the original seemed in '99. Which, again, is exactly what the staff intended.

Good job, folks.

'Course, I'm still a little peeved that I didn't get into today's taping after all.  (Demand is exceeding supply by a huge margin, according to a PA--way more than they'd expected.)

[tommycharles]

[quote name=\'Game Show Man\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 10:40 PM\'] Thank God for DirecTV, I'll say that right now.

I actually still like Meredith Vieira better, but Reege still rocks the house.  He's definitely had time to refine his technique.

A thought: supposedly Keith and Matthew Strachan, the guys who wrote the show's musical score, wrote many cues we've never heard.  I'm guessing the stuff we heard tonight was among them.  I seriously hope we never hear the question 15 loss cue; it hurts the soul just to hear it on the score CD...I think it's only been used ONCE in the entire world, hasn't it?

"Game Show Man" Joe Van Ginkel [/quote]
 Hmm...I'm not going to look it up, but if I remember correctly it was used twice on the Indian version.....consecutively.

[Blanquepage]

Hmm...I'm not going to look it up, but if I remember correctly it was used twice on the Indian version.....consecutively

Twice on the Indian version consecutively, at least once in Poland on a children's edition (I obtained and posted a clip a long while ago), and at least twice in Japan.

I'd definitely shell out the cash for a "Super Millionaire" soundtrack CD if there ever is one...which I kinda doubt, but a nice thought.

--Jamie

[gameshowguy2000]

[quote name=\'Timsterino\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 10:03 PM\'] [quote name=\'gameshowhost1\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 11:50 PM\'] Are the 3 Wise Men going to change nightly? [/quote]
Yes, they are to change nightly. Also, the "three wise men" see the question when the 30 second clock starts (as Regis reads it), this news is from Nancy Christy directly.

Tim :-) [/quote]
 Speaking of Nancy, she was on tonight's show.

The "Double Dip" symbol is "x2", with the "x" overlapping the left part of the 2.

Just like the traditional 3 lifelines, the Double Dip and 3 Wise Men lifelines can each be used only once, and the red "X" will cover the ones used.

Once the $100K mark is reached, only the upper tier is seen, with the 5 lifelines on top. In the Middle and Lower tiers, you'll see sparkles on those last 5 figures.

[gtbecbp]

Incredible show, the music and graphics were tastefully revamped.  Regis has gotten better at suspense, and was "on" toinight, despite his illness. (food poisioning, for those who don't know)  I loved the execution of the two new lifelines, very classy.   I was a little peeved that the FF contestants were no't inroduced one by one, which took some of the drama away.  Did the top 5 numbers of the money tree need to sparkle the whole time before the 500K question?  Just a couple of stupid complaints about an incredible show!!!!!!

Ben

[Little Big Brother]

The "WOW" in the sub-heading seems like a drastic understatement, IMHO ;-)

I actually thought the questions seemed about on the same level as Syndie Millionaire and was expecting them to be a bit more difficult in the middle tier.  I also wasn't expecting there to be "goofy" answers in the lower tier (answer D. usually).

The new lifelines are a lot more interesting than I thought they would be.  3WM had a lot more flair than I was expecting, though it did border on over-dramatic.  I think rather than having the clock start after the question is read, the contestant should be the one who reads the question, making it more like an in-studio phone a friend.  When Reege took 15 seconds to read the question, my immediate action was "what a rip!"

I liked the music and sound cues associated with DD.  After the contestant confirmed and the music switched, it felt like there was a timer associated with the question, adding a pressure that isn't even there.  Fantastic!

I agree that the flash and spinning after the $100k was a bit much.  I was wondering when they were going to stop spiralling or if they were going to go to commercial.  A little much, but since it was the first one it was sorta justified.

My main hope is that the editing is a little tighter as the series progresses.  12 questions should not take 45 minutes, but given that a number of things had to be explained, exceptions are in order.

But yeah, WOW.

[gameshowguy2000]

Speaking of the music, they've beefed up the music on the lower tier. The middle and upper tier music hasn't changed.

And the lighting, again, Neato!

In addition, they've used the graphics from the Syndie version, as well as the set.

[brianhenke]

I liked it, but I agree it was like going to a high school reunion (my 20th is this year - I was the king of trivia, even getting a Trivial Pursuit game)...everything was older and different-looking than you remember.

   The $500K question was difficult (two of the shows were on Fox - hint, hint) and the MDQ was way difficult than Michael Shutterly's question about Jethro Tull in 1999.

    The pace was slow (what no Regis announcing all the contestants?), but with Regis sick, I can understand. Hopefully, the week will be faster-paced and will ignite a mania not seen since the show's heady days. It won't be like five years ago, but it can be a good-sized hit and pave the way for ABC's Oscar telecast next week. (See America's Funniest Home Videos for an example.  Once a big hit, it lost viewers dramatically after Daisy Fuentes became the co-host. Tom Bergeron does it now, but it doesn't get the big numbers now.)

    Brian

    Wary blue waters?

    We want some more pro wrestling (STILL) and NASCAR questions - and congratulations for 2003 Cup champ and Pyramid player Matt Kenseth for winning the Subway 400!

[rugrats1]

See America's Funniest Home Videos for an example. Once a big hit, it lost viewers dramatically after Daisy Fuentes became the co-host. Tom Bergeron does it now, but it doesn't get the big numbers now.

But how does Tom compare to Bob Saget?

[wxfrcaster]

I too thought the questions were about par for their positions on Syndie Millionaire.  For me, at least, I wouldn't have had to use a lifeline for any the questions we saw in the first stack.  Of course, having just seen a History Channel documentary on Amelia Earhart; watching Star Trek:TNG for the brain question (thanks Data!); and being a fan of Herman's Head, I guess I am a victim of the "it's only easy if you know the answers" syndrome.

With that said, I would have had to use a lifeline in the second stack.  I guess the first stack fell more in my knowledge area than the second.

All in all, I think ABC has done a good job with Super Millionaire.  I felt the same excitement as I did with the original series - and knowing more money is on the line DID raise the excitement level for me.

[Gromit]

The thing about the three wise men that bugged me was that even though it's the same timing and situation as PAF, with three folks there they need some discussion time. Maybe one of them actually knows the answer, but the other two take the 10 seconds after Regis is done reading. Or maybe if they pool their knowledge, they could come up with it, such as "I know it's not A or B"...

And even though they can read the question even while Regis is reading, they can't start discussion until he's done.

Pace seemed off a bit, I attribute that to the long break since Regis was doing it before. I really missed the introductions of everyone, we saw a few folks with their names, did we see them all? It still works better the old way even if they did.

I enjoyed it all in all. Makes me sad that they screwed around with the original though, it could have been a much longer running success than it was.

[Caustic Window]

I liked tonight's show a lot.  Good to have Millionare/Regis back in prime time.

Regis was in very good form I thought.  

Three Wise Men is cool.  I liked the mix of people they had for it.  However, I hated the contestant using this lifeline for the question about the condom commercial.  That question was clearly not up their alleys.  Yes, they did produce the correct answer, but it was a total guess and not really worth anything.  And look how much more useful the wise men would've been for the NEXT question.  There were no medical experts on the panel per se, but I think there's a decent chance one of them would've known it.  I just didn't think that was a good question to use the wise men lifeline on at all.  

The double dip - good enough lifeline, but are they really letting people use both that and the 50-50 on the same question?  That's lame!  I don't think there should ever be a free pass.  

Interesting that the contestant, when he was on the pangram question, said something like "ok I will trust that the 50-50 gives me truly random choices".  Say WHAT???  I thought it was well established that the 50-50 choices are determined ahead of time, and I would assume that contestants would be briefed on stuff like this.  What's the deal there?

[The Quizmaster]

I was a little disappointed. The pacing was too slow. The lower tier questions were WAY too easy. (This is SUPER Millionaire after all)  I was shocked that some of the contestants didn't even get their faces on screen. I'm hoping they work out the kinks on the next episode.

Considering that there is no risk of losing any money when you try for the $500,000 question, I think the extra lifelines shouldn't even be available until after that level has been reached. I found the whole thing a bit anticlimactic.

I'll also be taking Dramamine before watching tomorrow night. (oh, those crazy camera effects)    ;-)

[whampyl03]

Well, I'll pull out the grading scale of mine...

Set: Not much of a change between the syndie version and the primetime version, but the changes that I have seen made are excellent. Really love the chase-light audience stairs, and the tracked camera above the set.

Host: Despite the random voice cracks due to illness, Regis did a better hosting on WWTBASM? than on the original WWTBAM?, but was a tad rusty. (Which was expected.) I expect the improved Regis to shake off this rust by a few shows.

Gameplay: There were times were the pace really clicked, (See last 10 minutes of the show) and times where the pace REALLY dragged. (See new rule explanations, and the "New Dimension" introduction.) Personally, I really have gripes about the double-dip/50:50 loophole, but I don't see it being exploited anytime soon; I will not complain. Everything else was quite peachy.

Music: The old theme/cue package fit in very well, but some of the newer cues seemed to be out of place, although very well done and catchy.

Overall: ABC has a real winner here. 9 thumbs up. I loved it.