Millionaire question

[wwtbam]

Hi gang,
I tried out for Who Wants to be a Millionaire a couple of weeks ago, and made it into the Contestant Player Pool.  Now, all I have to do is wait for a phone call telling me when I'll be on, should they choose to use me.  Does anyone have any idea how much warning they'll give me before they want me there?  A couple of days?  A week?  More?

Also, if anyone is really good in the areas of history, pop culture (especially movies), literature, and/or fast, effective search engine use , and is interested in being a phone friend, drop me a line at wwtbam2003@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

[goongas]

I know of someone that got called early last week for a taping date of September 10.  I don't know if they will keep that much time between calls and appearances in the future.

Goongas

[Peter Sarrett]

In my case, I got called on a Thursday, and they flew me out the following Monday.  Other people in my contestant group claimed they had even less notice.

My advice is to line up your lifelines NOW (you get 5), and have a couple as backups in case someone in your top 5 isn't available when you actually get called.

Good luck!

  - Peter

[Timsterino]

It seems from your \"Phone a Friend\" request that you are on the right track.  From what I hear it is not that much different now then in the Primetime days (other than the issue of now having to pay and arrange your own way to NYC). I was called for the Primetime show on 7/17/01 and it taped 7/25/01. As Goongas stated with the person called already, I have a feeling they are giving more notice now that people have to make their own travel arrangements.

As Peter stated, get your \"Phone a Friends\" lined up now. Concentrate on your weaknesses and make sure that you have at least one person with a high speed Internet connection and is competent with Googling things (in case they do not know the question).

Congratulations on making the contestant pool! With WWTBAM, once you make the pool you stand a very good shot of getting called for the show. That is why it is so prudent to get prepared now.

Good Luck!
Tim :-)

[vtown7]

Curiosity question - does the PaF have to be from the US? I know that you have to be a US citizen to be a contestant, otherwise I would have driven the 3 hours to Buffalo last summer to try out.

Cheers,

Ryan

[Pointdread]

Congrats on your selection.  I'd say line up those PAF's now, ASAP, as others have suggested, b/c it probably takes a while to get sufficient variability in your group to tackle the many doozies they might throw at you from pop culture to kitchen chemistry.  FWIW, I'd be happy to volunteer as a PAF for you myself.  I'm not so great at pop culture (O.K. at music but terrible at everything else) but pretty good at academic material-- history, science, geography, etc.  (4-time Jeopardy! champ a few years ago.)  Feel free to Email me at pointdread@mail.com

Just out of curiosity-- were you picked for the contestant pool the first time you passed the test (i.e., your first audition with the producers)?  I've passed the test twice so far this summer and had two auditions, but in neither case was I selected for the contestant pool.  Nothing special in my case-- I'm a 20something WM and never did a FF round during the network show.  Was on J! many years back but nothing since.  I was pretty tired in both tryouts (had to work late the day before), and auditions went O.K-- not terrific, but not bad either.  I just wonder if it usually takes a few attempts before the producers select you; I get the sense that only 20-25% or so of the folks who pass the test in any given tryout, if even that many, get the postcard selecting them.  

In any case, good luck, and again, I'd be happy to help out as a PAF.

[wwtbam]

Thanks for all your input.  I'm thinking that the timeframe would be more along the lines of goongas' friend.  Since contestants are now arranging our own transportation, it seems only common courtesy for them to give us plenty of warning.  Nonetheless, I will be sure to have at least five people lined up before they start taping September 3, one of whom would certainly be a competent Googler, regardless of his own knowledge base.

The only restrictions the official rules mention about PaFs are that they can't use cell phones and a person can only be a PaF twice per season.  I see no reason I wouldn't be able to call a Canadian, if I so choose.

Thanks for the offer, Pointdread.  It seems as though there's quite a bit of overlap in our knowledge bases, but I'll keep you in mind when assembling my list.

It was my third game show tryout, first at Millionaire (the others were Pyramid and Hollywood Squares - I passed both tests but never got called).  I didn't think the interview went particularly well, but apparently they liked my story (which seems to be the most important thing to them), so I got the favorable postcard.

Would anyone care to put a number on my chances of getting on the show?  50%?  75%?

Thanks!

[Timsterino]

[quote name=\'wwtbam\' date=\'Aug 20 2003, 01:11 AM\'] Would anyone care to put a number on my chances of getting on the show?  50%?  75%?

Thanks! [/quote]
I would put the percentage at about an 85% now that you have that golden postcard. But do not hold me to that. ;-)

By the way, I sent you e-mail to Yahoo with more information.

Tim :-)

[goongas]

At my tryout yesterday, someone asked one of the producers how much lead time you get from getting the call to tape date, and he said about three weeks.

Eric

[DrJWJustice]

Well, I've got master's degrees in political science and history, and I'm finishing up my Ph.D. in political science.   I may be able to help you in thiose areas.