Author Topic: Millionaire question... (about using questions) (Read 1987 times)

cmjb13 · « **on:** October 12, 2006, 08:41:42 AM »

Say Bill makes it to the $500,000 question and walks. Mike is the next contestant. If Mike makes it to the $1M question, does he get the question Bill would have gotten or are there all new questions for new contestants?

Ian Wallis · « **Reply #1 on:** October 12, 2006, 08:52:25 AM »

Quote

Say Bill makes it to the $500,000 question and walks. Mike is the next contestant. If Mike makes it to the $1M question, does he get the question Bill would have gotten or are there all new questions for new contestants?

I think it's pretty well been determined that each contestant gets a completely new stack, so it would be a different question. Any un-used questions would later be put in a new stack, but at the rate they're going, they're not going to use very many $1M questions anyway!

clemon79 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 12, 2006, 09:18:44 AM »

I thought we'd entertained the possibility that the questions all came from a central database, separated by level. (At least, from $50K forward.) 'Cuz you never know where someone's gonna Flip.

tpirfan28 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 12, 2006, 09:58:32 AM »

Well, I have my copy of the first "Millionaire" book...and here's the excerpt on questions...

"Questions are grouped in stacks of fifteen questions--the ladder to $1,000,000. The actual stacks to be used in each show are selected daily at random by ABC's Broadcast Standards and Practices representative."

Now, I'm sure that probably has changed, with the advent of Switch the Question. I would think the stacks still exist, and the Switch questions are a special bank themselves.

MSTieScott · « **Reply #4 on:** October 12, 2006, 01:17:49 PM »

Personally, I'm leaning toward the theory of "randomly selected, but within broad categories so the contestant doesn't get something like three movie questions in a row." There was one episode this season where a contestant received two different questions in two different tiers with "nutcracker" as an answer choice (one referring to the object and one referring to the ballet) and it seems like they wouldn't have let that happen if they were handcrafting each stack of 15 questions.

--
Scott Robinson

goongas · « **Reply #5 on:** October 12, 2006, 03:03:18 PM »

At one of the tapings of the syndicated version I have attended, I thought I saw the standards and practices lawyer holding the questions in his hand. The stacks are set in advance. They do this I am guessing so there could be no switching of questions by the control room as the game is progressing (e.g., this contestant is doing too well, give him/her an impossible question). I believe I read the UK version of Millionaire initially picked the questions at random as the game progressed, but if they still do this I don't know. Also, the order of contestants is random as well, set in advance.

Clay Zambo · « **Reply #6 on:** October 12, 2006, 03:48:25 PM »

[quote name=\'goongas\' post=\'134277\' date=\'Oct 12 2006, 03:03 PM\']
Also, the order of contestants is random as well, set in advance.
[/quote]

Well, which is it? Random, or set in advance?

goongas · « **Reply #7 on:** October 12, 2006, 03:54:31 PM »

[quote name=\'Clay Zambo\' post=\'134286\' date=\'Oct 12 2006, 03:48 PM\']
[quote name=\'goongas\' post=\'134277\' date=\'Oct 12 2006, 03:03 PM\']
Also, the order of contestants is random as well, set in advance.
[/quote]

Well, which is it? Random, or set in advance?
[/quote]

It is random. I meant to say the random drawing takes place before the taping begins for the day.