Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: US vs UK and other international versions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Wan....S._game_show)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Wan...(UK_game_show)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Wan...Millionaire%3F

I've watched clips of both the US and the UK versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, as well as clips of various other international versions of the show, and I noticed that the US version is very distinct from the other versions of the show around the world. Even from the very beginning, the advertising was different; the introductions were different, and the US online game was different from the European online games. The computer video game adaptations of the show were also different. The US game had a drastically different appearance from the European versions of the game. Generally, the European Millionaire games were not released in the US, and vice versa, until the advent of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Special Editions, which was released around 2012-2013, and was released worldwide. It was based on the original 15-question format, along with the classic three lifelines (50/50, Phone a Friend, and Ask the Audience), and although it was developed in the UK, it was released in the US.

In addition, the current US format of the game is very different from the rest of the world. The current format, called the "shuffle format," involves 14 questions distributed in two rounds. Round 1 consists of 10 questions of random difficulties and random monetary values ranging from $100 to $25,000. In this format, it is possible to get hard questions early worth very little, and easy questions later worth a lot. Correct answers accumulate money into a bank. An incorrect answer in round 1 sends the contestant packing with a $1,000 consolation prize. Round 2 consists of four questions of non-cumulative values, ranging from $100,000 to $1 million; an incorrect answer drops the contestant's winnings down to $25,000. The current lifelines are Ask the Audience, Jump the Question (which skips the question, but forfeits the money value behind it) and Plus One, which brings a friend who sits in the audience down to the podium to help the contestant. Note that the game is played standing up at a podium, and not sitting down in a hot seat like before.

By contrast, the UK version, and most other European versions, use a 12-question format that works much the same as the old 15 question format, only with 12 questions. The first two questions are worth £500 and £1,000. The next five questions range from £2,000 to £50,000. The last five questions range from £75,000 to £1 million. The lifelines are still the classic three lifelines: 50/50, Phone a Friend, and Ask the Audience.

Some versions also use time limits, which was first used by the US version in 2008, but is no longer is use in the US version after 2010. The UK used it starting in 2010, and others have since adopted it.

In addition, the music of the US version of the show is entirely new, and I have to say that I don't really like the new soundtrack, which is entirely different from the original soundtrack. The UK version also adopted a new soundtrack in 2007, but it is closer to the original in that it is a remix. It has an EDM feel to it. Look for the soundtracks for the US and UK versions of Millionaire and tell me what you think. I like the classic soundtrack the best, but I also like the 2007 UK EDM remix soundtrack too.

One of the reasons why I believe that the US version of Millionaire is very different from the other versions around the world is because of the influence of Disney. In the US, Disney owns the rights to the show, whereas internationally, it is owned by 2waytraffic, which is owned by Sony. I do hope that one day, the US version adopts the UK-style format.

Look up the US and UK versions of Millionaire on YouTube and tell me what you think.

this show is still on?

Not in the UK, but in the US and in many other countries, it is.

Really? huh. Like with new episodes and everything? I'm referring to US primarily.

Yes, it is.

It has a new host and isn't played on prime time TV anymore. The American version was only good with Regis Philbin as host, anyway. I played the game for PlayStation once. God, was I awful at it. The farthest I could ever get was one thousand dollars and all my lifelines would be used up by then.

The current host is Terry Crews, but next season, he will be replaced by The Bachelor host Chris Harrison. Meredith Vieira was a good host, but I liked Regis Philbin the best. I do think they should import Chris Tarrant, the host of the UK version, onto the US version, along with the UK format.

And yes, the questions were hard. Have you played the online game, too? I played the online game, and I remember making it close to $32,000, only to get a question wrong and drop back down to $1,000. I have also left with nothing at all on a few occasions too. Have you ever left with nothing?

The flash game? Yeah. I got about as far on that one as I did the PlayStation game.

I leave with nothing all the time. One time in the PS1 game Regis made a quip about me being at the top of the leaderboard at only one-hundred dollars.

Actually, I was talking about leaving with absolutely nothing ($0) by getting one of the first five questions wrong. Has that ever happened to you? It's happened to me on a few occasions on both the online game and the PS1/PC versions of the game.

Terry Crews is the host!? Wtf why am I not watching this!?
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He's leaving at the end of the season, and will be replaced by Chris Harrison from The Bachelor, so start watching the season while you still can.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SuperMillionaire

Actually, I was talking about leaving with absolutely nothing ($0) by getting one of the first five questions wrong. Has that ever happened to you? It's happened to me on a few occasions on both the online game and the PS1/PC versions of the game.

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And I answered with "All the time." I never get past the first five questions.

Actually, if you won $1,000, you did get past the first five questions, at least once, but then you missed one of the next five questions. You said that the most you ever walked away with was $1,000.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SuperMillionaire

Actually, if you won $1,000, you did get past the first five questions, at least once, but then you missed one of the next five questions. You said that the most you ever walked away with was $1,000.

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Don't get technical with me, boy.

Okay, okay, very well.

I remember getting close to $32,000 on some occasions, but then getting it wrong and dropping down to $1,000. I think I only made it past $32,000 only once on the online game. You only have 30 seconds to answer, so you have to think fast.

Speaking of leaving with absolutely nothing, the US version of the show has a high failure rate. I remember on numerous occasions on the real show when contestants failed on one of the first 5 questions and left with nothing, every time it happened, as the contestant took the walk of shame away from the hot seat, the screen would say "Total Prize Money: $0." On the UK version of the show, failing was a rare occurrence; only 8 contestants left with nothing, and all were in the 15-question era; the last was in 2005, and on the rare occasions when it did happen, there was no on-screen text stating it. By contrast, over a hundred contestants, on both the primetime and the syndicated US versions of the show, left with absolutely nothing, and the screen explicitly stated "Total Prize Money: $0." I noticed on the UK version, that after answering the first 4 questions correctly, UK host Chris Tarrant would always say "This is the last point at which you can still leave with nothing," before facing question 5, and in all cases, the £0 winners missed the £1,000 question. By contrast, on the US version, some contestants have failed on the very first question. And every time a contestant left with nothing, they were uploaded to YouTube, where they were mocked, ridiculed, insulted, and laughed at by online users who post nasty comments.

Alternately, another way to fail epically on the show is to go for questions 14-15 and get it wrong. In the primetime era, when questions were easier, numerous contestants made it up to $250,000 and beyond. Several contestants went for the $500,000 question and got it wrong, and lost $218,000, falling from $250,000 to $32,000, but none ever got the $1 million question wrong until the 10th anniversary celebration in 2009, when a contestant lost $475,000, falling from $500,000 to just $25,000 (the 10th question was reduced from $32,000 to $25,000). His million dollar failure was subsequently uploaded to YouTube, where he was mocked, ridiculed, insulted, and laughed at by online users who post nasty comments. On the UK version, two celebrity contestants playing as a couple once answered the £1 million question incorrectly, but it was later found to be ambiguous, so they were invited back for a second chance at £1 million; they decided to not risk it again and left with £500,000. Only two contestants on the UK version have answered the £500,000 question incorrectly, falling from £250,000 to £32,000.

On Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, it's very easy to fail; just one wrong answer is all it takes to eliminate you from the game.

And it seems that there is this community on YouTube that loves to see contestants fail. They watch game game shows just to see contestants fail, and then upload them to YouTube, where they take great joy in insulting them with nasty comments. Why do they do that?

Also, has anyone seen the UK version of the show? Or any other international versions of the show online?

Also, I noticed that in the American version of the show, they almost never refer to the show by its full title anymore. For instance, when beginning a new game, the host always says "Let's play Millionaire," and never "Let's play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

And after this season, Terry Crews is being replaced by Chris Harrison of The Bachelor. For me, ideally, the new host should be Chris Tarrant, the host of the no-longer-airing UK version. If not him, then I think they should have picked either Ryan Seacrest from the soon-to-be-canceled American Idol, Donald Trump from The Apprentice, or Michael Strahan from Live with Kelly and Michael.