The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: familyfeudfan on February 22, 2004, 10:06:11 PM
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Millionare is now better than ever.
It's like super greed only you can win. :)
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Well, I don't know exactly how possible it's going to be to win $10 million, but you can get a nice hunk of change if you play your cards right.
I like what they've done with the place. Hope it catches on with the general public.
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Other than that lousy lifeline with the 3 people, it is EXCELANTE!
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Even sick---Regis is STILL THE MAN. I love the show, the camera angles, the wrap-around shot there at one point, some new music cues and REGIS!
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Interesting, the good folks at AT&T nolonger operate Phone A Friend (or are they?)
Should start the 30 second clock for the "Three Wise Men" when Regis is done with the question.
I expect a multi-millionaire in the following week!
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It's like having an old cherished friend return to visit - not exactly the same as before, but neither are you. The syndicated version is OK and Meredith Vieira is OK, but the revamped original is still better.
I was a bit bemused by the references to condom commercials and metrosexuals - is this a new "adult" version of "Millionaire"?
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I enjoyed it, but I did think the pace was a bit too slow. I thought it got too fast before it went off the air.
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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
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You bet I was laughing my ass off on THAT question...
But, seeing the show back with it's new elements, I felt too excited to see it again. (Albeit the fact that I watched it alone downstairs, while my dad upstairs was watching an all-Elvis' edition of Anne's "Link" on GSN.
Mr. Randy West...I hate to put you on the spot again, but as a former warmer-up, you must've been freaking out and passing out as these hunka-hunka burnin' loves took the stage to adore Madame Robinson...
DID YA??? Haha!)
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[quote name=\'DrJWJustice\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 10:38 PM\'] I enjoyed it, but I did think the pace was a bit too slow. I thought it got too fast before it went off the air. [/quote]
To clarify, by 'going off the air', I meant the original Regis-hosted 4x a week series.
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I thought it was pretty good...I especially liked the new music they used for the first tier of questions.
The difficulty of questions has been ramped up a little I think. The MDQ was extremely difficult to me. The $500K question I had enough knowledge on that I could have confidently used the Double Dip and gotten the answer right, as I knew only two of the answers could fit the question.
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[quote name=\'Mario500\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 09:29 PM\'] Should start the 30 second clock for the "Three Wise Men" when Regis is done with the question.
[/quote]
At first, I thought the same thing but after further review, since in the PAF the 30 second clock starts when the contestant reads the question it's really the only equitable way to do it.
Of course, someone will now chime in, "Then start the PAF clock after the question is read!"
Doug -- and the countdown to 400 continues
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Are the 3 Wise Men going to change nightly?
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I agree it is absoutly awesome !
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. Honestly, it sounded like a clamatic scene in a horror movie.
Otherwise, everything was done beautifully. The $400,000 jump from $100K to $500K makes for some VERY Interesting and nerve-racking decisions.
Regis may not be a Chris Tarrant, but he was top-notch.
I think this will do nicely. Thought I honestly cannot picture anyone going beyond $1,000,000.
-Joe R.
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New 3 Wise Men every night. The Wise Men can read the question on their monitor instead of having to listen to Regis read it to them.
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[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 :-)
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[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.)
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[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.
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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
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[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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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) ;-)
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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.
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[quote name=\'whampyl03\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 01:33 AM\']
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.
[/quote]
I agree it won't get exploited anytime soon. The stacks appear to be structured similar to Meredith's version (which they at least acknowledged tonight existed) in that few contestants make it to the upper levels without using 2 or 3 lifelines.
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I was stunned that the difficulty level of the questions appears to be the same as in the original Regis era-- which is to say, easier than the syndicated version. Tonight's $50K question is a great example-- even if you didn't know the answer, you should have been able to eliminate two of the choices right off the bat. I was expecting tougher choices.
Tonight's player could have easily made it to the $500K question with his 50/50 and Ask the Audience intact.
Going forward, it won't surprise me at all to see people burn all 3 lifelines to get to $100K, because the free $500K guess and two bonus lifelines mean there's a substantial cushion still waiting for you after the second plateau. I think we're going to see a LOT of money given away.
But that 720 degree barfarama has GOT to go.
- Peter
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Here's my first impression of Super Millionaire:
Set - WOW! is right. It looked like the original version except a few new color schemes. That white light & the spinning camera made me woozy a bit but I'll let it slide.
Regis - In spite of food poisioning, I thought he did very well. Hopefully, he'll pick it up a notch or two as the week wears on.
Gameplay - The pace was slow & I can justify that because it's been over 2 years since the show was last aired on ABC. The new lifelines were very unique & intresting aspects to the game. I predict a multi-millionaire before the week is up though not the Super Millionaire jackpot winner.
Graphics - Looks alot like the original except at the upper teir level where there was a "halo" effect before the $100K level was breached. I liked how the values of the questions changed color in the upper teir to the white hot $10M value. The new lifeline graphics looked nice especially the 3WM one.
Music - Mostly the same package except a "slightly" modified lower teir music. The 3WM iso cue was intresting. The new cues were nice especially the Double Dip music.
Overall - ABC has got a winner on its hands. I predict a return trip in May.
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I'm not all that impressed with Super Millionaire. I always thought the show had a particularly weak format. The show was only interesting when contestants hit the third tier since that's when the big money was handed out and the tougher questions came into play.
I was hoping that they would have notched up the difficulty, but it appears they haven't. All they did was up the ante. In turn, it sets an amazingly high bar that other game shows are going to have to follow. I've already heard this comment from someone who's a casual game show fan at best: "And to think Family Feud only gives away $20,000. That's five hundred times less for winning a game."
Re: The Double Dip. I don't really see how this is a lifeline. All the other lifelines offer some sort of help to the contestant at no risk whatsoever (hence, "lifeline"). The double dip, however, doesn't do that. A contestant must guarantee to go forward using it. The only time this "lifeline" becomes safe to use is when you're at the bottom of a tier or it is used in conjunction with a 50:50 (which means then you're using two lifelines). Additionally, it's a possibility that this lifeline will be left on the table, since people might not want to use it.
Now, if it allowed contestants to guess, get it wrong, and then walk away, then I could see the advantage of using it as a lifeline. I don't quite understand the added "condition" of having to use it. Perhaps someone could explain it to me.
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Anyone who missed it may check out a stack of screengrabs on my site at this address:
www.chris-lambert.com/SM/SM.html (http://\"http://www.chris-lambert.com/SM/SM.html\")
How does that grab you, UK readers?
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[quote name=\'gtbecbp\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 11:43 PM\'] I was a little peeved that the FF contestants were no't inroduced one by one, which took some of the drama away. [/quote]
Seeing the FF players two at a time seemed random and weird. I watched the show out of order--I got home after it started and watched the broadcast 'til it finished then went back to the beginning of the tape and saw the opening--and seeing two players' billboard shots during the second FF question just looked like a bad edit.
I don't think it took away any drama to do it the way they did, but it seemed ingracious of the producers not to properly introduce their "guests" to the rest of the party (i.e., viewing audience).
I did like seeing Reege walk out to the Ring of Fire during the closing credits; that was a classy thing for him to do (and for ABC to show).
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[quote name=\'Clay Zambo\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 08:03 AM\'] Seeing the FF players two at a time seemed random and weird. [/quote]
The big reason I'm glad they did that was because that didn't give any of the ten people a chance to grace us with an allegedly humorous facial expression or gesture--see Millionaire promo on GSN for examples.
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Well, I don't know exactly how possible it's going to be to win $10 million, but you can get a nice hunk of change if you play your cards right.
I think we'll see at least a $2.5 million winner in this series, but probably no higher. The risk now is too great if you don't know the answer outright.
The level of difficultly suited me fine. I thought the $1 million question was a bit obsure - and if you're going to be offering that much money you'd better make the questions tough.
Overall, I always liked the Regis version better than the Merideth version and it's nice to see him back.
One thought: if a contestant elects to use Double Dip and gets it right on the first guess, it's almost like a wasted lifeline. But I guess it's necessary to give some protection at the higher levels.
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[quote name=\'JRaygor\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 10:53 PM\'] The $400,000 jump from $100K to $500K makes for some VERY Interesting and nerve-racking decisions. [/quote]
Not really -- it's a free guess.
Quick verdict: I'll be making it a point to watch the next four episodes. But there were a couple of minor irritations to me.
I know they're trying to make everything sound incredibly important and I know this is Millionaire, but the excessive references to "the next dimension of Millionaire" (and most all of the new lighting cues) were overly cheesy and melodramatic. I did like that opening jib shot through the lights, though.
I miss the quick listing of the ten contestants at the first Fastest Finger question, but I can see why they're doing it to save time. They ate up a lot of time explaining the modified rules. Which I understand they have to do until the show becomes a huge hit and all the viewers know the rules by heart. But I still get antsy.
What happened to the old closing theme? They shortened it for the syndicated version and it carried over to the new primetime version. I wonder why they don't want to play the full theme anymore.
Regis has still got to be careful about wanting to help the contestants. I could see he wanted to try to give them advice once or twice. And sometimes I wonder if he fully understands the rules for the show. Why would anybody walk away after winning $100,000? Why even mention it as an option?
As I watched the first eight questions of the first stack, I started to get angry -- the difficulty was pretty much the same as it had always been for those ordinal positions. About the same difficulty as previous episodes of the primetime Millionaire -- slightly less difficult than most stacks on the syndicated version, even. I started to feel a little better when the difficulty increased at the $50,000 question. The $100,000 question was great for that position. And once they got into that third tier, the questions were as impossibly difficult as they should be for those huge amounts of money.
Maybe the first stack just contained questions that fell into the niches of my trivia knowledge, but I thought the difficulty of the second stack was more well-suited to the new dollar values. Maybe they wanted a slightly easier first stack to let all the viewers of the first episode see the new lifelines in use?
With the rate at which they're going through contestants, I don't want to see more than one person be able to take advantage of the 50:50/Double Dip combination in this first week. And I certainly don't want to see everybody reach $100,000. I want to feel downright stupid playing along (I'm not that great at trivia games). The question difficulty is good, but if the first stack is any indicator, I personally would like to see things just a touch more challenging.
--
Scott Robinson
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I was generally very impressed by the new version. Frankly, I don't understand the criticisms of Regis' "rustiness." He was sick, of course, and his voice cracked now and then. But he was also as funny and gracious as he's ever been on the show. His one small goof was the "walk away" comment on the 500K question, but he caught himself on that one.
The pace was fine with me. Game show freaks like us have been chewing over the new rules for weeks now, so we might have been a little impatient with the explanations. But they were necessary for folks with no advance knowledge of the new rules (meaning, most of the audience). And the new lifelines worked very well in their first trial.
The effects were terrific. Cheesy and melodramatic...YES, and that's the way I like 'em.
Above all, the show got lucky with their first contestant. He was likeable and charming, with a cute girlfriend rooting him on.
As for the question difficulty, I posted a while back that the 50K and 100K levels would probably be real nasty traps for any remaining lifelines. On the first run-through they worked just as expected.
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[quote name=\'Peter Sarrett\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 02:16 AM\'] But that 720 degree barfarama has GOT to go.
[/quote]
Bah. I LIKED the new camera shots. I especially like the jib shots coming out of a break that do a dramtic swoop from the top of the studio, and zoom in neatly to the standard shot of Regis.
(Wow. Me and Casey agreed on something. :))
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One thing that really sucks is if you actually get a chance to be a contestant, you have 1 guaranteed, maybe 2 chances (of course more if bombing out on early questions happens) of getting a fastest finger question.
And you can bet that if that guy last night didn't bail on that question, they would have milked that drama forever leaving him to come back the next day.
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My thoughts:
It was great to see WWTBAM back in prime time, but I was a little unimpressed with the difficulty level of the questions (and then less impressed when I was the only person in my house who knew what a rebus was). That said, it was a good show. Reege was fine...I prefer him to Meredith, myself. The set changes aren't all that striking although I do like the video screen and the fact that they finally added the strobe lights to the floor that the UK version has had for a while.
I'll definately be watching the rest of the week.
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[quote name=\'MSTieScott\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 09:57 AM\']the excessive references to "the next dimension of Millionaire"[/quote]
That's "the next DIE-mension of Millionaire."
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Here's my ramblings on the technical aspects of "Super Millionaire":
Graphics - The logo is plainer as compared to the syndicated/first series, but the animation is well-done. (I don't particularly like the "wrap-around" effect of the text, though.) The money-tree background is a bit different (the rings are compressed), but is similar. The shimmering upper-tier is a bit much, in my opinion.
Music - It's interesting that the lifeline "pings" went from lowest to highest, like the British version (and unlike the original U.S. version). The new lower-tier music is good (although not that different). The 3WM music matches the style of the original cues, although some of the newer cuts seem a little out of place, though it could just be because it's new. Some of the switches during explanation of the rules is a bit strange.
Lighting - I thought with the WOF-styled lighting, they'd abuse it, but they changed colors tastefully. The set isn't as dark as the original one, but is still effectively dramatic.
Camera angles - There was a bit of shaking on some shots (when Regis said goodnight), but overall it was top-notch. The "extra dimmension" shots are interesting - I think if they slowed down the circular one a little, it would work very well.
This was very well-produced, especially hearing how long it took to tape. The rule changes, to me, did not take away from premise of the show. Everyone looked like they were having fun, and Regis, although ill, was at the top of his game. I'm looking for the next shows.
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I LIKED the big "New Dimension" explanation. I think it really brings up the production value of the show, something we don't see very often these days. Sure, some may say it's cheesy, but the new Upper Tier graphics, and the dramatic cue and lighting change made me feel the energy of the studio at home...The anticipation, the drama, and the mystery of what is to come in this new realm of the game...
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Wow. Me and Casey agreed on something.
This could signal the apocalypse.
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[quote name=\'CaseyAbell\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 04:05 PM\']
Wow. Me and Casey agreed on something.
This could signal the apocalypse. [/quote]
Next thing Casey will do a 360 and Bullseye will be his favorite show. :-) [JOKE]
As for Super Millionaire......WOW. Just like it was in 1999, this could be the start of a resurgence for game shows, even if it's temporary. Regis was in top form, and even sick he beats Meredith Viera by a mile IMO. The first contestant was smart to realise the potential of the 50-50/Double Dip combo. Too bad we couldn't see it. That $500k question was a hoot.
I didn't like Three Wise Men though. It seemed like Regis took too much time reading the question. At least with Phone A Friend the speed is at the player's discretion. I can only imagine what SB did when he saw "Best Contestant of 2003!!!!" Nancy Christy as one of them.
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FF Fan: I think that's part of the problem with $M... You might end up with "Greed" Syndrome, in that no one in their right mind even considers winning $10M, or even $1M -- you get to 11 and then thank Regis for the half-mil...
The questions are so difficult that you might get five questions in the New Dimension Tier that will rival the 1950's ones that people had to be given the answers for...
Don't get me wrong: Loved it!! Geeked out like I did in 1999!!! And with the ratings, sounds like they might get another run or basically a regular sweeps drop... The pacing left some to be desired, since I now wonder if we'll see 10 contestants in the seat over the week.
Would've needed a lifeline on both first-tiers, too... Ow.
As far as the Next Dimension, I almost think they probably did an edit so that the producers could've explained to both Regis and the Kimmer the rules on the two new lines again...
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I don't see more than $1M for anyone, and would be surprised if anyone even wins that much to break Dan Avila's record for the biggest-money question ever faced on a quiz.
I can't see anyone getting 13 here...
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[quote name=\'The Quizmaster\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 01:25 AM\'] 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.
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I disagree, I would feel pretty mad if I got to $100,000, only to find out that I had to get the next question right, in order to access the new lifelines, and then not know the question, and lose. That's not fair to the contestant.
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Some general thoughts...
Like my friend said when I called during the show: "These questions are (expletive)ing BRUTAL!!"
I think Kevin Olmstead's record is safe, unless something happens on tonight's which someone hinted at in a post here earlier...
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[quote name=\'starcade\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 05:39 PM\'] I don't see more than $1M for anyone, and would be surprised if anyone even wins that much to break Dan Avila's record for the biggest-money question ever faced on a quiz.
I can't see anyone getting 13 here... [/quote]
Except poor Dan lost by ONE answer.
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[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 05:24 PM\'] Except poor Dan lost by ONE answer. [/quote]
Here's a hint: you lose by ONE answer here too. Every time.
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(Albeit the fact that I watched it alone downstairs, while my dad upstairs was watching an all-Elvis' edition of Anne's "Link" on GSN.
Odd that they'd air (IMO) a non-celeb ep in the Sun all-star slot, as opposed to weekdays...especially since they air the beauty queen ep in the weekday slot, which was also played for charity, yet apparently not considered an "all-star" show by GSN's standards.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'gameshowguy2000\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 07:24 PM\'] [quote name=\'starcade\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 05:39 PM\'] I don't see more than $1M for anyone, and would be surprised if anyone even wins that much to break Dan Avila's record for the biggest-money question ever faced on a quiz.
I can't see anyone getting 13 here... [/quote]
Except poor Dan lost by ONE answer. [/quote]
We know that. "biggest-money question ever FACED" was the quote, not biggest ever won. And Bobbo beat that last night, anyway.
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Feb 23 2004, 08:37 AM\'] The big reason I'm glad they did that was because that didn't give any of the ten people a chance to grace us with an allegedly humorous facial expression or gesture. [/quote]
Right, I remember that. But it would have been easy enough for stage managers to say, "Smile and nod, no screwing around or we'll have to do a re-shoot, and Regis will get very cranky." After all, it's not live TV. And what game doesn't properly introduce its on-air contestants?
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Winning Lines never introduced the contestants (all of the initial ones that played). But I agree, they should introduce each FF player. They probably don't want to show the audience all the middle aged white guys and a lack of diversity.
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[quote name=\'goongas\' date=\'Feb 24 2004, 12:04 PM\']Winning Lines never introduced the contestants (all of the initial ones that played). But I agree, they should introduce each FF player. They probably don't want to show the audience all the middle aged white guys and a lack of diversity.[/quote]
No, it's simply that explaining the new lifelines is taking up the time that would've been spent on introducing the Ring of Fire. That will probably be remedied if not by Thursday's show, at least by May (and Braun claims he has "Super Millionaire" penciled in for May).
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Doing this from memory, as it's not intended to function in the capacity of a recap:
Sunday night--19 Hot Seat questions read, 2 Fastest Finger questions read.
Monday night--18 Hot Seat questions read, 3 Fastest Finger questions read.
No, they're not worried about breaking their budget. :)
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To answer the question about 50/50, it is probably no longer set in advance. The UK version changed about 18 months ago so that the choice really is random by the computer. This was deemed to help the contestants as in 70% of the cases it always left the ones they were deciding between, leading the public to assume that there was some rigging going on.
I quite liked what I've seen of the show but from the brief clip I've seen I'm slightly surprised by how "rough" the direction and editing was. I think they've mucked around with the amounts on the lower levels too much but overall it ain't broke.
David
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[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' date=\'Feb 24 2004, 06:53 PM\'] Doing this from memory, as it's not intended to function in the capacity of a recap:
Sunday night--19 Hot Seat questions read, 2 Fastest Finger questions read.
Monday night--18 Hot Seat questions read, 3 Fastest Finger questions read.
No, they're not worried about breaking their budget. :) [/quote]
This has to be by design -- make all the FF's pop-culture stuff that couch potatoes and People-magazine readers will excel at, then hit the poor saps with second- and third-tier questions that only the extremely well-read are gonna get...
I'm enjoying watching it, though. I'd enjoy playing it even more.... needless to say I didn't get called in for Sunday night's taping after qualifying last week.