Moving Studios....again

[NinjaTurtleDude]

Come on guys. Don't be negative. I know that Meredith is gone, but that doesn't mean that the new season instantly sucks. We need to give Cedric a chance. No matter what, Millionaire will always be a good game show.

[GSK]

"Serious Money Meets Seriously Funny"

My expectations just plunged after watching this.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AsUgD5UZb4&feature=youtu.be


The studio in the promo pictures looks CGI. The pillars are definitely not from the attraction.

[FinalAnswer19]

NinjaTurtleDude - My issue isn't SO much with Cedric as it is with the recent way the show has composed itself that makes me hate it. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire should be - and always has been up until the shuffle format - full of drama, excitement, tension, nerves, and everything that made Millionaire "Millionaire." The switch to the shuffle format took all of that away. Their clown music they found on Napster is just as bad. There is no drama, excitement, tension, or nerves left in the show. The fact they bring in some joke-off to host is just going to turn the show into a bunch of nothing...a bigger one than it has been these past few seasons.

Let me go on record by saying this show will not last another 3 seasons..IF that. This show got really bad with the change to the shuffle format and now with Cedric, it's all a big joke to the producers...and a joke that they think people will spend their time watching it anymore. Unless they figure it out after this next season and get rid of him and change it back to the way Millionaire SHOULD be, this will be the end of the US version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. I hate to say it as much as any true fan hates to read it, but, come on, think about it.

[RegisFan]

It seems there was a changing of the guard at Millionaire between the clock and shuffle formats, and the new leadership just doesn't understand what makes the show work. It's tragic to see Millionaire fall so far from the classy, sophisticated, dramatic series that it once was. The presentation just isn't there anymore - even the music is bland.

I'm willing to give Cedric the Entertainer a chance. My issues right now are with the producers and the direction that they are taking the show. Maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised (assuming Millionaire is airing in your city - I'm still not sure whether or not one of my local channels has picked up the show this season), but with the way things have been going... I kind of doubt it.

The new set photo on Twitter is intriguing. Why would they remove the screen? Maybe that's just a shot of one of the smaller archways? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[FinalAnswer19]

Michael Davies' leaving (still confused on that one) coincided with the transition from clock to shuffle. I really liked Rich Sirop (or however you spell his name) when he was in that promo video for the 10th anniversary revival but if he's the mastermind behind the changes, he needs to get the boot.

[job41475]

The format will be the same for sure.

[Kimarough]

Personally I think that the format is hit and miss. The things that are missing for me is the sense of progression and the atmosphere. If they had a mile stone every 4 questions and only randomized what was between the safe haven and the next would probably make it a tad more dramatic. But unless they change the atmosphere, I don't think they can regain the tension that the show once had. They honestly jumped the shark when they got rid of the Hot Seat and made both the contestant stand in front of a table that honestly doesn't need to be there. The ambience of the darkness and the music all came together with the tension of massive risks and the Hot Seat (some might even say the clock made it better but I digress) made it a show that made it stand out above the rest and made it an event every time it was on. Without that, its just turning into another show that you casually watch and possibly play along with. It hurts to see a great show turn into the exact opposite of what made it great and even though I live in New Zealand, I want it to turn back into greatness. Oh and I don't know much about Cedric the Entertainer so I can't really criticize wether he would make a good host or not.

Rant over

[NinjaTurtleDude]

You're right kimarough101. Let's wait til the new season premieres.

[therealcu2010]

Aug 7, 2013 21:25:27 GMT -5 FinalAnswer19 said:

NinjaTurtleDude -  Who Wants to Be a Millionaire should be - and always has been up until the shuffle format - full of drama, excitement, tension, nerves, and everything that made Millionaire "Millionaire."

Honestly, I think a lot of the tension got sucked out of the show with the change to the clock format. While the progression aspect of the game remained (despite the completely nonsensical money tree in the second clock season that seemed to promote people walking away in the second tier), and there was still some tension watching contestants try to get their answers in on time, a lot of the charm of the show was seeing contestants sit and try to figure out the correct answers, which added a lot of tension in and of itself.

An ideal strategy in any multiple-choice quiz is to sit down and eliminate choices. Often times, if you sit and think it over, you can figure out the correct answer simply by ruling out the wrong ones in your head. With the clock format, there was no time to think it over, and contestants would often be forced to burn a lifeline just to buy themselves more time. The Ask the Expert lifeline was useless, especially when the "expert" was a celebrity. Double Dip was often negated by the clock, as contestants didn't have time to narrow their answer down to two possible choices. Phone a Friend, the only real useful lifeline half the time, was retired (though the reasons for doing so are perfectly sound- I'd have replaced it with Switch the Question myself). As a result, winnings went down, we saw very few contestants hit the top tier (especially in Season 8), and the show hit a major low point. Heck, the show had to have a special gimmick tournament just to force a millionaire to make up for the fact that nobody had won the top prize since they started tinkering with the rules!

The change to the shuffle format did bring with it bigger winners, but it came at a major price- Millionaire, as we know it, disappeared. To this day, I still have severe difficulty calling this format Millionaire, despite what the title card says, as it feels nothing like the show I once loved. 

I am of the belief, as previously stated, that Millionaire perhaps wasn't well-suited to be stripped for daily syndication. There's a reason only one other daily game show offers a million-dollar prize regularly, and said other show's million-dollar prize is extremely difficult to win. After the two millionaires in the first syndicated season, the second safe haven was lowered, and there was a significant spike in the difficulty level of the game (which, I admit, is a refreshing change compared to the relative dumbing down of other American game shows), and since then, nobody's won the top prize legitimately. 

Cedric the Entertainer was less than impressive hosting It's Worth What? A serious game such as Millionaire is an entirely different beast. I do hope it succeeds with him at the helm, because I hate seeing long-running game shows get cancelled...but I likely will continue to not be a regular viewer.