What's your favorite (U.S.) format of Millionaire?

[millionairefan17]

***Please tell me your Favorite Format and Why Below Please***

My personal favorite is the clock version from 2008-2010.
I can NOT deny the fact that the original Millionaire is a classic and will always be cherished in most peoples' minds.
The versions that came after the clock (Shuffle, 2016, etc.) were horrible and made be lose interest. 

So, for my favorite version: The Dreaded Clock! Lol! There are tons of advantages to it but some disadvantages as well. 

It added a lot more tension and anxiety with it making the set and atmosphere more dreadful and eerie. Meredith Viera was superb as the host and added a lot of suspense to it and is my favorite host! The music change felt more modern while still keeping that classic music by Keith & Michael Strachan. The updated modern graphics were a nice addition as well (I feel like they should've kept it in the later versions, but oh well!). Also, contestants on the primetime and syndicated versions of Millionaire on the classic format frequently took their time when it came to the more difficult questions which I personally liked since it sped up the show and made contestants answer within the time allotted. But I completely understand if you don't as that means more stress and anxiety for the contestant. 

The cons, while not many, are pretty major. Again, the contestants usually get stressed out because of the time limit and didn't make it to the third level of questions which frustrated me and probably a lot of people since no one could get to the million dollar question. On the subject of the clock, the time limits were too short (especially since the host had to read each answer choice before the contestant gets to answer). This is a major problem to me because on every question, you inevitably get 5 seconds taken away from your time because of the host reading the 4 answer choices. MORE TIME PLEASE!!! I would've done it like this:
30 seconds - Level 1 | 45 Seconds - Level 2 | 60 Seconds - Level 3 | 2 Minutes - Million Dollar Question



Now, the classic version of Millionaire I will not go into detail since I think everything about it is perfect. The set, music, lights, everything is there! Now, Regis Philbin is a fantastic host but the only think I would've changed would be to let Regis give more suspense like Meredith did. That's my only gripe about it, other than that we are moving on!



Finally, we have arrived to the most hated version of Millionaire ever! And that is the Shuffle Format and Current Format that goes back to the Classic roots (It was cancelled in 2019 but it being revived by ABC!)

Anyway, most people were not enjoying the clock format so the producers or whoever is in charge decided on a new format: SHUFFLE
Honestly, I must admit that the format looked cool at first but then I started to realize that it was horrendous. What bothered me the most was the walk away feature (Please correct me if I'm wrong) but in the first level you can only walk away with 1/2 of your bank which I think is ridiculous and kind of insane. The contestant banked all that money and is only allowed to keep 1/2 of it (That's probably due to huge decline in ratings but whatever!)! The music is good but not as great as the clock and classic. The host (Chris Harrison) is fantastic and probably the only reason I'll watch this format. The other two hosts, Cedric the Entertainer & Terry Crews were horrible (No offense to either of them) and were trying to be comedic when they're supposed to be hosting and making the audience, contestant, and the people watching at home feel happy and excited. Also, the change in the set was dreadful and was all bright and shiny when it was supposed to be dark and somewhat grim. Plus, there was NO hot seat! At least the clock version kept the same set as the classic! The shuffle, in my opinion, is where Millionaire began to lose its course...

Now, the switch back to the somewhat classic format. The money tree is a little different but still balanced. Again, the host is Chris Harrison and is awesome! NEVER blame the hosts except if they aren't good (You know what I'm talking about...)! I appreciated the fact that they attempted to got back to the show's classic roots but it just didn't work. The set was still the same as well as the music. I was bored at the show at this point. The set is really what changed my mood about the show.

That's it everyone! I hope y'all read what I had to say and enjoyed my opinions/thoughts! No offense to anyone, there are just my OWN opinions. Just wanted to share.
Please share what your favorite format of Millionaire was down below!

[thunder98]

I'm a traditional sort of person, and I grew up watching the original primetime format so to this day it still holds a very near and dear spot in my heart, even when Meredith was the host in syndication.

I didn't really like the clock format putting pressure on contestants to speed up their train of thought. Sure sometimes it ends up providing exciting television (such as the case of Australian Millionaire Hot Seat with several contestants getting the final question wrong), but it's just not my cup of tea despite it being a guilty pleasure. I enjoyed listening to the background music playing on a higher question with the lights dimmed and the studio being dark while watching the focus of the contestant, hearing them go through their thought process in selecting an answer, and even hearing the occasional story that comes with a question (like Kevin Olmstead's, Kevin Smith's, or Nancy Christy's million-dollar question). It had an eerie feeling that I couldn't steer myself away from. Being a primary school student at the time, Millionaire actually helped me learn to problem solve thanks to the contestants' focus and taking their time rather than feel rushed.

I stopped watching sometime toward the end of the clock era before the shuffle era. All the dollar amounts changed, the lifelines changed, call me close-minded but I just didn't enjoy the changes at the start of the 2010s. Though I will say I do enjoy the Double Dip, Swap the Question, and Ask the Expert/Three Wise Men.

[millionairenut]

Mine is the classic version, per the Regis era, and now again with Jimmy.

I am a purist in many ways, and that counts for Millionaire. I just have that mindset that this is what I know and this is what it should be. I love the original money tree, the music by the Strachans, that there is no clock, there is a hot seat, all of the things that make Millionaire, Millionaire. I like it when things have their own identity, and Millionaire has that. I believe the greatest moments have come from Primetime Millionaire, be it the original, Super Millionaire or the 10th Anniversary.

I can think of things worse than the clock, which I will discuss, but I cannot say I'm fully on board with Millionaire using a clock. Sure, you have your contestants like Kati Knudsen who just decided to take up time in the hot seat and guess wrong on her 14th question on something she didn't know, but Millionaire is a game where you have to think, you have to be careful, too.

The $500,000 question this past Thursday was a perfect example. Many people, I'm sure, would've been able to answer that question without using a lifeline, but it would've taken time. You have to be very careful, and how many people, unless they know that question off the top of their heads, would be able to answer something like that in 45 seconds? I got to the correct answer by running the names and saying them out loud, but it took a lot longer than 45 seconds, I can promise you that.

Despite the fact that I'm not the biggest fan of the clock, the clocked version still had components of Millionaire that we all knew and loved. I've mentioned before that I loved the $500,000 music in the clocked version of Millionaire. That was great. You still had the hot seat, a variation of the Strachan music and the layout of it.

Then there's the Shuffle/Chris Harrison (not to say Chris Harrison himself was bad) version that I just refused to watch. That show was not Millionaire, no matter what you call it. It had no hot seat, no Strachan music, people stand, the money tree was all shuffled around. They completely abandoned what made Millionaire, Millionaire. The only time I would pretty much ever watch would be if I saw a big money winner on YouTube.

Not to mention the questions were substantially harder and incredibly obscure. Granted, this Primetime run has thrown out some tough ones, too, but they still aren't as ridiculous as the shuffle/syndicated version. The classic Primetime version makes you really put in a lot of time and effort to study for stuff, but you know you have a chance a lot of times. The syndicated version, it's like, who would know this stuff?

So, I cannot be more thankful that Millionaire, as we all know it, is back in both the US and the UK.

[hadouken85]

Sometimes around 2007, when I was a little boy, I just watched Vietnamese Millionaire(Yes, I'm from Vietnam) and didn't know the show was also in the US. Then one day when being on YouTube, I accidentally found John Carpenter's $1 million question, which made me start watching some US Millionaire's videos. During that time I found out that the show, in fact, originated in the UK.

One fact: I oftentimes mistook Regis for Tarrant when searching on Google because Meredith's videos (seemingly) had more appearances on YouTube than those two's. And, as stated above, I was just a little boy back then.  

As someone who grew up watching Classic and (US) Clock Millionaire, they will always remain my most favorite formats.

The Shuffle format, however, was... meh. No Hot Seat, no Strachans music, shuffled money tree, good host wannabes(Cedric & Terry Crews). Seriously? Even Millionaire Hot Seat and UK Big bad clock Millionaire are/were better than this.
The only good thing about it was the music. But sorry, it didn't fit Millionaire, and I still despise the format. Always have, always will. 

Chris Harrison did everything he could to save the show and I appreciate that, but the cancellation was just inevitable.

Thankfully, the Millionaire as we know it is back and although I'm not able to watch it, I'm still happy. 

[Admiral Sven]

The original. 15 questions to win $1 million; no tricks, no traps.

What I hate about syndicated US Millionaire was that it was cut down to extinction. No Strachan music, rubbish money tree and poor graphics.

Chris Harrison was probably the best syndication host (yet Regis was the best US host overall), but now the original format is back I'm still happy.

[Deleted]

The original format and not clock or shuffle

i like the original format for letting the contestant take their time on a question before committing to a final answer and getting it right the music is good and fits the atmosphere in the studio and FFF as well

if there was least favourite Clock/Shuffle USA didn't really understand the concept of shuffle as a whole and clock was a rubbish idea to put in a good game show

i won't go on any further but if you give me a format without clock/Shuffle then i'm invested to watch Millionaire as long it doesn't include what I've said then we're good

Original format all the way for me

[panampat]

Easy. The original. With hot seat. No timers. Dark set. Strachan soundtrack. 

The timed version with the timer was okay, although I think part of Millionaire's beauty was being able to sit down and mull over the answer (even if some of that mulling around has to be edited out). Besides, if you mulled for a really long time, you (and we the viewer) may find that the producers and editors of the show have a bit of a sense of humor (I spent the better part of 20 minutes looking for this on YouTube and couldn't find it, but it was a contestant who took so long mulling over a $2,000 question that the time skips are accompanied with on-screen text saying 'much much later'; that gave me a heck of a chuckle). 

EDIT: After 5 minutes more of searching, I've found it!



Once the hot seat was gone, I sort of disengaged from the show (there was a period where I didn't watch Millionaire). I only came back to watch once Chris Harrison came with the semi-original format, but even then, I thought the questions were too long-winded and difficult (it seemed like the show really didn't want folks to win big) and the too-bright set and non-Strachan music really subtracted from the experience.

So my final answer is the original format, 1999 to 2008. 

[bossingvicfan]

You can't go wrong with the classic format, no doubt.

[BMG_Games]

The classic V1.0 format is still the best in my opinion.
No tricks or cheats (well...), just the host, contestants and 15 questions to win a million.

Though, I must say, all the new lifelines which came to life all over the globe have certainly made the game more interesting.