In 2000, a board game based on the hit television series of the same name was released by Pressman Toy Corp. In March 2006, original producers Celador announced that it was seeking to sell the worldwide rights to the show, together with the UK programme library, as the first phase of a sell-off of the company's format and production divisions. Dutch company 2waytraffic acquired Millionaire and the rest of Celador's programme library. Two years later, Sony Pictures Entertainment purchased 2waytraffic for £137.5m. The Who Wants to Be a Millionaire franchise is the most internationally popular television franchise of all time, having aired in more than 100 countries worldwide.
Get ready for some big tears as Chris Tarrant's latest game show, The Colour of Money, premieres on ITV tonight.
Billed as the 'most stressful game show on TV', Tarrant said the programme is the most 'tense and emotional' he has ever been involved in.
20 specially designed cash machines are pre-programmed to dispense secret amounts of cash, ranging from £1,000 to £2,000. Contestants have to keep their nerve to reach a pre-determined target by withdrawing cash from the machines before they run out of money.
If they do not hit their target exactly, they do not win a penny. The format is so difficult it was reported that potential players have to go through a medical before they can appear on the show.
Tarrant, 62, told The Guardian, 'Having spent many thousands of hours of my life in television studios, I've never seen so many tears,' he said.
'The tension was frequently unbearable. Obviously the money is a major factor, it always is. It's not a £1million but on any show there was a possibility to win something in excess of £100,000 and, certainly in the current climate, that is very serious cash.'
Tarrant added that the show is similar to Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, which he also hosts on ITV. Both have the 'shoutability' factor, meaning that people will be yelling at their television screens.
'The machine just starts going, "£1,000... £2,000.... £3,000", meanwhile the audience are screaming, "For God's sake stop!," he said.
'The families are on the sides shouting, "What are you doing? You silly cow!"'
The Colour of Money was created by David Young, the man behind the BBC's The Weakest Link, and ITV bosses are said hoping to repeat the success of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?.
That has been on television for 10 years and has aired in 100 countries worldwide.
Chairman Michael Grade is reported to be banking on the new show to raise millions in sales from abroad after the company missed out by not owning the rights to Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, according to reports.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire? voted top TV quiz show
Question: What is the greatest TV game show of all time? Answer: Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Research among 2,400 TV addicts found Who Wants to be a Millionaire? was best loved for Tarrant's hosting skills, its tough questions and big-money prize.
Runner-up in the best game show of all time poll is Noel Edmonds' Deal or No Deal, loved for its gripping competitiveness.
And in a 'quite interesting' third place is the intellectual comedy panel show QI, hosted by Stephen Fry with regulars Jo Brand and Alan Davies.
At four is Family Fortunes, which while not quite the top answer in the poll, is still a firm family favourite nearly 30 years on from when it started.
Catchphrase hosted by Roy Walker and the animated Mr Chips make it to number five, while University Challenge makes position number six, despite few viewers knowing the answers to any of the boffin-like questions.
Sharing seventh place is The Crystal Maze and Mastermind, named as top for testing contestants memory and specialist knowledge.
At number eight is Anne Robinson's sharp-tongued The Weakest Link, while A Question of Sport and Countdown are named nine and ten respectively.
Matt Owen, a spokesperson for Churchill Insurance, said: 'The nation loves game shows - they are a great source of entertainment and something the whole family can enjoy together.
'There's a great selection coming out of our game show charts, with the oldies not always necessarily being the best, but with all of them proving that you can really depend on a British game show for light entertainment.'
Voters were also asked which TV game shows they would most like to see brought back.
Topping the list was The Crystal Maze, followed by Catchphrase, Blockbusters, Bullseye and The Generation Game.
Sargon de Jesus has always been a trivia buff and a fan of game shows that test trivia smarts. So when he earned an appearance on the popular TV game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, de Jesus was "totally psyched" and ready to take his shot at some big money.
Busy man
As someone who has cultivated a vast array of interests and talents, de Jesus possesses a broad and varied base of experience upon which to draw.
The 24-year-old, who has nemaline myopathy (NM), holds a bachelor's of science degree in geological sciences and literary translation and a master's in geological sciences, both earned at Brown University in Providence, R.I. A Washington, D.C., resident, he works as a science writer for an environmental consulting firm, making technical science "digestible and understandable to the general public." Raised bilingual (English and French), he also does some freelance translating.
De Jesus co-founded the nation's first collegiate whistling choir called "Lip Service," sings in an a cappella group that goes by the name "Suspicious Cheese Lords," and "calls" instructions at contra dances (a type of folk dancing that blends elements of swing, line and square dancing).
He also enjoys photography and "being outside and seeing the natural world," and has turned an interest in hiking into a personal challenge to climb to the highest point in the lower 48 states. So far, de Jesus has managed 15 high points, some of which are high peaks, one of which was "just a street corner."
To the "hot seat"
On Sept. 9, de Jesus taped what would be split into two Millionaire episodes, broadcast Oct. 1 and Oct. 2, 2009.
It was "exciting and surreal" to spend the day on the set, he says, "a blast."
"Once I got there I was dreadfully nervous!" de Jesus says of the “hot seat” where contestants attempt to answer a succession of questions in their bid for $1 million.
He successfully answered the first two questions before time ran out for the episode, then moved on to the third question at what would mark the beginning of the Oct. 2 episode.
"You lose about 50 IQ points due to nervousness when you're sitting there," de Jesus jokes. "You begin to second-guess yourself."
In fact, de Jesus did second-guess himself on the $3,000 question, which was: Which of these children's games traditionally ends when someone reaches "tensies"? A: Simon Says, B: Leapfrog, C: Hopscotch, D: Jacks. Although he was reasonably confident the answer was "D," he used one of his "lifelines" and polled the audience for reassurance.
He was tripped up two questions later when asked: Singing about the state where she was born, Faith Hill had a hit song in 2005 with what title? A: Minnesota Girl, B: Pennsylvania Girl, C: Mississippi Girl (correct answer), D: Oregon Girl.
De Jesus asked to use another lifeline with only a few seconds left, having forgotten that the particular lifeline he'd requested was not yet available to him. "It was a sort of disconnect," he notes. Time ran out before de Jesus could choose another lifeline, and he walked away with $3,000 in winnings.
Although he admits his first reaction at an early exit was disappointment, de Jesus says he's grateful for the experience and definitely would do it again.
"I got some pocket change out of it," he adds, noting that he plans to save his earnings or maybe enclose the balcony in his new apartment.
"Either way," he says, "I appreciate the experience."
One of my greatest fears in life is to miss one of the first five questions on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and leave with $0.
Today, I still have anxieties about this when I'm awake and nightmares about it when asleep ... despite the fact that I already appeared on the show, did not miss any of the first five questions, and am ineligible to ever be in the hot seat again.
(Side note: Backstage, the producers on the show assured us contestants that the first five questions are designed so all contestants can reach the $1000 milestone. While this was intended to be comforting, they only exacerbated my fears of missing a question that every elementary school student knows. It was the equivalent of having Meredith precede a question with, "Ok, only a tard would miss this next question.")
The nightmares flare up after I see an actual Millionaire contestant live out my horror scenario and leave with no money.
This happened two nights ago when John-Anthony Cavanagh, a New York doorman, missed the $500 question.
What was unusual about Mr. Cavanagh's situation, however, is that I think the question he missed was patently unfair.
His $500 question was:
Q: "Whittle a stick to a sharp point" is one of the first steps in which of these traditional camping activities?"
A. Roasting marshmallows
B. Cleaning a fish
C. Collecting firewood
D. Pitching a tent
He thought about it for a second and answered D. Final answer.
There were no gasps from the audience.
When Meredith told him the correct answer was A, he conjured up a familiar look of horror that compelled me to take a photo of my television:
Let me begin by saying that I respect the writers on Millionaire. Their questions are consistently creative, thoughtful, and detailed, avoiding the ambiguities that often surface when most amateurs write trivia questions.
But the $500 question above is inexcusable because A and D are both correct answers.
While a stick with a sharp point is undoubtedly useful for roasting a marshmallow (if you don't have a skewer), it's also useful for pitching a tent (if you don't have a peg).
Normally, the Millionaire writers include some extra bit of information -- e.g., "Kraft's Jet Puffed brand's packaging states that ..." or "According to campfire.com, ...-- to ensure that only one answer is correct. But there's nothing that clearly eliminates D as a reasonable answer.
Granted, a person could concoct explanations for how a sharp stick might be useful in cleaning fish (Choice B) or collecting firewood (Choice C). But that would require a serious leap and a creative imagination.
In contrast, it takes no work to imagine how a sharp stick would be useful in anchoring a tent. In fact, as a former Boy Scout, I'm sure that I once found myself short a tent peg and used a sharp stick to replace it.
If John-Anthony Cavanagh is anything like me, he's going to be reliving that nightmare every few minutes. Especially if he Googles himself and discovers my photos of his fifteen seconds in the spotlight of national humiliation. But he owes it to himself to appeal.
In conclusion, John-Anthony Cavanagh deserves a second chance in that Millionaire hot seat and I need to find better things to do with my time.
Originally broadcast on successive evenings for around ten days, it now appears weekly on ITV in a primetime slot on Saturday evenings, and also occasionally on Tuesday evening. The show lasts for one hour (including commercial breaks). The first contestant was Graham Elwell, who won £64,000.
As of January 2006 it is in its 19th series, over 400 shows having been screened. At its peak in 1999 the show pulled in up to 19 million viewers (an astonishing one in three of the British population), often when it only had a half-hour timeslot, before declining to around eight million by 2003. Current ratings as of 2006 are around six million in the UK.
In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? was placed 23rd.
Members of the public apply to appear on the show by calling a premium rate telephone number or sending a premium rate text message. Applications can also be made at the ITV website, via a system of £1 "credits" as well as through a contestant casting audition. Such auditions are held around the UK at various locations. Contestants are chosen from the large number of applicants through a combination of random selection and ability to answer test general knowledge questions.
In one series the audience were asked to vote (secretly) on every question, and their answers were revealed, for interest only, after the question had been answered. This feature has been abandoned but the host does, however, sometimes reveal the answer chosen by the contestant's friend sitting in the audience.
Tarrant's catchphrases on the show include "Is that your final answer?", "But we don't want to give you that" (meaning that he would like the contestant to go on and win even more money), and more recently at the end of the show, "But the cashpoint is now closed for tonight".
Unlike most other versions of the show around the world, whenever a contestant answers an early question incorrectly and wins nothing, there is no on-screen text stating it. Tarrant usually reminds contestants of this possibility after answering the £500 question correctly, as they now stand at the last point at which they could go home with nothing. It has happened only seven times in the show's history, and in all but one case, the £0 winners missed the £1,000 question.
