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Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a television game show which offers very large cash prizes for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. The programme originated in the UK, and was first aired on 4 September 1998. Initially, it was devised as a promotional game for Chris Tarrant's breakfast show on Capital FM radio. The maximum cash prize (in the original British version) is one million pounds. When the programme was first aired in Finland the original prize was one million Finnish Marks but following the adoption of the euro in 1999 it was rounded up to €200,000.
The show is named after Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, a 1956 song by Cole Porter from the film High Society which emphasised the desirability of love over material possessions: "Who wants to be a millionaire? I don't. And I don't 'cause all I want is you."
Rules
Only one contestant plays at a time, and the emphasis is on suspense rather than speed. There is no time limit to answer questions, and contestants are given the question before they must decide whether to attempt an answer.
The contestant is asked increasingly difficult general knowledge questions by the host. Questions are multiple choice: four possible answers are given and the contestant must choose the correct one. On answering the first question correctly, the contestant wins £500 (in the UK – other countries vary the currency but have the same basic format). Subsequent questions are played for increasingly large sums (roughly doubling at each turn). Usually, the first few questions are easy some choices often have joke answers.
Lifelines
If at any point the contestant is unsure of the answer to a question, he or she can use one or more ‘lifelines’. After using lifelines, contestants can either answer the question, use another lifeline, or walk away and keep the money.
Fifty-Fifty (50/50): The contestant asks the host to have the computer randomly eliminate two of the incorrect answer choices, leaving the contestant with a choice between the correct answer and one incorrect one from which to select.
Ask the Audience: The contestant asks the studio audience which answer they believe is correct. Members of the studio audience indicate their choices using an audience response system. The results are immediately displayed on the contestant's and host's screens.
Phone-A-Friend: Contestants may call a pre-arranged friend. The contestant has thirty seconds to read the four choices to the friend, who must select an answer before the time runs out.
A few years ago on a celebrity version of Who wants to be a Millionaire? in the UK, former England football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson reached the £1 million question. The dialogue went something like this:
Chris Tarrant, the host said, "Right Sven, this is for £1 million, and remember, you still have two lifelines left, so please take your time.
"Here's your question: What type of animal lives in a sett?"
Is it: a) a badger, b) a ferret, c) a mole, d) a cuckoo?"
Sven pondered for a while and says, "No, I'm sorry Chris, I'm not too sure.
I'll have to go 50-50."
"Right, Sven, let's take away two wrong answers and see what you're left with. 'Badger' and 'Cuckoo' are the two remaining answers."
Sven has a long think, then scratched his head and says, "No, Chris, I'm still not sure, I'm going to have to phone a friend."
So who are you going to call, Sven?" says Chris.
"Hmmm, I think I'll call David Beckham."
So Tarrant phoned David Beckham. "David, this is Chris Tarrant from 'Who wants to be a Millionaire'. I've got Sven-Goran Eriksson here, and with your help he could win £1 million. The next voice you hear will be Sven's."
"Hello David" said Sven. "It's the boss here. What type of animal lives in a sett? Is it a badger or a cuckoo?"
"It's a badger, boss." said Beckham without hesitation.
"You sure, son?" said Sven.
"Definitely, boss. One hundred percent. It's a badger. Definitely."
"Right, Chris," said Sven, "I'll go with David. The answer's a badger.
"Final answer, Sven?"
"Final answer, Chris."
"That's the correct answer. You've won £1 million!" Cue wild celebrations.
Next morning at training, Sven called Beckham across.
"Son, that was brilliant last night. I thought I might be taking a gamble giving you a call, but you played a blinder! But how the heck did you know that a badger lives in a sett?"
"Oh I didn't, boss..." replies Beckham,
"... But everybody knows a cuckoo lives in a clock!"
Mike Bangle is the owner of Talking English language consultancy and can be contacted at mike.bangle(at)phnet.fi
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