A quiz show hosted by Regis Philbin that premiered on the United States' ABC television network on February 22, 2004 for an initial one-week run. It follows the basic premise of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? but adds two new lifelines and a top prize of US$10,000,000.
Gameplay
Up to 10 contestants are given a Fastest Fingers question in which they must place four answers in the correct order. The contestant who answers the question correctly in the shortest time advances to the hot seat and must then answer 15 multiple-choice questions correctly. The list below indicates the value of each question.
- $1,000
- $2,000
- $3,000
- $4,000
- $5,000 (*)
- $10,000
- $20,000
- $30,000
- $50,000
- $100,000 (*)
- $500,000
- $1,000,000
- $2,500,000
- $5,000,000
- $10,000,000
Asterisks in the table indicate milestone questions. If a contestant answers any question incorrectly, he walks away with the value of the last milestone question (or $0, should he fail to reach the first milestone). A contestant may also walk away without answering the current question, keeping all of his prior winnings.
Lifelines
The three lifelines from the original are all present. Ask the Audience lets the contestant poll the studio audience to see what the group thinks is the correct answer. 50/50 eliminates two answer choices, leaving only the correct answer and one incorrect answer. Phone a Friend gives the contestant 30 seconds to ask the question to someone by phone.
At the $100,000 level, two more lifelines are unlocked.
Double Dip
Double Dip allows the contestant to answer the question twice. The contestant may not choose to quit after choosing to Double Dip. After the first final answer, Regis indicates whether or not the answer is correct. If the answer is not correct, the contestant must choose a second answer. If the second answer is not correct, the contestant loses all his winnings back to the last milestone and the game ends.
When used with 50/50, Double Dip ensures a correct answer.
A panel of three experts (in the case of the first episode, former contestants) sits backstage. Their identities are revealed only after the first contestant of the night reaches the $100,000 milestone. When the contestant calls upon the Three Wise Men, a 30-second timer starts and the question is displayed to the panel. The panel may use all their time to decide on the correct answer. As with Phone a Friend, the panel has no knowledge of the question until the timer begins and the question is shown to them.
The term "Three Wise Men" is a misnomer. On the first night's show, one of the panelists was Ms. Nancy Christy, the only woman to win the $1,000,000 prize on the American (syndicated) version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Each of the panels on the succeeding two nights also included one woman.
Audition Process
Auditions opened on February 16, 2004. To audition, call 1-800-999-7878 between 7:00 PM and 3:00 AM Eastern Standard Time and answer five general knowledge questions in a Fastest Fingers format. Eligible contestants must be U.S. residents at least 18 years of age who have not been in the Hot Seat before. Auditions end on February 24, 2004 at 3:00 AM EST.
Home page: http://abc.go.com/primetime/millionaire/
Update 5/17/04: For the May sweeps week, another weeklong run of Super Millionaire premiered May 16, 2004.