Who Wants to be a Millionaire

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WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE
The opening title for "Who Wants to be a Millionaire".
Airdates:	ABC August 1999 and ABC November 1999, ABC January 2000 - June 2002, Syn. September 2002 - Present, ABC February 2004 and May 2004 ("Super Millionaire")
Hosts:	Regis Philbin, Meredith Vieira
Producers:	Celador, Valleycrest Television, Buena Vista Television

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 1999-2002 version 1.2 2004 version ("Super Millionaire") 1.3 Current version 2 Notes

Gameplay

1999-2002 version

At the beginning of each game, ten new contestants were introduced and given a question with four answers. Each player then attempted used their own keypad to place those answers in the proper order given by the question. The player who answered the question correctly and did so in the quickest time was invited to center stage to play the main game.

In the main game, the player answered a series of questions, each question having four choices for the right answer. In order to lock in an answer, the player had to verbally declare one of the choices to be their "final answer". If correct, the player advanced one level up the game's money ladder. The ladder for the original network version went as follows:

$100 - $200 - $300 - $500 - $1000
$2000 - $4000 - $8000 - $16,000 - $32,000
$64,000 - $125,000 - $250,000 - $500,000 - $1,000,000

The fifth and tenth questions of the game were given special weight, because answering them correctly guaranteed that the amount for that question would be the minimum that player would leave with, even if he answered a question wrong in the future. Play continued until the contestant either answered all fifteen questions, decided to stop the game with the money already won, or answered a question incorrectly, at which point the player lost all winnings not already guaranteed.

If the contestant was stuck on a particular question, he was allowed to employ the use of three "Lifelines" during the game. These lifelines could be played in any order on any question, but each lifeline could only be used once. The lifelines were:

• 50:50: Two of the answer choices were removed from the question, leaving two answers, one of which was the correct one.
• ASK THE AUDIENCE: The audience members used a keypad in front of them to vote on what they believed to be the right answer.
• PHONE A FRIEND: Prior to the show, the contestant furnished a list of phone numbers for five friends and relatives. The player would call up one player from that list and have 30 seconds to read the question to the person on the other end of the line and discuss the answer with him.

After each lifeline was used, the player could then either answer the question, use another lifeline (if one was still available), or quit the game. After the game ends, the remaining contestants from the original ten answered another timed question to determine who would play next.

2004 version ("Super Millionaire")

When the show returned to ABC in 2004, the payouts were altered so that a maximum of $10,000,000 was offered as a top prize. The pay schedule for this run went as follows:

$1000 - $2000 - $3000 - $4000 - $5000
$10,000 - $20,000 - $30,000 - $50,000 - $100,000
$500,000 - $1,000,000 - $2,500,000 - $5,000,000 - $10,000,000

In addition, the contestant was given two extra lifelines once he had answered the tenth question correctly. Those two lifelines were:

• THREE WISE MEN: Three people - typically a scientist, a pop culture expert, and a former million-dollar winner on the show - were sequestered in another room. They would be shown the question and have 30 seconds to discuss the answer amongst themselves; they had no actual contact with the contestant.
• DOUBLE DIP: The player was allowed to choose two possible answers to the question. This meant that a player could theoretically use the 50:50, then use the Double Dip, thereby guaranteeing that the right answer would be found. However, using the Double Dip prevented the player from quitting the game for the remainder of the question.

Current version

The syndicated version of the show forgoes the opening round of ten players, opting instead to introduce individual contestants one at a time as they begin their game. The pay schedule was originally the same as the network version of the show; however, during the show's third season, the values of the 10th, 11th, and 12th questions were lowered to $25,000, $50,000, and $100,000, respectively. At this time, another lifeline was introduced for use by any player who cleared the first ten questions: Switch the Question, which allowed the player to swap out the question in play with a different one. Once the question was swapped out, though, the contestant could not go back to it, nor would they have any lifelines restored from that question.

Notes

• To date, there have a total of twelve million-dollar winners in all of the show's incarnations.
• During the show's first two flights, each episode aired one day after it had been taped, and the show itself aired on consecutive days.