) I guess the next on will be Poland then...
Post by RyanZ on Nov 11, 2011 19:42:14 GMT -5
It's been a long time since I last got a rant in. Well, here we go:
The audience. The contestant's friend and, usually, savior. They're a crucial part of Millionaire; without the audience, we don't have the show as we know it. So it would logically follow that the audience should add to the overall feel and atmosphere of the show.
Today's big problem is the audience clapping when the final answer is given, not when it's revealed to be right. It seems like a small thing to focus a whole rant on, but it is something that changes the whole atmosphere. Let's take ourselves back to the days of pre-Super Mix format:
"<A/B/C/D>, final answer." Dramatic music, and silence. It kills you to have to wait through it, because if you aren't 100% sure, nothing is a given until Meredith reveals the outcome of that final answer. It's often a moment of total breath-stopping tenseness.
Now for Season 9 - Present: "<A/B/C/D>, final answer." The audience applauds, either because you know you're right, or because you simply locked in the answer. With a hundred cheering faces, you have that support system right there, even if you get it wrong. Under these circumstances, final answers are rarely tense if they aren't from Round 2.
With this small change, something that barely seems significant at first, you've completely revamped the entire atmosphere. While perhaps the audience's support is more suited for your average daytime game show, I don't believe that you can call Millionaire your average daytime game show. You don't usually see people risking tens of thousands of dollars on The Price is Right. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that the audience can make the contestant feel comfortable, but I think the whole "final answer" moment can't be sacrificed. It's part of what makes the whole show.
And that was the Rant of the Day© for November 11, 2011.
The audience. The contestant's friend and, usually, savior. They're a crucial part of Millionaire; without the audience, we don't have the show as we know it. So it would logically follow that the audience should add to the overall feel and atmosphere of the show.
Today's big problem is the audience clapping when the final answer is given, not when it's revealed to be right. It seems like a small thing to focus a whole rant on, but it is something that changes the whole atmosphere. Let's take ourselves back to the days of pre-Super Mix format:
"<A/B/C/D>, final answer." Dramatic music, and silence. It kills you to have to wait through it, because if you aren't 100% sure, nothing is a given until Meredith reveals the outcome of that final answer. It's often a moment of total breath-stopping tenseness.
Now for Season 9 - Present: "<A/B/C/D>, final answer." The audience applauds, either because you know you're right, or because you simply locked in the answer. With a hundred cheering faces, you have that support system right there, even if you get it wrong. Under these circumstances, final answers are rarely tense if they aren't from Round 2.
With this small change, something that barely seems significant at first, you've completely revamped the entire atmosphere. While perhaps the audience's support is more suited for your average daytime game show, I don't believe that you can call Millionaire your average daytime game show. You don't usually see people risking tens of thousands of dollars on The Price is Right. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that the audience can make the contestant feel comfortable, but I think the whole "final answer" moment can't be sacrificed. It's part of what makes the whole show.
And that was the Rant of the Day© for November 11, 2011.
And, about what Meredith said, I agreed on her point too - the audience still claps even if it's wrong, and while she was just fooling around there, it can actually be misleading.