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Post by millionairenut on May 17, 2018 16:24:46 GMT -5
Let's spice things up and use this thread as a tribute, a celebration, a dedication to special episodes/moments of what is, in my opinion, the greatest quiz show of all time. Lots of great moments and runs came on Primetime Millionaire. I know there's one thread on John Carpenter winning the million, but I think we ought to expand that into a new thread to discuss and relive certain runs on certain days. Being the diehard that I am, I tend to watch big money runs on their anniversaries, and it just so happens that one happened on this date back in 2001: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj0mZ5W5CFowww.youtube.com/watch?v=qLquIC22TyUThat's right. It's the golden anniversary of Rob and Mary Beth McNally, which happened exactly 17 years ago today. 2018's calendar is identical to that of 2001's in terms of days of the week. So, today is Thursday and this happened on a Thursday. This run is the perfect example of what Millionaire once was, and how I wish it could be again. Of course, Rob and Mary Beth are noted for being the only couple ever to reach the final question, which was a tough one, and that's something that a Million Dollar Question should be. It's an obscure fact, but something someone could know. Happy Anniversary, Rob and Mary Beth. There will be more anniversaries to come in this thread when those days happen. |
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Post by millionairenut on May 20, 2018 7:33:48 GMT -5
17 years ago this weekend was the Zero Dollar Winners edition of Millionaire. It was a two night event that aired May 20, and 21, 2001. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBwmGE0giXMwww.youtube.com/watch?v=AuH8aNZpCdIWhat is most remarkable to me is Martin Poteralski, who was a $0 winner the first time he got into the hot seat, only to win $250,000 in this special. What an amazing turn around, but it shows you the kind of pressure is put on you in that situation. By the way, as a side note, I had a dream years ago they brought back Prime Time for another anniversary with Regis and I got into the hot seat, only to become a $0 winner myself. Let's hope only the first part of my dream comes true. |
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Post by jon on May 20, 2018 8:29:42 GMT -5
Never realised how long ago it was, to be completely honest.
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Post by millionairenut on May 20, 2018 9:17:14 GMT -5
Never realised how long ago it was, to be completely honest. It's rather sad, isn't it? 17 years. I miss Millionaire so much to this day. It's sad to watch Primetime Millionaire because of how short it was. Why can't they do an anniversary special next year? Britain did one. Deal or No Deal has been revived. American Idol has been revived. Do you mean to tell me people wouldn't watch a Millionaire special? If they did, I'd do anything to get into the hot seat. I'm studying a lot of general knowledge in preparation should such a revival happen. I just watched the Zero Dollar Winners episode. Here are some thoughts: Brian Fodera got back into the hot seat, and won $16,000. It seems like the contestants in this episode were hesitant to say final answer, and maybe with good reason as they didn't want to repeat their mistake. Jon Futrell was a high school sports reporter, which is actually the same job I have. He actually wore the same shirt as he did when he won nothing. It reminds me of the people in Britain who wore the same shirts if they were in the hot seat for multiple episodes: John Randall, Steve Devlin, Mike Pomfrey and of course, Charles Ingram. The $16,000 question he had I thought I had heard before. My instinct was right. I will review the second episode tomorrow when Martin Poteralski wins $250,000. |
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Post by RegisFan on May 20, 2018 21:51:10 GMT -5
17 years! Holy cow. WWTBAM has remained such a huge part of my life that I sometimes forget how long ago the prime time episodes really aired.
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Post by millionairenut on May 20, 2018 22:46:34 GMT -5
17 years! Holy cow. WWTBAM has remained such a huge part of my life that I sometimes forget how long ago the prime time episodes really aired. It really is hard to believe, isn't it? I wish I watched more of prime time back then. I was a little kid and my interest had faded, but I'm catching up and have been catching up for many years now. I'm late to the party. I remember August and November 1999, plus some of 2000. I remember John Carpenter, Dan Blonsky and Joe Trela, but not the others. Supermarket Sweep was announced as a return as well. With the 20th anniversary seemingly being a success in Britain, to not do a 20th prime time anniversary in 2019 would be a big missed opportunity. It would be my one and only chance of fulfilling a dream of mine of getting into the hot seat, as there's no way I would ever go on syndicated Millionaire. With all of the reboots and revivals, why prime time never got one is beyond me. Yet it has still made an impact in all of our lives and even in pop culture to an extent today. I remember the Charlie Sheen saga being all over the news seven years ago. I wanted to look up more about him online and saw he made it to the hot seat on a celebrity edition of Millionaire. I watched his run, and that really jump started the obsession for me. I always liked Millionaire, and I enjoyed watching Super Millionaire when it aired in 2004 and again the 10th Anniversary special I watched every show in 2009, but in 2011 I really took my love of Millionaire to a whole new level and it would stay that way for a few years. I took a break until I just recently got back into it with my love of the show. 2011 was when my love of Millionaire usurped my love of Jeopardy. I would do anything for prime time special in 2019, and I would especially do anything to qualify for the show and make it into the hot seat. I have visualized and fantasized many times over the years of me winning $1,000,000 on a prime time special with Regis. I would cry many tears of joy if it actually happened, and truth be told, I wouldn't be playing for a million dollars, I'd be playing for the love of the game, the game that I love so much. If my dream somehow all became reality next year, the $1,000,000 would just be an added bonus, because I'd have gone all the way, which would be the most important thing to me. This is is the most beautiful game show of all time, and I do watch prime time episodes with a bit of sadness, though I watch it with joy, as this thread is meant to celebrate those anniversaries, and many more notable Millionaire anniversaries throughout the years. |
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Post by millionairenut on May 21, 2018 19:58:49 GMT -5
So, quite a bit happened on this date in the Millionaire calendar. Martin Poteralski won $250,000 on the Zero Dollar winners edition. His questions jogged my memory, as I wasn't completely sure, but what a redemption. So many great stories on Millionaire. This was one of them. His $32,000 answer was B, Peru, which was also David Goodman's million dollar answer, albeit for a much different question. Two more players would go on to win $64,000. I thought this was one of the best ideas Millionaire did during the show. I'm so glad some players got to right those wrongs. It turns out on this date also was first day of the Champions edition. Here are the people who appeared on this date in 2000: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKX7pMlsQO0 - Joe Trela returns to the hot seat. I remember his first run. I was in second grade. It was a birthday of one of my loved ones, who told me somebody had won the million that night. So I got home from school and watched Trela's run on VCR that day. He lost a ton of weight over the years. This is what happens when you don't trust your instincts and lifelines. It's a good thing he didn't go with the audience at $300. Maybe those lifelines could have helped at $32,000. Speaking of which, he was out of lifelines at $32,000 in his original run, as was Nancy Christy, as well as Ingram Wilcox in Britain. It shows you how different things can be sometimes. It reminds me of when Bill Copland won $250,000 on Australia, but won nothing on Britain, and Pat Gibson was the contestant after him. Then there's David Foreman, who did this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxmjIE0Pejswww.youtube.com/watch?v=bUlpit12DrQ$250,000 a second time. Unbelievable. Those Jeopardy alumni really play well on Millionaire. If you want to talk about impressive feats, this is up there, so is Paddy Spooner winning a quarter of a million in both Australia and the UK, John Carpenter, David Goodman and Steve Perry reaching the Million Dollar Question with all three lifelines and of course, Carpenter not needing any help for his $1,000,000 win. Which takes us to our final contestant of the night: www.youtube.com/watch?v=53SM-K4_GFMMichael's run will carry over into the next show. A couple of things. #1 David Fite did not want to return for the Champions Edition. Does anybody know why? Who would have guessed that somebody who used a lifeline on his $100 question would make it to the $1,000,000 question? If anybody knows why, that would be appreciated. #2 Why didn't Millionaire do any more Champions shows? Are you telling me Bob House, Kim Hunt, David Goodman, Kevin Olmstead, Bernie Cullen, Ed Toutant, Tom O'Brien, Joe Kelleher, Phil Gibbons, Pat Thompson, Justin Ray Castillo, Jim Matthews, Gary Gambino, David Stewart, Steve Perry, Moe Cain, Tom Hoobler and Mary Burke couldn't or wouldn't come back? That would be interesting to see who would've done what a second time. Edit: Something unique is the fastest finger introductions. Usually the way they introduced the contestants was different than in Britain and Australia. America and Japan did it differently. This contestant introduction was just like Britain's. |
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Post by millionairenut on May 23, 2018 14:22:21 GMT -5
We continue on with the May 23, 2000 Champions Edition of Millionaire. So, Michael Avitzur was the returning contestant. He ended up $32,000, $16,000 for charity. Then came another big dollar winner: www.youtube.com/watch?v=teeiIx-0efIwww.youtube.com/watch?v=0ImB2qw1FWcThat's a cute baby in the second video. To think she's all grown up now. How time flies. Neil had really great logic and was gutsy. He knew when to walk away. I didn't know the Gorbachev question or the one about the Suez Canal. I would've guessed the Nile River because of the Suez Canal Crisis of the 1950s. I would've been out. Of course, we can't forget our next contestant: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dgdXyLbXroBlonsky's run once again reiterates that you could have magic one run in the hot seat, and then not have the same good fortune the next time, which is the opposite of Martin Poteralski, but I'd say Blonsky did better than Trela despite both of them winning the same dollar amount the second time around. The first three to win the million in Britain came back to play for charity, and none of them duplicated their performance or close to it. Robert Brydges answered the 13th question wrong. That pretty much makes David Foreman's performance of winning $250,000 both times rather impressive, doesn't it? Well, time is running out, which means one last contestant can fill in the hot seat. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LGNUm_O1D0Wouldn't ABC have thought people would've wanted to see somebody win $500,000? Wouldn't they have thought people would be curious as to what the $1,000,000 question was? Well, I've read before how his question was asked what the final word in the Old Testament was, which, according to what I read, was D: Curse. So, that's where we left it off, and we'll pick it up again tomorrow for another night of Millionaire Champions. |
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Post by millionairenut on May 24, 2018 21:58:07 GMT -5
May 24, 2000 So Tim Shields uses two lifelines on President Clinton for his $16,000 question. Regis was right when he said nobody would know that if they didn't see the movie. I know I didn't, but C just seemed to make the most sense, as a more lighthearted moment. Signing a bill would seem too serious, so my mind say it was watching laundry dry. Then he got it wrong about Copernicus for the $64,000 question. That's three different times Tim Shields at in the hot seat, and never showing his second run was a mistake on ABC's part. If I somehow ever got in touch with Tim, I'd love to ask him about that and if the Old Testament question was indeed his question for $1,000,000. Then there's the one who was the first person ever to see the final question in any version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1gMlwAikkgOnly this time, like Joe Trela and Dan Blonsky, he went back with $1,000. Both times Michael Shutterly used a phone a friend, and neither one was any helpful, and the second time, it cost him. It's worth pointing out that Regis said that Shutterly's phone a friend was using the internet and that was completely legal. Oh, how times change. I'm not sure how many contestants got into the hot seat on this date, but I do know this one did: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j185LF3XX3oI'm actually not the biggest John Carpenter fan in the world. I know he's the most famous, most popular contestant of all time. My favorite top prize winners in the U.S. are Bernie Cullen and Ed Toutant. Carpenter was very smart and brilliant in both of his runs, though. So, he answered the first 12 questions on this date. He didn't use a lifeline until $64,000, and it was a great use of asking the audience, and he's right about it being New York. The $125,000 question, for me at least, was relatively easy. There was a movie about this called the Assassination of Leon Trotsky from 1972 in which Richard Burton was the title character, and Ramon Mercader was the assassin. So I'm not sure if I knew that the first time I saw it, but I did after watching it for the first time in probably seven years. Also, Regis kept talking about an earpiece in Carpenter's run. Little did he or any of us know what would happen in Britain in 2001. One more day of Millionaire's Champions show tomorrow. |
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Post by jon on May 24, 2018 23:06:47 GMT -5
Little did he or any of us know what would happen in Britain in 2001. *cough* |
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Post by millionairenut on May 27, 2018 9:45:42 GMT -5
I wasn't able to get to this on Friday the 25th. I worked 14 hours on Friday, and worked many hours yesterday and just wanted to relax when I got back. John Carpenter had won $125,000 and continued as the rollover contestant from the previous champions show. He successfully answers the $250,000 question after using his 50:50 lifeline. He then gets the question of the first baseball player to appear on a U.S. Postage Stamp. A: Roberto Clemente B: Lou Gehrig C: Jackie Robinson D: Babe Ruth He decides to call his brother, Tom, who says Jackie Robinson, but isn't sure. John says if it was his own money he'd take the risk, but not for charity. This was a good call. If you go for it and miss during a regular show, it's a big drop, but the only one who hurts is you. If you do so when half of your winnings go to charity, well, they obviously suffer then, too. Not only was this for a good cause and reason to come back and have half of your winnings go to charity, it also obviously changes the strategy of the game and adds a whole new element. Well, that means it's time to fill that hot seat. Let's see who is next in line for a second crack at the million. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhcmK4mR6H0Why, it's Toby Moore, who is perhaps best known for his $500,000 question of which of the following is not considered a Pokemon? He used his 50:50 lifeline, and was left with Jigglypuff and Frodo, choosing to walk. Of course, as a kid at the time, I absolutely loved Pokemon, and I am old enough to remember the Pokemon craze. Both Pokemon and Millionaire were enormous in popularity, but then again, I was a kid. How many adults watch kids programming? I don't have any children myself, not yet at least, so, like most adults, I don't watch that type of programming, and obviously, Toby Moore did not do so either. Unfortunately, Toby only leaves with $1,000 this time around after taking a chance on a question. So, with Toby gone, another champion is needed for the hot seat. Let's see who answers the call: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ECizGijUPcHow about that? He answered 12 questions in 12 minutes, maybe just under that. Good job on Al Schaffer to answer that many questions that quickly. He would have been right, too, if he went for it, though that may have simply been a guess. Well, they need one more player, and they found someone to rise to the occasion. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFwQYlJHtZYI don't really like the way Tom played his game, using his 50:50 before his Ask the Audience lifeline. I've always believed the 50:0 is the most important lifeline out of the three, and if there's one lifeline I could have in a big dollar amount question, that would be it. The audience knows TV and entertainment. He should have saved that lifeline for later. Then he doesn't even use his Phone-A-Friend on the $32,000 question, forcing him to leave with only $1,000. Of course, there's no knowing if the Phone-A-Friend would have known it, but it would've been worth it to go for it. There is the flip side of it, too, where you have to be brave and you can't always rely on those lifelines when going for it, but there's a difference between using process of elimination or having some self doubt/seeking reassurance and just not knowing it. So, that's it for the Champions edition. Millionaire really squandered it by not doing it again the next year. There would've been more than enough people to have qualified for the category. I enjoyed these shows. Well, that's just about it for Millionaire in May. The month began with Moe Cain in 2001 winning $500,000, and what an impressive run that was. He really answered those 14 questions rather fast and in a no-nonsense manner, too. Then, of course, Rob and Mary Beth McNally making it to $500,000 in the first and only time a couple saw the Million Dollar Question. Plus, there were a couple of specials in the Champions edition in 2000 and the Zero Dollar Winners edition in 2001. June is a pretty big month in Millionaire history. I'm really looking forward to all of the anniversaries and talking about them soon. Until then, like Regis said, have a great Memorial Day weekend. |
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Post by millionairenut on Jun 3, 2018 9:28:10 GMT -5
We have our first major anniversary of the month, and there are quite a few. Some of them are happy, plus one very poignant one. Today is a happy one of someone from just up the street in New York City, as Regis put it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtCXulV7U3UThe Millionaire wiki says Tom Hoobler first appeared on here on this date in 2001, but if you notice the check Regis is holding, the date says May 31. I wonder why the mix up? Anyway, Tom is one of my favorite contestants of all time. It's worth noting that Tom's time on the fastest finger was 5.80, while someone else had a 5.95 time. Who knows how different Millionaire history would be if that 5.95 person got into the hot seat? Of course, that is absolutely nothing compared to another fastest finger, with that anniversary also coming up this month. I love how much intelligence Tom displayed on the show. He seems like a true, down-to-earth human being. I've Googled him and it seems like he and his wife are still writing, which is fantastic. Tom also was very gutsy in his run. There are some where he wasn't too sure, but he figured it out. Regis even emphasized this a couple of times, specifically on his $32,000 and $64,000 questions. Others might have used the panic button and gone to one of their lifelines, in which they would have been justified in doing so. I do wonder how much Tom saying the correct answer on $64,000 influenced the audience, but both Tom and the audience were correct. I also loved his deduction on this question, saying Anna Quindlen writes fiction and that it doesn't sound like it would be William J. Bennett. Out of the first 13 questions he answered in his first appearance, the only one where Tom didn't seem positive was his $125,000 question. That's an example of being gutsy and going with it. Of course, Buzz Aldrin would have been of age, too, though he was younger than John Glenn by a number of years. Then comes the $250,000 question and Dorothy comes in as a phone-a-friend. Tom and Regis have talked about her, and how she made his sweater than he can wear on the show. Tom says he's tried to get on there for more than a year and he thought it was a joke when he was told he had been selected. Well, all that time of waiting paid off. Dorothy knew it. It was I.M. Pei. She sounded very enthusiastic and polite. Interestingly, Tom says, "I have an inkling, I want you to confirm it." Did Tom know it was Pei and that he was just doublechecking? That's what it sounds like to me. Of course, you may remember I.M. Pei as also being the correct answer to John Carpenter's $500,000 question on the architect who designed the glass pyramid at the Louvre. As a side note, I.M. Pei is still going strong at 101. Hopefully he is in good health. Well, that's it for Tom Hoobler's $100-$250,000 questions. I will be back on Tuesday to discuss the second episode he appeared on. |
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Post by millionairenut on Jun 5, 2018 9:19:10 GMT -5
So, Tom returned his final two questions.
Interestingly enough, he wore a different color shirt this time under his sweater as well as a different pair of glasses.
We get this question for $500,000:
Deciphered in 1952, Linear B is an early form of what language:
A: Greek
B: Latin
C: Russian
D: Arabic
Tom is able to eliminate Russian almost immediately.
Then he says his wife would have known this if he had saved his phone-a-friend.
Regis then says how well they would have done on Couples Millionaire. It seems like that certainly would have been the case. To think, Tom was in the position he was in and then he says he wishes his wife was the one in the chair.
Tom rules out the other chooses. "You know, I think this has to do with the Island of Cyprus, and that would make it Greek, and I'm going to make Greek my final answer."
"Wow, he's going for it. He won a half million dollars!"
For some reason, I love that exchange, and I love the way Regis delivered some of his lines on the show. This was one of them.
The crowd was also hot in this episode, cheering wildly when Tom won the $500,000. Some big money winners had crowds that weren't as excited. This was one that was.
Then he gets his question for $1,000,000
Who is the only Nobel laureate to win an Academy Award?
A: John Steinbeck
B: Jean-Paul Sarte
C: George Bernard Shaw
D: Toni Morrison
Well, Millionaire has had its share of top prize questions about the Nobel winners over the years in many different countries. Trevor Sauer was the first to ever win $500,000 in Australia, and his final question was about who was the first to win two unshared Nobel prizes. Had he chosen to go with his instinct of Linus Pauling, he would've won. Then in Nigeria, Aroma was asked his question about which prize Wangari Maathai won, in which he correctly answered Peace and of course, the newest top prize winner in the franchise was asked about a Nobel for his final question.
Interestingly, I see Tom nodding his head, and he said he knew he should have looked more at the Nobel laureates, but he makes a very good point in which he says one doesn't know what to prepare for when going on this show, and that is so true. I really like the way Tom talked these answers out during his run and in a logical manner. He questioned if Shaw could have won it for My Fair Lady. He ruled out Sarte, but also said Steinbeck and Morrison wrote books that were the basis for movies as well. Then he says he'd like to let the people with the fastest finger have a go.
He was asked to take a guess. He would have said Toni Morrison, but it was George Bernard Shaw, who won it for Pygmalion.
This was a very interesting Million Dollar Question. It's a nice little tidbit and it sounds like something someone could have known. Some of the Million Dollar Questions in Primetime were pretty easy, such as Blonsky's. Others were pretty tough, such as Rob and Mary Beth's question, as well as Rob Coughlin's question. Ken Basin's was pretty obscure, though I'm not sure if U.S. final question has ever been tougher than Chip Esten's in 2013.
Dorothy comes on the phone and is very excited for Tom. What a fantastic contestant who had a ton of knowledge, and was very smart and gutsy in the way he played the game.
I wonder if Dorothy ever tried out. Did she try out for Super Millionaire or the 10th Anniversary special? Carmel Trela, Joe's mother, was a fastest finger contestant in 2009, but did not get into the hot seat.
We have another major anniversary coming up in two days. The next week is going to have quite a few.
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Post by millionairenut on Jun 6, 2018 21:58:39 GMT -5
So, this one I actually did not know, but it turns out this happened 16 years ago tonight:
Believe it or not, I never heard of Aurko Dutta. Yet he apparently won $250,000.
We're not done yet, though.
This was the last person on Primetime Millionaire to win $250,000 and face the $500,000 question. Ken Basin obviously faced the $500,000 and the Million Dollar Question on the 10th Anniversary special, but it is so sad watching these later episodes of Primetime Millionaire, knowing what was going to happen, but how about that? Two $250,000 winners in one show. I've seen Leo's video, but never heard of Aurko.
This feat also was later equaled in the U.K.
So yes, I unintentionally stumbled across an anniversary today, a pretty meaningful and sad one at that.
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Post by millionairenut on Jun 7, 2018 9:19:41 GMT -5
16 years ago yesterday there was back-to-back $500,000 questions. That's a pretty good run, don't you think?
Well, this may be the start of the best run in Millionaire history, on this date in 2000.
How about that for a cliffhanger? It's not often people start the next show with a $1,000,000 question. Jeff Gross later did it in syndicated Millionaire, and Ingram Wilcox started a show with a Million Pound Question.
I find it interesting how Tom said he didn't know his $500,000 question, yet he went for it as he had a feeling. I'm curious as to what that feeling was and what had steered him in that direction. I wonder what makes somebody want to use a lifeline as opposed to not using it, take for example, his $125,000 question. He opted not to use it. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't when foregoing to touch a lifeline. I wonder if Tom had his feeling before the $500,000 question and if the 50:50 confirmed his feeling, or if it was deduction. Anyway, he used his lifelines at the right time.
The videos from last night and this one today really reinforces how much I love Regis. You can tell he was really on the contestants' side and he always wanted them to do well. He encouraged them to use lifelines if need be and he did the same thing with Tom Hoobler.
Tom O'Brien did a great job using process of elimination with his answers, but he won $500,000, and will be back for the Million Dollar Question in four days from now.
Regis also asked Tom if he had seen the show in Britain and said Chris Tarrant does a great job. That might have been the only time Chris Tarrant was ever mentioned on Millionaire in America. I'm not too sure, but Regis is right about that, since, in my opinion at least, he and Chris are the two greatest Millionaire hosts of all time, although I really like Jeremy Clarkson. I'm also a fan of Frank Edoho and Monta Mino.
Is it me or does the friend that Tom brought along have a pretty big resemblance to David Rice? I can't help but think that.
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