air dates: ABC primetime 8/16/99-2002 & occasionaly from 2/04-5/04 (Super Millionaire), syndicated 9/16/2002-present by Buena Vista Television ('02-'08) and Disney/ABC Domestic Television
hosts: Regis Philbin (ABC), Meridith Vieira (syn.)
HOW TO PLAY:
On the hour-long ABC version, each show started with ten contestants seated at their podiums. Each podium featured a moniter with DEL, A, B, C, D, and OK buttons. Regis then presented a "fastest finger" question with four answers to put in the right order. The player who put those answers in the right order in the fastest time won their way to the "hot seat." This is were winning money comes in. The contestant must correctly answer 15 questions, which increase in difficulty, in order to win a million bucks. A question is presented along with 4 possible answers. Once the player decides on a final answer, that answer is locked in and can't be changed. If correct, the winnings increase. If not, the game is over. The values of the questions increased as follows:
$100, $200, $300, $500, $1,000, $2,000, $4,000, $8,000, $16,000, $32,000, $64,000, $125,000, $250,000, $500,000, and finally $1,000,000!!
Once the player reaches an amount indicated in bold, the player is guaranteed at least that much money. If the player misses any of the next 5 questions, (s)he ends up winning that amount. A player who misses any of the first five questions leaves with zilch. If at any time the player is unsure of an answer, (s)he may stop and protect his/her winnings.
In order to help the player win as much as possible, (s)he is given three lifelines at the start, each of which can only be used once:
When a game ended on the ABC versions, another "fastest finger" question would be played for the remaining players.
From 6/2000-4/2001, the top prize became a progressive jackpot which increased by $10k every show. Since it had been 72 shows since the last $1M winner, the jackpot started at $1.72 million. In April 2001, the jackpot was finally won by Kevin Olmstead who won $2.18 million, becoming the biggest winner in game show history until Ken Jennings topped that record on Jeopardy! in Fall 2004.
On Super Millionaire, the prize money increased as follows:
$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, and finally $10,000,000 (OH, WOW!!!)
If the player won $100,000, (s)he earned two new lifelines in addition to any ones left. One of those lifelines was the Three Wise Men, where three very educated people secluded backstage could help the player answer the question. They were given 30 seconds to hear the question and confer and agree on an answer. The other lifeline was called Double Dip, which allowed the player to answer that question twice. If the first answer was wrong, then (s)he must choose from the remaining three. The catch is once that lifeline was activated, (s)he couldn't stop on that question. (S)he must use both chances.
On the half-hour syndicated version, no "fastest finger" is played. After one player finishes his/her game, another contestant sits in the "hot seat" and plays for up to $1M.
Starting in 9/2004, the $32k, $64k, and $125k values were reduced to $25k, $50k, and $100k. Also starting in 9/04, once a player wins $25k, (s)he earned a new lifeline, Switch the Question, in addition to those still left. This lifeline, when used, indicated the correct answer to the first question which was then replaced by another question on that same level.
As of September '08, time limits are imposed on each question (15 seconds on the first 5, 30 seconds on the next 5, 45 seconds on the next 4, and 45 seconds plus all unused time from the other 14 questions). Failure to answer in time ends the game, with all winnings up to that point remaining intact. In addition, the player is given the categories for the questions. Also, StQ and 50:50 were replaced by 2 new lifelines, Double Dip from Super Millionaire, and Ask the Expert where the player can call any expert for help. The player must win $1,000 to earn the latter.
OTHER TIDBITS:
On 11/19/99, an IRS agent named John Carpenter became the first millionaire. He didn't really need those lifelines! He just called his dad on the last question which was: "Which U. S. president appeared on Laugh-In?" He wanted to let his dad know that he was going to win the $1M! I'll bet Reege was tickled! John knew the answer was Nixon.
Other $1M winners included Dan Blonsky, Joe Trela, Bob House, David Goodman, and Kevin Smith among others.
Regis Philbin is best known for co-hosting Live with Regis and Kelly (known as Live with Regis and Kathie Lee from '88-'2000). Regis hosted New Year's Rockin' Eve 2005 while Dick Clark was recovering from a stroke. In '04, he smashed Hugh Downs' record for the most hours logged on TV. He is now hosting Million Dollar Password on CBS.
Meredith Vieira, whom I call the Bob Barker of game show hostesses, had previously worked as a co-hostess on ABC's The View. In '07 she replaced Katie Couric as a co-anchor on NBC's Today.