Sick Product of a Sick System

Powerful

Best movie ever!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Without doubt one of the greatest quiz shows of all time unfortunately ultimately spoilt by a combination of over-exposure, ITV's obsession with celebrity versions of every game show they have, and constant fiddling with the format in the final years. First reducing the number of questions from 15 to 12 smacked of dumbing down. Changing the amounts to win made some of the steps drastically uneven. Dumping the Fastest Finger Round in favour of off-screen auditions because it was thought older people were at a disadvantage robbed the show of the chance selection of contestant. Then finally, and in total contradiction to the earlier change, the introduction of time limits in the very next series which, more than any Fastest Finger, penalised the older contestants. In the end, it was these "improvements" and Chris Tarrant's increasingly irritating habits - the sharp intake of breath seemingly after every sentence, the repetitive "jokes" about people looking "frightened to death" - which killed the show off. That, and the suspicion that some contestants may not have been selected entirely at random as claimed. With the benefit of re-runs on "Challenge", it's surprising how many "randomly selected" contestants were veterans of other quiz shows. If you're not convinced, ask yourself how it was Charles Ingram followed not only his wife and brother-in-law into the hot seat but how he and his wife had featured in a married couples' special some months earlier. Maybe a change of host and a return to the old format would have been advisable. Who knows? Can I 'phone a friend?

'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' was totally revolutionary when it first aired in September 1998. The opportunity for someone to become a millionaire by just answering 15 questions was really exciting.The show originally aired for roughly 10 consecutive nights but later changed to a Saturday night slot.For the first few years, it was fresh and good to watch, answering the questions along with the contestants was also quite a challenge but as time went on, the show lost some of its character. Underneath the exterior that promotes the chance to win a £million, is basically a bong-standard quiz show. The idea for the show is great but it could seriously do with a complete overall to last another ten years.Other quiz shows such as 'Blockbusters' and 'Weakest Link' are more competitive and are more exciting to watch.

I have watched Who Wants To Be a Millionaire since it first started in 1998 and is now usually shown only on Saturday evenings and is one of the very few things worth watching on Saturdays. The problem is that it usually clashes with the only decent Saturday evening programme, Casualty. What I normally do is set the video for Millionaire and watch it another evening.Chris Tarrent has hosted it from the start and his catchphrases like "We don't want to give that" have become very well known.Four people have won £1 million since it started and no doubt there will be more millionaires in the future.

When visiting my grandmother my wife and I watch this show! My wife and grandmother find the show intriguing . Myself, I get bored half way through the show. All the um's and the contestant talking to himself becomes tedious. Just make a decision already! Like Homer says boring! I like the faster paced contestants, who stick with a decision. At least the viewers would not have to wait until tomorrow to see the results. The final sound to signify the end has to be redone. It has got to be the most annoying sound. Do they do that on purpose? the first questions are so easy and anyone that uses a life line on those questions should not even be on the show. My wife gets so mad when they do that. My grandmother can hardly wait to see the next winner. It is like a soap opera for her. 6 or 7/10