Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US)

Contestants must answer a series of 15 questions in order of increasing difficulty, to win the $1 million dollar grand prize. With the help of three (or four) lifelines, a contestant gets a chance at the big money. In 2008 a clock was introduced to game play. The contestant have 15 seconds to answer the first 5 questions, 30 seconds to answer the next 5 questions and 45 seconds to answer the next 4 question. If a contestant were to get to the 1 Million Dollar question they get 45 seconds plus any time they have banked over the previous fifteen for example if on the first question they answer the question within 5 seconds they would have 10 additional seconds for the 1 Million Dollar question. Also introduced in 2008 is a category system, the contestants get to see the categories of each of the questions that they will face.

The Hosts:
Regis Philbin: Original host of the show from 1999-2002 and again in 2004 for a special "Who Wants to be a Super Millionaire" version. In 2009 he also returned to host a special 10th Anniversary Edition. He also co-hosts Live with Regis and Kelly
Meredith Vieira: Current host of the syndicated show from 2002 to present day. She also co-hosts The Today Show and is former co-host of The View

The Cash Prize Questions Ladder
$1,000,000**
$500,000
$250,000
$100,000* 125,000
$50,000* 64,000
$25,000* $32,000**
$16,000 15,000
$8,000 12,500
$4,000 10,000
$2,000 7,500
$1000 ** 5000
$500 3,000
$300 2,000
$200 1,000
$100 500

*In italics is the value of the question from the Prime Time version with Regis Philbin
** In bold, once you get that value question correct you cannot leave the show with less than that dollar amount. It is often called a Milestone question
-In red the new cash prize money latter/tree as of 2009, Season 8 of the Syndicated show

The Life Lines (4)
Ask the Audience: The Contestant asks the studio audience which answer they believe is correct. Members of the studio audience indicate their choices by pressing the key on their keypad corresponding to the correct answer. The choices the audience selected are expressed in a bar graph of percentage of how many in the audience said each A, B, C, or D. The Contestant then has the choice of selecting an answer, quitting the Game or using another lifeline, if available

Ask The Expert: This life line was added in 2008 and is similar to the "Three Wise Men" life line of the Who Wants to Be A Super Millionaire version. This life line only becomes available after the contestant answers the $1000 question correctly. The "expert" is revealed to the Contestant and is usually either a minor celebrity who is thought to be intelligent by the producers of Millionaire or is a former big winner on the show. The show uses the Skype service to connect the contestant with the expert via video up link. Unlike the Phone a Friend life line the Expert is not on the clock so they, in theory, have as much time to converse as they wish. The first expert who appeared on the show was Bill Nye "The Science Guy" host of Stuff Happens on Discovery’s Planet Green.

Double Dip: This life line was introduced to replace the traditional 50:50 life line. Rather than removing two of the wrong answer this life line allows the contestant to choose two answers as their final answer. Once the contestant elects to use this life line they cannot walk away from the question. It was first introduced in 2004 during Who Wants to Be A Super Millionaire and was reintroduced to the show in 2008.


Retired Life Lines
50:50: (1999-2008) The Contestant asks to have the computer randomly eliminate two 2 of the possible answer choices, leaving the Contestant a choice of two 2 answers (1 of which is the correct answer) from which to select. The Contestant then has the choice of selecting an answer, quitting the Game or using another lifeline, if available.


Switch the Question:] (2004-2008) This life line was added in the syndicated version of the show after the prime time version with Regis Philbin was canceled. This lifeline becomes available only after the Contestant has correctly answered the $25,000 question. If the Contestant has not indicated final answer on the revealed question, this lifeline entitles the Contestant to switch out the original question revealed at either the $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 or $1,000,000 value level for another randomly selected question of the same value. Once the Contestant elects to use this lifeline the Contestant is locked into the replacement question and cannot return to the original revealed question. Any lifelines used by the Contestant while attempting to answer the original question prior to the question switch will not be reinstated. The Contestant then has the choice of selecting an answer, quitting the Game or using another lifeline, if available.

Phone-a-Friend: (1999-2009) The contestant may phone anyone in the United States from a list of five (three in 2008 and forward) preselected friends. The Contestant has 30 seconds to read the question, provide the answer choices and attempt to get an answer from their phone-a-friend. After completion of the call, the Contestant then has the choice of selecting an answer, quitting the Game or using another lifeline, if available. In 2008 the number of preselected friends was reduced from five to three.

• Currently 9/10

9/10 (7 Votes cast)