Who Wants to Be Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?: Difference between revisions

 

 

Of course, when a show is successful, everybody else wants to [[Follow the Leader]]. Many games, specifically in primetime, shamelessly borrowed many of the elements that made ''Millionaire'' so unique and successful.

* A large top prize, usually $1,000,000.

* A single contestant or team competing against "the house", as opposed multiple contestants competing against each other.

* A "money ladder" or "money tree", in which each right answer moves you up to a higher amount.

* [[All or Nothing|Losing all of your money if you answer wrong]], unless certain levels of the money ladder are "safe havens" where you're guaranteed to win at least that amount.

* [[Lifelines]].

* Gratuitous [[Padding]], such as pauses before the reveal of the answers (sometimes [[Commercial Break Cliffhanger|spilling over into commercial breaks]]).

* Dark theater-in-the-round sets adorned with complex lighting setups.

* [[Trailers Always Spoil|Giving away the outcomes of upcoming games]], in the hope that it'll entice people to watch.

 

'''Don't add examples to this page unless they ''clearly'' were influenced by ''WWTBAM''.''' The mere presence of [[Lifelines]] or a $1,000,000+ prize does not automatically mean it's a ''Millionaire'' clone. Premiering after ''Millionaire'' doesn't instantly make it comparable to the show. We're looking for shows that tried to emulate the whole package — game format, presentation, etc.

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* ''It's Your Chance of a Lifetime'': The only differences between this show and its forefather were: an opening question to pay off a credit card bill, only nine questions in your stack instead of 15, and wagering on each question to determine its value. Aside from that, probably the closest imitator of the bunch.

* ''[[Million Dollar Mind Game]]'': An American version of the Russian game show ''[[What When Where]]'', six contestants work as a team to answer increasingly complex questions with each player taking a turn as team captain. The main difference from other shows on here is that visual aids are used for many of the questions, up to three incorrect answers are allowed and the contestants vote on whether they want to keep playing the game or walk away after each question. It's worth noting that the original Russian game have neither lifelines nor money tree. It has a lot of padding though.

* ''[[Million Dollar Money Drop]]'': Inverts the trope by giving the team the million dollars right at the start, but forcing them to keep it by placing the money on answers to multiple-choice questions, and losing money placed on wrong answers.

* ''[[Minute to Win It]]'': ''Millionaire'' money ladder meets ''[[Beat the Clock]]''-type stunt show, with bonus heavily-caffeinated Guy Fieri. Initial episodes played it straight, but later episodes loosened up the feel of the show, and even added lifelines.

* ''[[The Weakest Link]]'': The American version had the usual "money ladder" format with only minor changes from the original version of the show.

* ''[[Winning Lines]]'': Originally produced by the same people behind ''Millionaire'', it's U.S. version for CBS was adjusted to compete ''against'' it/ The relatively minor changes included the addition of a $1,000,000 top prize to its [[Bonus Round]], along with additional [[Lifelines]] and a way to lose.

[[Category:Game Show Tropes]]

[[Category:Follow the Leader]]