West Coast viewers will have to wait three more hours before finding out
what's going to happen in the next hour.

The August run of Millionaire produced 19 contestants, 18 winners, $1,433,000,
various appearances on morning news shows, one lawsuit, some changes in the
qualifying rules, at least 2 copycat shows, and most importantly, big ratings
for ABC.

This November run will be the first time that our version will be running
concurrently with the UK version... Chris Dickson and his cohorts have more
stuff about that....

But for now, it is time to bring ten contestants from around the country
together. Ten contestants who will be asked the question...

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?

by this man...

REGIS PHILBIN!

Here's how it works...

The ten contestants will be asked one more "put in order" question to
determine who sits in the hot seat. The player who answers correctly in the
fastest time will get a chance at the million dollars.

So now, who has the FASTEST FINGER FIRST:

Place the following foods in the order in which they were first introduced:

A. Spam
B. Rice a Roni
C. Hershey's chocolate bars
D. Wonder Bread

Correct order:
C-D-A-B

The winner:
Mark Megerian of Rochester, Minnesota!

And now, here's what happens in the Hot Seat. The contestant sees the question
and four possible answers. Get it right, win money. Get it wrong, game over.

Three LifeLines at the contestant's disposal:

Ask the Audience - the audience is polled on what they think is the right
answer. They're nearly ALWAYS right!

50:50 - Two incorrect answers are removed from the set, leaving one wrong
answer and the right answer.

AT&T Phone-a-Friend - the contestant is allowed to call anyone in the United
States to get 30 seconds to discuss the question.

So, with all that out of the way, here is the first question for $100:
What is cotton candy made of?
He answers sugar for $100.

for $200:
In an American hospital, what does the abbreviation ER stand for?
He answers Emergency Room and gets $200.

For $300:
According to the well-known proverb, what city was not built in a day?
He goes with Rome for $300.

For $500:
What was the last name of the married characters played by Lucy and Desi on "I
Love Lucy"?
He says Ricardo, most definitely, for $500.

For a guaranteed $1000:
What is the largest object in our solar system?
He goes with the sun... but hesitates (seeing two other answers, Jupiter and
Saturn). But he'll make it the Final Answer.
He's right! It's a thousand dollars!

After the break, we press on with the next five questions on his way to a
million. For $2000:

What university does President Clinton's daughter Chelsea attend?
He narrows it down to Berkeley and Stanford, then says Stanford.
He goes for it and wins $2000.

What is the proper name of a newborn swan?
He is narrowing it down verbally - a no-no, given Rob Gelbman's downfall - to
Duckling and Cygnet ---- he goes with Cygnet.
He's right for $4000!

For $8000:
In the '97 film "As Good As It Gets", what is the profession of Jack
Nicholson's character?
He talks about whether it's Painter or Writer. He says Writer .... and makes
it his final answer...

... and he has $8000!

For $16,000:
In which of the following sports do the competitors race in a building called
a velodrome?
He goes with Cycling, and wins $16,000!

The second milestone for $32,000:
Which of these US state capitals is located at the highest altitude?
A. Cheyenne  B. Santa Fe  C. Phoenix   D. Denver

Mark: (confidently)
Mile High City. It's gotta be Denver... right?

Regis:
Are you asking me? (laughter) I'll let you know in a minute!
Is that your final answer?

Mark:
Yeah, I'm going with Denver.

But sadly, it was Santa Fe. Mark stares dumbfounded.

So Mark goes home with $1000.

(Total from 1 contestant: $1000.)

After the break, we go to the round we call FASTEST FINGER FIRST:

Place the following European cities in order, west to east:

A. Prague
B. London
C. Kiev
D. Lisbon

Correct answer:
D-B-A-C

Winner: John Cuthbertson of San Diego, California.

Let's start the climb again:

For $100:
How many days are there in the modern month of September?
He says 30 for $100.

For $200:
What is the name of the stick traditionally used by a conductor to lead an
orchestra?
He says Baton for $200.

For $300:
What word traditionally describes the surface you strike on a nail?
He wants head (isn't that what everybody wants, Al Snow?) - he's got $300!

For $500:
The 1964 movie "A Fistfull of Dollars" is referred to as what kind of western?
Spaghetti western gets him $500!

For $1000:
Which NBA team did Earvin "Magic" Johnson play for?
He played for the Lakers... and gets $1000.

For $2000:
What is the English translation of Ricky Martin's smash hit "Livin' La Vida
Loca"?
"Living the crazy life" nets him $2000.

For $4000:
According to the Old Testament, which of the following people freed the
Isrealites from captivity in Egypt?
He goes with Moses for $4000.

For $8000:
How many rings intersect in the official Olympic Games symbol?
He goes with 5 for $8000.

Quick! Let's go to a break!

[We know you want to be a Millionaire! And 13 News is going to show you how.
Go behind the scenes, meet Michael Shutterly, and learn how you can retire a
millionaire, even if you don't make it to the big money in the show! Watch 13
News at 6 all next week and see why Thirteen Means News.]

For $16,000:
In 1997, media Mogul pledged one billion dollars to what organization?
He immediately recalls that it was the United Nations for $16,000!

Now again, the second milestone, the tenth question for $32,000:

What is the name of the piece of jewelry being saught in the 1997 film
"Titanic"?
A. Heart of the Ocean
B. Blue Phoenix
C. Azure Star
D. Heart of the Sea

He asks the audience and gets:
49-13-13-25 (for A - Heart of the Ocean)...

He goes with the Audience, A...

For his Final Answer....

.... AND THE AUDIENCE HELPS HIM WIN $32,000!

And now... the last five questions:

For $64,000:
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded annually in which city?
A. Copenhagen  B. Helsinki  C. Stockholm  D. Oslo

He uses the 50:50 to leave:

C. Stockholm  D. Oslo

He thinks about it, and takes the free shot on Stockholm.

It goes up toward the basket...

... but it bounces out and misses. He's still got $32,000!

(Total from 2 contestants: $33,000.)

FASTEST FINGER FIRST:

Moving clockwise on a Monopoly board from GO, place the 4 railroads in order.

A. Pennsylvania
B. Short Line
C. B&O
D. Reading

Correct answer: D-A-C-B
Winner: Jim Baird, from Park Ridge, New Jersey.

For $100:
Completed in 1889, the Eiffel Tower is found in which country?
He goes with France for $100.

For $200:
Which of these words refers to the stock market when the prices are falling?
He says bear for $200.

For $300:
What does the "e" stand for in "e-mail"?
He chooses "Electronic" for $300.

For $500:
The name of what coin also refers to a size of pancake?
Jim will ask the audience on this one, considering he's not a chef.
A. Half penny  B. Indian Nickel C. Quarter D. Silver Dollar
Audience: 3-0-1-96
He goes with The Audience and wins $500.

For $1000:
During the cold War, what were American school children instructed to do
during a nuclear attack?
He chooses "duck and cover" for the guaranteed $1000!

Now, for $2000:
In the Harold Gray cominc strip "L:ittle Orphan Annie", what is the name of
the title character dog?
He saw the ABC movie on earlier tonight ;-) and says Sandy for $2000.

For $4000:
How many teaspoons in a tablespoon?
He says 2, almost immediately... and goes back to $1000.
(The correct answer is 3.)

(Total from 3 contestants: $34,000.)

FASTEST FINGER FIRST:

Place the following wives of Frank Sinatra in order, first to last:

A. Barbara Marx
B. Nancy Barbato
C. Mia Farrow
D. Ava Gardner

Correct answer: B-D-C-A
The winner: John Christiansen from Madison, Wisconsin.

For $100:
According to the children's game, what do you traditionally pin on the donkey?
He goes with Tail for $100.

For $200:
Which of the following are the world's tallest trees?
He asks the audience. From:
A. Redwoods  B. Dogwoods  C. Bonsai  D. Giving Trees
Audience: 94-1-3-2
He goes with the Redwoods and gets $200.

For $300:
In the battle cry datings from the 1830s, what are Texans told to remember?
He says The Alamo for $300.

For $500:
What French phrase has come to mean "served with ice cream"?
He chooses "a la mode" for $500.

For $1000:
How many nickels do you need to make $5.00?
He does the math and says 100 for a guaranteed $1000!

For $2000:
Actress and singer Jennifer Lopez performed as a "Fly Girl" on what comedy
series?
He goes with "In Living Color" for $2000.

For $4000:
Where did presidential candidate Senator John McCain spend five years
straight?
A. West Point  B. Attica State Prison  C. "Hanoi Hilton" D. Governor's Mansion
After much discussion, he goes with C - "Hanoi Hilton"...
... and he wins $4000!

**AH-WHOOOOOOOO!**

And that sound means that John will come back tomorrow to see if he can
continue on his climb up the ladder toward a million dollars.

Quickly, here's how to enter!

The toll-free number is 1-877-258-5808. Call now! You must be age 18 or older
to try out, and you must demonstrate proof of your birthday and Social
Security number to play on TV. If you qualify, your name will go into the
virual hat, and if your name is pulled from the virtual hat, you'll get that
Eligibility Call! Good luck! Complete rules are at the ABC website at
abc.go.com .

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? was created by David Briggs with Michael
Whitehill and Steve Knight for Celador Productions, and is produced in the
United States by Valleycrest Productions for Buena Vista Television.
MILLIONAIRE?: Copyright 1999
Valleycrest Productions and Buena Vista Television.
This Update is Copyright 1999 Jeremy Soria.
All Rights Reserved.

ABC-7, in MY area, IS.  That station's news is offering interviews with game
show icons like Joyce Brothers, Kitty Carlisle and Regis.  Could some New York
viewer please watch EYEWITNESS NEWS this week and summarize Joel Siegel's
sweep-week report on game legends?

http://members.aol.com/cyberjohns

Did it seem to anyone else that the fastest finger questions were getting
more difficult, perhaps to reduce the speed factor? Only the geography
was a gimme, although I could work out Sinatra's wives. And the number of
correct contestants per FF round seemed lower than last series.

On the railroad one, I have a suspicion that the winner punched in letters
at random and lucked out; his time was in the 2s, much faster than any other
FF winner I recall. Either it was random, or he's got Monopoly railroads
down as much as it's possible to do so.

and if i really concentrated i could tell ya what it is to buy each property...

Also, all of tonight's group seem to be from east of the Mississippi...

Also, given the qualifiers have gotten harder, maybe a carryover effect?

Basically, any answer that you could theoretically answer without
seeing what the 4 choices are can probably be answered by someone who
knows the answer in less than 3.00 seconds.

As has been brought up countless times, everybody's going to have certain strengths
and weaknesses.  All I said (and I wasn't making a big deal about it) was that the
Monopoly question was probably a little easier than the Sinatra one.  Either one
could have been answered very quickly by anyone who was familiar with the four
possibilities (and their order) before they were revealed.

In other words, Zach, I'm AGREEING with you!

http://members.aol.com/cyberjohns

As for my comment above about "dreaded white males", that was sarcasm
relating to how the producers for WWTBAM were on record as changing the
tryout process to try to avoid having so many white males on the show.  To
be honest, given that speed and trivia knowledge still decides which of the
semi-finalists make it on the show, I'd expect them to have roughly the same
demographics in those areas as from the first series. As to why, well,
empirical evidence from many years of helping with academic quiz bowl
tournaments and doing Jeopardy! tryouts (passed written test nine times,
haven't gotten a callback) and looking at J! Tournament of Champion
distributions; for whatever reason(s), the overwhelming majority of people
who are *really* good at trivia and *really* fast at it happen to be
male. Not that there aren't women who are very good and very fast; they're
just outnumbered by the males which are such. And it isn't necessarily
a good (or bad) thing. But it is was experience with high level trivia
knowledge and speed based competitions tells me you'll get in regards to
that demographic.