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Rumour: A new look Millionaire?

There are whispers that Nine is considering an updated version of its quiz show, with Eddie McGuire to resume his hosting role.

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etIs this a case of lock it in, Eddie?

TV Tonight hears Who Wants to be a Millionaire could go back before the Channel Nine cameras.

There are whispers that Nine is considering an updated version of the quiz show, with Eddie McGuire to resume his hosting role.

Millionaire has enjoyed a “flavour of the month” resurgence thanks to its inclusion in the hit film Slumdog Millionaire, in which a kid from the streets enters the game show in India. Next week the film could take out the Best Film at the Oscars.

With no other quiz shows in production, Nine is believed to be preparing a pilot version of the updated format.

In the US there have been additional lifelines added to the original three, including “Switch the Question”, “Ask the Expert” and “Double Dip.”

If the show gets the greenlight, there are no guarantees where it would be slated. In addition to its primetime run, Nine has previously dabbled with a shorter, stripped version of the show too. It last aired in late 2007.

Last week McGuire hosted 4.5 hours of live television, generally to a favourable response. If Millionaire does resume he could be very busy this year. Nine’s Sydney version of its 5:30pm magazine show has been abandoned says the Daily Telegraph.

A Melbourne pilot with McGuire and Livina Nixon is reportedly still moving forward.

39 Responses

  1. @jim – sorry no can do – I like giving Eddie crap – he bores and annoys me – and in my one off-screen dealing with him he was not a particularly nice individual so I feel quite justified – besides I’ve seen WWTBAM in four countries and Eddie’s the worst host of the lot

  3. I suggest Nine bring back both Millionaire and Temptation. Both are great quiz-shows.

    Once Underbelly finishes, Millionaire can return back in that timeslot, just like the good old days.

  4. Surely there must be someone better than Eddie to host the show. I remember watching WWTBAM in England a few years ago and it was highly enjoyable to watch because the host was good. I like the format but please no Eddie McGuire. How about Ed Phillips? They’re ratings would be higher if Ed Phillips is hosting the show, but Nine making a wise programming decision is wishful thinking.

  5. Luke hit the nail on the head. The original format worked better than the Little Aussie Battler version. Maybe add a few new liflines like they have overseas. I watched the show in the US recently and it still works a treat. Please bring it back!

  7. I would not mind it coming back at all under the following three conditions:

    1: It returns to it’s traditional 8:30-9:30pm timeslot and format

    2:They re-introduce the Fastest Finger First segment where they choose 1 contestant from the 10 people in the studio.

    3: The contestants have to be regular contestants who have rung up to register for the show, not just contestants that are in financial troubles, family has cancer, wife in car crash etc etc. you know what I’m talking about. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to help out people in their situation but I simply think it is better viewing for everyone by watching just a regular contestant from any walk of life instead.

  9. I would love them to bring millionaire back, but the original format, which was one hour, taped. No gimmicks like ‘multi-milionaire’, no live crosses to people at home. Bringing in new lifelines is OK, to freshen the show up, but it should still be taped, and for one hour a week. A proper game show.

  10. I wouldn’t mind this show coming back, it’d mean something on Nine which remotely interests me. Although I’d probably only watch one episode, its still worth a look, it could turn out to be a massive hit again. Seven should also try reviving The Weakest Link, that was a fun series

  11. Eddie must be in a daze. After doing nothing for soo long, I guess 9 want to get their $ worth out of him.

    People love to hate him, so they would be wise not to flog him to death (as 9 do every thing else).

  12. Yes – a game show – please – bring it on – but make it fast – like the American version where 2 contestants can get up to 64k in one half hour show. No more of these contestants who tell their life story each time they have to answer a question making 4 or 5 questions stretch over an hour. And Livinia on it as well! Yes, please!

  13. if it were to come back i’m sure that 9 would be interested in using it to solve there 5:30/7:00 woes, more likely 7:00 because putting it up against DOND could turn out to be another million dollar wheel disaster.

  14. Would love to see Millionaire back in it’s traditional 1hr format perhaps on Monday nights when UB finishes. We certainly need another quiz show back on tv !

    The new lifelines intrigue me..

  15. It would be great to see it come back if it sticks to the original winning format. Maybe they could have a time limit for those contestants who don’t know the answers but want to extend their time on television. A clock running down would help keep up the pace and keep the viewers interested. The Einstein Factor is the only show where people can show off brain power but the fact that there is no cash prize I believe stops it from being a real quiz show.

  17. Seeing the film reminded me of how much I miss our version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Living in Sydney, I only really saw Eddie on Monday nights (and the odd early Friday morning when I watched the AFL Footy Show) so, at least up here, we really didn’t get the over exposure of McGuire that Melbournians often cry about. Love or hate the man, he is an absolute natural and he really does belong in front of the camera. It is no wonder they were hard pressed to find a replacement host.

    I would love nothing better to see Millionaire return to our screens. However, I think, it has to return to the format that made it a success. That is recorded live to tape (not live to air), it has a running time of one hour (which includes ads) and the contestant chosen is the one with the fastest finger.

    I didn’t like at all in the live episodes that Nine had personally chosen the contestant and that every bloody one had a sob sorry. It felt as if they had added that as a prerequisite to be a contestant. No Nine, pre-select your ten and let the fastest finger decide. I hated the half hour format as it was far too rushed and it had no hope up against Deal. I do like sound of the new lifelines though and maybe they could try adding a $5 million question??

  19. I quite liked this show, although making it live was a mistake. If Eddie stops second guessing the contestant which makes the question takes forever to answer, less people would get bored IMO. I’ve seen parts of the US millionaire version when it was on air, and as soon as the contestant said ‘final answer’ like in ‘B: River – Final answer’, it was locked in. No ‘are you sure’. That would refresh the game i believe.

    They should bring back fastest finger first, as just introducing the contestant with a video package was painful to watch.

  21. Millionaire is the greatest game show – they should definitely bring it back with Eddie and its traditional 1 hour format. Maybe Thursdays 8.30 when there’s little competition…

  24. Millionaire at 5.30 again? IIRC it started doing better in its second week and then it was pulled off. I’d rather Millionaire than some Talk show that would probably fail.

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