Millionaire Season 16 Discussion [SPOILERS]

[Rafferty Barnes]

I believe leszekp's Plus One is someone under the name of Saunders.

https://twitter.com/MillionaireTV/statu ... 0166938624

[MarkBarrett]

I believe leszekp's Plus One is someone under the name of Saunders.

https://twitter.com/MillionaireTV/statu ... 0166938624

Yes, Brandon Saunders was called upon for help.

Spoiler

Leszek ran the first 10 questions with no lifelines.

For $100,000

11. Seen in communities across America, what's the name of the shadowy figure in a cap who acts as the logo for the National Neighborhood Watch?

A: Boris the Burglar
B: Ronald the Robber
C: Carl the Crook
D: Theo the Thief

The Audience was:
A: 33%
B: 29%
C: 29%
D: 9%

Leszek then used his +1 lifeline. Brandon said it was a free guess and he would go with C - Carl the Crook. Even though Leszek had the 50:50 remaining he agreed and guessed C. The audience turned out to be correct.

So, Leszek added $50,000 to his game show winnings list while Bill MacDonald is still the only person to win at least 125K on Millionaire and on J!

[Ducks] I wonder if Doug van Gundy has ever tried out for J!?

[Vermonter]

Some thoughts on today's ep…

Spoiler

Great run, Leszek! Tough to get that kind of question for $100k, but at least it was a free guess.

That being said, I was a bit surprised by the two $50k questions we saw today, particularly in light of some of the brain-melters in recent games. A threshold for knowing what a torus is? Or what an analog computer might be used to calculate? Those other three answers weren't even on a fixed schedule!

That's why you can't be too upset if you walk with $5k after guessing – you could get hit with a really tough clue before even cracking the big bucks. Or not. It's all in the luck of the stack.

[Rex Kramer]

Spoiler

I revel in my status, but the fact that Leszek and Brandon together didn't overtake me only proves that it's just dumb luck. Head to head either one of them would dismantle me. That was a tough draw, Leszek, but I hope you at least had fun.

Rex

[leszekp]

Lots of fun. Given some of the question sets I've seen, I felt lucky to get to $50K, especially with a question that was almost a dream question for me. $100K question was the kind where either you knew the answer or you didn't - no way to figure it out. Given that neither the audience nor a top-notch Plus One didn't know it either, I don't feel bad at all.

[kprather895]

Congrats on the win, Leszek, and on making some terrific television. Millionaire needs more champs like you.

[triviawayne]

Congratulations on your win!

Your +1 looked so familiar...if only I could place where I might have seen him before...

Spoiler

Was that part with Brandon heavily edited? Seemed strange he didn't give a reason for why he liked C; and why you didn't question him on it. I'm also wondering why you didn't use the 50/50 to confirm or deny the answer?

[leszekp]

After telling us to talk (a lot) about out process, they cut a whole bunch of stuff out.

In hindsight, should have used 50:50. Suspect it wouldn't have made a difference - they make it clear that 50:50 isn't random, they eliminate the two least likely answers. I suspect the answer Brandon and I agreed on would still be there.

[triviawayne]

After telling us to talk (a lot) about out process, they cut a whole bunch of stuff out.

In hindsight, should have used 50:50. Suspect it wouldn't have made a difference - they make it clear that 50:50 isn't random, they eliminate the two least likely answers. I suspect the answer Brandon and I agreed on would still be there.

Well that answers what I was wondering if it was random again, but I have to wonder how they decide least likely of stuff they totally made up.

[alietr]

Nice going, Leszek. I would have needed the audience on the Alicia Keys question, but the rest were easy. I did get the $100k, but with no confidence. I'd only have gone for it on a freebie. I thought i remembered that the two 50/50 answers they take away are pre-selected, but they aren't necessarily the least likely ones. Either way, $50k covers the trip from Flagstaff and then some.

[triviawayne]

Nice going, Leszek. I would have needed the audience on the Alicia Keys question, but the rest were easy. I did get the $100k, but with no confidence. I'd only have gone for it on a freebie. I thought i remembered that the two 50/50 answers they take away are pre-selected, but they aren't necessarily the least likely ones. Either way, $50k covers the trip from Flagstaff and then some.

On the original Regis run, the 50/50 was pre-selected. On the Meredith run, it was random, but few people believed it was random. Now it appears to be pre-selected, but they're saying they are taking away the "least likely" ones...whatever that means.

I could see least likely for some stuff, such as this question:

Which of the following actors were in the same dorm building in college as Al Gore

A. Tommy Lee Jones B. Tim Curry
C. Taylor Lautner D. Josh Hutcherson

C & D would be the "least likely" as they were born in 1992 when Gore was VP.

But for Leszek's question, how could they possibly make that determination?

[kprather895]

But for Leszek's question, how could they possibly make that determination?

Just a judgment call, as it is any time there are four equally good answers. Two or three of the writers might well have gotten together and said "Hey, what do you think is the best answer to leave up there?"

[Rafferty Barnes]

This week is "Bucket List" week, where all the contestants will be over 50. The week after that former Bachelor/ette contestants will be playing, and November 9-13th is "Second Chance Week"

[triviawayne]

This week is "Bucket List" week, where all the contestants will be over 50. The week after that former Bachelor/ette contestants will be playing, and November 9-13th is "Second Chance Week"

I wonder when they changed it to over 50. They didn't say anything about that at the audition.

[Vermonter]

This week is "Bucket List" week, where all the contestants will be over 50.

What an inspiring name.

[ElendilPickle]

This week is "Bucket List" week, where all the contestants will be over 50.

What an inspiring name.

Yeah, I'm glad they didn't ask me to come back for that week!

[Rex Kramer]

This week is "Bucket List" week, where all the contestants will be over 50. The week after that former Bachelor/ette contestants will be playing, and November 9-13th is "Second Chance Week"

How about "There's a Hole in My Bucket Week", for Second Chance contestants over 50?

Rex

[alietr]

For Justin's $100K question, I'm in that industry, and I was ABSOLUTELY sure I had it right. Except I had the same answer as him.

[teapot37]

For Justin's $100K question, I'm in that industry, and I was ABSOLUTELY sure I had it right. Except I had the same answer as him.

Yeah, I would have given the same answer, for exactly the same reason Justin gave.

[alietr]

For Justin's $100K question, I'm in that industry, and I was ABSOLUTELY sure I had it right. Except I had the same answer as him.

Yeah, I would have given the same answer, for exactly the same reason Justin gave.

The only thing I can think of is that the list has subcategories, so that even though Top-40 came out 7th, it wasn't grouped with CHR, for example, which are essentially the same format. Yeah, I'm pretty much right. The question may have been correct per se according to the source, but it was bogus. If CHR isn't Top 40, what is it? See, for example:

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/n ... audio.html

TOP 10 AUDIO FORMATS OF 2014 (Persons 6+)
Rank Format P6+ Share
1. News Talk Information 8.8%
2. Pop Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) 8.3%
3. Country 8.2%
4 Adult Contemporary (AC) 7.1%
5. Hot Adult Contemporary (AC) 6.2%
6. Classic Hits 5.2%
7. Urban Adult Contemporary (AC) 4.9%
8. Classic Rock 4.7%
9. All Sports 4.4%
10 Mexican Regional 3.7%