Every Hollywood screenwriter knows that the way to ratchet up tension is to introduce a ticking clock. And that’s just what ITV is doing with the next series of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire over here. Contestants will have just 15 seconds to answer the £500 and £1,000 questions. They’ll have 30 seconds to answer every question after that, including the £1 million jackpot. The US introduced a looming ticking clock in 2008. Other tweaks include a new feature called “Switch” where contestants can swap a question they don’t like for another. Will the Millionaire reboot help the show’s declining ratings? I dunno. I guess I’d better phone a friend.


I’ve never been a fan of that clock, which was introduced when ABC tried to revive the show — after greedily running it into the ground — with Super Millionaire. The original Regis run of Millionaire really made stars out of ordinary people because Regis had the time to chat with them while they were considering their answers. Throwing in that clock ruined everything and watching it today — with Meredith — has all the appeal of watching people taking a damned SAT.
Agreed. The ticking clock obviously makes things go faster and therefore more syndicate-able and attractive as a half hour show, but it takes out all the personality.
There’s a lot to be said about the Regis way of ‘talking it through’ which actually helped some contestants come up with the right answer. But then, ‘talking it through’ did not make for dramatic television.