Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
on ABC
By Ally Matteodo
ABC’s revival of the hit game
show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ended its two-week prime-time run on
Sunday, August 23rd at 8:00 p.m. ET. For its family-friendly
atmosphere and sheer entertainment value, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
has been named Best TV Show of the Week.
Hosted by the charismatic Regis
Philbin, the final episode featured contestant Jim Robinson of Columbus,
Mississippi, finishing up his game and leaving with $25,000. The next
contestant to play was Ken Basin, a 24-year-old entertainment lawyer from Los
Angeles. Ken’s between-question banter with Regis was very pleasant. His
parents had moved to the United States in 1982 from Russia, and Ken described
them as big “American dream” types. He promised that if he won a million
dollars, he would send them on a vacation to Rome so they could enjoy it in
style. This is one of the wonderful things about the guests on Who Wants to
be a Millionaire?: they always display their generosity towards friends and
family when hypothesizing about their potential winnings. Ken was stumped by
the final question however: “For ordering his favorite beverages on demand, LBJ
had four buttons installed in the Oval Office labeled coffee, tea, Coke, and
what?” Ken answered “Yoo-hoo,” but the answer was Fresca. Yet Ken still earned
$25,000.
Near the end of the episode
Regis received celebrity guest Meredith Vieira, the host of the day-time version
of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, but in a surprise twist it turned out
Regis was actually the surprise guest! Regis answered the final question
correctly: “Which of the following has never been the answer to a winning
million-dollar question on the prime-time version of Millionaire?” The
answer was The Grapes of Wrath. Regis donated his $50,000 winnings to
his alma mater, Cardinal Hayes high school in the Bronx. While it’s
difficult to see Regis leave prime-time, at least we had the two weeks of his
charming personality hosting the rousing thinking-man’s game of Who Wants to
Be A Millionaire?
Best TV Show
of the Week
The Parents
Television Council -
www.parentstv.org
