I know, it's been forever since I've done one of these (not that anyone's actually reading this), but I thought I'd do another comparison for the hell of it. This time, I'm looking at one of my favorite new game show formats in recent years...The Million Drop.
It goes under various titles depending on where the show is aired. In the original UK version (which is still airing at the time of this writing...for now), it is titled "The Million Pound Drop LIVE", due to the fact that the show airs live on Channel 4 (as opposed to most international versions, including the ones I will mention here, which are all pre-recorded). In the United States and Singapore, it is titled "Million Dollar Money Drop". In Australia, it is simply titled the "Million Dollar Drop". I will be looking at the four aforementioned versions, even though it has aired in other countries as well.
The basic format is the same--a pair of contestants are given 1,000,000 of the local currency and have to survive a series of questions in order to leave with any portion of it. Depending on the question, there are four, three, or two possible answers. They can put all of their money on one answer if they wish, or they could spread their money around if they aren't confident. BUT...and this is a very big "BUT"...they MUST put everyone on the line on every question, and they MUST leave at least one drop open at all times (meaning they must put absolutely everything on one drop for the final question). Also, if the don't have any money on any of the drops after the time limit (see below), the lose that cash. Here's how the various formats differ.
British Version--The Million Pound Drop LIVE
In the original British version, the top prize is £1,000,000 (obviously), divided into 40 bundles of £25,000 each (each £25,000 bundle consists of 500 £50 notes). There are eight questions, with 4 choices on the first four questions, 3 choices on the next three questions, and 2 choices on the final question. Each question gives the contestants 60 seconds to move their money around. Once the 60 seconds are up, or once they are confident on an answer, the cash is "locked in", and any money that drops is out of play. As of this writing, the most money won on the Drop is £300,000, while the most a team has taken to the final question is £525,000 (the question on which they lost on was on which couple was married first--Prince Charles & Princess Di or Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne; FTR, the right answer was Charles & Di). Some teams have even lost all £1 million on the first question!
American Version--Million Dollar Money Drop
The American version had several differences to the format. For starters, the $1,000,000 was divided into 50 bundles of $20,000 each (each $20,000 bundle consists of 100 $20 bills). Here, there are only 7 questions, with varying time limits, plus a 30-second "quick change" that can be used on the first six questions. Questions 1-3 have 4 choices and a 60 second time limit, questions 4 & 5 have 3 choices and a 75 second time limit, question 6 has 3 choices and a 90 second time limit, and the final question has no time limit. This version is known for the controversy in the very first episode involving a question on which came first--Post-it Notes, Macintosh, or Sony Walkman. The players put $800,000 of their money on Post-it Notes, but the answer turned out to be "Sony Walkman" (they still had $200,000 left in play). However, it was soon revealed that Post-it Notes had been introduced in 1977 under a different name, even though the name "Post-it Notes" came out after the Sony Walkman was introduced in the US. I'd go into more detail, but to be honest, I don't really feel like it, because I am not a fan of this version, even though I'm an American. See, even Americans can hate American versions of foreign shows. Just look at Power Rangers and Super Sentai (although I do like both shows, just for the record). Oh, BTW, the most won on this version was $300,000.
Australian Version--The Million Dollar Drop
The Aussie version was based primarily on the American format, with eight questions instead of seven. An extra "level 1" question, with 4 choices and a 60 second time limit, was played. The million was also divided into 50 bundles of $20,000 each (each bundle consists of 100 $20 notes). A joke I've often made about this version was that the money bundles resembled bricks, due to the color of the Australian $20 note. This version was also short-lived, only lasting a few weeks. Despite that, I do like it slightly better than the U.S. version. As of now, I don't know what the most cash was won on this version. If anyone does, please let me know.
Singapore Version--Million Dollar Money Drop
In case you don't know, Singapore is a city-country located in Southeast Asia, with a multiracial population of Chinese, Malay, Indians, and others. They became a fully independent nation on August 9, 1965, and the show in fact, debuted on National Day 2011 (their version of Independence Day, or Canada Day, or Australia Day, or whatever your country's national day is called). This version uses the same format and graphics package as the original British version, with 60 seconds on each question, no changes, as well as having 40 bundles of $25,000 each (with each bundle consisting of 500 $50 notes). The Singapore version got off to a rocky start when the first team lost on the VERY FIRST QUESTION!!! (The question had to do with what day of the week was January 1, 2011. It was Saturday, just for the record.) Overall, the show lasted just 13 episodes, with the most cash won here being $75,000 (compared to the other versions, which had six-figure wins).
Overall, I think the best version of the Million Drop is the British version. Besides, the first version of a show is often the best. Plus, it's still on the air, compared to the other versions, which were dropped (pun intended) after a short time on the air.
