500 Questions

Who is the dimwit that came up with this show? This has got to be the most boring game show in history. While the questions are OK, the general concept is just confusing and more importantly horribly boring. Granted I missed the first 25 questions, so perhaps I missed the 2 hour explanation on the inner mechanics of the show.

I suppose, that this is what the real life version of the game show "Bamboozled" on the Friends episode would look like. I would be very surprised if it makes it to the halfway mark before it gets pulled. Nothing against Richard Quest, but why on earth would he pick something so ridiculous to host.

The second season of 500 Questions does provide some interesting strategy from the contestants and the cinematic quality of the design is intense.

However, the game is incredibly slow-paced, mainly due to ridiculous number of time-wasters. Aside from the annoying number of "quick breaks," is it necessary for the host to blather between every question and to rattle off all of the correct answers in a battle question? We can SEE what question the contestant is on and how many wrongs there are the board, so it's useless to tell us what they are.

Another problem is that the prize earnings are extremely low. Having each correct answer be only worth $1,000 doesn't provide a lot of tension; maybe if contestants earned a bonus for getting questions correct in a row, it would feel more exciting.

Moreover, it takes a contestant to answer all 30 questions to bank money, which leads to rather extremely low payouts and takes way too much time. Many times, the contestant walks away with nothing. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire took less time to reach the $32,000 mark. Heck, Jeopardy is a better game show and it finished in 30 minutes.

Worse, the likelihood of anyone reaching 500 questions, let alone half that, is improbable enough that the whole premise of the show is moot.

While it's limited run to perhaps see if there's an audience; it's been a good filler before the summer returns and new series begin for their season. It beats a reality show IMO; the questions are difficult compared to most. I have to admit I've realized I know more than I think I do, I just have to hear many of the answers to knock my forehead and say.. oh yeah! It's a lot of trivia stored in the back of our minds. Though, there's quite a few where you learn something you actually haven't heard anything about. Fun for trivia and to pass an hour. Two shows were two hours long, that was a bit much. I would watch it again if it came back on. After 1-2 shows, the pace is faster than it seems when you start out and I personally think Richard Quest did a decent job hosting the show. It seems most have bits and pieces from the many game/trivia shows we've watched in our time. Best I can drum up for a game show.

The game itself is actually quite addictive. What makes the game far better than "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is the open ended nature of the questions rather instead of being multiple choice. I like the twists along the way such as the Battle round and the Top Ten(?) question where you have to get 5 out of 10 possible choices. The satisfaction of the game play is at the level of Jeopardy, the gold standard.

The problem with this game is everything else.

The show wants to use as its themes the idea of a gladiatorial battle between 2 players, creating a false friction that never develops. The challenger largely sits around and only occasionally gets involved, which is not that interesting to watch. It also rips off Millionaire's atmosphere of a dark, cold set with what the producers think of as tension-inducing music. All this is nonsense, and boring. It just makes me want to yell at my flat screen.

The host, Richard Quest, is the worst game show host ever. Hi is entirely dislike-able, with an unctuous tone, dismissive manner, arrogance, and non- relatability. He likes to emphasize the genius nature of the contestants, which is also off-putting (these game shows like to cast smart people already). And he keeps hoping to create a new catchphrase by having contestants say they will be "Gone" if they miss a critical question. I get that the coldness and the snobby British accent are part of the tone the producers want to induce, but it is all nonsense that has to go.

I would watch this show if it somehow ended up in syndication. I would get away from anything resembling "Millionaire" using warm, brightly-lit sets and I would hire a personable host (Aisha Tyler, I'm talking to you!). It would still need to be an hour long (takes a long time to get to 500 questions if anyone ever does it). The one change I would make in game play would be to have contestants get their winnings and a new challenger after 25 questions. (As it stands now, we meet a new challenger about every hour.)

Just a different version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire!!! What is the deal with ABC??? Is ABC owned by the UK now? Why does this show have a English moderator??? Couldn't they find an American who could be the host??? ABC had now SO many shows with British lead characters - haven't they realized the English HATE Americans? Notice that I said English and not British for the UK is so much more than just England. Luckily the Irish, the Scots and the Welsh don't have any issues with the Americans. Trust me, I lived in North Yorkshire for 8 years and you have no idea how much English people hate Americans. You will not see it in shows such as the Abbey, but if you watch the local TV or attend any local shows, you would see how Americans are constantly under attack.