Greed

"Greed" was Fox's blatant and pathetic attempt to capitalize on the success of ABC's primetime game show and breakout hit, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" And as far as trivia shows, it's about as trivial as they get. No one really cared about the show - even when it boasted the biggest amount of money won in gameshow history for a while (a record later surpassed by the remake of "21" which aired on NBC and PAX TV). This was probably because the format was decidedly stale - the game began with a bunch of players with one captain who decided if the team wanted to go further in the game to win more money.

Contestants could be eliminated in mini-segments that involved players taking on each other in a one-on-one session similar to the first round in a "Family Feud" match. Prize money was shared, as was the responsibility to provide answers to questions. Questions had multiple answers so each player had to provide an answer.

Speaking of questions, they were even more trivial than the show itself. In a behind-the-scenes segment on I believe the cable channel E!, they showed how the writers came up with the questions. They basically pulled out the most obscure facts they could find and made them into questions on the show. As a result, there were a load of questions on the show that NO ONE on Earth could come up with the answer to, which kills the all-important "playing at home" ability that keeps the TV audience hooked. I mean, no sane person knows the answer to questions like "What are the four most popular syrups at the International House of Pancakes?" (a real show question).

While "Greed" wasn't the most pathetic attempt to capitalize on the success of "Millionaire" (CBS's dismal "Winning Lines" from some "Millionaire" producers is in the running for that title), it sure wasn't a fun game show to watch. Its questions were so obscure; "Price is Right" was more of a trivia show than this. The game format was extremely stale and boring and the show's most redeeming feature, oddly was its host: Chuck Woolery, of "Love Connection".

The big disadvantage that Greed had was because it was seen as a ripoff of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?", the show that really started a trend of huge cash prizes in primetime. This crutch killed the show before it really began. Had it aired before Millionaire, it may have exacted a lot more success.

Otherwise the show had some potential. Five player teams got together with the hopes of earning up to two million dollars among themselves. Because questions had multiple answers (four answers out of six, seven, eight, or nine possible answers, et cetera) teams had to split the responsibility of answering.

However, in later rounds the team faced "The Terminator" which had the potential to challenge players, eliminate them from the game, and take their winnings in the process. It was an interesting format in which you had to have some reliance on your teammates, but could never get too close if you feel the desire to take more of the kitty for yourself.

Plus a great soundtrack which gives you the impression that your heart is beating louder than it ever has before as you edge along a terrifyingly tall cliff with a 70 MPH wind blowing against you.

Chuck Woolery may not have been the most appropriate host for the show, but he certainly did a decent job.

The one thing it couldn't do was survive in the face of other big-prize game shows...

OK, so it was a Millionaire rip-off. But enough of that. Woolery did a really good job hosting. Overall not a bad show, but there was one huge problem that stuck out. Why did they rely on polls and obscure facts for the upper 4 questions? Couldn't they come up with something that we might actually be able to guess? Like dates? As for the no safe haven thing on that show, it creates a scenario in which a person that took the terminator opportunity and was eliminated actually won more than the other contestants!

Too many flaws, otherwise not a bad show. Maybe a safe haven would have been something to consider, since the top 4 questions were ones that I don't think anyone would be able to get easily?

Winning lines, Twenty-one , Hollywood Showdown , Mall Masters are wan-a-be "Who wants to be a Millionaire game shows. Okay Greed also was a rip off but the show was good enough to stay. I liked the eliminator. I heard all about the hate mail received and the letters were awful. Roomers that the show was a fraud and no money was given. That was not true. That caused the ratings to drop and then eventually got pulled off the air for good. Somebody did something. Everyone I talked to found some interest in the show. One thing that did bother me was that they played it at the same time millionaire was on. Even on the same day "Thursdays at the time. But the show is gone now and they cant bring it back. Too bad. I was looking forward to it this year.

"Greed" is definitely one of the best game shows ever to air on television. The music and set for the show create a perfect, tense atmosphere. Chuck Woolery is a great host. The best part of the show is when he takes out giant wads of cash and offers them to the players.

The game play of "Greed" consists of a team of five people (a sixth player is eliminated before the actual game begins) trying to answer questions worth increasing amounts of money. After each question, the team captain can decide to quit and keep the money that the team has earned. The money is split equally between the players. However, once the questions become worth $200,000, between every question a terminator round occurs and players have a chance to eliminate another player by answering a question first. The terminator randomly selects a player, who then either selects the player that he wants to eliminate or chooses to not eliminate anybody. Chuck Woolery hands a challenging player $10,000 automatically. The winner gets the loser's share of the money.

"Greed" offers more money than just about any other game show, but as a rarity, the money is extremely hard to earn. Once the team reaches $200,000, each question has four correct answers out of 4-8 choices. Most of the questions are nearly impossible, and the teams need a lot of luck to get them right. On one episode, one person won $10,000 from a terminator attempt and nobody else won anything at all. Most teams lose once they reach $200,000, so the game gets really exciting when a team gets to a $500,000 question.

Overall, "Greed" is an entertaining, well-made show. Players can earn a lot of money (it should be noted that, if the team stops after the first question, then each player gets $5,000, the same amount that the winning two people on Supermarket Sweep get to share) but must answer super hard questions. Any fan of game shows should make sure to watch "Greed"