Guess what? On the final night of the Million-Dollar Mission (Fri 10/12), featuring 8 million-dollar cases, the contestant knocked out 5 of them in the first round. Not only that, but she did not win the million dollars. I repeat, she did not win the million dollars. She kept saying that she had the million in her case, but she sold out anyway. What was in her case? The million dollars, of course! It looks as if the Million-Dollar Mission was a huge failure. No one failed to capitalize on the fact that there were better odds at winning $1,000,000. One idiot - she was an authentic idiot for a change, and not a "Mark77 idiot", if you catch my drift - won $100, even with 7 MDCs available. They put on this whole song and dance and tried to increase the odds of winning the top prize, but it still didn't work. Do any of you think that the show's days may be numbered as a result? Will the show's ratings and number of viewers drop because the Mission is over and wasn't successful? In addition, do you think that the US version will ever make a millionaire out of someone, and if so, how long will it take? Discuss.

Originally, the Mission was planned for only 6 cases, but when Cecil Richardson didn't win, they bumped i tup to 7, then 8. I think they could've made the whole right side millions an dsomeone still wouldn't have won!!! The woman with 7 cases was given absolutely horrible offers. You could tell they wanted to push her on, but she screwed up. it seems everyone gets rid of all th millions but one, takes a deal, but has it in their case. The one woman who took the risk opened the million I am starting to HIGHLY doubt that the million will ever be won

The million will be won eventually. I want them to do a jackpot mode like

Say the million isnt won...

Howie: Tonight, your top prize is $1,100,000.

and keep increasing with board changes at $2M, $3M, $5M, $10M making $10M the limit (Yeah, it'd take 100 shows to get to that!)

This twist did make for some odd games - six-figure opening offer anyone? - but yeah. Nobody kept multiple $1m cases near the end, and by the time you were left with $1m cases replacing every meaningful normal safety net, it was clear a $1m/$1m finish was required, and that never came close to happening.

Even though the million dollar mission was over I will still be a fan of their game. I hope they will not be syndicated by the end of fall 2008.

I'll continue to watch as well, but if there are any more low wins of $1,000 or less, I'll probably stop watching the US version, and continue watching Le Banquier, which I have started to do recaps for over here. Take a look at my first one here: http://www.dond.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11182

Without the loaded board, becoming a millionaire will be difficult once again, as many people tend to knock the million out in the first 3 rounds of the game. However, if someone exudes bravery and is extremely lucky, it could be done.

Aaron, I like your progressive jackpot idea. Some have said that they should add only $25,000 or $50,000 to it after someone fails to win the million, but $100,000 is even better. Another idea would be to increase it by the amount of the bank offer that someone deals at every time. Unfortuantely, some people tend to screw up horribly and win a left-side amount, so that wouldn't work very well. It would sound something like this...

Howie: "Well, the last person won $100, so the next time we play, the jackpot will be worth $1,000,100."

Or, for a large win...

Howie: "Well, the last person won $310,000, so the next time we play, the jackpot will be worth $1,310,000."

In the '80s, a lot of American game shows used progressive jackpots that started at $5,000 and went up by that much every time they weren't won. This would sometimes result in wins of $50,000 or more. Thus, a progressive jackpot would be a nice addition to the game, but like I said, the top prize usualy tends to get eliminated early in the game.

Hmm... that sound interesting except after a while...

Howie: "Your jackpot today is $2,091,551.03"

That could be different...

The million won't be won if the banker keeps offering as high as he is. The woman last night took out $100k and $200k in the first round and was offered $77,000!!! Also, if it comes down to $1m and say, $5k the bank offer will be $550k and obviously someone will deal that! The offers should be around $150k on all or peanut million finishes, because that would a real dilemma.

Nah, but they're hugely high... I think they should be around $250-300,000 in that position.