August 1999 - game shows had been out of primetime (for the most part) for close to 30 years. A new summer two-week tryout called Who Wants to be a Millionaire debuts and goes through the roof ratings-wise. Nobody had ever dreamed of winning a life-changing million dollars on a game show before - and the lights, music and general presentation had everyone talking, with "is that your final answer?" becoming a national catch-phrase. The show was a major network hit for over two years, finishing near the top of the ratings.

Since then, there have been numerous million-dollar game shows, plus a slew of "reality" shows offering six or seven-figure payouts.

Game shows, in one form or another, have been a regular fixture in primetime ever since.

My question: do you think the original magic of Millionaire can ever be recaptured in the future? Maybe 20 years from now if this current big-money craze we're going through dies down, can something be introduced that will have the same impact?

Maybe a million dollars wouldn't cut it in the future now that everyone is so used to that type of prize being offered - maybe it would have to be $10 million (although Millionaire did try that for a while).

Or, would that be the stage where that's too ridiculous an amount of money to even consider on a permanent basis? What would it take?

Any thoughts or opinions?

When Millionaire premeired, it was really the first game show of its kind in regards to the types of questions asked, the contestant selection process, the "Lifelines'' (believe it or not, at one point, it was a *new* concept).

With all the new games that have premiered within the past 3 years, how many of them are truly appointment viewing the way Millionaire was in its heyday?

I think the magic of that initial premiere could very well be captured again with a creative, original, generally engaging show.

I think the format of the future will be something we've already seen, just presented in a fresh way.

I'll call high-class "What's My Line" in 2028.

One of the "hooks" that is no longer there is that anybody could be on the show. You could be sitting at home one day and the next you're off to NYC. I think I know why it changed, but for me, that took the bloom off the rose.

Should this be read as poetic license?

Of course, by 2028, "high-class" will mean that most of the panelists will be wearing pants, and only about half of what comes out of their mouths will be profanities.