I Had High Hopes For Ken Jennings On Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, But He Exceeded My Expectations When He Called Out A Lifeline Trap

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As a movie buff and avid fan of quiz shows, here’s my take:

“Hey folks! I can’t contain my excitement as I delve into a spoiler-filled discussion about the Season 4 premiere of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’, that graced our screens on July 23. If you’re one of those who prefers to watch their celebs shine without knowing the outcome, then make sure you catch this episode with a Hulu subscription before the surprises slip out!

A fresh installment of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” has been scheduled for 2025 television, and the opening performance was nothing short of remarkable. Ken Jennings invited Matt Damon into the game with the goal of donating a million dollars to charity, and I had high hopes from the start that they would walk away with the grand prize. However, the host of “Jeopardy!” surpassed my expectations by skillfully avoiding one particular trap associated with the “Ask the Audience” lifeline.

During the show’s episode, as Jimmy Kimmel often noted due to his feud with Matt Damon, Ken Jennings didn’t necessarily require a partner to excel on one of the greatest game shows ever. Nevertheless, it adds enjoyment to watch celebrities bounce ideas off someone while answering questions. However, this is where many run into trouble when using the “Ask the Audience” lifeline. It was refreshing to hear Jennings express relief upon encountering the $250,000 question.

I have a hunch about this… Maybe we should avoid getting too deep into it, just to keep things fair for our ‘Audience’. I mean, let’s not lead them towards one particular answer, you understand? Let’s try to keep an open discussion.

Ken Jennings, you’ve proven time and again that you’re among Jeopardy!‘s top winners for a good reason. It’s always been a bit frustrating on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, when celebrity contestants share their thought process before asking the audience, as they inevitably end up doubting their own knowledge and opting for the reasoning provided by the celebrity.

Matt Damon and Ken Jennings, however, kept it quiet, with the Jeopardy! GOAT deciding:

Let’s ask the audience, then once the votes are in, we can speak freely.

Jimmy Kimmel commended their clever approach of keeping the audience guessing by not revealing their thoughts verbally, and it proved successful! The crowd collectively indicated that both Ken Jennings and Matt Damon shared the same thought. If they had discussed their answers beforehand, there would have been no way to determine whether the audience members knew which animal practices “sleeping vertically” or if they were simply relying on the intelligence of the celebrities on stage.

During the initial episode of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”, both Drew Carey and Aisha Tyler faced similar challenges. These two had shown great promise, with Drew Carey winning half a million dollars in his debut on the show around 2000, and Aisha Tyler frequently appearing on “Celebrity Jeopardy!”.

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Instead, they had an extended discussion about which artist among Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Tina Turner, and Britney Spears had the most No. 1 Billboard Top 100 hits. They nearly chose Britney Spears before asking the audience for input. I was yelling at the screen not to make that decision, and unsurprisingly, Spears received the most votes, leading the Whose Line Is It Anyway? hosts to leave promptly.

As a film enthusiast, I’ll admit, I may have steered us wrong, Jimmy Kimmel playfully quipped. However, it was Drew Carey who graciously acknowledged our faux pas, stating: “I see now that we made a mistake.

I think we talked them into it.

It’s great that Ken Jennings and Matt Damon didn’t imitate others. We’ll find out if they won the million later. The show ended before their $500,000 attempt, so remember to watch Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 30, on ABC.

I’m really hoping that future contestants on Millionaire will watch closely and adopt Ken Jennings’ winning approach.

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2025-07-24 19:08