Like millions of Americans, I have been watching the American Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) popular quiz program Who wants to be a Millionaire for the last three years. I always wanted to become a contestant in the hot seat, as it is called. And for the last one year, I have also been playing the game on the Internet.
Last year, I tried to get a chance to audition through the Internet, but was not lucky. This year I was excited when I got an email in the first week of June, 2004 from the office of the producer that my audition to become a contestant would be one of the two dates in the second week of August, but a confirmation for the actual date and time would be sent at a later date. I became so excited that I sent an email to the faculty of North Georgia College—where I have taught at the math and computer science department for over seven years, requesting volunteers as a lifeline, such as a ‘phone a friend.’ Some sent me good luck and some offered their help.
I waited for a few weeks for the confirmation, but got none. Thinking that the producer’s staff might be buys, and I had to go to Pakistan to visit family and friends, I booked a flight to New York, where the audition was scheduled at the ABC’s studio. When I returned from Pakistan, I was surprised to find no confirmation for the audition. After making some phone calls, I was told to get to the ABC’s studio in New York by 4:30 p.m. on the 10th of August, and I would be allowed to appear for the written test, and after passing the test I will be allowed to audition for the program.
On August 10, I took the Delta Airline’s flight from Atlanta to New York at about 1:30 p.m. and reached La Guardia–one of the three airports in New York at about 3:45 p.m. I took a taxi and reached ABC’s studio on the 67th Street in Manhattan, New York at about 4:25 p.m. A big queue of people had come from all over the US to become contestants. After waiting for about an hour and filling a four-page questionnaire, we were asked to walk around round the block—ABC has a very big building and occupies the whole block—and then enter the cafeteria of ABC’s studio. When I looked around that cafeteria, there were more than 200 people. The young man who was our host said that we had to take a 10-minute test. The test was inside an envelope that had a number, which would be our ID or roll number, and should be written on the scantron card—the answer sheet along with our name. The test contained 30 multiple-choice questions, covering history, geography, film/TV/music of the US and the world. When we asked about the criteria for the selection, he said that he could not disclose it. He said that only those whose IDs were called would be auditioned and would be informed through a post card, that their names selected and placed in a ‘pool’ from which the program’s anchor person, Meredith Viera would make the final call selection or decide not to call any person from that pool.
When the host came back after about fifteen minutes he called out the ID’s of about 15 or 20 people were asked to stay for the audition. My ‘ID’ was not called, which meant that I was not selected for the audition. Some people had been coming for this test for more than 10 times, but could not pass the test.
At that moment it appeared that the whole procedure of selecting a contestant is not only unfair and ambiguous, but it also depends on the whims of the anchor person, or selections could be based on profiling. It is quite unfair for the producer of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? not to tell the prospective contestants the actual criteria, and their actual score, so that they could know where they stand in terms of their knowledge, and in which ‘fields’ they should improve their knowledge. Also, from the list of all those who pass the test, a certain number depending on the studio’s capacity, should be allowed to become a contestant and given a scheduled date for recording of the program. Those contestants who are unable to come one the scheduled date should be replaced with people from the list or the ‘pool.’ This procedure should be done for the whole recording season, and if any contestants are left over from the list that could not be accommodated in the current recording season, they should be carried over to the next recording season.
My desire to become a millionaire or win at least a couple of thousand dollars to pay off some of my debts ended in a fiasco, and now I am convinced that in USA there is no such thing as a ‘free lunch.’ All such attractive offers have a catch or some hidden cost, obligation or ambiguity. As long as human beings have the temptation or desire to get something for nothing or become rich overnight, such offers and programs will continue.
(published in the weekend Magazine section of daily Dawn, Karachi on 27th March, 2005)
Rambler's Corner 