Million Dollar Money Drop
Million Dollar Money Drop was an American game show which aired on Fox in the United States and Canada. It is based on the UK flagship series The Million Pound Drop Live, but featured an entirely different game format and its show's set. The series is hosted by Kevin Pollak.
The show premiered on December 20, 2010 and ended on February 1, 2011. On May 18, 2011, TVSeriesFinale.com reported that Fox had cancelled Million Dollar Money Drop and would not be producing a second season. Despite the cancellation, however, more than 15 different international versions of the program will continue to air in other countries; the original version continue to run until the last episode on August 23, 2019.
Game format
A team of two people with a pre-existing relationship was presented with US$1,000,000 in $20 bills, banded in 50 bundles of $20,000 each. Teams are presented with seven general knowledge multiple-choice questions during the course of the game.At the beginning of each round, they were given two categories to choose one. Each question has four possible answers in which it corresponds to a different trapdoor, one of which is the correct answer. The question is then asked, then the team is given a fixed amount of time to allocate all the money bundles onto the drops; teams may distribute the money across two or more drops as they see fit if they were unsure on the question, however, no money may be allocated on at least one drop. For the first six questions, any money not placed on a drop before time runs out will be forfeited. The format for each question are as follows:
| Question | Number of answers | Time limit |
| 1–3 | 4 | 60 |
| 4–5 | 3 | 75 |
| 6 | 3 | 90 |
| 7 | 2 | - |
Upon stopping the timer or once time ran out, the drops for the incorrect answers are opened; any money that was allocated on the drop falls down a chute and is removed from play by security guards beneath the stage. The remaining money placed on the correct answer will carry forth for the next question. This process repeats until the final question is answered or when they run out of money at any point; if the contestants answer the final question correctly, they win whatever money they retained as of the seventh and final question.
Quick Change
The contestants were allowed one "Quick Change" during the game, on any of the first six questions. An extra 30 seconds is given to the team to redistribute their cash among the trap doors. If none of the drops were left open or if there are bundles yet to be allocated and the contestants still had the Quick Change, it was automatically used; if the Quick Change was already used, the contestants were disqualified from the game. The Quick Change was later implemented on the German version in early 2011.Final Fact
For the seventh and final question, once the team allocated their money, the host then reveal a piece on information about the answers. They were then given 60 seconds to finalize their answers.Broadcast history
Ratings
For the twelve episodes aired, the average viewership was 5.03 million.Contestant winnings
The highest cash won during the series run was $300,000, which was won by Nathan Moore and Lana McKissack on an episode aired January 18, 2011. A total of 12 teams left the game empty-handed.Online Play-Along
Like the original UK version, the show introduced an online interactive play-along aired during the season finale. During the show's broadcast, viewers played along live with the contestants in the game, answering the same questions as in the show's broadcast. At the end of each round, viewers were ranked on the leaderboard based on how fast they answered and the "virtual cash" allocated onto the correct drop. Despite the success of the online component, which would have become a regular show component, it was never materialized due to the show's cancellation.Controversies
On the season premiere, Gabe Okoye and Brittany Mayti lost $800,000 on a question that asked, "Which of these was sold in stores first?" The three possible answers were: Macintosh computer, Sony Walkman, and Post-it Notes. Gabe placed the bulk of the team's money on the answer "Post-it notes." The correct answer was then revealed to be Sony Walkman.Later, viewers began to dispute the accuracy of the question because of information on the Internet that indicated Post-It Notes were "launched" or "introduced" under the name "Press 'N Peel" in four cities in 1977, based on an interview with the inventors of the Post-It Note published in the Financial Times. On April 6, 1980, the product debuted in US stores as "Post-It Notes." The Sony Walkman went on sale in Japan on July 1, 1979, and was later introduced to the US in June 1980.
On December 21, 2010, Gawker published an article on this controversy, and the website was later contacted by a Fox representative. Jeff Apploff, the show's executive producer, initially issued the following statement: "The integrity of the questions and answers on our show are our No. 1 priority. In this case, our research team spoke directly with 3M, and they confirmed that although they had given out free samples in test markets in 1977 and 1978, it wasn't until 1980 that Post-Its were sold in stores. Million Dollar Money Drop stands behind the answer that was revealed on the show." Two days later, Apploff issued another statement: “Unfortunately the information our research department originally obtained from 3M regarding when Post-it notes were first sold was incomplete... As a result of new information we have received from 3M, we feel it is only fair to give our contestants, Gabe and Brittany, another shot to play Million Dollar Money Drop even though this question was not the deciding question in their game. The revised information regarding the Post-it is as follows: the product was originally tested for sale in four cities under the name 'Press 'N Peel' in 1977, sold as 'Post-its' in 1979 when the rollout introduction began and sold nationwide in 1980."
On December 28, 2010, host Kevin Pollak said, "They never had a chance to win that money. Ever. No matter what," and added, "This story is a moot point." He provided further detail when he said, "They lost everything on the next question. It's a non-story."
On September 25, 2012, BuzzerBlog reported that the next couple to play after Gabe and Brittany, Andrew and Patricia Murray, also planned to sue Fox and Endemol because they also had a question with a similar manner: "According to the data security firm IMPERVA, what's the most common computer password?". They placed the $580,000 they had left on "PASSWORD"; however, during the show's broadcast, "123456" was the correct answer. In a statement from the Murrays, "IMPERVA did not conduct its own objective survey of computer users but rather supports its assertion that 123456 is the most common password based on analysis of a hacking incident involving a website known as RockYou.com."; they concluded that had the show known that the question was pertaining to that similar incident in the couple's words that they "hedged their bets and played differently.", and sued the show for $580,000.