“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” is the name of a quiz game show that has many variations throughout the world. In fact, the better question would be: who wouldn’t like to be one, right?
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Sometimes, even the facts that some deem insignificant can literally cost you a lot
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Then, in a round for $5ooK, he got a question related to Pokemon and The Lord of the Rings
He needed to point out which of the four wasn’t a Pokemon — Jigglypuff, Frodo, Squirtle, and Pikachu
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For many, the question seemed very simple, but the contestant seemed doubtful
He asked to remove half of the options, and when he couldn’t answer even then, he walked away with the $250K he already had
Watch the video here
Imagine you get the $500,000 question and it’s this onepic.twitter.com/eJZgN13PAy
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes)March 11, 2024
On March 11th of this year, the X account called “Historic Vids,” which is dedicated to historical memes, posted a video that soon went pretty viral. And the reason for its virality was how funny and frustrating the situation in it was.
The game is basically aquizcompetition where contestants strive to answer a series of consecutive multiple-choice questions, which become increasingly difficult. Each question is worth a certain amount of money. If a wrong answer is given to even one question, the game is over, and the contestants’ winnings are reduced. Also, if the person isn’t sure about the answer, they can walk away after hearing the question and keep the money they have won up to that point.
And that is what the video we have mentioned is about — a person walking away from a question. You might wonder, what’s so special about it if it’s part of the game’srules? Well, the thing that made the video go viral is the question. Apparently, to many people online and on the page where the video was posted, the question seemed like a very simple one.
The question was related to the Japanese media franchisePokemonand J. R. R. Tolkien’s character Frodo Baggins.Well, we’re pretty sure you have heard of at least one of these because if not, you must be living under quite a big rock.
The question didn’t even require extensive knowledge about either of the media franchises. In fact, it was kind of a basic one — to select which of the given names was not a Pokemon (the answer wasFrodo). And for anyone who has basic knowledge of Pokemon orThe Lord of the Rings, it’s pretty simple.
Apparently, this man didn’t have such a knowledge. First, he chose to eliminate half of the options, but even after that, he didn’t know the answer. So, he chose to walk away with $250,000.
This flabbergasted people online. To them, the answer seemed way too simple to walk away from. Some even said that it was the easiest 500K dollar question ever. Just as we said, if you have any basic knowledge ofpop culture, it for sure seems this way. Folks online accused the man of not consuming any popular media at all, which, well, in the Internet’s eyes, is quite a crime. Especially when you lose a huge sum of money because of it.
On the other hand, the first The Lord of the Rings movie was only released 2 years later, so it makes the man not knowing about Frodo a bit more understandable. After all, not everyone is a book person.
So, if you’re born in that year, you have to deal with the fact that some might already consider you a historical entity. Kind of a hard pill to swallow, isn’t it? Just as it would be a hard pill to swallow if you lost out on a big sum of money just because you didn’t partake in the joys of Pokemon or The Lord of the Rings or forgot everything you know about them at a crucial moment.
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To talk a bit more broadly about the legal side of game shows,Bored Pandareached out to a media and entertainment lawyer,Kelsey Farish.
According to Kelsey Farish, with these contracts, the contestants are usually entitled to these rights:
K. Farish added: “If a contestant is particularly concerned about their intellectual property and their rights to repost clips from the show, they should consult a lawyer and carefully review the contract. In some cases, they might be able to negotiate specific terms.”
Then, along with the rights, the contestant must agree to certain responsibilities and even potential losses. For instance, in most shows, they have to sign confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), which ban them from revealing some details before the episodes air.
According to Kelsey, “If a contestant breaches the contract (for example, leaking confidential information or damaging the show’s reputation), they might be subject to legal action — this will almost certainly be a claim for money (lawsuit) rather than a criminal charge — unless, of course, a criminal offense has occurred!”
Later, if, for example, a contestant believes that they were unfairly disadvantaged or misled during the game, they can consider taking legal action. Yet, there’s quite a high likelihood that the contract will considerably restrict the contestant’s ability to do so.
As Kelsey Farish explains, “A production company would not want to be vulnerable to every unhappy contestant suing them — so the contract will almost certainly say something like, ‘By participating in this show, you agree not to sue us for reasons A, B, or C.’” The only exceptions to this rule could be serious issues like health and safety problems.
Besides, the media and entertainment lawyer also noted that there are other factors influencing legal action. For instance, the contestant must provide clear evidence of misconduct and prove that they suffered actual damage. “This can be costly and time-intensive to do, and there is no guarantee of winning.”
So, before you decide to become a contestant in a game show, keep in mind that sometimes the real challenge might not be the pop culture-related question but the legal aspects of participation.
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