Greed (game show)

### Based on

*Greed* created and produced by Dick Clark Productions, Inc. and originally broadcast and distributed by FOX Broadcasting Company. ©1999

### Presented by

Jennifer Woodman
Glenn Hendrickson

### Composer(s)

Edgar Struble
Graham Ness
Faza H. (2004-2006)

## Production

### Executive producer(s)

Ihrman Jordan
Adelle Connolly

### Producer(s)

Evan Garrard
Peter Gregory
Richard McFadden

### Production company(s)

Dick Clark Productions
Podador Film Entertainment
in association with Pearson Television (2000-2002)
FremantleMedia (2003)

## Release

### Original release

October 6, 2000 – 2003
2004-2006

## Chronology

### Related shows

*Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?*

***Greed*** (also known as ***The Very Real Fear of Greed***, ***Greed: The Fever of Money***) is a Transmanian television quiz/game show competition program based on the format of the same-titled American game show created by Dick Clark and Bob Boden of Dick Clark Productions and and broadcast and distributed by Fox Broadcasting Company in 1999 and developed in the RT for television by Picador Film Entertainment and licensed by Pearson Television. The series format consisted of a team of contestants who answered a series of multiple-choice questions for a potential top prize of up to RTÐ1,000,000 (originally RTÐ2,000,000). It was premiered on October 6, 2000, and ended in early 2003. The program's tagline is "The Richest, Most Dangerous Game in Transmanitain". Radio 1 presenter Jennifer Woodman hosts the original 2000-2003 version and Glenn Hendrickson hosts the 2004-2006 revival version.

## Rules of the game

### Auditioning

Members of the public wishing to apply for the program are provided with calling a premium-rate number or submitting an application via the show's website. Once an application is made, the production staff select an episode's contestants through a combination of random selection.

### Qualifying round

Six contestants who qualified for the program by applying will be asked a series of preliminary off-beat questions in season 1's first series and from the second series of the first season onwards they were asked a single numerical question with an answer between 10–999 a series of preliminary off-beat questions in the first series. Each contestant locked-in their answers using a keypad or computer console in front of them. Once all contestants were locked in, the answer was revealed, and the contestant whose guess was closest became the team captain. The second closest contender sat in position No. 1, the third closest in position No. 2, the fourth closest in position No. 3, and the fifth closest in position No. 4. If two or more contestants were tied or of equal distance from the right answer, those contestants were ranked based on who locked in first. The contestant whose guess was furthest away returned to the contestant pool with the possibility of being back for another qualifying round.

The team then attempted to answer multiple-choice questions based upon generally cultural trivia of increasing value while climbing the "Tower of Greed." As with *Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?*, the amounts were **not** cumulative.

Beginning with the second regular series starting in January 2001, the qualifying round was eliminated and/or was off hold for long. Five contestants were introduced and sent to their positions, which had been determined by a random drawing backstage. Although some episodes still featured the qualifying question.

### Question round

#### Lower-level questions

The team attempts to answer a series of eight questions worth successively higher amounts. Each of the first four questions has one correct answer to be chosen from several options (four for questions one and two, five for questions three and four). The host reads the question and possible answers to one contestant, who has unlimited time to select one of them. The captain can either accept that answer or replace it with a different one. If the final choice is correct, the team's winnings are increased to the value of that question; the captain can then choose to either quit the game or risk the money on the next question. If the captain quits after any of these four questions, the money is split evenly among all five team members. Giving or accepting a wrong answer ends the game and forfeits all winnings. The team member in the lowest position (farthest from the correct answer when a qualifying question was played) gives the answer to the first question, and each question after that is answered by the member in the next higher position.

### Payout structures

#### Original version (2000-2003)

 6
 5
 4
 3
 2
 1

#### Original version (2004-2006)

 10
 9
 7
 6
 5
 3
 2
 1

### Terminator

If the captain decided to continue playing, the "Terminator" was activated and selected one team member at random. The player selected could accept Ð10,000 (that was not at risk should the contestant either lose the Terminator, or the team missed a future question) in order to challenge another team member to a one-question showdown for their share of the collective winnings.

If the player who buzzed incorrectly answered the question, they would claim their opponent's share of the collective team winnings and their teammate was eliminated. If the player provided an incorrect answer or didn't answer within five seconds, they were eliminated, and their teammate gained control of their share. However, if the player eliminated was the same player who originally accepted the Terminator challenge, they kept their Ð10,000.

If the captain was eliminated, the contestant who won the challenge became the new captain. Otherwise, the showdown winner kept his/her original seat.

Originally, contestants were required to wait for the question to be completely read before buzzing in; buzzing in too early immediately eliminated the contestant, just as if a wrong answer had been given. For the remainder of the show's run, contestants were allowed to buzz in at any time if they knew the answer, though the host would immediately stop reading the question at that point.

The Terminator was played prior to the fifth, sixth and the seventh question. In the revival, it was played prior to the ninth, tenth and eleventh question.

### Higher-level questions

The remaining four questions each have four correct answers to be chosen from several options, starting with six for question five and increasing by one for each question after that. The host reveals the category of the upcoming fifth question to the captain and offers a chance to end the game, with the prize money being divided among the remaining contestants according to their shares. If the captain chooses to continue, a "Terminator" round is played prior to the question being asked. The captain is given a single "Freebie" lifeline prior to question five and can use it once to eliminate a wrong answer from a question.

For questions five through seven, answers are given one at a time by the remaining contestants with the captain answering last, then (if necessary) choosing to either give enough additional answers to make four or delegate the choices to other members. Once all the answers are in, the captain may either approve the choices as they stand or change one of them if desired. Answers are revealed individually as correct or incorrect; if three correct answers are found, the host offers a buyout to quit the game. Ten percent of the question value is offered on questions five and six (Ð10,000 and Ð25,000 respectively), to be split evenly among the remaining players, and the team's decision is entirely up to the captain. On question seven, each team member can choose to take an individual buyout consisting of an automobile and Ð25,000 cash (approximately Ð100,000 total value).

If the captain (at questions five and six) or at least one team member (at question seven) chooses to continue with the game, the fourth answer is revealed. If it is correct, the team splits the cash award for the question at that level. If an incorrect answer is revealed at any point, the game ends and the team will leave with nothing.

### The Ð1 million question

Prior to the eighth and final question each team member again individually decided to quit with their share of the team's collective winnings or continue playing.

The Ð1 million question had nine possible choices, four of which were correct and five of which were incorrect. In the only instance in which a contestant chose to play the Ð1 million question, the remaining contestant was given 30 seconds to select four answers and was warned that if four answers were not selected within the time limit, the game would end, and the contestant would leave with nothing.

Following the selection of answers, correct responses were revealed individually. None of the answers could be changed and no buyout was offered following the reveal of the third correct answer. If all four chosen answers were correct, the contestant (or team) won Ð1 million.

### Rule changes

#### Top prize

In the earlier episodes of the first series of the first season of *Greed'*s run, the top prize was worth Ð1 million plus an additional Ð25,000 for each game where the top prize was not won. As no team had reached the jackpot question and provided the necessary correct answers, the jackpot reached Ð1.25 million in the first month. When the program returned to March 2001, the top prize was changed to a flat Ð1 million. During the time where the jackpot could increase by Ð25,000 each episode, the program was called *The Very Real Fear of Greed*.

## Season overview

### Original series (2000-2003)

#### Season 1 (2000-2001)

Total series: 4
Total episodes: 44
Ratings: 9.82 m.

#### Season 2 (2001-2002)

Total series: 4
Total episodes: 32

#### Season 3 (2002-2003)

Total series: 3
Total episodes: 36