History Series / MillionSecondQuiz

* FightUnscene: On the first two days of the stream, barely ''any'' matches were shown, ''at all.'' Games appeared to be going on, given that the official Twitter account was posting results, but you just weren't seeing them. Instead, viewers were treated to a live feed of people in the green room being told to [[ProductDisplacement throw away any beverage not provided by Subway]]. Then came a report from a contestant that alleged the show was literally doing matches inside an [[NoBudget unfilmed "closet" with a cheap computer rig]], flip card scoring, and controllers reused from the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 game ''Buzz!''.

* NeverTrustATrailer: Suberted; initial publicity touted that the show would have the biggest prize in game show history, but this actually referred to the theoretical maximum $10,000,000 which would have required OneHundredPercentCompletion (and, as noted above, isn't even the ''second''-biggest prize in the genre). However, they still managed to do so after all: Andrew Kravis finished with a grand total of $2,326,346, the largest single prize in U.S. game show history (the previous record was Kevin Olmstead and his $2,180,000 win on ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire''). Ryan then announced that his total would be increased to $2,600,000, guaranteeing that Andrew would surpass the $2,522,700 that Ken Jennings won during his original 75-episode run on ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' (the rest of his total came from tournaments, special episodes, and other game shows).

** GameShowHost: Ryan Seacrest. Curiously, this is the second time-related show he's hosted, the other being ''[[NewYearHasCome Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve]]''. Other hosts were used outside of primetime.

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: On the games outside of the primetime hour - no Doubler, all rounds are 500 seconds, and all questions are worth 1 point. Then again, if you're the one in the Chair, the sudden introduction of the Doubler, shorter rounds, and Seacrest is even more unexpected.

* CommercialBreakCliffhanger: Sometimes, Seacrest paused a round for commercials. The final bout on the first night (which was longer) had ''two'' pauses, but in any case, at least they weren't [[Series/WhosStillStanding stopping in the middle of questions]].

** Or in the words of a Twitter user, "The future of TV / social media integration is watching a [[MundaneMadeAwesome live stream of people sitting around a table]]"

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Averted only by the mere fact that it was live on the east coast...and time-delayed for the others, meaning the stream stopped for three hours.

** The "Winners' Row" area had televisions permanently tuned to several NBC-owned channels, including CNBC, [[Creator/{{E}} E!]], Creator/{{MSNBC}}, and NBCSN, with the intent being that contestants could brush up on potential question subjects by watching them all day. There were even video questions featuring personalities from other NBC shows, such as ''Series/TheVoice'' and ''Series/AmericasGotTalent''.

The second matchup of each primetime show featured the "Line Jumper", a wild-card contestant flown in overnight who qualified by playing through the app. The final matchup was the "Winner's Defense" round, where that day's "Power Player" (the Winners' Row contestant which had the highest score playing along with other matches) can send themselves or a contestant of their choice into a SuddenDeath match against the current holder of the Money Chair, winner take all. When the million seconds ended, the top four players won the money they had banked, and competed in a three-round, stepladder playoff (the fourth place finisher went against the third place finisher for a chance to play against the second place finisher. The winner of the match against the second place winner went on to face the first place finisher in the championship game) for $2,000,000.

A 2013 Creator/{{NBC}} GameShow aired over an 11-day span, where Ryan Seacrest subjected contestants to a nearly-nonstop quiz competition lasting exactly [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a million seconds]].

* EngineeredHashtag: The show tried to promote (eventual winner) Andrew Kravis as the "[=#GingerGenius=]".

* ForcedMeme: [=#GingerGenius=]

The object of the game was for a contestant to defend a "Money Chair" by competing in timed matches (referred to as "bouts") of multiple-choice questions against other contestants. If you win, you keep the chair. If you lose, the winner takes your place. For every second a player keeps the chair, they earn $10. Much like ''Series/TheChallengers'', questions occasionally involved recent events. When you make it into the 8:00 p.m. hour (when the competition was aired in primetime on TV), things changed a bit; point values for questions begin steadily increasing throughout the round, and contestants could play the "Doubler"--which challenges their opponent to answer the current question for double points (with the contestant receiving all the points if they answer incorrectly). If, when finally defeated, a contestant's score was within the top 4, the contestant moved into a residence known as "Winners' Row" with little access to the outside world until either the game ends, or someone else outscores or eliminates them.

The second matchup of each primetime show featured the "Line Jumper", a wild-card contestant flown in overnight who qualified by playing through the app. The final matchup is the "Winner's Defense" round; a SuddenDeath match where that day's "Power Player" (a contestant in Winners' Row that did the best playing along with the matches happening before them using a tablet) - or someone they forcibly send in as a sacrifice on their behalf - has to play against the current holder of the Money Chair, winner take all. When the million seconds ended, the top four players won the money they had banked, and competed in a three-round, stepladder playoff (the fourth place finisher went against the third place finisher for a chance to play against the second place finisher. The winner of the match against the second place winner went on to face the first place finisher in the championship game) for $2,000,000.

The second matchup of each primetime show featured the "Line Jumper", a wild-card contestant flown in overnight who qualified by playing through the app. The final matchup is the "Winner's Defense" round; a SuddenDeath match where that day's "Power Player" (a contestant in Winner's Row that did the best playing along with the matches happening before them using a tablet) - or someone they forcibly send in as a sacrifice on their behalf - has to play against the current holder of the Money Chair, winner take all. When the million seconds ended, the top four players won the money they had banked, and competed in a three-round, stepladder playoff (the fourth place finisher went against the third place finisher for a chance to play against the second place finisher. The winner of the match against the second place winner went on to face the first place finisher in the championship game) for $2,000,000.

* SceneryPorn: Their set for the primetime show, which consisted of a giant hourglass-like structure built on the roof of a former Mercedes-Benz dealership in Hell's Kitchen (no, not [[Series/HellsKitchen that one]]), mid-Manhattan, which had a screen around the outside of its "rim" that displayed a scrolling countdown clock. A secondary, indoor studio was used for non-primetime activity (and the one night that it rained), which featured a duplicate of the podium portion of the set just steps from Winner's Row.

** The "Winners' Row" facility had televisions permanently tuned to several NBC-owned channels, including CNBC, [[Creator/{{E}} E!]], MSNBC, and NBCSN. The logic was that the finalists could study potential question subjects by watching MSNBC and E! all day. There were even video questions featuring personalities from other NBC shows, such as ''Series/TheVoice'' and ''Series/AmericasGotTalent''.

* WolverinePublicity: Aside from being on every night for the duration of the competition (except on Sunday, because ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball Sunday Night Football]]'' is still more important), practically ''every single thing that NBC owns'' was promoting for this show in some way, shape, or form. Seacrest even plugged it on ''SNF''. In turn, the show was meant to provide some last-minute promotion for NBC's new Fall lineup.

* DoubleTheDollars: The primetime matches featured the "Doubler", where a contestant could challenge their opponent to answer the current question for double points, but with all of the points going to the contestant if they answer incorrectly. However, the opponent could also double-back at the contestant, quadrupling the points. This mechanic was often used as a DesperationAttack by doubling and hoping for a double-back when you know the answer: you do it because you're running out of time and need the points, even if you think the opponent knows the answer. It can border on What an Idiot! at the very end of the bout, if the doubling player is too far behind to catch up with the extra points. Once the clock runs out, the opponent can guarantee themselves a win if they don't double back.

The object of the game was for a contestant to defend a "Money Chair" by competing in timed matches (referred to as "bouts") of multiple-choice questions against other contestants. If you win, you keep the chair. If you lose, the winner takes your place. For every second a player keeps the chair, they earn $10. Much like ''Series/TheChallengers'', questions occasionally involved recent events. When you make it into the 8:00 p.m. hour (when the competition was aired in primetime on TV), things changed a bit; point values for questions begin steadily increasing throughout the round, and there's also the "Doubler"; which is basically a "dare" for your opponent to answer the question for double the points (or else ''you'' get them all). While the opponent can double-back at you, there is no option to [[Series/DoubleDare1986 take a physical challenge]] instead. If, when finally defeated, a contestant's score is within the top 4, the contestant moves into a residence known as "Winners' Row" with little access to the outside world until either the game ends, or someone else outscores or eliminates them.

* DesperationAttack: Doubling and hoping for a double-back when you know the answer. You do it because you're running out of time and need the points, even if you think the opponent knows the answer. It can border on WhatAnIdiot at the very end of the bout, if the doubling player is too far behind to catch up with the extra points. Once the clock runs out, the opponent can guarantee himself a win if he doesn't double back.

* SceneryPorn: Their set for the primetime show; which consisted of a giant hourglass-like structure built on the roof of a former Mercedes-Benz dealer in Hell's Kitchen (no, not [[Series/HellsKitchen that one]]), mid-Manhattan, which had a screen around the outside of its "rim" that displayed a scrolling countdown clock. A secondary, indoor studio was used for non-primetime activity (and the one night that it rained), which featured a duplicate of the podium portion of the set just steps from Winner's Row.

The object of the game was for a contestant to defend a "Money Chair" by competing in rounds of timed "bouts" of multiple-choice questions with other contestants. If you win, you keep the chair. If you lose, the winner takes your place. For every second a player keeps the chair, they earn $10. Much like ''Series/TheChallengers'', questions occasionally involved recent events. When you make it into the 8:00 p.m. hour (when the competition was aired in primetime on TV), things changed a bit; point values for questions begin steadily increasing throughout the round, and there's also the "Doubler"; which is basically a "dare" for your opponent to answer the question for double the points (or else ''you'' get them all). While the opponent can double-back at you, there is no option to [[Series/DoubleDare1986 take a physical challenge]] instead. If, when finally defeated, a contestant's score is within the top 4, the contestant moves into a residence known as "Winners' Row" with little access to the outside world until either the game ends, or someone else outscores or eliminates them.

The second matchup of each primetime show featured the "Line Jumper", a wild-card contestant flown in overnight who qualified by playing through the app. The final matchup is the "Winner's Defense" round; a SuddenDeath game where that day's "Power Player" (a contestant in Winner's Row that did the best playing along with the matches happening before them using a tablet) - or someone they forcibly send in as a sacrifice on their behalf - has to play against the current holder of the Money Chair, winner take all. When the million seconds ended, the top four players finally won their money, and competed in a three-round, stepladder playoff (the fourth place finisher went against the third place finisher for a chance to play against the second place finisher. The winner of the match against the second place winner went on to face the first place finisher in the championship game) for $2,000,000. The show also attempted to be trendy and emphasize interaction with through social media and [[HomeGame the official app]], where viewers could watch the proceedings live, ''Series/BigBrother'' style, and even play the game themselves, either normally or along with the show.

Creator/{{NBC}} GameShow in which Ryan Seacrest and his army of trivia {{Mooks}} subjected contestants to a quiz competition that just kept going on and on, all day long. For [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a million seconds]] (the entire competition took place across 11 days).

** The "Winners' Row" facility had televisions permanently tuned to several NBC-owned channels, including CNBC, [[Creator/{{E}} E!]], MSNBC, and NBCSN. The logic was that the finalists could study current events that are potential question subjects by watching MSNBC and E! all day. There were even video questions featuring personalities from other NBC shows, such as ''Series/TheVoice'' and ''Series/AmericasGotTalent''.