Lukas Podolski Would Like To Be A Millionaire

We cycle through game shows at an alarming rate in this country. When I was a kid, it was To Tell The Truth, Match Game, Joker's Wild, and the like - and of course the evergreen Price is Right. Then, game shows sorta went fallow a bit - they became the province of syndicators, not networks, and while it's a lucrative little niche, game shows rarely captured the nation's attention any more.

Then, in 1999, along came Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. The British version had been on for a year, and was a huge  hit, then ABC decided to run an American version in prime time, and it was a huge hit. It captured the nation's attention for a good long while, and for good reason - it was a fun show, with the emphasis being on one player not a group playing against each other.

As with all trends, though, it burned bright and flamed out quickly, thanks in part to ABC broadcasting it three nights a week (!) and finally went off the air in 2002. It came back in syndication, where to my surprise it still lives, with Terry Crews as host. Terry Crews is awesome, but I'm still not watching Millionaire.

You know what I would watch, though? Millionare with Lukas Podolski, that's what. In 30 minutes on the air, Poldi answered 12 questions successfully, ending his run with €125,000. He has announced that he will give his share of the winnings to charity, which is awesome.

That 12 correct answers, incidentally, is the most he's scored in years.