So come on then, what's the answer?
Quiz is a 2020 ITV miniseries, Based on a True Story about the infamous "Major Cheat" scandal. It is based on a West End play of the same name, and was adapted for television by the playwright, James Graham. Stars Michael Sheen as host Chris Tarrant.
In 1998, ITV airs the new game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which twists the previous format by giving contestants questions with four possible answers, lifelines, and the option to walk away at any time with their current winnings. Its true entertainment value is watching people under pressure. The show proves to be a smash hit, and gains the attention of British Army Major Charles Ingram (Matthew Macfadyen) and his family. They become determined to get on the show and win the jackpot, falling in with a network of fans who try to cheat the system.
This miniseries provides examples of:
- Commercial Break Cliffhanger: We see one recorded. Right before giving the answer on the million pound question, Chris Tarrant reveals they are going to commercial. The recording pauses for about thirty seconds before they resume.
- Confetti Drop: Given Charles' bumpy road to £1000 in the first show, it was not expected that he would even approach the top prize. As such, the man in charge of the "glitter" during the second show is initially sat in his van having a snack. However, as Charles approaches the final question, the glitter man is hastily called into the studio, managing to execute this trope just in time.
- Conveniently Timed Distraction: Charles Ingram wins the jackpot on September 10, 2001, and the ITV executives argue about what to do the following day, whether they should air the episode or cut him out completely. Then they see a news report that terrorists have hijacked an airplane and crashed it into the World Trade Center. This allows them to postpone airing the episode as they seek litigation.
- Dude, Not Funny!: Several examples in-universe, specifically coughing, but it really kicks up another gear when the Ingrams' dog is shot and killed.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: In-Universe. We see the ITV executives ironing out several details about the show, including its name.
- Everyone Has Standards: Despite his firm belief that they cheated, Paul Smith is genuinely upset by the treatment the Ingrams receive from the public.
- Gainax Ending: After they are found guilty, Charles and Diana are at home watching television. Diana gets up and goes to bed but Charles continues watching. He changes channel only to find a broadcast of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? but then Chris Tarrant turns directly towards the camera and starts mocking Charles with a contemptuous sneer on his face, asking if he was telling the truth. Charles can only watch on with an expression of regret on his face, before he switches off the TV and the series ends. For a series that's Based on a True Story and is pretty heavily grounded in reality, this is an unusually surreal and scary note to go out on.
- Game Show Host: Michael Sheen portrays Chris Tarrant.
- It Will Never Catch On: Inverted. The head of the syndicate tells Paul that he spent weeks simply memorizing statistical data that would allow him to cheat the show, but notes that Google will soon make their methods obsolete.
- Lady Macbeth: Diana. Charles doesn't even want to go on the show, but Diana bullies him into doing it, and most (if not all) of the cheating seems to be her and Adrian's idea. However, she later admits she was wrong to do so, and sincerely apologizes.
- Line-of-Sight Name: Unsatisfied with the show's name of "Cash Mountain," Paul Smith then hears a stagehand singing "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" by Frank Sinatra and picks that.
- Manipulative Editing: Actually not invoked in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, but in the court case - ITV has edited together a series of clips of Diana and Whittock coughing, which Ingram's lawyer uses to poke holes in the prosecution.
- Manly Tears: Charles breaks down when, in the wake of the cheating scandal, he is let go from the British Army.
- Meaningful Background Event: As the post-recording meeting at ITV gets heated, people can be seen starting to run throughout the office. Then someone turns off the tape, and they get a live image of the World Trade Center on fire.
- The Millstone: Diana's brother Adrian. They love quizzes, but Adrian gets into debt several times, gets Diana involved with cheaters, and seems to control Diana a lot.
- Not Me This Time: Paul Smith contacts the head of the "syndicate," who runs through the various methods they used to get people on the show...only to reveal that the Ingrams were never actually clients of theirs.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Adrian gets stuck on a question and uses his "Phone a Friend" lifeline to call his father. Immediately after hanging up, his father is told that he gave him the wrong answer.
- After turning off the tape, the TV switches to a live broadcast... of the World Trade Center on fire, with reports that a plane had flown into it. Like everyone else in the world on that day, they cannot believe what they are seeing. David Liddiment asks if this image is live out of sheer disbelief.
- Popular History: As Charles' win falls on 10th September 2001, the 9/11 terrorist attacks are inevitably acknowledged, with both the Ingrams and the staff at ITV reacting to the breaking news. However, the event ultimately had no bearing on the scandal, with police investigations into potential misconduct commencing on the very same day.
- Remake Cameo: Several cast members from the original play — including Keir Charles, who played Chris Tarrant there, and Sarah Woodward, who was Sonia Woodley — have walk-on roles.
- Self-Deprecation: During a meeting, the ITV executives are given the number for a Scotland Yard unit known as the "celebrity crime squad." David Liddiment remarks that it sounds like a crappy cop show, to which Claudia says it sounds like something they would make.
- Serious Business: Quizzes are these, especially for Diana but also for everyone.
- Shoot the Dog: During the course of the trial, someone quite literally shoots and kills the Ingrams' dog.note
- Shout-Out: When Charles gets into the hot seat, Chris Tarrant comments on his army rank with "Morning, Major!" "Morning, Fawlty!" Tarrant actually did make this joke in real life.
- There Are No Coincidences:
- The show executives start to get suspicious when Adrian appears on the show twice and wins £32,000, then his sister appears and wins £32,000, then her husband appears and wins £1 million.
- One of the main causes of drama in the rest of the show. There's a lot of twitching and coughing in the television studio...but does that make Ingram guilty?
- Trauma Conga Line: The trial becomes one for Charles: his dog is shot and killed and he is spat on.
- Troubled Production: (In-Universe) While the focus is the Ingram scandal and the WWTBAM production team's reaction to it, the first episode also covers the bumpy ride to creating the show itself.
- Viewers Are Morons: The ITV executives decide to edit out Charles' performance, until someone points out the confetti on the ground is still there when the next contestant starts playing. The others say viewers won't notice it.
- Villain Protagonist: The central character is Charles Ingram and his family as they try to cheat on a quiz show.
- We Are Everywhere: Paul is shocked when he learns just how many members of the syndicate actually managed to make it onto the show.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: A brief one at the end acknowledges that Charles and Diana Ingram maintain their innocence to this day.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Paul Smith reacts this way when David reveals that not only do they not take basic security precautions, like searching audience members for cell phones, but Charles actually had his brother-in-law as a guest on the show.
