Who Wants to Be Rich?

written by Nathan

All across the world we try and catch a little TV. Television (the tube) offers a glimpse into the culture we are visiting, and locally produced TV often showcases differences in taste - dramatic, comedic, newsworthy.

I first started noticing this, when I began to split my life between the USA and Latin America. In Colombia, there is no featured or localized weather (it is close enough to the equator that seasons are relative) - but all of news is national, with a focus on local stories and issues from across the country. Violence is more honest - dead bodies shown are occasionally on the midday news. In Latin America, the favorite show is the ‘telenovella’ our version of a soap opera. A must see to understand ins and outs of dramatic tension.

But, since we have begun this long journey round the planet, I have come more to understand a value of TV for the traveler. In public, or in hotel lobbies, it is a great way to begin conversations with your hosts about what common interests you share. In this case, football (soccer) or the Olympics were universally appreciated, no verbal language needed beyond exclamations. As we travel, natural disasters around the globe and the upcoming World Cup have captured the attention of many.

From China to India, From Ghana to Egypt, we have been amused, entertained, and educated with a worldwide phenomenon of TV success. 

You probably already know the show, either from friends, from watercooler conversations, or, perhaps you are a fan yourself: “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” It's a game show of odd trivia, hard facts, science etc growing ever more popular across our planet. The game show has spawned an Oscar winning dramatic movie, “Slumdog Millionaire,” and is syndicated across the world on Fox and other networks. It also has many immitators… soe closer than others to the real thing.

In Ghana, Brittany became slightly addicted to the telanovela “Second Chance,” dubbed in English. It was fun to attempt lip reading in Spanish, while following the gripping drama. How are Salvador and Isabel coping with the ongoing saga of their twisted lives? Only a return to Ghana will answer these questions.

While in China, we adored a hilarious show that involved people matched against tricky shapes cut out of a quickly moving wall...called "Brain wall?"

 

Another television highlight that we encountered was the live taping of a show that involved an obstacle course of pygmy goats, geese, pigs dressed in biker outfits, humans dressed as giant pandas, and a wheelbarrow filled with bowling balls. After running around the obstacle course and catching one of each animal, contestants had to shoot a Big Bad Wolf with an airgun and then milk three balls from the udders of a giant plastic cow. Very few people managed to complete the course, needless to say. I don't know that it ever aired, but I had to physically old Brittany back from entering herself as a contestant.

“Who wants to be Rich?” is the Ghanian version of ’Millionaire’. It has a slightly different set up, most do, but has the same smart-aleck host who seems to play for and against the contestants. Instead of two levels of break points for gathering certain winnings it has three.

Here was our favorite question from “Who Wants to Be Rich:”

“Which of these is a type of fruit?”
A) Hanana
B) Manana
C) Ghanana
D) Banana

We were all duly impressed when the contestant correctly chose D) Banana.

Seriously, the questions were embarrassingly simple at first. But they certainly elevated in difficulty as the show progressed. We were quickly lost as trivia pointed to Ghanian history and truly stumped with a question about the correct periodic table number for the element of Chlorine.

Who’s laughing now?