QUIZ SHOW MANIA: Daja Vu with a Vengeance.

• Author: FISCHER, RAYMOND L.

The success of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" has encouraged a plethora of pale imitations

QUIZ AND GAME SHOWS have returned Watching television almost any time of day, viewer know that "They're back." Most people who remember the quiz and game shows of the 1950s and 1960s accepted the premise that notorious scandals had put the shows to rest. The longest running prime-time game show, "What's My Line?," was on from 1950 to 1967; "The Dating Game," from 1966 to 1970; the "Newlywed Game," from 1967 to 1971; and "Let's Make a Deal," from 1969 to 1971. Now, these all seem to be returning in one form or another.

The most successful of the quiz show genre gave away the most money: "The $64,000 Question," "The $64,000 Challenge," and "Twenty-One" enjoyed extreme popularity until contestant Charles Van Doren admitted he had received answers for "Twenty-One." During subsequent Congressional hearings, evidence revealed other quiz shows had also helped popular contestants. Game and quiz shows mostly faded from view, but now they are back with a vengeance.

The current explosion (or implosion?) results from the success of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"--one of the most popular shows on television. Because of its success, producers are beating the bushes as they analyze old quiz and game programs to find a show that will emulate the success of "Millionaire." That show has unique qualities, though, and deserves its popularity. In contrast, most of the others headed for production constitute little more than trash, or they have extremely bizarre appeal.

London-based ITV originated the idea for "Millionaire," which it first aired in the summer of 1998. Michael Davies, executive vice president of alternative series and specials at ABC, heard of it from a friend in England. Viewing a copy of the show, Davies immediately recognized the potential appeal for American audiences. He contacted its creator, Paul Smith, whom he convinced to bring the show to America. The two agreed to work as co-executive producers, and the rest is history.

In 1992, Davies signed on with Disney-owned Buena Vista TV, where he helped develop several game shows, including Comedy Central's "Win Ben Stein's Money." He later moved to co-owned ABC Entertainment, where he worked with Drew Carey's "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" Following the success of "Millionaire," Davies has been negotiating with Disney and ABC executives for release from his contract with the ABC network. Typically, any agreement between ABC and Davies, who now has his own production company in New York and Los Angeles, would give ABC first choice of any program produced by Davies' company.

During its initial two-week run in August, 1999, the audience for "Millionaire" steadily grew from a 3.9...