PASADENA, Calif. — The first man ever to win the biggest prize on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" isn't necessarily the show's most popular contestant. Rival game-show host Maury Povich of NBC's "Twenty-One" went so far as to call John Carpenter "a fairly unlikeable guy."
And Carpenter has no one to blame but himself for his situation.
Carpenter, you may recall, ran through the first 14 questions rather smugly and without the use of any of the show's "lifelines" — phone-a-friend, 50-50 or ask-the-audience. Then, on the million-dollar question, he called his father — not to ask for help but to tell him that he was about to win the big money.
And that is something the former contestant now regrets.
"After reading the message boards on ABC.com the other night, I definitely regret the way I may have come across as arrogant," said Carpenter, who indicated later that he was rather taken aback at just how many of those posting messages on the network's Internet site just didn't like him. "But I think sometimes self-confidence can be mistaken for arrogance.
"Reading the message boards, I think it all stems from the fact that I didn't really show the kind of emotion that would be expected. But I'm just not an excitable person. You can ask my wife."
While many of his later media appearances, on everything from "Good Morning America" to "Live with Regis & Kathie Lee," didn't do much to help his image — Carpenter still managed to come off as rather smug — he nonetheless agreed to fly to Pasadena and appear before television critics. Not only that, he also schmoozed with critics at an ABC function that evening, trying his best to turn on the charm.
And much of the criticism he has received is undeserved. He's not the warmest human being on the face of the Earth, but he seems like a decent sort. (And, no doubt, there's a large contingent of people out there who are jealous of his sudden success.)
Not that he's universally disliked or anything.
"Just about everybody comes up to me on the street," Carpenter said. "It's great. It's wonderful."
As for the folks at "Millionaire," they'll quickly rush to Carpenter's defense.
"I have no regrets that John called his father," said executive producer Michael Davies. "I thought it was one of the greatest moments in television I'd certainly been involved with. I thought it was phenomenal."
ANOTHER MILLION DOLLARS: The second big winner on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" undoubtedly won't attract the same amount of notoriety as the first. But, all things considered, that won't be a bad thing for Dan Blonsky, the 34-year-old lawyer from Miami who won a million dollars on Tuesday's show.
Blonsky correctly answered that the Earth is approximately 93 million miles from the sun to win the big money.
And he came across as a good deal more likable than Carpenter. Not that he wins any extra cash for that, but the postings on the Internet will probably be considerably less cruel.