Remote patrol

With its ratings continuing to slide, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is about to take a big step back to ordinary-dom. It is joining "Jeopardy!" and every other quiz show on TV by auditioning contestants for its shows. That may not sound like a big deal, but it is. "Millionaire" (which airs at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 8 p.m. Thursday and Sunday on Channel 9) was special in that it used to choose finalists based solely on merit. Those with the fastest fingers got to play regardless of their age, gender, personality or lack thereof. The fact that those fingers usually belong to white male contestants, however, has long vexed "Millionaire" executive producer Michael Davies. In February he told me, "We white males should not be incredibly proud that we should be so competitive in games of trivia." Davies even vowed to criss-cross the country by airplane if that's what it took to diversify the contestant pool. Sure enough, videotaped auditions wrapped up last week in several cities. Starting in January, you will see "Millionaire" finalists who were chosen for what ABC calls their "poise, sense of humor and television presence." In other words, expect fewer guys in blue oxford shirts and a lot more $1,000 flame-outs. @ART CAPTION:The familiar look of "Millionaire," with host Regis Philbin introducing contestant Michael Lowenstein. @ART:Photo (color) >>>