Deal or No Deal
Given that I am somewhat of a game show fan, I should have thought ahead to tape the first two nights of “Deal or No Deal” on NBC. But I was busy, and I didn’t.
I am certainly enjoying the show tonight, although I can see where it would get monotonous on a regular basis. It is not a quiz show; it’s pure chance and the mathematics of weighing your remaining possibilities.
In case you’re unfamiliar, the game works like this: We start with 26 briefcases, each one held by a gorgeous model and each one containing a plaque with a different dollar amount ranging from a penny to $1 million. The contestant begins by picking one case, which remains closed until the game is played out. The rest of the game is spent determining whether the contestant will keep that briefcase, and the dollar amount it represents, or accept one of a series of cash offers from “the bank.” The unchosen briefcases are opened, one by one, and at regular intervals the bank calls with a new offer. The offer is based on the probability of the contestant winning a big cash prize; if the high-dollar figures haven’t turned up yet, the offer will be higher; if many of the high-dollar figures have turned up (thus proving that they aren’t in the contestant’s still-unopened briefcase), the offer will drop. The reality is that the contestant will almost always end up taking one offer or another; the trick is trying to jump at just the right moment, to take the highest possible offer before the high-dollar amounts start showing up and the offers start declining. Only a contestant with nerves of steel will have both the luck to choose the million dollar briefcase and the courage not to sell it.
Friends or family members of the contestant are standing by to kibbutz and offer advice. Perhaps the most surprising element of the game is that it’s hosted by comic and actor Howie Mandel, who plays it deadly serious, except for the gleam in his eye when he throws it to commercial, leaving you in suspense at just the moment when you’re screaming at the TV set. Mandel takes telephone calls from the unseen and unheard “banker” (the producers, no doubt using some sort of computer program to figure the dollar amount based on statistical probabilities) and then dramatically relays their latest offer to the contestant.
The basic premise, of course, is as old as “Let’s Make A Deal,” but the execution is more like the high tension of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” than the hijinks of Carol Merrill standing in front of Door #2 while Monty Hall offers a year’s supply of Rice-A-Roni to a contestant dressed like a teapot.
If NBC has the smarts to pull this out only on special occasions, rather than running it into the ground, this could last a while.
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Rhonda Johnson
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