Another “Deal” Sweeps Stunt: Multi-Million Dollar Madness

01 May

Posted by Alex Davis as Deal or No Deal, NBC

You know NBC couldn’t go long without bringing the Million Dollar Mission back, didn’t you? Well, it’s not exactly like the mission. It actually makes it a hell of a lot easier to get more cases On the May 22nd episode of Deal or No Deal, a group of golden balls will be present. I chuckle at this because what are the odds that Endemol, the same company that makes Deal, have a popular British show called Golden Balls? I’m guessing the odds are pretty good. Anyway, the golden balls are going to literally determine the fate of the contestant’s board.

Each ball will add million dollar cases to the board, according to the description NBC gave us. The worst you can do is two additional $1,000,000 cases, making it three total. The best you can do is turning the entire right side of the board into million dollar cases, giving you up to thirteen. Doesn’t seem like there are any penalties involved either yet, so there you go. Honestly I don’t think many of us enjoy the Mission or anything remotely like this. However, it’s hard to deny that it was popular and brought about some big ratings to the show. If it’s a hit, they might as well do it again to bring up the numbers. And we might as well hope they give it away so they can stop thinking not giving away $1,000,000 is the end of the world.

4 Responses

Marc Power
1
May 1st, 2008 at 5:50 pm

this definitely sound better than the $1m mission, it gives everyone a fair chance to have more million dollar cases. rather than just basing it on when you’re on the show. although I still say a growing jackpot of say $25,000 more each day until won would be better, especially since it is so rare for anyone to even get close to the million I could easily see it get to millions of dollars and that would bring ratings but of course then again, they’d have to air the eps. in order.
steve
2
May 1st, 2008 at 5:58 pm

This is off the main topic, but don’t say you didn’t set yourself up for the side-discussion. From the footage I’ve seen posted online, I rather enjoy Golden Balls, and would love to see it here… except for the Prisoner’s Dilemma at the end. I can’t describe it, but I feel like a game that ultimately hinges on that old chestnut at the end drives me batty.
Friar Simon
3
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:02 pm

Just finished watching a couple of episodes of “Golden Balls” on the YouTube. I enjoyed it immensly. Because it’s an hour show, it stretches a little too thin for my taste…especially the end game. Not sure how it could be squeezed into a half hour…but a fun little show, nonetheless.

I don’t see a version happening here. It’s just too much “math”. The “Deal or No Deal” crowd (the average viewer) will have difficulty contemplating 100 different dollar amounts, along with weird intervals like $14000. Then, losing a zero when you hit a KILLER, then adding again…just too much. I think it’s one of the reasons the “1 vs. 100″ money tree was changed, and utimately, pushed the show off the air, too.

/Running and ducking
MikeSant318
4
May 5th, 2008 at 5:38 pm

QUestions and Comments:

Marc Power: Kinda like what ABC’s WWTBAM did with that jackpot feature, hiking the Million by $10,000 each time it wasn’t won…

steve: Guess you didn’t like Friend or Foe, didja?

Friar Simon: Maybe if a US producer brought GoldenBalls to our side of the Atlantic, they could do like the Punchboard (yeah I know the “official” name of the game is “Punch-A-Bunch”) on TPIR, and have so many of one amount (Punchboard has 10 each of $50, $100, $250, and $500, 5 x $1000, 3 x $5000, and 2 x $10,000). What would be the max on a US GoldenBall? $100,000? Maybe $200,000?