Deal or No Deal archive at BuzzerBlog

Archive for the 'Deal or No Deal' Category

Feb

“Deal or No Deal” Goes on World Tour

By Alex Davis 17 Comments

Categories: Deal or No Deal and NBC

I have to tell you, for the most part, this season’s Deal or No Deal gimmicks have been fantastic. They really change the game into something new and exciting, like Winner Takes All. Of course not all are hits, like the Million Dollar Mission. However, I think this one’s going to be a hit: Deal’s going on a world tour for May sweeps!

The show will be traveling to different countries around the world and taping from their set. Countries being announced are the Philippines, South Africa, and Estonia. They will be playing by their rules, which are our rules. No word on using their prize tree, though.

So yeah, they’re going to countries that have sets that sort of look like ours and with the same format. But still, the idea of traveling is really cool and one of the better if not the best gimmicks they have done. The only thing I would have done is go to the British set to do a daytime format episode. We’re going with a 22-case $250,000 syndicated edition of Deal this fall; it would have made sense to test the waters with their format. But anyway, it’s a very welcomed change that doesn’t take away from what the show is and doesn’t basically fix the board so it’s an obscenely better chance at winning $1,000,000. Are we all in good spirits about this one?

Jan

NBC Schedules “Amne$ia” and Increases “Deal or No Deal”

By Alex Davis 18 Comments

Categories: 1 vs. 100, Amne$ia, Deal or No Deal, NBC and Schedule Change

I’m often amazed at how Deal or No Deal, through NBC’s extreme over exposure, can remain extremely strong and popular. However, do you think it’ll keep it up for a two hour weekly episode? This is part of NBC’s midseason of midseason shake-up. First off, once 1 VS 100’s season finale is over on Friday, February 22nd, NBC’s new game show, Amne$ia, sees its debut at 9:00PM ET. If you note, the show has seven letters, with the “e” in the middle. There’s place to zoom through the “e” in the logo, so I think we’re safe. You can calm down, everyone.

Amne$ia can basically be described as a light-hearted Moment of Truth with a worse host, Dennis Miller. I like him, but he just doesn’t hold a candle to Mark L. Walberg of FOX’s lie detector show. Amne$ia just sees contestants recalling past events from their life for money. This is going to probably make me sound like a horrible person, but I can’t see this working especially since FOX’s version is on the air and really popular so far. It might just seem too tame and boring now, especially with the novelty off the lie detector already somewhere. I can just see something like The Chair/The Chamber fight occurring, though with The Moment of Truth lasting a while because of the post-American Idol slot.

A little 1 VS 100 note: for some reason only seven of the eight episodes are going to air. They are skipping the fourth taped episode and going straight to 205. Might have had an issue with it, or might have had the stereotypical Endemol “Your game sucked so we aren’t going to air it but pay you off.” situation. There will be a pop culture episode the week before the season finale. Also with interesting scheduling moves, Deal or No Deal will be staying on Mondays, but moving to 9:00PM ET on March 31st to make room for what will surely be a “fun(?)” “show(?)” (My Dad is Better Than Your Dad) at 8:00PM ET. Deal will have two hour episodes every Wednesday at 8:00PM ET starting on March 26th.

Dec

What’s The Deal With “Deal or No Deal”? It’s Great Again!

By Alex Davis 34 Comments

Categories: Deal or No Deal, NBC, Opinion and Reader Input

Warning: Minor, tiny spoilers from December 10th’s Deal or No Deal ahead:

Confession time: I haven’t watched a single minute of Deal or No Deal this season at all. I’ve just been bored sick with it. Last season seemed to be a breaking point, where they just tried horrible gimmick after horrible gimmick. It got frustrating, tiring, and nauseating. Then we come to the new season and I hear of the Million Dollar Mission. That put more dread, and with ratings really starting to sag I figured the primetime version was slowly coming to an end with the syndie version rolling around. However, all of a sudden, out of no where, Endemol is getting back into the gear of things and making the show fresh, exciting, and fun. Most noticeably, they had Winner Takes All last night.

If you didn’t watch it, you missed what was probably the best episodes of Deal or No Deal I’ve seen in the US and probably in my top five around the world. The game, in short, is that three players played three separate games. The person who left with the most money in their game took home everyone else’s money while the other two went home with nothing. On paper this sounds good, but I had a horrible feeling that Endemol would do something stupid, like let the other contestants see what the previous ones got. Look at what they did to 1 VS 100.

Wow was I wrong. They did everything as perfectly as humanly possible. All the players and family members were sequestered in different rooms in isolation the entire time they weren’t playing. They either got a new audience or really coached the current one to play the game straight, because they did not do anything hinting at strategy. Howie acted as neutral as he possibly could have, and was very convincing. Even the Banker got into it!

The Banker is what made the episode for me. For people watching it a lot, has the Banker been giving good offers recently? For instance, when we were down to $50,000 and $300,000; I figured we’d be seeing $180,000 to $200,000 knowing our habits. However, we only offered $146,000. Fantastic and perfect. We did this for the rest of the show too. Why did it take them so long to realize that if you want a contestant to play a game to the end, you cannot offer a gigantic sum of money? You have to offer a lesser amount that makes it tempting to go on. The Banker was fair in offering tough dollar values to every contestant also.

Yeah, the winner didn’t leave with a ton of money, but who cares? The entire episode was incredibly enjoyable and just about perfect. They chose some fun contestants who were over-the-top but still lovable (at least in my eyes). They finally got the offers to where they should be, and they played the competition factor perfectly. I truly hope this was the beginning of many more Winner Takes All episodes. The one reason I love the Dutch version of the show the best is because they have the massive audience competition to see who plays. Adding some strategy to the briefcase game like they did today made it a whole new show. It increases the possible top prize while not screwing with the board. Now I just strongly hope they don’t revert back to old ways, but it amazes me that they are finally getting the picture with Deal or No Deal. It only took them three years, but they finally found out what makes it work. I’m hoping to tune in much much more, now, and see something as exciting, fun, and competitive as I did today. What did you readers think of Winner Takes All? Am I alone in sharing the feelings of this episode?

Dec

It’s a “Deal or No Deal” Christmas + Schedule Change

By Alex Davis 5 Comments

Categories: Deal or No Deal, NBC and Schedule Change

Let’s start with Deal or No Deal’s schedule change. You know NBC couldn’t resist putting the show on twice a week, didn’t you? Deal or No Deal will be seen on Mondays at 9PM ET starting on January 7, 2008. It follows American Gladiators. Deal will still be seen on Wednesdays at 8PM ET. The move to Monday comes from the far superior 1 VS 100 taking its place on Fridays at 8PM ET starting January 4th.

Now on to the Christmas special. On December 25th, Deal runs for two hours, from 8PM ET to 10PM ET. The cases are being knocked down to 25, which is an interesting little twist, as well as lower values being replaced by coal, egg nog, and fruit cake. There are two games in the hour, both consisting of $1,000,000 games.

In addition, this episode of Oprah, er, Deal or No Deal will be giving twelve gifts to the audience which will be sung to them in the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. The Lucky Case Ornament Game will be played for $100,000 as well. I’ve never been a big fan of all of Deal’s twists, but they are getting the hang of them this season. They’ve managed to keep a show that should get old quickly fresh and exciting. The show seemed doomed at the end of last season. They’ve really pulled a major comeback.

Nov

“What’s The Deal” Week on December 10th

By Alex Davis 15 Comments

Categories: Deal or No Deal and NBC

Deal or No Deal is going gimmick crazy during the week of December 10th with some extra long episodes. But there is a positive note: most of the actual gimmicks are cool and welcome at a later time. One of them is “The Deal Wheel” which we discussed before. That is on December 12th. Here are some more.

On December 10th, Deal or No Deal adds something never done before in the briefcase game: competition. December 10th is “Winner Takes All”. During the two hour show, three contestants will play their own individual game. Whoever gets the most money in their game takes home everyone’s money. Meaning if Player One gets $200,000; Player Two gets $250,000; and Player Three gets $300,000; Player Three goes home with $750,000. Interesting way to up the money without going insane, plus this may make for some really interesting and hopefully cautious game play.

December 11th isn’t a huge gimmick. They are bringing in a small orchestra and members of the Broadway show “Wicked” to perform for the contestant. It’s also a special “case reveal” episode, where home viewers will get to see what’s inside some case values before the player does. It really doesn’t add anything special to the show, but it’s not a bad gimmick.

December 12th is the pretty cool “Deal Wheel” which can be found here. And Merry Christmas, that’s a picture of Anya for the Christmas special.

And that’s Deal or No Deal on the week of December 10th. I have to say that it looks like they are getting their act in shape now. The gimmicks add something new to the show without going insane with ponies. They add new game devices to the show which make it new, special, and exciting. What do you all think of the gimmicks?

Nov

“Deal or No Deal” Brings in “The Deal Wheel”

By Alex Davis 14 Comments

Categories: Deal or No Deal and NBC

Good news and bad news about Deal or No Deal on December 12th. Let’s start with the bad news.

Bad News: Deal or No Deal is adding a new gimmick.

Good News: It’s actually good, at least I think!

Starting on December 12th, NBC’s Deal or No Deal is adding “The Deal Wheel”, which you can see in the picture. Speaking of the picture, does Howie look like a cartoon or computer graphic, or is it just me?

This works exponentially better than Double or Nothing, as this gives you a chance to double, triple, or halve your money. It’s a bit sketchy right now, but it seems that you have the option to play “The Deal Wheel” after you take a deal or get the value in your case. You drop a ball down a huge ramp, looking much like a Plinko board, before it hits the wheel. In there is essentially a roulette wheel. The spaces alternate “1/2″ or “x2″. Five of the “x2″ spaces are “x3″, meaning your money is tripled. You only risk half of your money to potentially triple it, or at least double it in a 50/50 chance. Seems like a pretty cool gimmick which can definitely work and is worth a risk, unlike Double or Nothing. What do you all think? I haven’t watched Deal or No Deal in ages, but I think it might be worth it for this.

Nov

On “Deal or No Deal”, It’s Back…….

By Alex Davis 9 Comments

Categories: Deal or No Deal and NBC

There are moments on this site where I question if I should even tell you about some news or if I should let you be happy and unaware. There’s no huge news yet today, so I get to torture you! There are many things NBC could do to make Deal or No Deal worse in the upcoming months, like offering a few ponies, Howie Mandel as a model in a dress, or just giving away a million dollars with no real work.

Wait, that last one is happening, again! Reader Bill R. sent me a video of the Ellen DeGeneres show where she subbed as a Deal or No Deal suitcase model; number four to be exact. This episode should air in early January. Howie does announce on it that the current contestant is in the middle of a show where there is a “Million Dollar Mission”, and she is playing with a pair of million dollar cases. Yes, it’s coming back. Shield your eyes and hide the children. The god-awful Million Dollar Mission returns.

You can catch a video of it here, just scroll to 3:30 and ignore all the introductory scripted crap. Might want to turn the volume down out of respect for the mentally unstable, as news of the Million Dollar Mission might cause mania. It almost made me throw my computer against my wall.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=YgBouptdeZE[/youtube]

Oct

“Power of 10″ in the Running for Syndication

By Alex Davis 14 Comments

Categories: CBS, Deal or No Deal, FOX, Fifth Grader?, NBC, Power of 10 and Syndication

Has anyone else been extremely disappointed with this year’s syndicated offerings? They are both severely lacking, especially Temptation, and if we see any last a season, let alone past January, I’ll be amazed. Luckily next season we might have a very interesting syndication front. Three popular game shows are being worked out for syndication, one already cleared in 50% of the country. The shows: Deal or No Deal, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, and Power of 10.

Daytime Deal or No Deal is old news, but a few new items have poured in. Right now they are committing to 32 weeks of the show and possibly up to 36. $250,000 is going to be the top prize and, good news, contestants are going to be holding the cases. There are only going to be three models as of now and future contestants will be holding the other cases. How many cases? Who knows. Might we suggest 22? There’s no way you can fit a meaningful 26 case game in 20 minutes, not including talking. Each contestant will have the half hour to themselves meaning games will be a bit more predictable. However, I’ll gladly take a predictable ending instead of a far-too-long, overly gimmicked one. This is one show I see being much better in daytime.

The other show I see being better is Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?. Yeah, no one’s won the million yet. However, the show has never been a million dollar prime time show. I think one of our regular readers, David Howell, said it best, that it’s like a Comedy Central show shoved in prime time. Speed up the game play and knock the prize down to $100,000. I think the game will be actually enjoyable and not as nauseatingly dramatic. The only show I worry about is Power of 10, but in a good way. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the show, and I think a majority of the readers here are. However, the easy syndication fix to the budget is dividing the prizes by ten. We had an overwhelming amount of $1,000 and $10,000 winners. Transfer this to daytime and that’s a lot of $100 and $1,000 winners which just seems cheap. I’m all for seeing the show as much as possible, but I’d need to see how they are going to the budget first. If they can somehow be brave enough to keep it as a $10,000,000 show in prime time, I’ll be completely amazed. A majority of the winners were within budget for daytime shows. If Sony has the guts, they could do it. Do they? We’ll see. At least it’s better than Sony’s syndication offerings of last year.

Oct

Endemol/NBC Cherry-Picks Episodes of “Deal or No Deal” to Air

By Alex Davis 55 Comments

Categories: Deal or No Deal, NBC and Opinion

I went to a message board a bit ago and stumbled upon this. In short, some poor lady only won $50,000 after having horrible luck, and she was informed that they would not air her show because it wasn’t exciting or good enough to kick off a new season with. This is probably the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard in my life. How in the hell can Endemol just pick and choose which episodes of a game show to air?

If someone loses, it’s part of the game. It’s what bugged me when I heard some lady who won sub-$100 got $25,000 anyway. If you lose, you lose. At least NBC aired that, and it’s probably because Trump decided to be nice at the end. Had she left with whatever she had, do you think they would have aired it? I severely doubt it now.

Now comes the fun part of wondering if they’ve done this in the past as well. How many horrible games have we not seen because they didn’t give away enough? I’ve been anti-Deal or No Deal for a bit now, but if this doesn’t do something to you I don’t know what will. I mean at least she got paid her $50,000. There would be a major issue if she didn’t. But just choosing which episodes to air and not based on money won? Give me a break. This is why your show is starting to really slip, Endemol and NBC. This is probably one of the lowest game show news bits I’ve read in quite some time. Just awful. What are your thoughts on this?

Aug

“Deal or No Deal” Set Changes for New Season

By Alex Davis 8 Comments

Categories: Deal or No Deal, NBC and Pictures

With a new season of NBC’s Deal or No Deal comes a few set changes, as with most shows on television. Interestingly, this season isn’t that much. We mainly have a few lighting changes, including some white light on the model’s stairs, new colors for their stairs, and new neon lighting below the Banker’s booth. The biggest change seems to be an all new Banker booth. The images we are providing come from the Donald Trump season premiere game on September 17th.