Rumor Control: “Duel” Renewed?
Update: ABC gave us a response with sadly not much more information beyond “chatter rumors, nothing to confirm,” so it’s at least being thought of making the Craigslist post a bit more believable. Still a rumor until we get some official confirmation, though.
ABC never fails to shock me with renewals. Craigslist just posted a new casting notice for season two of Duel. Still no confirmation as of yet, but we’ll try to find it out as soon as possible. In the season two casting notice there’s no mention of a huge cash jackpot like there was for season one. All it says is “huge cash prize for winners.” Maybe we switched to the British version in terms of how to get the jackpot?
I enjoy the basic idea of Duel, but ABC completely screwed up in the execution in my book. There was no drama until the final match (and even that barely had any because of how it ended), Mike Greenberg was too robotic and had a pen stapled to his fingers, contestants were annoying, and the questions were either really hard or really easy; never a happy medium. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: tournaments just do not work for primetime game shows. There’s no drama until the ending. Maybe if they had another tournament format we can talk. What they had was a really horrendous tournament format.
I’d really like just to see them change to Engand’s game play for season two. It takes four wins to get the jackpot. After each game you can take some money and leave or play on. At least throw in a tiny bit of risk and drama. The idea was fine, but the execution was hideous. It needs some work. If they can realize it, see why people continually turned away from the show, and fix things we might have one of the better quiz shows in recent times.
What would you like to see different in season two?
Considering I quite enjoyed the majority of Duel while it ran, I think I’ll start with what I wouldn’t want to see changed with Season Two. No major changes should be made to the set–the impersonal, imposing atmosphere adds to the stress of the show, especially during a “press” (I’ll never be able to call them “accelerators”). Similarly, the idea of having the contestant choose their opponent from three possible ones was well-executed in the first season, although having the entire “player’s gallery” constantly on-stage is not necessary.
Now for the changes. The questions need to have a higher level of difficulty–it should be a rarity that a contestant could whittle down the choices to one. Play up what separates Duel from WWTBAM! Secondly, please cut out the Shootout. If both players miss a question, both should be eliminated. If the Shootout is to be saved, use it when both contestants had less than three chips remaining. Finally, please do NOT stretch out sixty minutes’ worth of material into a ninety-minute long program. The first two episodes were painful in that regard.
ABC got it half right–tweak it, and they’ll have quite a good show.
Go to the british format with the jackpot, get rid of repetitve shillbot Mike Greenberg (hell his fat slob broadcast partner Mike Golic may have more GS potential) and bring in someone with game show expierience which this kind of show NEEDS (I still say Kenny Mayne would be perfect good balance of keeping it a game while adding intensity.) and perhaps go to 1 press a game and cut the press time to 5 instead of 7 seconds…it wears thin when it can be used so many times in a match and 7 seconds is too long, too many people just dropped all their chips down and that was that.
Go to the british format with the jackpot, get rid of repetitve shillbot Mike Greenberg (hell his fat slob broadcast partner Mike Golic may have more GS potential) and bring in someone with game show expierience which this kind of show NEEDS (I still say Kenny Mayne would be perfect good balance of keeping it a game while adding intensity.) and perhaps go to 1 press a game and cut the press time to 5 instead of 7 seconds…it wears thin when it can be used so many times in a match and 7 seconds is too long, too many people just dropped all their chips down and that was that.
Keep:
- The set (for the most part… see the ladies below)
- Presses + the accompanying sound/visual effects
- Basic rules of the game
Axe:
- Mike Greenberg – I could a much better job that he could and I have no experience!
- “Screen up”
- The ladies – go with Britain’s “chips actually go into the pot”
- The entire tournament format
Let me elaborate on that last bit: The way I see this show working is as a “take on as many opponents as you can” fest. The one-on-one ature of this show makes me think of Thom McKee of Tic Tac Dough fame – why not make it so some just keeps winning if they’re any good? Give a player $5,000 for winning a duel + $5,000 for each chip she didn’t lose. Then let them play again. And again. Until they lose. You can go with a “risking XX%” by playing again or a “your opponent’s winnings come out of your bank,” but that probably wouldn’t be necessary. Make the show an hour long and you can fit anywhere from 4 to 6 duels in it (or a daytime showing of 1/2 and hour would make it 2-3). This way, players earn more if they play well (up to $55,000 a duel) and it creates natural drama (“Hey, that guy’s won eight in a row, and he’s up to almost $200,000! I’m gonna watch next AND tell my friends!”)
The show needs a bonus round of some sort for the winner — Three questions, five chips. If they get all three questions right, bonus!
Don’t let the contestants play more than 3 chips per question in the main game or bonus round. That increases the chances of a “press” being more meaningful and increases the chances of a double-loss. One press per game each contestant. Seven seconds is fine with a three-chip format.
Kill the shootout. If they both lose, they both lose. Nothing wrong with two new contestants. Axe the tournament format.
Ease up on the “impossible” questions — don’t make every question so difficult that you shrug your shoulders and dump your chips.
Any changes really need to be play-tested to death. They need to get it right.
I’m not really suprised at a possible renewal. The ratings numbers did look a bit weak, but when the ratings and the rankins were put out, Duel still ranked in the top thirty programs for most episodes.
The show desperately needs to be revolutionary by being fast-paced, not snail-in-a-coma paced. I enjoyed every night but wanted to scream at the pacing.
I don’think the show was bad. It could use a different host.
Yikes! I didn’t realize it was that long of a drop to the floor! :p
Anyway, I agree with what needs to be changed and what doesn’t. But, to be honest, I think Duel is decent show. Now, with some tweaks, it could be great! We’ll see, but believe you be, and I think I may speak for everyone on this blog when I say that I would still take this over NBN…..ANY NIGHT (or DAY)!
So, bring on season 2, just make it better.
It sounds like I’m the only one, but I kind of liked the tournament format. The final was a letdown, of course, but that’s just like any other form of competition. For every Patriots-Giants Super Bowl, there’s a Patriots-Bears one.
I would make the format more like “Jeopardy!”: you play until you lose, and then at the end of each season, the four players who won the most duels are invited back for a Tournament of Champions. Shootouts are used only in the tournament. The jackpot accumulates throughout the season, so that in, say, a 14-episode season, the jackpot would reach roughly double what Ashlee won.
This way, you can earn some money just by beating whoever walks onto the stage next, but you have to beat the best to walk away with the huge money.
I think a format akin to Twenty-One, with the winner of a Duel receiving a certain amount per chip which increases after each successive Duel won, would be the most intriguing. I don’t know about the double-loss possibility, but maybe make it that a shootout win does not result in progression in the amount per chip won. Also, a bonus round (maybe like the “Perfect 21″ bonus in the Maury Povich Twenty-One) after three (non-shootout) wins, where a contestant has the chance to win up to 20 or so chips at the value per chip of the last match he/she played, would provide a bit of big-money drama, especially if the contestant has won 6 or 9 Duels. I don’t think a jackpot is necessary under this format, as this would be more of a serial champion-versus-challenger format a la Jeopardy, Tic Tac Dough, or either of the Twenty-One incarnations.
I agree with some what of your idea Alex J. but here is what i was thinking they ought to do
to start the show one player will be preselected before the show and then there will be a randomized of who will be selected from the gallery. Here is how I think scoring should go
(first off chips are worth nothing they are just betting chips)
two players will play a best 2 out of 3 match the winner of the match is the champ and will play another contestant you win money for each match you win. If a challenger doesn’t win a match they leave with $2,500. ( below is list for each champ) the more duels you win the more money you win
`1st Duel won= $25,000 for each match total of $50,000
2nd Duel won- $50,000 for each match total of $100,000
3rd Duel won- $100,000 for each match total of $200,000
4th Duel won- $250,000 for each match total of $500,000
5th Duel won- $500,000 for each match total of $1,000,000
possible total you can win $1,850,000
I think this would make it easier and not only this the 10 free chips are just that free chips to bet with on the question. So what do you think of this idea.
I enjoyed Duel though for the most part. I really wish those that the producers would let Greeny interact more with the contestants. I think Duel should do a twice to three a week run and I personally would like to see it on Tues, Fri and some sundays. i think this would be a great show if done the way i suggested or even some of these other peoples idea maybe start back up around April or May although I would be for it starting up around march but not up against DOND if you read this ABC do not put this show up against Deal Or No Deal and also don’t do a 90 minute episode when you first if you do bring this back. Duel was the most intense trivia game I’ve ever seen and I am not great at trivia but it had me even wanting to try out for this show.
Scott, I disagree with one suggestion you make: that winnings be unrelated to chips.
One aspect of Duel I tremendously enjoyed, was its subtlety. Most game-show questions are a binary affair: right or wrong. In Duel, it’s not simply what you know, but what you don’t know — and how certain you are of each choice — that determines how quickly your stack of chips decreases. This gives the game a unique flavour.
That’s why it’s paramount that *how* you win the game — how many chips you have left, and possibly how many your opponent has, too — be an integral part of the show.
I loved Duel, warts and all. I really hope ABC can bring it back, in an improved version with pacing similar to days 3 and up.
Normally I would say to stupid ideas “Are You on crack?”. But, in ABC’s case, I would say “smart move”. I would give this show (along with Set For Life) another chance. The only thing I would change is the host. Mike Goldberg is a horrible host. He’s should stick to arguing with Mike Golic on “Mike & Mike In The Morning”. I’d rather have Jimmy Kimmel hosting. He was a good host on “Win Ben Stein’s Money” and “Set For Life”, so we know he has the pedigree.
Man! Not understanding all of the Greenie-hate. I thought that for the mood they were attempting to set, he did a pretty good job. I thought he had just the right mix of intensity vs humor…though I agree that he should have more interaction with the players.
I do think that Duel might work better as a 1/2-hour strip that would employ a players’ pool much like Jackpot! The same pool plays all week, the champ at the end of the week wins a jackpot, then qualifies for a tournament of champions at the end of 12-weeks (for sweeps).
I’m not too shocked by this move. Apparently the show got “good enough” ratings by ABC standards. And it really was a decent show, albeit a flawed one. Maybe there will be some improvements this time around.
Set For Life, on the other hand, should stay dead and buried. And Jimmy Kimmel acted like he didn’t want to be there, not that I could blame him.
Duel without question is the best game show ABC has put out since the demise of Millionaire. However,there are some changes needed. I like the majority would nix the tournament format. As for the shootout, it wouldn’t really be necessary because you can just have 2 new contestants on the next duel. I would say either 4 or the US Standard (since the beginning of Time) 5 Duel wins to win the Jackpot and you win until you lose. As far as the players gallery is concerned either nix it or cut it in half with replacing a person after each duel.
As for Greenie, Yes his style isn’t the greatest. Yes, his stalls are Mandel-like (although a few were just as funny as Howies. “Just for that We’re going to commercial.”) But still I think he did a great job.
Welp… I think it’s entirely possible that another season is underway right now. I signed up for the tryout on that there Craigslist, and I got a call back Thursday for an interview on Monday. So it’s VERY possible I might be a Dueler. We’ll see.
Can’t wait to see if they’ve made any changes to the game if at all.
Will let you know how I do on the tryout.
Ethan, I wish you luck. However, my father’s also applying, so watch your step!
Anyways, you know what I’d like changed from last season? One thing, and one thing only, and it’s pretty asthetic: I love how, in the British version, the chips drop out when they’re on wrong answers. Get rid of the chip girls and have them do that. Other than that, I want ABC to change absolutely NOTHING! This show’s got a good feel to it, IMO, and I don’t want that to be eliminated.
Personally, I had virtually no problems with the show as it was. I thought Greeny was a good host; and, also IMO, the general format itself is fine. Really, the only thing I can think of is to get some challenging questions.
Any word on how the tryouts went?
Tryouts went ok. Took the written test on the first day (Monday); scored a 39/50 so i passes to the quick interview for that day; got word I was a callback when they took us outside and came back a couple days later to do a video interview and fill out paperwork. Things are lookin’ up. I should hear from them in the next week or so whether or not I’m in. I got a good shot though, they’re lookin for a buncha people, so I might just make it.