Earlier this year, I got semi-hooked on the NBC game show, Deal or No Deal. My interest went up and down but I generally enjoyed the show and managed to TiVo and watch every episode. I was struck by how its simple premise created such interesting scenarios, by the expert hosting of Howie Mandel and by the skill with which the producers made the thing work.
And — oh, yeah — there were also those 26 beautiful models. They mattered.
Yesterday was the close of Deal or No Deal's season premiere week. It aired multiple times with the top prize cranked up incrementally to six million clams. They gave away a lot of money on these shows and there were some genuine moments of tension…and once again, I found my interest coming and going…but mostly going. I think some of it's the repetition and some of it's the time-wasting moments. Early in each game, you have the contestant struggling with an offer in the low-to-mid five figures…and we all know they aren't going to take it. You can pretty safely fast-forward from the first Banker Offer to around the fourth or fifth without missing anything except some agony that is either bogus or needless.
I also find my interest impaired by my having attended a taping of the show, as reported here. Reading back over that post, I think I was too nice about how long they kept us there, how uncomfortable it all was, etc. The experience probably made me even more conscious of how "pasted together" (edited) the show is and I find myself looking at allegedly spontaneous moments, noticing edits and wondering, "Gee, wonder what actually happened there."
I still have the TiVo set to record each edition and for the time being, I'll still be watching. But unless something new starts happening, I think the ol' "skip ahead" button will be getting a good workout.
Lastly, a question: My understanding is that the offers from "The Banker" are calculated via a formula. The silhouetted gent you see on screen actually does nothing. Instead, as each case is opened and its amount is revealed, that number is entered into a computer program. When it comes time for a Banker Offer, one of the producers consults a screen which gives him a limited range and he can decide on any amount within those parameters. What he decides is relayed to Mr. Mandel on the phone and that's how the offers arise. My question is whether anyone has figured out the formula. There are a number of computer games that let you play Deal or No Deal on your computer or Gameboy or PlayStation3 or Waring Blender or whatever you have. Has anyone formulated a program that lets you calculate banker offers the same way the producers have them calculated? Just wondering.
Speaking of money, it's been a while since I posted one of these…
