Game Show Low

I'm sorry.  I know it's been a long time since I posted but something appeared on TV last night that required a bit of ridicule.  Yesterday (and tonight apparently), a show called Deal or No Deal started and I was first thinking, "Hey, the must have brought back 'Let's Make a Deal' or something." The announcer continued by saying the game show was from across the seas, much like Who Wants to be a Millionare?.  Uncharacteristically optimistic, I stayed with the channel. 

"Mr. Clean"

Howie Mandel

Turns out that this guy (to the left), who looks a lot like Mr. Clean, is actually Howie Mandel (to the right).  I couldn't recognize him until he started talking which makes it all the more frightening to see what he looks like without hair.  Grow your hair back Howie and the children will stop running away from you. 

Anyway, the game is simply this: There are 26 briefcases each containing a different amount of money from one cent to one million dollars, each possible value is displayed on a big screen.  The contestant picks one.  From there on out, the contestant chooses some of the 25 remaining cases to open, thus eliminating their amounts from the board.  At this point, a fictitious "banker" offers to buy the chosen case for an amount of money based on the remaining dollar values.  The contestant can then accept the money (deal) or repeat the process and try to guess what value they have in their case by the process of elimination (no deal).  Of course the "banker's" offer changes depending what values are still unfound.  If you find the highest valued cases right away, the guy's going to offer you chump change for the chosen case.  However, you could sell your case for 250 grand and find out it held a million.  That'd the dilemma/drama that this show offers as the contestant's family hoots and hollers with advice the whole time.  Try it yourself. 

The trouble is not with the game.  It's a decent idea and makes a pretty neat web game.  However, I saw two "contestants" and their "families" last night and I have to throw the bullshit flag.  They seemed 100% fake.  If you've ever watched the Price Is Right, you've seen honest people play games for lots of money and prizes.  The dorks on Deal or No Deal, are too cocky and too bold to be real.  Not to mention that the crowd is constantly screaming throughout the show, they try to get men to watch the show by having 26 models hold up the cases, Howie Mandel does a really bad "Oh, I'm seriously talking to the banker on the phone" shtick, and it wouldn't take an hour to only do the whole thing twice if they didn't pump in so many commercials. 

Millionaire is a far superior show.  It's true that this game takes no intellect to play and I, personally, would sell the freaking case as soon as a 6 digit number was offered...but that's it.  There's nothing for the viewer to do other than say "sell the damned thing, you idiot!" I wasted an hour of my life watching that show. 

It wasn't a total loss though because I did get the Mario Bros. ahead several levels in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.  Bitchin' game!