Deal or No Deal

This is, without doubt, the most boring show I've ever seen.

I admit, I've only watched it once, but once was enough to convince me there is a major void in talented game show producers.

The only way I'd watch again is if it was on late/late night and I was having trouble sleeping.

It might be less boring than counting sheep (I suppose).

And that Howie person? Oh please.

zzzzz

(and seriously, all those models...where did they get those things, Stepford Modeling Agency?)

Since when does a show have to be "intellectually Challenging"? Wheel of Fortune has lasted for decades with practically NO intellect required. (Other then knowing the English Language) The reason this "game" is so good is because it IS Brilliantly simple. They could've just called it "Greed" because that's all it's about.. that and knowing how to play the odds. In the tradition of "Let's make a Deal" where contestants keep their prizes or chose between trading for what's behind curtain 1, 2 or 3; there hasn't been a similar game on television since.

You have to Praise "originality" on television these days no matter how simple. Look at how many Networks copy the success of an Original show.. there was American Idol, so other networks tried to bring back Star Search to compete, and then Nashville Star.. both of which never came close. Survivor becomes a hit, so they try Fear Factor, The Cage, and endless others. "Tough Man" makes a mark as a Boxing competition, so they throw out the Contender and another Boxing reality show. Lost becomes a hit, so networks try and compete or Capitalize with Surface, Invasion and Threshold ... Law and Order and CSI are hits, so they make two more Spinoffs of each that saturate the Original.

These days, if a show isn't competing with a similar show it should be PRAISED. Surprisingly enough, "Deal or No Deal" actually has that "addictive" entertaining quality to it. No matter how simple it is. It's only downside in programming is that it's competing for airtime against "American Idol" which has been dominating 3 nights in a row in it's new season... blame those responsible for scheduling.

I can see this show returning many more times. And as for the "Banker", He'll probably be revealed one of these days. Maybe It'll be Regis. Simple it may be, but with all the copy-cat programming, at least it's refreshingly "Different".

All that happens in this entire show is models holding numbered briefcases walk out, then the host (that famous and hilarious guy who starred in the movie "Walk Like A Man" in like 1981 then disappeared until now) asks the contestant to randomly pick numbers. Then they open those cases. Wow! That's it. The object is to not open the cases with big dollar amounts in them. A completely random game. After each round, the "banker" (a shadowy figure in a booth overlooking the studio floor - possibly one of the host's "Walk Like A Man" co-stars) calls down with an offer to buy the briefcase the contestant selected. Then they have to decide if they will take the offer or shout "NO DEAL!" and put the smack down on a big red button, which is so dramatic a moment I simply cannot put it into words. This show is almost as boring as watching grass grow. It says nothing but horrible things about our society that this random-numbers-guessing-game is a highly rated TV show.

What makes a good game show? A good game show is one that the viewer can play at home while watching it on T.V. You can answer Jeopardy questions or you can solve puzzles on Wheel Of Fortune; however - you, as a viewer, really can't do much of anything on this show.

The ONLY exciting thing about this show is the fact that there is big money involved. This is great for the contestant, but the viewer can only live vicariously through the winner.

Seriously, this is only fun to watch when the person loses (or wins) all the money - mostly loses though. It seems that later episodes, the producers put contestants on that had a good sob story (not to diminish them).

I think the reason this game show became such a hit was that they put a pretty good improv comedian (see his early works) as the host and that the games rules are ultra simple - answer only one question (Deal or No Deal).

I can only give this show a rating of 3 because it is the same ole' episode every single time. I can even guess with pretty good accuracy what the banker will offer.

I liked this show a lot!!! It was incredibly suspenseful!!! The object of the game is really good. There are 26 different cases,each with a different dollar amount. The amount's range from 1 million dollars to 1 cent. Howie Mendal was really cool and made the game fun for everyone. Truthfully I almost had a heart attack watching this.

The commericals were REALLY getting on my nerves. Not really much you could do about that. I admit it's not as bad as American Idol commericals but still really annoying. In conclusion, I liked the show. Once again, very suspenseful!!!

**** out of *****