Circus or No Circus -
April 12
The recent goings on of
"Deal or No Deal" have inspired a comment from me. I was
under the impression that the Banker would merely offer
an amount of cash to stop the game. In the last week or
so, a new Hummer H3 automobile was coupled with $17,000
for a man who wanted one of those cars for his very own.
A white pony was paired with $44,000 for a man whose
daughter very much wanted a pony in the backyard. In the
first instance, no deal was forthcoming. The second deal
was inked, probably because the hopeful daughter was on
the Relationship Bench.
I don't mind the use of
non-cash items as part of an offer as much as I thought
I would. The Australian version has a car on the board,
and the Indian version has various toiletries as the
three low valued cases.
The thing is it seems too
staged. How convenient that a brand spanking new Hummer
was in the vault. Ditto the pony. Wanna put a world
holiday with a stack of cash? That's fine. It feels
staged when the contestant is newly married and saving
up for a honeymoon.
I have made it no secret
that the underlying game of "Deal or No Deal" is almost
non-existent, leaving the host and players to do the
heavy lifting. Watching a father push the deal button
while his daughter jumps up and down at the sight of the
pony does not fill my heart with glee. On the contrary,
I feel cheated. The whole thing was manipulative. The
people on the Relationship Bench are frequently
consulted for their opinion as to the pivotal question,
but the kids shouldn't be answering. A dad who turns
down $100,000 or more, only to see the money blow up
when the last remaining Big Fella comes off the board is
going to have a long plane ride home no matter what.
The show has become, in
essence, a circus.
I'm surprised it took us
this long to get to that point, frankly. We've had
celebrity guests, a
building jackpot, even an equine in the deal. Add to
that family reunions, and we're about one step away from
"Strike it Rich" or "This is Your Life." When those
aspects are coupled with the fact that the show has been
running three times a week for about a month now...it's
starting to get old.
Make us wait a couple of
months. Promise a couple of new twists that will have
everyone talking at the water cooler. Put car keys in
one of the cases. Something must be done to freshen up
the game, otherwise a fun show to watch will become
another nail in the lowering coffin of game shows at
large. I do not want that to happen.
Travis Eberle wants you to visit former contestant
Cheryl Jackson's websites matchmymoney.com .
Agree or disagree at traviseberle@gmail.com. |