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Charles

Short story even shorter: It works for TPiR, and it works for DoND.

The rest? I see a headline.

How many times have you been told that these are worthless unless you give people a reason to click on them?

The sad thing is, these producers don't realize that there is a difference between energetic and being a straight up pain-in-the-ass live-action cartoon character. The other countries realize it, why can't we?

Neal Konstantini...was he a part of the Goodson-Todman/Beverly Pomerantz school of contestant coordinating? (Hm. I thought I remember once reading here that a former G-T coordinator is handling the selections on the US DoND. Don't worry, I'll click "search".)

Between the original poster and Neal's quest for his next contestant, I really wish I hadn't sold my futures in Not Getting It, because we're on a huge surplus.

I'm running out of ways to say the same thing. Obviously, people are watching for whatever reason, and NBC has smartened up about not running the show into the ground, so I think we're in for the equivalent of the end-zone celebration dance for a long time.

What's interesting to note is that for the first week in December, it seemed like all of the contestants were people you could relate to. I'll spot you being excited because you're on TV, and have a chance at bundles of money, but there weren't any gimmicks, no prizes accompanying offers, and no performing in between rounds. I wonder what sort of thinking happened to say "We got 10 million viewers a night last time, but it's not enough! We need more viewers! No deal!"

Relying on the contestants to carry "Deal" just says to me that the producers don't know how to work this show. I'm not buying this whole "the contestants make the show what it is" crap they're trying to sell. I don't care what they say, it's the potential payout that draws viewers in, not the potential to watch Sally Homemaker with the overbearing personality get up there and be annoying for as long as it takes her to bail with a $100,000+ deal.

The last big game show hit here in the States was "Millionaire", and aside from the overdone celebrity shows, they didn't need contestants with "compelling" back stories to play into for the entire hour. Davies and Co. knew how to work every element of the show itself to make it a success. I really wish the Endemol folks knew what a great game they had in "Deal" and made the game itself the focus instead of focusing on just about every other element *except* the game.

Thank God for YouTube and the daily UK "Deal" wrap up...

I suspect they do...which is exactly WHY they're focusing on the chrome.

The show is so over the top that it's hard to take it seriously.

The problem is that they do indeed take it seriously, by putting the money in the stratosphere and presenting every single decision as serious business.

So it's not like the UK, where you see a contestant for a month, generally get to know them, and feel that they've "earned" the shot at the really big bucks.

Or like the Aussies, who don't take it too seriously most of the time, and have money amounts and the atmosphere to match.

All the while, every time a contestant mentions a dream prize and ends up being offered it later in the game, it gives the feeling that the entire thing is a pre-produced... well, sham. Every time I see a hyperactive contestant, four hyperactive supporters, and then the contestant asking their non-hyperactive significant other sitting in the audience for help, I get the feeling that it's become a well-rehearsed farce.

The contestants themselves... I can take or leave. The producers, on the other hand, are pitching a circus tent, sending in nothing but clowns, and then asking them to do trapeze acts and lion taming.

Exactly, in the early Regis days of "Millionaire", everyone who was on the show was ultimately selected sight unseen by a computer that knew nobody's looks, age, sex or race. And most, if not all of the contestants who sat in the hot seat were genuine, believable and still had a little 'something' in them that was entertaining.

It's really getting bad. My wife and I have taken to guessing what each contestant's gimmick will be. "I bet he's going to be a 75 year old virgin who also breathes fire!".

Sadly, these guesses are usually too conservative. :(

And I can't get over NBC's promotions department in how these promos are being produced. I don't know the stats regarding if more people are watching or not, but honestly - the promos for this past Monday's show clearly displayed the following:

-a $198,000 bank offer
-a stage with four models left

Which completely blows the point of watching the first 35 minutes of the show, right? I guess Joe Viewer might not take notice, but honestly. And the way it's promoted, we can almost always tell the exact point where the contestant blows it. And the promos are so hard to avoid!

Maybe a syndie version of the show will get it right. I would love to see a version like the UK's here. It would probably work, and it would work well and get great ratings, but the climate here is too "chrome," as Chris described earlier.

I thought about that, and how it would most likely be a half-hour show. I wonder if they would actually decide to cut through the shenanigans so that a game could actually be played? It takes long enough to get through an hour-long episode. I don't know what to say if they really expect to get through half that time with all the gimmicks they stuff into a regular episode.

The gimmicks, no matter how much we may dislike them, are what make the show.

For a syndicated half-hour, I see stand-alone episodes and fewer cases.