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Deal or No Deal (American game show)

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For other national versions, see the main Deal or No Deal article.
Information on specific episodes may be found at the TVIV wiki article on Deal or No Deal
Deal or No Deal
Deal or No Deal logo.
Deal or No Deal logo.
Deal or No Deal logo
Created byJohn de Mol
StarringHowie Mandel
Models
Peter Abbay (banker)
Narrated byJoe Cipriano
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes67 (as of December 4, 2006)
Production
Executive producerScott St. John
Running time61 min.
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseDecember 19, 2005 –
present
File:DealorNoDealBanker.jpg
The show's mysterious banker makes an offer to buy the contestant's chosen case.

The United States version of the gameshow Deal or No Deal, hosted by Canadian actor-comedian Howie Mandel, premiered on December 19, 2005 on NBC. After an initial weeklong event and another in February 2006, the show aired multi-weekly from March to June of 2006. The show has typically aired Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with reruns on CNBC on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. In September 2006, the show returned with another weeklong event, and has aired since on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. New episodes currently air on Monday at 8:00PM ET on NBC. Starting January 3, 2007 Deal or No Deal will also air on Wednesday at 9:00PM ET.

Gameplay

Before the game, a third party randomly places the possible winnings in the cases, which are distributed to 26 identically-dressed models who reveal the contents during the game. No one, including the host, models, or even the executive producers, knows what amounts are in the cases. Unlike many international versions of the show, the briefcases in the U.S. gallery are not distributed to audience members.

After picking one of the cases, the contestant then selects 6 of the remaining 25 cases, revealed one at a time. Each figure appears in only one case, so any values revealed in this way are not in the contestant's case. This is followed by a "phone call" by "The Banker", a mysterious figure shown only in silhouette. He purportedly sits in a skybox (situated between the two audience sections) and makes an offer, via telephone, to Mandel (his voice is never heard) to buy the contestant's case based on the mean of the cash amounts still in play and the player's psychology (Mandel will also occasionally relay supposed insults from the Banker to the player; some players often insult the Banker back). Mandel then asks the title question: "Deal or No Deal?"

If the contestant accepts the "Deal" (by pushing a stylized red button enclosed in a glass case), the game ends, and the value of the case that he or she chose at the beginning of the game is then revealed along with the whereabouts of the remaining prizes. Should the contestant refuse the offer (by stating "No deal" and/or closing the glass case), they must choose five of the remaining cases to eliminate from consideration. The Banker makes another offer, and play continues as before. The Banker's offer may be higher or lower than the previous offer (if a top prize is eliminated, generally the offer decreases; conversely, if only lower amounts are eliminated the offer increases significantly).

Subsequent rounds have the contestant withdrawing four, three, then two cases from play. Should the contestant continue to decline the Banker's offer after this point, they then eliminate one case each time (with an intervening offer from the Banker) until two cases are left. If the player rejects the final offer, they then have the opportunity to switch cases with the one remaining case before seeing their prize.

Each contestant has several supporters (usually three), who sit in a special section just off stage during his or her game. As the field of cases dwindles, one or more of the supporters are asked to consult with the contestant and help him/her make a decision. These exchanges have become emotional, particularly when very high and very small amounts remained and the Banker offers a large cash buyout; on at least one occasion, the contestant's daughters called, pleading (successfully) with her to take The Banker's deal. The contestant's supporters are typically revealed on the second Bank offer.

Often, the Banker may attach a prize to the cash in his offer. Most of the time, the prize is something the contestant wishes for (sometimes an unusual prize for gag purposes); as on most gameshows, contestants fill out a screening sheet prior to their acceptance for broadcast, whose main purpose is to weed out unsuitable contestants, but also details their interests. If the offer is accepted, the contestant keeps the money and the prize, but if not, the prize will not be carried over to future offers.

Lucky Case game

File:Luckycasegame.jpg
Lucky Case Game

During its first week on the air, there was a $10,000 home viewer giveaway, wherein home viewers were invited to send a text message stating what they thought was the "Lucky Case." Entries to the contest were also accepted via the NBC website. A correct answer placed that viewer in that night's drawing for the $10,000 prize.

The Lucky Case game was altered for the 2nd week-long special, and the format carried over to the regular series. Instead of using the preexisting cases from the contestant's game, it uses a separate set of six gold-plated cases, as held by the show's models. Also, statistics are displayed before some commercial breaks showing the distribution of votes for each case. There are three different winners of the Lucky Case game each night -- one for the Eastern/Central time zone broadcast, and one each in the Mountain and Pacific time zones. Each time zone has its own separate winning case number as well, so as to prevent a scenario where viewers on the East Coast could inform the West Coast of the winning case. Only viewers in the Continental United States are allowed to play the Lucky Case game. In Arizona during Daylight Saving Time months (when most of the state does not turn the clocks ahead with the rest of the nation), viewers have to call one hour before the show airs.

On two two-hour episodes that aired on April 3, and May 15, 2006, the Lucky Case game was worth $20,000. Also, on May 22, 2006, in addition to one $10,000 winner, 200 other winners would receive the Deal or No Deal board game. In honor of the second season premiere of Deal or No Deal, Mandel replaced the original model at case #6.

On the September 18 season premiere, the Lucky Case game was worth $200,000. On the 19th, 21st and 22nd, it was worth $100,000. Although it has been advertised that $1,000,000 will be given away, these totals work out to only $500,000 for each time zone, or $2,000,000 in total.[1] Also, starting September 28, the next four Thursdays will offer $50,000.

Until October 2006, winning contestants were identified by first name, last name, and hometown by the announcer. Since then, only the first name, middle initial, and town appear on screen, and the voice-over is, "Here is tonight's Lucky Case game winner. Congratulations."

Case values

$0.01
$1
$5
$10
$25
$50
$75
$100
$200
$300
$400
$500
$750
$1,000
$5,000
$10,000
$25,000
$50,000
$75,000
$100,000
$200,000
$300,000
$400,000
$500,000
$750,000
$1,000,000


For the second week of shows, from February 27, 2006, to March 3, 2006, the top values (i.e., those above $100,000) increased from night to night as shown below; also, as something of a joke, the lowest value was increased on March 3, 2006, to $.03. As a result of the increased potential payouts, the offers from the Banker increased while those higher values remained in play. Amounts did not increase for carryover contestants; the new values took effect for the first new contestant in each game. Higher amounts were also in play for the June 5 season finale, and those are also listed below.

Date 6th-highest 5th-highest 4th-highest 3rd-highest 2nd-highest Highest
Monday, February 27, 2006 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
Tuesday, February 28, 2006 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $1,000,000 $2,000,000
Thursday, March 2, 2006 $250,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $2,500,000
Friday, March 3, 2006 $250,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $3,000,000
Monday, June 5, 2006 (the season finale) $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $2,500,000 $5,000,000

The following amounts were used during the September 18th premiere week:

Date 6th-highest 5th-highest 4th-highest 3rd-highest 2nd-highest Highest
Monday, September 18, 2006 (Game 1) $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000
Monday, September 18, 2006 (Game 2) $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $1,000,000 $2,000,000
Monday, September 18, 2006 (Game 3) $250,000 $400,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $3,000,000
Tuesday, September 19, 2006 $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $2,000,000 $4,000,000
Thursday, September 21, 2006 $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $2,500,000 $5,000,000
Friday, September 22, 2006 $250,000 $500,000 $750,000 $1,000,000 $3,000,000 $6,000,000

Records and statistics

  • Highest potential bank offer (Specials): $1,600,000 (September 18, 2006, after accepting $675,000; top case was $3,000,000, contestant's case contained top prize)
  • Highest bank offer (Specials): $880,000 (September 22, 2006) (Declined) (Last two cases of $750,000 and $1,000,000; maximum case on episode: $6,000,000)
  • Lowest bank offer: $2 (February 28, 2006) (Declined) (Highest case still in play was $5)
  • Highest bank offer accepted (Specials): $701,000 (September 18, 2006) (Top prize $4,000,000; $1,000,000 in contestant's case)
  • Most money won (No Deal): $100,000
  • Most money won (Deal): $464,000
  • Most money won (No Deal) (Specials): $750,000 (September 22, 2006)
  • Most money won (Deal) (Specials): $701,000 (September 18, 2006)
  • Least money won (Deal): $8 (March 24, 2006)
  • Least money won (No Deal): $5 (February 28, 2006)
  • Average winnings: approximately $138,204.20 over 90 games (not including the game when the pony was given away).
  • Best deal: 17,200,000 times case amount ($172,000 for $0.01, October 20, 2006)
  • Best deal by dollars: $406,925 more than the case amount ($407,000 for $75, March 1, 2006)
  • Worst deal by the percentages: 15.25% of the case amount ($61,000 for $400,000, December 4, 2006)
  • Worst deal by dollars: $814,000 less than the case amount ($186,000 for $1,000,000, October 16, 2006)
  • Worst deal by dollars (Specials): $2,325,000 less than the case amount ($675,000 for $3,000,000, September 18, 2006)
  • Offers with the same amount twice in a row: 2
    • $17,000 (Second offer had a Hummer H3) (March 30, 2006)
    • $9,000 (no prizes attached to either one) (May 1, 2006)
  • Offers that were never revealed to the audience or the viewers: 1 (September 29, 2006, when Mike refused to even hear an offer if it was under $10,000)
  • Deals with a prize attached: 12
    • March 30, 2006: A Hummer H3 and $17,000 (Rejected)
    • April 5, 2006: A pony for the contestant's daughter and $44,000 (Accepted, value of pony indeterminate)
    • April 26, 2006: A $15,000 hair transplant and $134,000 (Rejected)
    • May 1, 2006: A Dallas Cowboys fan was offered a Cowboys Dream Package which included tickets, food and travel accommodations worth a total of $40,000 (Rejected)
    • May 15, 2006: A Harley-Davidson motorcycle (valued at $18,000) and $99,000 (Rejected)
    • October 12, 2006: A Massey-Ferguson tractor (valued at $33,620) and $155,000 (Rejected)
    • October 16, 2006: A New York Jets fan was offered a Jets Dream Package including tickets, food and travel accommodations worth $28,800, plus $70,000 for a total value of $98,800 (Rejected, though she later received a version of the Jets Dream Package from Jets running back Curtis Martin, which was shown in a clip aired November 23, 2006)
    • November 13, 2006: A police officer was offered 2 dozen doughnuts and $136,000 (Rejected)
    • November 17, 2006: Zanny Henseler was offered 658,500 aluminum cans worth $20,000 (Rejected)
    • November 20, 2006: Later in the same game, Zanny Henseler was offered a 2007 lime green Cadillac Escalade with 7 LCD video screens, 2,000 Watt stereo system, and spinners. Worth $83,755 (Accepted)
    • November 23, 2006: $17,000 and the pleasure of seeing Mandel throwing a pie in the banker's face. (Rejected, though Mandel pied the banker anyway at the end of the game)
    • November 27, 2006: A lifetime supply of Sprecher root beer worth $26,657.28, although the contestant prefered the alcoholic kind of beer. (Rejected)
  • Prizes with no deals attached: 3
    • May 5, 2006: Anca Toderic received a puppy from her boyfriend, even though he had previously refused to buy her one.
    • June 5, 2006: Casey Bell, a big fan of Celine Dion, won a trip to see Celine in concert in Las Vegas, awarded by Celine herself.
    • November 20, 2006: The contestant was given 10 $100 bills ($1,000) to give out immediately to random, non-related to contestant, audience members, to feel how it is to be a "big shot".
  • Case most commonly selected by the contestant: Case #17 (6 times) (Jenelle Bronwyn Moreno).
  • Case never selected by the contestant: Case #22 (Laura Shields).
  • Amount most commonly in a contestant's case: $5 (5 times)
  • Huge amounts ($100,000 or higher) most commonly in a contestant's case: $200,000 and $400,000 (4 times each).
  • Case most commonly holding the lowest prize (1 cent): Case #4 (9 times) (Lindsay Schoneweis).
  • Cases most commonly holding the top prize: Case #6 (7 times) (Megan Abrigo)
  • All the cases contained the top prize at least once. Case #4 (Lindsay Schoneweis) was the last case to have the top prize that was revealed on November 17, 2006 after all 84 games played to that day. Her case is tied with case 18 (which had the $6,000,000 prize at the end of premiere week) with only one top prize each.
  • Cases that have stayed in the gallery the longest on average: Case #18 (Marisa Petroro) and Case #22 (Laura Shields)
  • Cases that are eliminated from the gallery the quickest on average: Case #5 (Ursula Mayes), Case #16 (Kasie Head), and Case #19 (Mylinda Tov)


The potential bank offer records were split, since it is impossible for bank offers to exceed $1,000,000 on the regular series.

  • The first person to select a case with a huge amount ($100,000 or more) was Horston Bowen on March 20, 2006, who picked case number 3 with $400,000. (He did not win the case, however, he sold it for $221,000.)
  • The first person to select the million dollar case was Lakissa Bright on April 26, 2006. (She did not win the case, #17, however, because she sold it for $215,000.)
  • The first person to select the penny case was Eric Paulson on March 10, 2006. (He sold the case [#21] for $19,000.)
  • As of November 9, 2006, only 4 contestants selected the top prize case, and 3 have picked it when $1 million was the top prize (the fourth being Matthew Solina, who picked Aubrie Lemon's case 23 holding $3 million). However, none of them have won the prize.


To date:

  • No one has selected the $100 case.
  • 3 contestants selected the penny case, two of which have won over $100,000.
  • 2 contestants have gotten engaged on the show.
  • 4 contestants have picked the $1 million dollar case for their first selection (twice case #13, once case #3 and once case #6).

Scheduling and ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Deal or No Deal on NBC.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. All times mentioned are in the Eastern and Pacific time zones.

TV Season Timeslot Rank Viewers
(in millions)
2005-2006 Monday 8:00PM #13Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). 15.8Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).
Wednesday 8:00PM #21Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). 14.4Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).
Friday 8:00PM #32Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page). 11.6Cite error: The <ref> tag name cannot be a simple integer (see the help page).

Early ratings for the show were extremely encouraging. According to Zap2it, "all five shows [during the week beginning December 19, 2005 and ending December 25, 2005] finished in the top 15 among total viewers, peaking with 14.1 million people watching the Wednesday, December 21 installment. For the week, "Deal or No Deal" averaged about 12.7 million viewers and a solid 4.3 rating in the adults 18-49."[2] Ratings have remained consistently high in 2006 despite difficult competition, particularly American Idol.

The show appeared again on NBC each night February 27 through March 3 at 8:00PM EST with the top prize (and some of the higher-valued cases other than the top prize) escalating until the prize reached $3 million (and the lowest-valued case going up to $.03). As of March 6, the show settled into regular time slots at 8:00PM EST Mondays and Fridays, with the top prize returning to its original $1 million. Wednesday episodes have also been added at 8:00PM EST due to the show's consistent ratings success. In something of a ratings coup, the April 3 episode of the show, a two-hour special, outrated the NCAA basketball tournament final in head-to-head competition. During both of the two-hour specials, the second hour scored even higher ratings than the first.

Since it became a regular series, Deal or No Deal has constantly placed within the 20 most popular programs on television, at times attaining the top 10. The June 5, 2006 2-hour season finale, which featured Celine Dion via satellite, marked a series-high rating for the program, bringing in over 18 million viewers and a strong 5.5 share in the 18-49 demographic. The episode was easily the highest-rated show on any network for the week of June 5 through June 11, outdistancing the number-two show, a repeat episode of CSI, by almost six million viewers. The finale experienced similar success in Canada, with 1.5 million viewers tuning in. [3] [4] (However, it should be noted that CSI and virtually all other fall TV series had completed their seasons two weeks earlier and were either in reruns or pre-empted by this point.)

The show returned with new episodes in September 2006, airing on Mondays and Fridays at 8:00 and Thursdays at 9:00 — the latter time slot being perhaps the most competitive in U.S. television, as Deal or No Deal faced a pair of big hit series in CBS's CSI while ABC countered with Grey's Anatomy, which moved to a new night.

The show premiered with a 2-hour edition on September 18, 2006, and one-hour episodes that each aired on September 19, 21 and 22. The show used a $20 million prize pot over the first week to kick off the second season of the game, coupled with the at-home Lucky Case Game for $1 million. During the season premiere week in 2006, the main game had maximum amounts start at $1 million, and increased $1 million for each game, up to $6 million. On Global, it seems as if the Lucky Case Game was edited out of the broadcast, if so, this may have caused it to air on Thursdays and Fridays.[5], [1] Another NBC press release[6] implies that Friday episodes will air through October 13th at 8:00.

Deal 's Thursday time slot had initially been intended for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip when NBC announced its fall schedule. However, the need to protect the new series against stiff ratings competition caused repurcussions throughout the network's primetime grid, including a move on May 25[7] of Deal from an announced Friday 8 EST/7 CST time slot to the Thursday time slot. Crossing Jordan, which had been planned for a mid-season run, was to be brought into the Friday lineup in what would have been Deal 's second weekly time slot. However, before it could premiere in the fall, Crossing Jordan was pushed back to midseason in favor of more Deal in the Friday slot, after all.

According to final Nielsen ratings for the week of September 18-24, 2006, the second-season premiere episode of Deal or No Deal on Monday, September 18 was the 11th most-watched network prime time show in total audience and NBC's most-watched program in total audience. The Friday episode of the show also did well in the ratings and won its time slot against the other networks. The Tuesday and Thursday episodes suffered from tough competition: Dancing with the Stars, Grey's Anatomy and CSI.[8]

The success of Deal or No Deal was a factor in NBC's decision to program another Endemol game, 1 vs. 100, which premiered on October 13 and assumed Deal's Friday night time slot on October 27. Meanwhile, NBC announced the Thursday episodes would end with the November 8 episode, to be replaced by sitcoms Scrubs and 30 Rock. Through all these changes, the Monday night edition of Deal has continued to win its timeslot by a large margin. On Monday, October 30, 2006, for instance, Deal won its time slot with a 10.3 household rating and 16 percent share, easily outdistancing second-place Prison Break at 5.6/8. Interestingly, during the November sweeps period, the ratings for Deal or No Deal on Thursday grew slightly despite heavy competition in the timeslot. Despite this development, NBC has decided to move the second weekly episode of Deal or No Deal to Wednesday.

Cable

NBC's sister business network, CNBC, aired episodes of the premiere week of Deal or No Deal starting on December 26, 2005, scoring above-average ratings for the network. The show has been blacked out in Canada on that station due to programming rights issues in that country, and Canadian viewers were shown CNBC World programming instead. The show began to rerun again on CNBC during the week of February 6 until June 9th. CNBC also programmed the second week-long series of the show but the sequence started two shows behind the airings on NBC (i.e., while the March 1 edition of the show on NBC aired with the top prize augmented to $2 million, the first airing on CNBC started with the first show at its baseline $1 million).

CNBC announced that Deal or No Deal re-airings will be back on Saturday nights starting October 14, 2006, at 8 p.m., 11 p.m., and 3 a.m. EST. Along with that, Deal re-runs will continue to air on CNBC every Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m., 11 p.m., and 1 a.m. EST.

Models

File:DealorNoDealModels.jpg
The 26 models walk into the stage holding their briefcases.
File:HowieandtheDealorNoDealModels.jpg
Host Howie Mandel stands in front of the models.

The following is a list of the current models who carry the briefcases on the US version of Deal or No Deal, in numerical order of the cases they hold. While most of the models hold the same numbered case each week, a few of the models hold a different case number each game. All 26 models wear identical dresses, though the style is changed for each episode.

Case Number Name Other Information Other Cases
1 Claudia Jordan Formerly a Barker's Beauty; Miss Rhode Island USA 1997 Started at 9
2 Stacey Gardner none but 2
3 Lisa Gleave Formerly a Barker's Beauty none but 3
4 Lindsay Schoneweis none but 4
5 Ursula Mayes Famous Import Car Model; Miss Hot Import Nights 2005; Maxim Magazine 2004 Hometown Hottie Finalist 1 none but 5
6 Megan Abrigo none but 6
7 Sara Bronson none but 7
8 Lauren Shiohama none but 8 in Season 2 only.
9 Patricia Kara subbed for Ursula Mayes at 5, for Lindsay Schoneweis at 4, and at 10 before Anya Monzikovia went down there from 19
10 Anya Monzikova started with 19
11 Katie Cleary Ninth place, UPN/The CW's America's Next Top Model Cycle One none but 11
12 Jill Manas none but 12
13 Leyla Milani Runner up to WWE's 2005 Diva Search none but 13
14 Pilar Lastra Playboy Playmate Miss August 2004 started with 26, went to case 8 in February 2006, and stayed there for all of Season 1, then went to current Season 2 case, #14.
15 Brooke Long none but 15 in Season 2
16 Kasie Head Miss Oklahoma USA 2002 subbed for Jenelle Bronwyn Moreno at 17, Lanisha Cole at 15, Mylinda Tov at 19, Leyla Milani at 13, Marisa Petoro at 20, Patricia Kara at 9, and Ursula Mayes at 5
17 Jenelle Bronwyn Moreno started with Case 22, switched with Donna Feldman, to get 17, while Donna Feldman went to 22.
18 Marisa Petroro in Season 1 always held 20, switched with Alike Boggan for 18 in S2, also in S1 subbed for Ursula Mayes at 5, and Patricia Kara at 9
19 Mylinda Tov Started at Case 1
20 Alike Boggan Held Case 18 in S1, then went to Case 20 for S2, after switching with Marisa Petoro.
21 Tameka Jacobs Awards Hostess for the 2006 Soul Train Music Awards none but 21
22 Laura Shields Miss United Kingdom in 2004; Member of Mensa International; Holds an Honours Degree in Chemical Engineering from Leeds University none but 22 in S2 only.
23 Aubrie Lemon Playboy Cyber Girl of the Month July 2002 occasionaly in S2 holding for Ursula Mayes at case 5, once held 3 for Lisa Gleave on the last game of the Thanksgiving special.
24 Meghan Markle 11 once in S2 for Katie Cleary, ONLY 1 EPISODE
25 Hayley Marie Norman none but 25 in S2
26 Lindsay Clubine Host of HDNet's Get Out! none but 26

Substitute models


Former models (season one)

Models with unknown last names

  • Erin Ashley-In Season 2, held case #23 in one episode. Erin Ashley was the winner of Access Hollywood's, Make Me a DOND Model Contest. Her career started out well, with $1 in her case.
  • Jenilee- A Sub posted on NBC's Website but was never actually seen.

Miss USA edition

File:DealorNoDealMissUSA.jpg
Miss USA 2006 delegates and Miss USA 2005 on "Deal or No Deal"'s Miss USA episode.

A special edition featuring twenty-five Miss USA 2006 delegates and Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley aired on April 12th on NBC at 8PM/7PM Central. It was originally scheduled for April 14th with no episode on the 12th. The delegates replaced the 26 current models for the entire episode.

The delegates involved are:

Haleigh Stidham (AL), Kimberly Forsyth (AR), Tamiko Nash (CA), Ashlee Greenwell (DE), Cristin Duren (FL), Catherine Warren (IL), Bridget Bobel (IN), Tara Conner (KY), Christina Cuenca (LA), Katee Stearns (ME), Tiffany Kelly (MA), Danelle Gay (MI), Kristi Capel (MO), Lauren Scyphers (NV), Jessica Boyington (NJ), Onawa Lacy (NM), Samantha Holvey (NC), Kimberly Krueger (ND), Allison Machado (OR), Tanya Lehman (PA), Leeann Tingley (RI), Lacie Lybrand (SC), Soben Huon (UT), Amber Copley (VA), Jessica Wedge (WV).

The contestant, Brian Kennedy, a professional clown, proposed to his girlfriend on the air before mutually agreeing to reject a $160,000 deal. Howie posed the question to his girlfriend (while also getting down on one knee) as "Deal or No Deal?", and when she accepted, the screen humorously read "DEAL: ENGAGED". He eliminated $300,000 for an offer of $148,000, rejected that, then eliminated $200 and ultimately accepted the $301,000 offer. His next selection would have been $1,000,000, and there was $25 in his case, with $50 and $400,000 remaining in the gallery. In addition, the banker was so intimidated near the end of play, that he put on a clown's nose in respect of the contestant.

Deal's production company, Endemol USA, had also featured Miss USA delegates each year on the company's previous hit show for NBC, Fear Factor. A second Miss USA edition, which will feature 25 of the 2007 delegates and Conner, the current reigning Miss USA 2006, will air sometime in the spring as a prelude to the telecast of the 2007 pageant.

Odds and probabilities

When a contestant is presented with the original 26 cases, he or she has a 3.85% (1 in 26) chance of selecting a case containing any of the available dollar amounts. (Compare this to the standard American roulette wheel, where selecting any of the available 38 numbers offers casino players just 2.63% (1 in 38) of selecting a winning number.)

If the contestant were allowed to open this case immediately, theoretically it would contain $750 or less half the time (13 of 26 cases) and $1,000 or more half the time (13 of 26 cases); the median ("middle") case value is $875. However, because of the very large top prizes, the mean ("average") value of that case is $131,477.54. If every contestant refused every deal (eventually being able to open their initial choice), the gameshow would expect to pay out approximately $131,131 per contestant on average. However, most of the gameshow's payouts would be concentrated in a few big winners -- and most contestants would leave with very disappointing earnings.

  • Once the contestant has revealed six cases, he or she has a 5% (1 in 20) chance of the case containing any of the remaining available amounts. The mean and median expected contents of the initial case change accordingly.
  • After the contestant has revealed five more cases, he or she has a 6.67% (1 in 15) chance of the case containing any of the remaining available amounts.
  • After the contestant has revealed four more cases, he or she has a 9.1% (1 in 11) chance of the case containing any of the remaining available amounts.
  • After the contestant has revealed three more cases, he or she has a 12.5% (1 in 8) chance of the case containing any of the remaining available amounts.
  • After the contestant has revealed two more cases, he or she has a 16.7% (1 in 6) chance of the case containing any of the remaining available amounts.
  • The contestant's odds of his or her selected case containing a specific value will continue to increase (20% – 1 in 5; 25% – 1 in 4; 33% – 1 in 3) until just two cases (the first selected case and the last case held by a model) remain. At this point, the odds of winning either amount is 50% (1 in 2), regardless of whether the player switches the cases or not. A common misconception is that switching cases increases a contestant's chance of winning. However, the Monty Hall problem does not apply in this case, because the contestant, with no knowledge of the contents of the cases, can potentially eliminate a top prize at any time. The only way to increase odds of winning past 50% by swapping would be for someone with knowledge of the cases' contents to choose cases after the contestant's initial choice, leaving behind one winning amount and one lesser amount.

Special versions derived from the US version

  • A syndicated version is currently being planned, which may debut in the Fall of 2007. [9] It is known, however, that Howie Mandel will not host the syndicated version, as the asking price to host it, in addition to the primetime NBC version, is out of the producers' league. Also, the syndicators announced that Arsenio Hall, who hosted the pilot, will not be hosting the syndicated version. The producers have yet to find a host, though it is rumored that Howard Stern Show sidekick Robin Quivers is among the candidates. Stern himself has voiced an interest in doing the show as well.
  • NBC and Endemol have produced a Spanish-language version of Deal or No Deal, which debuted October 8, 2006, on their Telemundo Spanish language channel. Titled Vas o No Vas (Go or No Go), it is hosted by Héctor Sandarti, who hosted the Mexican version of the same name for Televisa. The top prize is $250,000.[10] The show is televised on Sunday nights at 9 PM ET/PT. The episode that aired on November 5, 2006, saw the contestant win $180,500 and a Ford Explorer for a total of over $200,000, an all-time record for an American-based Spanish-language game show.
  • On October 23, 2006, Global in Canada announced that they will present a special Canadian version of Deal or No Deal in Spring 2007. This version of the show, to be taped January 2007 in Toronto, will also feature Howie Mandel (a Toronto native) as host. The series is slated for five hour-long episodes.[11] Applications for auditioning, which has a deadline for Friday November 17, is very similar to the NBC version, except that no videos are required.[12]

Trivia

  • The original pilot was produced for ABC in early 2004 with Briton Patrick Kielty as host and a $2.5 million top prize. It was announced that the show would premiere in March 2004, but ABC decided against airing the series.
  • During the first week, once a contestant accepts the deal, the game was played through to determine potential future bank offers, still phoned in as usual. Starting on the second week, the potential offers are displayed immediately, without any significant interaction from the Banker, making the post-deal play-through much quicker. Also, the potential offers are generally not displayed if they would be significantly less than the offer that was accepted, and the rest of the play-through is not shown once it is assumed that the player made a good deal. Whether or not it actually occurs and is edited is unknown. Bad deals (or what may turn out to be one), however, are usually played out in their entirety. (In other international versions, games are played in their entirety for the losing contestants in the question round to learn their amounts for the purpose of trying for the lucky guess prize. There is no such rule in the current US version, but there are rules have go into the Spanish-language US version (see below), but has not been decided to be in the upcoming syndicated version.)
  • During play in the second week-long special, a contestant accidentally knocked the phone onto the floor, breaking off the battery cover. Mandel joked about it and went to commercial break; when the show resumed, the phone was fixed with a rather unnecessary amount of black tape (On the March 31, 2006 episode, a contestant broke the box that covers the deal button, bringing the black tape back to the show. A subsequent deal was a humorous $148,990, with $10 subtracted from the regular deal to account for the broken box.)
  • A commercial for the second week-long special illustrated a first-person simulation of what it's like to be a contestant on Deal or No Deal. Scenes included the scoreboard, the models, the family members in the audience, and Howie Mandel. However, the commercial contained some continuity errors. For instance, the scoreboard showed that a number of cases had been opened already, but all 26 models were still on stage. Also, the bank offer shown was too large for the amounts of money left in play.
  • Whenever the offer was $100,000 or higher, it was displayed along with some drumming in the background to add drama. If the offer is over $200,000, a different, more dramatic drumming sound is heard. The $100,000 drum sounds more like a "gonging" sound. Earlier episodes tended to use slightly different and/or reversed effects. In addition, more dramatic "thinking" music is heard when the contestant is contemplating such an offer. It is unknown if any further sound effects exist, as the record-setting $880,000 offer used the same sounds and music as any other $200,000+ offer.
  • When a model reveals a case amount, a type of "revealing" music cue is used. If the case contained $100,000 or higher, a flapping wings type of sound is added (most of the time, even if the amount is less than the offer; although Thorpe Schoenle opened the $100,000 case once with the "good" sound effect because his offer had gone far past that). If all those amounts are no longer in play, then this added sound effect will be used in the highest amount that is still in play. If the case contained any seven-digit amount (even if it is not the top amount), a downward bass effect is played after the "bad" effect. If a deal has already been accepted, then this effect will not (usually) be added, and the "thud" effect from opening a medium case (usually $50,000 or $75,000; sometimes $25,000; these are often used even when the amounts are less than the offer, although they wouldn't if they were one of the bottom two or three amounts left) will usually be used; although many sound snafus occur. Occasionally the "good" effect will be used for the master case (when it is not one of the final two). (Some shows have played the "good" effect for a small case in the playout, and one has even played the "bad" effect for the master case when the opposites should be true!) When the contestant's case is opened, the norm is that if it was a good deal, the "good" effect is played, and if it wasn't so good, the "thud" effect is played; but once the "good" effect was played for the biggest case on the board (probably because both of the cases left were, unfortunately, bigger than the offer taken). If the contestant played on till the end, the reverse is true, although often if both amounts left are fairly large, the "good" effect is played even if the contestant wins the smaller amount. Surprisingly, none of these sounds are actually used at the taping (not even the suspenseful round music); all sound effects for the show are added in post-production.
  • For the first 13 episodes, Peter Abbay played the role of the mysterious banker. Presumably, he still does, but he is no longer in the end credits.
  • The show's announcer is Joe Cipriano. He also is the regular voice-over at many television networks, and including other Endemol productions. (In many game shows, announcers are by production company, not networks, as historically networks were not permitted to have control over game shows.)
  • Originally, Mandel opted not to host Deal Or No Deal, and turned down the job more than once, but his wife Terry talked him into hosting the show.
  • A "Deal or No Deal" electronic game was released in June. This game was revealed on the April 24 episode, where the contestant and each member of the audience received a copy. A DVD game is also available. [1]
  • This may be the first international version where games "carry over" between episodes. Recently, the Philippine version also has such games, but those rarely happen.
  • On April 4, 2006, the syndicated TV newsmagazine Inside Edition did a behind-the-scenes report on Deal 's models. The report, done by the show's reporter Jim Moret, showed how the models were all becoming glamourous at the same time, using hair and make-up, and putting on the emerald green dresses they had trouble squeezing into. Another syndicated newsmagazine, Entertainment Tonight, profiled Deal's models on May 4, 2006, and during the month of May, each of the models co-hosted Extra 's "Deal of the Day" segment with Extra co-host Mark McGrath.
  • Bonnie-Jill Laflin appeared as a model during the show's first week, but did not return for the February tapings; instead, she opted to join other entertainers visiting troops in Iraq. Laflin has not been on the show since.
  • Howie Mandel created his own bit of terminology: a landmine, which refers to a single high value of money amidst several low values. Contestants who wind up in that situation are told that opening the high value case is "hitting a landmine." Whenever the contestant was in a situation where they only had to open one case, but two similar high amounts remained ($200,000 and $300,000 for example), Howie would often say they have a "safety net" should they continue on and knock out one of the high amounts.
  • Besides the titular question and those discussed above, there are other notable catch-phrases from the show:
    • "Ladies, please."--Cue for the models to enter the stage
    • "Open the case."--To the chosen model; with accompanying hand gesture.
    • "...And the bank offer would've been..."--Used when playing out the string after a Deal has already been accepted.
    • "You made a great deal!" -- To any contestant who took a deal for higher than the amount in their case, even if they had missed out on higher deals. In other situations, Mandel says "You made...not the best deal" or something similar.
    • "How do we find out what's in your case? We'll start by opening those. What's ever in those cases is not in yours." -- Howie starts off each game with this spiel.
In addition, the following exchange is made between the models and Howie on every show, once the models have come out and are on stage:
Howie: "Hi, Ladies" (or something similar)
Models (in unison): "Hi, Howie!",
After which, Howie usually makes a comment like "Boy, that never gets old...", or something similar.
  • Mandel, appeared at the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium, presenting the award for Outstanding Directing in a Musical, Comedy, or Variety Program. Six of the models were brought onstage to symbolize the nominees, with one model's case containing a monitor showing the winner (Louis J. Horvitz for his directing work on the 2006 Academy Awards; Horvitz also was the Emmys' director that night). Earlier that night, during Conan O'Brien's montage song of "Gee, We're Screwed" (to make fun of NBC's bad ratings luck in recent seasons), he made reference to Deal Or No Deal by singing that NBC is now "depending on Howie Mandel" to humorously describe how "desperate" NBC has become to get ratings.
  • In the second season's premiere episode, the models walked out on stage before each new game was played. Usually, the models would have already been in place if a new game started during an episode.
  • In the second season the Banker now has a couple of models who have made appearances. In the $3,000,000 episode, two "Banker Babes" offered $400,000 in cash; on the October 5th episode, the Banker model showed up with "the elusive case 27" or "the Banker's case"; when she opened case 27, the offer was revealed via red LED lights, with the same effects as a regular round; on the November 13th episode, the Banker Babe came out with a case full of donuts for a cop contestant (to add to the offer of $136,000).
  • When the first Lucky Case game was played on the premiere of Season 2, Howie Mandel was holding case number 6 and grinning, while the other 5 models looked on in disbelief.
  • On the 2006 Thanksgiving two-hour special, the second game had the $25 amount on the board replaced by a turkey. In the third game, the $10 amount was replaced with pumpkin pie.
    • In that same episode, the third game also had a special green bonus case, held by Keltie Martin, in which the contestant would win if the $1 million was kept in play after the first two rounds. Alas, in the first round, the $1 million was picked off, and the case was not won. The prize inside that case was never revealed.
    • Also in that episode, the Lucky Case Game had a person dressed up as a turkey holding case number 6, while the other models looked at it weirdly.

Parodies

Imitations

  • 96.5 FM WPOW-FM in Miami, Florida has their own version, Deal Or Not?; contestants call in with two choices out of three cases to pick (at first, just one pick out of two). This version uses no banker.
  • Beginning October 16, 2006, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, a syndicated morning radio program, offers a "Cash Call" contestant a chance to gamble $1000 for a chance to win $1 million, in a game similar to Deal Or No Deal. In this game, the caller picks one out of 26 envelopes, with the contestant winning whatever's inside. This version also uses no banker.

References

  1. ^ a b "The futoncritic.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  2. ^ "NBC Seals More 'Deal'". Zap2It. December 29, 2005. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
  3. ^ "Medialifemagazine.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  4. ^ "Canada.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  5. ^ "Broadcastingcable.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  6. ^ "Thefutoncritic.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  7. ^ "Nbcumv.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  8. ^ "Royalgenes.com". Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  9. ^ "Buzzerblog.com". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  10. ^ "Nydailynews.com". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  11. ^ "Canada.com". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  12. ^ "Canada.com". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
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