When thinking of the greatest TV game shows of all time, classics such as The Price is Right and Let's Make a Deal instantly come to mind. Game shows of recent years came and went without too much of an impact until the past few years when Deal or No Deal came on the scene. Its success is probably due to a mixture of the excitement of the game itself with the charming personality of the host Howie Mandel. Mandel has toned down his stand up comic antics and acquired a more serious demeanor for the show. But his loveable personality still shines through.
The set of Deal or No Deal also adds to the allure with the audience and mysterious banker cast in shadows. Twenty six beautiful women hold cases filled with unknown amounts of money. The contestants appear to be carefully selected for their likeability quotient so the audience warms up to them right from the start.
Of course, all the above wouldn't be worth much if the game were not so fascinating. Each show offers someone the chance at becoming an instant millionaire. But it doesn't come easily. The contestant needs to open each of the cases one by one to see where the large sums of money are. At certain times, the game play stops and Mandel phones in to the bank which makes a cash offer to the contestant to stop playing and walk away from the game. The contestant replies to the offer by answering, "Deal," or "No deal."
The show is a roller coaster ride of emotions for the contestant and the viewers. After all, the big prize is one million dollars and of course everyone wants to win it. Not many people do actually win the one million dollar prize however. Many have won prizes in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars, and of course, those prizes are certainly nothing to complain about.
The hook of the game show is the offer from the bank. When Mandel makes a call to the mysterious banker, everyone anxiously awaits his offer. The banker is housed behind glass and the audience can see him sitting in the shadows talking on the telephone to Mandel. Once the contestant is told the offer, he has to choose between accepting a guaranteed amount of cash to walk off the show or rejecting the offer and take the chance of winning a bigger pot in the end.
People will often turn down large sums of money just to play on and have the chance of winning the big amounts over $100,000 and up to $1,000,000. This adds to the drama, suspense, and excitement of Deal or No Deal and is what keeps millions of viewers glued to the TV screen when it comes on.