In America, the show airs on NBC and is hosted by Howie Mandel. Mandel also hosts the English version of Deal or No Deal in Canada. You may remember Mandel as a wild stand up comic, or as an intern on St. Elsewhere. For Deal or No Deal, Mandel has adopted a more serious but personable demeanor. He has hosted the show since it debuted in December 2005 and his popularity has risen right along with the game show.
An interesting tidbit about Howie Mandel is that he has a fear of germs and does not shake hands with anyone, including the contestants on Deal or No Deal. He will use other gestures such as slaps on the back or shoulder, but stops short of shaking hands unless he has gloves on. It does not affect the show at all. In fact Mandel's charming personality has been at least part of the reason for the shows amazing success.
Of course, the game show also owes a great deal of its success to the fact that it is truly a fascinating and suspenseful game to watch and be a part of. It shows that the producers take great care in screening the potential candidates so that the ones with the best personalities make it to the show. This serves to make the show more exciting to watch and it also helps the audience to have an almost instant rapport with each contestants.
The game itself is full of twists and turns and is always full of surprises. Each game is different based on the order the suitcases are opened, so one doesn’t know what to expect from the game or the contestants. Different contestants react in different ways. Some are conservative and take very few if any risks. Some others will decline to accept a nice size offer from the bank just on a wild chance they can win the million dollars.
In all, the rapid success and loyal following Deal or No Deal has garnered seems to be well deserved. It is a fascinating game to watch and the suspense is skillfully manipulated by Mandel, particularly when he uses the telephone to call the mysterious banker who is portrayed as a shadowy figure behind glass walls.
