Bloggin' Schmoggin': To Deal or Not to Deal

Howie Mandel might be a Canadian stand-up comedian, but he found his claim to fame by becoming host of the United States version of the hit game show Deal or No Deal “Howie Mandel, 12/19/05, US”. Universal Studios began running the show on NBC in late 2005 and continued airing the program until May of 2009. Deal or No Deal started with a possible $1,000,000 prize won on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night. By the second season airing in 2006 the show created a spin off running every weekday flaunting a $500,000 prize on top of the regular scheduled weeknight show times. At the end of the fourth season Deal or No Deal became known as the United States largest selling international game show syndicate to this day.

The original show, Miljoenenjacht was the brainchild of Dick de Rijk, and was hosted by Linda de Mol, created by Dutch production company: Endemol. The game featured contestants, with the help of a studio audience, answering questions and gambling their way through 26 suitcases containing various sums of money. As each suitcase was removed from the bunch so was the corresponding amount of cash in the contestants bank. As the show went on and intensified a mysterious banker would offer differing sums of money as bribes for contestants to forfeit from the game. The combination of luck and whit brought the game show worldwide fame and following.

Since it’s original airdate in the Netherlands in 2000 the show has moved through 6 continents and into the homes in over 60 countries across the globe. Copies like the Korean Yes or No and Mexico’s Vas or No Vas make it hard to tell the difference. According to the Michael Keane and Albert Moran reading Television’s New Engines this media franchise has become a perfect example of these “new engines”. Keane and Moran explain the show as “a finished creative product accessible to audiences in more than one national market”(2), as you can see from the three available You Tube clips. No matter where in the world the show happens to air it follows the same paradigm of gambling with tools of elimination and help through family and friends to over come the odds and win prize money.

This game show is programmed to run all over the world, bringing in fans through its generic suspense and reward drive, yet it has the ability to bring individual unity to each country. International sensation Deal or No Deal has become what writer Arjun Appadurai would call a mediascape. It has the ability to convey international production and release of “the images of the world created by these media outlets” (1). While creating a global phenomenon and understanding the game show has also allowed countries to bond as households tune in to follow the risk and reward system played out on their television sets. A simple combination of randomness and whit has blasted its way into history as the most common syndicate in the world. People everywhere are coming together to support their fellow patriot choose to “deal or no deal”.