Maybe it’s the women.
There must be some explanation for the remarkable ratings success of the NBC game show “Deal or No Deal.”
It’s a simple game, to put it mildly. The contestants must answer just one question – over and over and over again – from host Howie Mandel: “Deal or no deal?”
If you haven’t seen the show, which has consistently landed in Nielsen’s top 15 since its December debut, the premise is mind-numbingly silly: Start by picking one of the briefcases held by 26 beautiful women. Then, in an agonizingly drawn-out process, open other briefcases to see what amounts they contain, from a penny to a million dollars.
The thrilling – and honestly, it is pretty exciting – finale usually comes with a few briefcases left as the contestant decides how much risk he or she can endure while a shadowy banker offers cash for the unseen amount of money in the first briefcase the person picked.
There are no brainteasers, no trivia, no current events. Not even any letters to pick or wheels to spin. Essentially, you show up, act very animated and try to not have a nervous breakdown before your 15 minutes of fame are up.
Which brings us back to the show’s appeal. One school of thought – the one trumpeted by the people at “Deal” – posits that viewers identify with the everyday folks who are contestants and with the American dream/win a million-bucks element. The other school of thought – OK, mine – holds that a particularly potent combination of hot women and a desire for easy money is the attraction.
Let’s call them empathy/aspiration versus greed/lust.
Now, the women holding the briefcases, who are a part of the show in many of the dozens of other countries where “Deal or No Deal” has been on since it started in the Netherlands in 2001, are undeniably a draw.
They are drop-dead, your-wife-will-slap-the-smile-off-your-face gorgeous. They all dress in the same outfits – a little Frederick’s of Hollywood – and do some emoting when they open the briefcases and engage in occasional repartee with contestants.
So are they the secret to “Deal’s” success? In pursuit of an answer, I started by talking with briefcase No.1 holder, Claudia Jordan.
“It’s the American dream to go somewhere and make some easy money,” said Jordan, a former Miss Rhode Island. “You don’t have to be a genius like on ‘Jeopardy,’ and everyone thinks their luck is going to get better. That’s why Vegas is so successful.”
And, she added in a telephone interview, the show “sort of pulls at your heartstrings.”
OK, Jordan was clearly in the empathy/aspiration camp – or was she? She did note that she was doing the telephone interview from Vegas, and she also conceded that all the attention the women have received with the show’s success does have a “little stalking element” to it. Looks like a tie between greed/lust and empathy/aspiration.
David Shumsky, the casting producer for the show, is the guy who interviewed and selected the women holding the briefcases. He held fast to the empathy/aspiration school of thought.
“I initially thought of it as 26 game-show type models. And I was wrong,” he said. “These girls aren’t just opening suitcases or putting numbers up. They are really an integral part of how we try to relate to the contestants and the audience. It shifts from the traditional model paradigm to really more of a host.”
So this isn’t just a game show any more – it’s a paradigm.
Shumsky added that the show’s producers were surprised at how well the women performed. “I don’t think any of us anticipated that it would work out so well.”
The empathy/aspiration theory was looking pretty good. Even when asked how the women were selected, Shumsky had the right answer: “We wanted to have some uniform requirements – 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 10 (and) – obviously we were looking for all ethnicities. We wanted the girls to reflect the diversity of the audience.”
The fact that they are all beautiful and thin was an afterthought.
The case for empathy/aspiration was pretty solid, except for this one thing: Everyone involved with the show refers to these women as girls, as though they were 13 or 14 years old. It’s tough to take the high road when you refer to grown twentysomething women as girls, and a suspicious mind might see that as an attempt to make them nonthreatening to the ogling men in the audience.
So it looks like a tie between these two great approaches to luring an audience. But whichever approach appeals to you, you’ll have plenty of chance to watch “Deal or No Deal” to your lustful, or greedy or empathetic heart’s content: NBC just announced it is renewing the show for the fall, on Monday and Friday nights.
Staff writer Edward P. Smith can be reached at 303-820-1767 or at esmith@denverpost.com
Three game shows stay tuned in
Trying to get a handle on the most popular TV game shows is tough because many shows are in syndication, play in overseas markets and have interrupted runs. Here are three winners for longevity:
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Years: 1956-present (NBC, ABC, CBS)
The deal: Bill Cullen was the original host of this show that has people making fools of themselves as they bid on everyday products. Bob Barker, of course, has become a cult figure in his more than 30-year run as the host.
JEOPARDY!
Years: 1964-present (NBC and syndication)
The deal: Amusingly, the folks at “Deal or No Deal” use “Jeopardy!” as an example of a really tough game show, as though only rocket scientists or, uh, software engineers need apply. In fact, software engineer Ken Jennings won $2.5 million in 2004, making him the all-time “Jeopardy!” winner. The show’s gimmick is that after picking a category and getting an answer, the contestant has to come up with the question.
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
Years: 1975-present (NBC and syndication)
The deal: The combination of a carnival wheel, buying letters and hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White has made “Wheel” what the Guinness World Record folks consider the most popular game show ever. It is seen in more than 200 U.S. TV markets, and and more than 50 overseas markets, with an estimated 100 million viewers a week.
ASKMEN.COM, TV.COM, GUINNESSWORLDRECORDS.COM
