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Deal or No Deal (Australian game show)

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Deal or No Deal
File:Deal or No Deal logo Australia2.jpg
GenreGame show
Created byEndemol
Presented byAndrew O'Keefe
StarringThe Dealettes
Walter P. Smythe (The Bank)
Narrated byMarcus Irvine (2003-2011)
John Deeks (2012-2013)
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons11
No. of episodes2,222
Production
Production locationsGlobal Television studios, South Melbourne, Victoria
Running time30 minutes per episode
(inc. commercials)
Production companiesEndemol Southern Star (2003–2009)
Southern Star Group (2009–2013)
Original release
NetworkSeven Network
Release13 July 2003 (2003-07-13) –
4 October 2013 (2013-10-04)
Related
Deal or No Deal

Deal or No Deal was an Australian game show that aired on the Seven Network between 2003 and 2015. It was the first international version of the game show, after the original Dutch version. It was the first of the versions to use the Deal or No Deal name. The show was recorded at the studio facilities of Global Television located in the Melbourne suburb of Southbank. The top prize of $200,000 was won by four contestants.

Many changes were made to Deal or No Deal during its run. These included, among others, changing from a weekly format to a daily format, which resulted in the reduction of the top prize from $2,000,000 to $200,000; interactive features inviting home viewers to play along with "Double Deal Friday"; and additional special features added to the game (such as "Double or Nothing" and "Super Case"). The show included many special episodes including several hour-long prime-time specials (such as the "Psychics Special" and the "Unluckiest Players Special") and the successful Dancing with the Deals which occurred in conjunction with Dancing with the Stars.

The program celebrated its 1,000th episode on 8 September 2008; that day's contestant won $43,000.[1]

The narrator that introduced the show between 2003-2011 was Marcus Irvine, who was also the voiceover on The Weakest Link. In 2012, Irvine was replaced by John Deeks as narrator.

No new episodes were produced since 2013, with only repeat episodes airing at 5:00 pm weeknights. It was announced in March 2014 that no new episodes will be produced,[2][3][4] and in August 2015 it was announced that the show, along with Million Dollar Minute, would be axed and replaced by a new one-hour game show titled The Chase Australia.[5]

Format

The show begins in a studio with six groups of 26 people sitting in stands. One group is then randomly selected, who move onto the podium. In the chosen group, one person, based on personality, is picked to be the main contestant. The contestant selects one of the briefcases to be placed at the front, and the other briefcases are distributed to the other 25 contestants on the podium. Each briefcase contains a hidden amount of money (see table on right).

The contestant begins the game by opening six cases. To open the case, the podium player holding the case must first guess the amount that they have in their briefcase, winning $500 if their guess is proved correct upon opening the briefcase. This process is repeated for the next five cases. After the first six cases, the major contestant is given a "Bank Offer," based on (but not equivalent to) the arithmetic mean of the remaining briefcases: the higher the values in the remaining briefcases, the higher the offer. The contestant now has to decide between a "Deal" or "No Deal". If the contestant says Deal, they win the money that is offered, and they must open the rest of the cases to see if they made the right decision. If the contestant says No Deal, then play continues. The contestant chooses another five cases, followed by another bank offer, then four cases. This pattern continues until all briefcases have been opened. If the player continues to the end without making a "Deal", the game ends with their own briefcase being opened and the amount in that briefcase being won. Exceptions to the end of the game include the introduction of either a Super Case, Double or Nothing cases or a second Chance. See below for more information on them. After every game a large blue fake cheque is given to the contestant displaying the amount of money won, but if someone wins one of the green amounts, the cheque will have a green coloured background for the following amounts: $50,000, $75,000, $100,000 and $200,000. Also, a light blue cheque is given to a contestant for the 50c amount if they win 50c. Occasionally, the money is given directly to the contestant, such as a single $1 coin if somebody wins $1.

Briefcase Values (2006 –2013)
$0.50c $1,000
$1 $2,000
$2 $3,000
$5 $4,000
$10 $5,000
$20 $10,000
$50 $15,000
$100 $20,000
$150 CAR
$200 $50,000
$250 $75,000
$500 $100,000
$750 $200,000

Features

The Australian version of Deal or No Deal has a number of special features to make the show entertaining: Super Case, Chance, Double or Nothing and Risk it All all occur at the end of the game. Due to time restrictions, these four occur rarely. Also, only one of these features is used per episode.

Super Case

Occasionally at the end of the program a Super Case is brought out. This feature was introduced in 2004. Contestants have the opportunity to either keep the deal they made or forfeit it and take whatever value is hidden in the Super Case. The Super Case contains one of the following values: 50c, $50, $500, $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, $30,000, $50,000. Super Cases appear in most episodes when contestants take a deal of approximately $10,000 when there are at least five cases left on the board, and rarely appear in any other circumstances. This means that the Super Case offers a 50/50 chance at bettering or equalling the $10,000 deal. If contestants take a $10,000 deal with fewer than four cases left on the board, Super Cases are rare because there is not generally any time left in the show to run it. During the 2006 season, the way of telling the contestant that a Super Case will be brought out changed, where instead of the Super Case panel flashing, a Super Case alert flashes beside the 'Cases remaining' panel, and remains there until it is actually brought out. In 2010 the Super Case has been used more frequently.

Fantastic Four

At the start of the game the host, Andrew, will reveal it's a "Fantastic Four day!" Fantastic Four was introduced in 2009 and occurs sometimes.

It first aired back in 2009, where all the corners of the board will be a high green amounts. The additional $50,000 is in replacement of the 50c amount, while the $75,000 takes over the $750 amount and $100,000 is in the replacement of the $1,000 amount. The top prize of the Fantastic Four back in 2009 was $250,000. But a year later in 2010, it returned to $200,000.

Chance

This feature was introduced in 2004. A Chance is an opportunity for the contestant to exchange the deal they took during the game for whatever is in their briefcase. It happens rarely, and only when the two remaining unknown case values are an extremely small amount and an amount of at least $5,000. For example, the contestant takes a deal of $6,500, but is offered a Chance with the remaining unopened briefcases being $750 and $10,000. If the contestant takes the Chance, they win either $750 or $10,000, depending on which value is in their selected briefcase. If they don't take the Chance, they keep their $6,500 deal.

Double or Nothing

Double or Nothing was added in 2006. If a contestant is lucky enough to play it, two suitcases (labeled I and II) are offered to the contestant; one has the word "Double" inside, the other has "Nothing". If the contestant chooses to play they must pick one of the cases. If Double is in the chosen case, the contestant doubles their winnings. If Nothing is in the chosen case, they lost all their winnings.

The format for Double or Nothing has been altered several times. When it was first introduced, there was only one case brought out (which was the same size as the Super Case). It had only either "Double" or "Nothing" inside, and the contestant could choose how much to gamble. If "Double" was inside, the contestant wins how much they gambled as a bonus. If "Nothing" was revealed, they would lose how much they gambled from their Deal. The "two cases" format was introduced on 23 June 2006. During the 2007 season, Double or Nothing returned, though the contestant could no longer choose how much to gamble, instead having to risk their entire Deal if they wanted to play Double or Nothing. If the contestant opens the case with "Nothing", they do not win any money.

Risk it All

Risk it All was introduced in 2010. This feature allows the contestant who took a deal for under $10,000 and has only two amounts smaller than their deal in play, to win a cash prize of $15,000. If the contestant takes the Risk it All, they can guess which amount is in their case. If they guess correctly, they win the $15,000. If they guess incorrectly, they lose all their winnings.

Switch Case

Switch Case was introduced in 2010. At any point during the game, the banker may offer this switch. If the contestant takes it, they can swap their chosen case for any unopened case on the podium. It usually occurs during the middle of the game.

Dash for Cash

Dash for Cash was introduced in 2013. Near the end of game if the contestant has a maximum prize of $5,000 or less the banker may offer a prize around half of the current maximum prize on the board rather than a normal offer. There are usually two more prizes higher than this offer. The contestant may take the money and will forfeit the remainder of the game.

Second Chance

Second Chance was introduced in 2013. At the end of the game on rare occasions the banker may offer a second chance. A dealette gives a button to the contestant, who can press it to swap their done deal and for one of the amounts offered to him during the game, selected at random.

Mega-Guess

This feature was introduced in 2004. At random intervals during the game, the bank will offer a "Mega-Guess", which increases the "correct guess" bonus for the next case to either $2,000, $5,000, or $10,000. The Mega-Guess is usually used at the end of the game to fill in remaining time. This generally happens when the podium player is a friend or relative of the main contestant. The end of game Mega-Guess has adopted a small gag where either the podium player, main contestant, or O'Keefe himself must beg the banker to give the player a Mega-Guess.

The Mega-Guess feature has been altered several times during its history. When first introduced, during the $12 Million Month special, it had a fixed amount win of $10,000. When it returned in the 2005 season, the amount won was reduced to $5,000. In the 2006 season, it was altered to its current format, where either $2,000 (Blue), $5,000 (Maroon), or $10,000 (Green) could be won. The $5,000 Mega-Guess has the most common appearance, sometimes showing up several times during a game, followed by the $10,000 Mega-Guess which would appear once early during the game, and sometimes at the end. The $2,000 Mega-Guess usually appears for podium players celebrating birthdays or people from states other than Victoria after a contestant selects them.

In July 2008, a $25,000 Mega-Guess was offered for the 25,000th case opened in the show's history, but it was not won. Andrew tried to break the cheque in half but failed to do so.

Daily Prize

This feature was introduced in 2004, but was removed in 2006. One of the briefcases (except for the CAR, $100,000 or $200,000 cases) contained gold-coloured dollar signs around the cash value inside the case. The person who was holding this case (be it a podium player or the contestant) received the Daily Prize of $500. The Daily Prize was removed in 2006, although prizes were still awarded several times during that year: in a special Saint Patrick's Day-themed episode; on Mother's Day; and during the last week of the 2006 season.

Double Deal Friday

Double Deal Friday ran in 2007 but was dropped after 2008. Home viewers were invited to ring a phone number charged at $0.55 and register their details. Every Friday, a home viewer was randomly selected to win the same prize as the studio contestant. Host O'Keefe had mentioned that Double Deal Fridays received over 100,000 calls each week. Dancing with the Deals (the celebrity version of DoND) followed a similar format to Double Deal Friday, except that the celebrity didn't win the prize.

History

The first incarnation of Deal or No Deal originally debuted in mid-2003 as an hour-long program. Screening on Sunday nights, it indirectly competed with the Nine Network's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? by offering a maximum prize of $2,000,000. In order to fill the longer timeslot, the initial stages of the game were significantly longer than in the current half hour format. This included an interview with the man who supposedly placed the values into each briefcase, assuring that selection were indeed random. The preliminary round was also longer than the more recent format. Due to poor ratings, this incarnation of the show only lasted for one season. In the second episode, a contestant won $515,000, which stood as the biggest amount of money ever won on the Australian version of Deal or No Deal,[6] and at the time was the biggest amount of money won on any Australian TV show.

The show's logo used from 2003 to 2006.

In 2004 Deal or No Deal was shortened to a half-hour format and moved to weeknights at 5:30 pm, directly competing against the Nine Network's The Price Is Right. This incarnation of the show was more successful than the first. Due to the increased number of episodes airing (5 per week over the course of the ratings period rather than 1 per week). The maximum cash prize was lowered from $2,000,000 to $200,000 and the number of blocks reduced from eight to six (200 potential contestants reduced to 150). Deal or No Deal received high ratings in its newly revised format. Shortly after the popularity of Deal or No Deal began to rise, The Price Is Right altered its showcase round to a similar format, where contestants were forced to choose between cash incentives or the showcase periodically as the prices were lit up. Despite this Deal or No Deal continued to grow in popularity, and contributed largely to the ratings resurgence of Seven News (which followed directly after Deal or No Deal). The popularity of the show led to Nine Network game show rivals The Price Is Right, Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune and the half-hour version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? being cancelled. However, the ratings of Deal or No Deal later dropped due to the popularity of the rival Nine Network show Millionaire Hot Seat.

Rival Nine Network for many years had produced various game shows for the 5:30 pm timeslot, notable game shows include Burgo's Catch Phrase hosted by John Burgess, and The Price Is Right Hosted by Larry Emdur. Both game shows were successful in the ratings, in 2005 The Price Is Right was cancelled, due to Larry Emdur signing a contract with the Seven Network, Emdur hosted Wheel of Fortune, which was cancelled only a few months later due to declining ratings, after Wheel of Fortune was axed, the Seven Network introduced Deal or No Deal in the 5:30 pm timeslot, Which was a high success in the ratings, and overtaking the Nine Network's Bert's Family Feud, which was axed in 2007. In 2008, the Nine Network revived Wheel of Fortune; it was renamed as Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune, but did poorly in the ratings, and resulted in the show being axed after a month. After Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune, the Nine Network introduced Millionaire Hot Seat, which has resulted in much higher ratings, and since 2010, has started to overtake Deal or No Deal.

The game shows ratings mainly contribute to the 6:00 pm news bulletins ratings that air immediately after the game shows.

Multiple choice questions being asked on Deal or No Deal, 2006.

Many alterations to the game have been made throughout the years, mainly to entice viewers away from other game shows, including the briefcase values (see below), and the addition of many new game play features (see Features). During the 2004 $12 Million Month, the Super Case, Chance and Mega-Guess features were introduced, and have become recurring segments ever since. In 2005, a car was introduced as a prize (replacing the $25,000 cash prize from the 2004 board). The cars have been the Peugeot 307 from 2005-2007 (briefly replaced by the Renault Mégane II in 2005), the Peugeot 306 in 2008, the Peugeot 207 in 2009, the Peugeot 206 in 2010 and the Peugeot 207CC from 2011 onwards, all valued at more than the cash prize which is $30,000. In 2006, Double or Nothing was introduced to the show. Since the 2007 season, the game's format has remained the same. The only changes in the 2007 and 2008 seasons was a logo change in 2007, the removal of the preliminary quiz (which determined who would be the main contestant) and on-screen graphics and music which have been updated several times. Double Deal Friday was dropped in 2008. In 2009, not only was the layout of the money board and the cases changed, but also, once a case is opened, instead of closing it and putting it on the table, the case is left opened to let the contestant know what cases still remain in the game.

There were four winners of the top prize: Dean Cartechini on 17 June 2004, Anh Do in a celebrity special on 19 September 2007, Leanne Benbow on 2 June 2010 and Chris Doyle on 23 August 2011. When someone wins the $200,000, glitter is released into the studio, while holding a cheque for $200,000.

The biggest ever winner was Nathan Cochrane who won $515,000 on The Deal in 2003 on the second episode. At the time, the top prize was $2,000,000.

On 3 July 2012, a contestant was offered $-150 after knocking out the $200,000 on his first selection along with $75,000 and $50,000 in the first round, making it the lowest bank offer in the history of Deal or No Deal. This happened during Deal or No Deal's Fantastic Four specials.

From 16 September 2013, following almost a decade of the show providing the lead-in into Seven News, the show moved to 5:00 pm on weekdays to make way for Million Dollar Minute.[7]

From October 2013, Seven continued to air repeats until The Chase Australia replaced both it and Million Dollar Minute in September 2015.[4]

Deal or No Deal: Double Shot at winning the top prize

In the selected episodes of the 2008-2011 season, Channel Seven decided to add another $200,000 to the board as part of the Double Shot. the host, Andrew O'Keefe, revealed that it was "Double Shot" day and asks Marjorie Q. Smythe (wife of the evil banker, Walter P) to replace the 50c amount with the second $200,000 amount. For the second $200,000 briefcase, the case added the word Double Shot in capital letters. This only occurred when Channel Seven was competing against Channel Nine's game show in the 5:30 pm timeslot, e.g. Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune, which premiered in 2008 at 5:30pm, which airs at the same time as Deal or No Deal, except in QLD when Million Dollar Wheel starts at 5:00pm, due to Extra airing at 5:30pm. Millionaire Hot Seat, which premiered in 2009. (also during "Dancing with the Deals" and "Footy Finals Fever"). Also, for the podium players, should they say that there is $200,000 in their briefcase, they must specify whether it is the normal $200,000 or The "Double Shot" $200,000 to prevent them in 1 of 13 chance at the correct guess of $500 or Mega-Guess $2,000, $5,000 or $10,000. A similar special aired in 2004, in celebration of the program's 200th episode, two $200,000 cases were instituted, however, the second $200,000 is in the replacement of $1,500 rather than the 50c.

Briefcase values by years

Andrew O'Keefe appeared as himself in the Australian comedy Kath & Kim, reprising his role as host of Deal or No Deal. Character Sharon Strzelecki (portrayed by Magda Szubanski) appeared as the main contestant and Kim Craig (Gina Riley) appeared as the podium player. Sharon wins the $20,000 directly from her case (though the footage of her winnings was never shown). Several changes are made to the fictional game play compared to the real life game play, as Kim was never given an opportunity to make a guess for her case, and Sharon claims in the episode that she became the contestant by having the "fastest fingers" (the preliminary quiz was dropped from the 2007 season, and the fictional game shown was clearly the 2007 version). References to the real life version are made when O'Keefe tells the girls that it is "almost news time" as the real life show was then broadcast before the news.

Products

Products based on the Australian Deal or No Deal include a board game, electronic game, and DVD game.

The board game, made by Crown and Andrews, is a game that features all parts of the game show. The contents include the 26 briefcases (a flat item that has a number and a slot to put the card of the cash amounts), the board showing the amounts, 26 covers, host and contestant cards, amount cards, instructions, and money. The board game uses amounts from 2004 season of the show.

A Nintendo DS version of the game is available in Australia and contains Andrew O'Keefe on the cover. The game is very similar to the UK's versions, with the same character sprites but with Australia's cases from 2007.

See also

References

  1. ^ Knox, David (8 September 2008). "1000th Deal for AOK". tvtonight.com.au. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
  2. ^ Knox, David (10 February 2014). "No deal for Deal". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  3. ^ Knox, David (19 March 2014). "No Deal says Andrew O'Keefe". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  4. ^ a b Knox, David (22 April 2014). "Will Andrew O'Keefe host a late-night show?". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Channel 7 shelves next series of House Rules and replaces Million Dollar Minute in major revamp". News.com.au. 30 August 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  6. ^ http://au.tv.yahoo.com/deal-or-no-deal/features/article/-/article/5198705/nathan-cochrane-515-000/
  7. ^ Airdate: Million Dollar Minute. Bumped: Deal or No Deal, TV Tonight, 9 September 2013
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