Television Review: Deal or No Deal
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that greed and risk-taking can play a
factor in the contestants' decision-making on this engrossing
primtime game show, sometimes with a negative outcome. But some
contestants also make smart decisions and settle for a more
modest amount than the $1 million they dream of.
Families can talk about the contestants' decisions, and what
each family member would do if they were playing the game.
Would you be satisfied with the amount of money a contestant
won? Why or why not? Do you think the contestant was too
greedy, or too much of a risk-taker? What would you have done
differently, and why? Another discussion topic could be money
itself and its value. What would you do if you won a lot of
money? Aside from buying material things, can you think of some
ways you could put the money to good use?
DEAL OR NO DEAL is a primetime game show in which each contestant, chosen at random out of a pool of audience hopefuls, is presented with 26 briefcases displayed by lovely models on a stage. Each briefcase contains a tag showing a certain dollar amount -- from $.01 to $1 million. After each round of briefcase-opening (six are opened in the first round, five the next, and so on), the show's host, Howie Mandel, receives a phone call from "the bank" offering contestants a certain amount of cash if they walk away now. If the contestants accept the amount, the game is over; if they decide "no deal" because they believe the unopened briefcase contains a higher amount than what was offered, the game continues until they either accept an offer or open the briefcase to find out how much they won.
Although there's little brain power involved here aside from making smart decisions -- the show is more about luck and is far from being a brainteaser like Jeopardy -- the decision-making element is crucial, as is resisting being swayed by greed. Deal or No Deal is decent entertainment that actually makes you think -- just a little -- and could possibly help teach younger viewers the value of a dollar.
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