Deal or No Deal Interview

Arch: For all those people who refuse to acknowledge Channel 4's existance (or a respective nation's equivalent) or for people who don't own a TV, could you please tell us what the basic premise of 'Deal or No Deal' is?

BenTH: Deal Or No Deal is, at basic observation, a game show, but it's not just any game show, it is very unique. It's filled with drama, tension, and one of the best things about it is that ANYBODY can play it, as there is no general knowledge involved.

What gave you the idea to bring this unique show to the STC-O chatroom?

In November 2005, I started watching Deal Or No Deal one time when my wonderful great nan and her partner were visiting. My nan's partner likes all these teatime game shows such as Countdown and The Weakest Link. I already knew perfectly well who the show's host, Noel Edmonds was and it was lovely to see him back on the television. Over the months I've seen good games, bad games and iffy games.

Every game is different, but usually there is a lot of tension and drama involved as the players gamble massive amounts of money in order to progress in rounds and open more boxes, desperately trying to avoid the larger sums of money with the hope that the biggest ones may be in the box in front of them. It's amazing to see a show of such simplicity offer sums of money like a £250,000!!

I knew Deal Or No Deal would be a hit in the STC-O chat room because it is simple, it's tactical, it's dramatic, it involves players supporting each other as a team in order to "beat the banker." Even the dreaded Chovi could get the hang of it!

Speaking of which, will our good friend, Chovi, be making an appearance as 'the dreaded banker'? If not, any inside information as to who is assuming the roles of the banker and box manager, etc?

The banker is the banker. It's as simple as that. Some may know him better than others, better than they may think. Who the banker really is couldn't matter less, what you've got to do is play this game and relieve him of every last penny he has.

Shrewd handling of the questions, sir. The televised show involves one person everyday being picked out of a group of 22 contestants to be the one to play that day. Are you sticking to that number, or are you willing to alter the prizes accordingly if less people sign up?

Neither. All 22 sums of money will be present. The box manager will be responsible for assigning the sums of money to each box, and as the player calls out a box, the box manager will reveal its contents. How many people sign up is completely irrelevant. A few lucky people will be picked to play a game each, the rest of them will either be substitutes, or get a chance to play another time.

Out of interest, have you watched a few shows yourself?

At times I'm a regular viewer, but I've missed key shows such as 'the one that got a penny' (unless there was another since) and I remember a time where a woman had dealt way too soon and found that the last two boxes contained £100K and £250K.

Today's show was fantastic. A girl named Sam turned down £12k, £24k and £33k and eliminated everything down to a minimum win of £15,000! She ended up selling that 15 grand for a deal of £41,000!

Do you think that the STC-O Deal or No Deal will a £250,000 prize winner before the actual show?

To win a quarter of a million pounds on Deal Or No Deal is an achievement that shows nothing but nerves of steel and a risk taker to a level of insanity. It's very hard to win anything more than 50 grand on Deal Or No Deal. However, the STC-O edition won't be offering real money, there are no winners and losers amongst the players, it's just player VS banker. Since there won't actually be anything 'real' at stake, some players may just be mad enough to take risks all the way to possibly winning the big two five zero.

Have you got a hopeful date to launch this game?

I have discussed my plans with our banker and our box manager. Between us, we have played 2 practice games so just about everything is in order. Keep a sharp eye on the chat room thread for the times.

Fantastic! Finally, if this is a success, would you consider making this into a continuous mini-series, or possibly experiment with other shows in this chatroom format?

I'm always looking at practical and surreal ways to have fun with what I create. When it comes to things like this, I can be as spontaneous as the Shadow The Hedgehog game.

Thanks for giving The Mobian your time, Ben. Good luck for the show.