Well, if they’re not real then neither is professional wrestling, so you know they’ve gotta be legit!!!
Oh how I loathe these “game” shows. Give me the goofballs on The Price is Right any day; at least they are more genuine than these producer-engineered contestants. On TPIR there’s always somebody to cheer for…the little old lady spinning the wheel, the college kid, the people wearing the “I <heart> Bob Barker” shirts.
None of the mutant contestants nowadays are very sympathetic; you really don’t root for them to win, you root for them to lose. Hmm, maybe that’s the attraction…? :dubious:
This thread has made me insanely grateful that I’ve never watched any of these new shows. I think I’ll stick with Food Network and DVRd eps of Family Guy.
I like Deal or No Deal. Lindsey, case 26, is worth watching the show just to get a glimpse of her. Sometimes the contestants are a bit over the top, but they make us root for them or against them. If they were dull we wouldn’t care either way. You might think they’re overreacting, but most of these people are folks that the money could make a real difference in their lives. If I got in a position where I got an offer that would pay off my house or risk it for even more, I might get dramatic too.
1 v 100 is a dog. The show is too, too slow. You don’t need all the dramatic pause to see if the answer is right or wrong, just get on with it.
It’s Wheel of Fortune that has the worst contestants. They have a rule that EVERY female contestant has to go “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” every time they get a letter right. Sheesh.
I don’t know why you consider selecting contestants “cheating”. The number of people who pass the Jeopardy! contestant written test is four times greater than they can put on the air every year. By having such a large contestant pool, they can choose a good mix of gender, geography, age, and occupation. They can also choose people who will show more personality during the game than a boring trivia machine. Personality, in fact, is the single most important thing that will separate a person who gets to be a contestant Jeopardy! from the rest of the pack who pass the contestant exam and then never hear anything further.
There is one big difference between the US and UK ‘Deal or no deal?’ - the US have hot women holding the amounts, while we use future contestants.
So we get a mixture of retired people, students and housewives.
However the producers pay for all the contestants to stay in a hotel while they tape the shows. This means that they become friendly and so there is a cheerful atmosphere unlike almost all other gameshows.
The show appeals to people stuck at home, because of the friendly banter.
P.S. If you want skill, watch ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ or ‘Countdown’.
Agreed. And if you think this is slow, you will want to avoid the new Identity…Penn Jillette: “Is that…your…IDENTITY??” …pause…wait…hold on…here it comes…
I understand that they want to get a mix of interesting people to make the show more exciting. That’s how they sell soap, after all. But I also see the potential for abuse, whether it actually happens or not. They could pick a guy that has an unusually vast knowledge of American History because “he wears interesting sweaters”, for instance.
And people who don’t fit the look don’t stand a chance to even get past the screening process. Not cheating, per se, but hardly fair.
True, but that has got to be one of the easiest shows to win money on. You don’t have to win the game to take home cash, just a round. I would go on that show in a second, it’s so easy, and I would say “wooooo” as much as they told me to to get some easy cash! Compare that show to Jeopardy, which is a more impressive show to tell your friends you were on, but I would choose Wheel over it any day as my chances of coming home with a prize are much greater. You have to be a really good contestant to come home with $30,000 after one Jeopardy show, at Wheel, you just have to get a few good spins and win a round, or make it to the final puzzle. Even if you lose, you will get to keep a few grand most likely if you win even one round, unlike the second and third place contestants on Jeopardy.
So, Jeopardy is the better show to watch, Wheel is the better show to be on, IMO. Then again, Who Wants to be a Millionaire or Deal or No Deal are probably even better shows to be on, if you go in with the right mindset you are pretty much guaranteed to leave with at least $30,000. Jeopardy is beginning to look downright cheap compared to the cash given away at these other shows. I would act pretty excited too if someone paid me that much for 20 minutes.
They could deliberately and openly choose him because he had a vast knowledge of American history. As long as he did not have access to the questions or answers, or to the people who wrote them. To ensure that questions aren’t written to a particular contestant, there is a random draw among the contestants backstage on who will appear on a particular show (a week’s worth of Jeopardy! shows are taped on one day).
Swallow your bile and watch “The Price is Right” sometime if you want to see an interesting example of how appealling contestants are not only chosen, but allowed to win larger prizes.
Contestants with a high “Q” Factor (Essentially audience appeal) are generally directed towards games/challenges that, if one calculates the odds are easier to beat/win. The cute blonde with a tight t-shirt and huge “assets”, will be directed to a a game that involves 8 guesses to get two digits, especially if she has a tendancy to jump, squeal and scream when she wins. A contestant who wins the opening price guess round, but who has a lesser “Q” Factor, will be required to partiipate in games which have a much higher level of difficulty/steeper chances of winning.
I have no “cites” for this as it is just a personal observation, from the few times I have seen “The price is Right”, but feel it fits the general format of the forum.
I’ve never been to a taping of The Price is Right but that assessment has got to be inaccurate. The contestants get on stage by guessing a price and unless Bob Barker is cheating be deliberately choosing a price that allows your “high Q” contestant to get on stage (and I can’t imagine why he’d risk it), they languish in “contestant’s row”. As for being steered toward the easier games, I don’t see it. The gaming equipment is usually pretty elaborate and not something I’d expect a stage manager to change on a moment’s notice.
No, it’s not fair, but it’s no more unusual than picking models for an advertisement or extras for a TV show. I’m not getting where the problem is. If you want to work in TV, you don’t need to be beautiful, but you’ve got to be presentable (basic hygiene and neatness), have a personality that’s compatible with a visual medium, and not be a pain in the nuts to work with.
They all got to dress up in costumes. 
holding the amounts, while we use future contestants.