What's the Deal with Deal or No Deal?

Deal or No Deal has got to be the stupidest game show ever, yet I'm strangely addicted to it. The main problem with the show is that is so simplistic that it's almost like a solitare game you'd play on your cellphone. The other big issue with Deal or No Deal is that it moves soooo slowly. An entire round of DoND should take maybe 15 minutes but NBC draws it out with reaction shots and dramatic explanations and chatter from affable soul-patched host Howie Mandel. Just pick up the freakin phone already Howie.

Monday's episode featured special guest financial advisor Donald Trump who appeared to be annoyed at the contestant's overenthusiam upon his surprise arrival. The contestant seemed more interested in Trump than he did the $1 million. This was clearly a cross promotional gimmick for Trump's latest Apprentice show (it's gonna be huge) which was premiering after DoND but oddly The Donald did not plug his show.

I will give the show credit for it's gratuitous shots of models in skimpy dresses. Lots of them! I like how some of them peek into the briefcase to see what the dollar amount is so that they can preload their reaction shot face as they reveal it to the audience. In the British version they use regular old ugly people and shoeboxes (for real!).

Despite it's problems, I can't stop watching the show. Probably due to it's high yelling at the screen factor. Or maybe it's the models. Or the soul patch. Here's a clip from an episode earlier this week- you decide:

category: tv_