Fall Preview: 1 vs. 100

It's hard to believe that I am still doing fall previews and we are 2 weeks into October. Well, the truth of it is that NBC didn't have 1 vs. 100 on its original line up for fall. I am guessing that they were waiting to see if Deal or No Deal was still going to have the same draw as it did last season.

If you would have asked me 9 months ago if I thought that Deal or No Deal was going to be a success, I would have told you no. I honestly thought that it would be too gimmicky and just not very entertaining. However, I would have been wrong.

With that in mind, I now look at 1 vs. 100. And honestly the jury is still out. Can NBC succeed with two game shows in their line up? We have seen that the prime time game show if done right can be a great success. But based on past shows, I think that they have limited life.

So, the question still remains, can two prime time game shows survive?

The concept of 1 vs. 100 is that one contestant takes on 100 contestants. As long as the one contestant keeps answering the questions right, then he continues on. If he eliminates all 100 competitors then he wins $1,000,000.

After each question he has the opportunity to take the money that he has won and quit. However, he can also risk it all by taking on the "mob." With each person eliminated from the mob the cash prize goes up.

Also, the mob may consist of anyone. The premier will at the least have Ken Jennings from Jeopardy fame and some Deal or No Deal models. So, you never know who are going up against. You can also get a "lifeline" which appears to be polling the mob to see what the most common answer is.

The other part of the answer to the big question of will two game shows survive is the host. Howie Mandell makes Deal or No Deal what it is. Except for his annoying "let's-go-to-commercial" bits, Howie seems to have just the right timing and personality to bring Deal or No Deal up a notch.

Can Bob Sagat do it? I don't know. I still see him as the dad of the Olsen twins and punching out those terrible jokes on the original America's Funniest Videos. This is really where I find myself stumped with this show.

One of the things I like about this show is that perhaps it will bring back some fun "family" entertainment to Friday nights. Maybe I am too nostalgic for the old days of TGIF. But for me it seems that Friday should be a day for parents and younger children to relax before the weekend. So, with Deal or No Deal and 1 vs. 100 maybe NBC will have some must see TV in our house.

Labels: Fall Preview 2006, Previews, Television, TV

posted by Anonymous @ Friday, October 13, 2006