While everyone loves a good sequel, fans were still shocked at the announcement thatDeal or No Dealwould return to TVwith an exciting reprisal that barely resembled the original’s setup.Deal Or No Deal Island, executive produced by initial hostHowie MandelforNBC, takes this relatively simple game show into a large-scalereality competitionthat pits contestants against one another for one of the largest grand prizes reality television has ever seen. While it had lofty heights to reach with its progenitor being so famous,its first few episodes have shown the series to be a worthy successor.It combines its new elements with the warmhearted spirit of its predecessor, creating a great addition tothis series' legacy and reality competitions in general- though it does have one glaring flaw.
In attempting to updateDeal or No Dealfor modern audiences, this program managed to embed in its rules one of the worst game elements that most modern series remedied in their early days. By taking away its contestants to truly fight being eliminated,Deal or No Deal Islandsets itself up for a season of disappointing ends.
Deal or No Deal Island
A group of 13 contestants compete in dangerous games on a private island for a cash prize in an intense season-long reality competition overseen by an enigmatic Banker.
‘Deal or No Deal Island’ Has Growing Pains
Deal or No Deal Islandis an excellent showcase of what made its predecessor so great, with some welcome elements to update its premise for modern audiences. The core ofDeal or No Dealwas the people competing, their personal stories of why the money would be such a huge benefit, adding fun to the relatively simple gambling game of picking briefcases where you hope to win large amounts of money. This anticipation, combined with the emotion, creates an endearing single-episode arc for each competitor, a narrative that the new seriesexpands into a season-long, island-spanning adventurewith a whole cast of characters vying for the money. While it does strip away some of the emotional weight of its original, this spin-off encapsulates a lot of the pulse-pounding aspectsthat audiences love in modern competition showslikeThe ChallengeandSurvivor(it even goes so far as to cast one of the latter’s legendary villains,Rob Mariano!). And just like these other historical shows, this one allows its contestants to fight for their spot in the game - mostly.
Understanding What’s Vindictive and What’s Strategy on ‘Survivor’
In a series known for its villains, this season shows what happens when gameplay becomes too personal.
This series eliminates a player each episode based on how much money each competitor can snag in their daily challenges, the bottom two players being eligible to be put up for elimination by the highest-ranking player for that episode, where they’ll have to play a classic game ofDeal or No Deal. If they lose, they get sent home, but winning means they get to pick anybody they want to go home - an exciting concept that is thoroughly disappointing to watch play out. Of course, with social strategy as a factor,there are layers to who is selected to leave, but especially in these early days, by making everyone eligible to be sent out based on the whims of one person, the show not only robs the person of a chance to utilize their social capital and skills to stay in the game,it robs audiences of a satisfying elimination!
Other great competition showsgive their players a chance to fight for their spot in the game, creating heartbreaking yet exciting eliminations that depend on a wide array of complex mechanisms to lead to someone going home. But this showreduces these theatrical ends to a simple decisionalways controlled by one person, stripping away any excitement a good elimination should have and cheapening the intrigue it’s spent an entire episode building up.
‘Deal or No Deal Island’ Has Issues, But It’s Not Too Late
Even in the face of these disappointing endings,Deal or No Deal Islandhas still offered so much to love in the few episodes currently out. With numerous charming personalities (those the viewers have time to actually see before they’re unceremoniously voted off) competing for a potential prize of 200 MILLION DOLLARS through exciting challenges, the program has given itself an excellent setup for what is sure to be an exciting season. But taking away a person’s ability to fight for their life in the game until the very endremoves the opportunity for legendary vote-outs. We’re still early in season 1, sothere’s still a chance for it to correct this and grant each episode’s ending the weight it deserves. Let’s hope the show’s creators learn that the ending of a story is just as important as its beginning.
Deal or No Deal Island is available to stream on Peacock in the U.S.
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