I was wrong about Deal or No Deal Island

So, last year I wrote a review of Deal or No Deal Island, and I didn't much care for it

https://jordanhass.com/words/DealIsland

This time around, I gave it another try. Simply put, because I'm still a sucker for Deal or No Deal.

As television has decided to be mostly unscripted shows, rather it's FOX’s Ramsay shows or ABC treating Press Your Luck like it's a prestige drama on Netflix where they record 10 episodes but you just don't know when they'll get uploaded or if it will be called “Season 4”

NBC has, surprisingly, had outdone itself with reality television shows in the last few years. First, was The Traitors on Peacock, which finally won an Emmy for Best Realty Competition (I'm just a fan of Alan Cumming) and coming soon “Destination X” with Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

And to me, watching Deal or No Deal Island was just too many things happening at once, a big challenge l problem was that final episodes where it was just challenges and a severe lack of Deal or No Deal or really any sort of social game.

Jordan (great name) won from the final 4 because she had the highest case in a puzzle and maze game and then a ropes course you see in Team Building.

To compare to Beast Games, there would've been a “offer” twist to quit the game on final 4 or a challenge to “build the board” and the first to do that wins and plays for the jackpot case at the end.

The problem is essentially “how do you win” a reality show that's meant to be a social game with a luck based game with strategy.

And I think the producers this time around found out some fixes (but it's too early to tell)

In Season 1, stunt casting included Boston Rob and Claudia Jordan, because Survivor and Deal or No Deal.

However, the producers REALLY wanted Rob to keep going, to get viewers to keep watching because everybody else was your classic Deal or No Deal contestant, Jordan Included.

Season 2, has decided to amp up the stunt casting with Pavarti, Dr Will and David Genat. The contestants on the show aren't really The Traitors US with a great chunk of people from reality television, but those that are more aware of the social gameplay of the show.

They also really improved (so far) the design of the game, focusing more on teams and groups and alliances immediately, while building ways to build security and the tension of the results of opening the cases.

While it still follows the scavenger hunt for cases, biggest case has power, lowest case is up for elimination (or lowest team is up for elimination) the elimination game of Deal or No Deal is now attempting to be presented as two games in one, which is very appreciated.

While they still want contestants to play the game bold enough to “build the pot” the jackpot case (or Final Case as they call it) is more seen like the prize fund on The Mole or The Traitors, so whoever is up for elimination in the game is treated like a contestant on Deal or No Deal with the “pick the case and open more” but now everybody is aware the battle is between “more money in the hypothetical final case” versus “keep the low values in play to increase your odds of safety. While the entire production wants them to cheer for knocking out the penny or $1,000. Everybody is aware the key to the game is holding them for as long as possible, so it becomes an inverse shot in the dark. (5 out of 6 chance of immunity)

The challenges themselves have also improved so far, focusing on the island and the tropical vibe, it's not meant to be “survivor”, so far it looks more like a billionaire resort, with games that feel unique to this format. To simplify it, it's a video game, the cases are points, high score wins, and lowest score is possibly eliminated. So you can theoretically make anything. Find the $2,000,000 case or have a 3 point shootout for $50,000 per case, and then somewhere there is a twist that makes it feel like the classic stakes of Deal or No Deal.

The editing has somewhat improved as well, focusing less on “repeating the obvious” (“grab the cases” said by Joe, followed by a confessional from a contestant saying “Joe told us to grab the cases” followed by another voice over saying “so we were going to grab the cases when”)

(Unless they really want this to be background noise, but if that's the case, I would opt for no longer having it be on an island and just having it be in a really cheap studio like everything else)

While I still wish everybody actually played deal or no deal for money, and would still prefer the classic game to the reality show, this version of the show and the way they handle the 3 act structure (challenge, social game, deal or no deal) has made it easier to watch and understand all the contestants and what they are up to, not just the stunt casting but contestants like Sydnee and Rock and Dixon, it actually now makes more sense.

They want to treat the elimination game like a “how much can you bring back from that challenge” and it now works.

The final five being an elimination game and then a final four leading to the final challenge with 3 contestants and it being like the Final 4 game from first season, but done so much better.

It's a race, but it's based on your social connections earlier in the game. Which also lead to the final game of Deal or No Deal.

And in season 2, it lead to one of the most insane games of classic deal or no deal I've ever seen.

It absolutely was a blast!