Thursday again, I am beginning to think someone is taking days out of the week. Noel's hair is getting greyer and his shirt is just beyond description, but you have to love him (in a manly way of course...hruumph). He reflected on Patricia's game, she could have been our first quarter of a millionaire, but just couldn't keep going to the end.
Today it was Rich taking the walk of wealth with box 21. Richard Pal, a banking risk/credit analyst, a man who determined the credit worthiness of thousands, and yet a boy of 14. Rich was a combination of Shadwell and Brad Pitt, with Mackenzie Crook's voice (from the office). He had a fiancee- Ellie - in the audience to support him - they were happy claimed Rich, 'aren't we Ellie?'. She nodded.
Round one: straight in, box 19, Stevie - £75,000 - an awesome record of power five reds. Box 2, Louise - £20,000 - silence apart from a cow mooing at the back. Mark warned him not to after he had a high red yesterday, but Rich was determined ,box 16 - 1p. Carlton, box 5 - £3000. 'I am looking at the boxes not the people, trying to get a feeling for what is in them', not what you would hope from a credit controller. Colin, box 7, again I have absolutely no idea what he said, something about a doctor - 50p. The offer was £3900, the banker declaring that Rich was cool and clear thinking, he could be his nemisis - 'no deal'.
Round two: Scott, box 14 - £5000. Simone, box 8 - £10,000. Rich's eyes becoming more hooded with each draw. Nessie, box 18, after the break she opened the lid on £500, finally I realised that there was an audience in the studio, strangely quiet until that point. Already Rich had got rid of five reds, but four of the power five were still in place. The offer was £10,000. Rich asked Colin (God knows why), and Richard, both of whom said go on. He agreed, 'No deal'.
Round three: James still off, so Suzanne opened Box 12 - £50. Janey, box 6 - £250,000 - the noise from the crowd rose with the lid. Rich seemed unaffected, he went for Jo, box 20 - £5. Noel asked the contestants what they thought the offer might be, anything between £5000 and £6000 said the East Wing. The banker thought they were a bunch of 'useless fools'. The offer was £5146. 'No deal' said Rich.
Round four: Fran was next, 'good luck Rich, you are a luvely peeeerson', she could have been handing the change back at Tescos checkout. She opened box 11 - £35,000. Buzz, box 4 - £750 - 'they call him the blue bottle', said Noel. After the break, Rich went for Peter, box 5 - £1000. The board now contained five blues against three reds, including £100,000 and £50,000. The offer was £8500, the banker suggesting Rich was 'a coward struggling not to deal'. Rich got his girlfriend down. Peter advised, 'if you do not know what to do, then deal'. Rich looked at the board and then won everyone's respect (except perhaps Ellie's) - 'No deal'.
Round five: Ellie was hiding behind her hands. Drew, box 13 - £250. Contestants holding hands. Richard, box 15 - £15,000. He was safe now in that both of the power five couldn't be taken before the next offer. June, box 17 - £1 - Rich screamed so loudly that June dropped the box lid through nerves, she nearly had a heart attack. The board now contained three blues against £50,000 and £100,000. The offer was £20,000. Rich asked for Ellie to come back down, she was wiping tears away from her eyes. Rich pointed out the £100k and the £50k, but she said 'these are just graphics on a board, £20,000 is real money.' She looked across to Noel, 'I'm the sensible one if you haven't guessed', and Rich removed his arm from behind her immediately, stung. Noel asked the question and he gave it the longest time, he wanted to go on I am sure, but Ellie had forced him to do the 'sensible' thing, he said 'Deal'.
Round six: Box 22, Suzanne - £100,000. Daz, box 10 - £10. Teresa, the new girl, opened box 3 - £50,000. The offer would have been £20.
Rich had £100, while the 10p was in the stunning Becca's box 9.
It certainly looked good, he dealt at exactly the right time and they now have enough for a decent deposit on a house. But the game was spoilt. Not for the first time this week, someone who was not playing, brought influence to bear on the player. Of course this is the essence of DOND, its not just opening boxes, its not just winning money, its the journey, the relationships. But when you have someone like a risk analyst for a bank, not being allowed to play on because of a wet, 4 Weddings and a Funeral pain in the bum girl look-a-like - then its very frustrating.....obviously.
Rich won £20,000
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2 comments:
Steady on fella.
I think the audience "outsiders" are a good thing. People playing the game very often get far too wrapped up in it, in always trying to make the absolute right decision instead of stopping when it feels right.
There's a lot of pressure to beat the banker (partly caused by the strategic baiting from the man himself) and I think too many people go on past the point where they would normally be happy enough with the offer to say "I've had enough, I don't care if I can win more".
Look at Aaron's game. Almost everyone in the studio thought he went too early, turns out he coulda won 5k more if he'd gone even earlier and he would never have won more.
While I love a good dramatic game as much as the next person, I would rather a player realise their dream and go too early, than keep pushing and pushing for dramatic effect and end up with very little.
While the girlfriend/fiance's in the last couple of shows might be, as you term it, "wet", in terms of the player going away with a sensible amount they've been pretty good. Admittantly Lofty's girl was over cautious and yes she did influence him too much, but just think what would have happened if he'd kept going and lost. It's easy to critisise after the event.
To me, the main thing to remember is although it's a gameshow they are people with real ambitions, and if those ambitions involve their partners then they should be bought in. Not just to keep the player down to Earth, but to be realistic from an outsider point of view. Beating the banker should always be secondary (I mean, why should he care if he wins or not, he's raking it in with players who push too far, phone calls, and Big Brother) to going home with a good result.. maybe not the perfect result, but definitely not a bad one.
Chris, thank you for your comment.
You and I agree on Aaron's game, but I think this is also the crux of my argument: Aaron made the decision to deal on his own.
I think Rich had the ability to make up his own mind, he certainly had the background, but Ellie's comment had left him with no alternative, and so we all missed out on a very interesting decision that Rich would have had to make otherwise.
Rich was clearly tempted to go on, would he have been able to stop himself had he been on his own?
I completely agree that this is about real people with real ambitions, I would have lost interest months ago if that had not been the case, all of life's rich tapestry is welcome. I was not suggesting that partners should be stopped from attending/interferring, but I greatly admire the behaviour of partners such as Fadil's wife and I make positive comments about such people. I think it is only right that I criticise those who I feel damage or inhibit a player's performance. And if I overstep the mark, then comments such as your provide balance.
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