I wrote far too much for episode 1 of the series. Here's episode two. I believe there's five in the series this time around, in line with the last one.

The old Postcodelotterij prize giveaway where ticket-holders from the same neighbourhood as the finalist on the previous week's show share a bonus pot equivalent to that player's winnings is apparently back, but no video footage like there used to be. Apparently six winning tickets, though some people have more than one Postcodelotterij ticket, unless it's changed dramatically.

Things you notice on second viewing of the quiz: the question background music is in 3/4. This week's video question has footage about electric cars, and asks what type of car set a land speed record in 1898. Of 63km/h. An electric car, apparently. What went wrong in the intervening century? There's padding after question 4 where we reveal one block's leading player... then, after question 5, we have all ten confirmed. Mostly male, all white and middle-class. It's times like this that you appreciate the UK DoND casting. Product placement giveaway; a coffee machine. The models (dressed in gold, as I think they were last week) bring down what I would guess is a voucher for buying said coffee machine, and I think the bell is hidden in one of those.

Head-to-head rounds follow after the first of the adbreaks - only three within this 90-minute show, though they're about seven minutes each! (Fortunately, the online iPlayer-esque site gets rid of these, though there's one advert per adbreak there now.)

This round isn't interesting to me, because I don't understand what they're saying. What I do love about this round, though, is how noisy the crowd get for the representative of their block. Why can't they maintain this energy for the early DoND rounds? One near-miss for a new car again, though three rather than one away this time... hello! A siren! Someone's got it on the nose, and wins a brand new car!


Possibly the first time I've ever seen a car given away in the middle of a show anywhere other than the USA.

People just tuning in would probably think this was the end of the show, but there's about an hour left!

Apparently a bunch of players just won an iPod Touch. Ah, it's everyone in block 6 (4133, Vianen). One of them's won ten grand, too, and it's Cock van de Wetering. I don't know if that name ought to go through the filter or not, but terrifyingly it does.

"Five candidates in the race for the final". The rounds have been shrunk to 90 seconds from 100. Someone in last place guesses right at the very end of round 1 but gets it wrong. Jan has a string of right answers in round 2, but nobody's safe - he quickly gets pegged back to position 3, but survives by getting the last question right. "Direct answers please" asks Linda, but car-winner Caroline hesitates a little before getting away with it. She gets overtaken next question anyway. Hesitation on whether "Paulus" is acceptable for "Paul" as the name of the octopus, then hilarity as someone calls out an answer just as someone hits the buzzer!

Jan and Caroline end up winning after a fantastic, frantic final 30 seconds. Caroline already has a car from this, let's not forget, so she may be less inclined to take the cash. Money clock shows up on the big screen - it ought to show up on the LED ticker in my opinion. It goes up in quick €300 chunks at first, then €500, then €400 (don't ask). VERY early stop at €22,000! Possibly because they've already given away a car. Neither pressed their button, and that's hardly surprising. Someone in the audience gets that money, then... Jan Haster!

Is that a sign? Tie-breaker question between Caroline and another Jan. 314 - 118 = 196 - Caroline gets it wrong, saying 186! I'd have got it quicker than either. She's out, and Jan plays for the five million!

So two big winners tonight - one gets a car, the other cash. Hopefully at least. Adbreak, model walk... oh forgot about that blasted bell. We have a hilarious "Price Is Right"-style music cue as the audience find out which of them has a bell. It's an old man who gets it, and just to remind you, he rings it at any time of his choice in the first two rounds, and gets the lesser of €50,000 or the contents of the next case. Which last time was €0.20.

Jan picks CASE 3. Second big giveaway: a netbook for everyone in block 5 (6901, Zevenaar), €10,000 for Eef Bekker. (Pronounced 'Ayf'.)

On with the game. Jan is 51, from Rotterdam, he has a female partner of similar age with him. Some amusing remarks go over my head at this point. Jan seems like he's having a good laugh before the game begins in earnest. Which, after a quick reminder of the bell, it does.

ROUND 1
"Simple beginning" with...
1 - €0.01! Even this crowd cheered that!
14 - €2,500. With a US-style model fakeout!
23 - BELL!... €300,000, and the crowd cheer madly! Because that means an old man has just won €50,000! Linda rushes over to give him a hug... this twist is just ridiculous. Still, it's done with now, and the crowd can actually properly cheer low numbers.
13 - €2,500,000! Or properly groan big numbers, as it turns out.
12 - €1,000. Polite applause for that one.
Apparently there's meaning for this number...
11 - €10! That'll do.

First round done. First offer...

OFFER €28,000

Just as it was last time. NO DEAL, of course.

ROUND 2
6 - €1! This crowd is reacting the way it ought to now!
19 - €100! Already six from the left side gone.
24 - €5! Seven!
7 - €50,000. Linda is more than happy with that.
2 - €500! Linda celebrates... THE CASE FALLS OFF THE TABLE!


Welcome to Noel's world.

Linda did check the case was closed - and actually shows the sealed locks to a bemused Dutch nation.


Cases > boxes.

After that...

OFFER €80,000

He has a quick think, then NO DEAL it is.

ROUND 3
15 - €5,000! That's now only four on the left, and ten on the right!
22 - €0.50! "Oh Jan!". She's got her hands over her mouth in shock. At halfway, only three remain on the left!
25 - €750,000! OVerdue big hit. Linda points out the €1m and €5m remain.
17 - €50!

A fantastic board, a huge offer coming...


OFFER €215,000

Linda gasps. "That's so much!" Already more than last week's win. I would have to seriously think about that, but I'm sure I'd play on. "This is serious," Linda reminds Jan and us. 3/11 chance, she points out, of the €5m going this round. ADBREAK!

We're back. Linda talks through the situation... NO DEAL! Big cheers!

Absolutely a pivotal round now. A really good round here and we're looking at close to half a million. A bad round, and we're back to tens of thousands. Linda wants the €0.20 to go.

ROUND 4
26 - €25,000. That's great!
5 - €400,000. People still clapped! We're taking a seven-figure amount to the next offer at least. Hopefully two.
20 - €10,000! "Oh Jan!" says Linda, not for the first time tonight, saying now that the €400,000 was "absolutely fine", I think.

Jackpot still intact, with a million and a half-million for company...

OFFER €460,000

Now I'm gone, job done for me. Linda is stunned! I expected a "doubler" at most. Jan is unsurprisingly very animated, at least in his head movement. I wish I could understand what they were saying. All I got is that Linda mentioned how he could buy a house. Jan mentions a car, too. But three higher and two to open, plus three more fallback amounts, it's justifiable to play on...

Jan moves his hand... to press the button! DEAL! Linda thought he was going to play on, and looked terrified at the mere thought!

Second eight-case Deal in succession, but this one was huge. Most of his block stand up in their applause! "What... if you hadn't stopped?"

4 - €500,000...with an UPSIDE DOWN LABEL!

Very rare to see one slip in an episode of this, let alone two!
21 - €200,000. Just like last week, the proveout takes out a fallback either side of the offer. No proveout offers, but given what I'd expect this offer to be, few would not have stopped here.
18 - €1,000,000. Suddenly a big one-case game, but as Linda points out, 20% chance he has the jackpot... this would probably have been an offer no sane player could reject.
16 - €20!
No guilt trip as far as I can tell, Linda again re-emphasises how big the accepted offer was...
8 - €75,000!
10 - €0.20!

Leaving a final two of €5m against €100k, and Linda suggests a possible AMO of up to €3m. Terrifyingly, she might not have been wrong. This is the biggest-money finish, live play or otherwise, in the global history of DoND if I'm not mistaken. The other case is number 9...

9 - €100,000!

Jan's case 3 had €5,000,000! Thank goodness no reshuffle was needed from that dropped case...

The history books will say it's the biggest loss on a case sale ever seen on this show anywhere in the world - two other players sold the €5m, for €1m and €1.05m. But Jan's bank account will have several hundred thousand euro, and so will that of a home viewer! (This bit is now preceded by a plug for Unicef. After a game like this, that puts everything back in context.)