Oh, hi there. How ya doin'? It's your favourite Le Banquier recapper making a rare mid-week appearance. Remember I said that I had recorded the season 11 premiere of Le Banquier, which originally aired on September 27? I finally got around to watching it. Here is what happened.

In what I believe is a first for the show, the episode opens with host / producer Julie Snyder preparing for her wedding day. Over the summer, she married her longtime domestic partner, Pierre Karl Péladeau on August 15 in Quebec City. He is the former CEO of Quebecor, which owns TVA, the network that Le Banquier is broadcast on, and currently the leader of the Parti Québécois, a political party in Quebec. The less I say about that, the better.

After several clips from her lavish wedding ceremony, Julie enters the studio, dressed in her wedding gown, and for a good reason. The new season is kicking off with a wedding themed-episode. Our similarly-dressed contestant, 23-year-old Catherine Poirier of Blainville, wants to get married someday. She's currently pursuing a business degree at Université de Montréal, and works for an auto parts company. She plans to use her winnings to buy a new car and eventually tie the knot with her longtime boyfriend, who is one of her supporters tonight. Awww.

Boy, am I glad I PVRed this episode, as much of the show was spent talking to celebrity case holders about nothing in particular. My finger was on the fast-forward button for 99 per cent of the show. Even my friend, who was watching the show with me, though the entire affair reeked of BS, and you'll soon see why.

Catherine selects case 26 in honour of the date she and her boyfriend began dating - June 26, 2009 - and now we've got ourselves a game. Let's go.

Round 1
[10] - $1
[15] - $500,000 - Well, that was certainly quick.
[2] - $25,000
[24] - $100
[13] - $300,000
[22] - $50,000

BANKER'S OFFER

$39,000

Catherine says REFUSÉE.

Round 2
[7] - $100,000
[17] - $300
[23] - $500
[3] - $400,000
[6] - $200

BANKER'S OFFER

$35,000

Catherine says REFUSÉE.

Round 3
[8] - $200,000 - Highest amount in play is now $175,000. This is not looking good for our contestant.
[19] - $5,000
[1] - $750
[5] - Sunwing / $75 - Catherine wins a trip to Riviera Maya in Mexico ($8,000).

BANKER'S OFFER

$38,000

Catherine says REFUSÉE.

Round 4
[9] - $5
[16] - $1,000
[18] - $50

BANKER'S OFFER

$47,000

Catherine says REFUSÉE.

Round 5
[4] - Surprise / $20 - The Surprise is a prize package from Linen Chest ($8,000).
[21] - $400

After losing much of the Power Eight in the first few rounds, Catherine has managed to keep a small block of them in play ($125,000 / $150,000 / $175,000). As a result, she is offered this after what could be considered as an all-blue round:

BANKER'S OFFER

$66,000

Catherine says REFUSÉE.

Round 6
[12] - $10 - In case you've been keeping track, there is now only one left-side amount left in play at this point - the cent.

Deal or No Deal is a game of comebacks, regardless of what country it's played in. Catherine appears to have one in the works here.

BANKER'S OFFER

$83,000

Catherine says REFUSÉE.

Round 7
[11] - $0.01 - And there it goes ! The least Catherine can leave with is the $10,000 bonus from Vidéotron Mobile, which is doubled to $20,000 if she goes the distance and finds it in her case.

BANKER'S OFFER

$106,000

Catherine says REFUSÉE.

Round 8
[25] - Vidéotron Mobile - Boom! Just like that, the game has gone from a potential wipeout to a guaranteed six-figure win ! That prompts this offer from the UK Banker's more generous French Canadian cousin:

BANKER'S OFFER

$153,000

An AMO, as it's $3,000 above the median amount of $150,000, which is still up for grabs. Despite that, Christine calls her boyfriend up to help her press the flashing button and say ACCEPTÉE. Not sure why she decided to do that, though. I think most people, myself included, would have played on.

Speaking of, here's what would've happened if Christine did play on.

Proveout
Round 9
[14] - $150,000

BANKER'S OFFER WOULD'VE BEEN

$169,000

An even bigger AMO, which I would've dealt. For those who read these recaps regularly, this Banker frequently makes offers like this, whereas his UK counterpart would probably offer something closer to the Fair Deal amount.

Christine missed out on an additional $16,000 offer-wise, but did she miss out on an additional $22,000 case-wise? Julie's opening of case 26 shows that she did not, as it contained $125,000. The $175,000 was in case 20.

But there's still one offer left. It's delivered by Catherine's boyfriend Mathieu in the form of a marriage proposal. This is not the first time this has happened on Le Banquier.

BANKER'S OFFER

MARRIAGE

Catherine says ACCEPTÉE.

And as if on cue, our hostess presents the couple with engagement rings worth $8,000. What is it with this show and prizes worth $8,000?

But that's not all. More handouts are on the way, starting with a wedding reception at Hotel Cristal in Montreal ($6,500) and a new Nissan Rouge - yes, Nissan sponsors this show - worth $30,360. And just for added measure, Jule then "marries" the couple on the set, using ordained minister skills that came from nowhere.

Wedding bells ring to the tune of $234,360 in cash and stuff for Catherine and Mathieu. Mazel tov to them, but holy boats, this show probably would've have been painful to watch live because of the useless celebrity chat. Not only that, but it probably took several hours to film.

Join me again on Sunday for more handouts and hijinks on Le Banquier. Until then, good night, and good deals.