That is an interesting point actually. The whole Northern Rock crisis and the resulting fact that loans would be more difficult to obtain in the future may well have triggered this cautious phase...

I thought it would be at least 6 months, cause Chris B did win £75K

Unless you were reffering to £100K Maria or £50K Jon?

You're wrong Betty, they're moving to Gran Canaria a week on Monday!

I now understand why a lot of people here are losing respect for this show quickly. People either go broke or miss out on bigger money because they're too afraid to press on, or are influenced by other factors (friends / family in the audience, advice from other players, etc.) to Deal. This would have been a great chance for big money, but unfortunately, this person decided to sell his box for 1/5 of its value. A bad deal, indeed. Same thing happens on the US version at least once every week (we get two one or two-hour long airings of DoND per week here on Monday and Wednesday). I'm still waiting for a massive, groundbreaking win to happen on this show this season, but something tells me it may never happen. At least Troy managed to get what he was after, but if he had played on, he could have won 5 times his deal.

Hello all...jst Zara here.Wanted2 apologise if we were gettin on your nerves with the giggles.We couldn't help it!!!!
We were really excited! and p.s how do u out a pic up??
xx

I don't think the current financial climate has any bearing on the way contestants play their game. Particularly as this run of ultra-caution has been going on for 6 months or more - long before Northern Rock and the current economic gloom overshadowed us.

I think its just that people have wised up and realised that £10-£20k is there for the taking if they play cautiously on a reasonable board. And they are happy with that. I can't imagine Endemol deliberately choosing a seemingly never ending stream of no-risk players so I've no doubt plenty of players bull their way onto the show by pretending to be gamblers when they are no such thing.

I think its a fundemental flaw in the format and doubt if the show will ever regain its former glory.

My mother just MSN'd me (quite unsolicited).



That's the voice of the general public, not enthusiasts like us.

Endemol need to take note.

It's the voice of part of the general public, definitely. Then there's the very different part of the general public who think that any rejection of significant money is being greedy and foolish - as epitomised brilliantly by Nan (and if nobody thought the way 'Nan' did, that joke would never have even been written).

I can't say what the majority think. Although the ratings declining in March 2007, rising in May 2007 and rising again now might suggest something.

They had a summer filming break from June until the start of October, and then the episodes recorded from when they resumed on October 1st (when the Northern Rock crisis was in full swing) were shown in late November, and episodes before this were filmed pre-any national financial crisis.

Could be a coincidence, but if a contestant with not much money heard the news on the morning of filming their show that loans are now more difficult to get hold of due to the crisis, and they are offered £20,000 in their game... I'd say they'd be more likely to deal.

I think it has had a slight impact to be honest... but I don't believe every player had it on their mind. Some have been naturally cautious or had a target, which can make for dull viewing. It can on the other hand, make for great viewing but without the same excitement as no dealing - see Eunice's game for example.

What is definite is the idea of the "self-fulfilling prophecy"... an economic crisis can often be triggered by people being afraid of a crisis, spending less, and in turn actually triggering a crisis. This can be applied in a small-scale to DOND - people are seeing bad games and undoubtedly dealing earlier to avoid their game falling apart.

Over the past few months, if DOND had had some more gamblers, more good luck to prove gambing can pay off, fewer targetists (and possibly a more stable national economic climate), then the show would've had more variety in terms of dealing / no dealing.

So what you're saying that the general public have been fed up and turning away from the show in the last few weeks. Although...

-The weekday airings (Monday-Friday) are still appearing in Channel 4's top thirty.

-With the end of March registering five shows in the channel's top ten, with four shows in the top six.

-While the Saturday edition is registering the most watched show on the channel on the day.

Yes, it does make you scratch your head from reading that

I doubt one person registers the general public.

Have a look here - http://www.dond.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13130

You only get one chance in the chair and i am sorry to say it but Troy blew it big time!

Your putting words in my mouth. I never said any such thing.



All true no doubt. My mother still watched it despite her dissatisfaction. But she has watched it since day 1 and is very unhappy about the way the game is played. I've asked her why she still watches if the game is so poor these days. Her answer is 'because there's nothing else worth watching'.

There lies the secret of the show's continuing success in the rating despite being well past its prime. Its still better than whats on the other channels.
Provided one of the other channels don't come up with something better DOND will carry on doing well. The minute they do a swathe of 'there's nothing else worth watching' viewers will switch over.

And that's another reason I fear things won't change. Endemol can sit complacently by and do nothing knowing that people will tune in regardless.

The public may not like the games like myself however I keep watching for the hope that we get a good set of players on the wings who will take a (big or little) risk for their money.

If you don't like anything on TV then you should do something else.

I wouldn't voluntarily spend 45 minutes a day doing something I don't enjoy.

That was a nice game, although not an ideal result.

But I can completely understand where Troy was coming from, him and Dan needed the money, and if it has successfully helped them change accomodation then i'm pleased for them.

Nice to see a bit more banter again today as well. Well done Troy, i hope the money has been helpful.

What Tom said!

One more deal would have been good, two more would have been great.

But needs must. Good luck in your life..

Aitch,

Yet another £10k-£20k deal today - we seem to have a glut of them recently. A 4/4 board at 8 box was a tough call with the odds of hitting 1 of the 5 figure reds the same as hitting 2 of them.

£15k was about right for the board and like yesterday was a marginal call. It would be nice to see someone take a risk now. It seems ages since we had someone take a calculated gamble.

I think that's where your reasoning clashes with most others who post here. It's all a matter of interpretation I guess and, yes, it's undoubtedly true that all contestants will in fact go home with more than they came with but I think the majority will view the money offered after the first round as 'theirs' and will then decide how far they want to gamble that cash as the board and offers change. If someone is desperate for that cash (as Troy apparently was) then surely human nature will dictate that they are bound to be a bit more cautious rather than risking the lot for a massive pay-out.

Aside from going on the show yourself (which I know you're not going to do), the only way you'll ever consistently see the show you want is if Endemol suddenly start recruiting multi-millionaires to play the game instead...