One of the very few games on here without a commentary, but the full thing is up on YouTube so here goes!

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Max Freeman from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire is playing the final show of 2005. It's his 23rd game, and he has Box 12. He has been keeping a meticulous record of each show he's participated in. "I've been looking forward to this, Max." Housekeeping done, and we're away...

Max starts by saying that in his 23 shows, he's never had the £250k, yet...


14, Alan - £1 The red boxes have green ribbons on them still due to it being Christmas.

Gavin next, and Max says if he has the biggie he'll have had it three times in four shows!

6, Gavin - £1,000

21, Irene - £20,000 A delayed applause there, and I'm surprised there was one for that box in a game this early!

Noel refers to the Power Block, or the "big influencer," from £35,000 upwards. Was that the first reference?

Max explains what his system is. He's tracked blues and reds in each of the games, and and seems to be picking boxes based on the idea that everyone should statistically have 50% blues and 50% reds.

13, Arlette - £50

17, Pat - £35,000 and there's no applause for that. Max seems happy, saying "the quarter-million controls the game".

Banker time...

The Banker thinks there's next to nothing in Box 12, and comes in with a bit of a low-ball opener of...

BANKER'S OFFER

£1,400

A very swift NO DEAL from Max, and on we go for Round 2...

Noel says anything from £15,000 downwards is good news...

10, Lynsey - £100,000, and Max says "no system's foolproof! I'll get it right 2 out of 3 times".

2, Dave - £10,000. "We can live with that", exclaims Noel.

4, Gerry - "If this is the quarter-million, his system irretrievably breaks down... Did I say break?" Nope, Noel. This is YouTube. And it's 50p!

"Everybody has a bad round," says Max, "and that was mine."

Banker time...

The Banker is still convinced that Box 12 has a low number, but we have an uplift at least...

BANKER'S OFFER

£3,000

Max says the last two offers have been quite odd, in a sense that the Banker is trying to get him to go all the way. Noel thinks the Banker's trying to get him to abandon his system because he's scared.

Max isn't dropping his system, and he isn't taking the offer. NO DEAL. "The Banker has met a formidable foe..."

20, Robbie - £50,000! "Still lots of blues to hit," says Max, seemingly unphased.

18, Liz - £75,000! "Could've done without that!" Noel's hoping this isn't the bad round that Max predicted.

5, 1p Nick - £3,000! No reference to the fact that that was an all red round.

Max is predicting another low-ball offer of less than £5,000 to give him the chance to hit the big one out.

Banker time...

The Banker says "two weeks ago, a butterfly flapped its wings in Beijing and now your game is falling apart," in reference to Max's belief in the butterfly effect. He's also predicting a Deal now, for...

BANKER'S OFFER

£6,000

Max says it's a good sum of money (for the first time in the game), but thinks he can get one more deal out of it. Noel continues to bang on and on about his system, saying that Max is more likely than anybody else to win the quarter of a million.

For the second time in this game, the question is asked without Noel stating the sum of money, and it's a third NO DEAL.

9, Miguel - 1p!

16, Mumtaz (her first game, who would later be replaced famously by 50 Shows Lucy) - 10p!

Max still seems rather calm and collected, no real shows of joy after the last two perfect boxes.

1, Jenna. "Would you please remove the seal?" And then we go to the break, and when we return, it's £500 to complete an all blue round!

Banker time...

"Our final game of 2005 is not disappointing..."

Brief phone call. The Banker reiterating that he thinks that there is nothing much in Box 12, and that he thinks Max's system is rubbish. However...

BANKER'S OFFER

£17,000

Bit of a mixed reaction from the audience, but that's a huge offer at this point. Max asks resident statistician Terry what the offer would be if he kept the £250k, and Terry predicts "it would have to be in the forties." Max suspects the Banker could twist that now and come in at less than that. "Is that worth the risk?" He asks.

Max says NO DEAL. I don't think anyone quite realises how big a call that was, but that's 2005 for you I suppose!

Julie next, who's had the big one twice in the last eight games. "It's highly unlikely she'll have it again."

22, Julie - £15,000, and it gets big cheers.

7, Ann - £250! One away now...

3, Michael - £5,000! Massive cheers, including one from Max! Everybody seems rather pumped now...

Banker time..

Before the phone rings, Max admits that he would have struggled to have lived with himself if he'd have lost the £17,000, but he played on because he believed in the system.

The Banker calls to say he wants Max to go. And he really does...

BANKER'S OFFER

£30,000

Greeted with virtually complete silence. Max says he thought he would get at least double the previous offer, but he has no breathing space anymore. He admits he doesn't think he has the £250k, and thinks Jenni has it in Box 8. Noel says if he's so convinced, then all he has to do is play on and open the other boxes.

The question is asked, and Max almost immediately says DEAL! It says it's saved his life, he can do thinks for his family and his van hire business. "I'm glad that point when we were at £17,000 that I didn't realise how much you needed the money," says Noel.

Proveout time... and so much for playing on with honesty. He's going with Jenni!

8, Jenni - £5! He screws his system sheet up and throws it on the floor! "I can scrap it now!" But he immediately goes to pick it up.

11, Terry - £750 and "so far the Banker is laughing"...

15, Marie - £100! Oh dearum dearum...

£10 vs £250,000 and Max wants to hear the offer from the Banker. The Banker allows Max to speak to him, and Max says..

BANKER'S OFFER WOULD'VE BEEN

£11

"Only joking..."

BANKER'S OFFER WOULD'VE BEEN

£110,000

"At £110,000 would you have said Deal?" "I can say this now can't I? No Deal(!)"

He went one Deal too soon, but that was it! Box 12 had £10! Gill with Box 19 had the £250,000.

Max is wished a happy new year, and as are the viewers at home who are told to return on Monday for a new year of Deal or No Deal!

£110k? The banker was having a lark there!
Good on you for doing up one of the missing commentaries

I wish Challenge would air Danny's episode at some point so we could get the missing records for that game. Sadly that was during the mid-2013 beginning of the end era of Deal so I doubt that game will ever see the light of day.