I really don't like this concept because it loses some of the main dynamics that makes DOND work.

The battle between the banker and the contestant is lost because they don't want the banker to appear too nasty in wishing ill on "special" people.

Also, with the people on the wings being total strangers to us, the joy of the show's normal banter is lost. Instead, the viewer just feels he/she has gatecrashed a private party full of in-jokes. There isn't time for us to get more than a tiny sense of who these people are. Many of them seem to wish they weren't there.

I can't blame them if they feel uncomfortable. Although I wish all the "special" people well, I actually find the way they parade themselves and their troubles/specialness on TV to be a grotesque spectacle.

I've known lots of special and brave people in my life. They've all been brave enough to not go on television going on about how wonderful and brave they are and demanding money for it. These unsung people are the real heroes, not these attention-seekers who've paraded themselves in front of us this week.

I can't wait for DOND to revert to normal. What do you think of the Christmas Stars?

Yes I don't think Deal or No Deal is the place for these "special" people. The banker is a nasty person as you say, and I don't see how he could get away with being nasty to these special people... it just doesn't make sense. It's the same reason why I don't think any proper charity specials would work. Also the fact that the contestants get a load of gifts at the end seems to make a mockery of the whole thing - and it proves that they also realised that the standard format wouldn't work, so felt the need to throw in a load of extra gifts... seems a bit pointless really!

I'm enjoying the shows more than I thought I would as there's not any crying or negativity and so on. But the wing banter feels strange, as whilst Fred or whatever his name was yesterday seemed quite a character... it's a bit pointless as he won't be here today. He's gone without playing his game effectively.



To be fair, the players this week were nominated by other people - but of course, they could've said "no" when they were asked if they wanted to take part. In fact I wonder how many (if any) were chosen and said no...

Whilst the current 22 on normal DOND aren't the greatest bunch ever at the moment, I do enjoy the normal shows more as at least you know where you are. You know who the 22 are even if you don't have many favourites. The player will no doubt have had banter with Noel and the banker or will have a catchphrase (e.g. JC / Pat M / Harry) which means that their game has something to be based on, in a way. (Although at the same time, getting excited over a contestant yawning seems ridiculous...)

What these Star shows have confirmed to me is that if DOND had a different set of contestants each day as is the case with many gameshows, then I probably wouldn't be so "hooked" as I am today. I think without 22 people coming back everyday (or 21, technically) then DOND loses a huge element. I am also greatly looking forward to the normal shows returning... even though I don't have many favourites on the wings currently.

I'm not going to argue with the Original Poster - that's pretty much my opinion on the subject as well.

If you're going to have these special shows of deserving people the format of the show is such that along with the big winners there are occasionally going to be big losers. Adding extra gifts on to the end of a game of a contestant who's just crashed-and-burned is just pointless. Why not just give them the money anyway or tell them where the big money is in advance. You know they want to! It's just a complete mockery of everything we've seen over the last 2+ years. Not everybody can be a big winner - if everybody got a consolation prize for winning a blue the whole show would be a waste of time!

I think they've got around this by offering these extra gifts to all the players - but it is quite obvious that the gifts Ian got yesterday were worth more than the gifts the £30k+ winners earlier in the week got...

I think they are pretty good, as the player feels a lot more confident being around people he/she knows from his/her life, not just for a day or two.

Leaves me to wonder whether one day, they'll pick random players from the audience... I wouldn't like that.

Well id hate to be the odd one out on this thread but..i love these shows, i cant put my finger on it but theres something about them that i like more than the normal shows. Its a bit sad at the beginning but theres always a feel good factor at the end, be it the amount they win or the presents they get. So i love these shows!

I'm with you on this one Craig, I don't see what everyone else's problem is, as there is the usual banter with people on the wings, and it's just as entertaining as normal. I've got into these games more than the normal ones we've had of late.

I like them as well! The show needed some sort of a break after the run of form we've been having lately. These shows are for deserving people and they are very entertaining! I dont think the producers had the right thing in mind when they came up with the idea though, winning lots of money isnt going to make things better...

Are they putting on these shows to try and undermine any possible attempts for ITV to buy the format and do it US-style, or do they really think we're going to enjoy this mawkish spectacle?

The impression I'm getting from these shows are 'everything wrong in your life will be cleared away if you're positive enough to disregard the value of money and turn down all six offers'. These shows are dreadful.

You are certainly not the odd one out Craig, I have enjoyed these shows very much. It has been good to have a break from the usual shows.

Noel always enjoyed his "Noel's Christmas Presents" and I see these games as his way of bringing the two shows together.

The only thing that has disappointed me having seen both Alan and John's shows recorded is, they have been edited so much that a lot of the fun and banter we saw has gone. Alan's boss Alfonso was very funny but all that was cut out.

Also in Alan's show Noel started by asking him about finding out he had Testicular cancer at twenty years old, and the fact that not many men of that age would check themselves for lumps.

From what Alan said he was hoping that him being there on the show might make some men more aware that even young men could get this awful disease. And yet all this was not seen. I wonder how Alan felt that this was deleted.

So we have two more of these shows to come and then back to the usual people.

Can i ask those who have not been keen on the xmas show if they would have accepted to go on the show should they have been nominated, or would they have took part in the box opening if it was a friend or family member nominated to play?

I think it is absolutely wrong to invite people that have had relentless bad luck through their lives to play a game of luck. However, it is nice to have a different version of DoND for a week or so.

I don't like them...the players just don't seem to care as much, possibly because they've not had to put their lives on hold for a couple of weeks to be there. I'm not normally bothered about whether people gamble or not but none of the players so far seem to have put that much thought into any of the offers, and so there doesn't seem to be as much tension when they turn them down.

It's also a bit tedious that all four shows so far have had something to do with cancer, as if that's the sole bad thing that can happen to anyone...they could have had a bit more originality in choosing the contestants. And why do they all have to be sob stories anyway? Surely there are people out there who just do good work for charity etc. without having anything bad happen to them beforehand, why not pick some of those?

In reply to clareybabes, of course I'd accept the chance to go on the show if I were nominated! (Not that I remotely deserve it in any way whatsoever.) I might not like the shows but that doesn't mean I'd turn down the chance to win £250k...

I really don't like the Christmas Star shows. They really have been among the most over-sentimental tripe I've ever seen on TV.

While I understand that whole point of the Christmas Star shows is to make DoND a bit different over Christmas, I just hate the whole sob story films and feel they're out of place on a gameshow of chance.

Last year's Christmas shows were very well done but the contestants returning on New Year's Eve just aren't a patch on last December's.

I put my TV on mute during those films at the start as it's just not what I watch DOND for...

Can i just say if you dont like them then dont watch them. Nobodys forcing you to watch them!

The title of the thread asks whether people like them or not...what do you want, twenty posts just saying "Yes"?

Yes, im not stupid, all im saying is, yes put your opinion but im also saying if you dont like them then dont watch them, by all means say if you like them or not but it looks like that some people who dont like them are still watching them, all im saying is nobody is forcing these people to watch them. im not saying everybody must say yes i like them. I dont mind people saying i dont like them!

I dislike them too. The mawkish 'sob stories' are just embarrassing.

I haven't minded this weeks show at all. I'd rather see contestants react like Sylvia and Ian did when things didn't go their way than contestants like dream finish Donna.

Losing the chance of winning £250K doesn't even compare to the loss of a loved one.