I mentioned this in another thread, but thought it deserved a thread of it's own.

There is alot of critism for the show atm, with the blue chants, 'it's alright' Noel getting on everyones tits with his deal guilt trip etc.

So i'm asking has the show faded recently for you and do you still enjoy it as you did when you first started watching?

I've watched well over 400 episodes of DOND (I've only ever missed 2 episodes), and it's been on 6 days a week (excluding the summer break) for nearly a year and a half since it began, so I think it is inevitable that there is a side of me that thinks DOND has become a little stale and has lost some of its original spark, as most things that can happen have happened - i.e. all blue opening rounds, huge wins, low wins, bad boards, good boards, etc.

Whilst things like the banker's varying offers are stastically interesting, things like the blue chanting and Noel's Wakeyisms are just plain annoying.

However, introducing silly gimmicks and extras into it makes it even worse - it should be treated simply as it used to be (although thankfully, games of late have contained fewer of such gimmicks) - it may have lost its orginal spark and it will be almost impossible to get it back for the long-term viewers of the show, so I find introducing gimmicks pointless.

Also, since starting at university, I have to record DOND on a couple of days in every week and watch them at about 6pm - I prefer watching DOND when it's broadcast, not 2 hours after it's broadcast. Stupid uni.

I often wonder if I hadn't joined this forum and regularly posted on it about the show - would I still have interest in DOND and watch it regularly? I think the answer may be "no" - since about October in particular I'd say, a large part of the fun of watching the show for me has been coming on here afterwards to see what people are saying about it - so I may have lost interest altogether if it weren't for this forum.

It was always going to lose that original magic eventually, as just about everything does! I also suspected that after being away and not seeing it for a couple of months I wouldn't get back into it in quite the same way as before, and that has proved to be the case to a large extent.

Agree that a major factor is that there's not much left that we haven't seen now - although I don't mind the occasional "gimmick" as long as it doesn't take away the essential elements of the game - Ned's game and the Christmas shows are examples of times they've tinkered with it a bit without going too far in my opinion, and I think that can help retain interest. But on occasions Noel and the players/audience can try too hard and it can become a bit of a parody of itself, the Catherine Tate sketch made me realise that some of the "crazy" contestants aren't too far away from actually being like that!

Interesting that h2005 mentions October as a turning point, as I think that was actually the best month for the show since the peak of this time last year!

It has gone a bit stale - The same thing is happening show in show out at the momeny, I think that they should put suprises in it for example cliffhangers. Putting pieces of paper in boxes saying what the box opener will get if it is a blue or red. I think that the contestants are GREAT! but the show is letting them down - for instance I was watching John's game (the one who stood next to Alfie) and it was a great show - An effort was being made to shine the contestant, and the banker made an effort with his Basil Brush gags - and the contestants seemed so mush happier. I mean the shows around christmas were good - because of Noel's £50 boxes to contestants - It was a bit ridiculous though when he let Connor and Frank take massive handfuls from revealing not Fantastic amounts. But Noels attitude currently is grating on me because he is upsetting players and makes it sound like it is their falt - whish IS NOT true because some believe that fate and destiny or Chance make this game go how it should do. I was keen on It a few weeks ago when Susan was on the wings, she made everyone smile - and the Gay Policy thing on the show is stupid... whgats wrong with being gay on telly? there isn't one it is just that ******* Endermol prefer that they don't. In "the olden days of deal or no deal," it was far more formal, with the black and white boxes, which made the phone look half normal and that released the true theme of tthe show... Why can't they change the boxes again to something new? it must be nearly s year sincee they changed the format of the boxes inside it too. and these Banker's mum and all these STUPID "gags" are ruining the show!!

I do appriciate if anyone actually read that -----> I don't expect anyone would but nevermind

RANT OVER!!!

BARB ratings for DoND, week ending 11th March:

Monday: 2.98 million.
Tuesday: 3.09 million.
Wednesday: 2.83 million.
Thursday: 2.99 million.
Friday: 2.85 million.
Sunday: 2.63 million.

Five episodes under three million, and just 2.63 million for the Sunday show. Surely this indicates that people are losing interest in the show?

I think they should give it a rest. Like the BBC should do with The Weakest Link. When it started it was so different and everyone loved it, but it was done to death and no one cares anymore.
The phrase - "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" is so true.

The Weakest Link's actually beating DoND in the ratings at the moment. I do think they should give both shows a rest, although DoND probably needs more of a makeover than a rest.

I believe The Weakest Link has always won the ratings in that timeslot, though... also you have to remember that audience share needs to be taken into account, and apparently the audience share for DOND's timeslot still shows that about 25% of the audience at that time are watching DOND, which isn't bad really. I still think it's odd that there has been a reduction in viewing figures though.

3 million or thereabouts is still impressive for that time of day. The show's going to get recommissioned by C4 as long as it's pulling in more viewers than Countdown, or at least until Noel says No Deal to a new contract.

I suppose the casual viewer who doesn't analyse everything as much as those of us on here may in fact get bored with it less quickly!

Part of me wants DOND to end anyway so I can concentrate on other things in my life...lol...but that's my problem.

Anyway, I don't think the show has too many problems. If anything it needs a new host! Today was ridiculous with his "Oh that is so uncanny having a board identical to Laura's." (no it wasn't. The shape was similar but not THAT similar)
"Oo the Ian Factor should come back" (no it shouldn't, maybe you've forgotten but Ian won £50)
"Oh that's so strange the big numbers always go after a big offer" (that has happened only twice recently with Sarah B and Ian).

Ever since the 250k was won, I have watched less frequently and mainly have it as background noise. I would say something may need to be revamped.

I really think it needs a revamp now, a bigger prize fund, different board make up something like that.

As a re-vamp I think differences to the set, and "back to basics" with the amount of lame jokes rather than changes to the game itself.

I agree that it is getting a tad stale...but i still enjoy watching it. The Blue chants should be scrapped..

They've been banned, according to someone who was in the audience this week.

Yeh, i know.

It was bound to lose its initial "buzz", most things do..

I must say, if i didnt come across this site i wouldn't be watching

But if they re-vamp it, they'll alienate the purists. It's all the tinkering with the format that has put me off the last few months anyway so if they completely change the gameboard, the host or any other key components of the game, it'd probably cause me to switch off completely.

The show should be allowed to "die" as the show it was born as. TV shows have a natural shelf-life, specially shows which are on 6 days a week, every week.

If Deal or No Deal was a married couple, it would have already had its 'honeymoon period' where the novelty of something unique and special had worn off to be replaced by the everyday humdrum of arguments about washing up and whose turn it was to put the bins out....

In any relationship that has lost its sparkle, you either try to inject something new to spice it up a bit or you remind yourself of what it was that brought you together in the first place and made it so magical.

They've tried the first route without much success; revert it back to how it was and they might just recapture what it was that made us fall in love with it in the first place.

Love Agony Uncle Duffer.

That is a very good analogy Duffer, and is yet another way of saying they should go back to basics!