What's Your Deal?
by Sariah S. Wilson
So, as I've mentioned before, I like TV.
I also have an affinity for game shows. (I don't know why - I'm wondering whether it's some childhood thing where the only thing on during the day in the summer were game shows.) Fortunately, the good old DVR makes it much easier to fast forward through all the boring stuff and just watch the fun parts. I can watch "The Price is Right" in about eight minutes (hour long show, for those who don't know).
And I don't gamble or imagine myself ever being able to be on it, but one of my favorite shows is "Deal or No Deal." I love seeing people's lives change.
For those who haven't seen it, the premise is this - you're on stage with 26 briefcases that range in value from one penny to one million dollars. You pick the case that you think has the million in it, and then select the other cases in a series of rounds to eliminate them. There is a bad guy on the show - The Banker - who is trying to get you out of the game for as little money as possible. If you keep the higher value cases in the game, the offers The Banker will make you at the end of each round will get substantially higher.
People are routinely offered six figure sums that they turn down in hopes of getting even more money.
There's no skill to this game - just luck.
But what I like best is when they offer someone their dream. There was a girl who wanted a lime green Escalade with certain features, and at the end of one of the rounds they offered her the exact car to walk away. She went nuts, accepted it, and it turned out that she made the right decision - had she kept playing she would have eliminated her one high value case and lost everything.
Another favorite of mine was a woman who dreamed of being on Broadway. For her deal they offered her a walk-on role for "Wicked" along with some props from that musical, auditions, money to go to New York and see several other musicals with VIP treatment, and the chance to go and meet with a musical casting director. She immediately took that deal - it was her dream come true.
Or the guy who grew up in foster care, who escaped through comic books, couldn't say no when they offered him, among many other things, the chance to be a superhero in a comic.
It made me wonder what my deal would be - what the show could offer me that I would possibly turn down the chance to get a few hundred thousand dollars.
I know what it is - it would be the chance to write for a certain TV show. (I'm not going to say which one because it is totally embarassing. Of course, if I ever got on "Deal or No Deal," you'd all find out. Then again, for that to happen, I would actually have to, you know, audition.) If they offered me any kind of contract to write for that show, I wouldn't be able to say no. It is one of my dreams - and it would be so hard to walk away from that.
So if you got a chance to be on that show, what could they offer you that you wouldn't be able to refuse? Now remember, this has to be something the show would be capable of doing. They can't make you a New York Times bestseller or president or a movie star. It has to be something within the show's capabilities (which means no world peace or wishing for them to fix Rob's arms).
So, as I've mentioned before, I like TV.
I also have an affinity for game shows. (I don't know why - I'm wondering whether it's some childhood thing where the only thing on during the day in the summer were game shows.) Fortunately, the good old DVR makes it much easier to fast forward through all the boring stuff and just watch the fun parts. I can watch "The Price is Right" in about eight minutes (hour long show, for those who don't know).
And I don't gamble or imagine myself ever being able to be on it, but one of my favorite shows is "Deal or No Deal." I love seeing people's lives change. For those who haven't seen it, the premise is this - you're on stage with 26 briefcases that range in value from one penny to one million dollars. You pick the case that you think has the million in it, and then select the other cases in a series of rounds to eliminate them. There is a bad guy on the show - The Banker - who is trying to get you out of the game for as little money as possible. If you keep the higher value cases in the game, the offers The Banker will make you at the end of each round will get substantially higher.
People are routinely offered six figure sums that they turn down in hopes of getting even more money.
There's no skill to this game - just luck.
But what I like best is when they offer someone their dream. There was a girl who wanted a lime green Escalade with certain features, and at the end of one of the rounds they offered her the exact car to walk away. She went nuts, accepted it, and it turned out that she made the right decision - had she kept playing she would have eliminated her one high value case and lost everything.
Another favorite of mine was a woman who dreamed of being on Broadway. For her deal they offered her a walk-on role for "Wicked" along with some props from that musical, auditions, money to go to New York and see several other musicals with VIP treatment, and the chance to go and meet with a musical casting director. She immediately took that deal - it was her dream come true.
Or the guy who grew up in foster care, who escaped through comic books, couldn't say no when they offered him, among many other things, the chance to be a superhero in a comic.
It made me wonder what my deal would be - what the show could offer me that I would possibly turn down the chance to get a few hundred thousand dollars.
I know what it is - it would be the chance to write for a certain TV show. (I'm not going to say which one because it is totally embarassing. Of course, if I ever got on "Deal or No Deal," you'd all find out. Then again, for that to happen, I would actually have to, you know, audition.) If they offered me any kind of contract to write for that show, I wouldn't be able to say no. It is one of my dreams - and it would be so hard to walk away from that.
So if you got a chance to be on that show, what could they offer you that you wouldn't be able to refuse? Now remember, this has to be something the show would be capable of doing. They can't make you a New York Times bestseller or president or a movie star. It has to be something within the show's capabilities (which means no world peace or wishing for them to fix Rob's arms).
Sariah Wilson — 7/25/2009 10:47:00 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
oh, I know what it would be. My husband and I want to build a huge family reunion house in the mountains. Gorgeous, with lit walking trails through the forest. You know, the kind of house where the whole extended family can come stay with a room for each family? We already purchased the land for it...just lacks the clearing, and the building, of course!
I'd like to be the mistress of an old English castle (in excellent condition) for a week. No ... make that two weeks, with all the necessary servants and cooks to make my stay comfortable, and with a faux murder thrown in to make things interesting. Then I’d like some actors to play characters out of a book in which I’m partial, to help me solve said murder. Yeah, I think that would make me take the deal.
Deb
I not really that good of a person, but I really don't want anything that a show like that could give me. I would really like my Mom to feel better permanently, so perhaps health insurance for the rest of her life would be great. That or the mortgage on my parent's house paid. I am pretty easy going and accumulating more things wouldn't make me happy...perhaps the ability to get all the books currently and in the future on my wish list.
A complete home makeover, which would include Peter Walsh to help me sort through all my junk; Laurie Hickson-Smith or Genevieve Gorder to help me decorate it; a construction team to add on a few rooms; all new furniture and appliances in every room; plus a landscaper to make my yard the way I want it.
Actually, it would probably be cheaper for them to just give me the money. :s
It's small time, but I'd love for someone to walk up and pay off my car and student loans. No taxes to pay, no loans owning. That would be really nice.
I can think of things for my extended family, but I think that just now my family has what we need. We move too often for a house makeover to be necessary, I really don't want to go to NYC even to see Broadway, I adore my old minivan that has excellent gas mileage, no DVD player, and lots of oomph, and I just don't know what else I could want.
But payment on my student loans before the million cash... you'd have to pay a tax on the winnings. I'd rather the show just pay off my bills so there was no taxable income to report.
I'd want to live in a barnes and noble and have all the books for free. =]
Seriously, I don't know. I feel like I already have so many dreams-made-reality. I'm married to my best friend and soul-mate, I have two healthy, beautiful children, a trio of pets that never fail to make me smile, and a home that's cozy and happy. I feel like I'm living the dream. =]
Wait! I know! Laser hair removal!! Yay!
This has been so much fun reading everyone's ideas! Keep 'em coming!
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