Top 10 Moments of 2012: Number 3
We’re down to the top three moments of 2012 as voted by you. These are always my favorite. It’s what you think stands head and shoulders above the rest. It takes a lot to shock us in game shows. We’ve been around for over seven years and we’ve seen it all. Big wins, big losses…everything. It’s always great when a moment comes out of no where and shocks us to, frankly, the point that we’re exhausted and can’t take anymore. Channel 4′s Deal or No Deal has been around for over seven years and 2,000 episodes. How can they shock us? We found a way, and it’s what you voted the third most memorable moment of 2012.
NUMBER THREE: Nong Wins £250,000 in Most Exciting Deal or No Deal Finish Ever
Up until Nong there were four other women who won the top prize of £250,000. Only the women win. Each of them had circumstances which allowed them to do so with some level of comfort and ease, though. One had a relatively small gamble to make, one had a Banker’s Gamble for little risk, one had the perfect game and a £100,000 backup, and another had a very strong backup and, in the grand scheme of things, a sensible risk. None of the four had circumstances which made you say, “I can’t believe she actually did that.” Nong did, though.
Nong made it very clear by the end of the show that she was going to go all the way. Through an incredibly tense final round which left her with only the £250,000 jackpot and very small sub-£500 sums of money, she made it to the end with just £5 and £250,000 left. An offer of £68,000 would stop nearly everybody in this situation. With only £5 to fall back on, it’s a gigantic risk. But not Nong. She was determined to do it. She shocked everyone by saying No Deal to the offer and opened her box. A few incredibly tense minutes later the confetti fell as Nong collected the £250,000 prize. She’s the fifth woman to take it. None of the men have yet.
When we wrote about it at first we said it was an hour of pure television torture, and we still stand by that. But it was good torture. This was in the top few most suspenseful moments I’ve ever seen on a game. The odds of something like this say that someone was bound to make a gutsy play on Deal or No Deal and win. I just wasn’t prepared for it and didn’t expect it with a £5 to fall back on. Comments from our readers, like, “I’m a guy, and I was BAWLING like a baby, man… God bless her!!!”, and, “That was an incredible 45 minutes. Really worth watching.” show how powerful it was. Congratulations to Nong on her big win.
By this point in our countdown we like to try to bring in people that are connected to the show to say something about the moment and the vote. We’re very thrilled to have had The Banker give us a blurb about Nong’s win. In a small quote The Banker said, “This was a travesty. I mean, as if I didn’t have enough reasons to hate Swindon.”
Take a look back at the win below. What did you think of it? Was it up there at the top for you?
That’s why the U.S. version is gone and the U.K. game is still around. It has great contestants who really need the money (and by the way, contestants open the boxes, so there’s actual camaraderie and extra joy after a big win), a set that fits the game instead of a glitzy Vegas-style set, and above all, it has a host that fits the game. Noel is genuine and at the same time a great actor that can host in any situation. The thing about Howie was that his stand-up background seemed to get in the way. In other words, I think he’s too light for Deal and “Take it All.” As you’ve said, this moment really shocked us and that’s why UK Deal gives us exactly what we want in this format.
I really wish a man would just win the quarter-million already. So many have come so close it’s ridiculous. Even in this mostly uneventful year 2 men, Rich and Tony, came so close. Rich denied 2 offers that were above the average just for the hope of winning the quarter million with a comfortable fallback but didn’t have it in his box in the final reveal (he was left with the big one and 50k after he denied 160k). Tony also came to the dream factory hoping to win the quarter million but had to take the offer of 74k since he reasonably couldn’t risk it to possibly plummet to 500 pounds. Also quite a few other men this year proved they would have gone all the way for the quarter-million had they had it in their box, but none of them. Some man needs to have guts to go all the way and right box already.
I am curious to see what number two and number one are because I think this WAS the best moment of the year. DOND UK does a great job of bringing the home viewer in and getting them emotionally invested in the contestant sitting in the chair no matter if the win is 1p or the big one. If you watched this entire game from start to finish and at the end you didn’t feel anything for Nong, then good sir or madam you do not have a heart.
I still preferred the U.S. version of Deal or No Deal because it was more lighthearted, and Howie’s comedy made it funny to watch. The UK version is far too tense and dramatic for my liking. It’s like watching a soap-opera drama instead of a game show. Reminds me of watching Minute to Win It, where the contestants were crying all throughout the entire hour-long program.