December 17 marked the debut of ABC's latest game show: Duel. This week-long competition is described by the network as "a high-stakes tournament-style game show" at the end of which the winner could win over $1.5 million dollars.
I didn't really know what to expect from the game but, thanks to most of my series being in reruns and to ABC's online and on-screen marketing campaign, I decided I needed to give the show a try.
The rules were confusing at first but, after a complete duel, I finally made sense of everything and enjoyed the remainder of the episode. The questions are difficult enough to have contestants ponder how many chips they'll risk, thus ensuring that the game has some suspense.
The contestants are of various locations and have different backgrounds, which makes the game even more interesting when the player must pick an opponent based on a short introduction of three randomly-picked contestants.
There were a few things that got on my nerves and those mostly have to do with the host, ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning radio show host Mike Greenberg. Even if I didn't expect him to be totally comfortable since this was the first episode, I expected a bit more smiles and cutesy jokes like all other game show hosts say. At times, it even looked like he was a tad bored! I hope that whoever writes the few lines Greenberg has to say finds something different than "Screen up!" and "You're watching Duel on ABC." It was getting old after 15 minutes of show! Oh, and one last thing, Greenberg needs to lose the pen!
No matter the host, I was entertained enough by Duel to tune in for more tomorrow night (and probably for the rest of the week). If you want to test your Duel skills, you can play the game online at ABC.com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-17-2007 @ 11:21PM
Jake said...
Um... I won't be watching. Greenie is the host? They must have run out of options. The guy is a sports writer.
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12-17-2007 @ 11:24PM
Jake said...
Um, I won't be watching. Greenie is the host? I know he hosts a radio show... but they could find anyone else?
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12-18-2007 @ 7:55AM
SadOldMan said...
I'd rather watch Golic eat breakfast than watch Greeny do anything.
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12-18-2007 @ 8:38AM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Greenberg was indeed the weakest part of the show. He seems like a fish out of water. He is too stiff, he keeps playing with a pen he doesn't really use (did we even see him use it?!), etc.
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12-18-2007 @ 9:29AM
sarah said...
i actually like the fact that the host wasnt so cliche. it allowed the focus to be totally on the game. the pen needs to go, i'll admit, but the players are lively enough that he doesnt need to fill the crevices of the show with corny jokes and vain smiles.
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12-20-2007 @ 8:35PM
nelson said...
So I watched the show last night and it came to my mind that Robert (the Telemarketer) also known as the fat African American guy, has been on other TV shows. I just cannot recall which ones quite clearly.
This makes me think that the show is a FAKE and every participant is a paid actor. -- I mean, the interactions between the contestants and the host look so rehearsed.
12-18-2007 @ 9:45AM
djbracknell said...
I watched it but I don't think I can live through it again. I agree about the pen but am really surprised that no one was off put by the EXTREME amount of "suspense" building interruptions.
At one point, we got the answer to one question and only the question before we went to yet another commercial interruption. It was less than 3 minutes between breaks.
I know the networks have to pick up new ad money where they could but Baseball doesn't have as many breaks in four hours as this show did in 90 minutes.
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12-18-2007 @ 10:49AM
Jason said...
I really enjoyed the game portion of the show, but yeah, the overly dramatic, really too long pauses need to go. It was so bad the show seemed like it was more of a parody of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
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12-18-2007 @ 11:03AM
And said...
I liked the concept. I'm a fan of Jeopardy and think a skill/knowledge-based game is much better than random guessing (Deal or No Deal and Power of 10 I'm looking at you).
Things I liked:
- Head to head competion
- Choosing your next opponent
- Rushing the other person
- Ability to choose more than one answer
- Sudden death
- Top 3 play for the grand prize
Things I didn't like:
- Building suspense - works for guessing games but not for knowledge based games, you either know the answer or don't
- Banter - you don't need to ask the contestants opinion every time they answer a question
- Pacing - way too slow, even Bingo Night moves faster, remove the previous 2 points and it'll clear up the 3rd.
This could be a good game show, just don't attempt to mimic other shows in the genre and you could have a keeper.
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12-18-2007 @ 11:30AM
Argus said...
The host definitely added nothing to the game, it would have been better with a computer just telling the rules or an announcer. The suspense building breaks the tension since we already know the answer!! There isn't any tension.
Speed up the game, maybe make the "chip girls" vocal, get rid of the faux suspense, get a new host, and then it wouldn't suck.
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12-18-2007 @ 12:50PM
Cody said...
I made the mistake of watching it live, and that was the last time I'll ever make that mistake again. If I do watch tonight's episode, it will be timeshifted so that I only have to watch the 15 minutes of show and can skip over the 90 minutes of commercials, faux suspense, saying then repeating the same things over and over, introducing and reintroducing the next set of contestants, etc.
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12-18-2007 @ 4:02PM
sitruc said...
Golic would've been a better host.
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12-18-2007 @ 4:20PM
mdaby3 said...
I thought it moved too slow. Pick up the pace people!
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12-18-2007 @ 7:17PM
Cody said...
In my market, this show is on directly after Jeopardy. Which is kindof ironic, since Jeopardy goes through more questions in the 4 minutes before the first commercial break than this show does in 90 minutes.
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12-19-2007 @ 11:23AM
Justin said...
Last night's show picked up the pace and I don't mind Greeny as host. Just like Mike and Mike, he keeps his dry wit at the center of the table. I'm tired of goofy hosts and over-the-top contestants and so far Duel has been more down to earth and interesting than any new game show in a long, long time.
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12-25-2007 @ 7:07AM
Amet said...
I m here in vacation from Egypt and i loved the show form the first episode
My gosh Imagine i went back to Egypt after one week with $ 1.7 millions!!
It rocks but i cried when the used cars sales lost in the finale:( he was so good.
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12-26-2007 @ 10:22AM
Tony said...
This game show captured my attention from day 1. I made myself available to watch the subsequent nights. But, even myself was surprised that I completely forgot to watch the "finale" on Sunday night 12/23... I went to ABC.com, I am in Canada, therefore I can't watch the full-length episode. Can someone please tell me where can I watch (url on other website?) the 'finale'? Thanks
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12-26-2007 @ 10:14AM
Isabelle Carreau said...
Sadly, I doubt there is a legal way for Canadians to watch the finale online. I can tell you the nurse won the last match against the car salesman.
12-29-2007 @ 5:07PM
Chonis said...
Greenberg is alright, at least he doesn't giggle, gives you a chance to focus on the questions so puts your mind to think or remember things.
The show is a little slow, but it is educational, wish we would have many shows of that kind to educate people a little more.
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