Deal or No Deal embarked on its worldwide tour last night by first making a stop in the wonderful Philippines. (Which in reality was their 2nd stop on the actual trip.)
For three episodes, Howie, a skeleton crew, and American contestants traveled to three different countries to play their versions of Deal or No Deal, playing by their rules, using their music, models, and set, and co-hosting with the local hosts.
Last night, Howie brought two Americans to the set of Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal (KDOND) in Manila, Philippines. The local version is aired on ABS-CBN and is one of the most watched shows in the country. Plus, it is broadcast worldwide through The Filipino Channel, except to North America.
Because of that, it was very exciting for me to finally see how Filipinos do DOND.
Though not fundamentally different, KDOND airs (or used to, as it is on hiatus now to make way for the local version of Wheel of Fortune) daily in a half-hour timeslot. Because of that, the Philippine version has the high energy host Kris Aquino guide the contestants through a faster paced show.
KDOND has already had a few millionaires, since the top prize has been between P2 million and P4 million Philippine pesos, equivalent to about US$50,000-US$100,000.
But they played with American money last night and the Filipino banker.
Probably the most unique thing about KDOND is the dancing models, called the 26K. Instead of just walking down stairs, the Philippine 26K actually do a little dance as they present the cases.
Dance plays a huge part of KDOND, as it does in most Philippine game shows. Adding to the high energy, there is a house DJ that plays music throughout the ep and makes everyone in the studio dance if the contestant finds a low valued suitcase.
In between opening cases, we saw how Howie spent his few days in the Philippines; riding a pedicab, having fun in a supermarket, and being introduced to local delicacies.
I must say, if the host Emmy doesn’t go to Phil or even Jeff, I’d give it to Mr. Howie Mandel.
For me, I just think it is really cool for DOND to make things fresh and going around the world is a great idea.
And as a Filipino-American myself, it is always great seeing something from home making a splash somewhere else in the world.
Plus I finally got to watch the show on TV instead of LQ YouTube videos since Endemol USA prohibits the show from being broadcast in North America.
Aside from that, the two games were pretty good actually, two of the more exciting ones I’ve seen in a while.
Next up on the Deal or No Deal World Tour, Estonia and South Africa.
Maybe if Idol was as acknowledging of its international counterparts, they could inject a little bit of excitement into what is apparently a slowly fading franchise.
