Deal or no deal
Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius
Seven years after its last episode on Channel 4, Deal Or No Deal (ITV1) is back. The jackpot has been reduced from £250,000 to £100,000 and Catchphrase’s Stephen Mulhern has replaced Noel Edmonds. Otherwise the format is exactly the same.
Is it just me, or does Mulhern look like a younger, bolder version of Piers Morgan? He’s 46, but he looks like he arrived on a chopper bike, fresh from his newspaper tour.
He was good with the participants, but his chat still needs a bit of work. Contestant Raj revealed that he makes costume jewelry.
“Oh, nice,” said Stephen.
Is it just me, or does Stephen Mulhern look like a younger, bolder version of Piers Morgan?
Deal or No Deal shouldn’t actually work. There is nothing the viewer can contribute, no answers they can shout out. It’s all about opening boxes and guessing
Sian is a wedding planner. “Fine,” said Stephen.
Myles is getting married soon. “Fine,” said Stephen.
He was almost overshadowed by Sian, who was the first contestant in the hot seat and never seemed to have a thought that she didn’t say out loud. She left with a respectable £17,500.
Deal or No Deal shouldn’t actually work. There is nothing the viewer can contribute, no answers they can shout out. It’s all about opening boxes and guessing.
To refresh your memory, 22 participants each have a box. Each box contains a token worth between 1p and £100,000.
When it is a player’s turn to be the main contestant, they can win the amount in their own box and ask to look into some of the other boxes. Low numbers are cheered, high numbers are greeted with groans.
Every now and then, a mysterious figure called “The Banker” calls to offer a cash payment with the words: “Deal or no deal.” The contestant in the hot seat then has to guess whether the offer is higher than the amount in their own box.
Sounds a bit boring, doesn’t it? But when contestant Daryl opened his box and revealed 1p, I gasped with relief. Yes, you’re right – I should probably go out more.
We all get nervous when a new boss comes along, and it seems William Shakespeare was no exception. According to Shakespeare: Rise of A Genius (BBC2), he had every reason to worry when James I replaced his patron Elizabeth in 1603.
Perhaps the most interesting theory was that Macbeth was a desperate attempt to ingratiate himself with James, who was interested in witchcraft
Perhaps the most interesting theory was that Macbeth was a desperate attempt to ingratiate himself with James, who was interested in witchcraft. Still from Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius
James disliked the theater and fell asleep during performances. At the beginning of his reign he banned Sunday theater visits.
But just as the bard was considering whether to throw in the pen, his troop was unexpectedly named the king’s personal troupe.
That was lucky for us. If he had retreated to Stratford we would have missed Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and The Tempest.
This final part of three episodes also answered the question every author faces. Tell us, Mr. Shakespeare, where do you get your ideas from?
Very little is actually known about the world’s greatest playwright, but a distant relationship with his family – he lived in London, they lived in Stratford – may have inspired King Lear. And was The Tempest a last gasp before retiring?
Perhaps the most interesting theory was that Macbeth was a desperate attempt to ingratiate himself with James, who was interested in witchcraft.
The playwright’s daughter, Susanna, had become the target of a campaign against Catholics. After the gunpowder plot, this could have fatal consequences. Fortunately, Macbeth was well received by the king. Not long after, Susanna Shakespeare disappeared from the list of dangerous Catholics. What a coincidence, right?
Just a thought: A more cautious father might not have written a play in which the king is murdered in the second act.