I hate to love this show. And you may be thinking, yeah, a monkey could play this game and potentially win a million bucks. Not exactly.
I wanted to find out what it takes to become a contestant. Apparently, you have to make a five-minute video and fill out an extensive and thorough application, answering questions like, "What is the next milestone in your life if you don't make the show?," or "If you had Aladdin's lamp and you could have three wishes (not including money), what would they be?" That plus writing a poem or rap, drawing a self-portrait, describing your supporters you'd bring on the show, and listing any websites or material you have posted online (already our internet lives can determine part of our future), the application would probably deter most from even trying.
Fan blogs have already sprouted from this international phenomenon and even The Banker has his own where he rants about his unfavorable position in the game, and it seems to be a success.
"These people should just be grateful for the opportunity. I've had to work long and hard for everything I've got. I don't have the patience any more for another pathetic bug crawling under my window mewling for money."
913 comments to his April 13th entry. Kudos to NBC for successfully entering the blogosphere.
Joe Terranella @ Tue, 04/18/2006 - 7:10pm
My cousin Tivo's this fine specimen of network TV game show and I confess that I do watch them with him. The producer/banker's blog is pretty sparse and it doesn't really advance the show. Most of the entries seem to be one liners about Howie Mandell, the Banker's identity, or raves about the show. Everything you described just sounds like NBC is doing free market research on its audience.