Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal

Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal
Format	Game show
Created by	Endemol
Directed by	Bobet Vidanes
Presented by	Kris Aquino
Starring	26K (models) Banker
Theme music composer	Martin Schimmer
Opening theme	Deal or No Deal
Country of origin	Philippines
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	516
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	ABS-CBN
Original run	June 5, 2006 – March 27, 2009
External links
Website

Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal is the Philippine franchise of Deal or No Deal, hosted by Filipino actress, TV & game show host, Kris Aquino, which premiered on June 5, 2006 on ABS-CBN.

The smallest prize has always been PHP1 (about 2¢ (US), €0.01, 1p, and ¥2), but the grand prize has always varied, from P2,000,000 (about US$47,000, €31,000, £21,000, and ¥5,000,000), to P4,000,000 (about US$94,000, €62,000, £42,000, and ¥10,000,000) for a short period, to P3,000,000 for the second season, and back to P2,000,000 for the third season. The game show's tagline is "Ang Kapalaran mo, Desisyon Mo" which in turn translates in English as "Your Fate, [is] Your Decision." This is the first weekday primetime game show in the Philippines since the so-called primetime game show craze died down in late 2002, with Pilipinas, Game KNB?, the last remaining show among the weekday primetime game shows, reformatted into a daytime one after a relatively brief hiatus (although it had a primetime spinoff called Pasko Na, Game KNB? for three weeks on December 2005 to January 2006).

The first season of the show was supposed to run until August 25, 2006, to give way to another Endemol-produced program Pinoy Dream Academy, but its run was expanded twice, first until September 8 in the same year, and again indefinitely, because of its extreme popularity. The season finale for the first season was aired on February 23, 2007 to give way to the second season of Pinoy Big Brother.

The second season premiered June 11, 2007; it was supposed to end in October of the same year. However, on the September 20, 2007 episode, the host announced that the viewers can still continuously watch the game show. On the same episode, it was announced that the game show would be moved on an earlier timeslot. On September 24, 2007, Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal became pre-programming for TV Patrol World. The show finished its second season on January 11, 2008 to give way to the second Philippine version of Wheel of Fortune, which Aquino also hosts.^[1]

The third season of the show began on July 28, 2008. This is also the first one aired on TFC's North American feed. It ended on March 27, 2009 to give way to another game show hosted by Aquino, Pinoy Bingo Night (the Philippine version of National Bingo Night). The show will be returning on the fourth quarter of 2011 as announced on the last episode of Philippine version of The Price of Right.

Gameplay

The Philippine version is very similar to the U.S. version of Deal or No Deal (including the logo), except for the sounds and musical scoring which were adapted from the Dutch version.

Before the game proper begins, a third party randomly places the possible amount of prize in the briefcases, which are distributed to 26 identically dressed models called the 26K who reveal the contents during the game. No one, including the host, knows what amounts are in the cases. Each contestant receives a new, randomly assigned set of cases. The prizes range in amounts from PHP1 to PHP2,000,000. See listing below.

After picking a case, the contestant then selects six of the remaining 25 cases, revealed one at a time. This is followed by a "phone call" by "The Banker", a mysterious figure whose face is not shown (at times a silhouette can be seen). He purportedly sits in a skybox (situated between the two audience sections) and makes an offer, via telephone to Kris (his voice is never heard) to buy the contestant's case based on the mean of the cash amounts still in play, and also based on the player's psychology. This amount is usually lower than the mean. In more recent episodes, the banker "punishes" a player of opening a large amount by offering a very small amount, despite the number of larger amounts still left in play. The player is then asked by Kris the title question: "Deal or No Deal?"

Should the contestant refuse the offer (by stating "No Deal!"), they must choose five of the remaining cases to eliminate from consideration. The Banker makes another offer, and the game continues as before. The Banker's offer may be higher or lower than the previous offer (if a top prize is eliminated, generally the offer decreases; conversely, if lower amounts are eliminated the offer increases significantly).

The contestant is shown a button to press in case the contestant takes the banker's offer. The player can just push the button to take the offer, even without saying "Deal." On the other hand, the contestant can simply close the button's cover to imply "No Deal" without actually saying the phrase.

Subsequent rounds have the contestant withdrawing five, four, three, then two cases from play, with Banker's offer appearing in between rounds; should the contestant continue to decline The Banker's offer after the two cases were picked, he/she then eliminates one case at a time (with an intervening offer from The Banker) until two cases are left. If the player rejects the final offer, they receive whatever cash amount is contained inside the case that they originally chose.

Each contestant has several supporters (usually, three or four), who sit in a special section just off stage during his/her game. As the field of briefcases dwindles, one or more of the supporters are asked to consult with the contestant and help him/her make a decision. These exchanges have become emotional, particularly when very high and very small amounts remained and The Banker offers a large cash buyout. The contestant's supporters are typically revealed after the second Bank deal and before the third round; although if a contestant is doing well, Kris will let the game run its course for some time, often consulting the supporters when the tide begins to turn.

If in case the contestant decides to accept the offer of the Banker at the end of any round, the host will let him go on ("No Deal" instead of "Deal" assumed at that point) until the end (at the end of every subsequent round, the amount offered by the Banker is revealed to him and "No Deal" is assumed) to determine if he made the correct decision.

Contestants, who joined through text messaging, are selected and screened with a series of interviews and tests, including a psychological one, before they appear on the show.

Case values

The left side of the money board contains the small amounts, while the right side contains the big amounts. Amounts that are highlighted represent those that are not yet opened. The contestant is expected to press the button & to give a two-thumbs up sign whenever he gives a "Deal" to the banker's offer.

The currency of the amounts on the money board, on the briefcases, and offered by the Banker to the contestants is in Philippine pesos (PHP). Throughout the show, the peso sign is never used in all of the amounts on the money board, on the briefcases, and offers by the Banker to the contestants. It is because of the limited font and/or character support for the actual peso sign (a P with one or two horizontal parallel bars on the vertically middle part of its ascendant).

On January 1, 2007, the PHP2,500 and PHP5,000 case values were replaced by the PHP75,000 and the PHP4,000,000 case values (the latter being the highest amount). On its second season, PHP2,500 and PHP5,000 came back in the board and new amounts like PHP250 and PHP250,000 appeared replacing the amounts, PHP750, PHP200,000, PHP300,000 and PHP400,000 of the first season together with the top amount of the season which is the PHP3,000,000.

The briefcase amounts reverted to the original ones for the third season. But later in the third season, the five highest values were replaced with P1,000,000 each, similar to the Million Dollar Missions of the American version.

On January 5, 2009, the case values for the P4M Edition were brought back into play at par with the new year.

1st/3rd seasons 1 1,000 5 2,500 10 5,000 25 10,000 50 25,000 75 50,000 100 100,000 150 200,000 200 300,000 300 400,000 400 500,000 500 1,000,000 750 2,000,000 4M Edition (2007/2009) 1 1,000 5 10,000 10 25,000 25 50,000 50 75,000 75 100,000 100 200,000 150 300,000 200 400,000 300 500,000 400 1,000,000 500 2,000,000 750 4,000,000 2nd Season 1 1,000 5 2,500 10 5,000 25 10,000 50 25,000 75 50,000 100 75,000 150 100,000 200 250,000 250 500,000 300 1,000,000 400 2,000,000 500 3,000,000 3rd season Christmas Edition 1 1,000 5 2,500 10 5,000 25 10,000 50 25,000 75 50,000 100 100,000 150 200,000 200 1,000,000 300 1,000,000 400 1,000,000 500 1,000,000 750 1,000,000

The sums of the 26 briefcase values are:

• Seasons 1 and 3: PHP4,596,066
• 4M Edition: PHP8,663,566
• Season 2: PHP7,020,566
• Season 3 Christmas Edition: PHP5,396,066

Changes

Second season changes

Aside from the revamp of the money board in the second season, set designs were changed.

• The podium where the button was found has been modified. The button itself now resembles a siren (except it itself does not make a sound until pressed). It looked like a sink and also lights up whenever the phone rings.
• The landscape behind the 26K had been changed from a night cityscape to a sunset scene with columns. The staircase where the 26K stand also had columns and two more flights of stairs. Because of this, the models could appear from behind and at the side of the staircase.
• The entrance of the 26K whenever Kris asked them to bring down the cases changed. The 26K theme was modified and became longer. There was also choreography included aside from the typical modeling entrance of the girls. The audience also clapped along with the entrance of the girls.
• There was a bridge connecting from the Banker's skybox. It bore the show's logo. The bridge still exists in the third season.
• The money board now had an illuminated frame.
• The telephone resembled the one used in the US version, only she placed the phone buttons-down. It had a pyramid-shaped base and a disc below the base which lights up like the podium.
• The vault door was nowhere to be found. Instead, Kris comes out from a room at the back of the set.
• The section for the player's companions was a metal bench.
• The staircase was much higher than it used to be.
• The theme color of the set was red (in contrast to black/gray in the first season).
• As the show ended, ten girls entered from the back of the staircase and wave at the audience in silhouette.

Third season changes

While the money board reverted to the first-season values, there were also many changes applied for the third season:

• The steps on which the 26K stand became larger with the background changed to a futuristic night skyline and simple boards replacing the pillars.
• The music accompanying the 26K's entrance has also been altered to a more electronic sound. Meanwhile, a brass band, dubbed "Ang Parokya ni Banker" (Banker's Parish) (derived from the name of the band Parokya ni Edgar) has been added to provide additional music, especially whenever a seven-digit amount is revealed. Along with the band are majorettes, who mock the contestant by saying "Ubos na" ("All gone") when both seven-digit figures have been revealed.
• The stage itself is also considerably smaller and more circular.
• The podium where the contestant stands is considerably smaller, even resembling a moped's front end. The Deal button and the telephone used in the second season are still being used.
• The section for the player's companions is a circular couch. Furthermore, there is a retractable bridge under the area which connects it with the main stage. The bridge appears whenever the companions enter the studio through a pair of sliding doors behind the couch after being called in by the host (in previous seasons, the contestant's companions are already seated by the time they are introduced).
• The main theme color of the set has been reverted to black/gray, but the gold rectangles for the briefcase values, the Banker's offer, and even the show's logo are now made with a shiny background.
• While the small monitor behind the contestant (and under the Banker's window) is retained, a third display monitor has been added beside the Banker's skybox. Its function is the same as the aforementioned smaller monitor: show the Banker's current offer. Sometimes, during the beginning of the show and in between offers, random images appear in the said third monitor.
• A camera is placed behind the Banker, bounded by acrylic glass.
• The contestant now enters from a single set of doors from the back of the studio; Kris entered from the same doors during the first few episodes of the third season, but later resorted to appear on stage from the start. This set of doors is different from the one behind the companions' area mentioned earlier.

Text promos

Kapamilya, Katext

On July 10, 2006, a text-messaging game was introduced as a new segment of the show for the viewers to participate and win cash prizes. In Katext, Deal or No Deal, there are 10 special briefcases with amounts starting from PHP5,000 to P50,000, one of which is randomly selected for play. After a briefcase is chosen, 2 briefcases are randomly opened, after which the Banker makes an offer to buy the suitcase in play. Viewers can text whether they want to "Deal", signifying that they accept the banker's offer, or "No Deal", meaning they will accept whatever amount is in the suitcase. In the next episode, the suitcase is opened to reveal the amount it contains. If the amount in the suitcase is lower than the offer, one winner will be selected from those who texted "Deal", with the Banker's offer as the prize. If the amount in the suitcase is higher than the offer, one winner will be selected from those who texted "No Deal" to take home the amount in the suitcase. The winner is chosen each day from those who texted via electronic raffle. The amounts are:

5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000

30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000

On November 13, 2006, a segment was made that was named: Kapamilya, Katext, Deal or No Deal. The range of the amounts inside the case still increased by PHP5,000 starting from PHP10,000, but the highest amount inside the case is PHP100,000. Same procedures still apply, but have been modified. On Monday, one briefcase and another has been chosen. The next day after the chosen briefcase has been opened, another briefcase is chosen, and the banker's offer is based on the briefcases already opened the previous day. This new process continues throughout the week.The amounts are:

10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000

35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000 100,000

Ka-Text, Deal or No Deal

Along with the show's return, a new promo was launched, named after the first text promo Ka-text, Deal or No Deal, wherein home viewers can win half of either what the contestant has won or the contents of the chosen briefcase (i.e. ranging from 50¢ to PHP1,500,000). Viewers can text the contestant's possible final response of "Deal" or "No Deal." Texting stops after the contestant has made his/her final decision. The next day, a winner is chosen from those who texted; if the contestant's final decision is "No Deal," only those who text the same response would win. On the other hand, when the contestant says "Deal," all who texted will be considered, regardless of response; what the winner would receive depends on the response.

In the show's third season, the rules were modified. Viewer could text "Deal" if the accepted offer was larger than the contents of the chosen briefcase or "No Deal" if the briefcase contents is larger than the accepted offer or the Banker's final offer if the contestant decides to say "No Deal" all the way. The correct response would depend on the outcome of the game; only those who text the correct response are eligible for prizes: P20,000 for the daily winners or P200,000 for the monthly winner. The promo was relaunched later with the same daily prizes, but this time, a Nissan Navara was up for grabs as the grand prize.

Unnamed text promo

In a third promotion, this time using the show's title, viewers were invited to guess which briefcase contained P3,000,000. Those who correctly guessed the said briefcase would win PHP25,000 plus a "nochebuena" package.

Tulong sa Barangay

Prior to the start of the 4 Million Edition, a commercial of the show was released where barangay captains were invited to join and play as studio contestants. The aim of Tulong sa Barangay is to provide help for the needs and developments of different barangays in the Philippines by allowing the barangay captains to play as studio contestants and whatever the barangay captain will get, it will be donated to the barangay funds. A different set of text messaging instructions are given for interested barangay captains. The first episode involving barangay captains began on February 6, 2007.

Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal sa Cebu

On November 30 to December 1, 2007, the show finally made its first out-studio episodes at the parking lot of SM City Cebu. The stage made for the show was noticeably larger, having a larger stage and two large staircases where the models stood. The Banker would stand at the screen behind the staircases obscured by a red clouded background. He only appeared in front of his "helicopter" whenever he made his offer.

The episodes were shown from December 3 to 7 of the same year. One of the contestants happened to be the mayor of Toledo City, Cebu, who played as a regular contestant.

Winners of at least P1,000,000

No.	Episode air date	Contestant	Deal/No Deal	Amount (in Philippine pesos (PHP))	Notes
1	August 7, 2006	Edna Amarille	No Deal	1,000,000	Edna claimed that omens from her late daughter prompted her to defend her chosen briefcase (#7) all the way to the end. The other unopened amount was PHP10,000 and the banker's last offer was PHP499,000.
2	September 25, 2006	Elsa Payumo	Deal	1,127,000	Elsa Payumo donated her winnings to the Buklod ng Pag-ibig Community to complete the roof of its building.[2]
3	December 29, 2006	Terry Lim Cua	No Deal	2,000,000	Terry is the first male millionaire, and coincidentally a bank customer service representative. The banker spoke to him over the phone and congratulated him while Kris Aquino asked for Cua's necklace and shared the closing announcement of Deal or No Deal with him in the episode. The final three unopened values were the three highest prizes (PHP2,000,000, PHP1,000,000 and PHP500,000) and the final two briefcases contained the two highest amounts. The banker's last offer was PHP1,400,000.
4	February 19, 2007	Robert Jaworski	Deal	1,000,007	Former senator and PBA player Robert Jaworski has the largest amount won by a celebrity player, although his briefcase contained PHP2,000,000. The amount of PHP1,000,007 was offered twice. In fact, some of the other offers either contain his former jersey number (7) or have its digits add up to it.
5	July 10, 2007	Jennel Montero	No Deal	1,000,000	The last unopened briefcase contained PHP500,000, and the banker's last offer is PHP600,000. Jennel is the first millionaire of the second season, and the third ever person to win a seven-digit prize in a No Deal situation.
6	August 6, 2007	Allen Paul Aguada	No Deal	2,000,000	The last two unopened amounts were the two highest prizes (PHP2,000,000 and PHP3,000,000). The banker's offer is PHP2,250,000, the highest in the show's history. Allen was still declared by Kris as "Lucky" because his final position resulted after removing the last two small values still in play (PHP50 and PHP150). According to Allen, his father was supposed to join, but the father urged him to join instead.
7	September 5, 2007	Jerhan Mama-O	No Deal	2,000,000	Jerhan is the first winner of at least P1,000,000 from Mindanao, from Marawi City. His choice of briefcase (#2) is purely by gut feel and while he did eliminate the two other seven-digit values in the first round, he firmly believed on the would-be contents of the briefcase to the end. As Jerhan is Muslim, the Banker's last offer is PHP999,999, which was based from the 99 names of God according to Islam. Jerhan also correctly predicted where the two other unopened values (PHP1 and PHP250,000) were hidden; he eliminated the PHP1 briefcase before the Banker gave his final offer.
8	October 2, 2007	Rene Lamprea	Deal	1,250,000	Although omens from his late younger brother compelled him to choose briefcase #5 (October 5 and the five-peso coin said to be from the late brother), the hare-lipped contestant decided to follow his wife's advice to take the offer. His chosen briefcase contained only P400 (with the other amount being P3,000,000); he was also the first regular contestant since the show's time slot was moved to 6:00pm; seven celebrities (two as a team) played before him, two of them accepting six-digit offers from the Banker.
9	October 16, 2007	Melody Macol	No Deal	1,000,000	The Banker's final offer was PHP499,000, the unopened briefcase contained PHP250,000 (also the amount at which the house was pawned). Coincidentally, her chosen briefcase was Briefcase #9, the same numbered briefcase Kris chose when she played four days before and won only PHP50.
10	October 22, 2007	Aiko Melendez	Deal	1,000,000	According to the actress and Quezon City 2nd District Councilor, her prize is for the benefit of several patients in the East Avenue Medical Center. Although her briefcase contained PHP3,000,000, the other unopened amount is PHP50,000. She is also the second celebrity player to win at least P1,000,000.
11	November 6, 2007	Kim Atienza	No Deal	1,000,000	The Banker's final offer is PHP400,000, which according to him, is the life span in years of the quahog clam. The other unopened amount was PHP25,000.
12	December 12, 2007	Maria Rosario Odabel	No Deal	1,000,000	The last unopened amount is PHP250,000. She kept all six-digit amounts and 1,000,000 after opening the last small amount (PHP75).
13	November 3, 2008	Anthony Solis	No Deal	1,000,000	He opened many amounts lower than P100,000 in the first two rounds, which continued until the third when he opened the P300,000. Even though he opened the P2,000,000 (not surprising held by model Charmel de Asis), his luck still continued that by the penultimate round, he opened the last small amount of P150. After he opened the P200,000, he was given the final offer of P490,000, which he refused. The last unopened amount was P100,000. He was the first millionaire of the third season.
14	November 17, 2008	Rey Beltran	Deal	1,100,000	He opened the final low amount, P50, in the eight round, leaving the P200,000, P400,000, and P2,000,000 still in play. He was offered P780,000, which he refused. In the final round, the P400,000 was opened, and this amount sufficed. His chosen briefcase contained P200,000. The reason for the non-exact amounts was because he was tithing some of his winnings for the Christian fellowships he was supporting.
15	November 25, 2008	Aiko Melendez & Candy Pangilinan	No Deal	1,000,000	Playing as a team, the two actresses had a final offer of P345,001, which they refused. They incidentally picked one of the five briefcases that each contained P1,000,000. The last unopened briefcase contained P10. Their game was their second appearance in the show; each of their first games ended in bad deals, albeit taking home six- and seven-digit prizes (see above) respectively. The two were jointly declared as the 15th millionaire and the first team to win a seven-digit prize.
16	December 1, 2008	Jhaphet Flordeliza	No Deal	1,000,000	He was first offered P466,000 with P50 and two P1,000,000 briefcases still in play in the penultimate round, but refused. When the second to the last P1,000,000 was opened, the Banker lowered his offer to P150,000. Upon advise from his father, Jhaphet said "No Deal," and won the P1,000,000. He was the first and only regular contestant to become a millionaire for the 2008 Christmas Edition.
17	December 11, 2008	Arnel Pineda	No Deal	1,000,000	He was the second ever internationally-known celebrity to play in the game (after apl.de.ap less than a year before) and the fourth celebrity to win the million pesos. He won this amount even after opening the four other million-peso briefcases and refusing the final offer of P249,999. He was in the Philippines to spend his Christmas in his homeland while his band, the American band Journey, was taking a tour break. He is the third celebrity millionaire.
18	January 12, 2009	Judy Ann Santos & Ryan Agoncillo	Deal	1,000,030	After the eighth round, with P4,000,000, P1,000,000, and P75 still in play, they were offered P1,150,000, but the Banker promised to increase the offer to P1,500,000 if their manager Alfie Lorenzo would join them; they both refused to both offers. After opening the P1,000,000 in the final round, they were offered this amount, which they accepted to play it safe after the loss of their final "safety net." Their chosen briefcase contained only P75. The additional P30 referenced the total of the prizes two previously in won each of their first appearances (Judy Ann won P25 and Ryan got only P5; both went No Deal). They intended to use their winnings for their campaign to have the movie Ploning included in the official nominee list for the Best Foreign Language Film in the 81st Oscar Awards.
19	January 28, 2009	Maribuena Noche	Deal	1,075,600	Her game went so well that only her mother was brought out to cheer her on as based from experience relatives were known to reverse the luck of one's game. After the eighth round, when she eliminated P10, she was offered this amount with P1, P500,000, and P4,000,000 still in play. She accepted the offer upon the suggestion of her mother. Unbelievably, it turned out that her briefcase contained only P1 with a potential final offer of P275,000 after seeing that the potential final briefcase she would have opened contained P4,000,000 (unsurpringly held by Charmel de Asis). The extra P75,600 was a reference to Maribuena's mother's medical bills.
20	February 2, 2009	Gerald Anderson & Jake Cuenca	No Deal	2,000,000	Initially having a bad game by having the P4,000,000 opened in the first round and revealing many six-digit prizes afterwards, they later had a game so good that they were given a final offer of P838,000, with the P2,000,000 and P75,000 still in play. They refused the offer and won the two million. Gerald and Jake, leading men of the show Tayong Dalawa, were the third pair of returning celebrities to win a seven-digit prize as a unit and the one with the largest winnings. Also, their separate first appearances were in team games with different partners: Gerald with Kim Chiu in the first season and Jake with Roxanne Guinoo in the second. Probably to prevent any misunderstanding, all of the companions brought in to cheer and help them were men.
21	February 16, 2009	Christopher Viray	Deal	1,600,000	After eliminating the last low amount, P400, he was soon given large six- and seven-digit offers, starting with P750,000, and then P1,050,000, both of which he refused. After eliminating P500,000, he was offered this amount, with P4,000,000 and P75,000 still in play. Upon the advice of his companions, especially his elder brother (Robert Viray), he accepted the offer. However, despite the fact that his chosen briefcase contained the top prize of P4,000,000, he currently holds the distinction of winning the highest Banker's offer that has been accepted by a contestant in the show.

So far, only Terry Lim Cua, Allen Paul Aguada, Jerhan Mama-O, and the team of Gerald Anderson & Jake Cuenca won the largest amount, which is PHP2,000,000.

Statistics

• Largest amount won: PHP2,000,000 (December 29, 2006; August 6, 2007; September 5, 2007; and February 2, 2009 episodes)
• Highest potential offer: PHP2,250,000 (August 6, 2007 episode)
• Highest banker's offer accepted: PHP1,600,000 (February 16, 2009 episode)

Celebrity games

Main article: List of Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal celebrity players

Parodies

• Toni Gonzaga of Gudtaym (a sitcom previously aired on the same network) hosted "Kapamilya Meal or No Meal," which was a parody of the show. Filipinos from low income brackets were invited to the studio to play for the meal they wish to eat. The contestants were literally not given dinner to eat before the game. In the pilot episode, the contestant won and got to eat tuyo (dried fish). The prizes were lechon (roasted pig) with PHP6,000, tinolang manok (stewed chicken soup) with PHP3,000, adobong daga (rat stewed with soy sauce), tuyo (dried fish) and asin (salt).
• Wazzup Wazzup of Studio 23 (owned by the same network) also came up with a parody dating segment titled "Kazupista, Feel or No Feel". There is also a similarly named segment of TV5's Lokomoko High named "Feel or No Feel," but this time involving underwear.
• ABC 5's Wow Maling Mali, hosted by Joey de Leon, impersonating Kris Aquino, made a spoof named "Kabaranggay, Beer or No Beer", with some males as the crossdressing version of the (less than) 26K, and a go go dancing-Banker in a covered cage, offering beer in exchange with the briefcases.
• John En Shirley, a sitcom aired on the same network, featured an episode where one of the title characters, John H. Puruntong (portrayed by Philippine Comedy King Dolphy) played as a contestant of the game show. The episode was aired on September 16, 2006. John fought for his briefcase until the end, refusing the banker's offer of PHP101,000. His briefcase contained PHP200,000, while the other remaining briefcase contained PHP1.
• When the Commission on Elections opened the filing of candidacy for the midterm senatorial elections in the Philippines last January 15, 2007, several individuals applied for candidacy, even those that are considered nuisance candidates like a certain Daniel Magtira who introduced himself as Kris Aquino's husband.^[3] After two days, a certain Julieto Esmeralda Sr., who claims to be both a pastor and a businessman, filed his candidacy referring to himself as Mr. Deal signifying his aiming of building a culture of optimism to prevail among Filipinos. He was quoted on National TV saying "“I want people to know that the answer to everything is always ‘deal’, walang laban o bawi, always ‘deal’,"^[4] referring to the Laban o Bawi segment of GMA-7's Eat Bulaga.
• Noynoy Aquino, Kris Aquino's brother and a senatorial candidate for the 2007 Philippine Midterm Elections, released a "Deal or No Deal" inspired political advertisement for television. In the commercial, Kris recalled how strict Noynoy was as well as how hard he struggled to take care of the family as requested by their father Ninoy Aquino prior to their father's assassination. Kris even made a "Deal" pose and catchphrase in the last part of the commercial, signifying her way of convincing the voters to vote for him. Ironically, Noynoy's response to Kris in the ad was "Ayos, Game Na", inspired from the catchphrase of Kris Aquino's game show Pilipinas, Game KNB?. Noynoy won the senate race and landed on the 6th out of 12 slots.^[5]
• On the October 12, 2007 episode, McDonalds Philippines launched its advertisement featuring Kris Aquino playing "Meal or No Meal" over the counter with a McDonalds cashier. The McDonalds crew featured in the commercial were holding trays instead of briefcases containing the "value meals" that can be selected by patrons of the fastfood chain. The restaurant chain also had a raffle promotion in which its winner eventually played in the show.

Criticisms & controversies

• Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Nestor U. Torre expressed disappointment on the show because it is not "all that spellbinding and empathetic" since the briefcase a contestant has chosen would keep it to the end (contrary to some versions which exchanging briefcases is allowed). Also, he pointed out that the format of the show limited Aquino's effectivity as a host.^[6]

• In his January 18, 2007 column, Nestor U. Torre expressed that the game show makes it so difficult for its players to win big because it’s based on sheer luck, with a player’s fate being sealed by the choice he makes of a particular briefcase to place his hopes on at the start of the game. He cited that another major factor that reduces players’ winnings is the “greed” motive that pushes contestants to reject already substantial deals from the show’s resident “banker,” because they want to make even more money by pushing the game into the next round. However, Torre does recognize that subsequent contestants were the first to benefit from the game show’s beefed-up top prize and will bring new excitement in everyone involved—the contestants, the studio audience, and the host. He mentioned that the move to double the game’s pot sets the show apart from other game programs, many of which offer a couple of million pesos in potential top winnings. With its P4 million pot for the 2007 run of the first season, he pointed out that it is now the best game show to beat.^[7]

• The July 14, 2006 episode featuring psychic Rene Mariano became controversial when the host complemented Rene's abilities because the latter predicted the end of the career of Hero Angeles, Star Circle Quest grand champion, at Morning Girls with Kris and Korina (previously aired on the same network). Hero and his brother reacted at GMA-7's Startalk saying that the host's remarks were unnecessary and foul.

• The November 6, 2006 episode received a lot of criticisms from viewers when the Banker offered the contestant the amount of P40,000 in exchange of his cousin being out of the studio. The contestant accepted the terms, getting the aforementioned offer instead of the original offer of just P300. When the contestant's cousin was sent out, his face was shown at the money board during the game.

Deal or No Deal USA visits the Philippines

The U.S. version of Deal or No Deal visited the Philippines from April 22 to 25, 2008, to tape a special episode as part of the show's ongoing World Tour. In this special edition, all elements of the Filipino version were used, except that the game was played by American rules, using American money and contestants. Kris Aquino joined US host Howie Mandel as co-host.^[8][9][10] This special episode, the "first stop" of the US series' World Tour, aired on the American NBC network on May 5, 2008. Although the Estonian stop was the first stop to be taped, the Philippine one was the first to air and the last to be taped because Endemol USA "loved the episode so much," according to ABS-CBN business unit head Alou Almaden.^[11]

ABS-CBN aired this special episode on June 22, 2008.^[12]

References

1. ^ Game show replacing Deal or No Deal
2. ^ Darang, Josephine (April 22, 2007). "Tuguegarao has new bishop". Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=61734. 
3. ^ "Paghahain ng COC, nagsimula na". TV Patrol World. January 17, 2007. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=63160. 
4. ^ "Odd Senate bets worm into poll system flaw". GMA News. January 17, 2007. http://www.gmanews.tv/story/27256/Bizarre-senatorial-hopefuls-worm-into-electoral-system-flaw. 
5. ^ Oliva, Erwin (June 7, 2007). "Kris Aquino, James Yap grace Noynoy’s proclamation". Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/breakingnews/breakingnews/view_article.php?article_id=69897. 
6. ^ Torre, Nestor U. (June 12, 2006). "Viewfinder: Not that big a deal". Philippine Daily Inquirer. pp. A2–7. http://news.inq7.net/entertainment/index.php?index=2&story_id=78817&col=26. 
7. ^ Torre, Nestor U. (January 18, 2007). "Viewfinder: Luck of the draw". Philippine Daily Inquirer. pp. A2–7. http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view_article.php?article_id=44235. 
8. ^ "Viewfinder: Kris to co-host special episode of U.S.A.’s "Deal Or No Deal". ABS-CBN News. April 11, 2008. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=114727. 
9. ^ Kris-Aquino to co host world tour of "Deal or No Deal Courtesy of pep
10. ^ US Deal or No Deal host is now in Manila
11. ^ Cruz, Marinel (May 5, 2008). "US 'Deal' viewers set to hear Mandel speaking in Filipino". Philippine Daily Inquirer. http://archive.inquirer.net/view.php?db=1&story_id=134552. Retrieved 2008-05-09. 
12. ^ Jocelyn Dimaculangan (May 2008). Kris Aquino graces "Deal or No Deal" episode aired in the US. http://www.pep.ph/news/17423/Kris-Aquino-graces-%22Deal-or-No-Deal%22-episode-aired-in-the-US. 

External links

• Official website^{[dead link]}
• ABS-CBN Now
• Kapamilya: Deal Or No Deal? at Telebisyon.net