Red or Black?

What I don't like is the fact that because it's woman who was a victim, it's somehow worse that he gets to keep the money.

It's somehow like the papers are saying if it had been a bloke it would have been alright. But the thing is we shouldn't live in this world anymore, they should both be seen as bad as each other.

But of course he should be allowed to keep the money, he'd be more likely I see to go back to those kind of ways if he didn't have £1,000,000 I reckon.

Whether from a publicity point of view Syco/ITV should have allowed him on the show, probably not, but they did and it's their bed they must lie in.

I personally would think much worse of Simon Cowell/ITV if they took this price off him.

What I find more sickening was the first quotes at the weekend were from lawyers and I believe a former Police commissioner encouraging the victim to sue now the bloke is a millionaire through the civil courts. Then of course in the next breath these papers are saying to strip him of his prize money.

Isn't a ridiculous state of affairs where we are discussing our judicial and penal system with regards to the prize winnings of a TV game show.

There are lots of potential discussions about incarceration, rehabilitation, 'serving time' etc. but it all gets brought to the fore by a gameshow based on the TV equivalent of tossing a coin.

I despise the very premise of gameshows like Red or Black or Deal or No Deal. No skill, no knowledge, just chance. What IS the point of them? I just don't get them.

Red and Black is rubbish. But Deal or No Deal is all about personalty and judging the odds, it's not all about chance there is a lot more too it than that.

But is there? At the end of the day the box contents are still random, and don't change mid round? So what is the skill - you're still guessing and gambling on what is in each box aren't you? Nothing you or anyone else does changes what's in the boxes. The contents of one box only tell you the contents of that box - and nothing else. I just don't get it.

Just doesn't do anything for me - apart from making me want to throw a brick at my telly.

Now the missing vowels round on 'Only Connect' - that's a game!

The skill is in choosing the right offer at the right time - only idiots believe that "playing the game" is opening every single box and winning what's in the box you chose in the first place. Although luck does play a big part in the fortunes of contestants, analysing the game as it unfolds infront of you arguably requires a bit more intelligence than just coming onto a regular quiz show having swatted up on everything.

I disagree. There is no skill involved at all. The offers are merely there to test one's mettle. You say that only 'idiots' believe that playing the game is to open all the boxes. Well, I could go on there tomorrow and stick with the box I chose at the outset to find that I'd chosen the £250,000 box. Surely walking off with the top prize could be considered 'playing the game'? Like noggin said, it's purely luck and nothing else.

But it's as much about meeting the contestants learning about them and finding them funny and enjoying the banter, the game is just an ingredient of what makes the show popular.

Deal Or No Deal isn't just chance, but it's also got an element of risk - do you carry on and be greedy or stick with what you're offered. There's a lot more to it than it first looks like, it has an of element of psychology and it's been analysed in terms of Game Theory and utility theory.

Red or Black is just luck, but where it really falls down is that it's just a binary outcome - you either get top prize or nothing

The final spin on Red or Black happened while both Million Pound Drop and Big Brother were in ad breaks. I wonder if there will be a spike in viewers as people turn over to watch just for the spin?

I also wonder how much it was planned.

For anyone interested...

Very pleased to hear that Watchdog beat Red or Black.

Proves that decent content from a small studio can beat overblown hyperbole coming from an arena.