Identity - the game show

[rkmsuf]

Are you fucking kidding me. It's not even a game and don't even pretend Penn has any apitude for hosting a game show. He couldn't have been more annoying.

This shit is on and they cancel the shat? This is an outrage!

[gottimd]

Are you fucking kidding me. It's not even a game and don't even pretend Penn has any apitude for hosting a game show. He couldn't have been more annoying.

This shit is on and they cancel the shat? This is an outrage!

So, you'll be watching it next week too?

What is the premise of this idiotic show? 1 vs. 100, Identity, Deal or No Deal, they all suck.

[rkmsuf]

So, you'll be watching it next week too?

What is the premise of this idiotic show? 1 vs. 100, Identity, Deal or No Deal, they all suck.

I may watch but not because I like it.

Basically 12 people stand there and there are 12 occupations on the board. You have to guess who goes with which occupation while Penn acts like an asswhite continuously and you sit through 57 commercial breaks.

It's not even a game. You can't ask them any questions, you just guess. All are dressed in their sterotypical outfits for the job ie, the pilot dresses like you'd expect a pilot to. Tatoo artists has tats and looks like a tatoo artist.

[gottimd]

I wonder if youtube has a clip. That sounds pretty stupid. Couldn't a chimp win that game? They might as well put "Picture Pages" on prime time TV in its place.

[gottimd]

How long until they unveil the gameshow "Who took a dump in my oatmeal?" where the contestant has to guess which person in the audience dropped a deuce in their porridge, and if they get it wrong they have to eat it.

[rkmsuf]

How long until they unveil the gameshow "Who took a dump in my oatmeal?" where the contestant has to guess which person in the audience dropped a deuce in their porridge, and if they get it wrong they have to eat it.

that sounds fabulous. you could give clues like what each person recently ate.

[Pumpy Tudors]

You know, I really did expect more out of this show than what it is.

On Monday's episode, Eve Plumb (Jan from The Brady Bunch) was one of the 12 people whose occupation had to be guessed. Before the contestant started guessing, Eve Plumb said that she was something besides an actor, and her "identity" was up on the board. It turns out that she's a painter, but one of the choices was "Academy Award Winner." The contestant's friends were over in the corner screaming that Eve Plumb won an Academy Award, so that's what the contestant should pick.

After getting urged by her friends, the contestant chose Eve Plumb as the Academy Award winner. Penn started to say something, but the contestant pressed the button to lock in her answer. At that point, Penn said, "I was just about to tell you that 'The Brady Bunch' was a TV show. Academy Awards are given for feature films." The contestant and her friends looked like they were about to die.

You know, I can understand some people might get their awards mixed up and think that Academy Awards could be for TV, but these people actually thought that this woman from The Brady Bunch won an award. They apparently assumed that she won an Oscar just because she's an actor. It turns out that the Academy Award winner in the group was the makeup person for the Narnia movie.

That was the best segment in the entire show. It was pretty blah besides that.

[wade moore]

I watched about the last 15-20 minutes last night...

I personally find Deal or No Deal incredibly boring and haven't watched the other recent primetime gameshows...

I thought this was at least marginally more interesting than DND. I listen to Penn's radio show, so I may be a bit biased on that. I think he needs some work in his ability to work the show, but the premise of the show at least requires some sort of skill outside of the luck of picking the right briefcases.

[rkmsuf]

I watched about the last 15-20 minutes last night...

I personally find Deal or No Deal incredibly boring and haven't watched the other recent primetime gameshows...

I thought this was at least marginally more interesting than DND. I listen to Penn's radio show, so I may be a bit biased on that. I think he needs some work in his ability to work the show, but the premise of the show at least requires some sort of skill outside of the luck of picking the right briefcases.

what exact skill is that? unless they are dressed in a matter representing their profession there is no skill involved. If they are there is still no skill involved since they all appear as you think they would.

say they had two oridinary looking people described as a clarinet player and a flute player, both women. what exact skill goes into figuring out which considering you don't ask the people questions.

[wade moore]

what exact skill is that? unless they are dressed in a matter representing their profession there is no skill involved. If they are there is still no skill involved since they all appear as you think they would.

say they had two oridinary looking people described as a clarinet player and a flute player, both women. what exact skill goes into figuring out which considering you don't ask the people questions.

There's a skill in "reading people". Some of it is luck, but there is very much a skill involved. Some of them will come down to some guessing, but the guesses are going to be educated based on reading people, etc.

*shrug*.. It may not seem like a major skill to you, but it is far more of a skill than picking the right briefcase.

[rkmsuf]

There's a skill in "reading people". Some of it is luck, but there is very much a skill involved. Some of them will come down to some guessing, but the guesses are going to be educated based on reading people, etc.

*shrug*.. It may not seem like a major skill to you, but it is far more of a skill than picking the right briefcase.

I'm not sure how you read a person that just stands there, says nothing and you can't interact with.

Like I said, dress them all the same and I'm impressed with this "reading".

I liken this to dressing the briefcases according to their value inside. Like the million dollar one has crazy bling on the outside while the one dollar one has a pair of socks with holes in it draped over the side.

[KevinNU7]

I watched last night and it was terrible. The contestant probably used 20 minutes of the show to pick the people and the other 40 minutes were commericals, dramatic pauses between identity reviews (created by editors), and Penn taking 10 seconds to say "Is... that... your... IDentity" every fucking time. I will never watch that show again.

They must have broke for commerical atleast 10 times.

[Butter]

ksmurf is fired up, he's got a couple of 4 sentence posts in this thread. Take away his Shatner, and he gets unhappy.

[rkmsuf]

ksmurf is fired up, he's got a couple of 4 sentence posts in this thread. Take away his Shatner, and he gets unhappy.

I'm sickened Penn is on and Shat got the shit.

Sickened I tell you.

[Mustang]

They might as well put "Picture Pages" on prime time TV in its place.

Picture pages.. picture pages.. lots of fun with picture pages.. time to get your crayons and your pencils...

[ISiddiqui]

This show looked pretty bad in the commericals, but I didn't think it'd turn out THIS bad. Can't ask them questions? WTF?

[stevew]

This was mind numbingly awful.

[Lathum]

I didn't think the show was that bad but all the commercials, pauses, etc... really took away from the show. The actual "meat" of the show wasn't so bad.

[panerd]

Game show network used to run old re-runs of a show that was like 20 questions. (It had a real simple name but for some reason it doesn't come to mind. I've Got a Secret maybe?) If you are going to do stupid game shows why not at least do something that is somewhat entertaining like that? I can't believe anyone watches Deal or No Deal or this crap. (Not just aimed at you guys, half the people I know watch these shows)

[bbor]

Awful.

[Pumpy Tudors]

At least Deal or No Deal doesn't give any pretense that there's skill involved. Identity is worse. What's with the panel of experts that can be used as a lifeline? They don't have any knowledge of the 12 "strangers" and can only give their own guesses. On Monday's episode, one of the "strangers" was a scientologist. The contestant was trying to figure out which one it was, and he decided to ask the experts for their opinions. Two of the three experts picked the wrong person. Can any behavioral expert really pick out a scientologist from a group of silent people who are standing almost completely still?

It's all pretty much a guessing game, which is fine, but all the "dramatic" pauses and commercial breaks just kill it. It's not that great of a concept to begin with, but the production of the show just completely deflates the whole thing.

I want Shatner.

[Ksyrup]

I thought this looked terrible from the first commercial I saw, so I haven't bothered watching. However, from the commercials, I figured the game was to dress the 12 differently from what the answer was, then allow the contestant to question each for clues about what that person really does. I still can't understand the point of the game the way you guys describe it.

Maybe if they stuffed each person into a briefcase and had scantily-clad chicks present them, I might be interested in watching.

[Pumpy Tudors]

For those who haven't seen the show, not all 12 people (the game calls them "strangers") are dressed in obvious ways. They had a sumo wrestler who was obvious, and there were a couple of others who were almost as easy. One of the strangers "had a heart transplant." Now, just from looking at a few ordinary-looking people, would you be able to tell which one had had a heart transplant? What about a nuclear physicist? The show had one, and he looked like Bob Golic in biker gear. Termite inspector? The termite inspector was a hot young woman wearing a tank top.

After you get past four or five of the strangers, it's a total crapshoot. I'm waiting to see if they do "bulimic" or "registered sex offender" or something else that nobody would want to admit to millions of people on TV. If they can round up 12 strangers like that, I'd actually be a little more interested in watching for a while.

[wade moore]

For those who haven't seen the show, not all 12 people (the game calls them "strangers") are dressed in obvious ways. They had a sumo wrestler who was obvious, and there were a couple of others who were almost as easy. One of the strangers "had a heart transplant." Now, just from looking at a few ordinary-looking people, would you be able to tell which one had had a heart transplant? What about a nuclear physicist? The show had one, and he looked like Bob Golic in biker gear. Termite inspector? The termite inspector was a hot young woman wearing a tank top.

After you get past four or five of the strangers, it's a total crapshoot. I'm waiting to see if they do "bulimic" or "registered sex offender" or something else that nobody would want to admit to millions of people on TV. If they can round up 12 strangers like that, I'd actually be a little more interested in watching for a while.

I think it's really designed to be like Millionaire to an extent..

Work with me...

The identities really range from "duh" to "flip a coin"... generally the flip a coin you've narrowed down to a few people and can make some educated guesses.. like the one I saw was down to two women.. one was a belly dancer, one a violinist... neither one had on a belly dancer outfit, but one had abit more elegent dress on and sort of carried herself a different way than the other one..

*shrug*.. is it rocket science? Nope... But I still think it tkes more skill and is more interesting than DND.

The overhype and commercials are annoying though, and Penn really needs some work...

[Mustang]

After you get past four or five of the strangers, it's a total crapshoot. I'm waiting to see if they do "bulimic" or "registered sex offender" or something else that nobody would want to admit to millions of people on TV.

I'd be waiting for them to do something like have someone that is Hispanic on and have one of the choices be Janitor (but, have the guys actual occupation be Broker or something along those lines) and then have the general public blow a gasket because the show is playing to stereotypes...

[Lathum]

They did have one of the choices as pregnant woman and there were 2 fat chicks up there. I was hoping for a train wreck but it never happened.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

You guys are missing the allure of DND. It isn't about skill at all. It's about seeing who has a big set of balls to keep going in the game when they already have 100k in their hands. That's why the show is a success. And why the Shat is gone.

[Lathum]

You guys are missing the allure of DND. It isn't about skill at all. It's about seeing who has a big set of balls to keep going in the game when they already have 100k in their hands. That's why the show is a success. And why the Shat is gone.

I agree, I am a huge DND fan, it;s just fun.

[Ksyrup]

You guys are missing the allure of DND. It isn't about skill at all. It's about seeing who has a big set of balls to keep going in the game when they already have 100k in their hands. That's why the show is a success. And why the Shat is gone.

That, and picking on the people who have no concept of risk vs. reward.

[Lathum]

That, and picking on the people who have no concept of risk vs. reward.

so true.

[Thomkal]

Well thought the idea was a bit stupid when I first saw the promos for it, but with nothing else on tv but reruns figured I'd check it out. I will probably grow tired of it soon enough like Deal or No Deal, but otherwise its not horrible. Penn's not bad as the host, will get better as he goes along, but those commercial breaks! They strung out that guy who won it all into far too many commercial breaks. Fun to figure out on your own who the identities are. It actually gets a bit easier as you get further along because some of the possibilities of the identities are eliminated earlier.

It'll probably get good ratings because its the only thing on, so NBC will overdo it like they have Deal or No Deal.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It'll probably get good ratings because its the only thing on ...

Mmm ... maybe.

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_9272.asp
The second episode of “Identity” revealed that most of Monday night’s impressive debut was indeed attributable to “Deal or No Deal.” In the show’s second night, it lost much of its premiere audience.

“Identity” averaged a 2.9 adults 18-49 rating last night, according to Nielsen overnights, falling 34 percent from Monday’s 4.4 premiere average.

The game show, which asks contestants to match 12 strangers to their professions, aired at 8 p.m., without the benefit of a strong lead-in. The previous night, it aired after “Deal,” which averaged a 4.5 rating.

“Identity” did rise 36 percent from its first half hour to its second, from a 2.4 to a 3.5. And as NBC points out, it did have the network’s best rating in the timeslot since Sept. 19, though that’s not saying much. The low-rated “Friday Night Lights” had been airing there the past few months.

And the show did win its timeslot, but the competition consisted almost entirely of reruns, save Univision’s “La Fea Mas Bella.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean “Identity” is a dog. NBC may be able to pair it with a strong lead-in and get decent numbers for the show, even if it can’t lead off the night. It airs three more times this week, as the network follows the five-day launch strategy that helped turn “Deal” into a hit last December.

Its performance over the next three nights will likely determine whether “Identity” returns this spring.

[wade moore]

fwiw, as much as I "defended" the show, I don't plan to watch much. I'm not much of a gameshow guy personally.

[Mustang]

It would be a much more interesting game show if they were allowed to ask questions or if they allowed questions and tried to deceive you by dressing some of the contests incorrectly. That way, you are needing contestants with a broad knowledge base to try to catch people...

The way it stands as a game show now.. they aren't even trying.

[Pumpy Tudors]

They ought to do a round in which all of the strangers are college students. The strangers could all have different majors, and someone would have to guess the theatre major, the chemistry major, the computer science major, etc.

Hell, I actually have more fun figuring out "themes" for the strangers than watching the show. How about 12 convicted criminals, and you have to figure out what crime each was convicted of? Maybe 12 football players, and you have to guess their positions (find the punter!). I think they should bring out 12 people from Africa, and you have to figure out which country they're from!

MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

[Buccaneer]

There is an online version of this show (which my son wanted to play) and it's actually harder than you would think.

[Daimyo]

I don't really care about Deal or No Deal and personally find it to be pretty boring. However, I've seen it enough times, because my wife loves it, to have bit of an appreciation for it. If you think its just about randomly opening briefcases, you've missed the point. The show is all about risk/reward. The skill to the game is not picking the right briefcases, but about managing risk.

The genius of the show is that they've managed come to come up with a very simple, accessible way to abstract something that is quite complex.

[Eaglesfan27]

what exact skill is that? unless they are dressed in a matter representing their profession there is no skill involved. If they are there is still no skill involved since they all appear as you think they would.

say they had two oridinary looking people described as a clarinet player and a flute player, both women. what exact skill goes into figuring out which considering you don't ask the people questions.


The skill to read body language, posture, and other non-verbal clues. The experts were mostly right about the scientologist. I think there is some skill to the show, and after watching the first one from the DVR last night, I'll continue to watch since not much else is on this week.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

I'll still probably only watch this show this week when I don't have anything else to watch and the wife wants to watch TV.

[rkmsuf]

The skill to read body language, posture, and other non-verbal clues. The experts were mostly right about the scientologist. I think there is some skill to the show, and after watching the first one from the DVR last night, I'll continue to watch since not much else is on this week.

but the experts are of the employ of the show. they probably tell those idiots what to say.

[RPI-Fan]

I don't really care about Deal or No Deal and personally find it to be pretty boring. However, I've seen it enough times, because my wife loves it, to have bit of an appreciation for it. If you think its just about randomly opening briefcases, you've missed the point. The show is all about risk/reward. The skill to the game is not picking the right briefcases, but about managing risk.

The genius of the show is that they've managed come to come up with a very simple, accessible way to abstract something that is quite complex.

But what risk are you managing? Isn't there just a simple formula the banker uses? So if the show is about seeing which people have a concept of a life-changing amount of money, I guess that makes sense. But it still doesn't seem like there is much "risk management" skill involved?

[Logan]

But what risk are you managing? Isn't there just a simple formula the banker uses? So if the show is about seeing which people have a concept of a life-changing amount of money, I guess that makes sense. But it still doesn't seem like there is much "risk management" skill involved?

The risk of removing the one case that has the amount that would basically eliminate a good offer from the banker.

[EagleFan]

I have to say, this show sucks donkey balls big time. The good news that I see in this thread is that the stupid Shatner show got axed. Less Shatner on the television is ALWAYS a good thing.

[Daimyo]

But what risk are you managing? Isn't there just a simple formula the banker uses? So if the show is about seeing which people have a concept of a life-changing amount of money, I guess that makes sense. But it still doesn't seem like there is much "risk management" skill involved?
Sure, it is a simple calculation for the player to calculate the expected value of continuing and making a decision based on that. I guess you could argue that EV should be the only consideration, but that breaks down quite often in the types of situations you get in DND (one time offers where the stakes are so high relative to the player's "bankroll"). For example, you will often see players with boards like the following:

$100
$500
$750
$750,000

and the player gets an offer of $165k. Going for it gives you an EV of $187k and so is the "correct" play by EV standards. What the player needs to weigh is if the extra $22k in EV is worth the risk of picking $750k on the next stage and that is all about risk management.

[Logan]

Exactly. That's a much different board, and therefore a different game, than if it was say: $50K, $100K, $200K, and $400K.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I have to say, this show sucks donkey balls big time. The good news that I see in this thread is that the stupid Shatner show got axed. Less Shatner on the television is ALWAYS a good thing.
OK, you're not qualified to be on the internet. Begone.

[EagleFan]

OK, you're not qualified to be on the internet. Begone.

What is this internet thingey you speak of?

[cougarfreak]

Whatever happened to Joker's Wild?

[Ksyrup]

Sure, it is a simple calculation for the player to calculate the expected value of continuing and making a decision based on that. I guess you could argue that EV should be the only consideration, but that breaks down quite often in the types of situations you get in DND (one time offers where the stakes are so high relative to the player's "bankroll"). For example, you will often see players with boards like the following:

$100
$500
$750
$750,000

and the player gets an offer of $165k. Going for it gives you an EV of $187k and so is the "correct" play by EV standards. What the player needs to weigh is if the extra $22k in EV is worth the risk of picking $750k on the next stage and that is all about risk management.


Exactly. Or when you have the flipside - several large, but not huge, amounts, and recognizing that even though the banker's offer is big, you don't stand to lose as much by picking another case, even if you pick the highest amount left. I've seen some people "deal" for a nice amount, but based on the odds, even knocking out the highest amount left would have only lost them maybe $50K on $250K, versus the potential reward of drastically increasing the offer or staying about the same place if they had chosen any of the other cases left.

That's where the skill of recognizing "risk versus reward" comes in - it's not just about doing the calcuation of what the banker will offer. In fact, most times, the banker undercuts what the precise offer should be based on the amounts left and number of cases. So it's a matter of recognizing how much/little can be gained/lost under the various scenarios of picking each amount left and deciding if it's worth the risk.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Quick note: This show is due to return to the NBC schedule next Friday night. Oh boy.

[wade moore]

Quick note: This show is due to return to the NBC schedule next Friday night. Oh boy.

Jilette gave up his radio show essentially because of this TV Show. So I'm curious to see if it lasts, seems to think he has some confidence that it will.

[rkmsuf]

Jilette gave up his radio show essentially because of this TV Show. So I'm curious to see if it lasts, seems to think he has some confidence that it will.

hope he has worked on his ultra annoying pointing and voice inflection

he's no Jeff Foxworthy, that's for sure

[EagleFan]

Has NBC become that desperate?

[Lathum]

back on

of course someone won top prize first show