NBC Photo: Trae Patton
Deal or No Deal was Two. Freaking. Hours. long last night, as the show padded itself out with a twist involving three players at once. Welcome to the writers’ strike, folks–it just gets better from here! (Though Mrs. Tuned In–who belongs to the Bella Voce Singers, due to rock Saint Saviour’s in Park Slope this Sunday Saturday!–is seriously looking forward to Clash of the Choirs next week.)
How do Deal or No Deal purists feel about this twist? (And there’s more: coming up this week, a musical twist, and a “Deal Wheel.”) Isn’t it a needless complication of a game of simple elegance, like 3-D chess?