New Game Show Duel on ABC Dec. 17-21 and 23 at 8pm

[Pavan]

“DUEL,” A NEW TOURNAMENT-STYLE GAME SHOW BASED ON SMARTS,
SKILL AND STRATEGY, WILL PREMIERE WEEK OF DECEMBER 17 ON ABC


Six-Night Series from BermanBraun and Rocket Science Laboratories Gives Game
Show World a Shot of Adrenaline with Tense, Head-to-Head Competition for Huge
Jackpot Guaranteed to Final Winner

Mike Greenberg (ESPN’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning”) Will Host


The new game show “Duel,” a one-hour, high-stakes tournament-style competition to air over six nights with a guaranteed final winner, will go into production after Thanksgiving for ABC. From BermanBraun and Rocket Science Laboratories, “Duel” features head-to-head matches with nerve rattling game play rewarding contestants who embrace shrewdness and manipulation to win. If contestants can react quickly under pressure and outsmart their opponents using strategy and deception, intellect and skill, they could walk away with a life-changing prize – potentially more than $1.5 million. One of 20 contestants is guaranteed to win the jackpot. “Duel” will premiere MONDAY, DECEMBER 17 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT) and run over six nights to a finale on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 23 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT). Mike Greenberg (ESPN’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning” radio show) is the host.

In a cutting edge format – combining trivia challenges like those on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” with the strategy played in the “World Series of Poker” -- 20 contestants are given the chance to duel against one another in a mental and intellectual showdown that combines nail-biting trivia fun with the unfortunate reality that, if someone gets one question wrong – just one question – that player loses the match. The top four contestants qualify to ‘duel’ for the guaranteed jackpot. Contestants in “Duel” have been chosen for their confidence and charisma, a love of trivia and an obsession for competition. These 20 people will become characters to root for (or against) during the six nights. Examples of contestants could include a punk rock astro-physicist, an opera singing fireman, a supermodel beauty with a Harvard Law degree, a retired welder who writes computer programs for fun – the key being that not everything will be revealed about contestants’ backgrounds they choose their opponents in a duel.

Among the highlights for:

* Each episode will feature three or more duels
* Players begin each duel with 10 chips valued at $5,000 each
* After a player wins a duel, that player chooses the next contestant to play
* Chips placed on wrong answers are collected by the house and added to an escalating jackpot
* Each time a player wins a duel, he or she banks the value of the remaining chips
* Top four players qualify for the finals
* On the final night, the series winner wins the jackpot

This intense, face-to-face showdown will require nerves of steel and a cunning strategy to win. In “Duel,” one person is guaranteed to become the final winner.

An online game of “Duel” is currently being developed by BermanBraun to launch on December 17 on ABC.com. Online gamers can choose to play either against the computer, or challenge other players’ duels from around the country.

Diet Pepsi Max is a key sponsor of the television show and the online game.

Mike Greenberg is co-host of ESPN’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning,” a syndicated drive-time radio show covering sports and topical subjects. The popularity of the show has grown so much that it is now simulcast on ESPN2 as well, reaching over 95 million viewers in addition to its fan base of three million weekly listeners. Greenberg also anchor’s ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” writes articles for ESPN.com and has published the book Why My Wife Thinks I’m an Idiot, chronicling much of his recent life since starting with ESPN Radio. The book reached as high as 14th on the New York Times bestseller list.

Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun are executive producers for BermanBraun; Chris Cowan, Jean Michel Michenaud and Charles Duncombe are executive producers, R.A. Clark is co-executive producer for Rocket Science Laboratories; and David Rosconval and Francis Vacher are executive producers for French TV.

BermanBraun, founded in February 2007, is an independent production venture based in Los Angeles. It recently established a strategic alliance with NBC Universal Television which allows BermanBraun to provide creative content across all properties and platforms of NBCU. BermanBraun also has a strategic alliance with Pepsi to develop internet content.

Rocket Science Laboratories, LLC, formed in 1998 by its two principals, Chris Cowan and Jean Michel Michenaud, has established itself as a leading innovator in the creation and production of original primetime reality formats. The company has consistently delivered top rated programming, including such series as “Temptation Island,” “Joe Millionaire,” “My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé” and “Trading Spouses.” Rocket Science Laboratories is based in West Hollywood, CA, where it maintains its corporate headquarters and production facilities. To date, Rocket Science Laboratories has produced three To- Ten-rated U.S. primetime series, produced over 130 hours of primetime programming, and its formats have been distributed across the globe.

[Chelsea]

Originally Posted by pavanbadal

Mike Greenberg (ESPN’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning”) Will Host

I am officially excited about this show now. Given the whole "Duel" concept though, once they finished host tryouts and decided they wanted Greeny, they should have just sprung to bring in Golic too. Someone dropped the ball there.

Contestants in “Duel” have been chosen for their confidence and charisma, a love of trivia and an obsession for competition. These 20 people will become characters to root for (or against) during the six nights. Examples of contestants could include a punk rock astro-physicist, an opera singing fireman, a supermodel beauty with a Harvard Law degree, a retired welder who writes computer programs for fun – the key being that not everything will be revealed about contestants’ backgrounds they choose their opponents in a duel.

And just as quickly most of my intrests deflate. Holy crap, I'm getting awfully sick of all these random "quirky" contestants straight out of central casting. A LOT of the primetime games now Deal or No Deal, pretty much ALL the dead ABC shows of the last year or two, etc. tend to pick contestants based on this garbage and it really hurts a show - one big draw about game shows has ALWAYS been the thought of seeing regular folks win decent sums of money. When you start filling your shows with caricatures, you kill viewer interests. The network suits making these decisions are idiots

[Pavan]

Starts in 10 minutes! 8-9:30 ET tonight and tomorrow...Wed-Fri 8-9pm and the finale on Sunday at 8. If it is even half as exciting as WWTBAM, I'll be happy! No primetime game show since has made me really happy. They've all dummied up.

[howierules86]

I thought this show was okay. What did you think?

[Chelsea]

They should NOT have stretched this out to 90 minutes. It dragged, and dragged, and dragged. Greenberg was alright, but still a bit green. I've heard he gets much butter. The rest should be better.

[friendsfan77]

Originally Posted by Seth

They should NOT have stretched this out to 90 minutes. It dragged, and dragged, and dragged. Greenberg was alright, but still a bit green. I've heard he gets much butter. The rest should be better.

I hope so. Most of the time I normally don't complain if somehow the game takes a bit to get started or progress. But this was an instance where it was just too much.

[friendsfan77]

Originally Posted by pavanbadal

Starts in 10 minutes! 8-9:30 ET tonight and tomorrow...Wed-Fri 8-9pm and the finale on Sunday at 8. If it is even half as exciting as WWTBAM, I'll be happy! No primetime game show since has made me really happy. They've all dummied up.

I loved Deal or No Deal before it became all about the gimmicks and the craziness. I gave up on that and haven't watched a full episode of it in almost a year. 1 vs. 100 and Power of 10 are my current favorite primetime game shows.

[McFly121]

Completely unimpressed. The structure is ridiculous (intentionally random questions to encourage use of more chips), a leaden, lifeless pace, and if I have to see this approach of the "Bad Ass Contestant" one more time on one of these shows....hooo, god. The cocky gang-banger (who probably really lived in Queens) and the Anne Robinson ice queen, plus the globe-trotting lawyer clown, a definite annoyance.

Plus I clocked it on the tivo...it took them 8 minutes (w/ commercial break) to do *one* question. Eight minutes! That's what killed Smarter than a 5th Grader for me. Shut up and play.

[Pavan]

ASHLEE REGISTER IS FINAL WINNER
WITH AMAZING $1.795 MILLION JACKPOT ON “DUEL”

Champion Determined in One Question Final Game

Ashlee Register (“The Nurse”) was the final winner on “Duel” – taking home an amazing $1.795 million jackpot. ABC’s week-long, event-style game show featured head-to-head matches with nerve rattling game play rewarding contestants who embraced strategy and manipulation to win.

Register, born in Tallahassee, FL, and currently living in Port St. Lucie, FL, outlasted Robert Elswick II (“The Used Car Salesman”) to become the final winner. Register won on one question in final game -- “Which of these weighs more: A. A gallon of water; B. A gallon of crude oil; C. A gallon of vegetable oil; D. They all weigh the same” (answer = A).

Register noted that what she liked most about being on “Duel” was “how the contestants were represented – everyone had their own personality and story, but players couldn’t crack the shell unless a contestant was chosen. It was awesome to see who they really were and what secrets they were hiding.” As for the money won, Register said, “My thoughts on using the money are pretty practical – pay off student loans and debt, buy a house, and give my family some pretty awesome gifts!”

“Duel,” hosted by Mike Greenberg (ESPN’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning” radio show), was a six-night tournament of game play combining trivia challenges like those on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” with the strategy played in the “World Series of Poker.”

Twenty-four contestants were given the chance to duel against one another in a mental and intellectual showdown that combined nail-biting trivia fun with the unfortunate reality that, if someone got one question wrong – just one question – that player lost the match.

These 24 people became characters to root for (or against). Examples of other contestants included The Alligator Wrestler, The Lunch Lady, The Rocker, The Funeral Home Director, The Cab Driver and The Belly Dancer – the key being that not everything was revealed about contestants’ backgrounds before they chose their opponents in a duel.

An online game of “Duel” was launched on December 17, and online gamers can continue to play the game against the computer or challenge other players in duels from around the country (www.abc.go.com/primetime/duel/game/index). To date, there have been over 2 million game plays on the site.

Diet Pepsi Max is a key sponsor of the television show and the online game. Wake Up People!

Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun are executive producers for BermanBraun; Chris Cowan, Jean Michel Michenaud and Charles Duncombe are executive producers, R.A. Clark is co-executive producer for Rocket Science Laboratories; David Rosconval and Francis Vacher are executive producers for French TV.

[Brent88]

The first two nights were pretty awful, but it really improved after that. I loved Thursday-Sunday's episodes. Hope it comes back.

[JulieSomoski]

Originally Posted by Brent88

The first two nights were pretty awful, but it really improved after that. I loved Thursday-Sunday's episodes. Hope it comes back.

I'm sorry, but I was not into this show. I was expecting something like Millionaire, but nothing like it at all. In fact, I was so unimpressed Monday night I switched to Clash of the Chirs, and that was a decent show!