NBC show a poor ‘Deal’ for women
Howie Mandel hosts “Deal or No Deal” (8 p.m., NBC) for the fourth time this week. He’ll be back Friday night, too. By then we’ll know if “Deal” is a hit or a miss.
With its 26 identically clad briefcase women, “Deal” makes an odd statement about the declining status of women in the game show firmament. You don’t have to be Gloria Steinem to object to the objectification of female participants whose only purpose is to open a case on Howie’s command.
It wasn’t always this way. On the primordial game show “What’s My Line?” panelists Arlene Francis and Dorothy Kilgallen bantered on an equal footing with Bennett Cerf and moderator John Daly.
Men and women seemed to share the game show laughs and one-liners all the way through the “Hollywood Squares” era.
But by the 1980s, the clock started running backward.
On “Wheel of Fortune,” Vanna White appeared as a pretty face dressed in gaudy clothes whose sole function was to turn letters for other people. But now, Vanna seems like a relative rocket scientist compared to Howie’s harem of statuesque satchel-toters.
If this doesn’t sound baffling or offensive to you, try to imagine a show in which the gender roles are reversed, where a D-list female has-been comedienne bosses around a room of robotic musclemen. And wouldn’t Kathy Griffin be just right for the part? (By jingo, I think I’ve just come up with a new show for Bravo!)
Seriously, “Deal or No Deal” is not a bad show. And it’s one of those rare programs that everybody from ages 2-102 can watch together without feeling embarrassed or offended.
But NBC should keep in mind that their “family hour” audience also includes young girls, who have every right to aspire to become something other than a pretty piece of furniture.
“True Life,” the MTV documentary series, has presented first-person accounts from everybody from high school wrestlers to soldiers in Iraq to gay high school students coming out to their parents and friends.
Last week, a new season began with “True Life: I’m Jealous” (9 p.m., MTV,), the chronicle of a couple thrown into a crisis by one partner’s infidelity.
The series continues with the premiere of “True Life: I’m Have OCD” (10 p.m.). OCD, or obsessive compulsive disorder, compels people with it to perform extreme and often repetitive habits, turning even the most mundane actions into ritualized ordeals.
One of the three young people profiled here has to tap a toothbrush against the sink 86 times before brushing. Another must turn on and off every light in the house countless times before leaving for work.
The limited-run series “Iconoclasts” (10 p.m., Sundance) concludes with a profile of actor Paul Newman by his friend and co-star Robert Redford.
The ostracized office workers on “The Smoking Room” (8 p.m., BBC America) are cajoled into putting on a Christmas variety show for a local senior facility. Tempers flare and ashtrays fill when the nicotine set discovers that the “charity” audience is one tough crowd.
Other highlights
An autistic student vanishes on a field trip on “Without a Trace” (8 p.m., CBS).
On back-to-back episodes of “The O.C.” (Fox), winter arrives (8 p.m.), and Seth’s holiday blend (9 p.m.).
Making spirits bright on a two-hour edition of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (8 p.m., ABC).
Time in the rinse cycle on “Everybody Hates Chris” (8 p.m., UPN).
Death by staircase on “CSI” (9 p.m., CBS).
A choir member disappears on “Without a Trace” (10 p.m., CBS).
Calamity takes no breaks for Christmas Eve on “ER” (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).
Scheduled on “Primetime” (10 p.m., ABC): Thieves who target donation jars; the miracle of lost-and-found counters; a visit with the Bell Fiore family, which has adopted four HIV-positive children.
Series notes
Feeling “normal,” Clark sets his sights on Lana on “Smallville” (8 p.m., WB) … Francine proves distracting on “Love, Inc.” (8:30 p.m., UPN) … Kelly Rowland guest-stars on “Eve” (9 p.m., UPN) … An angry ex embarrasses Joey with a videotape on “Joey” (9 p.m., NBC) … Ephram’s living arrangement raises eyebrows on “Everwood” (9 p.m., WB) … Swimming lessons on “Will & Grace” (9:30 p.m., NBC) … Kevin’s date bait on “Cuts” (9:30 p.m., UPN).