"Duel"ing for Dollars - The BCS Story

Dear Gail Berman,

Congratulations on your production company selling ABC on the Big Event game show of the season, Duel, for December. (Mike Greenberg was a huge get; well done!) From the press releases, it sounds pretty exciting:

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 24 contestants is guaranteed to win the jackpot.

I'm sure this format will serve you well and pull in all the eyes you'll ever need. Still, if (big if) "Duel" should tank, don't set the idea back on the shelf quite yet. (And for God's sake, please don't put down Greenberg; Golic will be inconsolable.)

I have an idea for a twist on your premise that is guaranteed for boffo ratings. (I studied old issues of Variety for this, so my apologies if I had to wait for Robert Evans to decline before asking you. Still, I'm only asking old Paramount heads; that's got to be an honor, right? Right. Moving on.)

We find the hunkiest college boys all around the nation (with some internationals for flavor) and have them compete in single elimination tournaments from roughly Labor Day to Thanksgiving. We can have little satellite competitions on the Web and in cut-ins to remind everyone of the national reach, but we mainly focus on those markets that can serve us best.

We don't actually set up brackets, though. We just bounce whomever we want off each other for the most dramatic flair. Then... here's the brilliant part... we have America vote who's winning overall each week. It's a direct competition with measurable results, but we still get people to vote! Also, if we don't like the way the voting's going, we can institute "The Computer", a nebulous executive producer... I mean, algorithm... that can correct the voters' "biases".

As we approach fall sweeps, we start rubbing heat against heat by having the most popular of our stud boys compete against each other for bigger prizes. Then, at the end of November, we build up these huge championships for regions of the country.

Article Author: Tuffy

Tuffy cares about you. While others have neglected you, Tuffy has not forgotten you. Just lie back and think of Tuffy. Tuffy keeps his work at Refrigerator Logic at 40 degrees F.

Visit Tuffy's author page — Tuffy's Blog