It combined paired strangers, a trivia contest, and an implementation of the Prisoner’s Dilemma: at the end of the show, the winning team (out of three pairs that start the game) face each other over an “honesty box” (or whatever they called it), and each person chooses to either be “Friend” or “Foe.”

As in the classic Prisoner’s Dilemma, if both go Foe, nobody gets any money. If both go Friend, they split their winnings. And if one goes Foe and the other goes Friend, Foe wins everything.

The pairing at the start of the game had Kennedy describing a few characteristics of each contestant, including some incident in which they had behaved badly. Then they get paired up using a somewhat simple preference picking (three players get to choose from the three other players; if any pickee gets picked more than once, then they get to pick from the possible partners).

So yeah, I think that might be where the “Do You Trust Me?” idea came from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Bet!

However, I think it’s success may depend on the host. Each UK host (There were 3) brought their own style to it but by the final one I was over it (may also have been that i had grown up by then!)

PS - the calibre of the guests on the UK version was nowhere near what was commented regarding the German one - we usually got Z-list celebrities, kind of sub-Hollywood Squares level (we got that too, called Celebrity Squares in the UK)

BTW, I would love to watch Stephen Colbert’s idea about people using potty mouths at Thanksgiving, but expand it to all family gatherings and include just anything including reunions. Also, in the “Pitch” title card, doesn’t Stephen look a bit like Ben Silverman?

See Appendix A, Page 424 of the 2004 MBA:
http://wga.org/subpage_writersresources.aspx?id=1610

The suit who bids closest (but not over) then goes on to play one of several mini-games. Items for pricing include international sales of DVD packages, revenue increases from online viewing, ad-supported content, and exact losses tied to piracy and illegal downloading (a.k.a. “stealing”).

Continuing the fun, the Showcase Showdown requires execs to spin a large wheel with various amounts from 3 cents to $19.99. The exec that bids closest to what they feel the writers are owed ($0.00) is declared champion and immediately returns to a demanding sked filled with meetings and manicures. A Winners Breakfast might follow at the Regency or Bel-Air Hotel. Following TPIR, a drive-by at various picket lines would ensure an opportunity to gawk at overpaid writers, seal the suits’ sweet victory and guarantee a one-way trip to hell.

I know American viewers are retarded, when they watch that crap in droves. Like Dancing with the Stars and AI.

But come on I want my TV shows back not Reality TV.

Networks get your act together.

TV Fan

Rumor has it that Tucker accepted a 50% pay cut mid-contract in order to keep his MSNBC show from being cancelled. Subsequently, his agents shopped him around for something, anything, to make up for the lost wages… which is how a lame political pundit wound up as a game-show host.

I may be wrong but I think that the format is too local to be adapted outside its country.