One of the few shows on this list still running, the glee in Deal Or No Deal is slightly perverse, as normally you want contestants to do well but the entertainment comes from the crushing disappointments some endure. The glee of watching a contestant, who has been giving out advice to all the others and being a large part of each show, and seeing the look on theirs and their friends/families' faces upon opening their box to reveal a win of 50p or less can't be matched. The show takes itself very seriously, making it even more enjoyable when the banker screws them out of a potentially large amount of money or when contestants plow on - either from greed or desperation - opening all of the boxes and ending up with little or nothing to show for all their weeks off from work to be part of the programme. The introduction of "Box 23" this year has increased the risk of going home with even less and this only increases the chances of us enjoying their failure being greater.
8. The Crystal Maze
In a show where some contestants even failed to travel between zones without falling into the water, entertainment was always guaranteed, and that was without the actual games within the Maze. Few teams actually won within the Crystal Dome, but the joy of the show came from watching people try and fail each game, often in spectacular and confusing style. Many were quite straightforward and the viewers at home could figure out what they needed to do to in the games to win the crystals. Much of the entertainment however came from the contestants' bewilderment at what they had to do and their attempts at trying to complete the games, with them enduring pain and embarrassment at their failures. Particular enjoyment came when the contestants were automatically locked into their challenge area due to their impressive failures on certain games, or if they couldn't leave the room in time. When you suck at a game or fail to escape and have to spend half your time on the show waiting to be bought out by the rest of their team, you know you've been a failure.
31 year old father of one with a background in sport. Still a child at heart, which is probably why I like wrestling, TV and films so much. If you like what you read, please follow me on Twitter: @glen_naylor
