So, the final part of this retrospective. Won't be long here; all we need to do is tidy up the events leading up to the show's tenth anniversary.
The show returned from its longest ever sabbatical with its tenth birthday special: Noel playing the show himself! Sarah Millican acted as host for this special edition. Noel ended up making a perfectly reasonable deal of £26,000 for his charity.
Returning to regular service, the show did a second run of Double Trouble specials, this time featuring Grandparents and Grandchildren. Nothing of real note happened, with the exception of Pat Francis and Steph Finn winning £100,000 from the box. (Though the fact they were present as guest box openers for Noel's game was a bit of a hint they'd have a good game!)
With the regular players back, things appeared to be flowing a bit smoother than they did prior to the summer, with the players generally faring better and winning better sums.
Then... the £250,000 was won again! Ann Crawford became the eighth player to win the Jackpot winner, turning down £64,000 on a 50p-£250,000 finish, and won the big money! And then... she said 'Deal' to Box 23! It became clear quickly that this was a slip of the tongue, so they allowed her to change her mind and reject it. It was a good thing they did, as she'd have lost the lot had she been forced to stick with it!
It did, however, spring a good run on the other wingers, culminating in one of the all time great games of Deal: Harry Harding winning £100,000 from the box.
That was the final game before the show's official tenth birthday on the 31st of October. Noel's game was repeated the day before to mark this.
The show has carried on since then; we've had another week of Double Trouble specials, for siblings this time, two £35,000 wins in a week, two more Power 5 wins (one of which was just today), and, overall, the long summer break seems to have revitalised the show, as the games have been generally better since it came back.
But how much longer can the show go on for?
Well, just under three years ago, I spoke to former LAM regular contributor Des Elmes about the show's prospects; he thought the show would carry on for about three more years, provided the show didn't start flogging a dead horse.
Well, here we are nearly three years later, and the show is still running, albeit on its last legs. The show does still have the capability to produce great television, as shown by Ann and Harry's games, and the various Power 5 wins we have had since.
But the novelty has long worn off; most people have either stopped watching the show, or, like myself, taken to reading the commentaries on the forum to follow the show instead, or both. And the tweaks to the format (Box 23 and the Offer Button) have also alienated a lot of the fanbase, who do not approve of the twists that can alter the game. Main objection being that a blue win can suddenly be all OK again if +£10,000 is in Box 23.
The show has definitely had a good run, as Weaver's Week predicted it would back in 2006. How much longer it will go on for is anyone's guess. Channel 4 do still seem to want it to carry on, even if it is in truncated form due to horse racing being on some weeks, resulting in some weeks with just three or four shows.
Rest assured, when the show does eventually come to the end of it's run, I will reprint what I have written in this retrospective series, and add on to it with what happens for the rest of the show's run, however much longer it is.
That's it for this retrospective series. I'll be back next week with Only Connect. If I understand correctly, the show is carrying on as usual over Christmas and into the New Year. I will keep on top of it as much as I can.
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