Naturally, game shows are designed to test people's greed...
But Goldenballs, fronted by that manic, comically stunted bell-end Jasper Carrot extracts the urine to an obscene degree.
I can understand the initial rounds of people wanting to stay in the competition and lying about their balls (titter ye not) to boost their chances of a windfall.
And the final round, despite having more of a team ethic than is particularly necessary for a game of luck, I can see where the excitement comes from, fair play.
However, the culmination of this character assassination is giving the two remaining contestants the chance to split 50/50 or steal the lot, an all-or-nothing.
The message of this seems to be 'if you're manipulative enough to get a stranger to trust you over the course of an hour, rip them off in the end and all shall be yours'.
Which is so effortlessly blatant, it makes me wonder if the bosses of ITV were adopting a 'do what you like' policy when having shows pitched to them.
After all, the reaction of any normal, functioning human would be to get creative with a rubber mallet when given the option of Katie Price's 'real life'.
(Roonerspism, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 17:20, 3 replies)

I was always surprised when people chose to split.
The only way you're leaving that show with money is if the other person chooses to split. And if they do choose to split, you might as well take the lot.
( 4Q just lurking, Thu 14 Apr 2011, 23:26, closed)

That's a fair point.
I mean, with split you can only win half, and with steal you can win everything, so even before the other person's decision, that's essentially saying 'stealing is win.'

The motivation to split is trusting someone else, appealing to their better nature whilst being selfless, which isn't really in the gameshow ethos.

As I side note, I would pay good money to see a DVD collection of all the violent outbursts that come from the bitter splitters.
Personally I couldn't with any conscience steal and let that be the end of it, I'd like to imagine a world where the winner at least gives the loser the bus fare home - but then again I don't think I'm exactly fodder for this programme.
(Roonerspism, Fri 15 Apr 2011, 7:05, closed)

Ah... but
game theory says you should always split (if last night's QI is to be believed)

See also
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dilemma#Friend_or_Foe.3F

GL

ETA: all that doesn't stop Goldenballs from being the largest pile of bollocks I ever saw.
(GoodLord doesn't have time for sigs., Sat 16 Apr 2011, 14:12, closed)