TV is the New Reading

Does ‘Duel’ need

a complete run?

Sunday marks the sixth and final installment of “Duel” – for this round, at least. This week’s premiere is just the latest salvo launched by ABC to keep test patterns at bay in the wake of the seemingly interminable writers strike.

It’s been quite a week, with host Mike Greenberg – on loan from ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning” – and two chip girls slinking in and out of shot removing game pieces from the players’ tables as they toil inexorably and uninterestingly to the finish line.

The rules are simple enough. Two contestants face off on a dais and each tries to answer boring trivia questions before and more accurately than their opponent. They have only so many chips to work with and they can challenge and pressure each other in a multiple-guess contest.

Psychology is part of the strategy. If one player suspects the other doesn’t know the answer, he or she can put the pressure on and that player has to commit to an answer within seven seconds.

In the opening 90-minute installment Monday, Greenberg did what he could with his limited personal presence to maintain a level of suspense. Sadly, energy seemed a little low, players seemed uncertain and their taunting a little bit fake.

Concerning a question about a celebrity possibly being married to a musician, Greenberg asked how certain a contestant – Sue Mullen, an Internet censor – was concerning her answer. Mullen said she was 98 percent sure. Her opponent scoffed, “That’s all?” and claimed he was 110 percent sure about his (incorrect) answer, and she changed her response to say she was 100 percent sure of her (correct) answer.

The guy earned a few points by trying to build up a little enthusiasm among the listless studio audience. At one point, emboldened by a correct response to a question, he danced and shouted, “Say mah name! I wanna hear mah name!”

Oh, please, I thought. Your personal 15 minutes of fame started ticking down the moment you hit that stage and unless something pretty unusual happens, you won’t even be able to hold people’s interest as this game show’s premiere loser.

And even if they’d kept going, Madame Wet Blanket’s offended scolding, “There is no rallying!” like a high school librarian seated among Arsenio Hall’s unruly “dog pound” ensured that the energy level maintained a steady flatline throughout.

Mullen’s ultimate victory was short-lived. She was unseated by a spicy lawyer, who herself underestimated a gushy, young, single mom and student, hedging her bets on a question concerning the president’s eye color (blue).

I don’t know whether ABC will continue the show. It doesn’t seem like a good move. The challenges are basic enough and when the best strategy is to maintain a poker face, personalities are going to be at least somewhat guarded, and Greenberg’s low-key moderation isn’t helping.

Ultimately, “Duel” was a not-terrible addition to ABC’s primetime lineup, but personally, I’ve already stopped caring about the $1 million-plus winner they’ll be naming this weekend.

Features Editor Terry J. Aman compiles the Best Bets for The Minot Daily News.

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