Identity (game show)

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Identity
Format Game show
Created by Tim Puntillo
Developed by Reveille Productions
Starring Penn Jillette
Narrated by Joe Cipriano
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 12
Production
Executive producer(s) Ben Silverman
H.T. Owens
Andrew Golder
Tim Puntillo
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel NBC
Original run December 18, 2006 – April 27, 2007
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Identity is a game show, hosted by Penn Jillette and produced by Reveille where contestants can win money by matching 12 strangers one-by-one to phrases about their identities. The first five episodes debuted on NBC from December 18, 2006 through December 22, 2006.[1][2] The show was rebroadcast on NBC's cable sibling Bravo at 11:30 PM ET on December 18, 2006 and 11 PM the rest of the week. The show also aired the same week in Canada on Global. On March 16, 2007, the show returned to NBC as a regular series, with the first episode of the season airing at a special time of 9-10pm ET; Identity aired Fridays at 8 PM ET, beginning March 23, 2007.[3] The second series aired in Canada on CHtv. Despite NBC announcing only seven episodes would air on the network during the spring, additional episodes were taped. Identity was put on hiatus on April 27, 2007 after the seven scheduled episodes completed airing.

Identity was not announced as part of the 2007 season for NBC[4], and therefore, has been cancelled.

Contents

A contestant is introduced to twelve "Strangers." After seeing the Strangers, the contestant is presented with a list of 12 Identities (facts including occupations, hobbies, ages, etc.), each of which applies to one, and only one, of the 12 Strangers. Based primarily on visual observation, the contestant chooses an Identity and tries to match it to the correct Stranger. In order to make a decision final, the contestant must "seal the Identity" by pressing their palm down on a provided podium after saying which Stranger matches that Identity. Jillette, sometimes after finding out the Stranger's first name, then asks the Stranger "Is that your Identity?" The Stranger confirms or denies his or her Identity. Confirmation is often made in a manner pertinent to the Identity, either through a statement (e.g., a baseball umpire saying "Safe!"), or by demonstration (e.g., jumping rope). Identity was placed on hiatus as of May 1, 2007. NBC says it will bring the program back later in the year.

For each correct match made, the contestant's potential winnings increases:

Correct matches 1 2 3 4 5 6
Amount won $1,000 $5,000 $10,000 $15,000 $25,000 $50,000
Correct matches 7 8 9 10 11/12*
Amount won $75,000 $100,000 $150,000 $250,000 $500,000

Note: Since the eleventh and final choice will necessarily assign the two remaining Identities to the two remaining Strangers, there are only eleven steps on the money ladder, not twelve.

A contestant prepares to play Identity.
A contestant prepares to play Identity.

After a contestant makes two correct matches, or makes a mistake, he or she is informed of the three "helps" available to him or her (although they are, in fact, available at any point in the game). One of those helps is simply a rule of the game:

  • Mistaken Identity: The Mistaken Identity "help" is used if a contestant makes a mistake at any point before winning $250,000. After that, the The Mistaken Identity is revoked, if not used. A contestant's money is not at stake until the contestant makes a mistake or reaches the final decision; after one of those two things happens, a contestant may take his or her money and quit at any point before sealing another Identity. If a contestant makes a second mistake, the game is over and the contestant leave us with nothing.

The other two helps can be invoked by the contestant to aid in making a decision:

  • Tri-dentity: The contestant chooses an Identity and the number of Strangers to choose from is narrowed down to three: the correct Stranger and two incorrect Strangers. Once the player has chosen to use their Tri-dentity, he or she must solve that Identity (or stop and take his or her winnings, if Mistaken Identity was already used); they cannot choose a different Identity. The Tri-dentity help is revoked, if not used, once only four Strangers remain.
  • Ask The Experts: The contestant chooses an Identity and a panel of three experts gives their individual informed opinions on which Stranger matches it. In the first week of shows, the panel included a body language expert (Mark Edgar Stephens), a psychologist (Dr. Deborah Anderson), and an FBI behavioural expert (Christopher Whitcomb), although private investigator Bill Stanton has substituted for Whitcomb in some episodes. The experts have no inside information about the Strangers. They rely solely on professional training and personal experience to make educated guesses. The contestant is not bound to solve that Identity once the Experts have given their opinions--nor is the contestant required to abide by those decisions--and may solve another Identity or choose to go home. This help is available at any point in the game.

In addition to the three explained helps, there are several other points of assistance offered to the contestant:

  • During Identity's premiere week, Jillette would ask the contestant which Stranger he or she wants to know more about. He will then ask that Stranger their first name, and several pieces of information which are not directly related to any of the Identities, such as whether they have any pets. When Identity debuted as a weekly series, this was formalized: at the beginning of the game, the contestant may ask for the first names, and a biographical fact, about three of the twelve Strangers. After the third correct match, the contestant can ask about two of the remaining nine Strangers, and after the sixth match, may ask about one of the remaining six.
  • After the fourth correct match, Jillette introduces the contestant's friends and/or family members (in much the same way as Howie Mandel does on Deal or No Deal). The friends and family typically have a suggestion prepared as to the Identity of one of the Strangers after they are introduced. However, the friends or family members may sometimes lead a person to match an Identity to the wrong Stranger or take the money when they would have won the grand prize.
  • The audience is not obligated to remain silent until an Identity is sealed. The audience often voices their opinion on a selection. Occasionally when a contestant fails to recognize a celebrity of some sort and tries to select him or her for the wrong Identity, the audience can dissuade the contestant with their reaction.
  • Jillette himself, particularly on early Identities, has shown apparent intention on warning, or hinting at the contestants when they are making a blatantly erroneous selection, though he also sometimes is prevented from doing so by a contestant's quick sealing of an Identity.

The strangers await the assignment of their respective identities.
The strangers await the assignment of their respective identities.

The 12 strangers stand on individually numbered podiums and are referred to mainly by number, though names are often revealed in the progress of the show.

Usually at least one Identity is made blatantly obvious from physical appearance alone (blatant examples include a "Sumo wrestler" in fighting garb, and a "George W. Bush impersonator"). Celebrity Strangers may be easily recognizable by the contestant or the contestant's friends (once they are allowed to help). To date, there have been no intentionally misleading costumes (e.g., a physicist dressed as a sumo wrestler when both "physicist" and "sumo wrestler" are possible Identities), although Strangers often break stereotypes (e.g., a female prison guard, a goateed, long-haired nuclear physicist wearing a leather jacket, or a preschool teacher dressed in a bikini). There was even a missionary wearing a bikini in one episode.

Strangers have confirmed their Identities in a variety of ways; musicians, for example, have been handed instruments and asked to play if they can (similarly, an opera singer revealed her Identity by holding a very high note). Some "skill" Identities have been confirmed by demonstration; for example, a (male) go-go dancer danced on stage. Sometimes Strangers perform from their podiums, while others are brought to the front of the main stage. Other strangers confirm their Identities with a remark which pertains to their identity. An NFL player hesitated and then signaled "It's good" with his hands signaling a field goal, while a mall Santa laughed "ho ho ho". Most follow their comment up with "Yes, I am [the Identity]" (though the audience reaction often masks this), and some Strangers say only that.

In cases where the Stranger is prepared to demonstrate his or her identity, but the contestant selects the wrong Stranger for that identity, the mistaken Stranger will be asked to try to demonstrate that Identity, only to refuse at the last moment and confirm he is not that Identity. Strangers that were prepared to demonstrate their Identity but were not given the opportunity (the player loses or quits the game) may be asked to demonstrate this when the full answers are revealed to the player.

  • On the first night, there were two contestants, private investigator Herb Irvine from Boston, Massachusetts, and Andrea Brown from Atlanta, Georgia. Irvine won $75,000 after guessing seven of the twelve Strangers correctly and choosing to quit the game; Brown won $50,000 after guessing six Strangers correctly and choosing to go home.
  • On the second night, Robert Talon of Chula Vista, California, became the first winner of the show's top prize of $500,000 by guessing all 12 identities correctly. Talon, a loan officer, correctly identified, among others, a National Football League player (Ray Crockett), a reality television starlet (Brittny Gastineau), an immigrant from Russia, a blackjack dealer (named Pamela), and a belly dancer (named Ava), which was his final correct answer. The remaining unguessed identity was that of violinist. When the week ended, Talon, who is Filipino, was the only winner of the top prize.
  • In contrast, fire fighter Matthew Gatewood, the first contestant of the third night, left without winning money after failing twice. He thought that #9 was a circus performer (she was actually a professional wrestler) and that #5 was a power lifter (he was really a U.S. Army Ranger) He was convinced that Erin Murphy, Tabitha from Bewitched was an Army Ranger.. He was followed by Nickie Malouf of Burbank, California, who won $50,000 after guessing six identities correctly.
  • The fourth night of the run brought a $250,000 win for Nicci Guzik of Streamwood, Illinois. She stopped just short of the grand prize because she had an uneasy feeling about her guess at the final identity. She thought that #11 was a crime scene investigator, but she was actually a kidney donor; #9 was the CSI.
  • The fifth night involved two games. In the first game, math educator Seth Cutler from Massapequa, New York, chose to walk away the prize money at $50,000. He used his Mistaken Identity early in the game thinking that Bruce Jenner was a ventriloquist. The second game ended with Tami Jones of West Hills, California, losing the game and receiving no prize money.
  • When the series returned on March 16, 2007, Christina Howard of Sacramento, California, won the top prize of $500,000 by correctly identifying stranger #11 as a prison guard (the remaining stranger, #6, was an astronomer). She became the second player to win the top prize, and managed to do so without using her Mistaken Identity help during the game.
    • This episode also introduced a revamped set, featuring larger, blue platforms for the strangers, as well as three TV screens near the contestant, which displayed each of the contestant's helps.
  • On April 13, 2007, Christian Saulnier of Norwood, Massachusetts, won the top prize of $500,000 by correctly identifying stranger #3 as a chimney sweep (the remaining stranger, #6, was a pickpocket). He became the 3rd player to win the top prize. He used his Mistaken identity thinking that #6 was an air guitar champion when #1 is an air guitar champion.

Is Bruce Jenner an Olympic gold medalist?
Is Bruce Jenner an Olympic gold medalist?

The twelve people on the show whose Identities are being guessed are known as "strangers." The following are some famous "strangers" that have appeared:

During the first season, in addition to the regular game, like two other NBC game shows, Deal or No Deal and 1 vs. 100, there is an at-home game open to residents of the continental United States called "The Identity Challenge", where an at-home player chosen at random wins $10,000 (US) by choosing which of five Strangers represents a product, or a profession related to the advertised product.[5]

On the first two nights, three of the five were revealed to be incorrect throughout the game, and the answer is revealed before the final commercial break. On the next three, there was no such narrowing; all five Strangers remained alive throughout the show.

To encourage viewers to watch television commercials during the show, the correct answer to the "The Identity Challenge" question is revealed during a related commercial within the first 20 minutes of the show.[5]

The first episode of the regular run, on March 16, 2007, did not have an interactive feature. It appeared that all subsequent episodes did not have an interactive game like the trial run.

Episode # Air Date Rating Share 18-49 Total Viewers
1 December 18, 2006 7.6 12 4.5 12.1
2 December 19, 2006 5.4 9 3.0 8.4
3 December 20, 2006 5.5 9 3.0 8.5
4 December 21, 2006 6.1 11 3.1 9.2
5 December 22, 2006 5.0 9 2.4 7.4
6 March 16, 2007 5.8 10 2.9 8.7
7 March 23, 2007 3.7 8 1.8 5.5
8 March 30, 2007 4.8 8 1.6 6.4
9 April 6, 2007 4.1 8 1.7 5.8
10 April 13, 2007 4.4 8 1.9 6.3
11 April 20, 2007 3.3 6 1.4 4.7
12 April 27, 2007 3.5 7 1.5 5.0

The show has been sold to BBC in the United Kingdom to air on BBC Two during the daytime (replacing Weakest Link in the 5.15pm slot for four weeks). It is hosted by Donny Osmond.[6] Each show is self-contained, with a game lasting 12 guesses, rather than until two mistakes are made. Top prize is £10,000, with a money tree of £100, £250, £500, £750, £1000, £1500, £2000, £3000, £4000, £5000 and £10,000. Mistaken identity gifts no penalty on the first mistake. Further errors causes the contestant to drop a level on the money tree.

One of the strangers from one of the BBC shows had an identity of 'Addicted to tanning' and has posted a picture of the strangers on set at [7] including one of Donny Osmond. Notable people to have appeared as Strangers on the show include Renato Pagliari ("One hit wonder"), Acrobat Stunt man Marcelo The Daredevil, Sara Mendes da Costa ("Speaking clock") and Scott Mills ("BBC Radio 1 DJ"). This has already caused somewhat of a controversy, as unsourced statement claimed the programme has employed actors to help boost it's popularity in the first series.

So far (as of 19/9/07), two contestants have won the £10,000 top prize.

The show has been also sold to German television network ProSieben and will be aired in 2007. The host will be former singer Oliver Petzokat. Top prize may be €250,000.

The show started airing in Israel on June 13, 2007. It airs on Channel 10 and is hosted by Shlomo Baraba. ₪500,000 is the grand prize (most likely).

Recently, the show has been sold to Norwegian television channel TV Norge. The prize should be at least 1,000,000 NOK.

SBT in Brazil just launched its own version. The host is Adriane Galisteu. Prize should be R$500,000.

TV Azteca in Mexico also launched its own version, titled Identidad (Identity) with Mexican comedian Andres Bustamante as host. The tagline for the show is "Las aparencias engañan" ("Looks are Deceiving"). It airs on Azteca 13 in Mexico. Initially, the shows aired on Sundays at 21:00; starting on July 18, 2007, the show will air on Wednesdays at 22:00 instead. The show features a similar set and virtually identical format compared to the US version. The top prize is Mex$250,000 (only about US$25,000), which has been won at least once.

TVB had been announced that their own version of the show will be produce in 2008, called 眼光獨到 (lit. "Larruping Insight").

TVE1 in Spain is currently launching its own version. It's called Identity, like the American version. The host is Antonio Garrido, a great Spanish actor. He participed in films like Camarón or El Camino de los Ingleses, directed by Antonio Banderas. Grand prize is €100,000. At the moment, four contestants have achieved in reaching the top prize. The money tree goes like this: €1000, €2000, €3000, €4000, €5000, €6000, €10,000, €15,000, €25,000, €50,000, €100,000.

In Italy the show started airing in June 2007 on Rai Uno channel. Its name is 'I soliti ignoti/Le identità nascoste'. The show is hosted by Fabrizio Frizzi. This version has ten impostors. Instead of set prizes for solving each identity, in this version, each stranger holds a card with an amount from €1000 to €100,000. Each identity solved adds that stranger's amount to the bank. The top prize for solving all ten identities is €250,000. If the player gets an identity wrong, all the money earned up to that moment is lost. The player cannot choose the order of the identities, the order is preset (1, 10, 2, 9, 3, 8, 4, 7, 5, 6). The contestant can ask for help on three impostors.

TV game show Identity card from 50 KM to 1,000,000 KM. the order is preset (1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 7, 6, 9, 10, 8)

Russia has just started a version of Identity for TNT. The top prize is 1,000,000 rubles.

  1. ^ Mahan, Colin (2006-11-20). Penn Jillette hosts Identity. TV.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  2. ^ NBC Universal Media Village (2006-11-20). 'IDENTITY,' AN ORIGINAL GAME OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS HOSTED BY PENN JILLETTE, TO PREMIERE ON NBC AS FIVE-NIGHT EVENT FROM DECEMBER 18-22. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  3. ^ NBC Universal Media Village (2007-02-14). NBC'S HIT GAME SHOW 'IDENTITY' RETURNS TO THE SCHEDULE FRIDAYS BEGINNING MARCH 16. Press release. Retrieved on 2007-02-16.
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ a b IDENTITY “Play-at-Home Game” Official Rules. NBC. Retrieved on 2006-12-21.
  6. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6553055.stm
  7. ^ http://www.tropical-sunrise.com/spray-tan-news.html

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