Dirty Rotten Cheater

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Dirty Rotten Cheater is a game show that aired on PAX from January 6 to April 14, 2003. The show's gameplay combines elements of Weakest Link and Family Feud along with the BBC game format The Enemy Within,^[1] with a contestant being privy to answers in each round and trying to elude detection by fellow contestants and the studio audience. The PAX version, of which 13 weekly episodes aired, was hosted by Bil Dwyer, produced by Jonathan Goodson, and shot at CBS Television City in Hollywood (except for the original pilot, which was titled Cheaters and produced on the Weakest Link's set at NBC Studios in Burbank). Different versions of the show also aired in other countries.

Gameplay[]

Each episode opens with six contestants walking up to their podiums, each of which is equipped with a monitor. The contestants open their monitor doors and find out if they have been designated the "Dirty Rotten Cheater"; the other five are mentioned throughout the show as the "Honest Players". After each contestant is introduced, he or she faces the camera and other contestants and claims to not be the Cheater.

Each round consists of one or more survey questions, similar to those used on Family Feud (for example, "Which parts of their body do women think are too big?").^[2] The ten most common responses are recorded, and each player tries to guess one of them. Answers on the list are worth $250 times their ranking, with values rising incrementally as the rankings decrease (from $250 for the top answer to $2,500 for the tenth-ranked answer). Answers that are not on the list earn contestants no money. The Cheater can see the entire list on his/her own podium monitor and may make use of this information as he/she sees fit.

Rounds 1-3[]

One question is played in Round 1, and two each in Rounds 2 and 3. At the end of each round, bonuses are awarded to the players who scored the most money in the round. The first place bonus is $10,000, second place is $7,500, and third place is $5,000. If there is a tie, the appropriate bonuses are combined and split between the tying players (e.g. if two players tie for first place, each receives $8,750).

The players are then given an opportunity to accuse one another of being the Cheater. After a few contestants have opined, they all secretly vote for whom they think is the Cheater; using cards with the players' names on them, the players reveal their votes from camera left to camera right.

The first contestant who receives three votes for that round is eliminated and loses all of the money in his/her bank. That contestant must then truthfully reveal whether or not he/she is the Cheater.

Depending on the outcome of the vote and the eliminated contestant's revelation, one of three possible scenarios occurs:

• If the eliminated contestant is the Cheater, he/she is eliminated from the game with no further participation, the remaining contestants keep all the money in their banks, and one of the remaining players is designated as the new Cheater in the same manner as at the beginning of the show.
• If the eliminated contestant is not the Cheater, the other players lose half of the money in their banks and the eliminated contestant is later given a chance to win money in Round 5. The Cheater in that round remains Cheater in subsequent rounds until being eliminated and/or revealed.
• If no contestant receives three votes, all of the players lose half their money and the Cheater must decide which Honest Player to eliminate. Each contestant reaches into their podium, where a button is hidden; this is done to conceal the identity of the Cheater, who has the only working button. The players' names are read aloud, one at a time; once the Cheater pushes the button, a red light at center stage is lit and the last player called is eliminated, but is later given a chance to win money in Round 5.

Round 4[]

Three questions are played in the fourth round. Following the third question, three remaining players have a chance to accuse one another, with the studio audience then voting for whom they think is the Cheater. If a contestant receives at least 50 percent of the audience vote, he or she is eliminated, and as before must honestly reveal if he or she is the Cheater. If none of the contestants achieves a majority, the Cheater again decides which Honest Player to eliminate. However, there is no further reduction in score if the audience votes out an Honest Player or cannot reach a majority.

Round 5[]

In the fifth and final round, two survey questions are asked. For each question, the two remaining contestants alternate turns, giving three answers each. After both questions have been asked, they plead their cases, in fifteen second intervals, to the studio audience as to why they are not the Cheater. Any eliminated contestants that were proven not to be the Cheater are brought back out to hear the pleas, and both the contestants and the audience vote on who they think is the Cheater.

While the vote is tabulated, two vaults are brought onto the stage and filled with cash corresponding to the total in each contestant's bank. The Cheater's identity is then revealed, and any of the eliminated contestants who have correctly identified him/her win $500.

The revealed Cheater then opens his/her own vault and reaches inside for the money. If the audience has correctly identified the Cheater, a trap door in the bottom of the vault opens and the money falls through; the Cheater leaves with nothing, while the Honest Player wins his/her own bank. If the audience vote is incorrect, the trap door stays closed, the Cheater wins his/her bank, and the Honest Player wins nothing.

Max. amount attainable[]

The maximum potential prize total is $63,500, attainable by giving the most valuable answer to every question in Rounds 1 through 4, earning the $10,000 bonus in Rounds 1 through 3, giving the three most valuable answers to both questions in Round 5, and losing no money in the voting.

International versions[]

In the summer 2004, Dirty Rotten Cheater began airing six nights a week on Canale 5 in Italy; the Italian version was named L'imbroglione.

In Japan, the program was broadcasting as The Cheater (ザ・チーター) on TBS between October 2005 and August 2006. It was broadcast as a special program in May 2005, then as a late-night program between October 2005 and March 2006.

A short-lived version of the program also aired on France 2 (July 2006) as "Qui est le bluffeur?" ("Who is the bluffer?") with Belgian host Jean-Michel Zecca.

The UK version was hosted by Brian Conley. Originally this was to transmit in spring 2007,^[3] but eventually began on BBC One at 2.35pm on Monday 15 October. It was screened every weekday for three weeks, but was then replaced in the schedule by Diagnosis: Murder - the final five shows switched channels and were shown from Monday 12 November at 2.00pm on BBC Two. The UK version was taped at the Maidstone Studios in Kent, but edited at BBC Television Centre.

There are some format differences between the US and UK versions, the most obvious being that the UK version has one less contestant.

In Poland, ATM Grupa S.A. produced a Polish version of Dirty Rotten Cheater under name Gdzie jest Kłamczuch? (Where's the Liar?) (or simply Kłamczuch (Liar)). The show was transmitted on TV4 channel from September 4, 2008 to June 19, 2009. The program was hosted by Krzysztof Ibisz. The rules were similar to US version, and even used the US version's music in the first season. (The second season used an original but similar-sounding music package.)

In Vietnam, Đông Tây Promotion and HTV produced a Vietnamese version, "Tìm người bí ẩn" (Find the Hidden), aired weekly from August 8, 2006 to July 2007. The show was originally intended to be the Vietnamese version of The Weakest Link, but was switched due to copyright prices and because the mean format didn't suit Vietnamese culture. This version was hosted by singer and Merited Artist Tạ Minh Tâm (who also hosted the Vietnamese version of Family Feud, also produced by Đông Tây Promotion) and was sponsored by Trà Xanh Không Độ. Unlike other versions, all contestants, including the Cheaters, will receive prizes (if eliminated in the first four rounds they will receive 500,000 VNĐ (later 600,000 VNĐ) and a consolidation prize from Trà Xanh Không Độ, in the final round if one contestant loses the bank in the vault, he or she will leave with 1,000,000 VNĐ. The other contestant will receive the bank, but only a fixed prize of 3,500,000 VNĐ, no matter how much is in the bank.

Country	Name	Presenter	Channel	Date of transmission
Bulgaria	Долен мръсен лъжец Dolen mrasen lazhets	Doni	TV2	December 4, 2007 – ?
France	Qui est le bluffeur?	Jean-Michel Zecca	France 2	July 3, 2006 – July 28, 2006
Italy	L'imbroglione	Enrico Papi	Canale 5	June 7, 2004 – September 4, 2004
Japan	The Cheater (ザ・チーター)	Atsushi Tamura	TBS	October 2005 – August 2006
Poland	Gdzie jest Kłamczuch?	Krzysztof Ibisz	TV4	September 4, 2008 – June 19, 2009
United Kingdom	Dirty Rotten Cheater	Brian Conley	BBC One BBC Two	October 15, 2007 – December 2007
Vietnam	Tìm người bí ẩn	Tạ Minh Tâm	HTV7	August 8, 2006 – July 2007

In addition, the show was also produced in Hungary, India (as "Bluff Master") and Spain.

References[]

External links[]

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived June 27, 2003)
• Dirty Rotten Cheater at IMDb