Duel

Duel doesn't boast a unique style, instead blending a handful of familiar formats into a generally innocuous, if slow-going, show. Still, questions are tough enough that trivia buffs will be challenged, and they cover a wide range of topics -- from politics to celebrity facts -- offering a little something for everyone. And the fact that one person will win the huge final jackpot (more than $1.5 million) gives the show a real sense that there's something at stake.

The contestants come from a wide array of backgrounds, but the characterization of each tends toward the stereotypical. There's the used car salesman with an awkward haircut who identifies himself as a hillbilly, the Internet censor in nerdy glasses with a nervous laugh, the ATM technician from "the 'hood" who says things like "I was born ready," and so on. Host Mike Greenberg is surprisingly bland for a game show emcee, and the inclusion of the "chip girls" -- whose sole job is to remove contestants' chips from the playing table while wearing slinky minidresses -- is predictably sexist.