Unan1mous

Host

J.D. Roth

Broadcast

FOX: 3/22/2006 – 5/10/2006

Packager

3 Ball Productions

Unan1mous (or Unanimous) was a short-lived reality show where people were isolated from the rest of the world and had to decide unanimously, hence the title, who should win the $1,000,000 offered to them.

Concept

Nine strangers would be locked in a bunker and told they couldn't leave until they unanimously chose to award one of them the grand prize money. Contestants were isolated from the outside world, and had no access to any time references. If a contestant left the bunker, the amount of the available prize would be cut in half (except in certain circumstances such as medical reasons).

Votes were cast by each contestant taking a ball and selecting the name of one of the other contestants via a roller inside of it (a person's own name was not included in their ball). If a vote was not unanimous, something negative would happen to the players in order to increase the pressure to reach a unanimous decision. Throughout the course of the game, these were the "punishments" the players received:

• The contestants would select three random envelopes, each containing a secret about one of them. It wasn't known whose secrets were being read, and contestants would vote to decide which secret was the worst. The holder of that secret was "outcast" from the game, meaning they were no longer eligible to win the money, but that they would remain in the bunker (wearing a special uniform) and continue to vote. Outcast players were also still subject to the rule that if anyone left, the amount would be halved. (After Vote 1)
• The money began to constantly decrease, pausing only when a vote was being held or to freeze the amount when someone has decided to leave. (After Vote 2)
• The contestants secretly voted to decide who would become an outcast. (After Votes 3 and 4)
  • The person voted to become an outcast was given the chance to select any remaining active player to become an outcast. (After Outcast Vote 2)
• The three outcasts each selected one of the four remaining players, making the unpicked person an outcast. (After Vote 5)
• The four outcasts had to select which one of the outcasts would be put back into the game. If they couldn't decide by a majority within 15 minutes, the decision was left to the group leader (who, if an outcast, could choose to bring himself/herself back). (After Vote 6)

The show was supposedly open-ended, and could end at any time: from one episode to several depending on when a unanimous vote is eventually reached. If the contest continued long enough, the money would be completely gone. The final episode aired May 10, 2006. However, the whole premise had a definite time limit of less than eight full days. The entire show was filmed in only 10 days, as the total amount of money was cut in half once and then decreased at such a rate as to make it impossible for the contestants to be stuck in the bunker "forever."

International Versions

Countries that have done their own versions of Unan1mous include:

• India
• Italy
• Kenya
• Norway
• Russia
• Spain
• United Kingdom

Inventors

J.D. Roth and Todd A. Nelson

Link

Official Website (via Internet Archive)