FULL RECAP - TPiR 01/04/2010

[Wayoshi]

I have a slight tweak to Stack the Deck to perhaps increase the winners slightly... Instead of 7 numbers to choose from, just make it 6 - so the contestant has slightly less choices.  It's a minor set modification and doesn't even need an explanation.   It would probably lead to 1-2 winners per season which would help the win/loss ratio.    What do we think?

Greco likes to use the game as a near auto-loss, and all of the numbers had a purpose today, so that's not happening...

[joeyboy]

It was awesome to see a clip of Cynthia's first appearance on the show in a little window during the first showcase showdown.  Yeah, they could have made it bigger and have audio from that clip, but there really wasn't time to devote to the clip because the show is so rushed these days and also I know it'd be weird to hear Bob's voice and him hosting on what is now Drew's show.

Yeah, but it still was nice to see a clip from I'm gonna assume 1978 since this show was taped in October. How cool was it to see the old Any Number board, the second-generation one-bid podiums, and a bit of the old turntable walls?

[pinball777]

From the old footage, I do believe they edited Bob out from being viewed, which is a bummer, but I do like the idea. Maybe instead they could have Drew say at the first SCSD, Here is Cynthia from 1978, then play the clip in full for a little then go on. Still I think its a good idea to play footage, and its better than nothing.

[ElectricPeterTork]

Well, if they hadn't edited the footage around Bob, would they have had to pay him to use his image?

If so, that was probably the biggest factor in editing around him. No disrespect, just budget.

[tpir73fan]

They probably edited Bob out because that would have taken away from the significance of the clip.  The focus was Cynthia, not Bob.

[Kev347]

Very enjoyable batch of contestants today made this a better than normal show. It still had its problems, but it was a solid start to the year. Stack The Deck, as Wayo pointed out to me, was just a sinister setup - if you didn't know how much an HHR was, you could pick from 18k, 19k, 21k, 23k, 24k - just evil. Was nice to see Step Up show up last today and a good contestant to boot.

I guess we're back to the double segment first? Does anyone here have any idea why?

Drew lingered a little too long on the "architect desk" today (though he did get out a good line at the end). I'm glad we have time enough to have Drew spend a minute joking about an item up for bids and showing Rich on camera laughing but we don't have time enough to interact with Cynthia or do anything more than fly through Any Number...

Timings:
Plinko (5.5) - 5:05
Any Number (5) - 4:45
Double Prices (3) - 2:45
Range Game (4) - 3:33
Stack The Deck (5.5) - 5:28
Step Up (5.5) - 4:12
Total (28.5): 25:48

[SteveGavazzi]

Today was a pretty good example of why the new way of doing the opening doesn't work.  They cut away from Giselle to call Thomas while she was still in the aisle...then sent the camera to look for him and instead found Giselle again!  Thomas never got any focus until the Item up for Bids!

Another week, another botched Plinko setup.

Any Number should have been really interesting, with a returning contestant who'd played it 31 years earlier...but Drew seemed remarkably disinterested during the game, and parts of it clearly had the living daylights edited out of them.  It was great that she finally got to win the game, but it wasn't as special as it could have been.

On the other hand, it was really nice that they went to the trouble of digging up footage of her first appearance.  Who ever thought we'd get to see the original Any Number board again?!  I wonder if there's a way we could find out which episode that was.

(...and did anyone notice that there were no shots of Bob in her clips?)

It really bothered me that Drew asked Rich what "the experience" was in Double Prices's trip, like it were a normal thing.  (And yes, I know it is a normal thing...but that bothers me, too.)

Another thing that bothers me is playing Range Game for two prizes.

You something that isn't even remotely funny?  Architect desks.

Drew should not be allowed to use the phrases "How 'bout that?" and "That's hilarious."

Sushi equipment would be a pretty interesting way to build up to a trip to Japan.  It's not a good way to build up to a trip to San Francisco.

Since this seems to be fairly popular...

This showcase is all about sliding, and it starts with a way to slide down the slopes:  This set of skiing equipment!

(Insert skis plug.)

Next, we have a way to do your own sliding whenever you want:  An inflatable water slide!

(Insert water slide plug.)

And our final prize will get underway with your plane sliding down the runway...as it lands in exciting Dubai!

(Insert Dubai plug.)

And this showcase, with which we hope you'll slide into home with a great bid, can be yours if the price is right!

Giselle, let's pay a visit to the safe deposit vaults at the First Bank of Price.  And our first customer today has friends visiting from Japan, so she's come in to make a withdrawl for tonight's dinner -- a new sushi maker!

(Insert sushi maker plug.)

And our next visitor has carry-ons with her.  She's on her way to the airport and has stopped in just long enough to pick up her tickets...to beautiful San Francisco!

(Insert San Francisco plug; at the end, in a pre-taped segment, Amber enters with Rich, who is dressed as a teenager.)

Finally, our last customer's son is turning 16, and she's brought him in with her to withdraw a surprise present...a brand new truck!

(Insert truck plug.)

And Giselle, this showcase filled with prizes stored in the vaults of the First Bank of Price can be yours if the price is right!

GRF, your version of #2 is good, too...but I'd already written mine before I scrolled down the thread, so I'm leaving it in.

Before the purists complain, I understand the man was on the show for 35 years, but is it really good PR to keep going back to and showing clips of the guy? Preferably, you want viewers to identify with the new/current host of the show - I can't remember a time where Pat Sajak or Alex Trebek referred to their respective predecessors later than their first few seasons on their respective shows.

Pat usually mentions Chuck if something comes up about a contestant's relatives having been on the show years ago.  In fact, he's done it within the past month.

[goldroadfanatic]

GRF, your version of #2 is good, too...but I'd already written mine before I scrolled down the thread, so I'm leaving it in.

Thanks.

Also, did anyone catch the reference to Prince Drew made when he was reading the first item up for bids' ARP? 

Drew should not be allowed to use the phrases "How 'bout that?" and "That's hilarious."

That and when Drew shouted "OH, OH, OH!" in a part of the show (can't remember which right now), it really reeked of Donny Osmond on Pyramid..

[JT]

Royalties aside, I agree they did the right thing not to show Bob in the 1978 clip.   The attention would have quickly shifted from the contestant to being about how Bob looked 31 years ago.   And showing the clip was a nod to the show's rich history and that was great to see.

[trytobecharming]

The indoor skiing mecca in Dubai was the subject of a Millionaire question fairly recently(Meredith version). And the trip to Dubai appears in the wake of the world's tallest building opening there.

[voguevixen]

I really enjoyed today's show.  I think stack the deck was lost because she made the odd choice of picking the second number instead of 3 or 4. (Though for the record I was blown away at the cost of that lip balm!)

I *LOVED* seeing the old "Any Number" footage.   I agree with JT that showing anyone but her would've detracted from the moment she was having.  Drew *did* make enough of that given what time he had to think on his feet in my opinion.  He mentioned the car she won was way better than a Vega, etc, heh.  He wouldn't know ahead of time they'd be able to track down her old footage, for example. 

My thought when they announced "sushi-making equipment" was: What the hell is sushi-making equipment?  Don't you pretty much just need a table and a knife?

[Off_trak]

I'm sure there is a significant number of Japanese Americans living in San Francisco, who would argue there is a strong Asian heritage in that city. I'm pretty certain there are numerous places there where you can get excellent sushi, that rivals anything you could get in Japan. I don't understand why some people feel the showcases should be so predictable, that you can guess the next prize before the doors even open.

[gsn93]

Did anybody notice that Cynthia was at the blue podium when she was first on the show, and at the blue podium again on todays' show.

[whinbaby]

The 7,184th set of Pricing Games (72nd for Season 38)

Showcase #1
Skis - $1,913
Inflatable Water Slide - $4,295
Trip to Dubai - $12,368

Showcase #2
Sushi Kit - $409
Trip to San Francisco - $4,631
Toyota Tacoma - $17,880

Your Modeling Scorecard for January 4, 2010
Daily Records
$74,635/2005, $19,001/2007

Lanisha Cole
Total:  11/$29,084 (7/$23,096, 4/$5,988)
Cars:  1/$17,549 (1/$17,549, 0/$0)
Trips:  1/$4,631 (0/$0, 1/$4,631)

Manuela Arbelaez
Total:  8/$59,958 (7/$50,185, 1/$9,773)
Cars:  1/$21,584 (1/$21,584, 0/$0)
Trips:  2/$22,141 (1/$12,368, 1/$9,773)

Amber Lancaster
Total:  7/$27,985 (5/$9,282, 2/$18,703)
Cars:  1/$17,880 (0/$0, 1/$17,880)
Trips:  0/$0 (0/$0, 0/$0)

Compared with the episode before
Lanisha Cole
Total: 7/$52,050 (2/$4,855, 5/$47,195)
Cars: 1/$22,950 (0/$0, 1/$22,950)
Trips: 0/$0 (0/$0, 0/$0)

Manuela Arbelaez
Total: 6/$84,917 (4/$10,098, 2/$74,819)
Cars: 2/$74,819 (0/$0, 2/$74,819)
Trips: 0/$0 (0/$0, 0/$0)

Gwennie Osborne
Total: 9/$103,243 (5/$41,178, 4/$62,065)
Cars: 2/$49,335 (0/$0, 2/$49,335)
Trips: 4/$48,505 (3/$38,120, 1/$10,385)

And for the season
Lanisha Cole (55 shows)
Total:  506/$2,501,035 (303/$1,013,922, 203/$1,487,113)
Cars:  45/$1,030,477 (14/$315,605, 31/$714,872)
Trips:  46/$390,107 (23/$200,579, 23/$189,528)

Manuela Arbelaez (40 shows)
Total:  301/$1,941,472 (204/$975,683, 97/$965,789)
Cars:  41/$945,970 (18/$382,041, 23/$563,929)
Trips:  38/$329,135 (24/$192,133, 14/$137,002)

Amber Lancaster (34 shows)
Total:  278/$1,661,554 (184/$716,012, 94/$945,542)
Cars:  28/$650,996 (8/$179,345, 20/$471,651)
Trips:  36/$324,085 (21/$172,382, 15/$151,703)

[SteveGavazzi]

I don't understand why some people feel the showcases should be so predictable, that you can guess the next prize before the doors even open.

Um...because most of us like it when things make sense?

Really, dude...regardless of whether or not San Francisco actually has a large Japanese community, that's still a reference that's going to seem extremely random to most people.  Come to think of it, the most widely known community in that city is its gay community...not that there's anything bad about that, of course, but it sure as heck hasn't got anything to do with Japanese seafood!