TPiR Recap - 5/9/2011

[3StrikesFan]

I remember Bob going up to the turntable when MoL was played. I thought it was funny.

And Bob was in his 80's when that happened. Also, with all the editing and stop downs that happen now, I'm surprised they didn't re-shoot that.

[trytobecharming]

I remember Bob going up to the turntable when MoL was played. I thought it was funny.

He went to the turntable for Side by Side one time, and according to someone in the chat room this morning, he went to the turntable for Temptation once.

[JerseyBob]

I think the frequency of the guest "stars" is out-of-control.  They rarely add any value to the show, especially when very few people even know who they are.  At least George Gray doesn't have to worry about losing his job to Ms. Miller.

I thought Pick-a-Number was easy; too bad about that one.  Cover Up was painful...it's tough to get four numbers correct on the first pass; I was thinking the "3" though.

I liked the Lucille Ball-related SPs in Punch-a-Bunch, but am I the only one who finds using Lucy for this Heart Truth campaign a bit strange?  Not to go off topic, but it seems to me that their message would be much more powerful if they used someone who had died more recently and at a much younger age.

[Kyle]

Wow...

I'd like to think I've been pretty supportive of Drew over the past three and a half years, but, I'm really low on patience with him these last few shows...

I'd be willing to bet that the reason that Drew screwed up the second chance in Punch-a-Bunch and the introduction of More or Less is because he was entirely focused on the fact that Nicole Miller and that guitarist were on the show today. Everything else was just secondary to him; he just didn't care and it showed. How many times did he remind us that "today is a big show" because of the two guest stars.

Add to the fact that as soon as he threw the show to break after the showcase bids were locked in, he was already hightailing it off-stage to go read magazines in the back.

If the host of the show doesn't give a rat's ass, why should anyone else?

And speaking of dreck, was anyone else following Nicole Miller's eyes as she read her lines during the showcase? Right to left, right to left...she looked so bored being up there, which, ironically mirrored my own expression having to suffer through most of today's show.

No word of a lie, as soon as this show was over, I had a little time this afternoon, I had to put in a Barker episode of the show just to remind myself what a good Price is Right show looks like.

[SteveGavazzi]

You know what would have been a whole lot cooler today than a fashion designer, a guitar player I've never heard of, and a badly-narrated showcase?  A grocery item game.  Consolation prize plugs wouldn't have hurt, either.

Speaking of the fashion designer, as well as the badly-narrated showcase, I have never in my life heard anyone less excited about a Mercedes than Nicole Miller.

Speaking of bad narration in general, Drew telling Debra that she'd won "all the other stuff" after she lost Pick-a-Number was one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Speaking of guitar players I've never heard of, I give as much of a damn about who's operating Items up for Bids now as I did during Season 37.

Most Expen$ive for three trips was awesome.  The game being staged incorrectly was, as usual, not.

This episode really shouldn't have been a one-out-of-sixer.  Most Expen$ive and Pick-a-Number were both fairly easy, and there's no particular reason Cover Up couldn't have been won, too.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm getting sick of having cars in both showcases.  This used to be something Roger did once in a blue moon, and it was always awesome when it showed up.  Now it's being overdone, and it's becoming normal.  Normal =/= awesome.

The first showcase was just a mess.  For that matter, so was Drew's little spiel after the last commercial.

[whinbaby]

The 7,460th episode (158th for Season 39)

Showcase #1
Nicole Miller's Washed Silk Georgette Gown - $440
Trip to New York - $5,161
Mercedes-Benz C300 - $36,480

My bid:  $61,000 (D'oh!)

Showcase #2
Counterfeits - $5,000
Trip to the Mall of America - $7,147
Toyota Prius - $23,879

My bid:  $35,000 (Difference of $1,026)

Your Modeling Scorecard for May 9, 2011
Rachel Reynolds
Total:  16/$109,571! (13/$73,928, 3/$35,643)
Cars:  3/$83,354 (2/$60,359, 1/$22,995)
Trips:  1/$6,397 (0/$0, 1/$6,397)

Amber Lancaster
Total:  9/$68,410 (6/$21,924, 3/$46,486)
Cars:  1/$17,365 (0/$0, 1/$17,365)
Trips:  2/$12,268 (1/$7,147, 1/$5,121)

And for the season
Rachel Reynolds (156 shows)
Total:  1,542/$8,116,670 (930/$3,485,427, 612/$4,631,243)
Cars:  165/$3,765,255 (53/$1,240,136, 112/$2,525,119)
Trips:  152/$1,170,071 (73/$561,846, 79/$608,225)

Amber Lancaster (58 shows)
Total:  499/$3,307,070 (294/$1,191,732, 205/$2,115,338)
Cars:  66/$1,548,740 (19/$446,824, 47/$1,101,916)
Trips:  51/$381,712 (22/$147,850, 29/$233,862)

[BRB_TheFireball]

Guest star overkill.  "Overkill" would be the perfect word, considering that Nicole Miller and Tracii Guns killed this episode.  And I don't mean "killed" in a good way.

Well, that's the second time that the More or Less intro went screwy.  Bob went to the turntable once, and now Drew has gone to the turntable.  And are we ever again gonna get a contestant to say LESS on the car in More or Less?

Talk about a perfect placement of a commercial.  All of the Punch-a-Bunch SPs were I Love Lucy merchandise, and the CBS Cares commercial immediately afterward mentioned Lucille Ball.  Yes, 2011 marks the 60th anniversary of I Love Lucy as well as Lucille Ball's 100th birthday.

Thanks for mailing it in during the showcase, Nicole.

Man, I really wanna go to the Mall of America.

My showcase bids:
Mercedes--$50,107
Prius--$33,507

Well, it wasn't quite back-to-back DSWs... but wow!  DSW today, DSW on Thursday, and a near-DSW difference on Friday.  So close to having three DSWs in a row, which I don't think has ever happened before.

[JayC]

Is it me, or did Nicole Miller make a Mercedes sound like the most boring thing in world?  Some people are meant to do what they do and just that and not be brought out of their element, and this was one of those cases.

Along with Most Expensive (furthest away trip was the winner) and Pick a Number being set up easy and lost, I thought More or Less should've been won also.  The refrigerator was the only prize that was somewhat difficult in my opinion.

Can't remember the last time all 4 punches in Punch a Bunch were won.

[GameShowKid]

Is it me, or did Nicole Miller make a Mercedes sound like the most boring thing in world?  Some people are meant to do what they do and just that and not be brought out of their element, and this was one of those cases.

My thought about that: Don't they have rehearsals? Couldn't someone have asked Ms. Miller to read with a bit more excitement and really "punch" the phrase "a brand-new Mercedes-Benz"? Or did they not want to offend the guest with instructions? 

[clemsonfight]

Speaking of bad narration in general, Drew telling Debra that she'd won "all the other stuff" after she lost Pick-a-Number was one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.
l.

So glad someone mentioned that! To me, other than the Punchabunch mistake and the turntable thing, this may have one of the most frustrating moments of the day. If you watch every day you know that Drew actually meant his usual "Well you won a laptop...so that's good...and you get to spin later....so uhh thats good" but if you aren't a frequent viewer you were probably thinking "WHAT other stuff???" since it was really really vague and just...dumb.

I'm usually easy on him, but I'm willing to bet having two special guests contributed to him completely forgetting what the IUFB was since that's all he seemed concerned with today.

[heelsrule1988]

That blasted fashion designer put us in super rush mode. The show was still pretty good, but it would have been a lot better had it not been so rushed.

BEST CONTESTANT OF THE DAY: Jenna
SHOW GRADE: 3

[temptation1979ga]

Well, I've got a lot to say for once:

--The trip explanations in Most Expensive took forever, and that really bogged down the start of the show. Most Expensive for three trips used to be an amazing way to begin the show. It didn't take long to play, and the staging was striking. Now, just three dinky-donk monitors and a long-winded desciption for each trip.

--Nicole Miller didn't even come across as being excited when she was talking about her own collection. She sounded as if she was giving directions to a lost driver. Matter of fact and uninterested. Wouldn't exactly make me want to run out and buy her dresses either (not that I'm in the habit of buying many dresses.  )

--I wish Drew had spent all the time he wasted trying to convince viewers (during the third one bid and beyond) how "great and awesome" it was that they had two guest stars and how rock and roll guys like Price is Right, etc. talking to the contestants instead.

--Why can't Drew find some new intros and throws to prizes?? "We're playing a game called,"  "Do you wanna say hello to someone?," "You didn't win the car, but you did win xxxxx, and you're going to be in the showcase showdown" etc. What's really a shame, a competent host wouldn't even have to be told to mix things up. He would just do it. I'm not sure that Drew is even capable of such. If he doesn't have those crutches to fall back on constantly, he turns into Mr. Ummm--uhhh.

--After Pick-a-Number, when Drew said, "You got all that other stuff," he sounded about as disinterested in the show as he possibly could.

--Drew was just lost in Punch a Bunch. He was floundering around trying to figure out where the next hole was and get the second chance straightened out. That was bad enough, but what's worse to me is that he didn't keep the contestant anywhere close to being in range of the microphone so we could hear what he was saying. That might help. But then again, the show obviously isn't about the contestants anymore, so what the contestant was saying doesn't matter that much.  

--Nicole Miller really stunk it up in the showcases. I'm glad she's (supposedly---I wouldn't know, not my area of expertise) such a competent designer. She was an awful cue card reader, and while not everyone can be great at everything, it would seem as though common sense would have told a reasonable person to put a little more mmmph into the announcement of " a new Mercedes-Benz!"

Overall, this has been one of the worst bunches of shows lately that I can remember sitting through. I have always considered Drew Carey to be a mistake since he was chosen as the show's host, but he doesn't even seem to care a little these days, and it's really dragging the energy of the show down with him. At various points in months past, I at least got a vibe that he wanted to be there, at least some of the time.

I would gladly talk about positives in this episode if there were any that were really worth mentioning (that people haven't already covered), but as it stands, I'll end here.  

[EyeMobileScott]

I've interviewed Nicole Miller a handful of times when I was covering the backstage goings-on during NY fashion weeks and believe me, the Nicole Miller you saw in SC1 today is exactly the same Nicole Miller you get in any situation where she's required to speak on-camera. She just doesn't have a very enigmatic personality and getting her to turn the energy level up to, oh say, 3, is like pulling teeth.

Since another "Price Look Of The Week" guest designer appearance is inevitable, here's hoping they bring in someone with a more camera-friendly persona, like Isaac Misrahi or Betsey Johnson (she's known for doing cartwheels down the runway at the conclusion of her fashion shows).

[JT]

Bob once went to the turntable as the models rolled out Hi-Lo - had to be pre 1985... He also went to the Most Expensive/1 Right Price spot and then found out the game was Safe Crackers... it happens sometimes

[Macsen]

How do you sex up Minnesota?!