TPiR Recap - 5/28/2012

[SteveGavazzi]

You know, if I were in the administration at the Showcase winner's high school, I think I'd be pretty pissed at the show.  That bonus wasn't a prize for the contestant -- it was an event that was essentially forcing a district to scuttle an entire day of classes.  (Okay, so they're not literally forcing it, but seriously, the school's gonna look pretty bad if they decline this thing after it's been on national television.)  That majorly rubs me the wrong way, especially this late in the school year.

Drew didn't seem to give a damn today, at least about the things he should have been focusing on.  He had more bad moments than good, and he seemed way too fixated on having the youngest winner in the show's history, which wasn't really special at all, given that most of the games were played by somebody who isn't normally old enough to be eligible.

Having two people play Range Game is only slightly less stupid than having two people play Clock Game would be.  The contestant's son was literally standing there, doing nothing.

Honestly, if they'd done a completely normal show today with the same lineup, it would have been more special than this thing was just by virtue of being a three-car day, and with three real car games, to boot.

At least More or Less was won.  That was cool.

[GuyWithFace]

I would not be surprised in the least if the $50,000 bonus came out of the show's budget, hence the setups.

Also, did anyone notice the "Contestants must meet eligibility requirements." graphic shifted to the left? And that the method of awarding prizes was never actually stated?

[spoon14]

You know, if I were in the administration at the Showcase winner's high school, I think I'd be pretty pissed at the show.  That bonus wasn't a prize for the contestant -- it was an event that was essentially forcing a district to scuttle an entire day of classes.  (Okay, so they're not literally forcing it, but seriously, the school's gonna look pretty bad if they decline this thing after it's been on national television.)  That majorly rubs me the wrong way, especially this late in the school year.

Nothing in the description said this had to happen on a school day. For all we know, they could hold the event at the school on a weekend. Furthermore, oftentimes an event happens at one high school. There's no need for the whole district to cancel a day of classes. It's not clear to me either that one couldn't have some students have classes while others are participating.

And I'm puzzled by your remark about "especially this late in the school year." When I was in school, this was precisely the period that was most amenable to holding a special event. This is when schools often hold field days or senior trips or field trips or other events that pre-empt the regular class schedule. This is when school ended up being laid back. Teachers are more likely to do stuff like show movies in class. AP exams are all done by now. Maybe your state has a different way of doing things.

[sideshowPA]

You know, if I were in the administration at the Showcase winner's high school, I think I'd be pretty pissed at the show.  That bonus wasn't a prize for the contestant -- it was an event that was essentially forcing a district to scuttle an entire day of classes.  (Okay, so they're not literally forcing it, but seriously, the school's gonna look pretty bad if they decline this thing after it's been on national television.)  That majorly rubs me the wrong way, especially this late in the school year.

You're right and you're wrong Steve.  If this was presented to my school, we'd find a way to do it.  BUT, we'd need far more than a month or two advance notice.

And I'm puzzled by your remark about "especially this late in the school year." When I was in school, this was precisely the period that was most amenable to holding a special event.

Again, you're right and you're wrong.  Give me 6 months notice and I could make it happen.  This is actually the time of year where schools scramble to try to get everything done.  Extra distractions are generally not welcome, as there are already enough of them to go around (Finals, AP exams, proms, etc).  I'd much rather do this in the fall.

[stardf29]

This show was okay. Some brutal setups though.

Interesting to note that the adult had to give all the pricing answers; must be the way to let this show satisfy S&P.

Someone falls for the fake El Cheapo. Though the usual "overprice the Honda CR-Z" is probably what really hurt their chances.

Pick-a-Number was easy for a tens-digit setup.

Check-Out was a brutal low setup. About the only chance they had was to underprice those energy drinks.

Range Game was also a brutal low setup, sitting only $165 above the bottom. (Not the lowest it's been; the season premiere had a price $150 above the bottom, meaning the contestant could have hit the button immediately and win.)

More or Less was great to see won, though. (I would have lost at the basketball hoop, as I don't know how much those go for; good thing the audience does.) It was actually fair for a setup with LESS on the car; the Elantra is not one of the typically overpriced cars, so it just came down to whether he knew it was a <$20K car, and he did.

(With that win, only the Big 3, Rent, and Punch-a-Bunch (and Plinko for purists) have gone winless this season, which I'd say is pretty good.)

I was worried for a moment that the 2nd price would be the stopping point of That's Too Much, but it was 3rd, though not that hard of a 3rd.

Yeah, $50K driving lessons + concert as a bonus prize is weird. I'm glad they didn't add it to the contestant's total, at least.

[Kev347]

Wow. I still remember a night a few months ago in BlogTV when a few friends and I were shooting around "horrible ideas for a TPIR special" and I actually brought up pretty much this exact idea, right down to having all 6 games for cars. I tried to go into today with an open mind, but unfortunately this show did NOTHING to change my mind that this was an absolute dumb idea. I know things will be normal tomorrow, but this is easily one of the worst specials they've ever come up with:

-You know how we've complained before that couples episodes can be awkward because there's always one person not really doing anything? In this episode, one person basically COULDN'T do anything. It was clear that the teen making any decisions was an S&P issue, as Drew reminded the parents over and over they had to be the ones to have the final say. This wasn't as bad as it could have been, except in Range Game, where it was clear the teen wasn't doing anything at all. Still, it's a dumb premise. If the teens making decisions is an S&P issue, they shouldn't be contestants. Period.

-I was really worried about how the setups on this show would be knowing there was going to be six car games. Mike is usually neurotic enough about two. Sure enough, Range Game was one of the most unwinnable setups I've seen on the show. You let it go for 4 seconds, you lose. Check-Out was almost as bad. Then on the other end of the spectrum, you have More Or Less, which was so blatantly straightforward it didn't feel that rewarding to have it won for the first time in two years. I'm glad that at least two games were set up for wins, but of course six cars is going to force anybody to be neurotic about setups, because TPIR is not designed to give away anywhere close to 8 cars in on show. Which is why six cars shouldn't be offered in pricing games.

-The $50,000 bonus. As others have said, I'm sure that high school is NOT happy right now. Plus, maybe the bonus prize could have been smaller and we could have instead, oh I dunno, made Range Game possible to win?

I don't really blame Drew for highlighting how young the contestants were over and over again, because the show WAS making history and it WAS a big deal. It just is something that should have never happened. We've been in a decent stretch of hosting lately, so let's just get back to normal shows tomorrow and forget this ever happened.

Timings:
Money Game (4.5) - 4:05
Pick A Number (3.5) - 2:51
Check-Out (5.5) - 5:40
Range Game (4) - 3:16
More Or Less (5.5) - 5:00
That's Too Much (5) - 2:57
Total (28): 23:49

[Cartboy]

Nice win on 5-digit Pick A Number & great to see More Or Less fully won for a change!

Too bad Spelling Bee & Master Key weren't played today.

Not too bad overall, IMHO.

[JokerFan]

Are there still schools that haven't ended for summer vacation?  I know a few districts that has already begun summer vacation either last week or the week before.  (Okay, so maybe, they are ending classes this week but isn't it a little too soon?)

That bonus wasn't a prize for the contestant -- it was an event that was essentially forcing a district to scuttle an entire day of classes.

Why exactly would an entire district be affected by something that happened in one school?  When I was in high school, we had assemblies that were specific to our school, yet I sincerely doubt the other high school was in any way affected.

[Plinkoman]

Honestly, if they'd done a completely normal show today with the same lineup, it would have been more special than this thing was just by virtue of being a three-car day, and with three real car games, to boot.

I was thinking this same thing during the show today, too.

Seriously, this show stunk to high heavens.

[SteveGavazzi]

Of course it wouldn't affect the entire district.  I was hoping that people would be able to see that I was generalizing when I said that.  Apparently, I was wrong.

[spoon14]

Of course it wouldn't affect the entire district.  I was hoping that people would be able to see that I was generalizing when I said that.  Apparently, I was wrong.

You were not generalizing: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/generalize?s=t
Maybe you meant that you were exaggerating or being hyperbolic. If you premise an argument that I disagree by exaggerating the impact of what you oppose, I don't think I'm obligated to sit on the sidelines. I can't point out the error.

Again, you're right and you're wrong.  Give me 6 months notice and I could make it happen.  This is actually the time of year where schools scramble to try to get everything done.  Extra distractions are generally not welcome, as there are already enough of them to go around (Finals, AP exams, proms, etc).  I'd much rather do this in the fall.

Steve is assuming that the event would have to take place between the airdate and the end of the school year. That wasn't stated during the show. There was no date whatsoever attached to it in the description on the show. One would think that Ford would want to create a positive impression by working with the schools. I suppose for administrators, planning for multiple events, even when they don't directly conflict, could be a pain. But AP exams finished on May 18. So holding it after Memorial Day would not be a direct scheduling conflict with AP exams or conflict with students studying for the exams.

[ThatDonGuy]

Also, did anyone notice the "Contestants must meet eligibility requirements." graphic shifted to the left? And that the method of awarding prizes was never actually stated?

If by the second part of that, you mean there was nothing in the credits that said something like, "All prizes are awarded to the parents," I noticed that as well.

I assume that the prizes are awarded to the parent if the child is under 18 (especially if cars are involved - don't some states have laws forbidding minors to own cars?), but what if the child is 18?  It makes a difference for the winners in terms of taxes, as I assume the kids are in the 10% bracket while the parents are in the 25% bracket.

[SteveGavazzi]

You were not generalizing

Yes, I was.  I didn't type out the entire phrase, "forcing a district to scuttle an entire day of classes at one building," because I thought the last three words were pretty obvious.  Evidently, they weren't.  Coming from an entire family of teachers, maybe I'm assuming most people have an understanding of this part of how districts function when they actually don't.

[tpirfan28]

Has there been an episode with three natural car games in it before?  Most of the three-car days involved a non-car...

[SteveGavazzi]

Has there been an episode with three natural car games in it before?  Most of the three-car days involved a non-car...

There have, yes.  In fact, the "5,000th" show had four.

As for "normal" three-car days, I cite April 15, 2005 -- Switch?, One Away, Any Number, Coming or Going, Line em Up, Now....and Then.