TPiR Recap - 5/17/2013

[Swingbatta0]

Nice wins on Pocket Change, Flip Flop, and Most Expensive & nice to see a $26,000 winner on the Big Wheel!   Pretty good end to the week, IMHO.
It shouldn't be, IMO.  I don't think it's fair to the contestant when that happens nor does it make for a fair race.  IMO, Leroy should've been given the prizes.  I've seen before when the contestant was given a prize or prizes because of the game malfunctioning.  I saw it happen once on Magic # & once on 10 Chances, just to name a couple.

I would've just given him the car, since he didn't have 3 rats, anyway.

[Mallory16]

I don't think it's fair to the contestant when that happens nor does it make for a fair race.  IMO, Leroy should've been given the prizes.  I've seen before when the contestant was given a prize or prizes because of the game malfunctioning.  I saw it happen once on Magic # & once on 10 Chances, just to name a couple.

Why isn't it fair?  One rat still wins the race.  Another rat still comes in second, another in third, and another fourth.  The only difference is that the fifth place rat didn't actually finish the race.  How is that unfair?  Whether or not one rat doesn't finish doesn't change anything, and the contestant is just as likely to get lucky in avoiding the malfunctioning rat as they are to choose the malfunctioning rat.

Granted, it can get a bit stickier if multiple rats decide to bonk out one day, but that was not the case today.

[jacaya]

Nice wins on Pocket Change, Flip Flop, and Most Expensive & nice to see a $26,000 winner on the Big Wheel!   Pretty good end to the week, IMHO.
It shouldn't be, IMO.  I don't think it's fair to the contestant when that happens nor does it make for a fair race.  IMO, Leroy should've been given the prizes.  I've seen before when the contestant was given a prize or prizes because of the game malfunctioning...

Except Drew has stated many times that he "can't guarantee they'll all finish the race. All of the rats are wound up at random." So whether they finish or not is up to how good or bad they were wound up. In today's case, Leroy just happened to find one that was badly wound up. So... no "tech win". No "do over". It's been stated clearly before.

[Wayoshi]

To be fair, it wasn't badly wound up really, it got stuck in the rail.

[SilverFirePrime]

The only time I can see them awarding a tech win is that if three or more rats fail to finish.  And even if that would happen, who's to say they just don't reset the race and edit the botched race out? 

On a related note, I think it would be hilarious if they handed out a commemorative T-shirt to contestants whose rat(s) failed to go anywhere.

[PriceBusterXL]

The only time I can see them awarding a tech win is that if three or more rats fail to finish.  And even if that would happen, who's to say they just don't reset the race and edit the botched race out? 

On a related note, I think it would be hilarious if they handed out a commemorative T-shirt to contestants whose rat(s) failed to go anywhere.

I can see it now:

"My rat didn't run on Rat Race and all I got is this lousy T-Shirt"

[DJTorgo]

I think faulty rats should be thrown inside the Big Wheel, getting tossed around until they can learn to run properly.  Once they can, they get put back in the race.

[TPIRighteous]

I would have to think that if someone picked a rat that was among more than two that didn't finish, they would have to be awarded a prize according to the following:

3 don't finish - 3rd place prize
4 don't finish - 2nd place prize
5 don't finish - Car

In no way does it make any sense to award any more than this, especially a "technical win" of all three prizes, since it's only possible to win one prize with one rat.

[SuperMatch93]

If the game malfunctions/is set up in a way that makes it impossible to win (e.g. none of the Shell Game shells having a ball under them), then a tech win is appropriate. If it could have been avoided in some situation (e.g. not picking the yellow rat), then it shouldn't be.

[mrbrown2195]

If the game malfunctions/is set up in a way that makes it impossible to win (e.g. none of the Shell Game shells having a ball under them), then a tech win is appropriate. If it could have been avoided in some situation (e.g. not picking the yellow rat), then it shouldn't be.

Even so, if the malfunction is actually part of the game's rules and clearly stated (i.e. not all rats are guaranteed to finish) it's not really appropriate for a tech win.

Now whether or not that makes for good television is an entirely different matter.

[SteveGavazzi]

I've said a number of times that I think Pay the Rent, for all its faults, is ultimately less broken than Rat Race.  Today is why.  That was completely unsalvageable.

I'm pretty sure a rat malfunction hasn't happened before but wildbill was convinced he has seen it before. When asked for a date, he fell through. Has it happened before?

Wow, that certainly was jerky.

Between this and your ridiculous Ferrari thread, you are not exactly my favorite site member today.

Best show of the week, IMO.

I must assume, then, that you didn't watch Tuesday or Thursday, which both have this episode beaten by a mile.

And it would have been nice if they could have incorporated Rich Fields into the second showcase somehow, because he's been with KCBS since leaving The Price Is Right, hasn't he?

You do realize that TPIR fired Rich, don't you?

[Swingbatta0]

I must assume, then, that you didn't watch Tuesday or Thursday, which both have this episode beaten by a mile.

Tuesday's show wasn't as good, and Thursday's was much worse.

[Mallory16]

Yesterday's show was excellent.  Drew-era excellent, at least.

I've rewatched the video to check, and it looked like the yellow rat was doomed, regardless.  Just trying to get a time on how fast the other four rats finished, versus how fast the yellow rat finished once Drew got it going, going by my unscientific method of using a kitchen timer, the yellow rat would've finished slightly behind the blue rat.  Fourth place at best--even that I doubt--but it wasn't gonna' win, anyway.  In case that makes anyone feel better about the loss.

[PriceBusterXL]

Tuesday's show wasn't as good, and Thursday's was much worse.

I think Monday and Thursday were crappy, due to no car wins, but that's just me.

[stardf29]

I felt this was a good show. A nice Pocket win, a Flip Flop win on a flip-flop setup, $25K on the wheel, and a close Showcase confrontation. It helped that Leroy really did make a nice comeback (and got a car after all) despite the rat malfunction in Rat Race.

But yeah, all I'm going to say about Rat Race is... when betting on horses, it sure sucks to pick a horse only for that horse to trip and fall coming right out of the gate.