TPiR Recap - 12/12/2013 (Bob Barker's 90th Birthday Special)

[pannoni1]

Actually I found the offering of cheaper American-made cars to be a subtle nod to Bob, as that seemed to be the standard fare for car offerings during the final ten or so years of his tenure--although a Lincoln, Cadillac or Corvette would've have been nice for such a highly-touted show.

Watching Bob's 80th birthday episode does show that the cars offered were lacking as that show offered not one, but TWO luxury cars along with a near-luxury car (Chrysler Concorde).

Other than that, it was just about the special I was hoping today's extravaganza would be. Pretty easy setups; even Lucky 7's was a bit easier than typical. I agree that the Big Banana remix wasn't the best and like to see it used for cars like it always was. The pet adoption and signoffs will be something I'll never forget, along with the "historic moment"- Bob's only contestand he called to Come on Down. I don't mind him being a bit slow with presenting Showcase #2 since he's never done it before and it was cool to interact with "Gail" as it was being presented. Well, I'll cherish a show like today as for a TPIR fan, its comparable to a 25-year high school reunion!

Grade: A

[Axl]

It was awesome to see and hear Bob call Evelyn (excuse me, Gail) on down, as well as how it was promoted by Drew as being a first time thing to ever happen on the show! Also, Gail was a very fun contestant to watch!

...although I did kind of want to tell her during the Showcase, "Will you just shut up for a second and let Bob talk?"

Honestly, the only nitpicks I can offer are the fact that the Showcases just weren't as good as they were, say, during his 50 Years special...

We've often joked that with all the trips they've offered to places in southern California, they were eventually going to just offer a "trip" to Los Angeles.  I'll be damned if they didn't finally do it. 

Even with all 5's able to produce a win, why would Mike choose a car with a 2 as the third number? Honestly, if I'd been on stage, I probably would have gone high with the third number, only because the setup looked really evil at that point.

Since they usually give an "evil" setup for L7 these days, it kind of screws you up when they try to be nice.  Lately every time somebody chooses a five, Drew audibly groans and frowns at the camera.

The photos they showed going into breaks were neat to see. Video clips would have been better, but given the time the show has to work with, photos work just as well!

They appeared to be focusing more on Bob the person rather than strictly Bob the game show host, so photos made sense.  The montage was nice, and I'll liked the animated transition, too.  Is that new?

[CJBojangles]

We've often joked that with all the trips they've offered to places in southern California, they were eventually going to just offer a "trip" to Los Angeles.  I'll be damned if they didn't finally do it. 

Ridiculous as it is, they've actually done it on a few occasions.

[moneygamelover]

Great recap. Happy Birthday Bob!

It's in the Bag. $8,000 is a nice hall. I like this game but Drew is wrong about it being won all the time. It isn't.

One Wrong Price: Good win.

Bob's appearance: A+ That was just awesome to see all around. Loved the theme music and crowd reaction. For him to handle the pet adoption segment today was about as fitting as it gets.

Lucky 7: Tough break.

Flip Flop: Good change. I knew $3550 was too cheap.

Any Number: It's so fitting that this game was played and won on Bob's 90th birthday special. I do wish Drew would have acknowledged that this was the 1st game Bob ever hosted.

Range Game. Only fitting this show ends with a win.

Showcases: It was great to see Bob present a showcase. Too bad his showcase wasn't won but still a good segment.

Overall quite good. 4 wins,a good haul on bag,and a great incorporation of Bob. Excellent show today.

[crazypackersfan]

Wow! I'm impressed at how well Drew hosted today, I guess he was trying to impress Bob! He may not have been anything special, but he didn't act obnoxious or annoying at all. I'm glad to see how respectful he and George were.

It was great to see how well Bob was still able to interact with Drew and the contestant. Somehow, even with 6 years of rust, he was able to be the same guy we always knew and loved.

I was disappointed that there weren't some fancy prizes today, but that's the only fault I can find. A great lineup, full of fantastic games.

Great show today, one of the best in recent memory.

[GuyWithFace]

I must admit, Barker going straight from the last prize description to asking Evelyn for her bid choked me up a bit, as for a few fleeting moments it indeed felt like he was still hosting and was just going to go straight into the break.

[TheBigAK]

I'd give my left (you know what) to be the ONLY contestant to have Bob call me to "Come on Down"    That was a wonderful moment.   And the way it played out that she was the Top winner in the SC, couldn't have been better.

L7 probably should have been won.   The day was set up to have many winners.

The only thing I'd have changed is that Bob alone would do the spay neuter plug.    However, it was just fine as it was.

[Kyle]

A very good birthday show. I loved the little things, like Drew referring to it as an item up for bids, how they played the classic theme instead of the 2007 remix for Bob's introduction, how they had him come out of door #2... just little things like that made it all the more special to the more dedicated viewers.

Also, Mike has uploaded a new Randumb Show with Bob as his guest - Bob fields some Twitter questions from some... familiar names...

[MSTieScott]

All six games had friendly setups today, which was appropriate for a show that will presumably get more viewers.

Timing-wise, the game lineup was only slightly shorter than par, which wound up working against them when they had a Barker appearance, pet adoption segment, and longer-than-average second showcase scheduled. Any Number in particular took a beating in editing. And while I wasn't paying full attention -- did they take out the closed captioning plugs to get the show in on time?

It's in the Bag (my favorite pricing game) is quite different when I don't know the prices of any of the six items! I placed all five groceries correctly, though I also would have bailed with $8,000.

Lately every time somebody chooses a five, Drew audibly groans and frowns at the camera.

And for any casual viewer of the show who doesn't know why he's reacting this way, it reflects poorly on Drew's hosting ability. I wish he could be more neutral when he hosts that game.

And then we have a new Big Banana cut. When the plug was finished, I was left wondering what it could be used for now. It's no longer bombastic enough to be a car cue, but its techno feel didn't work for a dining room, either. Perhaps some kind of home theater setup?

[Mr. Weatherman]

And while I wasn't paying full attention -- did they take out the closed captioning plugs to get the show in on time?

They took them out, and they also moved the "Crack The Code" win at home plug to a small bug at the bottom of the screen during SCSD 1 (unless they've been doing this all week; I haven't been watching). As much as I hate the show editing certain things, I thought they did a pretty great job with it today. At no point did I feel like the show was being rushed.

A couple of things I want to add to my first post...

Did anyone else notice the way George introduced the show? He really placed a lot of emphasis on the "Bob Barker Studio" part, which was really awesome and sounded much better than the way he usually says it. I wish he would always say it that way!

I must admit, Barker going straight from the last prize description to asking Evelyn for her bid choked me up a bit, as for a few fleeting moments it indeed felt like he was still hosting and was just going to go straight into the break.

I did, too. That was truly an awesome moment, even if it only lasted for just a few seconds, it just felt...like old times.

[thepriceis_J]

And then we have a new Big Banana cut. When the plug was finished, I was left wondering what it could be used for now. It's no longer bombastic enough to be a car cue, but its techno feel didn't work for a dining room, either. Perhaps some kind of home theater setup?

Well, just like the there were two different cuts of Big Banana (one for cars, one for other games), perhaps there will be different cuts of the remix. I agree that the cut was kind of hard to hear with George talking and the audience cheering. It was soft.

[GameShowKid]

Great to see Bob again. I was hoping he would host the entire showcase round by himself, or at least read the prices and sign off alone. I'm glad he mentioned his days as Miss Universe (and USA) host; I used to watch both pageants every year especially to see my favorite game show host in action. To this day, I remember both of his entrance cues on the pageants: the first one with classical instruments and the later electronic one.

I was a little sad watching today's show though; time marches on.

I also noticed when Drew said "item up for bids", just like the old days.

Couldn't they have made Bob's "new car" a bit (or a lot) more special??

What in the hell was that one cue? It sounded like someone took Big Banana, ran over it, put it in a blender, poured it down a garbage disposal, and then tried to reassemble it. That was horrible. If this is their idea of remixing cues, I think I'd rather just do without. There is nothing wrong with the original versions of the cues. They're timeless, Mike. Just like the show. They are the fabric of the show. Play them. Please.

Exactly the point I made earlier this week; I'm with you.

[djlynch]

Timing-wise, the game lineup was only slightly shorter than par, which wound up working against them when they had a Barker appearance, pet adoption segment, and longer-than-average second showcase scheduled.

And that editing was even with some extra breathing room. cbs.com lists the running time as 40:38, more than two minutes longer than any of the other episodes currently available.

[TPIRighteous]

And that editing was even with some extra breathing room. cbs.com lists the running time as 40:38, more than two minutes longer than any of the other episodes currently available.

The aforementioned plugs being cut out contributed a lot of that, since they're not shown in the cbs.com version of the show.

[ThatDonGuy]

Actually I found the offering of cheaper American-made cars to be a subtle nod to Bob, as that seemed to be the standard fare for car offerings during the final ten or so years of his tenure--although a Lincoln, Cadillac or Corvette would've have been nice for such a highly-touted show.

I also noticed that the pizza in "It's In the Bag" was a cheese pizza, presumably in keeping with Bob's "no meat products" policy.  I wonder how long it took Bob to figure out what was in those boxes of Knox Unflavored Gelatin...