TPiR Recap - 6/17/2014

[moneygamelover]

One Wrong Price: I knew the washer/dryer set was priced correctly. I didn't know about the home gym but I would have won because I thought the TV looked a bit on the cheap side. Bummer. Those were some fantastic prizes.

One Away: It's unfortunate the Kia Forte wasn't won. I see no need for a tech win though. Even if the described discrepancy is true it would not have affected the outcome of the game. Tech wins should only be used in cases where bad information directly causes or contributes to a loss. That was not the case here.

Grocery Game: Today's contestant's strategy was bad. It's not good strategy to go for it all at once and especially not with the cheapest product. This strategy caused today's contestant to paint herself into a corner where it was then impossible for her to win no matter what she picked.  Too bad the nice Ashley desk and Apple MacBook pro weren't won. And goldenroadfanatic is EXACTLY right about this

I have to applaud Drew for revealing all the grocery products' prices in Grocery Game.  For the folks at home who did not make the same moves as the contestant, it shows if our strategies would've worked or not.

Also I'm growing increasing disappointed in the generic product descriptions. Especially on a today like today when most of the proper names were clearly visible. I actually found myself saying to the TV "That 2 liter soda has a name you know." It's proper name is Dr. Pepper Ten and it should be called Dr. Pepper Ten. Same goes for Cracker Jacks and so forth. I understand that sponsorship or lack thereof is the reason for this but something rubs me the wrong way about using generic terms when proper names are known. I do commend Adam for using these proper names in the recaps when possible such as today.

Side by Side: Nice win of a nice Savannah trip.

Pathfinder: Today's contestant would have won had she not blown the Veggie Chopper which was actually setup to be won. She priced the Scion XD fairly well and hit the other 2 SPs so keeping everything else constant today's contestant would have won had she not blown the veggie maker. Ashamed the Scion XD wasn't won.

Do the Math: Not my favorite prizes and I had no clue. Still disappointing to end with a loss.

Showcases: The Ford Mustang showcase was absolutely the better showcase and I'm really glad it was won.

Lineup: Very good: Pathfinder and Grocery Game are amongst our best games. Side by Side is 1 of our better 1 prize games and so superior to the similar Double Prices and Coming or Going. Do the Math is 1 of our best 2 prize games and a strong closer. However One Wrong Price is 1 of our dullest games and a very weak lead off hitter. I'd have flip flopped the slotting today and played Grocery Game 1st and One Wrong Price 3rd since Grocery Game would make a great lead off hitter. 

Overall: Not good but not as bad as most 1 for 6 shows because of the strong lineup and the Mustang showcase being won.

[mechamind]

To do with generic GP descriptions, my main issue is not whether the description is considered promotional. It's whether some take longer than others. "It's 55 pieces of gum" (which was really used) doesn't even qualify as a description. If they suddenly get more sponsors, are they really prepared to fit them all in compared to getting no sponsors?

[GuyWithFace]

My first thought upon reading what moneygamelover thought about the generic product descriptions was that it disadvantages viewers and contestants who are blind. That said, I would suppose that they would swap out the game in the event that situation would come up.

[Briguy]

Grocery Game: I hates when this happens – a contestant within a small amount away from $20, and it is clear all of the available items will, even with just one purchased, will put the contestant over $21.

Obviously, buying just nine of the Dr. Pepper soft drinks would have meant $17.91 was what the contestant needed to do. And then buying one Cracker Jack (at $2.29) would have meant a win (with a total of $20.20).

But ah, how easy it is to play the game in hindsight.

Brian

[MSTieScott]

My first thought upon reading what moneygamelover thought about the generic product descriptions was that it disadvantages viewers and contestants who are blind. That said, I would suppose that they would swap out the game in the event that situation would come up.

Since the most recent visually-impaired contestant on the show played Hi Lo, that isn't the case. It's easy for Drew to tell the contestant what the brand names are after the official plugs have concluded.

[moneygamelover]

I don't think using generic descriptions vs proper names would have much impact on length of reading. Is there much difference between how long it would take to say "cheez it" or"cheese crackers" or"a 2 liter bottle of soda" vs "a 2 liter bottle of Mountain Dew"? No. What tells me the sponsorship issue is the reason for the generic descriptions is the fact that certain brands such as Reece's and Goldbond are still regularly read. Obviously those that sponsor get name use. I never really thought these generic descriptions affected gameplay. It's more that I'm just a big believer in calling things by their proper name when the proper name is known. That's why when I comment on the recaps I for example refer to"Ford Mustang" rather than"car". It's not that it's a hugely big deal. It's just 1 of those things I have a preference for.

[therealcu2010]

Also I'm growing increasing disappointed in the generic product descriptions. Especially on a today like today when most of the proper names were clearly visible. I actually found myself saying to the TV "That 2 liter soda has a name you know." It's proper name is Dr. Pepper Ten and it should be called Dr. Pepper Ten. Same goes for Cracker Jacks and so forth. I understand that sponsorship or lack thereof is the reason for this but something rubs me the wrong way about using generic terms when proper names are known.

If they read the name of every single non-sponsored product on the air, nobody would want to pay to have their product sponsored on the show. The show relies on these sponsors...after all, for the show, and in the industry as a whole, advertising is their primary source of revenue. Without advertisers, there is no show.

One of the cardinal rules of broadcasting is to never give out free advertising.  They're not going to start reading the names of every single grocery item unless these companies start paying to have it read. It's that simple. It's been that way for years...it just happens that there are fewer and fewer sponsored items these days, and they've given up writing decent copy for them. You can hate it all you want, but it's not changing.

Granted, they could use less boring descriptions than "a two-liter bottle of soda", but when time's becoming more and more of a concern these days, there's probably not much they can do.

[tnpir2014]

Granted, they could use less boring descriptions than "a two-liter bottle of soda", but when time's becoming more and more of a concern these days, there's probably not much they can do.

This piece bears highlighting, and not just because of its relation to this:

[A]dvertising is their primary source of revenue. Without advertisers, there is no show.

Advertising (in the form of commercials) is cutting more and more into the show's airtime with each passing season.  This practice--though deplorable for what it's doing to shows like PiR that are meant to have a lot of interaction and gameplay--is, like it or not, what pays the bills.  Advertisers are willing to buy airtime during the show precisely because lots of people will tune into the show, and hopefully stick around during the commercial breaks to watch their ads, and in turn, buy the advertised products.

For TPiR this never made sense to me, since the show is essentially one big commercial in and of itself, but I digress.  As long as ad revenue pays the bills and keeps the lights on, it's a necessary evil.  Thus, cu2010 got it exactly right:

You can hate it all you want, but it's not changing.

[whinbaby]

The 8,054th episode (182nd for Season 42)

Showcase #1

• Necklace:  $1,225
• Trip to Vinelhaven, ME:  $5,506
• Ford Mustang:  $24,190

My bid:  $33,645 (D'oh!)

Showcase #2

• Trip to Honolulu:  $9,775
• Sea Doo:  $7,639
• Motorcycle:  $7,869, and I know it took nine years, but Gwendolyn reaches 5,000 prizes!

My bid:  $25,383 (And I'm over by $100! )

Modeling Totals:  June 17, 2014
Highs and lows among shows for the OSAD in previous years
High:  $88,032 (6/17/2011)
Low:  $19,577 (6/17/2008)

Rachel Reynolds
Total:  12/$43,348.00 (7/$27,540.00, 5/$15,808.00)
Cars:  1/$24,190.00 (1/$24,190.00, 0/$0.00)
Trips:  0/$0.00 (0/$0.00, 0/$0.00)
Cash Prizes:  0/$0.00 (0/$0.00, 0/$0.00)

Gwendolyn Osborne Smith
Total:  12/$81,758.00 (4/$13,426.00, 8/$68,332.00)
Cars:  2/$36,468.00 (0/$0.00, 2/$36,468.00)
Trips:  3/$20,955.00 (2/$11,180.00, 1/$9,775.00)
Cash Prizes:  0/$0.00 (0/$0.00, 0/$0.00)

All Prizes
Total:  25/$124,132.00 (12/$42,561.00, 13/$81,571.00)
Cars:  3/$60,658.00 (1/$24,190.00, 2/$36,468.00)
Trips:  3/$20,955.00 (2/$11,180.00, 1/$9,775.00)
Cash Prizes:  1/$660.00 (0/$0.00, 1/$660.00)

Season to date
Rachel Reynolds (178 shows)
Total:  2,367/$12,333,406.02 (1,470/$5,278,332.99, 897/$7,055,073.03)
Cars:  274/$6,129,254.00 (91/$1,907,472.00, 183/$4,221,782.00)
Trips:  307/$2,474,289.00 (175/$1,447,318.00, 132/$1,026,971.00)
Cash Prizes:  42/$412,624.00 (12/$64,886.00, 30/$347,738.00)

Gwendolyn Osborne Smith (29 shows)
Total:  314/$2,081,867.00 (161/$820,534.00, 153/$1,261,333.00)
Cars:  52/$1,029,031.00 (18/$344,511.00, 34/$684,520.00)
Trips:  51/$434,497.00 (26/$218,809.00, 25/$215,688.00)
Cash Prizes:  5/$116,000.00 (0/$21,750.00, 5/$94,250.00)

All Prizes (179 shows)
Total:  4,705/$28,524,509.65 (2,861/$11,417,585.53, 1,844/$17,106,924.12)
Cars:  561/$11,881,362.00 (192/$3,940,727.00, 369/$7,940,635.00)
Trips:  616/$5,025,515.00 (343/$2,788,264.00, 273/$2,237,251.00)
Cash Prizes:  189/$4,646,043.00 (48/$704,000.00, 141/$3,942,043.00)

Career to date
Rachel Reynolds (1,383 shows)
Total:  13,668/$72,262,383.36 (8,502/$32,197,661.94, 5,166/$40,064,721.42)
Cars:  1,494/$33,721,684.00 (568/$12,202,557.00, 926/$21,519,127.00)
Trips:  1,294/$9,953,366.00 (690/$5,213,857.00, 604/$4,739,509.00)
Cash Prizes:  236/$2,656,851.00 (51/$462,084.00, 185/$2,194,767.00)

Gwendolyn Osborne Smith (589 shows)
Total:  5,000/$27,375,763.97 (3,099/$12,507,053.98, 1,901/$14,868,709.99)
Cars:  575/$12,239,309.00 (218/$4,655,617.00, 357/$7,583,692.00)
Trips:  559/$4,323,628.00 (299/$2,325,611.00, 260/$1,998,017.00)
Cash Prizes:  89/$1,034,432.00 (27/$215,241.00, 62/$819,191.00)

My viewing to date (2,534 shows)
Total:  66,097/$363,826,363.60 (41,065/$157,237,737.53, 25,032/$206,588,626.07)
Cars:  7,218/$155,448,040.00 (2,771/$58,257,403.00, 4,447/$97,190,637.00)
Trips:  5,550/$39,546,618.00 (2,878/$20,432,217.00, 2,672/$19,114,401.00)
Cash Prizes:  1,940/$42,413,858.00 (395/$6,890,190.00, 1,545/$35,523,668.00)