Does Anyone Still Miss Rich?

[tpirsuperfan99]

It has been almost 7 years since Rich Fields was let go from Price when Mike Richards fired him, but does anyone still miss him? I do sort of miss him, he was a great announcer and I don't think he deserved to be fired because Mike wanted to hire a comedian, but it is what it is and George has done a fine job announcing.

[JayC]

I thought he was a good choice mainly because most of the others who auditioned weren't that great (except for Randy West and Burton Richardson) when he was hired in season 32 but I don't really miss him. He was too over the top at times and while he did have some chemistry with Bob I didn't think he had much with Drew.

[SteveGavazzi]

I don't think he deserved to be fired because Mike wanted to hire a comedian

Don't worry -- he wasn't.

[someguy23475]

Rich wasn't the best choice anyways.

[SamJ93]

I watched one of Rich's earliest fill-in episodes on YouTube not too long ago, and had to double-check the credits to make sure it was actually him. His style was much closer to that of Johnny Olsen--conversational, yet authoritative, and a much more reasonant tone. If he had kept this style, I'd miss him a lot more.

But something happened to him in the next three years he announced with Barker, and by Bob's final ep. he just came off as annoying--his nasal, bombastic inflection threatened to ruin the show at times. I remember reading that Roger was coaching him and giving him pointers on how to improve during this time, which is great, but it seems like he took said advice the wrong way.

As Steve alluded to, Rich was apparently let go due to pissing off Mike and/or the other senior staff--a situation he knows more about than I do. While I don't doubt his story, I do think the show unfairly tried to turn him into a comic foil with the "Drewcases" and he just wasn't cut out for it at all--he's a TV weatherman, not a comedian.

[Teddy]

IMHO, he was even worse on Wheel of Fortune. While Pat is in the same category as Bob (a traditional game show host), and a former weatherman to boot, they did not mesh at all, as Rich's announcing was even phonier than it was on TPIR. FWIW, Jim Thornton is a much better fit for that show.

[blozier2006]

To be honest, I'm not sure why they didn't just hire Burton Richardson or Randy West back in '03.

[rodroddyfan]

I think most of us on this site thought for sure Randy West would be hired, but were kind of shocked when rich got the nod.

[JayC]

IMHO, he was even worse on Wheel of Fortune. While Pat is in the same category as Bob (a traditional game show host), and a former weatherman to boot, they did not mesh at all, as Rich's announcing was even phonier than it was on TPIR. FWIW, Jim Thornton is a much better fit for that show.

I agree, I was rooting for him to get the gig but his voice and style just didn't fit when he auditioned for Wheel. Jim Thorton has been great since he began, and he was excellent with the crowd warming up and answering questions before the show started when I went to see Wheel in NYC in 2013.

[CBSpromoman]

Here's the thing: We got two different Richs over the course of his run on the show.

The first Rich was more subdued and was more in line with Rod. He was pleasant to listen to.

The second Rich was over-the-top (think "A neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH") and was becoming more and more annoying.

I miss the first Rich (and the previous announcers who did it the right way).
I don't miss the second Rich at all.

Unfortunately, George, who has a great voice, is so annoyingly over-the-top that he's become almost more of a reason I've stopped watching than Drew's hosting. George has a personality that could make him a good host. But he's overdoing it bigtime at the mic. That makes me miss the first version of Rich even more.

[Trivia Trap]

I deeply wish for Rich to come back, as he is probably the closest we are going to get to a Johnny Olsen or Rod Roddy.

George is way, way, way over the top in a Jonathan Mangum way, but with little charm and too much schlock. He's annoying when it comes to pure announcing. However, he is good when it comes to interaction with Drew and participating in showcases/prizes/etc in a way that hasn't been done since Rod was feeling well. That's cool.

One way or the other, I think Rich is a much better fit. He held the position with much more honor and respect than I feel George does. Either way, he got to live share in a dream that only ~15-20 men have actually gotten to live.

[blozier2006]

Unfortunately, George, who has a great voice, is so annoyingly over-the-top that he's become almost more of a reason I've stopped watching than Drew's hosting. George has a personality that could make him a good host. But he's overdoing it bigtime at the mic.

George is way, way, way over the top in a Jonathan Mangum way, but with little charm and too much schlock. He's annoying when it comes to pure announcing. However, he is good when it comes to interaction with Drew and participating in showcases/prizes/etc in a way that hasn't been done since Rod was feeling well. That's cool.

Just to play Devil's Advocate here, I have to wonder how much of this over-the-top delivery is a stylistic choice by George, and how much is on Mike Richards' orders. We know that Rich was forced into a ridiculous delivery style by Mike, so it seems plausible that the same thing may be at work with George.

[mechamind]

I still prefer Rich over George, and thinking about the expectations of Mike Richards only makes me miss Rich even more.

[Schfifty]

I don't have anything against George as announcer by any means, but I'd kind of rather hear Rich announcing on the show. I didn't mind him in Drew's first year even if he was a little over-the-top at times (especially with "a new CAAAAR!"), but he started to become a bit awkward after Mike came in. The Drewcases are probably funny, but Rich wasn't meant to be comic relief, and we've seen it plenty of times with George in this era.

So yes, I do kinda miss Rich.

[CBSpromoman]

Just to play Devil's Advocate here, I have to wonder how much of this over-the-top delivery is a stylistic choice by George, and how much is on Mike Richards' orders. We know that Rich was forced into a ridiculous delivery style by Mike, so it seems plausible that the same thing may be at work with George.

You may well be absolutely right here...but, no matter who is to "blame" for the "style," the various style changes have added up to a presentation I no longer enjoy. In this specific case, since we have to hear the announcer for SO MUCH of the show, a problematic announcing style has a huge impact for me.