Your biggest TPIR "what-ifs"

[Mr. Weatherman]

Another day, another thread that has devolved into a ‘Bob vs Drew’ argument... 

[imhomerjay]

the way CBS went about the replacement, giving it to a guy who admitted he never watched the show, no audition, and only took it when they offered large amounts of money, tells me they wanted a name instead of a host.

And that is a perfectly reasonable and defensible business decision, though he WAS a host, which shouldn't be lost in the equation. In part of course because it's their hour of airtime, but because the direction the entertainment landscape was heading was pretty clear. A "name" cuts through the noise, it gives a jolt of energy to a program that, objectively, needed that were it to have a good chance of making it another decade plus.

[silverice878]

How about we quit arguing like a bunch of children?

Drew excels in some ways, Bob excels in others. I respect what both has done. Drew ain't no Bob Barker, but he doesn't have to be. He's successfully molded the show into his own form, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Save the arguments for another time and another place entirely.

[TPIR_rules]

Let's also remember that Drew didn't have much experience being a game show host. Before TPIR, he hosted Power of 10 for one season in 2007. On the other hand, Bob hosted Truth or Consequences for 18 years in total (16 of those were before TPIR) which is more than Drew has hosted now. And for another comparison, Dennis James, who hosted the primetime TPIR for eight years, had been hosting game shows for a whopping 28 years prior to TPIR, starting with Cash and Carry in 1946.

I would also like to reiterate once more that, for Drew to be as good a host as he can, he will have to host his own way.

Five years.

[priceguy]

Part of the reason I haven’t seen a whole episode of the show in close to ten years is Drew’s awful hosting. I always see him mumbling, or fumbling around, or looking bored, traits that a game show host should not have.

If you haven't seen a whole episode in ten years, maybe you should change that. Watch a full episode. Not just a little clip. It's hard for you to argue the current quality of the show/host when you've barely watched it.

Anyway, my what-if (I don't think it's been mentioned): what if Roger had not been let go after season 36? Would he be retired by now or still working?

[SamJ93]

Anyway, my what-if (I don't think it's been mentioned): what if Roger had not been let go after season 36? Would he be retired by now or still working?

Stayed on 3 or 4 more years, then retired and handed over production duties to an underling whom he had been training during that time, most likely.

That being said, I think Roger getting fired was inevitable, even if someone other than Drew became host. He had gotten way too used to the way Bob did things, and was too resistant to change.

[b_masters8]

How about we quit arguing like a bunch of children?

Drew excels in some ways, Bob excels in others. I respect what both has done. Drew ain't no Bob Barker, but he doesn't have to be. He's successfully molded the show into his own form, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Save the arguments for another time and another place entirely.

Right on the money-- Bob does have his place in television's storied past, but Drew, in his more than a decade on TPIR, has quite obviously made a name for himself, and I do enjoy seeing Drew, and have enjoyed it a lot lately.

[whowouldeverhurtawhammy]

Breaking away from the "Bob vs. Drew" catfights...

What if Plinko actually makes a perfect winner someday?

[tpir04]

Five years.

For some odd reason, I thought he hosted from 1972-80. I should've checked with Wikipedia first!

What if Plinko actually makes a perfect winner someday?

That's just it...it's never gonna happen. At least I don't think it ever will.

[plinkoboard]

What if the original Bullseye had different rules for winning such as you won by guessing within $5 or $10 and if you guessed correctly you got a $100 bonus?  Even though at least 2 people would've won that way it still might've been retired when it was and replaced with something new.  What if you could bail out with 1 or 2 cars in Triple Play?  What if Michael Romano Jr. from the 3/30/17 episode rounded his bid up to $31,160 thus resulting in a tie difference in the showcase?

[TheBigAK]

What if Hulu (or other service)  had all seasons all episodes of TPiR available for streaming?     Hey, I can dream, can't I?

[crazypackersfan]

What if Clock Game John had played Poker Game? Would "Poker Game John" have become a game show legend?

What if I had been chosen as a contestant the day I was there and gotten to play Plinko? Would I have become the first contestant to win Plinko?

[JayC]

There was an incident in season 37 where a contestant playing Plinko was given $30,000 because they didn't remove wire that set up the chip to hit the $10,000 after filming a promo for a video game-- what if this had not been noticed and the contestant won $50,000 as a result? Would they have given the contestant $50,000 and then reshot the game to be played honestly like they did, or would they have kept in the tainted $50,000 win just to say someone won Plinko and get publicity out of it? They didn't use the perfect showcase bid for publicity because they assumed there was cheating involved and finding out the circumstances behind the Plinko win certainly would've been a PR nightmare.

As for the possibility of Plinko being fully won without anything like the above incident happening, probably the only way it happens is if they change the board to have two $10,000 slots.

[gamesurf]

finding out the circumstances behind the Plinko win certainly would've been a PR nightmare.

You answered your own question there; about the last message you would ever want to send to the general viewership is “We have the ability to rig the Plinko board”. (And a close second would be implying “Nobody will ever win Plinko unless we really, really screw up.”)

[Ton80]

...or would they have kept in the tainted $50,000 win just to say someone won Plinko and get publicity out of it?

I think this would been illegal, or at the very least run afoul of the S&P rules - even if the "rigging" was in the contestant's favor.

And in today's environment, with HD and DVR capabilities, it wouldn't have taken a second for some sharp eyed viewer to spot it and post it all over the internet.  Pretending someone won a game that was rigged for them to win, and using that for publicity would be almost as bad as getting caught rigging a game for a player to lose.