What were the golden days?

[wheelfan1991]

This has probably been discussed many times over the years on this site, but I’ve been thinking as I’ve been watching older episodes on YouTube recently.

What do you consider to be the golden days (the hay day) for Price? I first watched the show in the mid and late 90s but really got my hooks into the show during Bob’s final two years. However, I think the best days were the late 70s in to the early 80s. There was just so much camaraderie among Bob, Johnny, and the Beauties as well as the contestants. Johnny was one hell of an announcer. Bob was on top of his game. The beauties were simply gorgeous and graceful. The contestants were, for the most part, calm cool collected and very interesting. They didn’t act total fools for the camera so they could be “viral” like today. I also enjoyed how things weren’t so rushed and choppy. Bob took time to chat with the audience and occasionally with Johnny and the girls. Plus the elaborate showcase skits were absolutely hilarious!

Just a side note, I’ve always thought the Beauties were kind of like the Golden Girls. Janice like Dorothy. Holly like Rose. Dian like Blanche.

Thoughts, anyone?

[Superballer]

I myself rate the "golden age," or the show's peak, from about 1979 or so, when they moved into their current slot and everything had basically solidified into what we see today, to about 1993, with Dian's departure being my own cutoff point. 

[wheelfan1991]

I hate the way Dian left. Not much fanfare (at least there was a brief mention). But I think she did Bob very dirty. I don’t doubt they had a fling or relationship, but for her to call sexual harassment when he wanted to call it off is insane. But I think that’s when the show hit a dark period. ‘93-‘00ish.

[pricefan18]

I hate the way Dian left. Not much fanfare (at least there was a brief mention). But I think she did Bob very dirty. I don’t doubt they had a fling or relationship, but for her to call sexual harassment when he wanted to call it off is insane. But I think that’s when the show hit a dark period. ‘93-‘00ish.

I think it hit it worse after Janice and Kathleen were ousted in 2000. And I say that as someone who grew up watching the show at the end of Bob's run in the 2001-2007 period. It became much more a one man show at that point reflecting on it now with older eyes, doubly so after Rod died. So I'd say the golden days were essentially 1979-2000, maybe split into 2 parts, the Dian and post Dian periods.

[wheelfan1991]

I always wondered why they decided to add a fourth model in 1990. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Kathleen, but four seemed a little much. And, the way they ousted Holly, then Jan and Kathleen left a bad taste in my mouth and it definitely did become more like the Bob show and the models were basically hushed until Drew came around.

[JayC]

I would say the golden days were the early to mid 1980s before Johnny passed away. I grew up with Rod and loved hearing and watching him, but I'd have to say the show's absolute peak was with Johnny announcing and the Janice, Dian, and Holly model group.

[priac]

As someone who has watched since the beginning ( i was very young Lol) the Golden Days (In my opinion of course) were any year that featured Janice, Dian, and Holly as models; Bob as MC of course; Frank Wayne or Roger as producer; and Johnny or Rod as announcer.   

I don’t mind variations of that - INCLUDING the current version.  It’s somewhat different for sure.  But hell, this is a show that’s pushing a half century old.  I think they’ve done a great gradual job of staying current, while also maintaining true to the original format.  No easy feat. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have a different answer in 10 years or so.

Clearly, it’s mostly a testament to the strong overall product that creator Mark Goodson, et al created and premiered in 1972 as “The New Price is Right”.   The “players” have changed, and will continue to.  The game remains the same.

[pricefan18]

I always wondered why they decided to add a fourth model in 1990. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Kathleen, but four seemed a little much.

I wonder if it was a preventative thing with the Dian stuff looming to either show her she was replaceable or prepare for her inevitable departure, I could see that. The African American element coulda had a bit to do with too, although the race quota business wasn't as big a topic in 1990 as it is 30 years later almost (god that makes me feel old to type that, 1990 doesn't feel 29 years ago lol).

[Hag]

I would say the golden years started with the debut of the hour long show, up until Johnny passed away.

[SteveGavazzi]

The African American element coulda had a bit to do with too, although the race quota business wasn't as big a topic in 1990 as it is 30 years later almost (god that makes me feel old to type that, 1990 doesn't feel 29 years ago lol).

I can't imagine adding a black model wasn't the driving factor behind hiring Kathleen.  I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I want to say everyone they auditioned that time around was black.  In theory, that could be a coincidence, but it probably wasn't.

(Take note, also, that every group of try-outs after Janice and Kathleen were fired had one black woman and one white woman until they hired Claudia, after which everyone was white.  That wasn't an accident, either.)

[JT]

Golden age started when the show truly hit its hour long "extravaganza" stride:  1976-77. This is when Bob truly made the contestants the star of the show and you never knew what was going to happen next (tube top lady, the samoans, lady in restroom when called).  I visited the show in 1987 and looking back still felt that was the tail end of the golden age so I'm going to say 1976-1988 or 89.

[Mr. Weatherman]

What one would consider the ‘golden days’ or ‘years’ is completely relative to that person’s experience with the show.

For the pre-teen super fan, that era may very well be the show right now in its current form.  For someone who’s been around since Cullen was hosting, they might prefer the Barker/Olson days.  We may come to a general consensus for a certain period, but that doesn’t make it the definitive choice across the board.

To me, the ‘golden age’ was the show early on in my childhood up until Rod’s passing (mid 90s - ‘03).  That’s when my own ‘super fandom’ began and where my fondest memories of watching the show lay.

[pricefan18]

Golden age started when the show truly hit its hour long "extravaganza" stride:  1976-77. This is when Bob truly made the contestants the star of the show and you never knew what was going to happen next (tube top lady, the samoans, lady in restroom when called).  I visited the show in 1987 and looking back still felt that was the tail end of the golden age so I'm going to say 1976-1988 or 89.

What made you think that 87 was the tail end of the golden age in your experience? Just curious.

[SamJ93]

It's definitely a matter of what era one grew up watching in, but I'd say it lasted from shortly after the hour expansion in 1976 up through Janice and Kathleen leaving in 2000. After the slew of new pricing games were finally in place, the show was able to offer up a feeling of variety that was unlike anything else on TV, and even the things that didn't work (Professor Price) were fascinating experiments. Plus, of course, the camaraderie between the cast (at least, the way they pretended to be friends).

2000-June 15, 2007 was the Silver Age. It was still a good show, but the lack of interaction between Bob, the announcer and the new faceless models made it feel colder and less personal, and the loss of airtime to commercials really started to become noticeable (and, I think, made Bob seem more irritable than previous).

Drew's first three seasons were the "Dork Age," to borrow from TV Tropes. The production staff tried way too hard to reinvent the wheel, and it just didn't work, on top of Drew's apparent lack of enthusiasm.

2011-present is the "Meh..." Age. It's not terrible, it's not great, it's just kinda there. But I'm sure that's as much a function of me getting older and more jaded as much as anything...

[tpir04]

What one would consider the ‘golden days’ or ‘years’ is completely relative to that person’s experience with the show.

For the pre-teen super fan, that era may very well be the show right now in its current form.

This, and might I add that it's usually the case that the previous generations tend to like their era more than future eras, especially as more smart technology takes hold. As in the baby boomers that grew up with Bill Cullen, who would ever think that we could have a video wall at the back of the studio? On the other side of the coin, this generation (of which I am a proud part of, that is to say, the Gen Z'ers) as a whole may very well deem the chroma-key of the 70s to be old-fashioned, even though it was high-tech for its time. I guess my point is that as technology progresses, and younger generations are exposed to it, it is more likely that will be the era they value most. Just my two cents.

And for the record, 1975-1990 is my favorite era in the show, although the whole run, including Cullen TPIR, is exceptional.