FULL RECAP - TPiR 09/23/2008

[Todd]

He was not insulting the show. He was simply stating the truth: this game can be really exciting, however it could also be a very long, drawn out game.

[heelsrule1988]

How the heck were those prizes in Switch that expensive?! They were like double the price I'd expect them to be.

BEST CONTESTANT OF THE DAY: Lynette
SHOW GRADE: 2

[Todd]

I'm not sure what leads you to that conclusion...the scenario described farther up the thread in which his complaining caused the game to be redesigned into the ground seems perfectly plausible to me.

Where exactly do you see that?

[JasonA1]

I thought this playing of 3 Strikes showed that Drew KNOWS how long the game can take. He harped on it, but that doesn't mean it's broken. Did Syd & the gang take that as a cue to change the game over and over?

Granted, changing it a bit (giving the first number) would be better than dumping it altogether, but...

-Jason

[CaseyBuck]

Don't tell they're considering retiring 3 Strikes! Ugh.

And I bet that Drew's comment today about the length of the game will lead up to its retirement...

[SteveGavazzi]

He was not insulting the show. He was simply stating the truth: this game can be really exciting, however it could also be a very long, drawn out game.

He called 3 Strikes "tedious."  That is a ridiculously unprofessional comment to make about a game you are currently in the process of hosting.

[Nick]

He called 3 Strikes "tedious."  That is a ridiculously unprofessional comment to make about a game you are currently in the process of hosting.

Agreed, even if we're dealing with big, ugly, purple wheels.

I don't really know how else to say it, but I really don't want to see 3 Strikes retired.  3 Strikes, as it was today, is clearly a format that is absolutely perfect for the game.  Sure, today's playing ended quickly and was thus rather uneventful, but it's those really long playings that get down to a final draw between the last digit and the last strike for that Cadillac sitting across the stage that, really, makes it the most exciting regular car game on the show.

It's hard to put into words just how awesome 3 Strikes is, but Roger always understood what we felt.

[Millionaire81]

He called 3 Strikes "tedious."  That is a ridiculously unprofessional comment to make about a game you are currently in the process of hosting.

I'm confused as to when Drew says a purple wheel is ugly and horrible it's OK and he single-handedly saves the wheel, but because he's mentioned a negative about 3 Strikes...it's unprofessional.

[temptation1979ga]

Ok, if all the talk about 3 Strikes being considered for retirement is true, that is one of the dumbest moves I've ever heard of the show making. After all, it's one of the most thrilling games on the show and has a classic unique-ness about it; It has provided viewers with countless exciting, dramatic moments over the years, and now there's talk of it going away? That said, I have to ask what Drew was thinking when he called it "tedious" on the air. Sure, he's allowed to have an opinion, but he might as well have said, "Welcome to the stage, you can drive off in that car if you win this tedious pricing game." 

[SteveGavazzi]

I'm confused as to when Drew says a purple wheel is ugly and horrible it's OK and he single-handedly saves the wheel, but because he's mentioned a negative about 3 Strikes...it's unprofessional.

The former was about a ridiculous set change that was made for no reason.  The latter was about a solid format that's been around for 32 and a half years.  I agree that on the surface, both comments are unprofessional...but the wheel remark seems to have had considerably better repercussions than the 3 Strikes remark.

[PriceFanArmadillo]

He called 3 Strikes "tedious."  That is a ridiculously unprofessional comment to make about a game you are currently in the process of hosting.

ESPECIALLY when the game in question often builds up to the single most dramatic moment the show has!  The final pull in Three Strikes is only second to the final reveal in Golden Road for 'best moments' on the show!  The 'slow build' to that climax is part of the thrill!  Getting rid of Three Strikes is completely asinine! 

It'd be, like, oh...I dunno...painting the big wheel purple!  Or Brett Favre giving up football to join the Mannings's Double Stuf Racing League!  Seriously, it would be one of the dumbest things they could do.  Why not get rid of the Showcases while you're at it? 

Three Strikes needs to stay.  Period.

[mrbrown2195]

I thought Drew did a mostly respectable job of hosting today, but he did one thing that really, really irked me -- he insulted 3 Strikes!

I was thinking in the shower this evening about why he made this comment, and thought that maybe the crew was already in discussions about how to shorten the game's playing time. Perhaps Drew was told he should comment about how long the game takes to play in order to prepare the audience for changes to the game's format the next time it is played.

I certainly don't think the comment was made to insult the game and I also believe that the comment did not lead to the change in the rules, but the change in rules (or at least discussion thereof) led to the comment.

Of course, there is always the possibility that he just gave his opinion.. it does take a while to play, and some contestants last season led to the game being edited.

[res0xn12]

I'd like to make a point that yes I think that Three Strikes needs to stay, but there comes a time that maybe a change is needed (although maybe not the right change at the right time).  To that effect, it's great that Three Strikes is going to be played for regular cars, BUT, I think personally, if they are going to do that, they must do a Three Strikes Plus for cars like today's playing.  Do we still know if they have the plus?

Anyway off the soapbox:  It was a shame to have Three Strikes lost today, I actually was hoping for either Triple Play or Golden Road yesterday.  Anyways, I thought that TPIR stopped giving away (or attempting to give away) Trucks due to Gasoline MPGs...

[Eddie]

Push Over for a boat?  Thumbs down.

The Dice Game's outcome was interesting.  A contestant rolling a 4 three times with price having two 6's and a 1 and still manages to win.  Lucky She didn't roll a 5 or 2.

I did like the New York backdrop in for the convertable.

Kinda dissapointed to see another gas guzzling truck in Your first run-of-the-mill showcase round.  I'd bet the winner would considering trading or selling.

[rob79]

From what I understand, sadly, 3 Strikes may never recover from this tinkering.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! j

I'm getting tired of some yapping about Drew being correct about the length of time Strikes can take. THAT is what makes it exciting, the building of suspense-it was NEVER intended to be a short car game (we've got Money Game for that), you start messing with 3 Strikes you're messing with what makes it exciting and that's what Syd has done and unfortunately it seems that he's run it into the ground.