FULL RECAP - TPiR 10/27/2008

[SteveGavazzi]

Well, this certainly felt more like The Price Is Right than anything last week did.  It wasn't fantastic, but it was at least watchable.

...except for the first showcase, which was just goofy.  And did anyone else have a problem with Drew berating Rich for not paying attention?

Speaking of the Showcase, what the heck was up with that SmartCar?  That was downright dinky...it looked like a tricked out GEM car.  It's all well and good that Whitney was excited about it, but I can't imagine that's going to happen very often -- it just looked weird.

I wish Drew would stop trying to look goofy during his entrances.  Pretending to talk on a cell phone just screams, "Hey, I don't give a damn about the show!"

There was a little bit of Bob showing through Drew's performance when Angel tried to putt from the wrong line.

On the other hand, Drew's hosting at the end of Bonus Game was awful.  He had a chance there to do a great, exciting buildup, and he completely wasted it.  He just showed the price and told Christopher he'd won.

Yay!  Lucky $even sixth!  And won, to boot!

First of all, the light border's back.

Not for long, unfortunately.  Last week's shows were taped out of order.

The opening sure did look better this morning, though.

[Nick]

And did anyone else have a problem with Drew berating Rich for not paying attention?

Yes, not only did it make for a good script, it didn't make for good television period.

I wish Drew would stop trying to look goofy during his entrances.  Pretending to talk on a cell phone just screams, "Hey, I don't give a damn about the show!"

I really wish Drew could read that statement and act appropriately upon it.

[Briguy]

Looking at Nick's post about recommendations and suggestions Drew should follow in hosting future editions of TPiR, I'm not sure if he'd construe it as constructive criticism or take it as ... well, something that would cause him to have a nervous breakdown.

I'm getting this growing sense that some posters believe Drew wants to incorporate inane comedy, and that given the chance he would repeat the words "fried chicken" ad naseum non-stop for the whole hour and hope that the audience would be ROTFL as time goes by in the "act." I'd certainly agree that if that's the case, with Nick's post in mind, he'd resign as host and allow CBS to hire someone else.

I don't know. I've never had an all-negative job review in my life, or any memo that even resembles something that negative (sorry Nick, I don't know how else to say it). I don't know if anyone else on here has. I'm just glad I'm not Drew reading this — and no, it is not a defense of him. I certainly have some issues with his hosting style, including some of the points Nick brought up.

BTW — If the setups of the room prize packages are that bad, then it is a directorial and stage manager problem, and not something that Drew necessarily has control over. Direct all problems to them.

Also, if Drew apparently thinks those small prizes are that bad, I'd wonder what he'd say if he were hosting a show like "Concentration," where small prizes were the norm? I get the growing sense here, too, that he thinks that a prize has to be worth a certain dollar amount to be worth anything. Don't get me wrong, I once posted something on the old alt.tv.game-shows newsgroup once (about 11 years ago) blasting the prizes awarded during the 1972 daytime era (i.e., only cheap economy cars, cheap vinyl floor tile and a TV as a grand prize), while the grand prizes were reserved for the nighttime Let's Make a Deal (ergo, a Cadillac Eldorado). So I digress.

I agree, the small prizes are worth something and certainly have importance, even if they are "wierd." Unless I missed something, I presume the contestants still win them and these aren't just items reduced to "game pieces" used to help win that all-important big prize, as Drew apparently would have it.

Brian

[Briguy]

Nick said:

Yes, not only did it make for a good script, it didn't make for good television period.

I think you meant to say, "Yes, not only did it not make for a good script, it didn't make for good television period" — unless I'm grossly misunderstanding you, to which I would then apologize.

Brian

[TPIRSteven]

Freeze Frame:  The crowd had it, but Marlee's friends let her down. 

Hole in One:  Yay!  It's about time we see this classic again!  The grocery items were tough, but Angel did fairly well with them.  I laughed at the way she tried to putt one line closer than she was supposed to.  I wish Drew had explained the putting object of the game from the start, though, instead of going straight to the items.

Switch?:  Easy, especially if you realize that $3,598 / 2 = $1,799.

Bonus Game:  Perfecto!   Drew could have made the final price reveal more interesting, though.

One Wrong Price:  Another easy setup.  I knew that $2,085 for the bike was too high.  I'm surprised that it was as much as it was.  I would have liked to see Shopping Spree or Credit Card here, but such is life.

Lucky $even:  This was not as easy of a setup, especially given the third and fourth digits, which could have thrown off many contestants (the all-5's strategy would have lost).  Lauren handled them beautifully, though, for a nice win!

Showcases:  I'm not going to go into a huge rant over the first showcase.  Let me just say that it was better than the fried chicken debacle, but not by a whole lot.  Also, the cursed WWP shows up for the first time this season, and I still managed to garf it in CSS!

Overall, we saw some great contestants today, a solid pricing game lieup, and some great wins.  It helps that no games were set up for a loss today, unlike Friday's evil TTM playing.  Drew needs to practice building up excitement for the reveals, though.  I'll still go ahead and say this was an above-average show.

[mrbrown2195]

Speaking of the Showcase, what the heck was up with that SmartCar?  That was downright dinky...it looked like a tricked out GEM car.  It's all well and good that Whitney was excited about it, but I can't imagine that's going to happen very often -- it just looked weird.

It is downright dinky, but Drew is right - they're so popular here in the US (due to their fuel economy, EPA estimated 50mpg city for the gas powered model, something like 90 for the hybrid) that there's a waiting list for them, and unlike the GEM, it isn't a death trap.

EDIT: it is also apparently extremely customizable by the owner after the sale (i.e. you can completely replace the body with relative ease), which is kind of cool.

SC #1:  What the hell is Rich doing on the phone with Twinkle Toes Seacrest?

I'm surprised more of the people here didn't "get" the Seacrest thing. Rich has been on his show quite a bit, and they apparently use sound bits of Rich from the show on the radio on a frequent basis (not that I listen to it or anything).

[ClockGameJohn]

They might be "cute," but I don't know how anything that is between the size of a roller skate and a Ford Festiva isn't considered a death trap.

I guess my question is, at nearly the same price as a 'real' car, why not offer a 'real' car?  I used to think that Price's classy solution to the fuel prices/envirornmental concerns was their offering of the hybrid cars.

[edmojautis]

Freeze: Marlee might want to find new friends after today.

Hole: Angel was such a BLAST!!!! Even though the pricing section didn't fare any well. She still made her putt and deservedly won herself a car!!!!

Switch?: So obvious.

Bonus: Win was very nice, Drew hosting it was no better.

OWP: The bicycle didn't get me at all. Good job.

Lucky 7: Seeing L7 sixth is just so cool!! Successfully played so good by Lauren. 

Showcases: The first one......It's not as worse "The Models can talk" or "Fried Chicken", but still it was ridiculous. A SmartCar??!!! A throwback to the days of giving away those hideous electric cars of the early 80's?? Who knows. But for an itty-bitty car, It was "Stuffed"!!!

A 3.25-star show.

[temptation1979ga]

I was kind of surprised at the contestant's good reaction to the dinky car. I don't know anyone who owns one, likes one, or even thinks they're desirable. To be that expensive, agreeing with John, why not just offer a "real" car? I put those SmartCars in the same category as a golf cart, or a glorified go-cart. Not exactly something I'd want to ride around in all the time.

[whinbaby]

Game #31 (#6,952)

Showcase #1
Dinair Airbrush Makeup - $551
Trip to Lisbon - $10,358
West Wight Potter...OK, which one of you guys painted it red? - $17,670

Showcase #2
Dunkin' Donuts - $732
Dining Room - $8,343
SmartCar Passion Cabriolet - $22,092

Total show prize value:  $136,794 (25 prizes)

Your Modeling Scorecard for November 3, 2008
Daily Records
High:  $73,796 (Brandi Sherwood, 2005)
Low:  $19,366 (Rachel Reynolds, 2004)

Rachel Reynolds
November 3
Total dollars:  $54,323
($30,054 won, $24,269 lost)
Total prizes:  7 (5-2)
Cars, Trips: 1 (Yes, the SmartCar counts as a car in the car counter.), 0

After 24 shows
Total dollars:  $1,428,334
($673,621 won, $754,713 lost)
Total prizes:  207 (131-76)
Cars, Trips: 27, 19 (9-18, 13-6)

Brandi Sherwood
November 3
Total dollars:  $31,374
($30,823 won, $551 lost)
Total prizes:  7 (6-1)
Cars, Trips: 1, 0

After 18 shows
Total dollars:  $789,932
($365,601 won, $424,331 lost)
Total prizes:  135 (86-49)
Cars, Trips: 17, 12 (8-9, 4-8)

Lanisha Cole
November 3
Total dollars:  $50,960
($40,602 won, $10,358 lost)
Total prizes:  7 (6-1)
Cars, Trips: 1, 1

After 15 shows
Total dollars:  $653,954
($316,901 won, $337,053 lost)
Total prizes:  121 (79-42)
Cars, Trips: 11, 9 (3-8, 4-5)

[Cartboy]

Drew's Entrance:  Heh heh heh.  Can you hear me now?  Good.   I wonder if that was Drew's cell phone.
Freeze Frame:  One too far - ouch!   Shoulda listened to the peanut gallery.
Hole In One (or Two):  Great putt (Angel's, not Drew's)!   That was a weird angle for Drew's Inspiration Putt, but it looked all right for Angel's putt.
Switch?:  Good job!
SCSD#1:  3 spins that were almost $1.00 but had enough to go on to .15 - did they make it harder to get $1.00 on the Big Wheel or something?
Bonus Game:  Perfecto!   What was up with the way they had the bedroom group set up?   They should've at least had the bed in the middle.
One Wrong Price:  Good job!
Lucky Seven:  Lucky Seven as the 6th Pricing Game - cool!   Definitely one of the better playings I've seen in a while!
Showcases:  Two car winners in the Showcase today - cool!   Poor Angel - over by $921 - ouch!   If she would've bid $1,000 less than she did, she would've been a .  That first showcase was interesting.  That Smart Car was pretty neat looking and more expensive than I thought it would be.  I mean, I thought it would be pretty expensive, but not that expensive.   I wonder if it'll appear in any of the pricing games.

Awesome show overall!  

[jj09]

Yay!  The lightbox is back!  (If but temporarily...)

Isn't talking on a cellphone while hosting a game show illegal in 15 states?

No, it's 20   

And I figure they'll have him do an entrance in a car (ala Lucky Seven Style) while talking on one. He'll be screaming "FRIED CHICKEN!" when it happens

[jj09]

And, by the way, that was a turkey leg today. Tastes like ham if you cook it long enough.

Looked like a damn fake piece of chicken(almost a toy imho) to me.

[mhrasputin]

OK, I'll admit the last number of showcases were ridiculous, it almost makes not want to watch the 2nd half, just watch the pricing games and then turn it off. But we have to remember this is not the Bob Barker PRICE IS RIGHT, that is gone forever, you can now refer to this as "damaged goods" this is the Drew Carey PIR. The ratings will decide whether this keeps going or it gets sent to the shelves, we'll know at season's end.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Do you think we would ever see Rich Fields eat a piece of meat in Bob Barker's presence?

[lucyrickyalex]

Opening: Yay, the light border is back!

IUFB#1: Lanisha needs more practice on modeling the elliptical trainer.  She stumbled a little bit.
Also, Drew needs more practice on reciting the rules of the game.  He mumbled a little bit.  (okay, it was more than a little bit...)

Freeze Frame: A snowmobile.  Perfect for the girl who doesn't know what she does in Calihahafornia.  Her family should have listened to the crowd.

Hole in One Or Two: Nice try moving up a line.  Thankfully, she didn't need it.

IUFB#3: Ouch.  Marvin bid $1 over.  And John has the oddest happy dance that I have seen in a while.

Switch?: I would have stayed and won.  It looked as if John was going to take off in those motorscooters and look for the missing dollar signs on the price reveals!

Bonus Game: Where are they getting these SPs? A water bottle/solar-powered light?  A T-shirt/Wi-Fi detector?  Fortunately, Christopher wasn't stumped.

IUFB#5: Maybe it's because I'm not watching in HD, but Whitney's shirt doesn't look lousy to me.

One Wrong Price: The bicycle stuck out like a sore thumb.

IUFB#6: Pay your bills IN STYLE!
Lauren, Mimi.  Mimi, Lauren.

Lucky Seven: Whitney, this is not Jeopardy!  You do not have to guess in the form of a question.  Good news: Now she can drop off her bills to the Post Office IN STYLE!

SC1: First Drew on his cell, now Rich?

SC2: Sometimes I need a year's supply of coffee just to get up in the morning.

Reveal: An Historic Moment!  The first time in the history of The Price Is Right that a Smart Car was won!