FULL RECAP - TPiR 12/18/2008

[Joe_Capitano]

Oh, all you dish Network folks in Fisher territory, particularly Brandi's hometown of Idaho Falls - I feel your pain (retransmission fee dispute).

Remember cbs.com for the stream. We'll get through this. Onward...

Production #4555K - Taped Dec. 3, 2008 Drew: stage entrance First Four lineup: right to left Handoff: Brandi Models of the Day: Lanisha Cole, Rachel Reynolds and Brandi Sherwood Wearing: dresses.com 1   Inspire M1 Home Gym (L) DAWNKYLEE *900 MICHAEL 2500 JOHN 850 NATALIE 2600 ($1795) Dawnkylee plays LUCKY SEVEN for a Ford Fusion SE (Std., AT, Mats, Prot, Stereo, ParkAssist)(R) Picks: 3 5 5 – Price:   $ 2 3 8 1 4 Bucks: 7 7 4 0 LOSS 2   8 Igloo Coolers (B) ALVIN 500 +Michael 400 +John 550 +Natalie *575 ($1176) Natalie from Houston, TX plays GRAND GAME (Target: $7.00) for some economic stimulus... (1) Bruce's Yams (16 oz) $ 1.49 $ 10 (5) (Pompeiian) Olive Oil (1l) 7.99 LOSS (2) Coricidin HBP (3) Clorox Stain Fighter 5.99 (4) 9 Lives Cat Food (6) Bayer Aspirin (200) Remaining prices Not Revealed 3   14 Chanel Fragrances (B&L) Alvin 1100 700 +Michael 1201 650 +John 1202 500 SUSAN 1200 *775 ($1063) Susan plays PUSHOVER for a Kawasaki STX15F JetSki (R) Setup: 7 5 2 9 3 9 8 4 2 Pick: 7 5 2[9 3 9 8] Price: $9398   WIN! SHOWDOWN #1 $ 1,186 Natalie 20 + 25 .45 1,795 Dawnkylee 20 + 95 OV 10,461 Susan 85 stay .85 Through to Showcase Round 4   SportsStuff Pool/Beach lounges (L) Alvin *700 +Michael 900 +John 600 THOMAS 400 ($810) Alvin plays COVER UP for a Jeep Compass (Std., Rally, Stereo, Axle, #26E, Prot)(B) Setup    1 1st Try [2] 7  4 [8][0] 5 6 2nd Try [2][4] 6 [8][0] 9 6 0 3rd Try [2][4] 9 [8][0]    LOSS   ($24,380) 9 4 8 4 4th Try 2 7 3 7 8 5th Try   3 4 6 2 2 $1 3 8 4 5 5   Golden West Billiard Table (B&R) SYREATHEA 1300 +Michael 2000 +John 1450 Thomas *2100 ($2800) Thomas plays FREEZE FRAME for an Ashley Spectra Queen Size Bed and  a Strobel Supplepedic Sleep Set (L) 15 25 87 $3097 LOSS 76 42 30 14 97 "Christmas Week" is just around the corner. At the "First Four" Breakfast Club it means the hanging of the, er, decorations. Mimi needs some "volunteers." Perhaps Michael and John will do. One of them will be doing some hard lifting, but whom? Will both go? Can John escape this with his last bid advantage? 6   24" Steam Oven (R) Syreathea *1550 +Michael 650 +John 800 BONNIE 1000 ($2579) Michael and John head off to the clubhouse while Syreathea from Long Beach, CA plays SWITCH? Taye 5 pc Drum Set/Meinl Byzance Cymbals (L) $4023 NO 2 Lance Duke Touring Motorscooters (B) $4998 SWITCH $4998 WIN! SHOWDOWN #2 $ 810 Alvin 35 + 55 .90 Through to Showcase Round 2,800 Thomas 85 + 25 OV 11,600 Syreathea 60 + 65 OV SHOWCASE ROUND Susan has the honor. SC1-Alvin Broyhill Affinity Dining Room Group Noritake Berdinal China Dinnerware Deluxe Espresso/Cappuccino Machine 9L) Trip to Sao Paolo (6n @ Caesar Park)(B) BID $30,000 PRICE 21,685 DIFF OVER SC2-Susan Dog House End Table (L) Trip to San Diego (4n)(B) "Hotel for Dogs" Hollywood Premiere Package (L; Not included in SC total) Pontiac Solstice (Std., AT, Fog, AC, Pref, Cruise, Pedals)(L) BID $22,000 PRICE 31,450 DIFF –9,450 TOTAL $41,911 Today's Pricing Games: 2 for 6 Total Winnings: $60,102 THIS IS THE ONLY OFFICIAL GOLDEN-ROAD.net SHOW RECAP. REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED WITHOUT AUTHOR PERMISSION.

[Mallory16]

This may very well have been the worst pricing game lineup in the show's history.  A car game tied for the quickest car game, another quick car game, a quick GP game, and three quickies.  Absolutely inexcusable.  Roger may not have always created perfect lineups for every episode, but he's never come up with such a garbage lineup as this one, either.

On a related note, if that inexplicably does time to 27 minutes, then it just shows that coming up with a good lineup takes more skill than simply throwing together any six games that add up to that magical number.

On a related note, do Push Over and Freeze Frame conflict?  They always seemed vaguely similar, and I don't offhand recall them being played together before.

Wow... a relatively normal entrance!  I forgot those existed.

Susan was a lot of fun, and basically helped the episode as a whole.  She was just so nervous and excited and darn likable!  So glad she did so well!

On the other hand, it's a shame Bonnie was called ninth.  She seemed only slightly more subdued than Susan did.  Too bad.

That may be the worst I've ever seen Freeze Frame played.  I don't understand why Thomas seemed so sure that $1525 was the price, when it was so obviously wrong, even the entire rest of the audience knew he'd lost.

I can't figure out whether the second showcase had a theme or not.  Wouldn't be the first time this season neither showcase had a theme, but there eventually seemed to be a Hollywood theme of some sort, once you got past the first two prizes... does a theme that only exists for half a showcase count as a theme?

I did not like how Drew handled the "just for fun" reveals in Grand Game.  He showed us the price of the bleach, then randomly declared "we'll forget the rest"?!  It's one thing in Pass the Buck to quit revealing numbers once the car is found, since you can argue that's all Joe Plinko cares about, but that was just really stupid.

[Grand_game2004]

All I can say is "Ouch!" for this episode. Even though I didn't see it, I'd say that this episode wasn't really good at all.

[Mallory16]

Why would you say that if you haven't seen it?  Anything involving Susan was gold!  If you're going to complain, you should at least have something to complain about.

[UniquePerspective]

You could say that the first showcase had some what of a theme of "beauty" as Rich used the word beautiful in a lot of the descriptions.

As for the rest of the show:

Lucky 7: Somewhat of a hard set up, I would have won it simply because I was expecting a not easy line up, but this was a pretty hard set up.

Grand Game: Ouch. I thought it was cheap olive oil myself. Must have been the cheaper cold medicine.

Pushover: I would have had it too, and I think Susan could be a contestant of the year nominee, certainly one of the top contestants of December.

Cover Up: That was a LOADED Fusion. I've never seen a Fusion that expensive before.

Freeze Frame: It almost seemed as if he just pulled the lever instantly, almost as if it was what he had to do. Certainly a very quick pull after Drew's instructions, and it cost him.

Switch: Ridculously easy win.

Showcases: Like I said, I do think the first one had somewhat of a theme with beauty, the second one I don't think had one at all, but I think both worked well for the simple goal of showcases: presenting prizes. Of course my CSS performance in here was another story...but still.

[Alfonzo]

This may very well have been the worst pricing game lineup in the show's history.

Wow! I was thinking the exact same thing! Absolutely NO excuse for excluding a small prize game with a line-up like that!

[goldroadfanatic]

Compared to recent shows, this one was pretty darn good.

I was so comforting to see Drew actually make a normal entrance instead of coming out on a prize or putting a trash can outside the doors.  I really think someone pulled him aside and told him to clean up his act or Drew read our site and took our advice on entrances.

Also, Drew has new glasses today.  I wonder if those glasses will be permanently worn or if he will go back to his signature round ones.

It really stinks that Dawnkylie lost Lucky $even.  I swear, that is the most expensive Ford Fusion the show has ever offered, topping the $21,000+ ones that were offered late in Season 34.  There was little to no chance that it would have been won today with an 8 and a 1 in the price.

Also, I know this is only minute, but who staged Lucky $even today?  We couldn't see the dollar sign on the left side of the prop!

Drew really needs to work on Grand Game reveals.  He revealed the detergent, but nothing else, and I'm sure some viewers out there would like to know what were the other items that cost less than $7.00.

Arugably, Susan was the best contestant of the day, and a nominee for contestant of the year.  She was very happy to be on the show, crying for joy when she came into contestants row; she really deserved to win Pushover and the showcase showdown.

That is probably the most loaded Jeep Compass the show has ever offered.  Normally, the Compass the show normally uses is around $18,000 or so, but this had special rims and that bumper to put it over $24,000!

Alvin was fun to watch getting on stage, and he was also a great contestant to watch today.

Wow, for once Drew actually praised a game when he was saying "Cover Up, the greatest game in the history of The Price is Right!"  Even though it isn't to us, it feels so nice how Drew said that.

I actually like how Drew handled the final reveal in Cover Up, I mean it created just about the same suspense, if not more, to hit the reveal button rather than ask if the price was right or not, since it was down to the wire in the game.

I wonder if Thomas was nervous or jumped the gun when playing Freeze Frame.  Maybe he was paying attention to the audience too much and had no idea what he stopped on.

It was great for Alvin to go to the showcase.  We have arguably the two best contestants in one show facing off in the showcases, kind of like Marilyn vs. Melanie from the October 15, 1991 show.

I personally thought they could have put the premiere tickets at the end, like all other bonuses the show has offered in a showcase (that baseball from the DVD set comes to mind.)

Both showcases were pretty good, especially the first one, which didn't have a recap of prizes at the end.  The second one was pretty good, but the theme about dogs needed to be stated more clearly.

It was so awesome for Susan to win it all on her birthday, and her reaction was priceless.

That may be the worst I've ever seen Freeze Frame played.  I don't understand why Thomas seemed so sure that $1525 was the price, when it was so obviously wrong, even the entire rest of the audience knew he'd lost.

I've seen worse than today's, on the premiere in 1995, someone guessed $1,282 out of all the possibilities for a canopy bed!  The audience had the same "knew he lost" reaction and even Bob noted that on the air.

[FPGWillyT]

On a related note, if that inexplicably does time to 27 minutes, then it just shows that coming up with a good lineup takes more skill than simply throwing together any six games that add up to that magical number.

On a related note, do Push Over and Freeze Frame conflict?  They always seemed vaguely similar, and I don't offhand recall them being played together before.

Actually, the lineup timed out to 26 minutes, and no Pushover and Freeze Frame do not conflict with each other.  It should be noted that Roger did from time to time schedule games that conflicted, but it was rare to have that happen.

[TVLubber]

I knew Alvin made a bad bid, judging by the fact that there was no car in his Showcase. All I can say to him is this:

ALVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!!!

Get it?

[BRB_TheFireball]

Many of the prizes on today's show were on Grec-oids®--$23,000 Ford Fusion, $24,000 Jeep Compass, $2,500 steamer, and nearly $1,200 worth of Igloo coolers.

I hate it when Drew doesn't reveal all of the prices in Grand Game.  I would like to know whether the cat food or aspirin was under $7.00.

Today's lineup had to be one of the most boring in TPIR history.  No SP game.  No MP game.  Car game 4th.  Total time of the games was at least a full minute short.  Just no fun or excitement out of that.

But as for Susan and Alvin... they brought the fun and excitement.  Susan is easily a "Contestant of the Year" nominee.

I don't what the hell Alvin was thinking on that first showcase.  The cappuccino machine might be expensive, but it's not that expensive.

My showcase bids:
Room/trip--$22,207
Car--$30,007

[therealcu2010]

Pretty decent show today.  Aside from not revealing the rest of the prices in Grandy, Drew was on his A-game today.  The game lineup was a little on the "meh" side, but otherwise, not bad at all.  Susan was fun to watch, too- she definitely was the highlight of the show.  Nice to see her win.

The Showcases were pretty good, too.  Both seemed fairly normal to me.

Here's to a great Christmas week!

OVERALL: 4/5.

[JokerFan]

Lucky $even: I really hate it when Drew says something like "I don't know if you can use these in <Insert city here>" and it's a car.  Also, Rich shouldn't follow it through by saying something like "Yeah.  I don't know."

Grand Game: Drew said something like “Forget the rest”.  Some of us would like to know what the answers are.  Besides, he reveals the remaining numbers in Lucky $even (something Bob didn’t do) yet he won’t do the same for Grand Game?

Freeze Frame: Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't November 18, 1997, the last time Freeze Frame was played fifth?

SC1: My Bid: $23,662 / OVER
SC2: My Bid: $42,150 / OVER

Today's lineup had to be one of the most boring in TPIR history ... Car game 4th.

What do you have aganist car games fourth?  Does it have something to do with it being done too many times?

[Nick]

I don't know what prompted Drew to wear different glasses today, but while I would not say they're the best frames I've seen on him, they're certainly a lot better than the goofy circular frames he usually wears.

That entrance of his was almost normal.  I very much appreciated to see something a lot more tame.

Something needs to be done about the Lucky $even reveal.  In SD, Rich is always announcing the car before it comes into view.  If they must do the show in widescreen, I'd suggest a different angle on the shot so we're all seeing the car come into view at the same time.

Drew's remarks about the "even odd five" actually came off quite well.  On the other hand, he started off fairly well in Grand Game, yet botched the ending pitifully.

What was up with Drew's rambling on about Cover Up during Alvin's first turn, proclaiming it to be "the greatest game in the history of The Price Is Right" in a somwhat sarcastic tone?  Don't tell me this is yet another game he doesn't like.

I have to give Drew credit for having handled Thomas's pitiful playing of Freeze Frame reasonably well, at least on air.  It was quite obvious he was as bewildered as the rest of us to why he froze on such an obviously-incorrect price, but at least he didn't start tearing him up on air about it.

The Showcases were quite good!  Chop off the stupid prize recap at the end of the second Showcase, and you would have had the best combination of Showcases since early in the season!  No unfunny junk, no stupid lines, no pointlessness from Rich at the expense of making him look stupid... Sure, it would have been nice to see a real theme worked into the second Showcase, but I'll take two nearly-themeless Showcases over any one Showcases with a stupid theme by Drew.

[UniquePerspective]

What was up with Drew's rambling on about Cover Up during Alvin's first turn, proclaiming it to be "the greatest game in the history of The Price Is Right" in a somwhat sarcastic tone?  Don't tell me this is yet another game he doesn't like.

From what I understood it when I saw it, it wasn't that he was sarcastic about it, it's that he was playing up the carnival barker joke that he was doing, and I sensed no sarcasm in doing it, just him doing his usual Drew thing.

[rob79]

This may very well have been the worst pricing game lineup in the show's history.  A car game tied for the quickest car game, another quick car game, a quick GP game, and three quickies.  Absolutely inexcusable.  Roger may not have always created perfect lineups for every episode, but he's never come up with such a garbage lineup as this one, either.

On a related note, if that inexplicably does time to 27 minutes, then it just shows that coming up with a good lineup takes more skill than simply throwing together any six games that add up to that magical number.

Today's pricing game lineup spelled out: P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C.

And just think yesterday we proclaimed that to be the worst pricing game lineup in the history of the show and yet today tops 'em all. Freeze Frame and Switch? back to back 5th and 6th? That's just horrid. There ain't no telling what will show up whenever Temptation, Ten Chances, Stack the Deck or any of the other longer games show up again. Whoever is putting together these lineups needs to give up right now because they are doing an absolute pitiful job. If they can't do better than that they need to turn things over to someone who can---someone like Roger.

If anything they could have at least played Cover Up 5th.

Anyone wanna predict that tomorrow's lineup will be even worse than todays?

Speaking of Grand Game, how Drew handled things at the end revealing the Clorox and then quitting was the stupidest thing i've ever seen. Either reveal 'em all or don't even bother, don't just reveal one and decide to quit.