FULL RECAP - TPiR 12/22/2008

[Joe_Capitano]

Production #4562K - Taped Dec. 1, 2008 Day 1 of Christmas Week Drew: stage entrance First Four lineup: right to left Handoff: Lanisha Models of the Day: Lanisha Cole, Rachel Reynolds and Brandi Sherwood Wearing: Mon Cheri 1   THE DREADED TREE BID (two days early) (B) CLAIRE 425 MICHAEL 650 JOHN 651 HYSHA *652 ($1825) Hysha plays ANY NUMBER Picks: 1 5 4 2 6 8 7 9 Honda Pilot LX (Std., 250hp, AT, AC, Tray, BikeHitch)(L) $2 7,8 9 1 WIN! JanSport Alterra 3 pc Luggage Set (R) $6 5 – ( $650) That Damned Piggy Bank $2.– 4 ( 2.34) 2   Honora Freshwater Pearl Necklace (R-in the Row) +Claire 1100 +Michael 1500 +John 1700 PATRICK *650 ($900) Patrick, a student at Toledo, prepare thyself. IT'S THE $50,000 PL!NKO! MONDAY!!! Free Chip (7) 1000R Panini Press 4/7 4 $ 67 Noel Resin Decoration 1/9 1 13 * (4) 1000L ("The Bobber") Cooler 5/0 0 30 * (7) 500R Total USB Snowman Robot 2/5 5 15 * (4) 0L $2500 LOSS 3   Hohner B Bass Guitar (L) +Claire *1300 +Michael 1450 +John 550 ROBERT 1200 ($1400) Claire, who goes to San Diego State, plays FREEZE FRAME for a Little Guy Silver Shadow Teardrop Trailer (R) 63 25 13 $7995 LOSS 17 70 79 30 95 SHOWDOWN #1 $ 1,400 Claire 20 + 95 OV 3,458 Patrick 90 stay .90 Through to Showcase Round 29,716 Hysha 50 + 70 OV 4   Rigaud Candle Assortment (R) CRYSTAL 350 +Michael 351 +John 1 Robert *352 ($1600) Robert plays PASS THE BUCK for a Honda Civic EX (Std., 140HP, AT, Remote)(B)(20,005) Free Pick (2) 5000 Campbell's Cream of Mushroom (15 oz) $ 1.29 $ 2.29 X Coricidin HBP (16) 5.99 (Pepperidge Farm) Chocolate Chunk Cookies 2.99 3.99 * (6) CAR   WIN! (Alta Dena) 2% Moo (1/2 Gal) 3.69 5   2 Nokia Cell Phones (B&L) Crystal 750 +Michael 950 +John *801 CARRIE 800 ($910) John from Waynesboro, PA plays EAZY AZ 123 [1](2) Holly Stemware (L) $ 696 [2](3) Traeger "Little Pink Pig" BBQ Grill (B) 1637 [3](1) 2 (Ocean/Earth) Surfboards (R) 1225 LOSS Christmas is coming, and Michael is desperate to save himself from spending it at the "First Four" Breakfast Club. Mimi is waiting with open arms, and she's (carefully) holding a sprig of mistletoe over her head. Ewwww. Will John have to face the consequences? Not if he uses his last bid advantage properly... 6    (LG) Washer/Dryer (B) Crystal 1250 +Michael *1251 AMBER 3100 Carrie 1200 ($2768) Michael escapes! He plays PICK A NUMBER for a Home Office Armoire and an Apple iMac Desktop Computer (L&R) Setup: $ 8 8[–]9   [2][4][6] Pick: $ 8 8[6]9 Price: $ 8 8[2]9   LOSS BETTY WHITE SEMI-MEMORIAL "JUST MEN" SHOWDOWN #2 $ 900 John 90 stay .90 Through to Showcase Round 2,768 Michael 15 + 35 .50 26,605 Robert 40 + 40 .80 ROBAIR MACKEY SEMI-MEMORIAL STAG SHOWCASE ROUND Patrick has the honor. SC1-John Trips to Miami (6n @ Beacon) Munich (6n), and Beijing (Ritz Tours; 6n)(B) BID $21,300 PRICE 18,421 DIFF OVER SC2-Patrick PRIZES DELIVERED TO THE DEPOT BY "CHUGS" THE TRAIN (L) Game Table Almost Heaven Silo Personal Sauna Triumph America Motorcycle BID $19,400 PRICE 16,939 DIFF OVER Today's Pricing Games: 2 for 6 Total Winnings: $64,847 THIS IS THE ONLY OFFICIAL GOLDEN-ROAD.net SHOW RECAP. REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED WITHOUT AUTHOR PERMISSION.

[Wayoshi]

Up & down day, with the car games providing the improbable excitement, the rest of the games...meh. I thought she had Freezy down, but then she was unsure and got too impatient. Eazy should have been won, and Pa# was setup for a loss...but he almost got it...

SC bids: 27308 / 17708.
Results: ...3 trips, 18k only?? The economy is supposed to INFLATE, not DEFLATE!

B, hope to see Goldy or TP at some point this week

[Nick]

I was a bit disappointed that the annual tree bid was today and not Wednesday.  One of the fun things I like to anticipate every year for the Christmas Eve show is the tree bid, but I guess that's done now.

Drew handled the Any Number win quite well.

No, Drew, please don't change the copy on the floating cooler.

I was quite impressed how little Drew relied on the "wanna say hi to anyone" bit in both Showcase Showdowns.  I really hope he continues to exclude this.

However, Drew's handling of the price reveal on the fourth One Bid was absolutely terrible.  For him to rag on the price of the candles like that was unacceptable.  It's one thing for the contestants to think the candles are only worth a few hundred bucks, but for Drew to is another thing.  Drew doesn't need to know the prices, but for him to act so surprised, insulted, or disgusted at the price of a prize, no matter how silly it is, makes him look bad along with everybody else.  He should at least not appear to be surprised by the price of any prize.

I don't care if it was unsponsored, seeing milk as a GP was weird.

I'm glad it appears the Showcases will be getting reasonably normal again.  It would do a world of good if they'd go the whole way and bring back the formal introductions and conclusions, as well as cut any other unnecessary stuff (like Rich going "Woo!  Woo!" in the Train Depot Showcase).

Speaking of the Showcases, it was very nice to see the Train Depot Showcase.  After the numerous bad Showcases we've seen in the past few months, it's good to know the classics still live on.

[dh027]

I think overall, today was a pretty good show.  The pricing game lineup was okay, Drew hosted well, and my three favorite models were on. 

The Any Number comeback win was exciting as well as Pass the Suck (uh...I mean Buck).  The double overbid was a bummer (I also had a double overbid in CSS).

[CrimsonViper]

I'm getting sick of Any Number.  Doesn't matter if it's schedule shuffling, but can someone play it in the second half for once?  Way to go Hysha!  Kept her emotions in check for the most part, although if she started crying uncontrollably after she won I wouldn't mind. 

And what has happened to all the other multi-prize games?  I can't remember the last time I've seen Danger Price and the like. 

Pick A Number was more of a crapshoot than usual.  Guessing the tens digit doesn't happen often. 

I don't have access to the CBS Innertube, but I would like to see what Rich "said" in the first Showcase as the introduction to the Beijing trip.  Chinese languages are difficult to master, but all I heard was gobbledegook.  I'd like to know if it was an honest attempt at speaking Chinese, or if it went the Rosie O'Donnell "ching-chong" way.  If so, I'll try to decipher it for my own amusement. 

[tpirfan28]

This is probably the best hosting Drew's done since late Season 36.

I was fully expecting a smart Car as the caboose in the Train Depot.

I don't care if it was unsponsored, seeing milk as a GP was weird.

It was also hellishly expensive..it was a half-gallon.  I can get a whole gallon for $3.79.

[greg]

I was impressed today.  I enjoyed the show, Drew made a normal entrance, the showcases were decent, the set was nicely decorated for Christmas, & I liked the games.
Any Number was exciting, great win!
Plinko
Freeze Frame  I knew it was at least $7000
Pass the Buck   They played one of my favorite music cues for the car reveal (I don't know the name)  Great win!
Easy Az 123,  I thought he had it right.  The vague copy on the surfboards led me to think they were more.
Pick A Number,  I like this game, I know a lot of people don't but it was particularly hard today.
Too bad about the double overbid.  The 1st showcase was less than I expected, The second came off kind of cheap.  All in all, Drew was good today.  Maybe we just went through a few crappy weeks.  
8/10

[rob79]

Wow....the best thing about this show was Drew's hosting (even though he still had problems--most notably the 4th one bid and his rant about the candles, but overalll real good).

The pricing game lineup was terrible. Any Number again? Please, show some originality. Car Game 4th?--been there done that too often lately--in fact I dare say seeing the Car game 4th has lost a bit of its luster to myself, it is no longer that special. Eazy az 1-2-3 for like the 10000 time this year?---they could have played something far better for that matter such as Take Two, Danger Priceor even better would have been Credit Card (where in the world have these games gone??). All I ask is please let's have some unpredictability in the lineups again--car games 1st and 4th do not show that.

[priceguy]

I missed the first 20 minutes of the show sadly (last minute Christmas shopping).  I'll comment on what I did see though.

One-Bid 4 - Honestly, I didn't mind Drew's reveal.  I got a laugh out of it.  He's certainly done worse in the past.

Pass the Buck - Very nice win.  I agree that milk is kinda weird to see as a GP, but it doesn't really matter what they use as long as the buck is passed.

Eazy - Tough Loss.  I was thinking the same arrangement of the blocks as he was.  I also liked the little winter background that was also in the train showcase.

Showcases - Nice to see normal-ish showcases again.  They're still not a polished as they once were, but it's a hell of a lot better than the dribble that Drew has been writing.

[jcron]

I am surprised that no one (not even Nick) mentioned how the show ended when the double overbid was revealed.  Even though I would like Drew to go in the audience every once in a while like Bob did, I do hope this custom of having both contestants from the showcase be featured at the doors was nice and will continue throughout...any other thoughts on this?

Also the candles...I thought was funny...Drew was surprised about the price and showed it...Bob did that every once in a while too...

BTW...Milk and cookies....I don't think milk will come up that much as a grocery product...

[Nick]

It was also hellishly expensive..it was a half-gallon.  I can get a whole gallon for $3.79.

Which makes me wonder... was there anything special about the brand of milk they used or something?  Do you guys in the states even have milk price regulation or a milk marketing board or something like that?

The pricing game lineup was terrible. Any Number again? Please, show some originality. Car Game 4th?--been there done that too often lately--in fact I dare say seeing the Car game 4th has lost a bit of its luster to myself, it is no longer that special. Eazy az 1-2-3 for like the 10000 time this year?---they could have played something far better for that matter such as Take Two, Danger Priceor even better would have been Credit Card (where in the world have these games gone??). All I ask is please let's have some unpredictability in the lineups again--car games 1st and 4th do not show that.

I couldn't agree with Rob more.

I am surprised that no one (not even Nick) mentioned how the show ended when the double overbid was revealed.  Even though I would like Drew to go in the audience every once in a while like Bob did, I do hope this custom of having both contestants from the showcase be featured at the doors was nice and will continue throughout...any other thoughts on this?

Doubtless that it will continue because it worked for the contestants, the models, Drew, and Rich to just stand around the Train Depot station.  There were no prizes displayed there.  Usually you can't get a setup like that in a Showcase where none of the prizes would be seen.

Also the candles...I thought was funny...Drew was surprised about the price and showed it...Bob did that every once in a while too...

Never in as insulting of a way as Drew did today.  If four contestants grossly underbid on a One Bid item, the only sort of reaction Bob would ever display to a higher-than-expected actual retail price was usually just an emphasis of "thousand."

[UltraPrice]

Shouldn't the tree bid be on the last show of the Christmas week?   Dismantle screws up again.

[ayoung]

Usually not a big fan of the heavy product bashing... but the candle stuff was kinda fun. This reminded me of a S36, Drew was fun and the showcases wernt stupid. I even liked Richs train noise. Lineup could have been a bit better.

[PimpinJC]

Man, I'm getting sick and tired of seeing Any Number showing up 1st.  That's the 3rd time in 6 shows that have aired for it to be 1st!  At least throw in something like Card Game to mix it up a bit.  I'm really hoping for something like Triple Play to show up sometime this week; it's only been played once this whole season!

Plinko has really gotten into a drought lately.  Only one contestant has legitimately hit the $10,000 slot so far this season, and they did it twice.  That last chip looked like it was going to the $10,000 slot, but it bounced to 0 at the very last second.

I wonder why Claire didn't stop at $7995 like she wanted to the whole time she was waiting for it to come around.

I've always wondered what it would be like to have milk has a GP.  I thought that was pretty clever pairing it up with the cookies.  Jeez, that was some expensive milk for just a half gallon!  I bought a gallon last week for $3.19.

[mikebev25]

Thoughts:
Intro: The tie is back on Drew. Didn't hate it when he didn't wear the tie, but having one on just looks better.
Any #: It seemed like a lot of it early on was the contestant just shouting random numbers, not really trying to get the 2nd digit in the car. However, I love it when it comes down to one left in each. Good to see her win.
Freeze: Easy. I think she tried pulling the lever at 7995, and I could see guessing what she guessed, but still, I thought 7995 jut stood out.
PTB: Milk and cookies as a pair of grocery items during Christmas week. Clever.
Eazy: Crapshoot. What on earth was that BBQ thing?
Showcases: Not bad. Although both were fairly cheap. I thought especially China was $$$, but apparently not. And I must say I am terrible at pricing motorcycles. But I liked having the train in there.
Lineup: Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Although I too am getting tired of car games 1st and 4th on every show. Eazy and Freezy (hey, that rhymes) are becoming horribly overplayed. And I absolutely hate PAN (I can speak for a lot of people on that one.) I agree with Rob, mix it up a little. A slotting I may have tried today would have been Eazy, Any #, Plinko, Freezy, PTB, PAN. Or, you could've just changed the second half to Freezy/PTB/PAN. Better flow either way IMO.
Hosting: Drew was pretty good today. He continues his recent upswing. I didn't mind his bit about the candles. He had a decent amount of enthusiasm for the most part. Not a bad entrance. And I like how he's scaling down the whole shoutouts thing during the SCSD.

Overall, a fairly solid show today. Not the best I've ever seen, but certainly better than a lot we've seen this year.  Nice to see the Christmas decorations.