FULL RECAP - TPiR 01/09/2009

[Kev347]

People responded to the lineup timing thing some yesterday, so I'm going to keep doing it at least for a couple weeks. It literally takes me about 10 minutes to do just using Innertube when I'm not watching the show (like today I watched the show live, so I just fast forwarded through the entire thing on Innertube, stopping at the beginnings and ends of games and using their timings). There are definitely some more interesting results to poner today. Anyways, here goes. Remember, this is the time from calldown to commercial, except for game #1 which is from Drew asking for the IUFB to commercial.

1/2 Off - 5:17
Bonkers - 4:03
Card Game - 3:46
Most Expensive - 4:09 (what?! well, this was the LA Kings package, and there was also some interaction here...)
Let 'em Roll - 5:05
Double Prices - 2:44
Total time: 25:04 (:08 longer than yesterday)

Not really that much to say today. Kind of a bland show - Drew's hosting was decent, but not his best, and mostly bland contestants.

Drew made a reference to the losing horns during 1/2 Off that made me certain that that was indeed what he was trying to do during the Rich calldown blooper yesterday. Whether that was staged or not, the jury is still out.

1/2 Off is getting to be frustrating. 7 is ALWAYS one of the last 4 boxes and often one of the last 2, but is almost never the box with the money. One day we'll get a contestant who has figured that out.

Bonkers today, as was said before, was just mean. While the guy had speed though, that's not all you need to play Bonkers. You need to also have some pricing knowledge - decide on a pick for the first number at least and leave it there until you exhaust your combinations. Whenever I see contestants fiddling with that first number toward the end of the game, I know they're going to lose, even when they're as fast as he was.

I agree with Steve - how rare is it that Card Game is the only game won? And that was an interesting setup too. Perhaps the problem of contestants stopping too early can simply be solved by offering 18k cars with a 15k starting bid? Sure makes the game kinda boring and quick though. Seeing as it's the only "card" game left on the show (when we used to have Hit Me, Poker Game, Joker...) it might be nice to see it be a little longer, but unfortunately we probably can't nowadays due to timing issues. Also, yay - Card Game! It's strangely been quite a while, especially for a game this quick.

I never want to see anything LA Kings-related on the show again, if only because it brings back memories of that fight showcase. Also, IUFB #3 and IUFB #4 were both just dumbly executed (the mascot modeling was way overdone), though I did like the idea of giving away free popcorn to the contestants in IUFB #3. Please, being cutesy with the one-bids now and then is OK, but let's not overdo it. I like the bigger one-bid prizes, but let's always remember they're really only there to help the contestant get up on stage to play for bigger prizes.

Line-up wise, this show was OK. Swap Most Expensive and Bonkers and you slightly improve it, and it was a good selection of games. However, it was nice to see a quickie 4th again - so rarely do we see that now that it felt old-school. It just wasn't the best idea for this particular lineup. It is, however saying something when my fake FPG before the game correctly predicted 4 out of 6 games that would be played today with two in the correct slot (1/2 Off, Double Prices).

Now THAT was a crazy showcase showdown (SCSD #2). How often has THAT happened before (that a contestant wins money in overtime?) I certainly can't remember ever seeing it. Anyone know when the last time it happened was?

Showcases today? You know, I actually really liked SC1 despite the fact it definitely was over-the-top with both the models and Rich. It just goes to show that if the showcase has a coherent theme, and does not feature excessive rambling in the prize copy, excessive attempts to make Rich look like an idiot or excessive banter with Drew, they can have as much fun as they want with it and it can still come across OK.

Average show today.

[drucee]

Dumb question--when was the last time there were two one-bid exactas in a show, and how often does that occur?

[heelsrule1988]

The models talking is one thing I hope doesn't go away when the show gets back to normal. I also hope it still happens as often, because it's been nice to see them getting so much speaking time.

BEST CONTESTANT OF THE DAY: Mauricio
SHOW GRADE: 2

[goldroadfanatic]

Personally, Kev, I would like to see you become our "timekeeper" around here.  We used to have someone do it on a daily basis, but he hasn't done it since Drew's first day back in October 2007, probably because he was busy with other things.

[saturn93]

The models talking is one thing I hope doesn't go away when the show gets back to normal. I also hope it still happens as often, because it's been nice to see them getting so much speaking time.

You are right about that.  It is definitely a change of pace thing for the showcases.  However, the "cold open" happened again today.  LOL  at the "thank you" at the end, and Rich said something to the like of "it's on the cue card and my paper."

Other stuff:
 
Had to watch on CBS.com today because I thought there would be a pre-emption due to Gov. Blago being impeached.

PG #2: Never would have guessed that.

1Bid #3/PG #3:  At least Drew did not laugh as much and as loud as the end of some of the Drewcases he penned when the popcorn flew.  Also,    on the popcorn machine to the toe bit.

1Bid #4: Rather nice package, but rather odd showing.

SC #2: Normal.

Other than that, it was pretty much business as usual.

[MrPlinko]

Other than that huge hosting blunder by Drew in the Showcase Showdown:

I cannot believe that Drew made no reaction whatsoever to Kristoffer spinning a dollar in the second Showcase Showdown.

I thought Drew's hosting was excellent today.  He had good pacing and flow, didn't rush things, seemed to care about the contestants. Price can have flashes of Barker memories When Drew Puts His Mind to It. That is what needs to be emphasized.  I liked the Showcases as well.  They had a theme, quality linkage from prize to prize. 

I think that Bonkers was played about as well as I have ever seen it played.  Drew's game explanations were excellent as well.  Fans are seeing rapid decreases in the horrible mood swings and slapstick of the past.  (Yes, the show from two days ago was not so good because Drew was moody.)  However, I think the worst is behind us.  At least Price has become watchable again.

Joe

[Flerbert419]

Nice way to start off the show, with a fairly expensive trip.

The way that Bonkers was set up certainly wasn't nice, but I wouldn't go so far as saying that it was unfair.  I could think of alot more ways to be unfair on the show, such as the right price on TTM being first or last, having a price in Card Game be less than $16k, and making an L7 car be worth $21,919.  Yes, the numbers should have probably been changed to make it less evil ($4765 would have worked), but I wasn't as upset about it as Drew was.  Nice to see him have some emotion about a loss, but glaring over at Kathy doesn't make it any more winnable.

Popcorn gag failed, but Drew pushed it through anyway.  Proof that scripted comedy doesn't always work with live participants.

I really can't wait until somebody chooses the 5k card in Card Game and stops without picking a single additional one.

I actually would have gone with the Armani stuff in ME, since most of the designer stuff featured on the show seems to be expensive.

Drew made another remark about the grocery items in LER being too easy.  Roger always made them easy for good reason, since it's not much fun is it to see somebody only get one roll, with no decision to make.  On Oct. 16, 2007, somebody earned zero extra rolls, so it's not like the sidegame is always this easy.  Too bad that she couldn't convert that last die over, since she had a 1/2 shot on the last roll.

Keep that camera tight, Bart!  Double Prices was revealed too early.

Drew made 2 mistakes in SCSD #2, and one was much bigger then the other.  He clearly forgot that Kristoffer deserved $1000 and the bonus spin, but this is forgivable since it happens so rarely and even Ludia forgot it in the PIR Video Game.  But the second mistake was that he didn't tell Kristoffer the rules before he took his bonus spin. If that doesn't get all the way around, he needs to be given a re-do since he wasn't told about it beforehand.  Drew's usually pretty good with stopping and explaining the rules fully before the spin, but this time he told him about the money amounts halfway through.

Showcases were pretty good, better than recent ones.  I would have actually liked the first one if they had stopped chitchatting so much and revealed the prizes already.

Since myself and Rob spoke about the addition (and hopeful elimination) of the audience shots in a previous thread, I have been paying closer attention to them.  Today there were five, one after each loss, and a total time of 20 seconds by my count.  Clearly, this could be combined for the midshow bumper, ticket plug, or given back to the games.  And, according to Kev's helpful breakdown of timing, the show seems to be running a bit short anyway.

I question who was in the LA Kings mascot suit during the fourth One Bid.

Roger's return, perhaps?

[goldroadfanatic]

I really can't wait until somebody chooses the 5k card in Card Game and stops without picking a single additional one.

I wonder how many people other than us know that they can do that, though.

[mrbrown2195]

Well it begs the question: Does Drew even know? How about S&P? I mean, didn't Drew and/or S&P force somebody to bid something other than $1 on their showcase last season because they thought you couldn't do that? It's entirely feasible here that we could see another incident such as that if somebody attempted to stop Card Game without drawing a single card...

[SteveGavazzi]

Well it begs the question: Does Drew even know? How about S&P? I mean, didn't Drew and/or S&P force somebody to bid something other than $1 on their showcase last season because they thought you couldn't do that?

Not exactly -- Drew told the contestant that "You can't bid $1 in the Showcase," and then there was a stopdown, after which he did bid $1.

[whinbaby]

Game #73 (#6,994)

Let em Roll
OK, I have recounted the PT Cruisers that the show has offered, and I have now counted this as the 121st appearance.  The one you're seeing is Gwennie's seventh PT Cruiser.  The PT Cruiser's win-loss record is now at 54-67.  Rachel has modeled the most PT Cruisers thus far:  28.

Showcase #1
Ring - $2,000
TV - $2,499       
PS3 w/Guitar Hero - $1,111
Xbox 360 w/Guitar Hero - $1,231
Trailer - $24,373

Showcase #2
Living Room - $2,499
Bag Borrow or Steal - $1,000
Trip to Sydney - $13,842

Total show prize value:  $124,498 (28 prizes)

Your Modeling Scorecard for January 9, 2009
Daily Records
High:  $88,114 (Rachel Reynolds, 2006)
Low:  $10,128 (Lanisha Cole, 2004)

Rachel Reynolds
January 9
Total dollars:  $43,921
($25,155 won, $18,766 lost)
Total prizes:  7 (4-3)
Cars, Trips:  1, 2

After 59 shows
Total dollars:  $3,089,504
($1,441,275 won, $1,648,229 lost)
Total prizes:  510 (339-171)
Cars, Trips:  60, 45 (22-38, 27-18)

Amber Lancaster
January 9
Total dollars:  $47,838
($26,438 won, $21,400 lost)
Total prizes:  7 (6-1)
Cars, Trips:  2, 0

After 18 shows
Total dollars:  $903,046
($513,618 won, $389,428 lost)
Total prizes:  146 (105-41)
Cars, Trips:  17, 11 (9-8, 6-5)

Gwennie Osborne
January 9
Total dollars:  $36,449
($3,540 won, $32,909 lost)
Total prizes:  6 (4-2)
Cars, Trips:  1, 0

After 6 shows
Total dollars:  $318,032
($135,420 won, $182,612 lost)
Total prizes:  56 (32-24)
Cars, Trips:  8, 8 (3-5, 4-4)

[edmojautis]

1/2 Off: Too bad.

Bonkers: Excellent playing and still a loss. The setup....No wonder!!! 

Card: I had little fears after Jamie drew the $1k card. I would've stopped at around $18,200 at least. I guess we both had it together, did we?  Excellent.

Most: Once again, Expensive-a** Amani wardrobes rides again. 

Roll: A thousand bucks is a fairly good haul after such good work.

Double: (Crickets chirping)

Showcases: #1....THE MODELS CAN.......Sorry about that.  The models did pretty well in their acting bits. The theme was a little contrived.  Now that's one  I would've Garfed on big time.

A 2.25-star show.

[JT]

I just caught up on my shows -= the Bonkers set up was unique but not impossible to win - 2 motorcycles had to have a higher first number and two of these types of prizes always ends in "8" - if the contestant figured that out - there would have only been a few combinations for the second/third #'s and eventually he would have tried HHHH.