December 14, 1978 (#3072D)

[allnewtpir94]

[tpirfan28]

Not to keep the lede buried this is the debut of the green sections on the Wheel.
Also has a fur in Give or Keep/PG2.

[TPIR98665]

1978...I graduated from High School

Noticed the top center in Money Game wasn't the season number...When did that trick start?

[mellongraig]

This is also a rarity - the losing horns go off after a Grocery Game loss, which doesn't usually sound for losses (normally only the buzzer would sound for a loss). I guess because the contestant wiped out in the game that it necessitated one in this case.

[actual_retail_tice]

Eventful episode! Bob in my opinion is pretty cranky in this one, at least for 1978, but you can tell he is hurrying things along to keep the show on time.

I always get a kick out of the odd camera angles that they would get of Bob’s entrance through the big doors when they tried to keep Golden Road out of view… at this point they were even using the golden rope and stanchions to decorate the set; it’s easy to see why that didn’t last. Bob even has to shuffle around a completely unnecessary bit of rope to take his position after picking up the mic.

[MSTieScott]

I'm trying to figure out why there was no "beep" between the 20 and 40 on the Big Wheel... did that piece of tape fall off or something?

Noticed the top center in Money Game wasn't the season number...When did that trick start?

Season 35.

Bob in my opinion is pretty cranky in this one, at least for 1978, but you can tell he is hurrying things along to keep the show on time.

A weird allocation of time, too... there's no indication the show is running long all the way through the first Showcase Showdown (which isn't particularly lengthy, even with the explanation of the new bonus spin), and then Barker suddenly RACES through act 4, returning to normal in act 5 and staying that way for the remainder of the episode. I kept waiting for him to prod Georgia for a bid during one of her long deliberations, but it never happened.

I always get a kick out of the odd camera angles that they would get of Bob’s entrance through the big doors when they tried to keep Golden Road out of view…

I was more impressed they were able to keep Give or Keep out of sight for nearly the entire One Bid.

[NickintheATL]

This thread title really should be December 14, 1978. This show was intended to air on the 12th, but as noted in the FAQ it was not... so while this was taped as the debut of the bonus spin, it didn't air that way. The show taped to air on Wednesday aired first and this isn't it.

[Nick]

Glad to see this episode has made its way back onto the streaming circuit.

For those who don't know, the story of how we knew the green sections and the bonus spin debuted in December 1978, prior to this tape getting out that gave us an exact date, is a bit amusing.  The late David Zinkin offered the month and year on memory as he saw this episode (or perhaps another in this week where the Showcase Showdown rule change was probably remarked upon as well) at his Jewish school, and his teacher made it a point to insist to the students that the green added to the wheel had nothing to with Christmas (though why a classroom of students were watching The Price Is Right in school is another story to which I'd love to know the reason).

I could expound upon many things, but every time an episode from this time period gets out, I am always impressed at how consistently good the show was.  From contestants with lots of character who could make their own decisions quickly (Georgia being a rare lollygager for this era) to the show moving just swimmingly as it's shot live-to-tape, there is no reason such production standards could not be achieved today.

I always get a kick out of the odd camera angles that they would get of Bob’s entrance through the big doors when they tried to keep Golden Road out of view… at this point they were even using the golden rope and stanchions to decorate the set; it’s easy to see why that didn’t last. Bob even has to shuffle around a completely unnecessary bit of rope to take his position after picking up the mic.

If Breslow had one weakness, it was his indifference to hiding Golden Road during Barker's entrance.  It's not so bad here, but there are times where it seems he was not even trying.

Also, while it was an unnecessary set piece, I still liked the velvet rope in Golden Road and wish it was still there, along with the many more golden dots making up the golden road.

This thread title really should be December 14, 1978. This show was intended to air on the 12th, but as noted in the FAQ it was not... so while this was taped as the debut of the bonus spin, it didn't air that way. The show taped to air on Wednesday aired first and this isn't it.

Except December 12 was the intended airdate based on the production number and its production number dictating its place in the chronology of episodes.

And if no other reason, if you ask me, Steve's extensive efforts to build a timeline that puts all the episodes in their intended order is enough a reason to refer to them in their intended order.

[NickintheATL]

Except December 12 was the intended airdate based on the production number and its production number dictating its place in the chronology of episodes.

And if no other reason, if you ask me, Steve's extensive efforts to build a timeline that puts all the episodes in their intended order is enough a reason to refer to them in their intended order.

I completely disagree. It aired on the 14th. It should be referred to as airing on the 14th but intended for the 12th. Accuracy matters.

[Chelsea]

I've avoided posting my opinion until now, but since it's come up I don't mind sharing it with the class. 

Steve has heard me be quite critical with both barrels about 'intended airdate', directly and firmly. I'm going to share that here and now, since it's come up.  I want to be abundantly clear, this is in absolutely no way personal in the slightest to him or to anyone who likes the 'intended' airdate notations and I completely understand and get their usage for the purposes of organizing a production order schedule in a calendar format.

It aired, when it aired, when it aired, when it aired. If people want to make personal notes about when the show was meant to air, when applicable, in case of pre-emptions or whatever, bless them. If they want to list it in the original place in order to keep a timeline or calendar coherent? Fantastic. Keeping it in that 'intended' place for a rewatch? Fantastic. I literally do this. (Edit: And I totally get acknowledging a pre-emption situation somewhere in records, be it personal or calendar/timeline)

But the airdate's still the airdate. The show at the top of this thread aired on December the 14th, full stop. To say the show aired on the 12th because of original intent, real or supposed, is whole-cloth inaccurate when the show actually aired on the 14th.

Here's an example of 'intended airdate' taken to silliness, even in the Barker era. There's an episode from the current Pluto rotation that, by episode number, """"should"""" (heavy quotes for a reason) have aired on January 20th, 1989 - but the Inauguration of the President was always going to be that date - there was never, ever going to be a first run show that day unless both the show and network were completely asleep at the switch. It aired March 23, 1989. Similarly, if they decorate the set for Christmas, and the shows aired Christmas week, but the production numbers have that week in November, they're still the Christmas episodes.

What's GREAT for tracking production sequence isn't a fiction of an airdate, it's the episode numbers. The show in question is #3072D and the other (also shuffled) shows that week are #3073D-#3075D.  They were produced in sequence after #3065D and before #3081D. The episode numbers preserve the production sequence just fine, and don't need a fiction of an airdate to do the same thing. Organizing those shows into a calendar in production number order? Fine, sure. But don't tell me that the show that actually aired on December 14th is "the December 12th show" when it isn't. There wasn't one. The show was pre-empted. That's the actual history of the matter.

Related to the above, I've corrected the title of the thread and added the episode number.

[Nick]

To say the show aired on the 12th because of original intent, real or supposed, is whole-cloth inaccurate when the show actually aired on the 14th.

I don't see anybody saying that (I'm certainly not).  I maintain that it is correct to say episode #3072D is the December 12, 1978 show, as well as to say episode #3072D aired on December 14, 1978.

Here's an example of 'intended airdate' taken to silliness, even in the Barker era. There's an episode from the current Pluto rotation that, by episode number, """"should"""" (heavy quotes for a reason) have aired on January 20th, 1989 - but the Inauguration of the President was always going to be that date - there was never, ever going to be a first run show that day unless both the show and network were completely asleep at the switch. It aired March 23, 1989.

Sure, but what is the production number of that week?  #711-D.  Which week was designated week #711-D?  The third week of January 1989.  What is the last digit of the production number of the episode in question?  A five.  The episode #7115D is thus the Friday show of the third week of January 1989, and that was January 20, 1989.  I make no arguments that somebody was asleep at the wheel when they produced an episode for a date where the show had no likelihood of airing, but it doesn't change that's where it fits on the calendar.  I wouldn't say the show aired January 20, 1989 because it didn't, but is it a show that fits on January 20, 1989 based on its production number?  Absolutely.  Is it wrong to say it has an intended date for a date it never actually aired?  I would say no because it doesn't change the fact that's where it fits in relation to its production number, and I take no issue with aligning production numbers to calendar dates since, well, there is and order to the episodes.

I can agree it is fair to say the intended airdates don't really matter in terms of establishing a production order since the production numbers do that in and of themselves.  I do not, however, take issue with referring to "intended airdates" based on where they fit in a proper ordering of the episodes.  The episode in question may have aired a day after the March 22, 1989 episode (#7203D), but it doesn't change the fact it doesn't fit next to that episode in the production order.

In short, maybe I'm just not offended by referring to episodes by their "intended airdates" since that keeps them in order with something that tells me a little more than just a production number as to what month and year the episode belongs.

I'm sure I've convinced nobody with any of what I've just written about the other side of the argument, but that's my last word on the subject.

[CJBojangles]

I'm trying to figure out why there was no "beep" between the 20 and 40 on the Big Wheel... did that piece of tape fall off or something?

That’s surely what happened. Glad I’m not the only one who noticed it.

Funnily, my boyfriend cannot be convinced the beeps work how they do. He insists they’re tied to the flipper.

[tpirfan28]

I'm trying to figure out why there was no "beep" between the 20 and 40 on the Big Wheel... did that piece of tape fall off or something?

....it's not painted white/black alternating spaces?