50 years of coming on down….

Apparently The Price is Right is 50 years old, which kind of blows my mind. I don’t know why, since it was my favorite game show as a kid* and I’m 50 years old. I’ve seen a few episodes of the show recently, thanks to the prime-time incarnation of the venerable game show, and…well, the show is what it’s always been, with a few updates here and there. TPIR has this really interesting blend of retro and modern going on these days. The set has dialed up the garish colors, but the 70s-era snowflake logo things still abounds. Anyway, some random observations:

::  Drew Carey is a pretty good host. He’s no Bob Barker, but then, who is? Carey has at some point eschewed his old short-haired look for a longer mane and a beard that makes him kind of look like a more cheerful version of Jeff Bridges from The Big Lebowski.

::  There’s a male model now! That’s pretty cool.

::  Who pays for this stuff? The prizes are WAY better now than they used to be! Everybody gets to play for something cool. I remember contestants winning their way onto the stage and then having to pretend to be excited for a new waterbed and a set of golf clubs. Even the items up for bids are nicer than some main prizes used to be.

::  I know it’s beloved, but Plinko sucks. There, I said it.

::  I love that the Rangefinder game is not only still around but apparently has never once been upgraded.

::  They still play “Cliffhanger”! That’s the one with the climber who yodels his way up the mountain in accordance with your ability to price the box of corn flakes or whatever. I always liked that one.

::  Some guy won a trip to Hawaii. Eff that guy.

::  The Family Guy really nailed what continues to be my reaction to contestants who up-bid the last bidder by a dollar:

::  I haven’t seen it yet in any of the episodes I’ve seen, but the “Clock Game” was always some really intense shit.

::  What’s the worst game? I’m already on record as disliking Plinko, but I just watched some dude “win” $6 playing “Any Number”. That sucked. I’d forgotten that game until I saw that happen. (You’re playing for a car, something way less nice than a car, and then the “piggy bank”. All the digits from 0 to 9 appear in the prices once; you just call out numbers and whichever item you fill in first is what you win.)

Finally–and yes, this post is just some stuff I’m writing to keep my “Days Posted” streak alive–here’s one of my favorite TPIR games of all time. The contestant in this clip has zero idea what she’s doing, she’s doomed, there’s no way she’s going to win…and then….

*If my mother ever tells you I used to use the turkey baster as a microphone and pretend I was Bob Barker, don’t believe her. That never happened. Well, maybe one time. Or two. You know, I don’t get why that pissed her off so much, it’s not like we were regularly roasting turkeys that needed basting!