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The Price Is Right (US)

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The Price Is Right is a popular American game show based on contestants guessing the retail prices of featured prizes and other promotional products. The modern United States version, which premiered on September 4, 1972 and is hosted by Bob Barker, still airs today on CBS.

TV Guide named The Price Is Right the "greatest game show of all time"[CBS Daytime: The Price Is Right]. It is only one of two game-show franchises to be seen nationally in either first-run network or syndication airings in every decade from the 1950s onward; the other is To Tell the Truth. Price is reflected in pop culture by phrases such as "Come on down!" and "This showcase (or prize) can be yours if the price is right!"

Overview

The 1972 daytime incarnation of The Price Is Right has the distinction of being the longest-running game show in North American television history. It has surpassed the previous record of 17 years and seven months set by What's My Line?. Still airing today, it continues to extend its record, and has aired more than 6,000 episodes. Notably, it is also the only daytime game show that has aired regularly on United States network television since January 1994.

The gameplay includes several distinct elements: the Contestants' Row, in which one of four contestants qualify to play one of 70 different pricing games. In the current format, this happens six times per episode, with players departing Contestants' Row being replaced. Those six contestants are winnowed down in one of two Showcase Showdown games. The two remaining contestants vie for a Showcase of prizes worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Contestants' Row

Contestants' Row is the head on competitive area of the show where the four contestants bid on an offered prize. The one who comes closest to guessing the actual retail price without going over it is the winner and goes on to play a pricing game. A cash bonus is given if a contestant guesses the exact price of the prize. However, if all the contestants in a given round of bidding go over the price, a buzzer sounds and Bob asks the contestants to rebid.

Pricing games

A contestant plays Lucky $even on a Season 30 episode.
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A contestant plays Lucky $even on a Season 30 episode.

The pricing game is where the contestant can win a larger prize such as cash, home furnishings, or a motor vehicle. Six pricing games are played per episode, and a variety of games are played, some more elaborate than others.

The Showcase Showdown

Bob Barker and contestants at the Big Wheel
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Bob Barker and contestants at the Big Wheel

The Showcase Showdown determines the contestants that will play for the larger prize package at the end of the show called the Showcase. The Showdown appears twice in the the program, once after the third pricing game and again after the sixth pricing game. The goal is to spin a large, twenty-section wheel with various amounts of money ranging from 5¢ to $1.00. The player's goal is to attempt to come as close to $1.00 as possible without going over in one or two spins. If the player's total reaches $1.00 exactly in one or two spins, they recieve a cash bonus as well as an additonal bonus spin to win a further cash bonus. In the event of a tie, a "spin-off" is held with the goal of coming closest to $1.00 in one spin, with the same bonuses still in play.

The Showcase

The Showcase contestants and Bob Barker in 2006.
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The Showcase contestants and Bob Barker in 2006.

The two showcases are part of the final round of the program and offer the largest prizes. The prizes tend to be themed and for at least one a small pantomime story relates the prizes. Each contestant bids on one of the prize packages, with the contestant with the most winnings until that point having the right of first refusal on the first showcase presented. The contestant whose bid is closer to the price of his own showcase wins that showcase; if the winner's bid is $250 or less (originally less than $100) away from the price of his showcase, he wins both showcases.

Production information

Timeline

Every episode that is taped requires the following:[Description of production timeline from an interview with TPIR announcer Rich Fields]

Bob Barker, emcee

Bob Barker in 2006.
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Bob Barker in 2006.

The show's host, Bob Barker, has hosted every episode of the CBS daytime version except three — Dennis James subbed for him briefly in December 1974 because of an illness. Today, a scheduled taping is postponed in the event Barker is unavailable.

Bob Barker began hosting duties on Price while he was also in a long run on the game show Truth or Consequences. Barker had hosted Truth since 1956, save for a one-year break when the show moved from NBC to first-run syndication. The last of Barker's Truth first-run episodes ran in 1975.

Announcers

The Price Is Right has had three permanent announcers over the course of its run on CBS: Johnny Olson (1972–1985); Rod Roddy (1986–2003); and Rich Fields (2004–present). They have generally enjoyed greater exposure than most shows' announcers, serving as Barker's sidekick, frequently appearing on-camera in Showcase skits (although this is rare now), and of course, calling contestants to "Come on down!"

Several announcers have also subbed on the show over the years. In late 1985 and early 1986, in the wake of Johnny Olson's death, Gene Wood (of Family Feud fame) lent his voice to both the daytime show and the Kennedy version, and Rod Roddy, Rich Jeffries, and Bob Hilton also tried out on the air; Hilton was actually offered the job permanently but turned it down due to a commitment to a game show pilot he was working on.

From 2001–2004, during Rod Roddy's illness and after his death, a number of announcers filled in on the show; Burton Richardson (the Davidson version's announcer), Paul Boland, Randy West, Daniel Rosen, Art Sanders, Roger Rose (a former VJ on cable's VH1), Rich Fields, Don Bishop and Jim Thornton were all featured at various times until Fields was given the job in April 2004.

Barker's Beauties

Janice Pennington
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Janice Pennington

The daily show featured models who became known as Barker's Beauties. From the mid-1970s through most of the 1980s these were Dian Parkinson (1975–1993), Holly Hallstrom (1977–1995), and Janice Pennington (1972–2000).

Controversy erupted in 1993 when Parkinson sued host Bob Barker for sexual harassment. Barker admitted to sexual involvement with Parkinson in the late '80s. Ultimately, it was shown that Parkinson initiated the whole affair, and Barker was exonerated.

In 1995, Hallstrom was dismissed from the show. When she subsequently complained that she had been fired for failing to lose weight, Barker sued her for libel and slander. Hallstrom replied with a countersuit. Pennington was fired shortly after having been subpoenaed to give testimony during Hallstrom's lawsuit. Hallstrom won a $3 million settlement in fall 2005.

Other permanent models over the years include Anitra Ford (1972–1976), Kathleen Bradley (1990–2000), Gena Lee Nolin (1994–1995), Chantel Dubay (1996–1999), Nikki Ziering (1999–2002), Heather Kozar (2001–2002), and Claudia Jordan (2001–2003).

Since Heather, Nikki, and later Claudia left the show, there has been a Barker's Beauty rotation. Some of the rotating models include Lanisha Cole, Brandi Sherwood, Rachel Reynolds, Rebecca Mary Pribonic, Shane Stirling, Gabrielle Tuite, Gwendolyn Osbourne, and Phire Dawson.

Other production staff

Bob Barker serves as the show's host and executive producer; Roger Dobkowitz produces, while Kathy "Fingers" Greco is associate producer. (Dobkowitz occasionally appears on air when Barker needs a question answered.) Frank Wayne, a Goodson-Todman staffer since the 1950s, was the revival's original executive producer; previous producers include Jay Wolpert, Barbara Hunter, and Frank Wayne's son, Phil Wayne Rossi.

The show's main theme was written by Sheila Cole; some sources incorrectly list Edd Kalehoff as a co-composer. Much of the prize music, written by Kalehoff, has been around since 1972, with additional pieces from 1976, 1983, 2003, and music transplanted from the 1994 syndicated version in the rotation as well.

Production company

The current version of the series was originally a Mark Goodson/Bill Todman production in association with CBS. After Todman died in 1979, the unit became known as simply Mark Goodson Productions, and was announced as such on The Price Is Right beginning in 1984. Today, the series is produced by The Price Is Right Productions, a joint venture of RTL Group and CBS.

For the sake of tradition, and through special permission from FremantleMedia, the show continues to use the Mark Goodson Productions name, logo, and announcement at the end of each episode, even though the company no longer exists. (The current production of Family Feud, also a former Goodson-Todman property, does not follow this practice.)

Set features

Backstage photo of Contestants' Row during a primetime special, with Bob standing on stage.
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Backstage photo of Contestants' Row during a primetime special, with Bob standing on stage.

The basic permanent set includes the audience seating and the stage. Contestants' Row is built into the center of the front of that stage, with steps on each end, although it is preferred, due to camera positioning, that the contestants use the steps closest to the right as viewed when looking at the audience.

On stage are three sets of large, paneled, sliding doors (the Big Doors), as well as a platform with rotating walls (the Turntable). Pricing games and prizes are typically placed in these areas. There are also a Giant Price Tag prop, a fly curtain known as the Race Game Curtain, and a red curtain on wheels to conceal prizes and games; the Race Game Curtain is also lowered during commercial breaks to conceal the staging of the next act from the audience.

The announcer sits at a station stage left, while the production crew is in an area stage right.

Taping

The program is usually produced in exactly one hour, with carefully timed commercial breaks, even though it is taped well in advance (for example, the morning taping of November 16, 1983, was aired on January 10, 1984—a poster tells the audience when the show will be broadcast, so they can send postcards to a friend). As with many other shows that start production in the summer, the lead time varies during the season. For example, while some shows airing in October 2005 had been taped the previous July, the gap closed enough so that episodes taped in the second week of November 2005 aired just before Christmas. Towards the end of the season, the gap can be as little as 3 or 4 days.

The audience is entertained for several minutes before taping begins; after the taping session, there is a drawing for a door prize.

The Price Is Right series

1956-1965 version

A successful version of The Price Is Right was first hosted by Bill Cullen on NBC and later ABC. After this version went off the air, a spinoff version, slightly retooling the elements of the original game show, debutted in 1972. The new version was about to become a longtime fixture on American television.

1972: The new half-hour version

Logo on the premiere of The New Price Is Right on September 4 1972
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Logo on the premiere of The New Price Is Right on September 4 1972

The most recognized version of the show premiered September 4, 1972 on CBS and has been hosted by Bob Barker through its entire broadcast run. The show was first called The New Price is Right (and shortly afterward simply renamed The Price Is Right), and still airs today. It is the only daytime network game show currently in production.

The Price Is Right was a half-hour long. It featured three pricing games and the Showcase, with the top two winners of the day participating in the Showcase.

1975: The fabulous 60-minute version

Logo of The Price Is Right from the May 23, 1975 episode
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Logo of The Price Is Right from the May 23, 1975 episode

In this version, the two Showcase participants are determined by a Showcase Showdown between the first three and last three contestants to play a pricing game.

Syndication

Other versions of the show have aired as well. Most of these were short-lived, but there have been exceptions. A weekly syndicated version of the show aired from 1972 through 1980. This show was hosted by Dennis James from 1972 to 1977, then Bob Barker from 1977 to 1980.

Two daily syndicated versions were attempted: in 1985 with host Tom Kennedy (The Nighttime Price Is Right), and in 1994 with host Doug Davidson (The New Price Is Right). Both were quickly cancelled—Kennedy's after a year, Davidson's after five months.

The 1985 version was played exactly the same way as the first three seasons and the original syndicated run, with the two highest winners advancing to the Showcase. This version experimented with a $500 perfect bid bonus, which the daytime show adopted in 1998.

Some of the 1994 version's concepts became part of European versions starting with Bruce Forsyth's British version in 1995, and the the production's doors were used in the daytime version starting in September 1996, albeit repainted with the patterns from the daytime doors.

Prime time specials

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A series of six nighttime specials aired on Thursday nights during the summer of 1986. Up against the powerhouse NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, the show fared relatively poorly. In these episodes, host Barker wore a tuxedo, and colored spotlights surrounded the Big Doors.

In 1996, CBS aired an hour-long 25th Anniversary Special, using the half-hour gameplay format and featuring a number of retrospective clips. Ratings were markedly better, but it would be another five years before TPiR returned to primetime. A 30th anniversary special was recorded at Harrah's Rio in Las Vegas and was plagued with problems. The situation with potential audience members before the Vegas show started with confusion, then quickly degraded almost to chaos; as such, another road trip is unlikely.

Despite the production problems, more primetime shows were planned, albeit back at CBS Television City. Six nighttime specials saluting various branches of the United States armed forces and for police officers & firefighters aired during the summer of 2002, as a tribute to the heroes of the terrorist attacks of 2001. During the Military Specials, a $1 on the bonus spin in the Showcase Showdown would have been worth $100,000 instead of the usual $10,000; this prize went unclaimed.

The \"Million Dollar Spectaculars\"

Since 2003, fifteen nighttime "Million Dollar Spectaculars" have been aired, with the most recent one, originally intended for May 6, 2005, airing on February 14, 2006.

On the Million Dollar Spectaculars, the bonus spin payoff was again increased, to $1,000,000. Beginning on the fourth Million Dollar Spectacular, the winner of the Showcase earns a million-dollar spin if there was no bonus spin during either of the episode's Showcase Showdowns; during these post-Showcase spins, hitting a green section does not earn any money.

The rule in place for the fourth through 12th specials in case of a Showcase double-overbid was that a random audience member would be called onstage for a million-dollar spin; such a spinner would retain their eligibility to be called as a regular contestant on a future episode. Sometime during the fifth set of Million Dollar Spectaculars, the double overbid rule was changed to award the spin to the contestant who made the smaller overbid.

No one has claimed the million dollar prize through the first fifteen MDS shows; seven contestants (as of this writing) have had the wheel stop on .05, one wedge away from the $1 million jackpot; two of these seven contestants have had the wheel stop on the peg that separates the .05 wedge from the jackpot. The lack of big wins is notable given the relative frequency of $10,000 wins on the daytime show.

Only one primetime bonus spin, on one of the '86 specials, has actually stopped on the dollar.

Bigger and better prizes are generally offered on the Million Dollar Spectaculars: Contestants' Row frequently offers pricing game-calibre prizes; many pricing games, including those played for money, offer larger prizes than on the daytime show; and the Showcase will frequently offer multiple or very expensive cars.

\"Gameshow Marathon\"

TPIR was the first of seven classic game show formats set to be played on the CBS Gameshow Marathon, whose episode aired May 31, 2006. Ricki Lake served as host, while celebrities played as contestants. The show did not take place on the current set, but on a specially-designed smaller set in a different studio at CBS Television City; however, Marathon used props from the current TPIR (including the Big Wheel and Plinko Board), along with appearances by TPIR models and announcer Rich Fields.

The Marathon episode for the most part used Price's half-hour gameplay format; however, due to the popularity of the Big Wheel, a Showcase Showdown was inserted after the third game, with two of its participants advancing to the Showcase (as used on Germany's Der Preis ist Heiss). The Showcase Showdown split-screen, with arrow (dropped from TPIR in the late 90s/early 2000s) was also included.

Programming history (daytime show)

All times listed are Eastern.

Audience and contestant selection

Backstage photo of pre-show audience line
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Backstage photo of pre-show audience line

Many audience members arrive early on the day of a taping. Most have already received tickets for that day's show, although some hope to get same-day tickets. Audience members are then given the famous name tags with a temporary identification number. The ID number is also written on the person's ticket. Audience members are eventually brought through in groups of ten for brief interviews with Stan Blits, the show's music director/contestant coordinator. (Until partway through Season 32, these interviews were conducted by one of the producers.) Social Security Numbers are also checked for tax reporting of potential prize winners.

Contestant names are not chosen at random. Rather, the interviews determine possible selections for the nine contestants per taping from among the pool of approximately 320 audience members.

With few exceptions (including previous contestants and political candidates), anyone at least 18 years old who attends a taping of the show has the potential to become a contestant on The Price Is Right.

Bloopers and other memorable moments

Yolanda shows the audience a little too much
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Yolanda shows the audience a little too much

Famous contestants

References in popular culture

"Bill Baker" on the 2 Stupid Dogs spoof.
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"Bill Baker" on the 2 Stupid Dogs spoof.

Many references to The Price Is Right have been made in cartoons, sitcoms, and other television productions. These have ranged from spoofs, such as that on the cartoon 2 Stupid Dogs, to actual appearances by Barker himself, as in the Adam Sandler movie Happy Gilmore.

Trivia

Episode status

Not all episodes of the Cullen run are believed to exist, although many of them do. All episodes of the other versions are believed to exist. The Cullen, Barker, and Kennedy versions aired on Game Show Network from 1996 to 2000. After 2000, GSN's rights to air the show expired, and the contract has not been renewed since then. Even when GSN did have the rights, reruns of all '70s nighttime episodes, as well as some daytime episodes, were vetoed by Barker due to fur coats being given away as prizes. GSN was unable to air the Davidson episodes, as that run falls under different ownership (CBS Paramount) than the other versions of the show.

Price in other media

The Price Is Right has expanded beyond television to home and casino-based games:

Board Games

Eight board games have been produced. One of them was a version of the card game "GOPS", using prizes and price tags from the original version. The second was based more closely on the original version of the show.

Three games were produced during the 1970s, by Milton Bradley, with Contestants' Row; a small number of pricing games; and, in the case of the third version, a spinner for the Big Wheel, albeit with the numbers in the wrong order. In the first two versions, several decks of cards had various grocery items, small prizes and larger prizes; the third version simply had cards for each game that included ten sets of "right" answers, all using the same price choices. The instruction book would tell the 'host' for the round what color cards would be necessary.

The 1986 version, again by Milton Bradley, was similar in scope to the earlier version, with new prizes and more games, but strangely lacking the Big Wheel. The 1998 version, this time by Endless Games, of the game was virtually identical to the 1986 release, with the same games, the same prizes, and even the same prices; the only changes were the number tiles being changed to cardboard bits.

The 2004 edition, again by Endless Games, was a complete departure. Instead of different prize cards and background games, the game consisted of everything you would need to play over 40 pricing games, and enough materials to create all the games not technically included if the "host" wished to and knew their rules; the Big Wheel spinner was also restored, this time with the numbers in the correct order. To fit everything in the box, grocery items and prizes were listed in the instruction book, and games were played on dry erase boards. A spinner would determine what game would be played next, although its use was not necessarily required if the "host" wished to build his own game lineup.

Computer Games

In 1990 GameTek created a "The Price is Right" computer game to fit in their line of other game show games. Unfortunately, several things prevented the game from being playable. Prizes for certain games could come from any file (Cliff Hangers could have the player bidding on a truck with only a $300 range), and the rules were frequently different from the ones on the show. It did not sell well and was quickly removed from the market. Likewise, a planned version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was never released, and it is unknown if a prototype is in existence.

A hand-held Tiger game was made in 1998 with four pricing games, and a DVD game with 12 pricing games and prizes taken directly from the show was produced by Endless Games in 2005.

Slot Machines

A series of popular video slot machines, all based on the current version of The Price Is Right, were manufactured for North American casinos by International Game Technology. Rod Roddy's voice and cartoon persona are part of the game, even after his death.

The most common machines recreate the Showcase Showdown as a bonus feature, with a wheel built into the game above the main video screen. At least four different versions of this machine exist as of 2006, each featuring additional bonus rounds based on popular pricing games: Plinko, Cliff Hangers, Punch a Bunch, and Dice Game.

In addition, a Money Game slot machine exists, albeit in limited release. This game has a potential top prize of a new car, and has a different bonus round than the other The Price Is Right slot machines in service.

Another slot machine called The Price Is Right Fishing Game has been created by IGT[The Price Is Right Video Slots Featuring Fishing Game], but it isn't clear if the machine has been released to casinos. The game features a fishing-themed bonus, and is not based on any pricing game featured on the program.

Live casino game

Harrah's and the television show producers have agreed to do live licensed shows (dubbed The Price Is Right - LIVE) at their venues, with several performers (including Roger Lodge and Todd Newton) hosting and Randy West or Daniel Rosen announcing.

Credits

External links

References

 


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