TV

The Price Is Right

by Daniel McQuade

In September 1975 The Price Is Right switched to a one-hour format. And for almost 30 years the show remained remarkably constant: Contestants bid on prizes, competed in pricing games to win more prizes and spun a wheel for a chance to bid on even more prizes.

Last October there was finally a shakeup. Bob Barker retired after hosting the daytime tribute to capitalism since 1972. The producers selected comedian Drew Carey as the new host.

Barker spent a lifetime as a game show host, starring (as they say) on Truth or Consequences for nearly 20 years before TPIR. While he interacted with contestants amicably, he almost always played the straight man to a cast of characters who flailed around onstage after winning (or not) a new car. The famed contestant who bid 420 every single time on Contestants’ Row elicited barely a mention from Barker.

After a few months at the helm, Carey has proven to be a bit less refined. That’s not a bad thing; he is, after all, a comedian. A few weeks ago a contestant named Michael Bummer bid $69 on Contestants’ Row, giving him a chance to win a new Jeep in the following showcase. He claimed to be a gynecologist from Pittsburgh. Carey’s response: “If you’re not laughing right now, something’s wrong with you.”

In some ways, it makes the show more fun to watch. The brilliance of The Price Is Right lies in the unpredictable ways people react upon winning, even if the prize is a ridiculously ugly piece of jewelry. It’s a stupid concept, really, where knowing the price of a tube of athlete’s foot cream can win one a car. But it’s the easiness of it—without the phoniness and sheer stupidity of Deal or No Deal—that makes the show so darn fun to watch.

Carey seems to understand that. He jumps up and down with contestants after they’ve won it all and shares in their shock. After Adam Rose won $1 million on a prime time TPIR special and appeared scared by it all, Carey could only say, “A million bucks, buddy. A million bucks.” Even a communist can enjoy that.