They took all the trees, put 'em in a tree museum

[austin_dern]

I don't suppose I ever really considered the fact that I'd almost certainly see the final Bob Barker episode of The Price Is Right. I suppose in the 70s and 80s I was too young to consider it, and in the 90s I was often in class or on campus and only saw the show often enough to confirm all was essentially the same. Most of this decade I spent in Singapore, where where his last season wouldn't reach me for an unpredictable time, the way Star World was advertising ``new'' episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 2002 (unfortunately, from the seventh season).

I've never made secret that I love game shows. Not all game shows, and reality shows trigger such a different response I have to conclude they're not the same genre as game shows, though I admit a close evolutionary link. But generally, give me a genial host with a wand microphone, a set trimmed in flashing lights, bells and buzzers going off at odd moments, the occasional cardboard slider malfunctioning, and a round of consolation prizes going to those who don't make it to the final round, and I'm happy. And The Price Is Right has long been the pinnacle of that, with the additional joy of (for most of my life) being an hourlong production.

I was fortunate to grow up in a golden age for game shows. Game and quiz shows had a wonderful time in the 1950s and 60s, but in the late 70s and early 80s was a flourishing of splendid new game shows like Card Sharks or Pyramid and outstanding renovations of old shows like The Price Is Right and Super Password. It's difficult to balance being interesting to the viewer, varied enough to stay interesting, focused enough that the game rules can be understood (and it's amazing The Price Is Right can carry a stable of a couple dozen regularly active games and not collapse under the contestant's confusion), and the 90s were a mighty dreadful time.

The new prime-time game shows are hopeful. They haven't produced any shows that survive in daytime, except for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and nobody notices that. And I know they'll find some reasonably competent person to host The Price Is Right, but it's hard to not feel like it's the end of something truly grand, the days when I could watch Mark Goodson and Bill Todman shows from 9 am until the afternoon when My Favorite Martian came on. I can do that on Game Show Network reruns and DVD sales, but that's putting fossils on display, not showing off a lush ecosystem.

The world needs more flashing lights and buzzers.

And pity poor Teenage Data (Philip), who sat outside for five days to be on the final show, got called up in the first four contestants, and was the final Barker contestant to get up on stage, only to lose at ``Any Number'' -- which I'd figured might be the final game, since it was also the very first game way back when -- and then at the showcase. If they still rigged game shows they'd have given him a double showcase win.

Trivia: Mark Goodson claimed The Price is Right format came about when he and Bennet and Phyllis Cerf played it at home in guessing the value of a dress, a piano, and a table. Source: Quiz Craze, Thomas A DeLong.

Currently Reading: A History of Private Life: Revelations of the Medieval World, Edited by Philippe Ariès, Georges Duby.

Comments

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

Weakest Link I think has/had a good primetime run..but I absolutely echo this. It'll be sad to see Bob Barker, such a childhood staple as well, leave The Price is Right. It is very much the classic game show, where knowledge and luck intertwine well- I think that's the formula that keeps it and Wheel of Fortune on The air.

--Chiaroscuro

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

The Weakest Link I rather liked, and it did pretty well for the prime-time runs in modern shows. Its long run on British programming shows the basic format's durable; it's just not found a viable niche in United States programming.

Besides the ever-present trouble in finding a reliable game to play there's also the problem of finding the right host. It takes a special sort of charisma that, for example, Bob Barker, Bill Cullen, and Alex Trebek simply ooze; many other people, superficially quite qualified, just don't have it. When there were dozens of game shows on at once that was fine, since you could put potential talent on a throwaway bit of nonsense that was going to be cancelled in thirteen weeks anyway, and see if they can actually connect to audiences or if they can build the skills to connect to audiences. Nowadays, where can you test talent out except maybe in radio contests that only get at half the presentability needed?

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

Indeed. I was watching Family Feud (There's another durable one) a few weeks ago, and the category was 'Things That Come in Pairs'. And naturally, at the 'You can steal this with a correct answer' portion, the patriarch of the black family said "Breasts!"

John O'Hurley performed disappointingly with this incredible setup. Ray Combs, or even Richard "Al Borland" Karn would've hit one out of the park with thirty seconds of embarrassing the man, followed with a vigorous "Show me... breasts!". Richard Dawson would've even managed it with some flair. O'Hurley came across flat- he's just not the right guy for the job.

(And breasts in fact was up there as number 5, and took it, which was cosmic justice.)

I think you're seeing some people come up with that charisma (Even Weakest Link's harshness is a form of it) given the new crop of milion-dollar game shows. Regis Philbin obviously so, and Howie Mandel.. and we'll see whom else. But yes, primetime over daytime is more costly gamble.

--Chiaroscuro

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Sheesh. You don't even need personality to respond to that steal answer right; just put a puckish grin on your face and say nothing while the audience has its laugh, and when that's died down say, ``You little dickens,'' or something to that effect.

Regis Philbin would be the right person to be an interim host for The Price Is Right, paving the way for the show to put on a new person while cushioning them from direct comparisons to Bob Barker. I doubt he's got the strength for it right now, though, even with the famously efficient production on The Price Is Right where they might be able to do a comfortable three months' worth of shows with just a couple weeks of work on it.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Facial expression alone would've done it, and then just a good little.. well. friendly diss to wrap it up. Ray Combs was the master at that on Family Feud. John O'Hurley, sadly, is too stiff for the game. I rate him below Louie Anderson, who was outclassed but at least *tried*.

And I agree about Regis, he's the first one I thought of. I'm actually thinking in the long-term, maybe a female host.. someone who gives off a 'nice Mom-type' vibe. Someone like Ellen DeGeneres, but about ten years older. It'd be a tough follow in the mostly male-dominated field, and I don;t know how that'd work with the 'beauties', but..

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

It's mighty hard to find a successful female game show host. Betty White was given a Daytime Emmy for pretty much no reason other than she was the first female host anyone recognized doing a grown-up role, for example.

It's a shame Meredith Viera has got so much on her plate already, since she's got a credible host presence on the syndicated US Millionaire to do it.

I wonder if they're considering hosts of the various overseas versions of The Price Is Right. It'd be a bit of an adjustment, but someone with a charming Australian accent could intrigue audiences.

I'm curious now how they'd do a Singapore version of The Price Is Right, although there the casting is easier; it'd probably be Gurmit Singh, Mark Lee, or the Flying Dutchman (who was the local Millionaire host).

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

A good foreign host to be brought in might be a fine choice, but not likely to happen.. anyone doing well in Australia they'll probably keep in Australia.

And indeed, Meredith Viera and Anne Robinson come to mind most notably as hosts. Women seem to fit in 'assitant' roles at best. Barker's Beauties, Vanna White, the-girl-from-Lingo.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I doubt they'd be afraid to transfer someone from an overseas The Price Is Right if they had a good candidate -- it's not like the United States version wouldn't make more money for everyone all around, after all.

Unfortunately women have been historically pretty well gypped in game show host roles, so it's hard to guess who might be a good candidate. (They're also gypped in late night talk show host roles; one of the advantages of Johnny Carson having endless guest hosts -- and that stretch of Later where everyone in Los Angeles County had to host a week, like it was jury duty -- was you could see talent tried out on grown-up shows.)

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

so didja get to see the last show, or maybe even tape it? :>

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I saw it, yes, and have it on the Tivo yet. I don't know whether to tape it, though; it seems to me at least part of the joy of these shows is how ephemeral they are, that you experience them and they're gone again.

Plus it'll be on YouTube forever and ever anyway.

They had an excellent final week, though, including probably all the great potential things including a Double Showcase Win. And very nearly a perfect story in Philip, the Teenage Data, the final show.

[kevinjdog.livejournal.com]

Game and quiz shows had a wonderful time in the 1950s and 60s, but in the late 70s and early 80s was a flourishing of splendid new game shows like Card Sharks or Pyramid and outstanding renovations of old shows like The Price Is Right and Super Password.

The world needs more flashing lights and buzzers.

I miss those days, myself. You could tell everyone was having fun, and that they didn't need to "try too hard" to gain viewers. Let's hope the more "classic" style games make a comeback someday.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if people were having more fun in those days, actually -- some games were really loose cocktail-party affairs like What's My Line?, but others were always hard-driving, efficient productions (with the occasional chatty interlude) like The $_ Pyramid or Password. Agreed it's easier to try out a game show when all the people involved know if this show doesn't work out they'll be back at work in half a year, though; it's easier to improvise and try out contrary notions. (The flip side, though, is they might get overly involved in their own creations, as some of the overly complicated games of the early 80s proved. Mad Magazine apparently did a bit pointing out that Card Sharks, playable as it was, had a rule set almost as long as 43-man squamish.)