The Price is Right - 6/21/12 Episode

With the 40th season of The Price is Right recently concluded, they've gone to showing reruns for a good part of the summer. We knew this today because a) Drew Carey was wearing a tie, which he didn't do the last half of the season or so, and b) Gwendolyn wasn't pregnant yet.

Don't worry, everyone, she still is. (The blog actually got a few hits inquiring about this yesterday)

I hadn't watched the show in a week, and was fairly excited to jump back into it with a playing of "Plinko" as the first pricing game. And then this happened:

If you believe in karma, you will surely have to feel DeJoie did something to really, really piss somebody off previously. Particularly after she got a 90 on the wheel, only to be trumped by a 95 from Cynthia.

It just wasn't DeJoie's day.

It wasn't really shaping up to be Lori's day, either, after a couple questionable bids in the first two rounds. Here she is (second from left), bidding second on six pairs of shoes...

...and going just $22 under the previous bid, leaving an impossibly small window for victory (which didn't happen). Then, bidding third on a gas range, with bids of $950 and $1,050 right before her...

...almost the same thing. She didn't win.

Lori figured it out eventually...

...thus catapulting her on a terrific run, winning "Pick a Pair" for a trip to China, getting to the Showcase and then winning it with an excellent bid on cowboy/cowgirl boots, a trip to Calgary and a Toyota Tacoma.

While we're here, spare a thought for Jeremy (the guy who bid $1,200 in the photo above), a "first four" contestant who never made on stage. A military man being allowed to languish on bidders' row? I didn't think it possible.

Pricing game WIN
This hardly ever happens: a win on "Line 'em Up" on the first try.

Patrick did it today, though...

...with Manuela more than happy to deliver the good news.

An enjoyable part of this was Drew casually tossing it over to Manuela, expecting Patrick to be wrong and have to use his second guess. At 18-to-1 odds, it's easy to assume the contestant is going to be wrong on the first go. But Patrick made a believer out of all of us.

Commercials
Regular readers of The Price is Right Files know I enjoy my commercials, with a few in particular being my favorites.

Well, today, I'd like to induct a new entry into The Price is Right Commercials Hall of Fame.

Blythe Danner, congratulations. Your outstanding - and incredibly repetitive, seeing as your commercial is on just about everyday - work in promoting post-menopausal osteoporosis awareness deserves this extra bit of recognition.

"Thaaanks, Ed."

Previous entries into The Price is Right Commercials Hall of Fame are, of course, Wilford Brimley, Henry Winkler and the Hoveround Singing Guy.

And, finally...
Our old friend was back today.

Daniel Goddard!

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The Price is Right - 6/4/12 Episode

I'd read about this before, but I forgot today was the day until the show started: it's the "Wedding Shower" episode of The Price is Right!

More duos - in this case, engaged couples - bidding and playing pricing games! Because the Mothers' Day and "New Drivers" specials that we've had in the last month weren't enough!

And - here's a shock - it was such a happy occasion, all six pricing games were won! I'm sure that was not fixed or arranged in any way.

For today's blog, I'm going to go in chronological order of the show - a running diary of sorts. Here's how it played out, from beginning to end:

After the first four eight contestants came on down, the first item up for bids was a wedding gown and tuxedo. Rachel drew the gown modeling assignment, and since Manuela and Amber would probably look weird in a tux...

Daniel Goddard is BACK.

James and Cheryl won the prize, at which point we found out that all couples who made it on stage win a trip to Miami. George Gray delivered the good news.

After James and Cheryl won the prize, they got up on stage to play Plinko. They did well to earn all four chips, giving them five total. While watching, I wondered to myself who would get to drop the chips. Surely, they would split it up somehow.

The Price is Right - 5/29/12 Episode

Well, this happened today on The Price is Right:

She bid on the fucking tugboat prop!!!

Novel's $800 bid didn't win the surfboards, either. And she didn't cover herself in much glory in the next round. As the last bidder on a portable DVD player, Novel went with $900...

...when a bid of $651 would have done the trick. Particularly since the actual retail price was $780 - oops.

Novel finally figured it out in the last round, going $1,501 after bids of $1,200, $1,499 and $1,500. But Orchid (above, far right) won the pool table with her $1,200 bid, avoiding becoming a "first four" flame-out in the process.

Orchid didn't have much luck in "The Race Game," though (click here to see how the game is played). Here were her prices:

And the prizes were: desktop computer, women's accessories, treadmill, kitchen range. "The Race Game," like other timed games, requires poise and at least some retail knowledge. It also helps if, as I've mentioned before, you pay attention to George Gray as he's describing the prizes. The women's accessories - a pair of platform sandals, leather tote and sunglasses - were from Prada.

Prada.

The shades alone are probably $880 for all we know, so hearing "Prada" should ring alarm bells that the accessories might be one of the more expensive items here. As it turned out, it was the most expensive at $3,590, but Orchid went with $880 - and then never changed it. In the end, she got only the treadmill for $2,499.

Considering the presence of Prada, and the $880 just screaming out "desktop computer," this was a really winnable setup.

Pricing game WIN
Contestants went just 1-for-6 on pricing games today. The '1' was a hell of a win, though.

After getting a $500 and a $0 with his first two "Plinko" chips, here's Ryan's last two:

"Cover Up" FAIL
I'm going to throw a party when someone finally plays "Cover Up" correctly. You're all invited.

I know I bang on about this every time (here's my original banging on, complete with how the game is played), but here's the thing: this game is played a lot. Perhaps some contestants show up to The Price is Right on a whim without watching it beforehand, but not all of them. Surely, at this point, a lot of these people have seen this game played already.

If I can figure out the strategy, so can they.

The Price is Right - 5/9/12 Episode

Having hosted hundreds of episodes of The Price is Right, Drew Carey is entitled to get a little confused every now and then.

Today was one of those days, as in the first round on bidders' row, he had a tough time discerning who had won. Apparently, the contestants couldn't quite figure it out, either.

Observe Pamela's and Jermaine's Pavlovian response when Drew points to them, even though they had overbid.

So Jeffrey gets on stage with the opportunity to win a car in "Let 'Em Roll." The game looks like this:

You get one free roll of the dice, with the chance to win two more by guessing the prices of a few grocery items. Jeffrey went 1-for-2, so he had two rolls. Each of the five die have three car symbols and three cash values (one each of $1,500, $1,000 and $500). After your first roll, you can keep the cash that comes up (assuming you didn't roll five cars) or take the die that didn't come up car and try again. If you don't have five cars after your last roll, you get whatever cash you got on that last roll.

Here's the result of Jeffrey's first roll:

Again, here's why I'd be a boring game show contestant: I'd pocket the $3,500 and call it a day. Maybe if the odds of rolling three cars were a little better than the 8-to-1 that it is here, I'd consider taking the risk. But $3,500 is a pretty good cash haul from this game.

Jeffrey, naturally, went for the car. He didn't get it, and took home $2,000 instead.

Drama and intrigue
Today, we saw why "Any Number" is the best game on The Price is Right.

The Price is Right - 5/4/12 Episode

I'm not quite as obsessed with Plinko as many other The Price is Right fans are, but it can sometimes make for riveting television. The exultation of a $10,000 chip, matched by the utter despair of the $0 chip. Fortunes hang in the balance and can change in a second.

Today, Kyong's playing of Plinko gave me goosebumps.

That's pretty damn good.

Kyong earned her three extra Plinko chips with some sound pricing strategy (including the generally accurate principle that if they give you a '0' for the second number as an option, take it. She did twice, and won a chip both times).

Kyong's highlight reel wasn't over. At the wheel, Mary has just gotten a dollar. Here's Kyong trying to match it:

Mary got an 85 in the spin-off, and Kyong was one peg away from matching it and creating the most epic spin-off in recent times. It didn't happen, but $22,000 in cash isn't a bad day on The Price is Right.

The Plinko and wheel moments saved an otherwise fairly mundane show. There were a few highlights and lowlights, though.

Bidders' row FAIL
Ladies and gentlemen, let's say you're convinced the item up for bid is $900. The three bids before you were $775, $800 and $1,200. What do you bid?

The Price is Right - Tweets of the Day (4/20/12)

The following are real tweets from real people during Friday's episode of The Price is Right, starting with our No. 1 Tweet of the Day. Enjoy!

@iamnumberjuan Few things in life are certain. Death, taxes and that there is blood and bones of fallen contestants in the big wheel on The Price is right  

@tnelz28 Seeing 3 strikes on the price is right is just as exciting as seeing plinko!

@Colemania One day hope to be the fat contestant on the price is right.

@GalenTheKid I just yelled at the price is right contestants. I'm turning into my dad... #emotionaltvwatcher

@Real_ChrisP #ThatAwkwardMoment when the price is right contestant bids $499 right after the person before bids $500

@robcunning89 Bonding with my roommates by watching price is right together...

@LantzMiller In all seriousness I'm going to be pissed when I have a real job and can't watch The Price Is Right everyday

@d_geoghegan Lol why is there a woman named Gidget on the price is right. #drunkassbabynaming

@Macchina This contestant on The Price is Right is named 'Gidget'; obviously someone had some strange hallucinations during the pregnancy.

@OleRed88 This woman's name on Price is Right is Gidget. #wtf not to mention she is from NC. No wonder people think we are a bunch of hillbillies

@JordanSeidel It is CRIMINAL that the Price is Right is never on at the gym. TWO TVs HAVE THE VIEW ON.

@Llewtnacm If I'm ever as cheerful as the contestants on The Price is Right, I might be on something.

@tweeti_deedee I hate when people don't spin the wheel all the way around on the price is right. Like what is wrong with you my 2yr old can do better.

@SchwandtyPippen Either this medicine is amazing or the price is right is the most #intense show ever

Follow The Price is Right Files on Twitter: @TPiR_Files.

The Price is Right - 4/13/12 Episode

I've been saying for the last couple days that The Price is Right was setting up for a massive $80,000 win in Plinko today, furnished by Publishers' Clearing House.

Well, I was wrong.

You may have noticed that Stephen let go of the chip well before Rachel had set up the $80,000 placard, and that he had a rather... active stage demeanor.

This was his modus operandi for his entire appearance on the show.

Here's Stephen boppin' around on stage for no apparent reason while earning his Plinko chips:

Even Rachel, probably the friendliest of the models, was trepidacious:

Stephen rebounded from his 0-fer in Plinko to win on the wheel and advance to the Showcase...

Somehow, the magical ride continued all the way through to the end:

Folks, those are not Stephen's and Patrick's bids. That's how far off they were on their bids. Patrick, who apparently hasn't traveled much, bid $18,000 on three trips: Cabo San Lucas, Borneo (!) and Australia (!!!). $18K? Really??

The Price is Right - 4/12/12 Episode

Few things in life grind my gears more than when contestants who don't know how to bid on The Price is Right still win.

I don't care if you have no idea how much that new set of luggage costs. If you're the last person to go on bidders' row, you bid either $1 or $1 more than someone else. It gives you the best chance of winning.

This is not rocket science.

And yet, today we have Pheleta, who after bids of (in order) $912, $800, $499 on the his/her watches, goes with...

I mean, why bid $801 when you can decrease your chances of winning by about 90 percent?

Pheleta did not win.

Nor did she learn her lesson. In the very next round, Pheleta was again the fourth to bid, and after submissions of $600, $400 and $620 on the Wii family package, she goes with...

Alas, even this blind squirrel found her nut. Life is not fair, sometimes.

Passing the buck
In clutch situations - be it sports, game shows, or everyday life - winners rise to the top and take responsibility. Losers blow it and find someone else to blame.

The Price is Right - Tweets of the Day (4/11/12)

The following are real tweets from real people during Wednesday's episode of The Price is Right, starting with our No. 1 Tweet of the Day. Enjoy.

 @tylerweaver Last night I saved my mother's television (and my mother) from breakdown. She's now yelling at Price is Right. All is right in the world.

@NickWilliams96 I imagine heaven being like the set of The Price Is Right

@haylee_eibl I feel that if you're not yelling things at the t.v during The Price is Right, you're not watching it correctly.

@lisamenns the price is right > studying

@SReneJ77 Chick on The Price is Right needs to stop raising her arms. She has sweaty armpits and her shirt is all wet!!!

@NickyWalsh14 If I had 2 wishes in life, one would be to cure cancer and then a close second is to play Plinko on the Price is Right

@jdizzaymusic I hate watching these idiots on The price is right, Who always look at the crowd for the answers... Think for yourselves!

@NChambo3 They should have the Big Wheel from the price is right at the gym. Potentially most fun workout.

@xo_meghan That awkward moment when a contestant on Price Is Right wins a trip to the city they're from

The Price is Right - 4/11/12 Episode

Few things on The Price is Right get the studio crowd and viewers at home going more than a really old contestant.

Today's instant fan favorite was Leela, who won on her first go on bidders' row.

The crowd went bananas, chanting Leela's name and everything:

And what does every old person who can't walk up a flight of stairs without assistance need?

A new pickup truck! Of course!

Leela could hardly believe it...

In a cruel twist of fate, however, poor Leela got one of The Price is Right's most difficult games:

She did not win. Nor did she win on the wheel, despite a helping hand from Drew Carey:

In the Twitter-verse, most fans simply adored Leela in her quest for glory. Not everyone, though:

 @MissAudreySue There is no way this million year old lady can drive this ford f150 on the price is right

@IceburrgSlim Why do they put old people on The Price Is Right? What they gonna do with a brand new car, go to the grocery store?

Cruel bounce of the day
With help from Publishers' Clearing House, Andrea had a chance to win $40,000 with her final Plinko chip ($20,000 today plus the $20,000 rolled over from yesterday). It was looking good, but...

So, tomorrow the big prize is $60,000. This is lining up for someone to win $80,000 on Friday, isn't it? Not that I'm suggesting it's fixed.

The Price is Right - 4/10/12 Episode

In an almost unprecedented show of common sense, the fourth contestant on bidders' row went either $1 higher than someone else or for just $1 ALL SIX ROUNDS.

It didn't always work out, but it was refreshing to see. I expect a return to bidding stupidity in the near future.

Not that all was well on bidders' row today. Question: What would you bid for a five-night stay in an ocean-view balcony room at an upscale boutique hotel on Catalina Island, with continental breakfast included, and access to a private beach cabana? Oh, and they take you there on a HELICOPTER.

Probably a little more than this, right?

The actual price was $3,172. Whoops.

Abbey (far right) gets a pass for her wise bid, of course, and her antics made for an interesting beginning to the show. Here she is giving Drew Carey the "We are not worthy" treatment:

And here's Abbey starring in today's episode of "White Girls Breakdancing on National Television":

Pricing game WIN
We were 0-for-4 on pricing games today (I'm counting $1,500 on Plinko as a loss) and it looked like we were heading for five straight defeats when Robert had to get the last digit in the price of the Toyota Yaris LE exactly right in Lucky Seven.

The Price is Right - Tweets of the Day (4/9/12)

The following are all real tweets from real people during today's episode of The Price is Right, starting with our No. 1 Tweet of the Day, followed by a reference to our favorite hapless contestant. Enjoy.

@EtterMatt That weird thing people do where they flail their whole body around on the price is right #calmdown #yourweird 

@RaeRaeBassett I love when old ladies on THE PRICE IS RIGHT underbid #socute

@andresdavid Guys, they're playing Plinko all week on #TPIR. This is why I work from home.

@Levon__James How are the "The Price is Right" contestants so excited all the time? Margarita stand outside the studio or something?

@HPUCareerGuy My career dreams as a kindergarten in late 78/early 79 - center fielder for the Yankees, host of The Price is Right, WWF wrestling manager

@brittykitties I need to just go on the price is right and show everyone how it's done #irritated

@cwskoumal I'm pretty sure that CBS drugs the contestants of price is right before they go on the show

@Abby_Janosik If you dont like the Price is Right then something is wrong with you

Follow us on Twitter (@TPiR_Files) and don't forget to come back for daily The Price is Right episode recaps, and more!

The Price is Right - 4/9/12 Episode

THEY ARE PLAYING PLINKO EVERYDAY THIS WEEK ON THE PRICE IS RIGHT!!!

Drew Carey gave us the big news today, right before Summer dropped her third and final chip. Publishers' Clearing House is going to double the $10,000 slot everyday this week. And if tomorrow's Plinko contestant doesn't get it, it rolls over to the next day, and so on. So, Friday's Plinko player could win $80,000.

But not $100,000, as here's what Summer did with her $20,000 chance:

Note the sharp turn the chip makes to get to the $20,000 slot. Not that I'm suggesting it was rigged for the day of this big announcement.

Summer got her chance to play Plinko buy winning a pair of mountain bikes. Here's what Donna bid for - again, not one, but TWO (2) - mountain bikes:

Massive pricing game FAIL

It got only worse for Donna from there.

Why am I blogging about The Price is Right?

Why, of all things, am I starting a blog about The Price is Right?

Call it a return of childhood memories.

As my parents will tell you, I always had a fascination with numbers. I spent many a morning while on vacation, or home “sick,” watching the show. And while I hadn’t the slightest notion what that dinette set cost, I loved watching those numbers light up on bidders’ row and spin around on stage (One Away was my favorite game then).

I fell out of touch with the show during college and my first years in the “real world.” Still, thoughts of bidding a dollar, or whether there was more strategy to Any Number than meets the eye, never completely went away.

A recent entrance to the world of (f)unemployment give me plenty of free time, and it didn’t take long for me to set aside The Price is Right as appointment television. The personnel on stage may have changed (I wonder what “Barker Beauty” Janice is up to these days), but the show has otherwise remained virtually unchanged.