Amanda here. Dad's turning over the blog to me to post another essay I wrote a few years ago in a creative writing class. Our assignment was to write about an obsession we have, and I immediately knew my essay had to be about The Price Is Right. This essay has nothing whatsoever to do with Catherine, or James Neville, except that I'm sure they, too, must have loved The Price is Right, because who DOESN'T love The Price Is Right??? Also, while I couldn't find a way to work this into the essay, you can go here for a complete listing of all the pricing games ever played on TPIR. Ever. Complete with history and pictures and trivia about each game. You're welcome.
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I am a lifelong fan of The Price Is Right. It’s true I’ve never been on the show, but
don’t think I don’t fantasize about it.
Often. I think it may be the
only good reason to go to Los Angeles. I
cannot remember a time when I wasn’t aware of the TPIR. Every holiday and sick day was spent in front
of the television, taking guesses at the current cost of a Buick Skylark, or
baking soda. When I asked my mother why this was, she responded that her mom
watched TPIR with her when she was a child, a sort of non-response that made it
sound as if she believed the act of passing on an appreciation for The Price Is
Right was a key part of motherhood.
The Golf Game was usually my favorite; I’ve always been a
big putt-putt fan, plus I liked the way Bob Barker always took a shot
first. Something about that made him
more human; clearly skilled but also fallible, since he seemed to only make the
shot about half the time. Occasionally
my favorite was the Dice Game, I liked the intertwining of luck and
strategy. Obviously anytime there was a
car at stake, you could count on a good time; Lucky 7’s and Any Number were two of
the best. And who doesn’t love
Plinko! It’s really just slot-machine
randomness, but the way we all leaned left or right on our couches, nudging our
heads, trying to steer the big, round disc into the $10,000 slot created
suspense and tension of the variety not usually found on TV game shows. And oh, the disappointment when Barker’s
Beauties brought out the “Guess-which-one-is-cheaper” Game (though I always
knew my disappointment was secondary to that of the contestant who drew that
short straw).
When
Drew Carey took over, I was worried. But they did a masterful job of weaving
the old in with the new, keeping just enough of the 1970s colors and kitschy props and
replacing just enough tired ideas and technology. I still watch at every opportunity, and in fact once spent a full year of unemployment watching
every day, reminding myself of the lessons TPIR taught me long ago: pay
attention to the costs of everyday life; when given the opportunity, run down
the aisle with exuberance; and if you lose, at least you got to play.
-- Amanda
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Jimmy LeDuke
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