The Dallas Morning News reviewed the live show in Shreveport in the January 2nd edition. The author was once a WOF contestant and is obviously a game show fan. Excerpts reprinted with permission.
Come on down! Show lures Price fans to Bossier City
07:05 PM CST on Friday, December 31, 2004
By DARLA ATLAS / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
BOSSIER CITY, La. -- Anyone who's ever seen a game-show audience on TV will agree: Those people are crazy. This is especially true of the granddaddy game show of them all, The Price Is Right. Whenever contestants are ordered to "Come on down!" they hop out of their seat, step all over other people, wave their arms with abandon and run to the stage as fast as their legs can carry them. Why? Because that's how it works in the game-show world. In this universe, things are done with much enthusiasm.
From now until Jan. 30, those possessing game-show pep can come on down to Bossier City to experience The Price Is Right Live. The show's production company, Freemantle Media Television, has partnered with Harrah's casinos to bring a traveling version of the hit show to several cities. Right now, it's at Harrah's Louisiana Downs.
No, you won't meet the Price king himself, Bob Barker; he's busy with his legendary day job in California. Instead, the host is Todd Newton, who has hosted Whammy! The All New Press Your Luck and several shows on the E! network among his gigs. (He's also a regular on the red-carpet scene; look for him at the Oscars this year.) His announcing cohort is Randy West, whose voice is known to fans of Supermarket Sweep.
We reserved our seats online -- recommended, as the show sells out regularly -- and made the four-hour drive from Fort Worth. Price Is Right Live is played in a room set off from the casino, near the racetrack. After lunch in the casino's buffet restaurant, we stood in line to register and were given yellow price tags with our names on them, just like the real show. We affixed them to our chests with pride. The room, which seats about 400 people, features multicolored curtains and lights so blinding that you'd think it was being taped for TV.
Finally, it was showtime. Mr. West came out first, working the crowd by telling jokes and asking us such things as "Who's feeling lucky?" He noted that the show is an institution, having been on the air for 33 years. We cheered wildly.
Then Mr. Newton appeared, looking every bit the game-show host: perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect delivery of jokes and banter. At last, it was time for the first fastest-finger round, which would determine the first four players to come on down. We had to punch in the numbers for three items in the order of cost, from least expensive to most. Mr. West then called out four people to "come on down!
The fortunate four made their way to the front, most adhering to the earlier advice to do so with gusto. (A few of them just walked, though. Rebels!) The item up for bid was a fax machine. The contestants placed their bids, one guy using the old "One dollar!" strategy. He didn't win; a woman named Felicia came closest to the actual retail price -- say it with me -- without going over.
As she ran up to the stage, the curtains opened to reveal the set. It looked just like the TV show, we were pleased to note. And all the old favorites are there, including the cute Cliffhanger guy who yodels.)
Felicia would be playing the Race Game, which involved figuring out the prices of items such a cheap-looking armoire, a bicycle, a vacuum and a telescope. With the timer running, she had to grab price tags, put them next to each item and press the buzzer to see how many she had correct. As she ran around, my husband and I were appalled by her choices. No way that pressboard armoire costs that much!
She pressed the buzzer. Got them all right on the first try. We all hooted and hollered so loudly you'd think this woman was our own flesh and blood. Felicia's competitors on Contestant's Row were then told to sit back down. Unlike the real show, they don't get a second chance. They dejectedly accepted a parting gift and found their seats. Still, that makes room for four new people to get a chance to come on down!
For the next 45 minutes or so, more games we all know and love were played, with some contestants winning (a refrigerator, $100 in cash) and some losing (accompanied by the requisite "Bomp, bomp, bomp, boooomp" music. Saddest tune ever.). Occasionally, Mr. Newton would direct us to the TV screens to watch a few bloopers from the real show. They were laugh-out-loud funny, reminding us why the show has been on for so long and why Mr. Barker reigns supreme.
But back to the game. We all then tried to win a turn to spin the money wheel. My name continued not to be called. Instead, some guy from Texas came closest to $1 on the wheel, winning $250. But he didn't get to move on to the Showcase as he would on TV; those spots were reserved for two more new people in the crowd.
Their names were then called (Darn it! Is there something wrong with my keypad?), and they took their spots behind the familiar Showcase podiums. The two Newton's Beauties models showed us a pasta machine, washer/dryer, cordless phones, a trip to Lake Tahoe and a 2005 Honda Civic EX. Lots of loot!Both women placed their bids. Both went over. We reacted with a sympathetic "Awwww."
As the show ended and we applauded for applause's sake, Mr. Newton urged everyone to "help control the pet population; have your pet spayed or neutered," just as Bob would. Most people walked out of the room with smiles on their faces, which isn't always the case in a gambling facility. No, we didn't win fabulous cash or prizes, but we laughed a lot. Plus, we managed to spend more than an hour in a casino at a cost of just 25 bucks apiece. That price seemed quite right.
Randy
tvrandywest.com
