Your thoughts on DREW, please.

[tpirfan28]

Exactly what the title says.

It's been a week...how Drew doing?  Is the show better or worse with him?  What are your first impressions?  Is he too much a Bob clone or is he so far off the deep end that it's not even close to TPIR anymore?

Don't be afraid to post, remember, we are allowed to challenge opinions (for the good, of course).  Might make some really good debate over hosting styles, personality, etc.

I figured we should do this at least a couple more times...sometime around the midway point and at the end of the season.

I'll post later so not to cloud opinions.

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'167464\' date=\'Oct 20 2007, 04:38 PM\']It's been a week...how Drew doing?  Is the show better or worse with him?  [/quote] There is no question, the show is much better with Drew at the helm. Little things that would irritate me when Bob hosted go by unnoticed. It's nice to have a host who can hear bids, who is clearly enjoying himself, and doesn't cause backstage strife.

Yeah, I think it's an improvement. Drew still has some work to do, learning more games, how to do the Showcase reveal, and so on. But I will absolutely take a nervous Drew over a cantankerous Bob.

What are your first impressions?  Is he too much a Bob clone or is he so far off the deep end that it's not even close to TPIR anymore?

It's absurd to say that he's off the deep end, and that it's not TPIR anymore. (Which may not be what you think personally, but you put it up as a spectrum bound, so there it is)
Drew's hosting proves that it's not the man that makes the show, but the contestants, the games and the atmosphere. He's hosting his way, and I like it. No more "That's the first time that happened since 1981!" things, no more Temple of Bob, and much less being silly. (There's still the jumping up and down, the screaming at the car reveal, and so on, but it's not always at volume 11.)

[whewfan]

I think Drew is doing fine, and I think he'll improve over time. We just need to be patient. As pointed out, his performance will vary from show to show, as he'll look less polished on some shows than others.
I think Bob retired at just the right time, and I would dare say that Price would only get WORSE if Bob continued. I think if he was still hosting 5 years from now, he'd only become more forgetful and more fragile. At this point, I say Price is in VERY competent hands. It's not "better", but it's certainly not "worse" either! Drew is going to continue finding his own way to host the show, and at the same time, hold on to traditions and elements that made Price so popular.

[tpirfan28]

[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'167465\' date=\'Oct 20 2007, 07:43 PM\']

What are your first impressions?  Is he too much a Bob clone or is he so far off the deep end that it's not even close to TPIR anymore?

It's absurd to say that he's off the deep end, and that it's not TPIR anymore. (Which may not be what you think personally, but you put it up as a spectrum bound, so there it is)
[/quote]
I put that spectrum end up there so that it would cover everyone's opinion.  We've seen plenty of opinions (that blog, some people over there, etc.) that does get very close to that boundary, but I don't think gets there.

And no, "off the deep end" is not my descriptor of Drew.

[ChrisLambert!]

My happiness with his enthusiasm, effort, and creation of a happy place to work behind the scenes, all combine to far outweigh my concerns with his handling of some of the show's mechanics. And there's plenty of time for him to fix those. It's going to be a far goofier show under his watch than Bob's, but when you get down to it, it's a pretty goofy format.

As always, this is just my view but it is always quite entertaining.

ERRR... as always, I offer the disclaimer that I've been a huge fan of the guy for almost 15 years now.

[Chelsea Thrasher]

[quote name=\'ChrisLambert!\' post=\'167474\' date=\'Oct 20 2007, 09:02 PM\']
As always, this is just my view but it is always quite entertaining. [/quote]
I LOL'ed. :-)

/One of these days I owe you a drink for that.

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'167468\' date=\'Oct 20 2007, 04:59 PM\']
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'167465\' date=\'Oct 20 2007, 07:43 PM\']

What are your first impressions?  Is he too much a Bob clone or is he so far off the deep end that it's not even close to TPIR anymore?

It's absurd to say that he's off the deep end, and that it's not TPIR anymore. (Which may not be what you think personally, but you put it up as a spectrum bound, so there it is)
[/quote]
I put that spectrum end up there so that it would cover everyone's opinion.  We've seen plenty of opinions (that blog, some people over there, etc.) that does get very close to that boundary, but I don't think gets there.

And no, "off the deep end" is not my descriptor of Drew.[/quote]Right. I wanted to make sure that you were just setting up the rules, is all. Frankly, I thought that anyone who opens with "Your thoughts on DREW, please" knows what's what. So, turnabout's fair play; where are you on the spectrum?

(Understand, I'm at a point where I'm actually enjoying the show again. I would watch because it was ten o'clock and that's all there was. I'm actually seeking it out now. That ought to tell you something.)

[gsfreak82]

I think he's comfortable but he talks way to low and way too fast when describing the games and giving the Actual Retail Price of a prize or Showcase.  I missed Tuesday and Wednesday, did he stumble through Check Game yet?  I'm sure he will.  I'm only watching the show for the same reason I watched Tic Tac Dough with Jim Caldwell, it's the same old game and the revamped set looks really cool.  The one thing I hate is they replaced the contestants row seats with dollar signs instead of the usual (The   Price   Is   Right).

[PYLW]

[quote name=\'ChrisLambert!\' post=\'167474\' date=\'Oct 20 2007, 09:02 PM\']
As always, this is just my view but it is always quite entertaining.
[/quote]

I lol'd hard for the first time in a LONG time. Good work.

[Jumpondees]

It's been a rough first week, but from the Monday show to the Friday show, I've seen a vast improvement, or shall I say evolution of Drew's abilty to host this show.  It's only going to get better with time folks, you wait and see.

From the start, I knew when I heard the annoucement, Drew was going to be a perfect fit for the show, just by watching how he worked on PoX and by knowing his style from his other TV projects.  

Just watching Drew interact/engage with the contestants in a way I never imagined Bob doing is such a very fresh change of pace.  I've been a fan of Price for years now, and watching it/DVR-ing it was just routine, but until I feel otherwise I have a new excitement and anticipation for this show.

Finally, while I am here, I also want to send out a big shout out to the CBS exec or execs who decided to put the show online to watch.  I didn't even bother watching the show on my DVR the other day when it was announced there would be a pre-emption...I just went to my computer and dialed it up and enjoyed.

[tyshaun1]

My opine........ he's off to a solid run. He takes the show a LOT less seriously than Bob ever did (oh noes, Drew doesn't act like the show is the end all to be all of television? Blasphemy!), yet has a warmness to him that endures throughout the show. My only real complaints is that he tends to rush to commercial where it seems like he just wants to get it over with, where several times they stay on him and the contestant for 10-15 seconds before the fade to black, and a few times it seemed like he wanted to say "Sucks to be you, we'll be right back!" But those are easily correctable mistakes.

Overall, I'd give him a B, good start, could easily be a great start.

Tyshaun

[Robert Hutchinson]

I like the way he realizes the silliness inherent in much of the show, but enthusiastically jumps right in himself (jumping up and down along with the contestants, for instance).

He is a bit rusty on moving from point A to B to C, but the person we have to directly compare him to did this for 35 years. I have little doubt that that, along with some of his other quirks (like repeating the essentials of the Showcase Showdown to every contestant to, I'm guessing, avoid any chance of forgetting to mention it at all), will fade away with experience.

And I have to say, I have a great appreciation of everything he's done to not make the models seem like second-tier participants in the events. Mentioning their names repeatedly has come up, but I can think of at least three other great moments: 1) saying in all seriousness that the model was helping him keep track of the order of punches on the Punchboard, 2) complimenting a dance that "accompanied" a trip to Scotland, and 3) the self-conscious poke about a model "going snowboarding in high heels and no pants". Without actually saying it, Drew is clearly indicating that the models are never going to be "his beauties".

(And yes, I realize the irony in my inability to remember which model was being addressed in all of those cases.)

Anyway, I'm very enthusiastic about the show now, and I fully intend to keep watching, online if not on TV.

[BrandonFG]

I give him a 7.

PROS:
-He GETS IT.
-He takes a step back to let the contestant shine.
-He seems genuinely happy when a contestant wins.
-Has great interaction with contestants.
-Very cordial and sincere.

CONS:
-He rushes, esp. when going to commercial or closing out the show (not his fault as its not even 40 mins. of show)
-Gets kinda repetitive (saying "Welcome back to 'The Price is Right!" after every commercial break, "Rich Fields, who's next?")...he'll get that when he loosens up more.
-Sometimes, the interaction comes across as awkward, but that's not his fault. Getting less "420" fratboys (which the producers seems to be doing) could correct that.
-He could also stand to inject more drama into his voice (i.e. on reveals), and maybe use better transitions to commercial, dependent on when a contestant wins or loses. He'll figure that out, though.

That being said, he makes mistakes that any rookie should make. At least he doesn't look like a blithering ninny who's there just for the paycheck.

And as for the show itself, I love how it seems energetic, yet not over-the-top. Feels like the TPiR of the early-80s, where everyone was there to have fun. I love how the audience "soul-claps" during the theme song now. :-)

[BMaurice06]

I would like to echo everyone else's comments.  He's off to a good if not great start, but he does have one flaw; I don't know if it's his own habit, but he talks a wee bit too fast.  What I would like to see in the future is Drew giving each contestant a short interview and establishing an on-camera relationship with the models and especially Rich Fields just to enhance the family-like feel of the show.  But so far, TPIR seems to be in good shape as far as the hosting goes; let's just hope we see success in the future.

[Gromit]

I think Drew is doing fine. I don't think you can say the show is better, because it's still early, and Bob was the consummate professional. In a couple of years, yeah.

The one thing he does I really dislike is the always asking each contestant in the wheel spinning to say hello to someone. This was always my least favourite part of the show under Bob, when they'd grab the microphone and start yelling out props to the homies back home. Frankly, nobody cares, and you're sitting with them watching the show by the time it airs anyway. And it always seems to take the focus away from the wheel. So often a guy is still in his spiel when he's just hit a $1.00, or gone over, or whatever.

And now, instead of being occasional, now it's practically required. Grrr.

Oh, and a couple of times he's come close to mocking the sponsors with things like "Yum, those hot dogs will be really tasty on that fine china", etc. I'll be interested to see how that goes in the future.