A Few Thoughts About TPIR

[CarShark]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'202118\' date=\'Nov 21 2008, 01:28 AM\'][quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' post=\'202105\' date=\'Nov 20 2008, 07:37 PM\']And if you think that's a bad explanation...well, I agree.  There's just something intangible about this whole process that I don't really know how to put into words.[/quote]
I would suggest calmly to you that this is really a lot of the problem when we devolve into these back-and-forths.  This just really screams "because it's the way it's always been done".
[/quote]Which is exactly how I read it. $16,000 in cold cash sounds like a great way to start a show to me. "Intangible". Honestly.

Back to my original point of the contestants not really being allowed to shine. I think Drew's interviewing skills have gone downhill. It seems that whenever a contestant gets on stage, Drew asks, "Where are you from?" and "What do you do in ____?" After the contestant answers, he then says "What do we have for a ___ from ___?" Rich says the prize and that's it. Like Andrea, who played Let 'em Roll a couple days ago. She said that her son would love the XBox 360 she just won. She said she was a mother of two. Did Drew ask what their names were? No. Did he ask if they watched TPIR with her? No. Did he ask her much of anything? Not really. He just said, "A stay-at-home mother of two could use this..." and just went on like nothing happened. The same with April, who was wearing a pink ribbon shirt for her grandmother. Drew's reaction seemed very insincere. I've heard people complain that Drew doesn't care about contestants. This week is the first time I've ever really seen it myself.

EDIT-I wish there was a way I could download the cue for the bed yesterday. It sounded like a vamp version of one of the 94 car cues. I kept rewinding my DVD just so I could hear it again and again. Awesome.

[Steve Gavazzi]

[quote name=\'CarShark\' post=\'202132\' date=\'Nov 21 2008, 10:38 AM\']Which is exactly how I read it. $16,000 in cold cash sounds like a great way to start a show to me. "Intangible". Honestly.[/quote]
Except it isn't going to happen.  Some very "tangible" stats show that over the last eight seasons, It's in the Bag has a significantly lower win percentage than any of the "Big 3," despite being played far more frequently -- only 10%, as opposed to 21% for Triple Play, 23% for Golden Road, and 34% for your least favorite of the bunch, 3 Strikes.

[CarShark]

[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' post=\'202177\' date=\'Nov 22 2008, 12:21 AM\']Except it isn't going to happen.  Some very "tangible" stats show that over the last eight seasons, It's in the Bag has a significantly lower win percentage than any of the "Big 3," despite being played far more frequently -- only 10%, as opposed to 21% for Triple Play, 23% for Golden Road, and 34% for your least favorite of the bunch, 3 Strikes.
[/quote]It isn't likely to happen, but we all know that the producers can make It's In the Bag harder or easier, depending on which groceries they use. Three obvious outliers could increase the chance we at least see a nerve-racking decision at the $8,000 bag.

[Steve Gavazzi]

[quote name=\'CarShark\' post=\'202192\' date=\'Nov 22 2008, 10:15 AM\']It isn't likely to happen, but we all know that the producers can make It's In the Bag harder or easier, depending on which groceries they use. Three obvious outliers could increase the chance we at least see a nerve-racking decision at the $8,000 bag.[/quote]
This is true -- and as such, it doesn't speak too well of the current production team that the first time the game ever appeared first, it had one of the hardest setups in its history.

[CarShark]

[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' post=\'202194\' date=\'Nov 22 2008, 01:09 PM\']This is true -- and as such, it doesn't speak too well of the current production team that the first time the game ever appeared first, it had one of the hardest setups in its history.[/quote]I thought so, too. I think budget concerns have made this a year of "hardest setups in history". Looking at tpirsummaries.8m.com, contestants are just 31-66 in car games, which seems low to me.

[chris319]

who would be a bigger draw than Drew

Since when is Drew a "big draw"? The ratings certainly don't bear this out.

If Fremantle owns the show, don't they get final say as to who hosts or not? Has a network ever forced Mark Goodson to use a host he didn't want?

In the final analysis CBS is the buyer.

Goodson would never have used an emcee he didn't like. He'd be more inclined to take a show to another network first. Yes, Barker and Monty were CBS' ideas, but you can't say they were bad as emcees.

[Steve_Bier]

Goodson would never have used an emcee he didn't like. He'd be more inclined to take a show to another network first. Yes, Barker and Monty were CBS' ideas, but you can't say they were bad as emcees.

Out of curiosity, who DID Goodson have in mind to host BtC 79'? Was he pulling for Jack Narz?

[chris319]

[quote name=\'Steve_Bier\' post=\'202207\' date=\'Nov 22 2008, 04:04 PM\']

Goodson would never have used an emcee he didn't like. He'd be more inclined to take a show to another network first. Yes, Barker and Monty were CBS' ideas, but you can't say they were bad as emcees.

Out of curiosity, who DID Goodson have in mind to host BtC 79'? Was he pulling for Jack Narz?
[/quote]
I've never had it explained to me how Monty got BTC. I'll bet if Monty hadn't gotten it Jack would have. Jack and Frank Wayne were buddies from way back.

I once asked Frank what he thought of Monty as emcee of BTC. He said, "Monty Hall wouldn't say "sh*t" if he had a mouthful of it".

[Robert Hutchinson]

Because we need yet someone else's thoughts about Drew Carey and TPIR, here are mine.

The biggest thing that I can't figure out is how Drew seems to have lost a lot of the hosting skill and comfort he seemed to be coming into back in January and February. He was worrying less about getting all of the rules and procedures right, and as a result seemed to be able to pay more attention to the contestants. But in the few episodes I've caught this season, he's back to stumbling over rules he's been over dozens of times.

And, of course, listening to the host stumble over the rules is AGONY. Barker didn't always say "pick a pair of products that have the same price" because he was a fan of alliteration; he said it because it was a reliable way not to f*ck up the rules. "We have six products here, and each of them is the same price--I mean, each has the same price as another one. There are three pairs of products that have the same price, by which I mean they're paired together, so we have three pairs--"  AAAAAAAAGH

I truly don't understand Drew letting his sadness over contestants losing affect his hosting for the rest of the show. While I don't believe that Barker ever actually felt sad about a loss, he certainly knew how to take the downer of a big loss and turn it into a hook for the viewer. "Rod, that was a horrible loss! Horrible! We've got to turn this around! We need a win!"

Oh, and I would enjoy the "new" showcases a lot more if each one of them didn't end with Drew chuckling to himself for 30 seconds about how funny they are.

So, yeah. I don't know what happened to the host I thought was doing a B+ job at the beginning of the year, but it would be nice if he came back.

[pianogeek]

Today I had an opportunity to watch and compare Drew Carey's hosting demeanor between Season 36's July 4th episode and this past Thursday's show.... (I didn't care about last Friday since I was away from the TV.  Go fig.)

Warm and playful then...
...cold and egotistical now.

And to describe how I'm watching the show then and now...

Me watching it on TiVo then...
...reading Joe Cipirano's recaps now.

[J.R.]

I wonder if Drew's dip in quality has to do with all the stuff that happened off-season?

IIRC, there's was an article saying Drew was not happy about Roger's firing and not being informed on all the changes the next season was bringing.

I still like Drew and think he's funny. But my faith in his hosting abilities is lowering every week.

[CarShark]

Does anyone know if Drew's writing more than the Showcases now? Like the prize introductions and the grocery descriptions, for instance. The one is specific I'm thinking of is the mouthwash plug in Pass the Buck, which went something like, "When brushing your teeth is just TOO hard, use this mouthwash". Ugh.

[TroubadourNando]

[quote name=\'CarShark\' post=\'202325\' date=\'Nov 24 2008, 10:09 PM\']
Does anyone know if Drew's writing more than the Showcases now? Like the prize introductions and the grocery descriptions, for instance. The one is specific I'm thinking of is the mouthwash plug in Pass the Buck, which went something like, "When brushing your teeth is just TOO hard, use this mouthwash". Ugh.
[/quote]

This has been going for a while, though, that mouthwash plug is the worst one I've heard yet. I don't know if it's Drew but it definitely started happening once Syd and Mike Richards took more control.

[chris319]

the mouthwash plug in Pass the Buck, which went something like, "When brushing your teeth is just TOO hard, use this mouthwash"

I'm sure the manufacturer of the mouthwash loved that. I doubt they intend their product to be used as a substitute for proper dental hygiene. Do you recall the brand?

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'202331\' date=\'Nov 25 2008, 01:31 AM\']

the mouthwash plug in Pass the Buck, which went something like, "When brushing your teeth is just TOO hard, use this mouthwash"

I'm sure the manufacturer of the mouthwash loved that. I doubt they intend their product to be used as a substitute for proper dental hygiene. Do you recall the brand?[/quote]Not all items are paid plugs.  If a generic descrip is read, usually its just some item they picked up from Safeway.