Please cancel TPIR

[Max]

For a long time TPIR was my very favorite TV show, and I would never miss an episode. However, the show has now become so bad that I no longer even watch it.

Of course, the vast majority of the blame for the current state of the show lies with Drew Carey. Hands down, he has to be one of the most inept game show hosts that I have ever seen. From his very first episode, his flaws have included the following:

*showing a complete lack of enthusiasm for the contestants

*giving the impression that he simply wants to be somewhere else (other than hosting TPIR)

*fumbling when describing the rules to the simplest of pricing games

*needlessly giggling at inappropriate times

*mocking prizes on the show that he dislikes (despite the obvious fact that the manufacturers of these products are sponsors of TPIR)

While all of the problems listed above were present last season, the show has taken a far worse turn this season. That's because, following the firing of longtime producer Roger Dobkowitz, Drew now has assumed quite a bit of creative control of the show as well. Among Drew's "brilliant" decisions have been the following:

*using an ugly green screen (upon which an image will project) whenver a trip happens to be offered as a prize (Carey no doubt got this idea from his stupid--and very short-lived--green screen show.)

*having special "themed" shows that are nothing more than gimmicks intended to boost short-term ratings (For instance, a show with a "couples" theme just aired right before Valentine's Day. Soon to come will be an episode devoted to country music, complete with a special guest appearance by Reba McIntyre.)

*taking responsibility for writing the showcase skits (And, as a result of this, most of the showcases are now completely inane, and lack a coherent theme as well. For instance, Drew once wrote a showcase where everyone got hit with a pie in the face, despite the fact that pies had nothing at all to do with the prizes offered in the showcase.)

It should be noted that a lot of people feel that TPIR's owner--Fremantle Media--is the party most culpable for the sorry state the show finds itself today. However, all of the above problems are due to deficiencies with Drew Carey (whether they be personality flaws or silly ideas that he himself came up with). Of course, Fremantle should be blamed for hiring Drew in the first place and for allowing him to have creative control of the show.

Needless to say, TPIR continues to find itself in a ratings freefall. And while it was inevitable that there would be a ratings decline after Bob Barker retired, the incompentence of Drew Carey has made this situation far worse than it should be. If Fremantle/CBS refuse to fire Carey (and replace him with a host with gravitas, such as Chuck Woolery or Tom Bergeron), then I sincerely hope TPIR is cancelled ASAP because it has just become far too painful and depressing to watch.

[bellcurve]

YES! Someone finally mentions gameshows and especially the crap going on BTS at PRICE.

I do think alot of the production changes have to do with cost-cutting rather than them being of Drew's influence. Who needs a bunch of stage hands or a vast art department when you can just put it on a greenscreen?! Nikki Finke disciples don't call it FREEmantle for nothin'.

Firing "The Dob" was a huge mistake, I agree, but I don't think he had much pull over there post-Barker anyway. I'm sure with Syd Vinneage and Cecile Frot-Coteau running things, he didn't have a chance in hell of straightening drew out anyway. And I also think he was part of a lawsuit that was racially motivated. Either way, I am sure Kathy "Fingers" Greco assumed his role without missing a beat. She seems great.

I think Drew's "yeeeeeeh. perfect bid." was kind of the final straw for me. No matter whether someone thought the crap was rigged and Drew had to wait 45 minutes to tape the final act of the show, he should have pushed MORE enthusiasm into it, regardless of if it came off as fake. That was a historic moment for the show and he totally revealed it as though it he found dog poop on the bottom of his shoe.

Try telling this to some of the rabid TPIR fans that post on the Golden Road forums. They are about as delusional as those extreme DAYS/GH fans that annoy the hell out of you and think the show is just bread and butter.

C'mon. You mean to tell me you don't want to see Reba singing "Fancy" on TPIR?

I saw that showcase. That was absolutely ridiculous and very desperate. But what do you expect from FREEmantle Media? All you have to is take a look at the epic fails that are Card Sharks 2001, Match Game, Family Feud, and Who Wants to be a $100,000 Million Dollar Pyramid Password.

Tom Bergeron would be an absolute cornball NIGHTMARE. That job has always, should always, and will always belong to Todd Newton.

If you believe game show columnist Steve Beverly, he expects for CBS to(within a year) eventually want out of TPIR and push it into first-run syndication, giving first option to CBS O&O's.

I expect for the suits to completely alter the format of the game before that happens.

[bellcurve]

Wow. Check out these numbers for "The Price is Right" vs. the numbers for The View. I have to assume these are households. Not sure how recent these are, but anyone concerned about the future of this show should take note:

Credit goes to the poster TVC at golden-road.net

The Price Is Right

New York City

1.2 / 2.3

Los Angeles

1.8 / 2.1

Chicago

2.9 / 2.9

Philadelphia

2.2 / 3.0

Dallas-Fort Worth

2.7 / 2.5

San Francisco

2.3 / 2.7

Boston

2.4 / 2.8

Atlanta

1.4 / 1.4

Washington, D.C.

1.1 / 1.3

Houston

2.4 / 2.2

Detroit

2.2 / 3.0

Phoenix

1.8 / 2.5

Tampa-Saint Petersburg

2.8 / 2.3

Seattle-Tacoma

1.6 / 1.9

Minneapolis-Saint Paul

4.5 / 5.4

Miami-Fort Lauderdale

2.1 / 2.2

Cleveland

? / ?

Denver

2.6 / 2.3

Orlando / Daytona Beach

3.1 / 4.0

Sacramento

1.6 / 2.3

Saint Louis

3.7 / 5.2

Portland

1.8 / 2.7

Pittsburgh

? / ?

Charlotte

3.8 / 5.1

Indianapolis

4.1 / 5.0

ABC Competition (The View unless otherwise noted)

New York City

4.8

Los Angeles

3.5

Chicago

4.9

Philadelphia

4.6

Dallas-Fort Worth

2.5

San Francisco

4.3

Boston

3.2

Atlanta

2.9

Washington, D.C.

1.8

Houston

2.9

Detroit

4.6

Phoenix

0.6 “Sonoran Living”

Tampa-Saint Petersburg

2.4

Seattle-Tacoma

3.3

Minneapolis-Saint Paul

2.4

Miami-Fort Lauderdale

2.6

Cleveland

?

Denver

1.6

Orlando / Daytona Beach

2.7

Sacramento

2.0

Saint Louis

1.3 “Judge Mathis”

Portland

1.4

Pittsburgh

?

Charlotte

5.3

Indianapolis

4.4

[franicalifornia]

I don't watch it. I work during the day.

[bandbfan]

I agree with some of the stuff mentioned.

I think it's a little awkward that Drew makes fun of some of the prizes, although IMO, they've become a lot stranger over the past year or two, whether that has to do with the economy or the ratings I don't know. He makes odd jokes at odd times that make for some weird moments. I don't think Tom Bergeron would improve any of that. I always thought he so weird when doing AFV.

I do think Drew is a little better with interacting with contestants though. As much as I loved Bob, he treated pretty much everybody the same no matter the contestant's personality and I never saw much of a connection. I see a lot more enthusiasm for people when Drew is on than when Bob was. That being said, I still much prefer Bob to Drew. I just don't know what the show could do to change the way things are going. I can't think of a current big name that would fit and would be afraid that an entirely new person would kill the show.

As for comparisons with the View, I'm not sure how valid they are. Even if Bob were still hosting TPIR I think the View would be improving in viewers. The show gets a lot more attention in the media and the current makeup of the hosts seem to make for what people want to see.

[Scotty]

I rarely ever watch it......but one thing's for sure....Drew Carey is NO Bob Barker.....but then again, who is?

[AddictedToSoaps]

OMG yes. I used to read that board every once in a while, and they're either all in denial or they're just crazy - and anybody that dares to insult Drew or the show should look out! It really hurts to see TPIR going downhill so fast, I loved it so much.

[All My Shadows]

My favorites are the folks who have convinced themselves that TPIR with Bob was dull and lifeless for the last 20 years, and that Drew brings back the fun. My ass. There are few differences between a TPIR episode from the 70s and one from the pre-Drew 00s.

One thing I will say is that I like the screen way at the back for prizes. I think it's cute. But the rest of the set, with all those squares, and those FUGLICIOUS Showcase podiums...yikes.

[miajere]

I can't even turn the tv on before 11:00. It's embarrassing.

[Max]

I'm sorry I've waited so long to respond to my own thread. However, after reading the excellent comments that you folks have left, I do want to make a couple of points:

*Regarding those at golden-road.net, it is certainly true that most posters had a very strong pro-Drew bias for a long time. However, a funny thing has happened lately: most of the posters at golden-road.net are now anti-Drew (and very strongly so). (If you've had a chance to visit recently, you'll see that there are so many threads that are devoted to trashing Drew.) Honestly, I am not sure what cause this dramatic opinion swing on the part of that board's posters, although I'm guessing that Roger Dobkowitz's firing had a lot to do with it. (Many of the folks on golden-road.net are extremely loyal to Roger. Also, while TPIR was awful last year, it has become ten times worse this season now that Roger has left.)

*I honestly believe that Fremantle cannot be blamed for all of the bad decisions made on the part of the show's staff. That's because, according to golden-road.net, it was Drew's own idea to start writing inane showcase skits and using the ugly green screen. Also, there are rumors that Drew himself was beind Roger's firing (despite the fact that he publicly criticized the decision), largely because it was Roger that prevented Drew from completely making TPIR into his own personal comedy hour (which the show now has become since Roger left).

*I'd have to disagree with an opinion one of the posters above made about there being few differences between the 70's TPIR and this decade's TPIR while Bob was still at the helm. (Although it goes without saying that TPIR with Bob in the 2000's was a thousand times better than the piece of junk we have today.) Actually, there were several major differences that made TPIR from 2000-07 far less enjoyable than its 70's heyday: For starters, the amount of time devoted to commercials this decade was far greater than it was 30 years ago. This, of course, meant that (1) Bob hardly had any time to engage in lengthy chats with the models or the audience and (2) that many of the more time-consuming (and more fun, IMO) pricing games had seen a dramatic drop in playing frequency. Secondly, Bob's constant sexual harrassment lawsuits resulted in TPIR getting rid of permanent Barker's Beauties (by replacing them with a pool of rotating models that "took turns" appearing on the show). Finally, after Fremantle took control of the show in 2000, they instituted a number of ugly set changes (the most nortorious one being the "Hollywood mural" turntable that appeared in 2002-03).

*Bob Barker's response regarding Drew Carey's hosting performance speaks volumes. After being asked about this during a recent interview on Good Morning America, all Barker stated was that he almost never watches today's TPIR, and--that furthermore--he would leave it up to the viewers to decide how good or bad Carey is as host. (Obviously, anybody with half a brain cell knows this response was just Bob's polite and diplomatic way of suggesting that Drew is horrendous. In fact, if Bob really believed that Drew was even just a little satisfactory, he could have easily thrown in a few fake compliments here and there.)

[All My Shadows]

I guess you have a point, but the commercial thing is really something TPIR couldn't have control over anyway. The thing is, people claim that Drew's TPIR is closer to vintage TPIR than the last few years of Bob's was, and I just don't see it. I've watched a good bit of episodes from the late 70s and 80s, and the difference between those and today's episodes extends much further than just having Drew as host.

[bellcurve]

But there is a still a fan base for Drew and, I'm serious, it is comedy reading both sides. Because there's no real middle ground. They either really love him or hate him.

I actually read a post somewhere where one fan was like, "Why people would prefer to watch Y&R over PRICE, I have no idea." LMAO!

I blame them because THEY have the final call. After seeing how badly FREEmantle screwed up every other game show property(let's not even get started on Card Sharks 2001!), it was only a matter of time before the suits got their grubby hands on PRICE, post-Barker.

I'm still pissed the CBS suits and Fremantle gave Todd Newton's job to Drew Carey.

I'm not sure how much I trust anything some of those people at Golden Road say, BUT I do buy the whole showcase skits thing. That unfunny, wretched bull has Drew's fingerprints ALL OVER IT.

I also heard they got rid of Barker's Bigger Bargain and other pricing games because they were "too complicated." I will never understand why people think certain game shows and concepts are "complicated." What's so difficult about seeing a chaise lounge at $1,250 and a pinball machine at $1,500 and determining which price is the better bargain?! I don't get it. And don't even get me started on people who thought ABC's Tournament version of "Duel" was so hard to understand.

I don't completely buy the greenscreens and flat-screen televisions are Drew's idea. I think FREEmantle really wants to cut production costs. I think, before they cancel TPIR, they'll either put it into syndication and/or strip it down the point where all they will need are stagehands for cars, plasmas, greenscreens, and dismantling the sets. If I were someone who worked in the art department or was a crew member, I would be very, VERY afraid for my job. I think the plasmas are just the beginning.

Thanks for sparking interest in TPIR. Aside from soaps, I absolutely love game shows.