The Price is Right

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Weekdays 11:00 AM on CBS
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Show Summary

  • Returning Series
The Price Is Right has long been a staple of daytime and nighttime television. It has seen five incarnations: the 1956-1965 daytime version hosted by Bill Cullen on NBC and ABC, the 1972-1980 nighttime version hosted by Dennis James and Bob Barker, the 1985 nighttime version hosted by Tom Kennedy, the 1994-1995 nighttime version hosted by Doug Davidson, and the current daytime version hosted by Barker and Drew Carey. This guide covers the current daytime version. The object of The Price Is Right is to correctly guess the retail prices of items, without going over, to either win the items themselves or other prizes. At the beginning of each show, the announcer calls out the names of four contestants, imploring each to "come on down!" A prize is announced for which each contestant (one at a time) makes a bid (called the One Bid). After the host announces the actual retail price, the contestant who bid closest without going over is invited on stage to play a pricing game for a larger prize. If a contestant's bid is exactly correct, he/she wins a $500 bonus (on the Armed Forces and $1,000,000 Spectacular Specials, the bonus for an exact bid is $1000). Frequently, during Barker's tenure as host, an animal would be brought out on stage by one of the models during the One Bid prize plugs. Barker would then comment that the pet was availale for adoption at an area animal shelter. He also encouraged viewers to visit their local humane society. Pricing game prizes often include cars (American cars only since circa 1992), trips, rooms of furniture, cash, and various other items. Furs were also given away during the early years, but this practice was dropped per Barker's wishes due to his involvement with animal-rights issues. The episodes that offer furs as prizes will likely never be seen again as Barker continues to fight against their re-airing. There were over 100 total individual pricing games with 75 in the current rotation. Some games involved pricing grocery or small, everyday items. Others involved chance, deduction, skill and/or patience. Many games quickly became very popular. Contestants chomp at the bit to play such entries as Plinko, Ten Chances, Cliff Hangers, Any Number, Grocery Game, Range Game, Race Game, and many others. While each of the pricing games uses only one player, there was one game (known by fans as Bullseye 2) which used two players. This game, which was retired during the first season, had the players alternating bids on a car or boat, and the first to guess the price exactly won. The second contestant was determined by immediately playing another One Bid. Some pricing games have been retired. The reasons include frequent mechanical malfunctions, complicated rules, low odds of winning, and negative responses from viewers. Pictures, audio files, and videos of most of the retired pricing games can be seen on various fan pages on the World Wide Web. After each pricing game is played (except for the final game of the day), one more contestant is called from the audience to "come on down," and another One Bid item is shown for another chance to play a pricing game. Until the fourth season, the two contestants with the highest winnings after all three pricing games had been played went to the Showcase round. Two showcases (prize packages worth several thousand dollars) are shown, one at a time. After the first showcase is revealed, the top winning contestant has the choice to bid on the showcase or pass it to his/her opponent and force him/her to bid. The contestant coming closest to the actual retail price of his/her own showcase without going over wins their showcase. Originally, the contestant could win only his/her showcase. Early in the show's run, a stipulation was added stating that if a contestant's bid came within $100 of his/her showcase's actual retail price, they'd win everything in both showcases. In 1998, the stipulation was modified, and, now, winning contestants who are $250 or less away from the actual retail price of their showcase win both showcases. For the week of November 3-7, 1975 the show expanded from 30 to 60 minutes, following a successful week of experimental hour-long shows the week of September 8-12. A new round called the Showcase Showdown was added. After three contestants have played their pricing games, each has the chance to spin a large wheel called "The Big Wheel." The order of spinning is determined by each contestant's winnings with the player having won the least going first and the player having won the most going last. The Big Wheel contains 20 spaces with numbers in increments of five cents (not in order). Each contestant gets up to two spins in an attempt to get as close to $1.00 without going over. If he/she does not have $1.00 after the first spin, the contestant can choose to spin again to get closer to $1.00 or stop at their current score with the hope that the other contestants will either score lower or go over $1.00. Getting $1.00 exactly earns the contestant a $1000 bonus. Going over $1.00 automatically disqualifies the contestant from going any further. A one-spin spin-off is held if there is a tie between two or all three contestants. If the first two contestants go over $1.00, the third player automatically advances to the Showcase but is still entitled to one spin. After the first Showcase Showdown of each show, three more pricing games are played, followed by the second Showcase Showdown. When the Showcase Showdown was first introduced, during the experimental hour-long week, the wheel spun sideways, and there was no $1000 bonus. When the hour-long show became permanent on November 3, 1975, the $1000 bonus was added, and the current wheel debuted. Beginning in June, 1978, contestants scoring $1.00 were now allowed to spin again in an attempt to win an additional $5000 for hitting one of the green sections above or below the $1.00 space (five and 15 cents) or $10,000 for hitting the $1.00 space. During the prime time specials that first aired in 2002, contestants that hit $1.00 during the bonus spin win $100,000. During the $1,000,000 Spectacular specials airing in 2003, this bonus was increased to one million dollars. The winners of each Showcase Showdown (two per show) advance to the Showcase round. Numerous other changes have taken place through the years, and several prime time specials have aired. The Price Is Right's 5000th episode aired in March, 1998 at which time the studio at CBS's Television City where the show is shot was renamed the Bob Barker Studio. Also, the set and some of the pricing game boards went through numerous minor changes due to inflation or to give it a modern look. The bloopers that have occurred on The Price is Right are among the most celebrated in television history. In early 1976, a woman called to Contestant's Row was in the ladies' room. Her husband had to leave the studio to tell her she'd been called. At the beginning of an episode early in the sixth season, a woman's tube top slipped down as she was running toward Conestant's Row. Also during that season, a woman fainted when she learned she won her showcase ($11,000 in prizes). Other bloopers include cars with malfunctioning brakes and other prizes which give way at the wrong time. Usually, one of the models is often a victim of these unfortunate mishaps (such as Janice Pennington and Rachel Reynolds hitting the wall with the car they are revealing for the Lucky $even pricing game). Many pricing games have malfunctioned at one time or another. Many contestants spinning the Big Wheel spin it so hard that they fall to the floor. There have been a fair share of contestants who claim to or actually don't understand how to play a given game. The most notable is the Check Game (where the contestant writes in an amount that when added to the actual retail price of a prize must total between $5000 and $6000. In addition, one game was victimized by a cheater on the April 4, 2005 playing of Flip Flop (where a contestant is presented a string of two sets of two numbers, representing an incorrect price, and must correct one or both sets to win a prize). The contestant, after receiving input from the audience, pressed the reveal button without making any changes. Barker awarded the contestant the prize anyway, although many fans believe the player should have been disqualified. Some contestants eventually became celebrities - Vanna White in particular. She was called to "come on down" in June, 1980, but did not get out of Contestant's Row. Other future stars include Rick Schroeder and Linda Cardellini. Main Title Theme Song "The Price Is Right Theme" by Edd Kalehoff CBS Broadcast History September 4, 1972 - March 23, 1973 .... Monday - Friday at 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM March 26, 1973 - August 15, 1975 .... Monday - Friday at 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM August 15, 1975 - November 28, 1975 .... Monday - Friday at 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM November 3, 1975 - March 25, 1977 .... Monday - Friday at 10:00 AM 11:00 AM March 28, 1977 - November 4, 1977 .... Monday - Friday at 10:30AM - 11:30 AM November 7, 1977 - December 16, 1977 .... Monday - Friday at 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM December 19, 1977 - April 20, 1979 .... Monday - Friday at 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM April 23, 1979 -present .... Monday - Friday at 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Emmy Awards Nominations Outstanding Host in a Game Show or Audience Participation Show 1975 - Bob Barker Outstanding Game Show Host 1979 - Bob Barker 1982 - Bob Barker (winner) 1985 - Bob Barker 1986 - Bob Barker 1987 - Bob Barker (winner) 1990 - Bob Barker (winner) 1991 - Bob Barker (winner) 1992 - Bob Barker (winner) 1993 - Bob Barker 1994 - Bob Barker (winner) 1995 - Bob Barker (winner) 1996 - Bob Barker (winner) 2000 - Bob Barker (winner) 2002 - Bob Barker (winner) 2003 - Bob Barker 2004 - Bob Barker (winner) 2005 - Bob Barker 2007 - Bob Barker (winner) Outstanding Game Show Host/Hostess 1984 - Bob Barker (winner) 1988 - Bob Barker (winner) Outstanding Game Show 1976 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 (winner) 1989 1990 1992 1993 1994 1995 Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show 2002 2003 2004 (winner) 2005 2007 (winner) 2008 Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Miniseries or a Special 1997 - The Price Is Right 25th Anniversary Primetime Specialmoreless
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Previously Aired Episode

Aired on 5/25/2012

Season 40, Episode 171

Season 40 : Episode 171

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Fan Reviews (64)

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  • Bob is the coolest host!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By T_VFan, May 11, 2012
    I love this game show the best. You get to move around, allow crowd participation, you get to see the potential prizes by sweet hosts, and there is always something exciting going on. The wheel is a very unique idea to me for some reason. Just the best game show for it's time... I like that you get to bid and everything...

  • February 22, 2012

    10
    "Perfect"
    By SandyVoegele, Feb 22, 2012
    I was so PROUD to see that you had a 'MADE IN AMERICA" SHOWCASE - If we have more people purchasing American made products, we will put more Americans to work and our economy will be coming back. Thank you

  • Always one of my favorite gameshows, no matter the host.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By pudgebyrd722, Dec 16, 2011
    The Price is Right will always be one of my favorite, if not, my favorite gameshows in TV history. The idea and games, etc. are so much better than a few of these garbage gameshows you see. And over the years, the game/games have not changed, so your mission is the same and the viewers can follow. I really liked shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Lingo before they came back from hiatuses with lots of changes. Sure, I was sad when Bob Barker retired. Sure, I liked Barker a lot more than Drew Carey, and some, including me somewhat, will say the show isn't the same with Bob Barker and his superscope style microphone. But the games are still good and the show is still enjoyable, even with Drew Carey hosting.moreless

  • The Price Is Wrong B!@#$...Drew Carey sucks!

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By TEXASMEEK, May 21, 2011
    The Price Is Wrong B!@#$...i havent met one person that likes Drew Carey as a host...he ruins the show! It has always been my moms favorite and now she wont even watch it. Get rid of that dude...Did you see the other day when the guy guessed the showcase showdown to the exact dollar?? Wow! second time its ever happened? You would think the host is supposed to make that even more exciting, but no this lame a$$ dude just says....wow, right on the money...or somethin weak like that. I cant imagine any host being more boring than this guy!moreless

  • This is a great show. I watch it every morning I'm able to.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By captaintombatch, Jan 01, 2011
    Since 1995 this was my favorite game show to watch on TV. It really is the fabulous 60 minute Price is Right. I was afraid like most were when Bob Barker decided to retire and let a new host take over. I'm very happy it wasn't Rosie O'Donnell. Drew Carey is a pretty good host, and although some things have changed since Drew took over the show, it's still one of the greatest shows on TV. It's truly amazing that this show has lasted for over 37 years now, and to still get the recognition that it does is truly amazing also. I love how stupid some contestants are during the bidding round, when someone bids $1 while somebody else has to go, or in an episode earlier this week, where the contestants overbid 3 straight times. You're screaming at your TV for one of them to bid $1 already. This show makes $1 the most exciting bill of dough in history. Something else I love, is when the wheel is spinning, people don't have the ability to spin it all the way around, and they get booed. That's hilarious, especially when it's a man that you know can spin the wheel for a long time, and it's super wimpy. Hilarious! One more thing I love about the show. During the showcase round at the end, when the items are being introduced, the contestants instead of loving the prizes they could win, ask the audience before Rich is done explaining everything, what they should bid on. It's hilarious how badly over or under some people bid on these showcases.moreless
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