What I Learned at The Price Is Right
My husband, who has a Master's Degree and is a Vice President at the company where he works, is also a rabid fan of The Price Is Right. He's watched this show since he was a child and has now turned our kids into fans as well.
As long as we've lived in LA, however, he'd never been to see a taping of the show. That all changed yesterday. For Christmas, a good friend of ours was able to get us VIP tickets to a taping. Miraculously, Ray was able to get the day off work, I was able to secure babysitting and rides for the kids and we spent the day together watching the taping, and doing more stuff I'll tell you about soon. Our airdate is February 26th; look for us in the second row, clapping and cheering our little hearts out. Here's what I learned as we watched people come on down:
- Bob Barker is a stud! No, really. He looks great, moves well, and is pretty sharp with a comeback. Granted, he probably says the same stuff to audiences every single day, but still...
- The Price Is Right Studio is small and FREEZING. Seriously freezing. You'd think once the lights come up it would improve. It doesn't. There were crew members wearing gloves and ski jackets.
- You can be a VIP or a contestant but not both. However, in order to get the regular tickets that give you a chance to get chosen as a contestant, you have to camp out overnight. No thanks.
- This show moves fast and it's loud in there. It's a miracle people can concentrate on the prizes and their answers what with the noise and the pace and the excitement and the fact that it's FREEZING.
- Even though it looks like Bob and the contestants are hanging out on this giant stage all by themselves, there are 4 cameras and a ton of people onstage with them. There's a cue card guy, a guy who tells Bob when the commercial break is about to end and counts him back in, and a bunch of people whose function completely escaped me. Not to mention the beauties, who are actually quite pretty.
- The announcer is a hard-ass. If you are a CBS page, don't piss him off. Also, if you are a CBS page, and an audience member spells her name out for you, all you have to do is write the letters on her name tag in the order that she tells them to you. It is not your job to spell her name the way you think it should be spelled.
- People exhibit a great deal of originality in order to create T-shirts which they hope will get them selected to Come On Down. Beyond the Barker's Beauties and the We Love Bob shirts, some guy had emblazoned upon him that his wife got spayed and he got neutered. Thanks for the visual, Luigi.
7 comments:
how exciting! I've heard that David LEtterman keeps his studio at 55 degrees. I wonder why.
And what's a CBS page?
All studios are kept cold for a reason, something to do with the quality of the taping. How do I know this? Ellen Degeneres told us that when I went to a taping of her show!!!
Kim-a page is the lowliest of low go-fers at the TV networks. They wear polyester jackets and usher people around and run errands. They try to get the audience pumped up and clapping and cheering; they help the contestants off and on stage, etc.
Jacquie-you are a wealth of knowledge and information
Waaaay coooool! I LOVE TPIR! That has to be way fun and thank you so much for all that cool information too! I also was at the taping of a show...The Danny Bonnaducci show (in Chicago years ago) and although I can't remember it being cold, some of the other things you mentioned I do remember.
I'll have to remember to watch so I can see!!!
i like that the 'what i learned' posts are becoming a thing. it's good to see constant learning, and even better when you share newfound knowledge with the rest of us.
Tannaz, what can I say? I am a giver.
Kim,
A CBS page is like a security guard or stagehand. When a contestant wins his/her way out of Contestants' Row, the stagehand points the direction that the player should be going which will locate him/her to his/her assigned pricing game.
They also keep the audience in line kind of like a security guard, and sometimes they like to pump up the audience as another person said.
They were also seen on other CBS game shows like Press Your Luck (1983-86) if you look closely when the player island rotates 180 degrees to face the Big Board, indicated by a red blazer (on select episodes).
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