I used to love to watch The Price is Right with VolBro - especially sitting in the easy chairs in my grandparents bedroom - but anywhere really. VolBro was a natural - he was usually right - even when he was a little tiny kid with no money or shopping experience of his own.
He was very good on guessing the price of cars - often guessing what I thought was quite high. When I'd voice my doubts, he'd pipe up in his little 6 year old voice "you can't forget the California emissions - that always makes it higher." And he was right.
I can't say that I built my life around TPIR (as my grandmother sometimes did), but I really enjoyed it.
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When I moved to the UK, I had to leave behind TPIR. Well, sorta. There is a British version of the show, but it's only a half an hour. There's no showcase showdown - the showcase contestant competes against a randomly selected margin of error (though of course, one can never go over on the price). There's no reminder to spay or neuter your pets. California emissions do not come as standard - and there's no Bob Barker.
Sure, there's Plinko and the other little games I knew and loved. But there's no Bob Barker. And I can't but watch the show without thinking "Hey, this guy isn't Bob Barker." The show has since been cancelled and I can't help but think - without the refined dignity of Bob Barker (the British version always seemed kinda sleazy) - it's no wonder that it didn't work out.
Now America will have to watch TPIR with the interior monologue running "Hey, this guy isn't Bob Barker." Although, there's some speculation that folks may be saying "Hey, this gal isn't Bob."
Bob retired this month - his last show airing on Friday. It makes me a little sad.
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My cousin Blake won a car on TPIR. He gave it to his mother. It had California emissions standard.
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I always thought they were saying California ignition. I wondered, "What does that mean? Is it an anti-theft thing? I bet lots of cars in California get stolen..." Now I know. It never entered my mind that emissions was something anybody gave a flyin flip about. Not in the America I knew. I did well on the rest of the game, but not on the showcase showdown. My mom's friend won a hi-fi on TPIR. When we would go to her house, I'd stare at it in reverence. Surely, this stereo was magic. She did not go to the showcase showdown. She went over a dollar when she spun that wheel.
You know how the second showcase showdown package was always the best so the first person would always pass on the first one, but occasionally the first would would feature a car and the second one would have some crappy appliances or furniture as the big prize? That was always funny. I loved that show as a kid.
That was funny. And the first person always looked so sad...but they passed on the car - it was their own fault.
And when they were using the bar that was shaped like a globe (which cost a ridiculous $1500) - I bet they were real sad they passed on the car.
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