No one will replace Bob Barker as host of The Price is Right. Not the statement you probably had in mind when you read the title of this post, but it is undeniably true. With 35 years and tens of thousands of episodes under his belt, Barker and TPIR became a single entity. And, at least in the short term, his successor would always be compared to Bob, no matter who was chosen to host the mother of all daytime game shows. Heck, the Pope could have been chosen to host and people would say 'Yea, the Pontiff is good, but he isn't Bob.'
With that out of the way I can say that Drew Carey is the right man to take the microphone as host of The Price is Right.
Yes, yes, I'm utterly confusing you right now. Just hear me out and I'll try to clear everything up. Before Carey was even mentioned as a host I sensed something was dreadfully wrong with TPIR. With so many names being thrown out as potential hosts is seemed that the executives at CBS and FremantleMedia were totally clueless as to what group of viewers they wanted to entice into viewing the show as well as participating.
One the one hand, candidates like George Hamilton and John O'Hurley would appeal to the older crowd. On the other, people like Mario Lopez and Ian Ziering would cater to some of the younger audiences, especially those that grew up watching their shows. Rosie O'Donnell as host? I'm not too sure who she would appeal to other than people who hated Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
Then there were the three candidates who were mentioned as potential successors to Barker from the very beginning: The Early Show weatherman Dave Price, game show host Todd Newton, and Entertainment Tonight co-anchor Mark Steines. Each had their own good qualities. Price and Steines, while enthusiastic, were unknown quantities. Even Newton, who has hosted a number of game shows as well as a traveling Price is Right theater show, just didn't seem to be the right fit to handle the non-stop energy of the daytime show.
Then Carey was mentioned and everything clicked. He isn't the perfect replacement for Bob, but he has something that Barker had that others mentioned previously don't have: he's Everyman, or Everyperson to be less gender-specific. Whether it was a college student, homemaker, member of the armed forces, 75-year-old grandmother, or a woman whose breasts spilled out of her halter top, Bob treated them all like he knew them for years. The contestants, who seemed to know him form years of watching the show, reciprocated in kind.
Carey looks to have those same qualities. Even when he was at the pinnacle of his success he never seemed to have that attitude where he felt his bowel movements no longer emitted an odor. You could see some of that humility on his recent Late Show With David Letterman appearance where he announced that he was going to be the host of TPIR. Executives at CBS and Fremantle saw this as well and thought that Drew would be the compromise between someone younger like Price or Steines and someone more qualified like O'Hurley or Newton.
Also, unlike Price or Steines, Carey has previous (Whose Line is it Anyway?) and current (Power of 10) hosting experience. Plus, as someone who grew up during the Bob Barker generation of TPIR, Drew seems to have some sense of history about the show and probably won't be asking the executives for too many changes. I couldn't see this with someone like Rosie O'Donnell. I could see her as someone who would design the show around her rather than the contestants, which would have probably brought TPIR down fairly quickly.
So, will Bob Barker be forgotten as soon as Drew Carey steps out of those The Price is Right doors for the first time? Probably not. In fact, I'm pretty sure that it will take a long time for the memory of the Bob Barker-run TPIR to fade from the collective viewer's memory. Yet, like Bill Cullen, host of the original The Price is Right, I could see Drew as one of those eventually mentioned as a person who carried on the show's tradition. As they like to say -- only time will tell.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-25-2007 @ 10:37AM
MacGuffin said...
I think Drew Carey is the perfect choice to host TPIR. When I heard the other candidates, none of them seemed right.
Drew can carry the traditional TPIR audience, which tends to skew red state demos. He might even attract a more upscale audience who wouldn't watch a show that was basically the same in 2007 as it was in 1972.
Plus if he is getting Bob Barker money ($10 million a year), you got to love that.
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7-25-2007 @ 11:15AM
RadioScott said...
I agree that Drew Carey is a better choice than Rosie O'Donnell. Osama Bin Laden would be a better choice than Rosie O'Donnell. But, that doesn't make Carey the perfect choice. His Whose Line is it Anyway hosting gig was the worst part of that show. He's not off-the-cuff funny. Remember when he would try to improv with the other "players" on that show? Horrible.
I don't get the drive to have an established celebrity hosting game shows these days. There's always an initial burst of attention for the show, but how many of these have staying power?
How cool would it have been if they had found a relative unknown like Conan O'Brien was back when he first got the Late Night job?
I'm willing to give Drew Carey a chance, but I'm still disappointed in CBS's choice.
On an unrelated note, why can't anybody at TV Squad get back to me about changing the website link that's associated with my user name? That link doesn't point to a page that exists anymore.
http://www.sacksofwetcement.com
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7-25-2007 @ 11:23AM
TVGenius said...
I think he's probably one of the few people that would both breathe some new energy into the show but not really drive away any demos or hardcore fans. I agree with the 'everyman' comment too. You know he'll be running from the crazy fat women who want to kiss him (and the guys) and give the show a little bit of dry wit when they play 5 Plinko chips and drop four in the 0 slots.
On a side note, I wish there were a way they could do away with the classic Barker microphone. I think Drew would look more comfortable without having to hold it. Guess the real issue will always be micing the contestants, since they can go straight from audience to contestant's row to stage without a chance to have a wireless lav put on.
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7-25-2007 @ 12:38PM
elf said...
I find it ironic that the person who has gottne the most mileage out of making fun of Bob Barker for the last few years has been Craig Ferguson on the Late Late Show, and now Barker's successor is Ferguson's old boss.
With that said, I like the idea of Carey but I'm just not sure he's got enough physical presence to pull it off. He's got a very soft voice whereas Barker's voice was very crisp and could easily rise above the soundof the crowd. Carey's voice, unless the sound on his mic is turned up very high, will blend in with the background noise.
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7-25-2007 @ 12:02PM
lucyfan62 said...
The Bob Barker microphone, which was similar to the one Gene Rayburn used (and invented!) on Match Game, was auctioned off on eBay recently. I'm sure they'll get Drew a new, and different, mic.
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7-26-2007 @ 4:32PM
Patrick said...
No it was not sold on ebay Lucyfan62 that was alot more recent, the original is in a time capsule at CBS.
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7-25-2007 @ 1:36PM
Grover said...
Yes drew didn't do too great with the improv portion of whose line, be he did very well holding things together. His jokes weren't always the best, but he knew that, and that's what was great about it. He seemed comfortable and was able to communicate and relate to everybody.
He's a choice that nobody ever thought of, but in the end will be the right man for the job. They can't find a Bob Barker clone, there will be change, and like Richard said, Drew is the 'everyperson'
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7-25-2007 @ 1:39PM
Grover said...
Anybody know a tentative date for Drew's first show?
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7-25-2007 @ 3:27PM
JB said...
The perfect choice to replace Bob Barker is unfortunately not a real person: Barney Stinson.
I am happy with Drew Carey as a choice. He's definitely got the right sort of personality to replace Bob. I'll still be watching.
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7-25-2007 @ 3:26PM
David said...
The show is supposed to air in September, but that might be pushed back.
I hate Elisabeth Hasselbeck and I hate Rosie, so even I wouldn't watch.
I still say Marc Summers for host. He was a host before to the younger crowd and the older generation knows him too, plus he was on the Food Network so that's a plus too.
Carey will do fine. I like what Bob said, do the show your way don't try to copy me or anyone else.
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7-29-2007 @ 11:56AM
A_Fonzarelli said...
Will Drew Carey stick with the show very long? That's my question. One would think TPIR wants a host who will be there for many years, continuing the tradition of long-standing MCs like Bob Barker, Jack Barry, and of course Wink Martindale. Drew might be off to a comedy tour or another sitcom in a few years. That's why I think somebody like a longterm weather man or another daytime TV veteran is better, they will be content with the elevated visibility of TPIR but not be so ambitious that they will be off in search of greener fields.
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