Once upon a time there used to be a game show called The Price is Right. It was the most popular, longest-running game show in television history. Its success and popularity was due in no small part to its host for 35 years: Bob Barker.
Bob Barker took a game show’s whose concept was basically an hour long commercial for the prizes being given away entertaining. Let me make that point again: he made an hour-long commercial entertaining. This was long before Ron Popeil, Billy Mays, and the Shamwow guy were assaulting us with Mighty Putty, Slap-Chops and the like. Bob Barker did this by giving each segment of the show an energy and a sense of excitement and urgency. He cared about the contestants that were playing the pricing games. He actually wanted them to win! And his knowledge of how to play each of the dozens of pricing games (crucial to keeping the show moving at a fast pace) was encyclopedic. Last, but not at all least, he had a great sense of humor.
Unfortunately, none of us can stay in our prime forever, and Bob Barker is no exception. He announced on October 31, 2006, that he was retiring from The Price is Right. He taped his last show on June 6, 2007, and it aired (twice) on June 15, 2007. Reruns of episodes he hosted continued until October 12, 2007.
Then, The Price is Right went off the air. Well, technically it didn’t. But, for all intents and purposes, it went off the air.
Because Bob Barker was replaced as host by Drew Carey.
Everything that Bob did right, Drew does wrong. Drew has absolutely no energy whatsoever, as is obvious by looking at his pear-shaped body. Watching an episode hosted by this man is tortuous. He goes through the motions of the pricing games with all the enthusiasm of a man on his way to the doctor for a prostate exam. It is clear that he is not plugged in to the concept of the game, and his lack of excitement infects the entire show.
I am sure Drew Carey cares about the contestants, but he doesn’t have the same chemistry that Bob Barker possesses (I was going to write possessed, but Bob hasn’t lost his charm at all). The Showcase Showdown (more popularly referred to as ‘the big wheel’, has become an exercise in each contestant giving shout-outs to their friends and family. This is self-indulgent, and not at all entertaining. Where Bob would try to lend some drama to the moment by seeing where the wheel is going to stop, Drew is simply content to slouch next to the contestant, shoving the microphone in their face and yelling, ‘Wanna say hi to anybody?’.
And Drew’s ’special touch’ doesn’t stop at the Showcase Showdown. He lends his general malaise to every pricing game. It was worse when he first started hosting, because it was painfully obvious that he did not understand the pricing games at the required level, so he would stand confused, mumbling through an explanation of the game while the contestant stared awkwardly at him. He is better now (time heals all wounds), but he still expends as little effort as possible explaining the pricing games, and does absolutely nothing to lend any excitement or pathos to the event. His reaction is the same whether the contestant wins or loses: he is unmoved. He just smiles into the camera and goofily says “here come the commercials”, or some equally bad schtick.
Finally, compared to Bob, Drew has no sense of humor. I know that many will disagree with this statement, but let me make my point before you write it off as wrong. Sure, Drew Carey was once a successful stand-up comic, and his modestly named sitcom ‘The Drew Carey Show’ was a hit. But I would argue that this show was a hit not because of him, but in spite of him. Many people associate his show with the character of ‘Mimi’ more than his own character. As for his standup, your mileage may vary, but I never found him particularly funny.
But even if he were the funniest stand-up comic ever, that type of comedy doesn’t translate well to the realm of game shows. For starters, his stand-up routine wasn’t exactly family-friendly, and with The Price is Right airing in the middle of daytime television, only clean humor will play well, if at all. Bob Barker’s self-effacing humor, even his good-natured chastising of the contestants for not understanding the rules of the pricing games, was perfect for the show. But Drew Carey doesn’t take any of Bob’s tips on how to do this. Instead, he lazily hides behind his glasses and phones it in each episode.
Now I’m not saying that Bob shouldn’t have retired. He earned his retirement. I am saying that CBS should have been more careful in searching for a replacement. Personally, I think that the major reason that Drew Carey was chosen was because he was already under contract with CBS at the time (he was hosting the now forgotten ‘Power of 10′) and it was just easier for everybody for him to host what he must have seen as ‘just another game show’. But it isn’t just another game show; its The Price is Right.
At least, it used to be.
