Time for more fans! And though I’ve since found out that “Brad” actually IS someone I know, this next comment definitely positively 100% comes from someone I DON’T know. I think.
Derrick writes: “Hello! It’s always good to see another fan of TPIR on the internets. I’m kinda hopeful for this place since it seems not drip with sorrow and anger like that other Price website (which shall go unnamed). I had a couple of questions: How long have you been watching Price? What do you think of Drew’s performance? What did you think of their firing of Roger and the “new direction” we saw last year? Thanks!”
Thanks Derrick! It’s good to see you on the internets, too, and thanks for the anti-shoutout for The Price is Right Blog. No need to let them go unnamed, though. I am confident that anyone who visits their site will be immediately bored and possibly even revolted and will return right back to The Price is Blog, Right? so giving them free advertising is really anti-advertising! And it’s gonna take a few more decades of watching TPIR every day to become consumed by sorrow and anger, so don’t worry!
To answer your first question, I have been watching TPIR since, I’d say, middle school, and I think it would be weird if I had been watching any sooner than that. To be fair, that’s only about 10 years, but I’ve been a loyal fan throughout. In high school, lunchtime was right at 11am, and a bunch of us would often gather in the band room, which had a TV, and watch TPIR while we ate. I realize this makes me a huge dork (we had an open campus and chose to stay IN SCHOOL… and in the BAND ROOM no less… we were cool! I swear!), but I knew it would pay off in the long run. In college, I tried to organize my schedule so that I wouldn’t have class before noon, and was successful most of the time. This had nothing to do with TPIR. I just liked to sleep in. But when I managed to wake up by 11am, I turned on CBS. And I am currently unemployed! Which is great! Cause I can watch TPIR all the time! Yay! Hooray! No job! TPIR’s target demographic!
As for your second question, I think Drew’s performance deserves more than one blog post, but let’s get the conversation started right here, right now. A lot of “purists” out there hate Drew. They say the show isn’t the same, that it’s no good anymore, that they can’t stand to see Drew up there at all. And if you’ve done searches on Twitter recently of the phrase “price is right,” as I have, you’ll see that a lot of people feel this way. Before Drew arrived, when Bob was getting ready to leave, I was convinced I would be in that boat. And to a certain extent they’re right: the show is very different.
But I love it. I can’t say it’s “better” than before, but I don’t believe it’s any worse, either. It’s just different. Totally different. Drew is self-deprecating. He’s funny. He comments on little inconsistencies that Bob never would’ve mentioned. He’s more folksy with his guests. He doesn’t do the fun build-up/pull-back routine that Bob used to do. But Drew had to make the show his own. If he came on and just tried to mimick Bob, no one would like it. He wouldn’t be as good as Bob, and it would be sad to watch him try. Drew Carey is a funny guy, and the new direction he’s taken with the hosting of the show feels natural, makes sense, and, in my opinion, doesn’t take anything away from the foundation of the show. It just adds a little color. The show was always somewhat ridiculous: unlike Bob, Drew consciously acknowledges this and makes it part of the show.
And for those who’ve only seen Drew’s performance in one infamous viral video where Drew doesn’t seem to care at all about the amazing thing that’s just happened, all I can say is that I don’t understand it either, and it’s not an accurate reflection of Drew’s normal performance. If someone out there has any insight into this, please share, cause I’m confused.
More on Drew, and the “new direction” of the show in general, later. Thanks Derrick!
