Bob Barker Makes Special Guest Appearance on “The Price is Right”

lobster says:

I’m no super-fanboi but like most TPiR-tolerating people my age, I grew up watching Bob and one cannot deny he is a legend in his own right and certainly the guy made the show what it was. Having said that, I would probably much rather see a highlight reel on a CBS primetime special of his “favorite moments” than read a whole book about it.. I’m sure he has a lot of interesting stuff to say about the behind-the-scenes, but I wonder if the number of people who actually care to read all about it have dwindled somewhat..

Neville says:

You guys seem to want something more like OJ’s “If I Did It” :)

shelly says:

what made you guys think he was crazy or something

Hrm…lemme think…

“Bob Barker is the Boss From Hell.”
Claudia Jordan

“If I’d have been a dog Bob Barker would have treated me better.”
Sherrill Paris

“After I testified, Bob never spoke to me again.”
Janice Pennington

“…there’s no one to tell him not to be mean.”
Barbara Hunter

“Bob didn’t like all the attention I was getting.”
Nikki Ziering

“America saw a performance. They never saw the real Bob Barker.”
Debbie Curling

“The TV audience has never even seen the real Bob Barker. In real life he is a mean, vicious old man, a ruthless mad dictator. But the audience never sees that, they think he’s Santa Claus.”
Holly Hallstrom

“He would turn it on for the camera, and then turn it off.”
Heather Kozar

“It’s a sad testimony to Bob Barker’s out-of-control ego, the fact that at the end of his life he has no friends, no family, no one who cares about him that isn’t dependent on him for their income. The only people who like him are the people who don’t know him… the audience.”
Linda Riegert

“Bob Barker is a lonely soul.”
Kathleen Bradley

Alan45052 says:

First off, if Barker DID compliment Carey, which he will, the aforementioned website would dismiss it as “He was paid by Fremantle and that doesn’t count!” or “His dementia is setting in.”

As for Barker as a person, I like him as a host, but when the first allegation came around I was the first that said “That bitch is a liar!” The second charge I said, “This bitch is in cahoots with that other one.” The racist stuff came around, I stopped and thought, maybe this man really is a true $@*#-wad. They can’t all be lying.

I’d be fine if I never saw him again. Drew has been more enjoyable in two years, than Bob was in his last 5.

Just thinking about him and possible press tour makes me so excited to here those famous words “She came on down and they came on out” for the 7,564th time. Yay! Dirty old perv.

Alex says:

So, is this episode ceremonial in any other way? They had their 7,000th episode in January 2009 (I think), but, to the best of my knowledge, they haven’t celebrated it. Since Bob Barker hosted, like, 750 of the 1,000 intervening episodes between the 6,000th and 7,000th, it’s only natural that he make a cameo. It just feels right.

@James D., post #4: I’m in the middle with Bob, too. However, I don’t think Bob started to degenerate the instant he became executive producer. It was more of a slow process. I’ve been watching since I was 2 (I’m 21 now), and I think the “family” atmosphere of TPIR was still there in the 1990′s and that Bob still had it in him to be a good host despite all the lawsuits ‘n’ stuff. Only when Janice Pennington was fired in Season 29 did we start to see signs that Bob was getting “robotic”, that his ego was getting to him, and that the show was starting to become “all about him”.

I had my reservations about R. Brian DiPirro (see a previous blog entry), but now I think he’s doing an excellent job as director. One thing that really has me excited now is that, under his watch, they’ve restored the tradition of showing the announcer on camera when calling the last contestant! That’s one of the things that drew me into the show was seeing Rod Roddy on camera (something other game shows don’t typically do). And now, they’re showing Rich on camera regularly. I feel so happy now. ^^

Between Rich on camera, the camcorder thingy on today’s episode, the apparent abolition of the Drewcases (though the Showcases are still sub-par, IMO), and all the other little wrinkles that Drew brings to the show and all of Fremantle’s attempts to modernize the show, I can now say that things on the show are improving. Things sure seemed rocky at the beginning of Season 37 thanks to the crew having to get used to no more Roger Dobkowitz, but now, I think things are settling down. I haven’t felt this excited to see an episode in over a decade.

Speaking of Fremantle, I think that everyone who has been shitting all over them needs to apologize. One thing I’ve learned this season is that they’re more competent than some fanb01z seemed to realize. Yes, Season 37 did get off to a bad start with the Drewcases, purple Showcase Showdown wheel, and the green screens…but now they get it.

They have a right to experiment. They’re only human, just like us. And if they feel that they did something wrong, or if a change they’re making doesn’t sit too well with a majority of people, then they’ll change it back and/or try something new. You shouldn’t hold a grudge against Fremantle because of Match Game 1998 or Card Sharks 2001. Ever since they restored the “first to 300″ rule on Family Feud in 2003, they, IMO, have genuinely tried their best to modernize game shows while retaining as much of the original look and feel as they possibly can. And there’s no shame in that! ^^

@stilavictor, post #5: Uh, dude…did you forget something? =P

@Neville, post #6: Hell yeah, we want a book like OJ’s “If I Did It”! In the immortal words of Don Henley, “We all know that crap is king; give us dirty laundry!” ^^

Alan says:

Link to racism article:

http://news.aol.com/entertainment/television/tv-news-story/ar/_a/woman-sues-bob-barker-price-producers/20071005071109990001

Alan45052 says:

As for the Barker racism suit…Google search it. You’ll see it.

DeVares says:

Granted, many people dislike Bob Barker (which you have the right to), however, you can’t take away the fact that he is in the same legendary arena with Wink Martindale, Jim Lange, and the late, greats Jack Narz, Bill Cullen (who made a similar cameo to plug Child’s Play in 1982), Allen Ludden, and the greatest of them all, Gene Rayburn.

To LaJuan: I’m with you, brother man. I’ll continue to hate Fremantle because they keep F***ing up all the great game shows, especially (that train wreck known as) Card Sharks ’01. It makes me wonder what was the Goodson family thinking? Mark wouldn’t have approved of selling his company to a foreign company that knows nothing about producing good game shows. Personally, I would’ve sold it to Sony, at least they would change the formats of game shows (for the good) like they did Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. The only good things that Fremantle did was restoring the “first to 300″ rule on Family Feud, and American Idol (which is losing its steam).

To Alan45052: I heard about that. Was it Kathleen or Claudia that filed the suit?

Alan says:

DaVares: Never heard it again…it got buried under the news of Bob’s retirement. I’m sure CBS did what they could to make that happen.

As for Mark Goodson and his sale of the formats, if he really cared what happened to his shows he would have never sold them. He would’ve let his son handle them. It looks like Mr. Goodson didn’t care for his shows as much as he cared for the almighty dollar.

So again, I can’t blame Fremantle. I blame Goodson.

MrQuiz says:

I’d like to believe that if there were any way the Goodson family could’ve found a way to keep the catalogue, we wouldn’t be having these conversations, because Fremantle, All American Television, and Pearson would never have seen the light of day with these shows.

Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way.

As for Barker, I grew up watching him when he hosted TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES. And, while I respect his accomplishments and achievements, to me, he’s still just another game show host, even if he is a lionized legend. For my money, Bill Cullen is still the standardbearer. But, maybe that’s because I’m from an older generation, and I remember TPIR when HE was the host.

For those who have commented both ways about Barker’s book, if you still have issues over “special moments.” then maybe you should go out and buy the TPIR DVD set, if it’s still available, as BCI/Navarre has shut down its video operation due to the economy.

DENo1MatchGameFan says:

Shelly, I couldn’t have said it better myself! All this will be is a reworking of the last episode of “The Price Is Right” (aka “This Is Your Life, Bob Barker”) – Barker can peddle his goods, and ride off into the sunset once again. Then when the REAL book by Chris Mann comes out, he can stand outside Studio 33 and give all the departing audience members a copy so that they will know who REALLY has been telling the truth concerning Barker and the show for all of these years!