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The Price is Right

Seven's new branded-entertainment game show cuts corners and fails to live up to our memories of a trusty format.

It began with a tribute to the late Ian Turpie, but from there the new-look Price is Right came on down to a pale imitation of its former self.

Sorry Larry, I was really looking forward to this but I found it hard to see beyond the short-cuts made by this reboot.

First to go was the opening gambit where four contestants bid to compete in a game. Blokey new voice-over guy Brodie Young simply called the first contestant, Tricia, to “come on down” and we were into the first round: a Big W sponsored round of Hi-Lo with the prize being a $1500 shopping voucher at Big W. When the prize doors opened a model tried to look excited beside some video screens. Tricia lost the game.

Next game saw contestant Sammy compete to win an outdoor living package from Big W behind more prize doors where two models barely had enough room to swing a cat. Sammy played the popular Cliff Hangers game (complete with new yodel) and managed to win the prize (value unknown).

Final contestant Lin played Squeeze Play for a washing machine and gold pendant from Panasonic and Showcase Jewellers. She lost.

During the commercial breaks I could hear John Deeks telling me Price was sponsored by Big W. I already knew that, but hearing his perfect diction did make me somewhat sentimental.

The biggest disappointment was the Showcase, comprising champagne set, bed, golf clubs, TV / Bluray, Jukebox (but not the sofa the models were sitting on) and a car: a tiny Nissan Micra (no double Subarus here).

The total prize package was worth just under $25,000. According to YouTube there were Showcases worth more than this in the show’s last incarnation in 2005. I realise we have had a recession, but we’ve also had GST and inflation. So what gives?

My memory of Price is that it was an aspirational show. You could practically fit out your first home with the prizes they used to give out.

Seven and FremantleMedia told me the Showcases on this series top $20k each night and declined to comment further when asked by TV Tonight. I say phooey to that. Give me game show greed! Give me the car, the lounge suite, the fridge, the holiday, the jet ski and the Encylopedia !

Larry was smooth as Larry always is, but make no mistake. This is a branded entertainment revival just as McDonald’s attempted with It’s a Knockout. It’s not hard to see why Seven put this on at 5pm instead of moving Deal or No Deal (a show with a studio bigger than a postage stamp).

Apologies to Ian Turpie. We still love you.

The Price is Right airs 5pm weeknights on Seven.

40 Responses

  1. It reeks of Cheapness.Give This Back to Nine with New Presenters who have an idea how to run a game show with a fancy showcase like the old days.Make it a Year Round 7pm offering too fitting would help except for the non ratings seasons in that they can show the old US Done to Death Sitcoms.

    Honestly who seriously other than the under 15’s and old folk/most parents home at 5pm anyway.

  2. it’s El Cheapo.The Money wasted on this could have been used on old Family Matters/Full house from the nineties episodes or other sitcoms from the same era.I won’t be watching.Just seeing the promotions after that Yes Sir show on 7 two is enough to make one cringe.

  3. A total disappointment.Even an old Murphy Brown episode on their Stable Mate 7 two was a better option.They ought to go back to the drawing board and show us how it should be done.Offer something like a Trip around Europe as a Prize and a BMW Car and other nice things for a 100 grand showcase like the old days.

  4. I am the biggest fan of the Price is Right. However this sadly is absolute garbage. How can Seven do this to this show??? If only Nine would rerun their two old series at 5pm, that would show them!!! In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the videos of Ian Turpie’s shows on Youtube. Seven knew how to make good game show TV back in 1980’s, even the Ten reboot in 1989 was fantastic albeit short-lived. Totally disappointed!!!

  5. What a load of junk! Maybe the big budgets all go to those trashy “reality” shows these days. Very disappointing. It’s not nostalgia for the old days and the old game shows—they really were better produced and more entertaining.

  6. Well I know that I’ll be watching the Ten New for the first half hour til The Drum Starts on ABC News 24 and then flicking to 7 news at six o’clock, but I would have rated it half a star, I have noticed that it looks to much like they some of the old sets from the first season of Deal or No Deal

  7. I watched the entire week in the hope it would get better but no. The female/male ratio is sexist and if the shoe was on the other foot sure people would be jumping up and down. Only 2 male contestants the entire week seriously. The games repeating themselves on Day 4, where are all the new games they talked about? In one episode alone 2 of the 3 prizes were a Big W voucher. Big W will go broke at this rate. It does not compare to the 9 version.

  8. Sooooo disappointing!!

    Totally agree with all the comments – was just a really cheap and inferior remake of a great original.

    And they can’t really make up their minds who gets a second chance and who doesn’t. The one I saw was guessing matching pairs of prices, which the contestant got wrong twice and then was given a third go and got it correct so she won???!

    Poor Larry 🙁

  9. I was so looking forward to this, but was really disappointed when I saw it.
    Larry is great, but it looks like an ad for Big W.
    The set is to small, and the vital ingredients of the show’s past success are missing.
    That is the Over the top voiceovers…Sharon (long pause) Smith…c’mon down.
    The 5 people being called down at the beginning of the show and the crazed almost manic audience yelling and making signs with their hands, and the iconic music used as the contestants ran to the stage.
    Give it a makeover 7 and you might be able to save it.

  10. I see channel 9 is running a price is right scandal on Monday and it says in the ad – “how could they do this to larry”

    wonder what it is

    I was at the very first 2 episodes of the show and the end showcase is different to what has aired on tv. The contestants only had to guess in 30 seconds the total price of the showcase – it was incredibly easy and on both episodes (they filmed 2) the contestants won the entire showcase – i.e. they didnt have the board where you lockin the items – all you had to do was keep guessing for 30 seconds the exact figure of the showcase to win it.

    I am guessing the scandal to air on channel 9 will be about the contestants who won the showcases in the original shows not receiving their showcase cause the episodes never went to air. Will wait to see.

    On another note – the showcase value is so poor to what is used to be – and who on earth wants a jolly big w gift voucher

  11. The showcase could be $1,000,000! No-one is going to ever get it. 30 seconds to choose the order is not long enough and invariably they don’t finish in time so it then has to stay as it is. I am guessing the producer deliberately makes sure the bottom item is wrong to ensure the showcase isn’t going anywhere.

    I went to the price is right shop website and there is no mention of Big W, but it’s very unclear who is behind it so it probably is Woolworths & Co.

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