Written by “Ccook”
Bob Barker, resplendid in a tux, stands behind the doors he
usually comes through and whispers to us “I’m waiting to make
my entrance for The Price Is Right 25th Annivesray Special.
Stick around.”
Rod Roddy: It’s A Special! It’s Verrrrry Special! It’s Very Very
Special! It’s The Price Is Right 25th Anniversary Special!
Called to come on down: Rona Gonato, Jason Galow,
Eileen
Williams, and Angela Berg.
Bob starts things off by saying the show will feature lots of
reminiscing, beginning with him coming through the doors for the
first time on September 4, 1972. Following the clip, Bob tells
the audience “Did you see all that dark hair? Did you see not a
wrinkle on that face? Do realize…I’ve grown old in your
service!” Following are clips of excited contestants picking Bob
up and tossing him about like a rag doll, mainly the Samoan women!
The most prominent clip was the Grand Game winner chasing Bob
around the stage.
First item up for bids: A round-trip coach trip for two to Hawaii
from Affordable America Vacations. Bob goes up to fete Janice
Pennington for her service on the show as one of Barker’s
Beauties and shows some clips of one of the unplanned moments
with her: a refrigerator tipping over in back of her!
The bids for the Hawaii trip:
ANGELA 1995
EILEEN 1325
JASON 1800
RONA 1150
Actual retail price: $3990. Angela wins and goes up on stage. Bob
shows her a clip of the first car they gave away in ’72, a
Chevrolet Vega, priced at $2746. But Anegla isn’t playing for
small potatoes here–she’s playing Lucky Seven for a new red
Chevrolet Corvette! Bob introduces the two other models, Kathleen
Bradley and Chantel Dubay.
First number in the price is a 4.
Angela’s guess / correct number / $1 bills left
—-2—- —-3—- —-6—-
—-5—- —-6—- —-5—-
—-5—- —-4—- —-4—-
—-5—- —-5—- —-4—- WIN! (and a big one!)
Following the game is a clip of a contestant playing Hole In One
(Or Two) who hits the ball with such force it bounces off the
back rim into the air and into the hole!
********************************************************************
After the commercial break, Bob is in the audience regaling us
with the monent a contestant proposed to his girlfriend on the
show. The blushing bride-to-be said yes! The next clip has a
Patricia Bernard called, when a man arose and bolted to the back
exit door. Patricia was indisposed in the ladies’ bathroom and
it was her husband who got up to fetch her! (What they didn’t
show on the clip is what the prize to bid on was when she made
it down–a waterbed!) What follows is a clip who is so confused
about what to call the price of a prize in Shell Game she calls
out her her mother! Next, a female contestant wants to kiss Bob
and he obliges–on the lips and a dip to boot! (Darlene, the
contestant quipped: “I don’t even care if I win!”) Then is a clip
of Bob using his build-the-tension stalling in Golden Road with
a rather over-excited male contestant who wants the third number
of the mobile home revealed. It’s revealed, he’s right and runs
out into the audience to high-five his buddies. Next, Bob and
Janice are playing the game Crocodile Dentist, involving pressing
down the teeth in a toy crocodile’s open mouth. Bob presses
wrong and the croc’s mouth snaps on his pinky finger! Next is a
short clip of a lady about to soil herself over seeing the car
she’s playing for, an elderly lady who says she had a dream about
Bob, and the legendary clip of Arlene fainting after winning her
Showcase.
Before the next commercial break are people slipping and falling
spinning the Showcase Showdown wheel.
*********************************************************************
Next, Bob shows us how contestants are culled with footage of
audience members outside the studio building where they are
interviewed by the producers. Rod then calls for Geraldine
Hanniman to come on down. After Geraldine arrives, Bob shows a
clip of a contestant’s bid of $9000 on a pair of surfboards.
Following is a clip of the contestant in the Punchboard game who
passed up $5000 and wound up winning $10,000.
Next item up for bids: A Honda motorcycle, modeled by Kathleen.
GERALDINE 3500
EILEEN 4000
JASON 4200
RONA 12000 (stupid bid–tote screen is left blank)
Actual retail price: $3999 with Geraldine the winner. And she’s
playing Plinko for a chance at $25,000!
First item: An SOS emergency communications unit.
Numbers: 1 first number, 9 second.
Geraldine’s pick – 9. Price – $99. WIN!
Second: Chantal skin care formula.
Numbers: 9, 5.
Geraldine’s pick – 5. Price – $75. WIN!
Third: a Kodak Advantix camera.
Numbers: 1, 9.
Geraldine’s pick – 9. Price – $99. WIN!
Fourth: A Bulova desk clock.
Numbers: 2, 0.
Geraldine’s pick – 0. Price: $90. WIN!
Before Geraldine plays the board, Bob removes the $5000 slot to
reveal the spot is worth $10,000.
How she does on the Plinko board:
1st chip – $500 right side.
2nd chip – $1000 right side.
3rd chip – $500 right side.
4th chip – $100 right side.
5th chip – $0 right side.
Total cash winnings – $2100.
Before the commercial break are clips of props that don’t work–
two from Squeeze Play and one from Master Key.
****************************************************************
Bob starts the second half of the show by paying tribute to
Johnny Olson and how the staff was broken hearted after he died. Bob then salutes Rod Roddy for filling the void so nicely since then. What follows is a clip from 1980 of Vanna White being called to come on down and the infamous clip of Yolanda Bowsley coming on down and coming out of her top! Then comes clips of contestants who don’t stop in Contestants’ Row–they go right up on stage ready to play a pricing game!
Third name called to come on down – Steven Mitchell. Third item
up for bids: A Young Chang console piano.
STEVEN 3500
EILEEN 1800
JASON 4201
RONA 4000
Actual retail price: $4104, with Rona winning. She’s playing
for a Cadillac DeVille, and the game is One Away.
Numbers shown: 2 6 1 5 6
Rona’s picks : 3 7 2 4 5
Number of horn beeps: 4
She changes the 2 to a 0, making it $37045.
Price: $37265. LOSS
Before the commercial is a montage of backstage showing the
prizes carted about, games being prepped and the models getting made up.
******************************************************************
The next clip is the one of Bob helping an elderly lady
contestant get the wheel around because she didn’t make one
complete revolution on her own. But Bob didn’t get it around a
full time either! The audience actually booed Bob, and to add
insult to injury, the contestant quipped, “Would you like me to
try it again?” Following is a clip of a rather hyper contestant
trying to explain how to play Dice Game. She wound up winning!
In the Showcase: Angela is top winner, Geraldine the runner up.
Showcase #1: A Taste Of Country
A trip to Nashville via American Airlines featuring a stay at
the Sheraton Music City Hotel
A Barbecues Galore stainless steel barbecue
A 19-ft. West Wight Potter Sailboat
A Winnebago Rialta Motor Home
Angela passes to Geraldine who bids $25,000.
Showcase #2: Life In The Big City
A trip to San Francisco with a stay at the Renaissance Stanford
Court Hotel
A home entertainment center with a 32-in. stereo Magnavox TV
A Jeep Wrangler SE
A Lincoln Towncar Executive
Angela’s bid: $50,000
Before revealing the prices, clips of Bob getting kissed are
shown–and one of the contestants was a guy!
Actual retail price of Angela’s showcase: $73,970, difference of
$23,970
Actual retail price of Geraldine’s showcase: $70,240, difference
of $45,240
Angela is the big winner with a total of $121,608.
Total winnings for show: $131,164.