Bob Barker, the greatest game show host in history, announced his retirement from The Price is Right last week. He’s stepping down in June 2007, at 83 years old and just short of 35 years hosting Price.
I’ve never known life without Bob Barker hosting The Price is Right, weekdays at 10 am Central on CBS. I’ve loved the show since I was in first grade. I used to record it, but since discovering I could enjoy it 90% as much with just the audio, I’ve been listening to it on my trusty Icom IC-R2. I don’t listen every day, but if I’m doing some editing or something that’s conducive to having the show in the background, I’m there.
It’s unchanged (really!) from 1972. Oh, some pricing games have come and gone, and of course everything has gotten steadily more expensive. But those are small details in the grand scheme. The Price is Right really is the same, and that it remains thoroughly compelling television in 2006 is tremendous testimony to the show’s basic design, but also Bob Barker’s excellence.
When I first heard the news, I said to myself “well, The Price is Right had a great run. All good things end.” Of course, that’s ridiculous. The show will continue. It says a lot, though, that such was my first thought. It is critically important that the next guy in does Bob’s show for at least a year or two. Now don’t copy his shtick or anything; just don’t make any big changes. You don’t get to even start “putting your stamp on the show” until 2009 or 2010, sir, so disavow yourself of any such notion. I hope CBS is sensible enough to see this and insist upon it. In fact, we might even need a Ron Zook/Pope Benedict sort of throwaway guy next, with the real successor to follow him.
I’m glad he’s given us some time to adjust to the idea. I’m sure I’ll have more to say in the months to come, but for now I’ll just end with “thanks, Bob.”
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