The Price is Right and Drew Carey: Why Two + Two Does Not Equal Four

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In 1956, the world was introduced to “The Price Is Right,” a new television game show that would become the longest-running show of its kind in English broadcasting history. At the time, the host of the show was Bill Cullen, and the program itself lasted for nearly 10 years until it ended in 1965. Ever since “The Price Is Right” was revived in 1972 under new host Bob Barker, it has been running continuously for almost 38 years, filming over 7,000 episodes. On November 3, 1975, the show was expanded from 30 minutes to 1 hour, and the “Showcase Showdown” made its grand debut. As of May 2007, the program had distributed over $800 million in cash and prizes (though it has been beaten by “Wheel of Fortune,” which has given away over $4 trillion in cash and prizes in only 5,000 episodes). Starting on October 15, 2007, the show began airing its 36th season. But after 35 seasons of airing on NBC, ABC and subsequently, CBS, the show was about to change forever…

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For 35 years, Bob Barker had hosted the program. Starting in 1988, Barker was made executive producer of “The Price Is Right,” and as such created several of the show’s pricing games. He was funny, charming, witty, and most importantly, one of the best game show hosts in television history. However, all good things must come to an end. And so it did. At the end of October 2006, Barker announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 35th season.

With that, the search began for a new host. Who would be the successor to Bob Barker? It took nearly an entire season, but CBS and FremantleMedia finally decided on their person. The new host of “The Price Is Right” would be none other than famous comedian Drew Carey, who had previously starred in “The Drew Carey Show” and was made host of the short-run game show known as “The Power of 10.”

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You would think that Drew Carey would be a perfect choice as host of the show. Combine a funny comedian with an exciting game show and BAM! You’ve got the best television program of all time! Well, no, actually not. In fact, after watching Drew Carey host “The Price Is Right” for almost a week, I stopped watching it altogether. The fact of the matter was, Drew Carey did not even compare to Bob Barker. In fact, he wasn’t even funny, which is ironic since he’s a comedian.

When Bob Barker was host, he spoke in a loud and clear voice. He would make various jokes and sarcastic remarks throughout the show. He would make you feel excited even if you were at home watching the whole event on television. And even if he was sick or exhausted, he would never show it. Barker brought his best enthusiastic attitude into every episode that was filmed. When he was excited, the contestants and the viewers were excited. And then, there was Drew Carey.

When Carey starred in “The Drew Carey Show,” he was funny. When Carey hosted the game show “The Power of 10,” he was funny. But when he began hosting “The Price Is Right,” something in him changed. Maybe it was the fact that Carey was tired of having to show up every single day of the week to host the show. But why didn’t he realize that before he signed a 5-year contract to host “The Price Is Right?”

I saw this one episode of “The Price Is Right” where the four contestants in “Contestants Row” were bidding on a prize, and one of them accidentally said something to the extent of, “$950, Bob!” even though Carey was hosting. Now, at that point in time, Carey could have made some funny remark, but he didn’t. Instead, he just chuckled a bit. And then a little later in the show when the four contestants were bidding against each other again, the same guy made the same mistake AGAIN, calling Drew as “Bob.” And again, Carey did not make a funny remark. You know, its times like these when you can truly see which hosts shine and which don’t.

If that wasn’t bad enough, for the rest of the show, as well as the other subsequent episodes I saw, Carey spoke with a very low-toned voice. For instance, on one episode, I was watching the Showcase Showdown, and the person won both showcases. In a very low voice, Carey just said “Congratulations. You’ve won both showcases.” There was no excitement in his voice, even in such a rare event such as this. After all, not many people win both showcase prizes.

Now, it’s important to note that Carey has reversed some of the choices Bob Barker has made while hosting the show. He removed Barker’s ban on leather goods being offered as prizes and he allowed vehicles manufactured in other countries to be showcased on the program. Carey has also now allowed the various models on the show to talk. When Bob Barker was asked about the changes, he simply replied “Well, he’s doing it his way and that’s what’s important.”

While I don’t disagree with the changes Carey has made, it’s just Carey himself that I don’t think should be hosting the show. To be completely honest, I think the only reason that CBS and FremantleMedia chose Carey as host was because they believed that Carey was “…the voice of today’s generation.” Well, I disagree, and I’m 18 years old, which means I’m part of that so-called “new generation.” I also think that part of the reason why Carey made those changes to the show was because those rules, as well as Bob Barker himself, were considered “old-fashioned” and “outdated” by both Carey and the network.

What really confuses me is that several sources have stated that Barker himself played a role in picking Carey as the new host. Why would he pick such a person to host such an amazing game show? If Barker did hold part of the final decision as to who would succeed him, he definitely picked the wrong choice.

From what I’ve seen so far, Drew Carey hasn’t lived up to his reputation of being a comedian. He used to be funny and entertaining, but not anymore. He’s dull, he’s boring, and he makes “The Price Is Right” both dull and boring as well. Personally, I think that many of the original fans of the show were turned off when Barker retired and Carey took over.

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On September 22, 2008, “The Price is Right” began airing its 37th season exclusively in high-definition. However, without Bob Barker hosting, even in high-definition, the show still has a big gaping void that has yet to be filled. If Drew Carey doesn’t change the way he hosts the program, then I sincerely hope that he does not renew his hosting contract once his 5 years are up. Even Regis Philbin and Chuck Woolery would be better hosts than Carey at this point in time.

I’ve seen many game shows that existed before I was born. There’s a clear difference between the hosts of then and the hosts of now. And with all of the good, exciting and funny hosts either retiring or passing away, it’s becoming harder and harder to find a good television host these days. Only a host filled with excitement, enthusiasm and laughter can instill those qualities among the viewing audience. One can only hope that as more good hosts retire, newer and better hosts will take their place. As for Drew Carey, he’s not one of them – at least not right now anyway. And combining Drew Carey with one of the greatest television game shows of all time is a perfect example of why 2 + 2 does not necessarily equal 4.

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