Happy Birthday Bob
- Wade
A happy birthday from the simpleprop crew to Bob Barker, who turned 80 this week. Damn. That's old. I suppose being surrounded by scantily-clad blondes modeling bracelets and dishwasher liquid gives a man a certain amount of vigor. Provided that man stays away from the pork chops. RIP, Rod Roddy.
As I alluded to in Tuesday's gambit, The Price Is Right is one of the last bastions of intelligence on weekday morning television. I've always been a fan, and remember watching it when I stayed home sick in elementary school. (Some things never change.) To pay homage to Mr. Barker, then, here are my top five TPIR games:
5. Three Strikes
Kinda lame, but it involved Bob making contestants pull stuff out of a velvet sack. So that's fun. Plus it was fun seeing the look on peoples' faces when they pulled out the big red X strike disc out. :)
4. Punch A Bunch
Maybe it's the passive-aggressive in me, but it looked fun when people punched through the thinly-covered holes on the punchboard. I wonder if Bob ever went a little crazy and punched them all out on a commercial break. Don't you wonder about these things?
3. Hole in One... Or Two!!!!
Two things made this game cool... First, the undeserved benevolence of TPIR staffers to give contestants a second chance if they miss the first putt. Kinda warms your cockles, doesn't it? Two, Bob was so MONEY at draining those putts. GET IN THE HOLE! YOU DA MAN, B-BARK! Um... sorry.
2. Cliff Hangers
You remember this. For every dollar the contestant went over in estimating the price of three prizes, the cliffhanger dude climbed further up whatever Dutch mountain was depicted. If he hit $25, off he went, plunging to his death. Gotta love it. What pushes this game above and beyond? The dopey, drugged-up yodel music that played in the background whenever he ascended. You think that's available on the Price Is Right Soundtrack?
1. Plinko
You knew we were going here. Nothing is more random than this game-- taking a disc, dropping it so it has to go through eight feet of bouncing over plastic studs, and slowly landing into a slot at the bottom labeled with a dollar amount. Boy, sure sounds stupid as I write it. Irregardless, it's my favorite.
There you have it. Happy Birthday Bob!!!
What do you think? Drop us a line at webmaster@simpleprop.com and give us some
feedback. Maybe we'll even run your letters in future Gambits. 'The Daily Gambit' is updated every weekday.
