Mornings with The Price is Right

 

Last year Bob Barker celebrated his 90^th birthday by returning to The Price is Right, the series he hosted for 35 years. 

I didn’t watch.

I feel like I should have – as a kid I spent countless sick days and snow days and summer mornings with Bob and The Price is Right, back when it was one among dozens of game shows that came and went over three decades. Who remembers Concentration and High Rollers? Or Gambit and Sale of the Century? How about Double Dare, Card Sharks, Blockbusters and Treasure Hunt?

Gradually they all ended their morning runs but The Price is Right soldiers on. It remains a true TV anachronism, and one of the very few series that have been on television longer than I have been alive.

Viewers today will find much of the format unchanged under current host Drew Carey. There are male models now and some high tech bells and whistles, but many of the same pricing games from Barker’s first episode are still being played.

And yet – it just doesn’t feel the same. The current incarnation seems too forced in its enthusiasm, too marketing driven, too assembly line in its progression from calling down the first four contestants to the fadeout after the showcases.

Shows like this used to thrive on the intimacy of their relationship with the viewers at home. They presented the façade of a happy family of coworkers who seemed sincere when they would thank you for inviting them into your home. They felt like friends.

Maybe it wasn’t authentic, and we’ll get to that in a moment, but the incarnation of The Price is Right that I still treasure featured the steady, reliable presence of Barker as host, Johnny Olson as announcer, and a trio of models – Janice Pennington, Dian Parkinson and Holly Hallstrom – that viewers came to know over the years as more than just eye candy.  

 It was the longevity of the show and this cast that, as it did with soap operas, made The Price is Right so special. Janice was pointing at “brand new cars!” when I was 8 years old. She was still doing it when I graduated high school. And she was still doing it when I graduated college, and for more than 10 years after that.

She always seemed like the oldest of “Barker’s Beauties,” as they were once called, at a time when that kind of label didn’t trigger outrage. Actually, Janice is just two years older than Dian, but she had a classiness in how she carried herself as she fondled an Amana Radarange that always distinguished her from her fellow prize pointers.

Dian was Cinemax before that was even a word. No one ever wore a bikini better, and when she was showing off a sailboat or a hot tub it was like Christmas coming early.

 Holly was kid sister cute and more approachable. She screwed up a lot, too, which only made her more endearing. 

Johnny Olson’s voice is part of so many collective childhoods. The Price is Right was the only show where he also regularly appeared on camera, for the contestant introductions and the silly showcase skits at the end of each episode. He played priests and doctors and big game hunters and Roman emperors, but no matter how they dressed him up he always looked like your tax attorney. 

And Bob? He was always genial, always patient with the more addled contestants, always sincere in his requests to have your pets spayed or neutered. While you could occasionally detect glimpses of a control freak beneath the ever-present smile, Barker remained the consummate host.

We have all realized by now that a celebrity’s public persona may not be the truest representation of their character. The Bob Barker who returned to CBS last year is one whose name is now inextricably linked to rampant egotism, wrongful termination lawsuits and sexual harassment.

Some of it may be true. Some of it may just be piling on for a quick buck once the network opted for confidential settlements instead of trials. I don’t know. I wasn’t there.

Should I not like Barker anymore because he was probably a jerk sometimes? When you start down that road, it’s going to cut deeply into any classic TV library. Pretty soon you end up only watching shows with Art Linkletter, Annette Funicello and Mr. Rogers. June Lockhart too. Maybe Lucie Arnaz.

I may not watch The Price is Right anymore, and the version I fondly recall may be somewhat tainted, but I’m glad the show is still around. Even if I’m no longer downing Captain Crunch in front of the TV and trying to guess the manufacturer’s retail price of Turtle Wax without going over, I know it’s still preferable to Maury Povich announcing, “You are NOT the father” to yet another irresponsible moron. Thankfully, at least Barker has yet to appear on that show. 

Creating a Comfort TV Viewing Night

 

Winter before Christmas is delightful. Picturesque snowfalls and brisk temperatures enhance the holidays and traditions of the season. But come January most of us have had enough. Unfortunately, winter never gets that memo, and lingers like an unwanted houseguest for months.

Television becomes a more desirable (or at least, more attainable) entertainment option on cold winter nights. Maybe that’s why I’ve always felt that classic TV viewing, which is hardly a seasonal pastime, somehow feels more satisfying when it’s cold outside.

Of course, no advance preparation is necessary for spending a few hours with the great programs of the past – just pop in a DVD or find a few vintage shows on your streaming service of choice, or on nostalgia networks like MeTV and Cozi, and you’re good to go. But with a little extra effort you can turn this activity into a memorable evening perfect for sharing with family and friends, or even when you’re by yourself. 

As someone who spends more time in TV land than the average citizen, I’ve developed a few viewing habits that always accentuate the occasion, which I now humbly share for your consideration.

Let’s start with room preparation. Some prefer to watch TV in the dark, as a way to create a more theatrical experience and to help center everyone’s focus on the program. There is something to be said for this, but watching television is not the same as watching movies, and most of us are more accustomed to normal room lighting. My preference is to split the difference – low light, perhaps from one lamp not too close to the screen, so the room is somewhat darkened but still bright enough that you won’t bang your shin on a coffee table en route to the bathroom.

I like to keep the temperature on the cool side, as this creates an appropriate environment for the incorporation of pillows, quilts and blankets, the ultimate comfort providers for comfort TV viewing. Two options here: drape them over the couch, or toss them into a haphazard pile on the floor in front of the screen. If you grew up with the shows you are watching, that’s the vantage point from where you probably saw them for the first time. 

Pajamas are the obvious choice of attire, even if your evening is a communal occasion. Tell those you invite to come prepared. There’s nothing wrong with a slumber party even at your age.

Food and drink are also necessary, and there are no restrictions on your menu options save one ­– nothing that is served should in any way be considered healthy. Pizza delivery is never a bad idea, served with anything from wine to soft drinks. If snacks are more appropriate there’s chips, popcorn (try a caramel/cheddar mix) or sugar-coated cereal served in bowls on (what else?) TV trays. If you dwell in one of those regions where January isn’t fooling around when it comes to frozen conditions, another option is hot cocoa paired with a bakery item like spice cake. 

And now, with everything else in place, all that is left to determine is what to watch.

Even when a small gathering of classic TV fans get together, it may not be easy to reach a consensus. One solution would be to have everyone bring a DVD with a favorite episode of a favorite show. Or choose a theme –perhaps detective shows or family sitcoms, or television from the 1950s (or 60s, 70s. etc.).

Another suggestion is to recreate a network program lineup from decades past, something I’ve often enjoyed doing (as covered in a previous blog). Or build an evening around guest-starring roles from one actor – for instance, check out John Wayne’s appearances on I Love Lucy, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Dean Martin Show and Maude. 

Do you have any rituals or comfort TV viewing preferences? Please share them – we could all use some fresh ideas for getting through what’s left of these long, dark winter nights.

Revisiting Bosom Buddies

 

Was anyone else surprised by the multiple mentions of Bosom Buddies at the recent Kennedy Center Honors tribute to Tom Hanks?

I expected a clip of the series to be played during the video retrospective of his life and career, but the situation comedy practically became a running joke throughout the segment, inspiring cross-dressing quips from Martin Short and host Stephen Colbert.

The references were plainly intended as affectionate mocking, and a way to illustrate how far Tom Hanks has come from such humble and questionable beginnings.

There’s only one problem with that assessment – Bosom Buddies was nothing to be ashamed of. Hanks doesn’t think so either – when a cast reunion was arranged at the TV Land Awards in 2010, the A-list movie star was there alongside Peter Scolari, Donna Dixon, Holland Taylor and Telma Hopkins. I’m sure his TV Land Award is now proudly displayed between his two Oscars. 

The series is remembered as a failure because it was – just 37 episodes over two low-rated seasons, and a men-in-drag gimmick that was dated and desperate even in 1981. But as the old jazz standard reminds us, it ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it.

Actually, jazz is an apt allusion of why Bosom Buddies made its high-concept-to the-hilt premise work. With jazz it’s not the music on the page that creates the magic, but the inspired improvisations that take place within its framework. With Bosom Buddies it wasn’t the scripts or the ensemble that excelled as much as the lively riffing of Hanks and Scolari.

I still remember how fresh and surprising those moments seemed when the series first aired, as such instances of spontaneity were not typical of Miller-Milkis-Boyett shows.

Thomas Miller, Edward Milkis and Robert Boyett, working together and in various combinations from the 1970s through the 1990s, were responsible for the creation and/or production of several successful series (Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, Full House, Perfect Strangers) and a few famous misses (Blansky’s Beauties, Joanie Loves Chachi, Goodtime Girls).

Television fans of that era came to recognize a house style for the team’s various shows – working class heroes, lovable eccentrics, and material that was rarely played with subtlety under a too-exuberant laugh track. So when a more obscure pop culture reference slipped into one of the conversations between Kip (Hanks) and Henry (Scolari), or their female counterparts Buffy and Hildy, Bosom Buddies became a different type of show – more clever and mischievous, and definitely funnier. Most of these highlights happened when the duo were not in drag – maybe it’s harder to ad-lib in heels. 

Such inspired moments seemed improvised, though that was unlikely in an assembly line product. But during interviews conducted around the aforementioned TV Land Awards, the cast confirmed what I had long suspected – during the tedious hours of camera blocking, the actors would indeed improvise material which often found its place into the finished episodes.

Perhaps, after letting Robin Williams run wild on Mork & Mindy, the network and the producers had become more open to letting stars tweak their scripts. Or maybe the ratings on Bosom Buddies were so bleak they didn’t bother paying attention. Either way, there was something a little subversive going on there, and I imagine it’s one of the reasons why the series still has its supporters.

Of course, it still doesn’t get any respect – a "Complete Series" DVD is available, but CBS-Paramount didn’t think it was worth writing a big check to retain the original Billy Joel theme song (“My Life”). Perhaps being referenced 20 years later at the Kennedy Center with the president and first lady in attendance is recognition enough. Nobody is still making Blansky’s Beauties jokes.