Come On Down

I've mentioned before that living close to work means that a few days each week, Melissa and I go home for lunch. This also means that we typically watch The Price Is Right while eating lunch. As we rapidly approach Bob Barker's retirement and the inevitable decay of TPIR, I have noticed a few things about watching the show and the commercials that accompany it.

Bob is getting up there in age. That's no surprise to anyone. It's why he's retiring. However, as he gets older and closer to his retirement date, he is getting awfully grouchy. When someone has problems coming up with a bid or spends too much time listening to the audience screaming prices at them, Bob starts to get irritated and tries to hurry them along. When that doesn't work, he starts yelling at them. Don't get me wrong, I find them irritating, and I'm yelling at them too, but I'm not getting paid to be the host of the show.

If the commercials shown during TPIR are any indication, Wilford Brimley is on television more than any other human being on earth.

Have you ever noticed that some things never cease to be amusing? It's that way with the scooter commercials where a huge bald guy (who happens to be a nurse and the inventor of this specific power chair) comes out and says, "Hi I'm Tom Cruise." Sure his name is "Kruse," but it still amuses me.

Also not getting less amusing, the Beltone hearing aid ad where a golfer doesn't hear other golfers yelling "fore" and keeps getting hit with golf balls. It's completely ridiculous, but I laugh harder and harder each time he gets hit.

While I'm pointing out things about the show right now, my real issue is that there are apparently auditions for the next host going on even as we speak. Considering the list of people rumored to be up for the job, I can't help wonder why the show doesn't retire with Bob. I may not be his biggest fan (because, let's face it, there are some weirdly crazy Barker fans out there) but Bob Barker is The Price Is Right. If they do end up selecting one of the people on the currently rumored lit and continuing the show, I can only hope that they decide to just go as absurd as possible. After all, one of the people on that short list is Mario Lopez. A mid-day game show with A.C. Slater? Yeah, I'd watch that.