Bob Barker reminds us 2020 hasn't been all bad

Here it comes, nonstop Bob Barker!

Much to the surprise of seemingly everyone who adores game shows of the past, Bob Barker is back on TV. 

Well, sort of, but nobody is complaining. 

On Nov. 30 it was announced that Barker episodes of The Price is Right would be available, 24 hours a day, through Pluto TV, the streaming television app that amazes me. 

Pluto TV is like its own cable system, and its channels are available through an app for your phone and your fancy TV. When I found it a few years ago, when streaming video apps were a hot new commodity, I thought it was an interesting concept, albeit a bit clunky. Pluto seemed like a depository for streaming channels that weren't worthy of their own app on your smart TV. The commercial breaks were usually poorly inserted into the programming, and some of the channels featured content akin to watching amateur YouTube videos. 

I've watched Pluto evolve over the years, and am a bit amazed at how it has expanded. Every month Pluto seems to add multiple channels. In some cases the channels are simply duplication of existing outlets available elsewhere, such as home shopping channels and Buzzr, a classic game show channel that is available as a diginet in many cities, including Minneapolis. (Buzzr also streams its channel through its own website.)

Other Pluto channels are dedicated to classic television shows. You can currently watch episodes of Love Boat, Three's Company, One Day at a Time, classic Doctor Who, Wings and The Addams Family, among others, any time day or night. There are also channels that feature a rotation of classic TV shows, and there's an on-demand arm of Pluto for some television shows and movies. 

And I didn't mention then news, sports, cinema or streaming music channels Pluto offers, as this isn't about Pluto. 

With little notice, it was announced Nov. 30 that Pluto was adding 24/7 Bob Barker as of Dec. 1. And for fans of yesteryear and Barker's hosting, it is glorious. 

The show is under the ownership of Fremantle, a television heavyweight that owns the catalogs and intellectual property of multiple production companies of the past. It owns a ton of game shows, including the catalog of Goodson-Todman, the prolific company that was churning out plenty of heavy hitters in the game show biz during the 1970s and '80s, including Match Game and Family Feud. 

In 1994 game show fans were gifted with a cable channel, Game Show Network, that licensed the rights to rerun game shows of the past. I will forgo recounting the roller coaster that is GSN's history, but I will note that in its early years GSN aired classic Barker episodes. But those haven't been on GSN for many years. 

More than five years ago we were blessed with Buzzr, a fake cable channel launched by Fremantle. Using its catalog of classic game shows, the free digital television channel has been running a modest selection of episodes from Fremantle's vast archive. But it has never included The Price is Right, either the Barker era or shows from the past 12 seasons featuring Drew Carey as the host. (Black-and-white ere shows from the 1950s, hosted by Bill Cullen, have shown up on Buzzr occasionally, but it's a very different show than Barker's version.)

I've never read why Buzzr doesn't carry the most valuable game show in Fremantle's catalog, but I have to assume that it has something to do with its existing contract with CBS, which has aired the show since 1972. I'm only guessing. 

So it quite the surprise to learn that Fremantle was making Barker episodes available exclusively through Pluto, 24 hours a day. 

Bob in all his glory

Bob loved chatting with the contestants.

I sampled a few hours of the show on Dec. 1, and it's as entertaining as I remember. (This is not a shock, I have occasionally watched bits and pieces of Barker's catalog through videos posted on YouTube. There's no shortage of partial and full episodes of varying quality available any time you want.)

Pluto launched with season 11 episodes, meaning the 1982-83 season. It is believed that season 11 was chosen because it is the first year the show no longer offered fur coats, something Barker wanted nothing to do with, according to many reports. 

Those early '80s episodes look as dated as you would expect, and they're still a ton of fun. From the sound of Johnny Olson's voice beckoning contestants to "come on down" to the fashions and hairstyles of the models and audience, it's all glorious. 

In the early '80s, people dressed up, at least somewhat, to attend a taping. Shorts, baseball caps and T-shirts proclaiming love for all things TPIR are hard to spot in the audience. I've seen a few people wearing jeans, and I've seen men wearing suits. Anyone wearing a suit to TPIR today would look highly out of place. 

Today's TPIR is rather streamlined, allowing for more commercials within its 60 minutes. Once upon a time, Bob bantered with contestants as they arrived in contestant's row or joined him on stage. If he was getting a good response from the audience, his banter with a contestant may last for a minute. You'd never see that today. 

Watching nearly 40-year-old episodes of the show highlighted details of its evolution that I had forgotten. Some of it is rather trivial. When the models were showing off a new car, they typically held a small sign with the manufacturer's name on it initially. I'm not sure why that was important. 

If it's not on a handheld sign, how is the viewer supposed to understand it's a Chrysler?

Today's TPIR still relies upon groceries and small household products for its pricing games. In the past, those products were plugged by name. Every last one, presumably because they paid a fee to be plugged in a pricing game. Nowadays you'll see a recognizable grocery item, but it often won't be referenced by name. This was not lost upon me, but you don't appreciate how many products were plugged until you watch a vintage episode. 

The pricing games are a bit simpler in design, and a little less flashy, than their modern counterparts, but they're still fun. Occasionally the '80s technology comes up short during an episode, and you will see some of those technical glitches in the show. I think those sorts of things still happen, but with less frequency in 2020. 

Barker played to, and off, the crowd frequently. He'd turn to the audience for a response at some point most every day, it seemed. And he'd be quick to point out when the consensus from the audience was wrong. 

He also ribbed contestants occasionally. During one episode he joked about how he had told them during a commercial break he would kick them in the ankles if they failed to spin the wheel one full revolution during the Showcase Showdown. He continued with this bit by suggesting he'd move to the knees, and then suggested working his way up toward the head. In the early '80s, this was seen as playful and fun. It wasn't mean spirited, but I suspect such proclamations from Drew Carey in 2020 might not be laughed off. 

So far I've seen a few retired games show up in moments I've watched. One was Poker Game, which was in the rotation for more than three decades and was retired in 2007. It was mostly a guessing game, but I found it entertaining. 

Make a better hand for yourself than you do for the house, and you win a prize!

Another game that showed up in 1982 was Trader Bob, a game that ran for about five years in the early '80s. The game simulates a trading post, but isn't that exciting. It basically requires players to pick the more expensive item from three pairs of small prizes in order to win a bedroom set or dining room group. 

It's Optional was another game that had a five-year run, starting in 1978. It wasn't used frequently, according to online reports, and that's probably because the contestant was playing for two new cars. The episode I saw featured two For Escorts. The premise of the game is to guess which options to add to the price of a stripped down car so that the price of the car is comparable to that of a fancier car, without going over. I'm guessing in most instances a contestant had to pick out about $1,000 worth of options to equalize the price of the two vehicles, with a $100 margin or error. 

It's hard to explain easily, but it's a reminder that air conditioning wasn't standard in cars way back when. Some of the options you could choose for your stripped down vehicle were tinted glass, cloth bucket seats, color floor mats and automatic transmission. 

It was an odd game, and I'm not surprised it disappeared more than 35 years ago. 

Pick your automotive options, and if they add up to a magic number, you win two new cars!

The Price is Right used fancy split-screen technology during It's Optional.

When I saw Pick-A-Pair, it brought back a vague memory of the game from my youth. The game debuted in 1982, but has had a different presentation for many years. The game is simple, there are six grocery items comprised of three sets of equally priced products. The contestant has two chances to find a matching pair of items. 

Since 1988, all six products are on display on a long, flat tabletop, speeding up the game play, no doubt. In its early years, the products rotated into view on a miniature Ferris wheel, making it impossible for the contestant to see all six grocery items at the same time. 

Pick-A-Pair was colorful and slow in its early years.

The showcases bring back fond memories. Plenty of showcases weren't that spectacular in the '80s. There's no car or truck, boat or fabulous trip. But plenty of others offer one of those coveted prizes. 

The showcase nostalgia comes from the fact that the show used skits periodically. There's be a short story that linked the showcase prizes, and sometimes the story included props, an elaborate set or pencil sketches to accent the story. The presentation wasn't highly technical, so the props and special effects were akin to a high school theater production.  

Olson, the announcer, would sometimes appear in the skits, and costumes for some or all of the models were part of the presentation. In one showcase, a model was dressed up as an organ grinder's monkey. In another, a model was dressed up as an alien.

What better way to introduce the prizes in a showcase than emulating an auction?

Illustrations about types of clubs set up the showcase prize presentation during a showcase.

There were simple showcase themes in the '80s that were abandoned long ago. One recurring showcase was a trip down Main Street. Two doors open in a dark studio, and each door has two prizes behind it. The idea was that the prizes represented a look into the storefront windows of a bustling downtown district. 

The showcases weren't mind blowing or fall-off-the-couch hilarious, but they represent a bygone era of the show, and offer nostalgic fun. Much to my surprise, one of the showcases I saw today used the Star Wars theme as its background music. From a licensing standpoint I would have assumed that episode would have remained in moth balls. 

For those that have had a love of games shows throughout their life, seeing Bob work his magic on a periodic basis is a welcome, and unexpected, opportunity. 

Fun fact: Bob celebrates his 97th birthday next week. 

Temptation, played for a car, has been in the show's pricing game rotation since 1973.

Shell Game has been around since 1974. 

A 1982 showcase features a Pac-Man arcade cabinet. I was a bit obsessed with that game and the idea of winning one on The Price is Right would have blown my mind.