The New Price Is Right (1994 game show)

American television series (1994–95)

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The New Price Is Right

Created by| Bob Stewart
Developed by| Jonathan Goodson
Presented by| Doug Davidson
Narrated by| Burton Richardson
Music by| Edd Kalehoff
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of episodes| 80
Production
Production location| Television City Studios
Running time| 22 minutes
Production company| Mark Goodson Productions
Original release
Network| Syndicated
Release| September 12, 1994 (1994-09-12) –
January 27, 1995 (1995-01-27)
Related
The Price Is Right

The New Price Is Right was a syndicated edition of the American game show The Price Is Right which premiered on September 12, 1994, and ran until January 27, 1995. This was the third thirty-minute syndicated edition, following a weekly series that ran from 1972 until 1980 and a daily series that ran for one season between 1985 and 1986.

## Personnel

[edit]

Doug Davidson,[1] who was already well-known for his role as Paul Williams on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless, hosted this syndicated series. Burton Richardson, who had previously served as the announcer for The Arsenio Hall Show, was the announcer. Julie Lynn Cialini, Ferrari Farris, and Lisa Stahl were the three prize models.

Several then-current and former production personnel from the CBS network version of The Price Is Right also served roles on this version, with daytime series producer Kathy Greco assuming the executive producer’s seat.

The New Price Is Right was a production of Mark Goodson Productions, and was distributed by Paramount Domestic Television. The program, like the daytime series, was taped at Television City in Los Angeles, California.

## Pilot

[edit]

Before the eventual series in 1994, two pilots were taped on August 3 and 4 1993. One with KTLA weatherman Mark Kriski[2]while the other was Doug Davidson[3]as they were both announced by Bob Hilton instead of Burton Richardson. Although both pilots features the exact same schedule as each other. Differences from the pilot to series includes:

* Spotlights of various colors were placed around the Big Doors and Turntables.
* Both pilots had the catchphrase "COME ON DOWN! Your the first contestant on The Price is Right" while the other two contestants being called to "COME ON DOWN!" had the normal spiel instead.
* Cues that would later be used on Goodson-produced lottery shows such as Illinois Instant Riches, Flamingo Fortune and Bonus Bonanza were used as prize cues in the pilot.
* The Pliko introduction used the last few seconds of the Family Feud theme, which was used during the very first playing in the daytime version on January 3, 1983 but is more famously used as the Grand Game intro cue. Additionally, the version here used the 1988 (and current) theme as opposed to the original 1976 version.
* A money graphic would be shown on screen just to show how much money the contestant accumulated on Plinko. Said graphic was previously used on the Combs and Dawson'94 versions of Family Feud respectively.
* 3 Strikes was played for a boat and had four digits in the price of that said boat. In the series, the game was always played for cars and had five digits instead.
* When "The Price WAS Right" was played, the logo for it was not shown on its video wall as the year instead would be shown going back to the year of the product making its debut.
* The Range Game prop used for the Showcase Round was the exact same one used in the daytine version. However, it was repainted magenta and had the word "SHOWCASE" written on its side as opposed to "RANGE GAME".
* At the end of both pilots, although they have the typical "A Mark Goodson Television Production" spiel said by Hilton. In the Kriski pilot, it had the copyrights claims of a "Mark Goodson Games L.P." along with being a "Paramount Pictures Corp." as it zooms out of frame while the Davidson pilot didn't.

## Format

[edit]

The New Price Is Right, unlike its syndicated predecessors, was not a carbon copy of the daytime series. Significant changes were made to the show format.

### Contestants

[edit]

One of the most significant format changes for The New Price Is Right was the elimination of the long-standing One Bid game, which determines who comes onstage to play a pricing game. Instead, when an audience member was called to "come on down", that contestant was immediately brought onstage to play a pricing game. A total of three pricing games were played in one program.

### Aesthetic and other changes

[edit]

In keeping with a more modern theme, the set featured a black stage floor, darker lighting, muted colors such as silver, purple and gold, and a giant wall of video screens.

Edd Kalehoff created an entirely new set of music cues for the series.[4][better source needed] The Price Is Right theme was re-recorded with a faster tempo and a jazzier sound featuring a saxophone lead as opposed to synthesizers. While the show did not last long, some of Kalehoff’s cues were later used on the daytime series in the years that followed.

Like the previous syndicated editions, The New Price Is Right had a significantly larger prize budget. Expensive foreign cars were regularly featured. Games that used grocery items on the daytime version featured merchandise prizes on this version. Higher valued prizes were offered in cases of games that already used these types of prizes.

### Pricing game rule changes

[edit]

See also: List of The Price Is Right pricing games

* Barker's Markers: The name was changed to "Make Your Mark" the single time it was played on this version of the show. This name was adopted on the daytime show in 2008 when Drew Carey became the host.
* Clock Game: Instead of using the prop from the daytime series, the game positioned the contestant in front of the video wall where the prices were displayed for the studio audience. A digital clock was used to keep time. The contestant was provided a $1,000 range in which to guess the price of each prize. The game frequently used prizes with four-digit prices. On some occasions a third prize was awarded as a bonus for winning (a rule change later adopted on the daytime version in 2009).
* Hole in One: Instead of revealing prices after the contestant placed all six items, the price for each item was revealed after it was chosen and only placed in line if it was more expensive than the one before.
* Plinko: While the top prize remained the same at $5,000 per chip for a potential total of $25,000, two configurations of slots were utilized, one of which featured two $2,500 slots in place of the $100 slots. In order to earn chips, a higher/lower guessing format was used due to the merchandise items’ values exceeding $100.
* Punch a Bunch: During some episodes, Davidson pulled the slip out of the hole as soon as it was punched. The contestant then decided to keep the money or punch another hole. On the daytime show, the slips are not revealed until the contestant has made all of his or her initial punches.
* Superball: Instead of waiting until guessing all three small prizes before rolling the balls, the contestant rolled after each correct guess.
* 3 Strikes: The first number was lit at the beginning of the game and the number could repeat elsewhere in the price. Four chips representing the remaining numbers in the price were then placed into the bag with three strike chips.

## Showcase Showdown

[edit]

Another of the many changes made for The New Price Is Right was the introduction of the Showcase Showdown, which had not been part of the previous syndicated productions. With the change came, in addition to having only one contestant play for the Showcase, a new Showcase Showdown game based on the One Bid round on the daytime series.

The new game was known as “The Price Was Right”. The three contestants who were called down stood behind a set of lecterns at the apron of the stage, and a vintage television commercial played on a large onstage video screen. They would then offer a guess as to how much the item advertised cost in the year the commercial aired, and the closest bidder without going over won the chance to play for the Showcase.

The New Price Is Right also employed the daytime series’ Big Wheel for the Showcase Showdown in several episodes recorded early in the show’s brief run. An exception was the highest winner spun first. The rules otherwise remained unchanged. The contestant closest to $1.00 without going over advanced, with a spin-off played in case of a tie. Any contestant that hit $1.00 exactly won $1,000 and a chance at either $5,000 or $10,000 with a bonus spin.

## The Showcase

[edit]

Instead of making a bid as on the daytime series, the contestant played a reworked version of a preexisting pricing game, Range Game. The Showcase featured a wider range with a starting value of $10,000 that increased in $1,000 increments to a top value of $70,000. The contestant selected the range at random during the commercial break leading into the Showcase, which varied in value between $4,000 and $10,000.

Following presentation of the showcase, the contestant’s range selection was revealed and the rangefinder began moving up the game board. In order to stop it, the contestant pulled a lever, and if the value of the Showcase was within the covered range, the contestant won the Showcase in addition to any cash or prizes won during his/her pricing game.

## Broadcast information

[edit]

At the NATPE convention in January 1994, Paramount pushed The New Price Is Right as a viable option for stations for their fringe and access periods. By the time NATPE concluded, the show had been sold in 78 markets and was one of the two more popular new entries at the convention, with the other being what would eventually become Warner Bros.’ entertainment news program Extra.[5][better source needed]

In the New York City market, the show was bought by WWOR for its early afternoon fringe period. There, it was paired with the returning Family Feud and aired at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, one of the more competitive in its market. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, The New Price Is Right was sold to KNBC, which purchased both it and Extra to air in its Prime Time Access hour in place of Paramount's Entertainment Tonight and Hard Copy; KNBC gave TNPIR the 7:30 p.m. Pacific time that Hard Copy had previously held.[6][7]

Despite the willingness of station managers to buy the show, Paramount Domestic Television President Steve Goldman expressed doubt that things would work out as well as the company hoped, since the timeslots they were aiming for were highly competitive. As per their two largest affiliates’ examples, The New Price Is Right would be facing off against The Oprah Winfrey Show, then television’s most popular syndicated talk show, in New York and against the highest-rated game show in syndication, Wheel of Fortune, in Los Angeles.[5][better source needed]

Goldman’s doubts proved correct, as The New Price Is Right did indeed struggle to find an audience. In December 1994, both WWOR and KNBC announced that they would cease carrying the program. In the case of KNBC, their ratings dropped by half from where they had been the previous year at 7:30. WWOR, which was airing The New Price Is Right in tandem with the returning Family Feud, decided to replace the struggling game shows with their popular morning talk show, The Richard Bey Show, as it was scheduled to make a move to nationwide syndication in January 1995.[6][8] Shortly after this, on December 15, 1994, Paramount announced that they were cancelling The New Price Is Right and ceasing production in January 1995. The eightieth and final first-run episode aired on January 26, 1995, with Paramount continuing to offer reruns to stations that wanted them until the end of the season.[6][better source needed]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hart, Marla (September 8, 1994). "Soaps Veteran Tries His Luck As A Game Show Host". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
2. ^ The Price is Right Mark Kriski Pilot
3. ^ The Prics is Right Doug Davidson Pilot
4. ^ Vault Inventory-Game Shows, Television Production Music Museum (www.tvpmm.com). Accessed January 27, 2012.
5. ^ a b Broadcasting & Cable issue dated January 31, 1994. “ENT gains ground”, pg. 7.
6. ^ a b c Broadcasting & Cable issue dated December 19, 1994. “Paramount drops ‘Price', pg. 18.
7. ^ King, Susan (September 11, 1994). "Preview '94 : Frontier Doves and Hawks : SYNDICATED FARE INCLUDES MORE CELEB-HOSTED TALK SHOWS". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
8. ^ Benson, Jim (June 25, 1993). "KCBS lands Par's 'ET,' 'Hard Copy'". Variety. Retrieved September 26, 2022.

## External Links

[edit]

* The New Price Is Right at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

The Price is Right

United States|

| Versions|

* The Price Is Right
* The Price Is Right (1956–65)
* The New Price Is Right (1994–95)
* Gameshow Marathon
* The Price Is Right Live!

|

Production|

* List of The Price Is Right pricing games
* Models

Hosts|

* Bob Barker
* Drew Carey

International|

* Australia
* United Kingdom
* France
* Mexico
* Philippines
* Italy

In popular culture|

* "Divided We Sail" (The Flintstones season 2)
* "Showdown" (How I Met Your Mother season 2)
* Posthumus Zone (theme for Super Bowl themed episodes since 2010)

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