I was a contestant on two TV game shows (and I'm so very sorry for bringing it up again)

Earlier this summer I seriously considered making this a once-a-week blog in place of the three-times-a-week cadence I've followed for the last couple of years.

For one thing, I was looking for ways to free up my daily schedule, and reducing the amount of time I spend writing each week seemed like an easy fix. Secondly, and probably more importantly, sometimes I simply don't know what to write here.

I have the hardest time coming up with blog topics. I feel like I've told you all of my stories. I already rehash old posts once a month as part of our Blog Rerun series, and there are subjects I've covered two, three, four times or more.

Apart from Terry and the kids, who naturally are the main focus of this blog, the topic I've come back to time and again is my appearances on the game shows "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and "The Price Is Right." Longtime readers of the blog are sighing right now and getting ready to click away, as they've heard me drone on about this over and over.

As for the rest of you, I won't even get into the details other than to offer video clips of my appearances below in case you're bored and somewhat curious about them. If you want to know more about the what, how and why of these little adventures of mine, just use the search box at the top of the blog to search for "Millionaire," "Price Is Right" or "game shows." That should bring up past posts on the subject.

(NOTE: I've never been able to figure out how to get the search box to appear on the mobile version of the blog, so if you're on your phone, scroll to the bottom and click on "View web version." Everything will get really small, but you should be able to zoom in on the search box in the top right of the screen.)

Anyway – and please understand how much I feel like a digital harlot right now – here's my appearance on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" from January 30-31, 2003. It's low-res, but it works:

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Recorded from WOIO-TV 19, Jan. 30-31, 2003

You can also watch that same video here on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/736926100  I used to have it on YouTube, but a few years ago the folks at Sony forced me to take it down because of copyright violation. It had something like 70,000 views at the time, and while it didn't seem fair that I needed to remove a 20-year-old VHS-recorded video clip, I didn't have a choice.

On the other hand, CBS doesn't seem to mind that my "Price Is Right" video is on YouTube and still going strong 18+ years since I appeared on the show on February 16, 2007. It has 95,000 views to date, though that has nothing to do with me. I've discovered there's an ardent digital community of "Price Is Right" fans, and I believe my recording of that particular episode is the only one that's easily accessible online.

"The Price Is Right" - February 16, 2007
Also recorded from WOIO-TV 19.

I went home with $32,000 on Millionaire and four electric guitars plus $2,500 from Price Is Right.

Again, anyone who has read my stuff over the years already knows all of this. To them I apologize for rehashing it, but I'm telling you, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO POST SOMETIMES.

Maybe I'll come back Wednesday with a little more inspiration.

A lifetime ago, I used to walk home from school to eat lunch and watch game shows

I logged countless episodes of "Card Sharks" growing up.

I am repeatedly reminded of the fact that I grew up in a very different time. I guess anyone above a certain age (say 30) can say the same.

When I was young, for example, game shows were a thing. All the networks had them, and they were particular staples of the daytime TV lineup.

I also attended a neighborhood elementary school where many of the kids walked home for lunch. I think there are still schools that allow this, but it felt far more prevalent when I was growing up.

It was many years before I understood how good I had it. When I arrived home, my mom would have lunch ready for me on a TV tray. It was usually a sandwich and canned fruit.

I would turn on the TV, find a game show to watch, and dig into Mom's delicious repast. The game shows varied over the years, though "Card Sharks" is the one that comes most readily to mind.

I would happily wolf down the food (that 10am elementary school snack never quite satisfied) while playing along with the contestants on TV. I knew exactly when I had to leave to make it back to school before the 1pm afternoon bell.

I was rarely, if ever, late, though I sat in our living room until the last possible minute. I wanted to fully enjoy my mid-day break at home before heading back to good old Mapledale Elementary.

In later years (5th and 6th grades), lunch times were more about playing football or baseball with my classmates. While I still came home to eat, those lunches were suddenly rushed affairs in which the goal was to eat as quickly as possible and dash back to school before the other guys had made it outside for recess.

None of my kids were ever able to come home from school for lunch, and the TV game show lineup of today pales in comparison to what it was in the 1970s and 80s. All of which is OK, but man, what I wouldn't do for a chance at one more baloney sandwich/fruit cocktail lunch and a rousing 30 minutes with host Jim Perry and those random, middle American contestants on "Card Sharks."

It was, as I often say, a simpler time.

Oh man, did I bomb the Wheel of Fortune audition

These are the faces Vanna and Pat would likely have made if the producers had let me appear on Wheel of Fortune.

Before we get into this, I think it's important to mention two things:

1. Yes, as you'll see in a moment, my journey through the Wheel of Fortune audition process ended badly. But for the 6,738th time in the history of this blog, I feel compelled to remind you that I did appear on both Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and The Price Is Right, and I did OK on those shows. It's not like I'm completely incompetent in these matters.
   
   
2. In my defense, I had no idea I'm simply no good at playing Wheel of Fortune. Not until I actually tried it did I realize I have zero aptitude for the game.

OK, so what happened?

Well, it all started a couple of months ago when, on a whim, I decided to apply to become a Wheel of Fortune contestant. This involved filling out a simple online form and submitting a one-minute video of myself talking about my life and why I would be a good fit for the show.

That was the easy part. I'm good at that kind of stuff, and less than two weeks later, a contestant coordinator called me for a phone interview. We talked for 10 minutes, and I apparently did well enough to advance to the third round of the process.

I found this out when I received an email on a Thursday afternoon saying they wanted me to do an online audition the next day. Yikes! The email encouraged practicing before the audition, so I downloaded the Wheel of Fortune app and played several dozen games.

I also watched reruns of the show and played along with some of the Wheel Toss-Up Round videos that are all over YouTube.

I did start to vaguely worry when I was rarely able to guess the Toss-Up answers before the contestants in the videos, but at that point I still figured I was probably as good as anyone else at the game.

The next day I logged on via Zoom and discovered I would be auditioning with two delightful young women also seeking to become contestants. They were both very likeable. More important, it soon became apparent they were also much better at Wheel of Fortune than me.

The first thing we did was play some Toss-Up, in which letters in a puzzle are revealed one at a time until someone buzzes in with the answer. In this case, we just had to say "Buzz!" to indicate we were ready to respond.

We played, I think, eight Toss-Up puzzles. Know how many I answered? Zero. I didn't get even one of them. The two young women answered all eight between them.

It then slowly began dawning on me that I was either too old and slow to complete with them, or else I simply don't have an eye for word puzzles like I thought I did,.

It was probably a little of both.

Anyway, we then spent a couple of minutes introducing ourselves and being asked questions by Shannon, the producer running the online audition. As I said, I'm pretty good at this and showed well there.

Then we were given some one-on-one time with Shannon during which we were individually shown four screens, each displaying four Wheel of Fortune puzzles (so 16 puzzles total). Certain letters were already revealed in each puzzle, but unlike the Toss-Ups, that was all we got. No other letters would be turned over.

We had 90 seconds to try and solve each screen full of four puzzles. When the 90 seconds were up, you automatically moved on to the next screen no matter how well (or poorly) you did.

I did not do especially well. I think I got three puzzles right on one of the screens, but I scored a big fat zero on another and got maybe one or two on the others.

I just couldn't figure it out. I simply can't "see" the answers the way others can when they look at partially solved Wheel of Fortune puzzles. I tried talking and sounding them out, but for the most part, I failed.

And that was the end of the audition. We were told the producers would get in touch with us if they were interested in having us come out to Los Angeles (at our own expense) to appear as contestants on the show.

Shannon didn't officially say I had failed, but...it was obvious I didn't have the skills for the game. I can talk well and be personable and energetic on camera, but it doesn't mean anything if you can't actually, you know, solve the puzzles. Which I largely cannot.

I have just enough game show experience to know the results of my audition were a gracious "thanks but no thanks."

I actually don't feel too bad about the whole attempt. For one thing, it's not like this was my one and only shot at being on a nationally televised game show. This was going to be, at best, the icing on the cake after Millionaire and Price Is Right.

Also, no amount of prep was going to make me better at playing Wheel of Fortune. I simply don't have the right brain chemistry for it. And that's OK.

Really, it's OK. That's what I keep telling myself.

Because I was on two other game shows before. And I won cash and prizes. A good amount of cash and some nice prizes.

I don't need your stupid little game, Pat Sajak. You and Vanna can go ahead and enjoy having my 21-year-old audition opponents on your show.

I, in the meantime, will take solace in the fact that one time Bob Barker shook my hand and complimented me on my custom Price Is Right t-shirt.

So there.

This will be fun if you're interested in 14-year-old, real-time blog posts about my appearance on "The Price Is Right"

 

One of the first blogs I ever had was an intentionally short-lived one about my successful attempt to attend a taping of The Price Is Right and be selected as a contestant. I started it in December 2006 and made the last post the following April.

I deleted that blog (which was called something like "My Price Is Right Grand Adventure") years ago but kept a back-up of the content on our home computer.

Recently I came across that file and figured out how to restore the posts. So now, in case you're at all interested, you can see those posts from a decade-and-a-half ago.

If you're accessing this blog on a desktop computer, just look on the right side of your screen where it says "Blog Archive." If you click the arrows to the left of "2006" and "2007," there will be links to all of the posts.

If you're reading on your phone, it's a little trickier but still pretty easy. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and you should see, under the "Home" button, a link that says "View web version." Just click on that and you'll get the desktop view, though it may be a little hard to read (enlarge as needed).

A few things to note about these ancient posts:

• Many of them originally included photos, but those photos no longer exist on the Blogger.com servers, so they won't load. You'll see placeholders for these images but, with one exception, not the pictures themselves. The posts are text-only.
  
  
• To me the really fun and interesting thing is to read the comments under each post, particularly on the actual day of the taping (January 9, 2007). You will see several comments from my sister Judi and my mother-in-law Judy, both of whom sadly have since passed away. It's wonderful to read their words.
  
  
• There are also comments from my daughter Elissa in which she refers to Terry and me as "Mommy" and "Daddy." She is now 27. This seems forever ago.
  
  
• If you are bored and read through all of the posts, you will find there was a level of uncertainty as to whether my brother-in-law Dave and I would even get into the studio, let alone have one of us picked as a contestant. It would have been a shame to go all the way out to L.A. and not even get into the taping. But spoiler alert...we did.

This was such a great find that I had to post about it, even though you could argue that I talk about my game show appearances entirely too much.

That's "appearances," plural. Because I've been on two game shows. Did I mention that? I did?

Sorry, it won't come up again (at least not in the next two weeks, I promise).

Dear Game Show Network programming people: More of the oldies, please

For many decades, I have been a fan of game shows. I grew up during what I would say is the golden age of game shows in the 1970s and 80s, when the best (or at least the best versions) of the classic shows were on the air.

I don't have time to watch much TV these days, but when I do, I like to flip to the Game Show Network to see what's on. GSN is always entertaining, though I used to like it better when it concentrated more on the old shows.

I realize the need to move on and create new classics (and cultivate a younger audience), but I kind of wish there were more old episodes of "Joker's Wild" and "Tattletales," or even some "Price Is Right" from when Bob Barker had dark hair.

I looked over the GSN schedule for one 24-hour period recently. There were a lot of new games that are probably decent if I gave them a chance, but I focused on the three legacy shows on the grid:

• "Family Feud" hosted by Steve Harvey: Don't get me wrong, I like Steve Harvey. He's a Cleveland guy and does a good job hosting Feud. But, through no fault of his own, he isn't Richard Dawson. This show hit its absolute peak when Richard was wearing a tuxedo and kissing all of the women (and occasionally the men) on each team.
• "Match Game": There is no such thing as an unentertaining episode of "Match Game." Gene Rayburn was a master. And speaking of Richard Dawson, he was the best panelist in terms of actually playing the game. Throw in Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Sommers, Fannie Flagg and the others, and it's television gold, Jerry. I have a good Richard Dawson story at the end of this post, if you're interested.
• "Whammy!/Press Your Luck": This is a new version of one of my favorite 80s shows. If you're not familiar with the 1984 Michael Larson "Press Your Luck" scandal, this is a good recap, or you can search for it on YouTube. The whole thing was bizarre and, ultimately, tragic.

I would like to have seen some "Newlywed Game" and "Tic Tac Dough" thrown in there, but again, I get the need for new programming to reel in new audiences.

Still, today's young people will never quite know the joy of watching Peter Marshall host the "Hollywood Squares" or Dick Clark guide "The $100,000 Pyramid" at 10 o'clock on a Tuesday morning when they're home sick from school. That was paradise.

MY RICHARD DAWSON STORY: I've managed to get through an entire post about game shows without mentioning that I appeared as a contestant on two of them. Although I guess I really didn't get through the whole post without mentioning it. Anyway, this is my Richard Dawson story: In October 2002 when I taped my appearance on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," one of the people with whom I was playing was a grade-school teacher from Tennessee named Shirley. She once dated Don Henley, apparently. Anyway, she had also appeared as a contestant on "The Match Game" in something like 1974. She won the game that day, and when it came time for the bonus round in which you selected one celebrity with whom you would try to match, she like many others picked Richard because he was so good. The producers hemmed and hawed and tried to get her to select someone else before finally revealing that Richard was so drunk that day there was no way he would be coherent enough to participate in the bonus round. So Shirley picked Betty White. The clue was "Planet <BLANK>." Shirley said "Earth." Betty said "of the Apes." I'm positive Richard, had he not been imbibing that day, would have said "Earth" and won Shirley some more money. Oh well, it makes for a great story.

It's my blog and I can talk about the fact that I was on two game shows any time I want

If you've read this blog (or its forerunner "They Still Call Me Daddy") for any length of time, you know the only two interesting facts about me are:

1. I have five children, which in itself isn't really "interesting" since there are a lot of families that have five or more kids.
2. I was a contestant on two nationally televised game shows: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "The Price Is Right."

The game show thing is territory we've covered before, I realize. I wrote a whole post about it 3½ years ago.

So if I'm going to bring it up again, I should have something new to say about it.

Which I do not.

What I DO have to offer is video of my appearances on both shows. Is that enough? Does that justify me taking up a few minutes of your valuable time to discuss it again?

No, it does not.

Yet I'm doing it anyway. Why? Because I still think the whole thing is just so COOL, you know?

I don't write about it because I think it's some great achievement or anything. It was dumb luck that I got onto those shows. I write about it because, seriously, how many people do you know who have appeared on two game shows? Not counting me, it has to be zero, right? I'm guessing it is.

To this day, those shows are two of the most remarkable experiences I've had. And it's not going to happen again, given how quickly I am mentally deteriorating. Those two contestant slots are all I'm going to get.

So if you're one of the five or so people whom I've not yet forced to watch these videos, here they are.

First is my "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" appearance, which spanned two shows and aired January 30-31, 2003. I can't seem to embed it here, but you can click that link to watch it. KEY TAKEAWAY: Meredith Vieira touched me a lot.

I should have won more money, but hey, $32K isn't a bad day's work. On to "The Price Is Right." This episode aired on February 16, 2007:

And that's it. I'm done. Really. I will not bring this up again for at LEAST a year. Maybe six months. Four weeks for sure.

OK, I promise I won't mention it tomorrow. Does that work?

A $3,800 barbeque grill?

As I said, I've been watching the show everyday and taking notes on prices, bidding strategies, pricing game rules, etc. Generally speaking, I'm good at figuring out the cost of the smaller, grocery-type items. But the big-ticket items are throwing me a little. To wit:

- A Meade telescope that costs $2,100. At one point a few years ago I priced telescopes that looked just like it, and they were nowhere near $2,100. Maybe there's some sort of gold nuggets hidden inside of it.

- A silver-plated punch bowl with 12 cups - $1,575. Really? I know it's silver-plated and all, but $1,575? I would have said 700 bucks, max.

- A $1,000 espresso maker. What?!?!? A thousand dollars for a glorified coffee maker? (I forgot to mention that bid included a supply of Hot Pockets pizza snacks, but I doubt those accounted for much of the $1,000 price tag).

On the bright side, I'm getting better at pricing cars. And so far I've seen only three or four different cars that they're giving away with any regularity: Ford Mustangs, Ford Focuses, and Dodge Chargers. Throw in the occasional Lincoln or SUV, but those are the cars you see most often.

Anyway, the point is, I've still got prep work to do before I get out there. If I somehow manage to get picked as a contestant, rest assured that I'm going to kick butt...

Meet Dave, my TPIR buddy

For the past few weeks, I've known that I wouldn't be making the trip out to Los Angeles by myself. My brother-in-law, Dave Ross, will be taking the "Price Is Right" pilgrimmage with me. The problem was, Dave himself didn't know any of this until yesterday.

Shortly after I made arrangements to attend a taping of the show, I got an e-mail from my sister-in-law, Cathleen, Dave's wife. She wanted to know what I thought about the idea of having Dave come with me on the trip. What did I think? I thought it would be awesome! It will be nice to have some company, and Dave is a great choice to come along.

Cathleen made the arrangements to get Dave a ticket to the show and get him on my flight to L.A. My hotel room was already a double, so we were all set there. The plan was to keep it secret from him until Christmas Day, when he would receive the trip as a gift.

We were at Dave and Cathleen's house for the holiday yesterday. After everyone else had opened their presents, Dave's kids (my niece Courtney and nephew Chandler) brought out a new suitcase and gave it to Dave, with instructions to open it. Inside he found several wrapped gifts, including the shirt you see in the photo above (2021 EDITOR'S NOTE - Sorry the photos are no longer available!) There was also a handmade "Price Is Right" sign.

Still, even when he opened an envelope containing his ticket to the show and flight information, I'm not quite sure he understood what was going on. That was when I told him, "Dave, you're going to be watching the national championship (football) game with me 3,000 miles away on the West Coast, because you're coming with me to see 'The Price Is Right.'"

The national collegiate championship football game involving our beloved Ohio State Buckeyes is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 8, the day we fly out to California. After he was assured that we would be in our hotel room in plenty of time that day to watch the game, Dave understood everything and seemed genuinely surprised and excited.

Dave called us this morning on his way home from work (he had to go in for a few hours...I had the day off) as I was watching today's episode of the show and taking notes. I promised him I would share my extensive notes and list of bids with him, at which point I think he realized just how insane his travel buddy really is. This ought to be interesting...

I gotta start researching car prices

So I've begun taping episodes of the show and watching them, pen and notebook in hand to jot down prices, bids, helpful tips, etc. I got a rude awakening during today's Showcase Showdown telling me that while I have a pretty good handle on the prices of grocery items, I'm clueless when it comes to new cars.

One of the showcases consisted of a cell phone, an ab exercise station, and a 2007 Lincoln Town Car Signature Edition. Obviously, the key to bidding on that showcase is knowing the price of the car, since the other two are low-cost items. If I had been presented with that showcase, I probably would have bid around $34,000. The contestant bid $32,000. The actual retail price? $44,620.

I went online and found out that 2007 Lincoln Town Car Signature Editions have an MSRP of $44,980 and an invoice price of $41,432. I had no idea. In my defense, though, I've never purchased/owned a new car in my entire life, so I guess it's time to search through the paper for car ads, and maybe take a look at motortrend.com.

On the bright side, I would have won several of the pricing games on the show, including the Grand Game, Barker's Bargain Bar, and Secret X.

Hurry up and wait: Attending a TPIR taping

By all accounts, a taping of "The Price Is Right" is an all-day affair for audience members. And when I say "all-day affair," I mean an "ALL-day affair."

From what I can gather from various websites and people who have been through this, you need to show up at the CBS Studios by about 6 a.m. if you want to maximize your chances of getting into the studio. And really, if you wait until 6 a.m. to arrive, you probably won't get anything resembling a good seat.

Now you might read that and say, "Wait, I thought you already had a ticket." I do, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee anything. From what I can tell, that ticket only allows me to get a priority number, which gets me into line, which means I'll probably get in, but it's not for sure. Preference is given to groups of 20 or more...they don't have to wait in line as long as the rest of us do, and I guess every effort is made to ensure that they get seats.

Anyway, here's how things will probably play out on Tape Day (Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007):

4 a.m. -- Rise and shine! This is when I plan to roll out of bed at the Farmer's Daughter Hotel. I'll shower, get dressed, maybe down a bagel or something, and then head across the street to the CBS Studios to get in line for the audience holding area. Notice I say "get in line," because there will almost surely be at least 20 or 30 people in line by that point, if not more. According to the good folks over at Golden-Road.net – an excellent TPIR tribute site – it's common for people to begin lining up at 3 a.m., and some even camp out there overnight to get front-row seats for the next day's taping. Yikes.

The one advantage I have here is that, coming from the Eastern time zone, I should be fairly wide awake, even that early in the morning. If I can get out of bed even earlier than 4, I will.

6 a.m. -- This is when the CSB Television City gates actually open. In the hour or two preceding this, I'll be standing in a line that will extend down L.A.'s Fairfax Boulevard, chatting with other audience members and trying to stay warm (yes, it's Los Angeles, but overnight temperatures in January still get down into the 40's). Many people bring folding chairs and food for this phase of The Big Wait.

Once the gates open, those of us in line will be given order-of-arrival slips, which of course are numbered according to each person's place in line. At that point we'll be allowed to sit on benches outside the studio until...

8 a.m. -- This is when everyone is given a priority number, which a CBS page will write on each of our tickets. Thankfully, once you get a priority number, you're allowed to leave the studio for awhile. I'll likely go back across the street to the hotel for a little rest and maybe some actual breakfast. Getting a priority number is a big step because it means that, barring anything unusual, you'll probably get into the taping. Some people show up later in the day to get into the stand-by line. Stand-bys are allowed into the studio if, for some reason, a seat opens up. No way am I taking THAT chance...

10 a.m. -- I'm guessing on the time here. All I know is that you're told to come back by a certain time, and you'd darn well better be back by that time. You've already committed a lot to this. The last thing you want is to come back late and be told you've missed your chance. Anyway, what apparently happens here is that you once again get to sit on the outside benches while the pages collect everyone's ticket and hand out contestant numbers. There's also a form or something to fill out with your name, Social Security number, and a signature line to acknowledge that you've read and understood the rules.

Then there's more waiting. A lot of waiting, actually, as the pages process the 300-plus people trying to get in for the taping. I imagine there will be many conversations with those around me in line. Maybe I'll bring a book, too, just to pass some time. But the important thing to realize, I've read, is that show producers may be walking around at this point observing people in line (and you don't know that they're show producers). They're already looking for people with some personality, so you don't want to withdraw from everyone else and act like a bump on a log.

At some point I know you also have to produce not one but two pieces of identification, one of which needs to have your Social Security number on it. This is for tax purposes in case you become a contestant and win anything.

By the way, to be eligible as a contestant, you must:

* Be 18 or older (check...many times over)
* Not have been a contestant on any previous version of TPIR, even from the pre-Bob Barker era (check)
* Not have been on any game show within the past year (check...it has been almost four years since my "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" appearance)
* Not be running for public office or planning to run for public office any time soon (ummmm, check)

Eventually, the pages will start handing out those pricetag-shaped name tags to everyone. You put them on the left side of your shirt, with your large contestant number hanging from the tag. At that point I guess you're free to roam around a little, though you can't leave the CBS property. There's a gift shop and a snack bar there, so those should be good time-killers.

Noon(???) -- Again, I'm guessing on the time here. There will come a point when it's time for your interview with the show's contestant coordinators. You're taken in groups of 10 or 15 to a different area, where everyone is essentially asked one question and given 10 seconds or so to answer. I'll talk about this more in a later post, but suffice to say, this is the make-or-break point when it comes to whether or not you'll be selected as a contestant. According to my boss' niece, who appeared on the show a few years ago and actually won some stuff, you have to have a little speech/answer prepared and be ready to be enthusiastic, though not overly so.

After everyone is interviewed, you pass through a metal detector and surrender any cell phones, cameras and related stuff you might have on your person (you get them back later, of course). You get to do a little more waiting, then they start to bring people into Studio 33 for the actual taping. Apparently everyone has the same reaction when they enter the studio:

(1) It's really, really cold.
(2) It's a LOT smaller than it appears on TV.

2:30 p.m. -- The taping isn't much longer than the show itself, maybe 70 minutes. By the time it's over, it will have been 11 or 12 hours since some people got into line. No matter what happens, it's going to be a long day.

Using my kids to get on the show

The question of whether or not to wear a goofy t-shirt is something of an eternal debate among Price Is Right fans and would-be contestants. On the one hand, having a t-shirt that says "I Love Bob" shows you've made some effort and are willing to work a little to get on the show. But then again, Bob rarely acknowledges these shirts once you get up on stage, so it's hard to say how much the shirt actually influences the producers when they're selecting contestants.

I've decided to go the way of the shirt. And specifically, I've decided to go with a shirt that has a picture of my kids on it, because they – and the fact that they've been watching the show since they were toddlers – are really my strongest angles. Whatever I end up saying to the "Price Is Right" producer who interviews me in L.A., I'm sure my kids are somehow going to be part of it.

Anyway, here's the photo that's going on the front of the shirt:



Then, at Terry's suggestion, on the back will be lettering that says, "Mommy wants a hot tub," or something to that effect. Whaddya think? Does that work?

By the way, we'll get more into the process of becoming a contestant in later posts, but for those who don't know, everyone who attends a taping of TPIR takes part in a group interview with a producer. That's how they determine who's actually getting onto the show (though the contestants themselves don't know they've been picked until they're told to "come on down!")

Me and Bobby B.

Since the tender age of about 4, I have been a fan – nay, a devotee – of that paragon of television excellence, the Game Show to End All Game Shows, the Greatest Hour of Entertainment Yet Offered Up By Mankind. I speak, of course, of the long-running CBS program "The Price Is Right."

My love for "The Price Is Right" (or, as it will be known here, "TPIR") knows few bounds. Throughout my childhood and adult life, whenever I've been home at 11 a.m. on a weekday and not otherwise engaged in diaper maintenance – my own and others' – or some such activity, the TV has been tuned to Channel 8 to watch Bob Barker (or, as he will be known here, "Sensei Bob") work his magic for 60 minutes. You have to understand, I absolutely LOVE this show. I mean, I really, really love this show.

So that's why, when the news of Sensei Bob's impending retirement came down several weeks ago – on Halloween, to be exact – I knew instantly what I must do. It had always been assumed in my house that one day I would visit the holy shrine that is the CBS Studios to attend a taping of TPIR and (dare I say it?) try to become a contestant. Without hesitation, I went into my wife and had the following conversation.


ME: Wife, it has come to my attention that Bob Barker is retiring in June. I think you know what I must do.

WIFE: Yes, I know. Though I long to be with you every minute of every day, I understand that you must travel to Los Angeles to meet He Whose Name We Are Not Worthy to Speak. May your trip be fruitful, my husband. May the Plinko chips fall in your favor. Now go, run like the wind and never look back.

ME: You are a faithful and understanding woman. I will share with you my winnings from the Showcase Showdown. Now I must go and make preparations for the journey.


Though I may have embellished the words somewhat, we really do talk that way all the time. The point is that she gave me her blessing, which is about Reason #5,914 why I'll love her forever.

I immediately fired up my web browser to plan for my trip to L.A. The first thing I did was to hit the CBS website to find a list of show tape dates. My thought was to go sometime in January, maybe right after the holidays for a quick out-and-back trip to La-La-Land. My eyes fell on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007. There's a 2:30 p.m. taping of the show scheduled for that day. I could fly out on Monday, attend the taping on Tuesday, and come back Wednesday. Perfect.

I called the nice folks at Continental Airlines and cashed in some frequent-flyer miles for a plane ticket to get out there. Then I requested a free ticket to the show online, secured one, and printed it out (more on this in a later post). Finally, I booked a room at the Farmer's Daughter Hotel which, while it sounds as if they would charge in 15-minute increments, is actually a very nice establishment right across the street from the TPIR audience holding area. (By the way, I already knew this because I've been trolling TPIR-related sites for years looking for tips on how to get on to the show, where to stay, when to line up for admission, etc. I'm telling you, my devotion to this show is borderline frightening.)

And just like that, my travel plans were set. I'm going out there in a few weeks aiming for nothing less than to become a contestant on the show. They actually pick contestants from the audience as you're waiting in line for your taping. Every audience member gets a very short interview with a producer, and that's how they determine who gets on. Coming up with a compelling story and interview response is going to be key to this whole process. Again, more on that in a later post.

The point is, I've created this blog because I thought 1 or 2 of you might have some interest in this little adventure of mine, though now that I actually think about it, you would probably have to be as demented as I am to care about this in any way, shape or form. I'll be posting most days between now and the day I come back from my little excursion on Jan. 10. I'll be anxious to hear your suggestions as to what I should say to the producer who interviews me, what the T-shirt I wear should say, and anything else related to my TPIR adventure.

The goal, of course, is to hear those glorious words: "Scott Tennant, come on down! YOU are the next contestant on The Price Is Right!!!" Everyone has a dream, ya know...