The Price Is Right/Funny: Difference between revisions

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So naturally, ''[[The Price Is Right]]'' has created a ton of Funny Moments.

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== In General... ==

** Or when the opposite happens and a contestant who bid, say, $899 gets one-upped by another contestant bidding $900, only to find out their bid was on the nose, meaning they get a $500 bonus while the punk who pulled that cheap shot gets to wallow back to their seat.

* Double Showcase Winners. Most contestants will bid conservatively, limiting how often these big wins come along... but when they do, the reaction on their faces is always spectacular.

 

== Bill Cullen (1956-65) ==

* Circa 1959 (daytime): A promotion for the Barnum & Bailey Circus had an elephant brought onstage, who then proceeded to relieve itself of its...um..."[[Unusual Euphemism|burden]]".

* January 27, 1960 (nighttime): The first IUFB was a midget car. As Don Pardo described it, he began to break up laughing because model Toni Wallace couldn't get the thing started. She finally did after the description and cruised the car to stop in front of the contestants. Bill assured the contestants that the car they win "will have a motor".

* June 29, 1960 (nighttime): Contestant Kenneth Jones returned after a week off, following a "Honeymooners Special".

'''Bill''': And you didn't start off well tonight, either! }}

** Jones won the first item, a dining room set, and got so excited he fell off his chair and the curtain, raised at the start to show the item, was lowered over him.

* October 5, 1960 (nighttime): Bill entreated all the Yankees fans on the staff to give him his moment of glory as his team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, defeated New York in Game 1 of the World Series, 6-4 (the Pirates would win the series in seven games). The first IUFB was an ensemble of costume dresses modeled by twelve girls, all of whom surrounded Bill after being described. Bill passed on some sage advice to males across the country:

** The first contestant, Paul Nordlund, saw the girls and this exchange took place:

'''Bill''': Holy wife, my cow is watching! }}

* December 25, 1961 (nighttime): A blooper which remained dormant until resurfacing in August 2011 involved a bonus prize of an evening gown. As the model (Judy) turned around to show the low-cut back, everyone could see [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie7fLlEezSk#t=3m16s a tear] right at the "back" of the gown.

'''Bill''': To our wardrobe mistress here, I said "''low cut''", but don't overdo it! Judy, I'm sorry-don't catch cold! }}

** Bill then mentions that the contestant will have to have the gown repaired, and the show will send her to a seamstress they know...'''in Paris'''.

* November 26, 1962 (nighttime): The contestants were bidding on a dry heat sauna. Thomas Linge was the fourth contestant, and bid $1,300 on his first turn. Upon his second turn...

(''audience laughter'') }}

** (On the original ''Price'', "freeze" meant the contestant wanted to stay at his/her current bid and was out of further play. The audience took Linge's comment as wordplay.)

* March 13, 1963 (nighttime): At the start of the show, Bill introduced the fourth contestant (Anthony Kochinski) and asked who he had in the audience to see him. His reply? "The original tranquilizer twins — my mother-in-law and my wife!"

** Later, Zip the chimpanzee had the audience rolling as he demonstrated a pair of roller skates as an IUFB (it had a bonus attached to it) — twice, Zip fell on his fanny.

* July 26, 1963 (nighttime): The third-to-last NBC episode had Bill starting right off describing a bonus a contestant had won the previous week (a role as an extra in a movie) and followed that by going straight to the first IUFB. Somewhere during the prize description, it dawned on Bill that he forgot to interview the contestants.

* August 28, 1964 (nighttime): The third-to-last nighttime episode of the original series saw Bill plugging the [[Home Game]] (''Bid It Right: The Price Is Right Card Game''), only to discover that the returning champion didn't get her second copy the previous week.

 

== Bob Barker (1972-2007) ==

* September 4, 1972: The ''first episode of the revival'' had several of these.

** Connie, the very first contestant to play a pricing game (that being Any Number), was loud and somewhat jumpy. Bob also had this little gem before the game:

** Following the very first Showcase, which featured a trip to Acapulco:

'''Bob''': Sure you can! Just go out to the Pacific Ocean and turn left! }}

* September 8, 1972: Boo Boo Cooper, the second person ever to play Grocery Game, didn't completely understand its rules. Bob more than makes up for it.

'''Bob''': Trust me, it's great [[I Need a Freaking Drink|on the rocks]]. }}

** Her performance there caused the rest of the show to be somewhat rushed. She managed to get to the Showcase, and showed that she wasn't paying attention to Johnny Olson's prize descriptions:

'''Bob''': ..."Are the [six] clocks wound or unwound?" I know, I know... }}

* Circa 1973, when it was still the New Price is Right: A contestant is about to play Clock Game and voices how she doesn't like the game and she wanted to play a new pricing game. Bob got "offended" and the rest is history.

* 1975: A lady playing Shell Game asks her mother for help.

* September 14, 1977: This episode featured the debut of Secret X...and opened with Yolanda Bowsley, a contestant whose tube top also "came on down". Bob had no idea what was going on, so after he made his entrance, he saw the excessive amount of cheers and applause, got confused, misinterpreted it, and said things like "Whatever brought this, this is the way I want it from now on!" Bob would be informed of the incident after the first commercial break.

** Before the last One-Bid, the final contestant called down almost had a similar incident. Of this, Bob said that she was "the best thing to happen to this show since Yolanda!"

** Years later, Bob would [[Lampshade Hanging|hang a lampshade]] on the whole thing by saying "She came on down and [[Keep Abreast of This Index|they]] came on out!"

* February 27, 1980: A funny segment all-around, but Squeeze Play [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2ShLgDxqcI#t=3m15s just isn't cooperating.] And Bob insists on neatness.

* November 10, 1980: The first Grand Game win (long believed to be the debut, but was actually the eighth playing) in which Pauline (a Samoan) chased Bob around the stage.

** Samoans in general seemed to love Bob [[Yandere|just a little TOO much...!]]

* 1981: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjcQhLbK-9o A game of Cliff Hangers] in which all sorts of things go awry. Most notably, after the contestant guessed on the last prize, the mountain climber was shown falling off the cliff... but then the winning bells were heard and the price revealed that she had missed it by just enough that the mountain climber should have stopped on the very last step. This causes Bob to bring Roger Dobkowitz out from behind the prop to give an explanation.

* Christmas 1983: Toward the end of a Temptation playing, the concealer for the last number in the car's price was stuck partway. Bob tried pushing the button several times to no avail, then the contestant started hitting it herself; the concealer finally dropped upon her third or fourth hit, revealing that she had won.

* January 10, 1984: During the open, Johnny Olson called for [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCjPvqYvOL0 Susan Derbeck.] She, expecting to hear her future last name of Dupont, didn't stand up for ''35'' seconds. After she finally came down, Johnny introduced Bob, but he wasn't there...and didn't appear for ''15'' seconds.

* February 8, 1984: Ethel.

'''Ethel''': You were chasing me in the hayloft. }}

* December 1984: An [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1DRBiHt9xQ incident] shortly after One Away debuted had Bob under the mistaken assumption that the "correct number" horns would be used after the contestant's second turn as well. Upon asking for the first horn, the standard bell sounded instead and the first number of the price was revealed; Bob, after asking if she had "one number right" (noting that the first number was ''already revealed''), hit the flat part right above the price — i.e., the signal to move the price reveal another digit down. Bob continued to ask for horns, not noticing any of this, until the price had been fully exposed.

** Making this a little weirder is that none of Bob's shenanigans were necessary — the game had been won immediately after the first number was revealed, as it was the only one left unchanged.

* Christmas 1984: In a game of Pick a Pair, the contestant didn't make a match on his first try. Bob then told everyone the correct match and started explaining that he knows because the cards hiding the prices stick far out front that you could look in from above and see the price, then he realized that the contestant still had a second chance! Needless to say, the contestant won.

* 1985: An older lady about to play Clock Game ''really'' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12v6brzpM0g didn't want a computer.]

'''Bob''': After you make a remark like that, what the hell are we gonna do with no computers on this show in the future? }}

* August 21, 1986: On the second nighttime special, the fourth number accidentally revealed itself during Lucky $even. As the contestant had been asked to give the ''third'' number, and the fifth was revealed at the outset, this resulted in a win. (The fact that the last number was revealed at the outset during an era of $10,000 cars, which in turn meant the player really only had to guess ''three'' numbers, [[It's Easy, So It Sucks|didn't help matters]].)

* October 6, 1986: The Shell Game cheating incident had several of these through Bob — his reactions to the contestant (Deborah) and, later, playing up the rather anti-climatic reveal. Upon winning her first chip, she lifted one of the four shells (which didn't have the ball under it), and saw that the ball wasn't there. After Bob scolded her, she put her chip next to ''the shell she just looked under'', to which Bob said that she was sweet for doing it but added "that's ''dumb''". After Deborah won the last two chips (and marked all the shells except the one she lifted), the audience applauded the upcoming win. ("You know, I'm pretty sure she's won this...").

* 1987 (or thereabouts): Dian [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NhDG64a0AQ makes] a [[Freudian Slip]].

* February 26, 1988: After the sixth item up for bids was shown, Bob notices there's a book of ''The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows'' as one of the books. When he noticed that his picture wasn't on there... [[Berserk Button|he ordered that book be thrown away]].

* 1991: The fourth contestant's shirt says "LEAVE ME ALONE"...so Bob does just that.

* November 30, 1992: A younger contestant named Cherish [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8598Ozc951U spins the Big Wheel] ''backwards''. Bob quickly stops the wheel.

'''Bob''': Well, you ''were'' different. Now be normal. }}

** She then proceeded to spin the right way...and [[Moment of Awesome|got the dollar]].

* 1990s: An ''extremely''-excited contestant named Ruby Jean got called down, but she instead ran ''past'' Contestant's Row and onto the stage, shrieking as she embraced Barker.

'''Ruby Jean''': I'm up ''here''. (''realizes her mistake, then shrieks in embarrassment before scampering for Contestant's Row'') }}

** A similar moment when a very old lady named Lily got called down and went up onstage next to Barker.

(''Bob laughs'') }}

* January 20, 1998: A contestant [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEBbsZK39es playing Clock Game] gave several slow, random guesses and, with about 15 seconds left, backed her way into the right answer of $749. Bob was stunned and sat down for a few seconds to "regain [his] composure".

* February 11, 1999: Brian makes [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NteSTaJdmI his first Clock Game bid] on a dinnerware set — $89, then $105. Bob soon caught on and reprimanded him for bidding so low on dinnerware. "You couldn't buy those ''saucers'' for $89!" Brian proceeded to bid $45, then claimed he said $485 when Bob asked for clarification. The game continued until Brian made a bid that sounded like "eight or nine hundred". Bob's stunned silence right before time runs out is priceless.

* November 1, 2000: The easiest playing of Ten Chances '''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j_ByXHdjOM#t=1m23s ever.]''' (Oh, and a few minutes later? ''{{spoiler|Automatically qualifies for the Showcase.}}'')

** The logical inverse was [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw7foZVv-j0#t=10m00sec this] playing, mostly because the contestant was a [[Brainless Beauty]] who staggered through every chance she was given. At the end, when {{spoiler|she wins}}, Bob sits down in shock and starts talking away from his mic.

* June 6, 2002: The big reveal in Flip Flop was averted by a stuck price cover. Although the price was revealed enough that the outcome was known, Bob and the contestant ended up [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQmI8Clfms4 ripping the cover in half], shaking the game board considerably in the process.

* October 2, 2003: Bob spins the Big Wheel for a wheelchair-bound contestant...and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGGokl1Rmgg fails to get it all the way around.] His response? "This is the most humiliating moment of my life." And then Bob hands the microphone to the contestant and ''spins the wheel with both hands''.

 

== Drew Carey (2007-Present) ==

* October 2008: Drew has his own problems with [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxGGRxoYouM Flip Flop.]

* October 14, 2008 (aired October 7): Rich Fields [[Helium Speech|inhaled helium]] as part of a Showcase skit, then inhaled it ''again'' for his sign-off. Part of it was [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRhIyc6HpPY seen and discussed] on ''[[The Late Late Show]] With [[Craig Ferguson]]''.

** Special mention should be made to the Cliff Hangers music playing during one contestant's Showcase Showdown spin...and said music slowing down as the Big Wheel did.

* April 20, 2009: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_d61LOAFr4 This Spin-Off.] First spinner gets the dime, the second gets '''the {{spoiler|nickel}}'''. (Bonus points for the winner looking an awful lot like [[Santa Claus]].)

* March 4, 2011: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bNxfH2zTmE More Cliff Hangers wackiness] when the stagehand is ''just a bit'' late in stopping the mountain climber...

* April 3, 2012: One of the small prizes used for a game is introduced as a "non-stick waffle maker". When it is opened to show the waffles inside, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMtIJv_1jjs a waffle sticks to the top].

* May 11, 2012 (Mother's Day show): Edited out of the actual show, but when special guest [[The Brady Bunch|Florence Henderson]] and her "eye candy" model Johannes drove out the car for Lucky $even, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7AJxCzE4tQ Johannes accidentally steers the car into the frame of Door 3].

 

== Dennis James (nighttime, 1972-77) ==

* (Nothing as of yet, but here just in case.)

 

== Tom Kennedy (nighttime, 1985-86) ==

* (Nothing as of yet, but here just in case.)

 

== Doug Davidson (nighttime, 1994-95) ==

* (Nothing as of yet, but here just in case.)

 

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