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...