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...