The moment finally arrived that all Price fans knew was coming...but most didn't want to have to face. This will be Bob's last season on the show. Bob will be leaving the show on a high note, as an 83-year old man that hosted probably the most complicated game show in history with total ease. He's a living legend and a hall of famer in the TV academy. And the comfort America had knowing they could always see him every weekday morning will be sorely missed.

With that being said, Bob's departure opens an interesting and exciting period for the show. Some predictions:

1) The show will not be cancelled on Barker's leaving. TPIR still finishes in the top 3 for all network daytime shows, including soaps. While network presence in daytime has been constantly eroding for years now, it's doubtful that CBS and its affiliates would want to give up this valuable piece of real estate, even if the show does skew ancient.
2) Internal tryouts for a new host will continue in earnest. I was part of the pricing game "training" a few years ago for a candidate who will remain nameless, and you can bet that this has been continuing in earnest, with our without the network's blessing. I would not expect to see, however, a Carson-esque on-air tryout of hosts.
3) Seats for TPiR tapings this season will get increasingly harder to come by, with seats for Barker's final show a near impossibility.

Regardless of what happens, this will result in, by far, the most publicized game show host search in history. Whoever replaces Bob will face an uphill climb in order to replace a man who represented everything from a grandfather figure, to a sex symbol, depending on the generation watching him.

And as a somewhat unrelated note, not to detract from Bob's legacy, but with his leaving the show, will CBS please open the gates to allowing TPiR reruns on GSN?

 

posted by Brad @ 2:32 PM   5 comment(s)