User:Daniel Benfield/Price Is Right Seasons 4-8 Video Archive

After expanding to an hour, The Price is Right began adding games at a decently rapid pace not seen since Season 1. This page covers Seasons 4-8, spanning 1975-80.

Big thanks to Golden-Road.net and The Price Is Right Summaries for much of the info and placement below. Note that the airdates shown are per the episode numbers; any reschedulings done by CBS are noted.

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos, only a few of which were uploaded by me, for the purposes of research and as a public record. Footage ©1975-80 Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions/FremantleMedia and associated entities.

Season 4 (1975-76)
September 1, 1975 - July 2 [August 27], 1976

The season that pretty much changed the show: to celebrate its 3rd Anniversary, Price did a special "Anniversary Week" from September 8-12, with each show running a full hour with nine contestants, six One-Bid rounds, six pricing games, and (to determine who played in the Showcase) two Showcase Showdowns (with the Rainbow Wheel).

While the show reverted to its standard half-hour timeslot afterward, it permanently expanded to 60 minutes on November 3.

1975
 * September 8, 1975 (#1581D/Anniversary Week, Day 1: Golden Road, Grocery Game, Most Expensive {first playing with the second set}, Any Number, Range Game, Give or Keep {taped 8/30/75, aired 9/12/75}; studio master, first segment and most of Showcase Showdown #1 only {alternate copies: slate and complete SCSD#1, same source; slate and intro from the "old" master copy; first Showcase Showdown, also from the "old" master copy but includes preceding CNAOS plugs})
 * [By this point, several changes have been made: the curtains behind the audience become rainbow colored (previously all yellow), Range Game's base becomes blue (previously brown), and the Give or Keep board becomes green (previously brown). At this point, Golden Road still has its original lever-based price reveal and Grocery Game still has its striped table.]
 * September 12, 1975 (#1585D/Anniversary Week, Finale: Lucky Seven, Hi-Lo, Double Prices, Card Game, Shell Game, Range Game {taped 8/31/75, aired 9/10/75}; studio master with slate!)


 * October 27, 1975 (#1651D: Any Number, POKER GAME, Most Expensive {taped 10/11/75}, with Bert Convy appearing to congratulate the show on expanding to an hour and a "Bicentennial Salute" to Jackie Robinson; studio master with slate!)
 * [By this point, Anitra has returned. Also by this point, Poker Game automatically makes the best hand from the player's picks (previously, the player decided their hand themselves).]

Show expands to an hour permanently, standard Big Wheel debuts (began 11/3/75)
 * November 3, 1975 (#1661D: Golden Road, Grocery Game, Most Expensive, Any Number, Poker Game, Give or Keep {taped 10/20/75}; taped from GSN, quality isn't the greatest {alternate copies: slate and intro, from the circulating-for-years master copy; Showcase #2, from the DVD set's master copy})
 * [By this point, several changes are made: Golden Road uses a push-button reveal method, Grocery Game's table has a red-brick appearance, and the sides of Any Number's board become green.]


 * November 21, 1975 (#1685D: Some order of Hi-Lo, Any Number, Most Expensive, One Right Price, Temptation, Give or Keep {taped 10/ or 11/75}; audio of Johnny Olson's warmup only)
 * November 26, 1975 (#1693D: Temptation, Grocery Game, One Right Price, Ten Chances, Give or Keep, Clock Game {taped 11?/75}; taped from GSN)
 * [Has a Thanksgiving Showcase. By this point, Ten Chances' "right answer" cards have changed from red to blue.]


 * December 11, 1975 (#1714D: Give or Keep, Ten Chances, Double Prices, Temptation, Shell Game, Race Game {taped 11/18?/75}; taped from GSN, via "WinTV")
 * [Opening titles are still just "One Hour". They changed to "HOUR POWER" by the 19th (#1725D).]
 * December 31, 1975 (#1743D: Lucky Seven, Double Prices, Give or Keep, Five Price Tags, Clock Game, Most Expensive {taped 12?/75}; taped from GSN)
 * [millenniumman75: "About Most Expensive, this may have been the last time they would use the stands to reveal the prices. The reveal of the outdoor furniture price was so far back and under the umbrella shade that the tag was hard to see (it was also brown which didn't help). After this, they started holding the tags up to turn by their heads in the January 1976 episodes."]

1976

"Walking", the traditional opening/"come on down" cue, replaces the original cues in mid-February.


 * January 6, 1976 (#1752D: Lucky Seven, Shell Game, Clock Game, Most Expensive, Card Game, Hi-Lo {taped 12/2/75}; taped from GSN {alternate copy, from a "WinTV" airing)
 * [At this point, Most Expensive's price reveals are still done the same way they were at the beginning of the run (flipped, usually at arm's length, in front of their respective podiums).]


 * January 22, 1976 (#1774D: Golden Road, Grocery Game [for a FUR COAT!], Clock Game, One Right Price, Five Price Tags, Poker Game {taped 12/23/75}; studio master with slate)
 * [One of the models on this episode was Mary Poms, who also modeled on game shows such as The Wizard of Odds, Catch Phrase, and the 1967 version of Temptation.]
 * February 25, 1976 (#1823D: Some order of Most Expensive, Clock Game, Shell Game, Hurdles, Money Game, Double Prices {taped 1/27/76}; studio master with slate, clips only)
 * [Last show of cameraman Rick Tanzi, who appears on-camera several times. Also has a FUR COAT, explaining why this episode never aired on GSN.]

Season 5 (1976-77)
August 30, 1976 - July 1 [August 26], 1977

Anitra Ford, one of the show's original models, leaves in late December. Three models try out, with one (Holly Hallstrom) becoming the show's new permanent third model around mid-February.

1976

1977

Sometime between about early April and May 23 (#2391D), a $100 bonus is added for a perfect bid in Contestant's Row.

Season 6 (1977-78)
August 29, 1977 - August 25, 1978

Probably most infamous for a couple of incidents that happened on consecutive shows (September 14-15), the latter being Alene fainting after winning her Showcase.

One of the show's bigger pricing game missteps comes in November, with the introduction of Professor Price...which gets retired after its second playing a week later.

1977
 * September 14, 1977 (#2473D: Clock Game, Secret X {debut!}, Any Number, Double Prices, Ten Chances, Hurdles {taped 6/27/77}; taped from GSN {alternate copy from an earlier GSN airing, lower quality and is about two minutes shorter})
 * [Yes, we all know what episode this is. And while the uncensored footage is around (complete with slate), I'm not linking to it.]
 * September 21, 1977 (#2483D: Lucky Seven, Clock Game, Grocery Game, One Right Price, Secret X, Card Game; taped from GSN, first two seconds or so missing)
 * [Secret X is still staged the same way it was on 9/14, and its question marks are still not present.]


 * November 11, 1977 (#2555D: Golden Road, Give or Keep, then some order of Range Game, Safe Crackers, Hi-Lo, Dice Game {taped 9/27/77}; studio master with slate and commercials, ends shortly after second segment)
 * [By this point, several changes are made to Golden Road: the original carpeted "road" has been replaced by the standard gold dots, a velvet rope has been added, and the push-button price reveal method has changed to the standard pull-tabs.]

1978
 * March 17, 1978 (#2735D: Any Number, Secret X, Most Expensive, Double Prices {for a FUR COAT!}, Hole In One, Race Game; taped from KOLN or KGIN {not sure which} with commercials, begins during first calldown)
 * [By this point, most of Any Number's stripes have been painted green.]

Season 7 (1978-79)
August 28, 1978 - June 29 [August 24], 1979

By far the rarest season, with GSN only ever airing one episode. Even then, there's only a few clips of some other episodes around.

Pricing game-wise, the show had two big failures this season: Shower Game and Telephone Game; the former was played just ten times, while the latter got just three. On the other hand, the season also introduced It's Optional (which stuck around until 1983 and remains the only proper two-car game), Penny Ante (which stuck around until 2002), and the show's first cash game Punch-A-Bunch (which is still in the rotation). Punch-A-Bunch and Penny Ante were pretty different in their earliest playings, though.

Probably the biggest change comes on December 12 (#3072D), when the green sections and Bonus Spin debut in the Showcase Showdown. Also by December 12, the Big Wheel's walls add pink Pricedown dollar signs, which remain until March 1988.

1978

1979

Punch-A-Bunch's standard rules debut on January 5 (#3105D), while Penny Ante's standard format debuts on March 30 (#3225D).

Season 8 (1979-80)
August 27, 1979 - June 27 [August 22], 1980

In early October, the fully-orchestrated version of "Walking" (used during the intro) is replaced with an identical edit of the version used for the rest of the show.

Three pricing games debut this season, all in the Spring: Barker's Bargain Bar, Trader Bob, and Grand Game. While Bargain and Grand are still in the rotation today, Trader Bob was kicked out in 1985, shortly into Season 14.

1979
 * December 19, 1979 (#3523D: Grocery Game, It's Optional, Most Expensive, Range Game, Give or Keep, Money Game {taped 11/79}; taped from GSN, first few seconds missing, average video)
 * [Has what I'm guessing is a rarity in Give or Keep: Bob going over to the small prize podiums (he normally just stayed next to the board).]

1980

Sometime between about early March and June 24 (#3742D), the "3 Strikes" sign changes from green to gold.