User:Daniel Benfield/Price Is Right 1990s Syndicated Video Archive

Syndicated, Daily: September 12, 1994 - January 27, 1995 (80 episodes, taped July? 1994 - January 1995 at Television City)

The third (and, so far, last) syndicated version of The Price Is Right was hosted by Doug Davidson. As the previous syndie run had run into timeslot and ratings issues for having "Nighttime" in the title, this series was called The New Price Is Right...and instead got confusion over whether the daytime show had been canned or Jonathan Goodson had replaced the "old" cast. One of those who noted the confusion of others was Barker, who isn't exactly the most trustworthy guy...not to mention that he had a slight smirk when he hinted that this version had been canned.

In the end, aside from the near-total overhaul and aforementioned confusion, TNPIR '94 never really got a foothold due to wall-to-wall coverage of the OJ Simpson trial, and was booted off at midseason. Still, several elements unique to this version (see below for a few) were later adapted on the daytime Price and/or nighttime specials, including many of the music cues. Notably, the Big Door panels used on this series replaced the daytime ones at the start of Season 25 in 1996, albeit repainted to slightly different versions of the daytime patterns.

On a personal note, this was the first version of Price I ever saw, airing around 3:00 AM on then-independent station WDZL. I vaguely remember my mother and I getting up to watch the show, although for whatever reason I never taped any episodes (or if I did, they got lost somewhere along the way). For years, I had only vague memories of this version outside about two clips from tpir.tv (long since closed down) until a great guy named J.M. Vargas sent me three episodes in late 2005...and to my surprise, the last of said shows (specifically, the 9/19/94 episode) had WDZL's logo pop up in the bottom-right corner.

Maybe that's why I like this version so much, or maybe it's because of its uniqueness and fresh approach to a format whose daytime series hadn't really changed much in years...not to mention that they didn't have to deal with Barker.

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos, none of which were uploaded by me, for the purposes of research and as a public record. Footage ©1994-95 Mark Goodson Productions/FremantleMedia and associated entities.

Major Changes
From what I can tell, at least, and not including the format or set.


 * Jay Wolpert, who had produced Price from 1972-78, returned as producer for this version...and as a result the Showcases returned to their more plot-based form prevalent during most of his original tenure. Roger Dobkowitz wasn't involved with this one, for better or worse.

Format

Probably to make it stand out more, this run had the format somewhat overhauled:
 * There was no Contestant's Row; instead, each player called down immediately went onstage to play a pricing game.
 * There were two different Showcase Showdown formats: "The Price WAS Right" (watch a commercial from a specified year, bid on the price of the item back then), and the standard Big Wheel (aka "the backup because we don't have enough old clips researched"). In both cases, the contestants stood in the same order they were called down.
 * The winner of the Showcase Showdown played an upscaled Range Game: after picking a range at random during the preceding commercial break (from $4,000-$10,000 in $1,000 increments), the player saw that night's Showcase. The range itself went from $10,000-$70,000.

As with the previous syndicated runs, this series also had a higher prize budget, with Showcases ranging from about $20,000 to $60,000 (daytime Showcases at the time ranged from about $9,000 to $30,000). Despite this, Grand Game and Punch-A-Bunch were still played for the standard $10,000.

And the lack of Contestant's Row? Evidently, someone in Australia years later thought that was a great idea; the resulting show was the cheap-and-shoving-Big W-plugs-down-your-throat 2012 version of Price.

Pricing Game-related stuff
 * Magic # used a special staging with the Double Prices podium. For at least its first playing of this run, it used the daytime staging. Vlcsnap-2011-08-20-20h25m21s241.png
 * At least once, Plinko used a layout with three $0 spaces, two $5,000 spaces, and the other amounts raised. This was discarded in favor of one mostly identical to daytime, albeit with $2,500 replacing $100. The pricing, however, involved $100+ small prizes with the higher-lower guessing method. Also, since there was no Turntable, the Plinko sign was positioned at the back of the audience, as it had on the daytime show for at least 1983.
 * Choosing products during Hole In One had two methods during the run: the daytime style (order the products, after which the prices are checked), and one where each item's price was revealed immediately after it was picked. The $500 bonus was retained.
 * At least once, Punch-A-Bunch had players punch out their holes one at a time rather than all at once.


 * 3 Strikes ditched the luxury cars, giving the first number for free, and could have said number repeat. At least twice, there was a gag of putting an object (such as a mummy hand or rubber chicken) into the bag prior to the game, which Doug would pull out while explaining the rules.
 * Barker's Markers was renamed Make Your Mark, with a new sign covering the daytime logo.
 * In SuperBall, each ball was rolled immediately after being won.
 * In Lucky $even, a harp gliss played as the doors opened, and the buzzer was used for wrong guesses.


 * Games normally played at the Turntable (with two exceptions; see below) were done at center stage. As a result of this, Shell Game didn't use its sign, although its $500 bonus was retained. Probably also as a result, Any Number and One Away used the car reveal style from Lucky $even. Tnp_47.jpg
 * Squeeze Play was played either at center stage (as it had been until sometime in Season 10) or in front of the Video Wall. The former setup had the prop between Doors 1/2 or 2/3, presumably depending on the prize offered.
 * Clock Game used the Video Wall rather than its own prop, although the graphical setup for home viewers had two styles: one resembling a peace sign (contestant at top-left, timer at top-right, prize and price at bottom), the other using a horizontally-flipped version of the Range Game split-screen layout (contestant on left half of screen with timer superimposed, price at top-right, prize at bottom-right). Some episodes used four-digit prices with a $1,000 range provided, while others used three-digit prizes and awarded a third prize as a bonus for winning the game.


 * Grocery products were nonexistent: Golden Road started with a small prize or fishbowl of cash, while Hole In One and Grand Game used small prizes.
 * Ten Chances wasn't altered, but had something pretty amazing happen despite this version running so briefly: it was played perfectly (won in the minimum of three chances) twice. (There might have been a third such win, based on ATGS posts, but I can't confirm.)

Pilots
Two were taped on July 16-17, 1993, with Bob Hilton announcing. While Davidson hosted the first, the second was hosted by Mark Kriski, weatherman for then-independent Los Angeles station KTLA. The only major set differences were that the Video Wall was surrounded by the colored spotlights from the 1986 primetime specials, and the Showcase used a repained Range Game rather than the unique rangefinder prop the series had.

While the Davidson pilot used the series' standard format, the Kriski pilot played its Showcase differently: the contestant simply had to bid within $10,000 of the actual price to win.

Clips of these pilots, including some behind-the-scenes shots, appeared in the series' intros.

Misc./Uncertain Placement

 * September (or so) 1994 (WTKR promo for tomorrow's episode, airing at the reasonable time of 4:00 PM)
 * September (or so) 1994 (WKEF promo for the show, airing at the reasonable time of 5:30 PM)
 * September (or so) 1994 (KOIN promo for the show, airing at the reasonable time of 4:30 PM)


 * 1994 (Compilation of clips, uploaded by Doug himself)
 * 1994 (? {unknown car game}, Magic # {Rochelle?}, Secret X {Stephanie}; taped from WRAL, begins just before first price reveal of second game, somewhat bright video, ends during credits)
 * [Magic # uses its normal Davidson staging; The Price WAS Right has its logo and intro. May be October 18.]

Big Wheel used (all of these have the first intro)
 * September 14, 1994 (Clock Game {Teresa}, Temptation {Anthony}, Squeeze Play {Michelle}; taped from WAVE {alternate copy})
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The New Price Is Right". Clock Game has the "two squares and rectangle" overlay (nothing behind the timer) and two prizes offered; Squeeze Play is played between Doors 2 and 3.]


 * October 12, 1994 (Plinko {Patricia}, Safe Crackers {Jennifer}, Lucky $even {Ronald}, with a full credit roll; audio issues throughout, opening montage and fee plugs missing)
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The New Price Is Right". Plinko has its mostly-daytime layout.]
 * October 17, 1994 (Safe Crackers {Roman}, Temptation {Joan}, Swap Meet {Karen}, with the Big Wheel used)
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The Price Is Right".]

Original Intro
"The Price WAS Right" started off with no logo or intro; those were added by #0015N. Shortly after that, Showcase winners began getting the clangs and whoops normally associated with big wins; previously, it was the standard dings.

No logo or intro for "The Price WAS Right"
 * September 12, 1994 (Premiere: Money Game {Ugochi}, Race Game {Jeffery}, Magic # {Katherine})
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The New Price Is Right". Magic # has its daytime staging.]
 * September 22, 1994 (Plinko {Tracy}, Ten Chances {Patricia}, Most Expensive {Brett}, with an amazing second game {alternate copy, quality is a bit lower})
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The New Price Is Right". Plinko has its "three zeroes" layout.]
 * September 23, 1994 (Lucky $even {Penny}, CREDIT CARD {Christopher}, Safe Crackers {Beverly} {alternate copy, grainy video})
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The Price Is Right".]
 * September 26, 1994 (Safe Crackers {Craig}, Hole In One {Roya}, Switch? {Emma} {alternate copy, Safe Crackers prize description and entirety of other two games' gameplay missing})
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The Price Is Right". Hole In One uses the daytime method for picking items.]
 * September 28, 1994 (SuperBall {Kemiye}, Squeeze Play {Gregory}, Danger Price {Ondrea}; taped from WRAL)
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The Price Is Right".]
 * September 30, 1994 (3 Strikes {Trisha}, Shell Game {Peggy}, Switch? {David})
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The Price Is Right". 3 Strikes "item in the bag" gag is a rubber chicken.]


 * October 7, 1994 (Hole In One {Terrence}, Squeeze Play {Cheryl}, Swap Meet {Carla}; taped from WCYB)
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The Price Is Right". Hole In One uses the daytime method for picking items; Squeeze Play is played between Doors 1 and 2.]

Logo and intro added to "The Price WAS Right" (early episodes following this change still use the dings for Showcase winners)

Yes, I know some of these look a bit out of order (which I don't normally do), but there is a reason for it. Unfortunately, since it'd out-and-out spoil stuff if I had the reason visible on the front end, they're only visible on the back end.

From this point onward, with rare exception, Doug is introduced as "the host of The New Price Is Right".


 * September 13, 1994 (#0015N {taped 7/24/94}: Hole In One {Joselito}, Switch? {Tereasa}, Safe Crackers {Sharon}; taped from WRAL {alternate copy of some portions from the studio master, including slate!})
 * [Hole In One uses the daytime method for picking items.]


 * September 15, 1994 (Any Number {Sharon}, Shell Game {Lloyd}, Shannon} {alternate copy})
 * [Squeeze Play is played between Doors 1 and 2; Hole In One uses the daytime method for picking items.]
 * September 21, 1994 (Lucky $even {Zurgell}, Magic # {Daniel}, Plinko {Rachael}; taped from WRAL {alternate copy, quality is a bit lower})
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The Price Is Right". Plinko has its mostly-daytime layout.]


 * September 27, 1994 (Cliff Hangers {Nadine}, Dice Game {Jason}, Danger Price {Misty}, with the Big Wheel used; taped from WAVE, with commercials)
 * September 29, 1994 (Hole In One {David}, Clock Game {Elbert}, Squeeze Play {Krista}, with David stopping in Contestant's Row, Doug's daughter making an appearance, an unorthodox Squeeze Play setup {does 7-3-9-9-5 look right to you?}, and the Big Wheel used {alternate copy})
 * [Hole In One uses the daytime method for picking items; Clock Game has the "two squares and rectangle" overlay (with a purple diamond behind the timer) and offers a bonus prize; Squeeze Play is played at the Video Wall.]


 * October 31, 1994 (Lisa {Any Number}, Stanley {Switch?}, Glenda {Shell Game}, with a Halloween Showcase; has commercials)


 * November 7, 1994 (Any Number {Marjorie}, Plinko {Nina}, Swap Meet {Michael}, with Marjorie stopping in Contestant's Row; taped from WCYB)
 * [Plinko has its mostly-daytime layout.]
 * November 10, 1994 (Shell Game {Kelly}, 3 Strikes {Jason}, Switch? {Cristina}, with a rare incident in The Price WAS Right; first segment, The Price WAS Right, and Showcase only)


 * October 4, 1994 (Safe Crackers {Carol}, 3 Strikes {Keith, GREAT contestant!}, MAKE YOUR MARK {RolaAn})
 * [By all indication, this was Make Your Mark's only appearance on this version. 3 Strikes has no "item in the bag" gag.]
 * October 25, 1994 (Squeeze Play {Lisa}, Hole In One {Kevin}, Danger Price {Carol}, with the "Echo-Echo-Echo" Showcase; taped from WAVE, Showcase only)


 * November 1, 1994 (Ten Chances {John}, Grand Game {Cheri}, Switch? {Stacy}, with Doug entering from the back of the audience and an amazing first game)
 * [Likely taped from WTXF, given the closing voiceover (referencing a "Fox 29") and the fact that WTXF was still owned by Paramount Stations at this point (this version of Price was distributed by Paramount Domestic Television).]

Second Intro
A shortened version, cutting out most of the behind-the-scenes, '93 pilot, and non-TNPIR '94 clips. Also, whereas the first intro ended with the dollar sign appearing and the logo's words forming themselves out of various generic prizes, the second intro ended with the logo already formed.

All below episodes use The Price WAS Right. I have no idea if the Big Wheel was used during this part of the run.


 * 1994-95 (SuperBall {Antwahn}, Clock Game {Julie}, Switch? {Jacqueon?}; ends early in full credit roll)
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The Price Is Right". Clock Game has the "two squares and rectangle" overlay (with a purple diamond behind the timer) and offers a bonus prize; Switch? is played with Doug and the contestant in front of the Video Wall, for whatever reason.]


 * November 8, 1994 (SuperBall {Wendy}, Safe Crackers {Robert}, Switch? {Julie}, with Doug seemingly completely forgetting about the SuperBall)
 * November-December 1994 (Plinko {Avinelle}, Temptation {Billy}, Most Expensive {Elizabeth}, with Doug entering from the Video Wall; taped from WCYB)
 * [Plinko has its mostly-daytime layout.]


 * Early December 1994 (Golden Road {Cherry}, Secret X {John}, Magic # {Beth}, with Lauralee Bell in the Showcase; taped from WUAB, with commercials)
 * [Magic # uses its normal Davidson staging. One promo is for a contest with a deadline of December 16.]
 * December 1994 (Finale?: One Away {John}, Danger Price {Barbara}, Grand Game {Jolie}, with an "after-party" Showcase seemingly hinting at the show's demise)
 * [Doug introduced as "the host of The Price Is Right".]