His first tweet:

"Drew Carey here! First Tweet! Taping season premier of The Price Is Right on Monday. Unbelievably cool change coming. AND special guest! :)"

G-R already seemed to confirm this is the real Drew. What do you think the change could be? Personally, I'm thinking a giant cash bonus for well done double-showcase wins (i.e. within $100). As for a guest, I have no clue...

What do you think?

The Little River Band will be performing? :) It could be many things. We already know of the out-of-town contestant searches.

I've got the inside track on this:

Poker Game becomes Strip Poker Game. Get two pair and you win.

Get two pair and we all win.

And Drew will say in interviews for years to come "She got two pair, and they both came out on CBS".

What could it be?

They haven't done the contestant searches yet, so that can't be it. EDIT-Unless it is just an on-air announcement.

A new game? Maybe Drew created it. He always thinks the things he does are amazing.

They just raised the bonuses for the Big Wheel this season, so that's probably not it. Maybe the bonus for a perfect bid goes up to $1000.

The DSW window has been $250 for a while, maybe this season it goes up to $500 to match the Million Dollar Spectacular window.

Speaking of MDSs, maybe one game every so often will be designated a "special prize" game, where winning under certain circumstances wins a very nice bonus prize in addition to the regular prize on offer.

The only other thing I could think of is a change in the format, but I'm not holding out hope for that.

Maybe they're going back to the legacy music cues. That would be cool, and unbelievable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EieK9NE9C6o

I Will Love To See A Double Showcase Jackpot to TPIR next season it will start at $10,000 and increases $1,000 if it's not won.

I think I got it....they're going to start giving away the mini doughnut maker away in EVERY game. And forget limiting it to games like Half Off, Cliff Hangers, and Spelling Bee- it's showin up in Grocery Game, Double Prices, and even Let Em Roll! Forget rolling five cars- roll five donuts, and you get this f'n sweet mini doughnut maker!

That would be unbelievably cool.

Approves

We haven't been able to break out this gem in a while.

No, no. Re-read the twit's Twit. He said "unbelievably cool." Your suggestion only covers "unbelievable." Based on past analysis of shows, complex analyses of all production personnel, and a gaze into Madame Ruth's crystal ball (you know, that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth?), I can state conclusively, and without reservation, what the change will be next season. Now bear with me, 'cause it gets a little tricky. All changes occur during the former Showcase Showdown, currently called the Big Spin or a Combination of Two Spins. (The title of Showcase Showdown now applies to the formerly named Showcases to conform to popular usage.)

First off, the order of players during BSCTS is determined by a complex mathematical algorithm, whose parameters include the number of times the word "Drew" appears on the contestant's person, the number of people to whom the contestant plans on giving shout outs during his or her spins, the number of audience members who are wearing outfits identical to the contestant's, and the number of times the contestant feigned excitement over a prize that was not a car.

Second, the spaces are arranged in order on the wheel to give contestants a better shot at "aiming" for the $0.40-space. Why would they aim for $0.40, you say? Well, that's the new target. "But Dale," I can almost hear you all bellow, "isn't there an awfully big chance they'll go over $0.40?" Actually, there's absolutely NO chance anyone will ever be over, since arithmetic during BSCTS is modulo 40. That is, a contestant can spin $0.40, $0.80, $1.20, $1.60, or $2.00 and still win, since all these amount are congruent to $0.40.

Finally, the pay-offs. If you get $0.40 (or any congruent amount; see above) in one spin, you win both as-yet-unrevealed showcases in the Showcase Showdown (see further above), as well as $1,000,000 and a copy of Priceless Memories. Getting $0.40 in a combination of two spins (after all, this IS BSCTS; see the most recent 'see further above') nets you $500,000 and a special filter for your television that prevents you from seeing Bob Barker in high definition. (I ask you: Which is the bigger bonus?)

Cool? You bet. Unbelievable? Most definitely.

\If not, then legacy cues would be awesome.

And if you don't, you get *two* copies.

/easy, but makes me giggle every time

I think I've just been Bamboozled. :)

The problem with that is, it makes it almost impossible to show reruns. "Why did the jackpot suddenly go down?"
If they didn't have a problem with reruns, the Check Game checks wouldn't always say, "Today, 20-Now", and Drew would mention what month "Now" is in "Now...or Then".

As to what it could be, I think it's safe to rule out the return of the purple wheel.

I hope it's not the long-rumored "both showcase showdown winners alternate bids on the same showcase."

Here are some possibilities - some more credible than others:

• They're changing the displays on Contestants Row and/or in the showcases to video screens like they use for the scores on Jeopardy!.
• Punch-a-Bunch will be more like Plinko, where you don't risk anything to continue, although maybe there will be a "risk everything for one final punch worth double" sort of thing.
• The Grand Game will start with a 2, like it does on prime time.
• The one-dollar bonus for the wheel is $5000, but you have to risk it for the bonus spin, which is worth $50,000
• Hole in One...or Two will now include a windmill.

-- Don

If it isn't the return of Professor Price, I'm done watching the show forever.

(/s?)

Time for a cool change?

Maybe Wilford Brimley will make personal appearances to give "contestants not appearing on stage" consolation gifts of diabetes supplies from Liberty Medical. Gotta get those fee plugs in....

Please, it's diabeetus.

Rapidly becoming my favorite Tonight Show Conan bit. :)

/It's kick app!
//Don't spit on the twit

To me, the Letterman fan, it's the ONLY segment Conan has done that has been laugh out loud funny.

Exactly. It will be neither unbelievable nor cool when it's revealed they "accidentally" painted the wheel neon orange with pink polka dots this time.

/Guesses the return of 3 Strikes
//But to save time, the contestant is spotted 4 numbers and 2 strikes

What would be wrong with that?

Alternating showcase bids would be a nice throwback to the Bill Cullen version. I like the retro-feel of it.

The fact that it's a lame kludge to fix what isn't broken leaps to my forebrain.

Wouldn't the "alternating bid" format make the showcase round LONGER? The bidding could conceivably go a LONG time.

If they're not going to bring back any of the high-stakes Pricing Games like Golden Road or Triple Play next season, here's what I would suggest adding:

If a contestant wins both Showcases, he/she gets to spin the Big Wheel one more time for a chance to win $100,000. The rules for the $100K spin would work the same way as the post-Showcase Million Dollar Spin on the MDSs that were hosted by Bob Barker.

How is it a lame kludge? I've never heard that criticism before.

As for "fixing what isn't broken", I'm not swayed. I bet a bunch of people (like Dobkowitz) said the same thing about going hour-long. It's not a good enough reason to not do something that may work better.

A kludge is a workaround where you slap something together in an attempt to fix something, typically involving computer parts. My point is that the Showcase Round isn't broken in the first place. They've had two showcases, one bid each for thirty-seven years now.

Going to an hour after two years when what you're doing is adding more content to what became a popular show makes sense. Changing a recognizable portion of the show after 37 when they don't need to make the change ruins all sorts of iconic-ness and momentum. Do they "need" to keep things the same? Yeah, they do. Much of the appeal is that you're going to see the same stable of games and the planned rounds in the same order every time. The Showcase to close the show would be changed from a moment of high drama to one where the bidders grope back and forth, in Double Bullseye fashion, until one person flukes into a win.

Remember, I like it when people more or less earn their haul by virtue of being good at something, or at least better than someone else at it. To that end, American Showcase accomplishes that more than Double Bullseye Showcase does.

On the Australian show, they would start by giving the contestants a $100 range in which to bid. "Tonight's Showcase is between $26,700 and $26,800."

There is one single compelling argument for changing to the Australian Showcase system: budget. If they need to reduce the prize budget, an easy way to do it is to switch to a format that doesn't give away a Showcase away every day.

But since they're jacking up payouts on the Big Wheel and such, budgetary issues don't seem to be a problem, so I agree with your overall point.

(Besides, they made this bed when they decided that the first show of the season should be all car games and that Punchboard should have a two-kajillion dollar card on it and what-not.)

And there's one compelling argument against that - an experienced producer can manipulate the games and prizes to get the budget back in the black; they don't need to change a 37-year old aspect of the show.

Do you suppose the unbelievably cool change would be at the announcer's mike?

More likely, they get rid of the whole "without going over" thing in Contestants' Row, Card Game and the Showcases. After all, it only causes sadness. And nobody remembers Cullen's version anyway.

But isn't the show's problem that they've been losing momentum ever since Barker left? I'm not saying that this will fix everything. Drew has to get better at explaining games and interacting with contestants. They need to be creative with the Showcases again. This could be part of a big resurgence, though. You can only live on past iconic-ness for so long.


I think that's some of the appeal, though I imagine a lot of the appeal has to be that 1) they get to be on TV in an era where people become instantly famous for doing anything, 2) they get to meet a host they (presumably) like and 3) they get to win stuff, a lot of which they may not have gotten otherwise. If you keep the somewhat-liked host, the being-on-TV part and the giving-away-stuff part, I think the format is more flexible than some people either realize or are willing to admit.

You like that, but would the average viewer really care? The Aussie Showdown has drama, especially as they get within 10 dollars, and I think it would be more consistent. Far too often this season, one of the bidders obviously underbid or overbid on their Showcase, sucking out most of the drama.

But wouldn't that sort of fit the new MO more? This season, the show's offered much more expensive prizes (designer goods, Apple computers, wine fridges that cost as much as some compact cars), but they've adjusted by making it more likely that contestants will lose not just the car games, but also the quick, one-decision games. This would be the same. They would get to advertise that they're offering $50,000, $60,000, $70,000 Showcases while knowing full well that it will happen only once every...um...well...how often did a contestant win the Showcase in the Aussie version, anyways? Regardless, they get to play like they're a primetime show with a daytime budget. If Pyramid comes back as a million-dollar show in daytime, I think there will be more pressure to raise the stakes.

My first thought: One or more "classic" models will return.

That's why it would seem fresh and new!

Drew just posted a couple pics... can't really tell much though.

http://img36.yfrog.com/i/sirfmf.jpg/

http://img37.yfrog.com/i/yzdo.jpg/

Wow, the Wet Paint game! I can hardly wait!

You're going to have a hard time convincing me that Drew spends his free time shilling for the show by posting to the Internet, much less hanging in studio 33 snapping pictures of the Wet Paint game.

Very possibly. I was just citing an argument against Travis's assertation of "fixing what isn't broken" that if they're giving away too much money, that might be "broken" and the Aussie Showcase would "fix" it. But my followup was suggesting that there are a bunch of other places they ought to cut first.

Looks as if they're putting the classic colors back on Contestant's Row, instead of the pastels. That is an extreme closeup of the bottom of the Bidders Row displays between Red/Blue (obviously).

...and what are the DIRECTOR and HOST doing on set on a Sunday, anyway?

In the picture of DiPirro (who, BTW, looks 19 and sorta like the fat kid from Head of the Class), it looks like they're putting the MDS lights that were all around the edge of the stage back up for regular episodes. With that being said, my money's on the shiny black floor becoming permanent.

But, of course, that could mean the end of the two red daisy asterisks in front of Contestant's Row :(

They could always give the black floor asterisks of a different color...if it were me doing the set, I'd make them a nice shade of gold.

Maybe they're bringing back Gallery Game.

Now *that* is something to shudder about.

Nitwits! They're bringing back Professor Price. A fanb0i told me that when Drew heard about Professor Price, he thought it was so high-larious that he demanded they bring it back.

And the Hollywood mural. Some wise-ass says they're bringing it back, too.

Whoa there captain. I was joking (I know you are too...but since:
...don't want the wrong impression coming across!)

The only reason I can see DC showing up on a non-tape day like this is because this "OMG COOL CHANGE" involves him and he had to rehearse.

(I thought they did tapings Sun-Tues, now they are "back" to Mon-Wed...when'd that change?)

I'm not sure Professor Price would be such a bad idea with Mr. Carey at the helm. It would certainly bring some dignity and decorum given the bad comedy they've been doing.

Well, Drew spends some of his free time playing Second Life, as well as tweeting, blogging and whatever else. I'd find it in the realm of possibility, myself. I figure it's a combo of what tpirfan said and the fact he uses a lot of technology already; he was probably there for some other reason and couldn't help but post a few things.

-Jason

That was only a few times, and then only because of scheduling conflicts.