Once more unto the breach, dear friends...

It's January, it's cold, life is chaotic as ever. Hmmm... What to do to pass the time? Gee, how about spending Thursday at the Mecca of game shows?

After dragging my feet for decades to get around to attending my first taping of The Price Is Right, it took just two months and ten days to make it Los Angeles for taping #2.

Instead of a lengthy play-by-play of the trip, like with taping #1, instead I'll stick to highlights and fun from Television City itself. And, believe me, there was plenty of it!

Live, the Universe and Everything: When you attend a taping of The Price Is Right, you are given a number. This is so they can match up your number with the contestant card you fill out so they know who they are picking.

What number was I? You guessed it... 42! And, yes, I still have my orange contestant card (along with my nametag). At some point, I must scan it...

Happy Gilmore lives!: Fortunately, Bob is not ashamed of his cameo in Happy Gilmore, because there's no way the younger fans will let him forget it...

We had three fans show up on Thursday with T-Shirts that had a picture of Bob from his fight with Happy, with "Don't mess with Bob, or he'll give you a smackdown!" printed on them.

However, not to be outdone, we had Devon, who was attending his first taping. He arrived in a Boston Bruins jersey, and red pants - yep, he came as Happy Gilmore! Sadly, Devon was not picked. That would've indeed been priceless!

Welcome to Insanityville! Population: 325: It was supposed to be nice little taping. What nobody counted upon was the "T.S." group...

A group of retailers for a company called Tastefully Simple were at the taping, and a few women in the group were, well, wild. Everytime someone walked by wearing a contestants' nametag, they would shout out their name and start cheering... "James!" "Michael!" "Deborah!".

I had to walk past a group of people waiting to go into a taping of Tyra Banks' show to get to the restroom, and they were all sitting there, so nice and quiet and calm. I was almost tempted to say to them "Look at you. Such a nice, quiet crowd. So calm. Look at those lunatics. I can't do anything. They're out of control!", then look down at my nametag and say "Whoops, I guess I'm one of them, too..."

I don't know what lead to what, but by about 12:45, Mike and I were getting into the act, too. Everytime someone walked by, we shouted and cheered. When people finished up their interviews and walked past, we cheered. We cheered them when they found the right bathroom (yes, one guy accidentally walked into the WOMEN'S restroom!). We cheered the trash truck as it drove by. We cheered total strangers. We shouted "GO! GO! GO!" when a page ran past us. We were doing the wave. It's like we lost our minds out there...

We were even making up chants, and I came up with "GIVE YOUR BID!" (think of the commercial with Peyton Manning chanting "CUT THAT MEAT! CUT THAT MEAT!"). Mike loved that so much he decided to shout it if a contestant took too long on the item up for bids (and yes, it DID happen during the taping!).

At this point. I was now convinced that this taping was the craziest thing I've ever done, replacing the November taping...

Right in front of us were four young men from Canada, also at their first taping. As the day went on, they too were getting in the act - cheering, yelling, plotting up trouble, you name it. They kept talking about rushing up on stage and celebrating if a member of the T.S. group won, which eventually became "We'll just rush up on stage, who cares who wins!". Fortunately, they didn't rush the stage, but they gave me plenty of laughs throughout the day...

How crazy were things? During our final set of instructions from Robert (a CBS page) before going into the studio, Mike and I kept laughing at things we felt were funny. He looked at us and said "I don't know what you two are on, but I want some of it! Really." And, just before we walked in, he again said "Seriously. I want what you're on!". I should've told him the truth: Caffeine and adreneline!

The Return: Just after 2:00 pm, we once again made that walk up the stairs and into the famous studio itself. I couldn't help but to get a kick out of the people astonished at how small the set really is - knowing that just two months earlier, I was as astonished as they were.

There was little doubt in my mind how much energy there would be today. I mean, if we can spend hours cheering each other, cheering at the trash truck and laughing it up, I could only imagine what it was going to be like once the show began.

All that was left was the warmup and instruction from Rich Fields, and we were ready to go. Of course, we were plenty warmed up already...

"Please humor the old man!": It's fun to cheer at each other ("Jimmy! Woo hoo!"). It's fun getting nuts outside on the benches. But nothing beats the fun once The Man is in the house, and to the surprise of nobody, Bob was once again greeted with a wild, loud standing ovation just after 2:30 pm. This time around, I did join in with Mike for the "We're not worthy!" routine.

You, of course, cannot have Bob Barker without Barkerisms, and Bob most certainly delivered once again - both on and off camera. No, we did not get "The price is right, bitch!" on Thursday, but we got plenty to keep us laughing throughout the hour.

During the first commercial break, Bob responded to standing ovation #2 with his usual line, "Thank you, but please... One standing ovation a day is plenty!".

He then told us that they were going to be on vacation next week... "We're going on vacation after today. We'll be off for a week. So, please, let's end this week on a positive note. Laugh at all my little tricks... Please humor the old man!"

Before the second item up for bids, a woman from a group of nurses was called on down, and had more than enough energy to scare Bob a little... "Nurses are supposed to help people. Have you ever hurt anyone? Please don't hurt me! You scare me! Now, if you get up on stage, please realize I am old and brittle!"

After playing a pricing game for a car, Bob had this zinger for the audience: "The network is complaining that we are over budget. They're always saying we're over budget. Of course, we don't pay for the budget anyway. And if we go over budget, we still don't pay - so we don't care! Besides, we want to see you guys win!"

A woman raised her hand, and had two questions for Bob...

"Bob, I have two questions for you, if that is okay?"
"No, you only get one question, see?" (Bob is holding up two fingers and laughing)
"How many kids do you have?"
"I have no kids... I got rid of them all!"
"Tomorrow I will be born. Will you be my father?"
"Sure!"

And if you need fashion help, go see Bob... And the best part of this one is that Mike and I got in on a Barkerism!

"Bob, those are awesome pants!"
"You like my pants? How much do you bid on them?"
(Mike and I are sitting there, holding up one finger, as in one dollar. Bob accidentally calls on Mike, thinking he wants to ask a question)
"No, I was giving you my bid for your pants... One dollar!"
"Ohhh... Higher!"

A young woman was celebrating the big 2-1, and knew how she wanted to spend the night...

"Bob, today is my 21st birthday, and I'm going out to the bars tonight. Will you come with me?"
"You better have a large sum of money!"

And what can I say, but Bob didn't want to sign his own face...

"Bob, take a look at my shirt!" (the woman was wearing a black shirt with a picture of Bob's face on it)
"Wow, that is great!"
"I wanted you to get a look at yourself. Will you sign it for me?"
"Absolutely not!"

And here's a two-part Barkerism. A young man said the following:

"Bob, I just wanted to say you're a national treasure."
"Well, thank you!"

Right after that, a woman in the T.S. group got Bob's attention:

"Bob, we sell gourmet food, and have some samples for you."
"Gourmet food? I think that's fitting for a national treasure!"

And, if you've ever wanted to be a Barker's Beauty (I don't know about this one, only because it's been some time since I've seen a Beauty in thigh-high boots!):

"How do I become a Barker's Beauty?"
"Send your pictures to Fingers Greco... Then maybe you will be up here, modeling a new refrigerator!"

(Anytime Bob mentions writing into the show, such as when he let his hair go gray, he always tells everyone to write to Kathy "Fingers" Greco).

Bob had many more zingers that will be on the air, and you can bet in a few weeks they'll be featured here!

Acknowledging the crazy audience: No doubt Bob and Rich knew they had a bunch of live ones, and Rich got into the act with his own Richism:

"We have some crazy people here today. I can see the margaritas we gave out earlier in the day helped. Did anyone not get a margarita? Okay, see that page over there? Go talk to her!"

The karmic stomach cramp/I went to The Price Is Right and all I got was...: Just before the second Showcase Showdown, the combination of dehydration (two cups of coffee and no water), starchy food (the waffle I ate for breakfast) and overdoing it caught up, and I had the worst stomach cramps I've ever had in my life. I thought I was going to faint, and what didn't help was the congestion on the staircase as we were leaving (it took about 10 minutes to get outside)...

The original plan was to get out, get to the bus stop, and start the trip home. However, I had to get to a bathroom...

After doing my thing, I decide to sit down for a few minutes and try to get myself together. While we're sitting there, a page walks by and recognizes us...

"You two were at The Price Is Right today, weren't you?"

We told her we sure were, and loved it. She then said "Well, I think I have something you'll like" and reaches for something on her clipboard (underneath some papers)...

She pulls out two authographed pictures of Bob Barker.

So, now I have another goodie for the collection, to eventually be framed and put up on the walls, along with my Madonna posters, my Sherrie posters and photos (most of which are autographed), my pass from the 1979 Bob Hope Classic (signed by Arnold Palmer), and my autographed photo of Ken Jennings.

I most certainly enjoyed the experience, but the picture was certainly the icing on the cake. And, to think: Had it not been for my stomach cramps, I wouldn't have gotten that!

It was a real blast, and we're looking at doing it again. Very likely in March, and we certainly want to be there for the opening episode of season 35!

Now, this week's televised Barkerisms:

"That beautiful sound means one of you was exactly right, and will win $500. And I will bet you right now it is NOT Rachel!" - Bob, in response to Rachel's $1 bid

"Now, Earl, remember when you first tried to put that 9 down there, the audience booed and moaned and yelled. Which just goes to show just how much they know about what's going on here!" - Bob, taking a stab at the audience as Earl played Cover Up

"Now I will wager that never, ever will Earl go with his gut again!" - Bob, after Earl's gut feeling didn't work out

"That's a pretty sloppy cut there, I must say. They break your wrist for that in Vegas!" - Bob, on Angela's sloppy cut in Hit Me

"Where you do live, Patricia? Now, the questions get easier as we go!" - Bob, trying to put a nervous woman at ease

"She insists on fainting!" - Bob, worried that Patricia wants to join the short list of TPIR contestants that have fainted

(Just before the Showcase Showdown)
Bob: "Now, incidentally, Patricia, are you all right?"
Patricia: "I think so."
Bob: "You're gonna be all right, yes. They gave her a little tequila backstage and I think it settled her down."

"I have just found out that Emily, here, is with Bridgewater College's group that we have up here. Bridgewater College is in Virginia, and most of the people in the group here are studying communications. And if they want to learn television, they have come to the right place!" - Bob, trying to show us that The Price Is Right is also educational

"Anthony was standing there, smiling confidently... He would've let me send that poor lady outta here, you know! Keep this straight here, Barker!" - Bob, who must've drank the tequilia, because he briefly forgot that 50 cents is more than 45!

Bob: "I don't understand... No wait, wait! I do not, do not, understand what brought that reaction! I was simply telling them - there's some people here from South Dakota - that this past summer Sioux Falls, at one of the baseball games, they gave away bobblehead dolls... Bob Barker bobblehead dolls." (audience goes nuts, Rich laughs)
Bob: "Now, wait a minute. Wait a mi... All right! I feel like I'm on Truth or Consequences again, you know? I can't say that. I can't say the word because... Are they flashing 'applause' signs or what are you doing? We have a weird audience here!"
Rich: "Yes, very weird."
Bob: "But, man. I'm not going to say any more about it! I can say 'bobblehead', that's all right, yeah... That's all right, but we won't say whose bobblehead it is!"

(During the warmups, Rich instructs the audience to go nuts if they hear Bob and Barker together. Don't go nuts if he says "Bob" by itself, or "Mr. Barker", only if you hear "Bob Barker".)

"I know just how your mind is working. You thought 'That old man won't notice this!' But I did!" - Bob, after Shawn tried to pull a fast one

"Now step over there. Don't press the red button until you want to stop the Rangefinder because we can't start it again for weeks!" - Bob, finally using something besides "37 hours" on Range Game!

"I want our viewers to know that I had a very exciting few moments here during that last commercial. I learned that at Arizona State University, they have a Bob Barker Fan Club and look! We have a HUGE group from my fan club... Stand up, both of them! Now, when I express a certain amount of disappointment at the size of the group, these young ladies claim that there are hundreds of them in the club, but only these two could come today. And I'm happy to have you here!" - Bob, who should realize he has 323 other members of the fan club in the studio already

"And I didn't know what it meant then, but that was different. I was...I was a homeboy then, but with this group - there's a group here, the group is the "BOB IS MY HOMIE" group and that's good, huh? I don't speak this language today, you see? I'm about three decades behind!" - Bob, commenting on a contestant's "Bob is my homie" shirt

This week's Barkerism Of The Week shows that while Bob is hazardous to Happy Gilmore's health, Chuck Norris can be hazardous to his health!

"Now I was... I was telling the audience a story and I was interrupted by the television show - and it starts - and I didn't get to finish my story. There was a fellow in the audience asked me to tell the story about Chuck Norris. And I pointed out that I had studied karate with Chuck Norris for about eight years and that he was over at my home one day and we were sparring. He kicked me in the ribs, and it hurt a lot - and it continued to hurt. And his brother was over in another couple of days and he kicked me in the other side, and it also hurt. Eventually I went to the doctor, and I was X-rayed, and the doctor came back and said 'Bob, I can see why you're uncomfortable.' He said 'you have two cracked ribs on each side! So, I went home and I was speaking to my mother and I told her about it and she said 'I think maybe you're gonna have to stop playing with those Norris boys!'"

Barkerisms of the Week - The Price Is Still Right, bitch! Edition

"Bob, you're one of my biggest heroes!"
"One of? Who...? Who..."
"My biggest hero!"
"That's better!"

- Bob, insulted that he was only "one of" Jennifer's biggest heroes

"Now, you listen to me. That's better! Rich is describing this, and she's *imitates her looking at the audience, paying no attention*. Straighten up now, or I'll throw you back!" - Bob, giving Jennifer the business for not paying attention to Rich's description

"Whoa, careful Brandi! She almost opened that box. You know if you accidently give it away, it's coming out of your paycheck!" - Bob, making sure his beauties know how to handle the boxes in 1/2 Off (which is played for $10,000)

"Did you see that, Rich? The second I asked you for a winner for this spot, Bice tried to sneak over. She's been trying to do that all day. Is there a page over there? Tie a rope around her ankle and keep her where she belongs!" - Bob, showing how he maintains discipline

"We have a group here of librarians from all around California! Now, I have one question... Any of you read any good books lately?" - Bob, proving that reading is FUNdamental

"We're ready for the first Showcase Showdown! Are you ready for the case.. Are you ready for whatever I'm trying to say?" - Bob, leaving us to wonder if he might've spiked his coffee this morning

"And Kenneth is wearing a Corpus Christi hat here! I got my wings as a naval aviator in Corpus Christi! Yes, that was back in the war of 1812!" - Bob, claiming he found a way to fly before Orville and Wilbur did!

"Now, if that happens again, you're disqualified!" - Bob, clearly not wanting to use his "trusty Plinko stick" again

"Rich, do you think it would be interesting to finish the show with all male contestants?"
"Sure!"
"Did you hear the voices? 'No! No! No!' Very effeminite voices!"

- Bob, trying once again to turn The Price Is Right into a battle of the sexes

"Josh, you must keep in mind that if he goes again and gets 'Lose everything', you've lost nothing!" - Bob, letting Jan's friend Josh (who was in the audience giving advice) know that he wasn't the one risking $5,000 on another shot at the car

"You know, I am afraid this is going to develop into a riot today!" - Bob, after Sherry (who bid $1) punched Erik (who followed it up by bidding $2)

"Now, let me tell you, if you get me naked for a physical, you're going to be in for a shock!" - Bob, commenting on Kimberly's "Hey Bob, you want a physical?" shirt, warning her that he still has it at 82

"Frances, it seems as though it's been forever since I've seen you!" - Bob, after Frances was called on down, after he gave her a kiss during the previous commercial break

"Now, Sherry, you do realize she bid $2, right?" - Bob, letting Sherry know that once again someone bid $2 after she foolishly bid $1

And this week's Barkerism Of The week?

"The audience... If you heard this reaction when we came back, they wanted me to say a particular line from Happy Gilmore! I checked with Standards and Practices, and they would not allow me to say that!"

Of course, what Bob knows is that Standards and Practices can only keep Bob from saying that line ON the air. We all know damned well he can say it OFF the air all he wants... The Price Is Right, bitch!

This week's fun with Bob

I missed Friday's show, sadly. Fortunately, Bob was a very busy man during the first four shows this week...

"Which one did she have right before? How the heck would I know!" - Bob, after Joyce confused him - and herself - playing Switcheroo (she won NOTHING)

"You just think you're pumped... I'm going to pump you good!" - Bob, about to tell "pumped" Timothy that he's about to play Safe Crackers for a car

"Why didn't one of you bid one dollar?!?" - Bob, after the first overbid on Contestant's Row

"If this had been another overbid, you know what I was going to do? Disqualify all of you!" - Bob, after the SECOND overbid on the same item up for bids

"All the way around!! What are you doing?! BOOOOOOOOOOOO!" - Bob, after Jonna tried to finesse the wheel to .10 (she got .90 in the first spin), and didn't even get it halfway around!

"There she is on the front row. Now, wait... This is interesting... That's right. Joan, I'm a little worried about your sense of direction!" - Bob, after Joan started running AWAY from Contestant's Row after being called on down

"We had a gentleman who was here for his 17th time. He was called, and ran right on out the back door... And as far as I know, he's still running!" - Bob, bringing up the fact that Joan isn't the only one to pull a Jim Marshall

"She has a shirt that says 'Bob Rocks!', and it's true. I have a rocking chair, and I sit and rock whenever I want!" - Bob, making light of Christine's "Bob Rocks!" T-Shirt

"I see, it's on your shirt! Why did you wait so long? Where do you live?"
"Gardenia!"
"She couldn't make it that far... I was going to talk about it, instead I'm just going to show you this!"

- Bob, taking a stab at Joni's "I've waited 30 years to meet Bob!" T-Shirt

"It took an hour?! I can see why you waited 30 years!" - Bob, still having fun with Joni's 30 year wait - and Joni's hour-long trip

"I think I'm going to quit putting. You know, I used to make all the putts. But I read that even professional golfers, when they get older, they get the yips. I think I've had the yips for about 30 years now!" - Bob, after missing yet another "inspirational putt" on Hole In One (Or Two)

"With Joni as the contestant, we should've had a driving contest, not a putting contest!" - Bob, after Joni hit both of her putts way, WAY too hard

"I don't know if that will get all the way around or not... Oh, Joni! BOOOOOOO!" - Bob, after Joni decided to join Jonna and be booed

"I am breakable! She has squeezed the air completely out of my old body. I don't know if I have the strength to explain this game to her now!" - Bob, after Jodie tried to squeeze him to death before playing Bonus Game

"You stand over here. You're a dangerous woman. Don't touch me!" - Bob, clearly scared of Jodie

"Here she comes, and she can be dangerous. I better be careful. I may be attacked from behind if I don't turn around. Careful! Don't strike me!" - a still-frightened Bob, worried about Chandra (who was quite excited) coming up on stage

"Careful. Yes. It's a dangerous day here on The Price Is Right!" - Bob, after Jodie nearly slipped while spinning the big wheel

"Now I think she's confused. Now I know she's confused! This has become a whole new game!" - Bob, wondering what Jean was doing while playing Easy As 1-2-3

"She's taking things off.. I hope she doesn't go too far with that!" - Bob, after Johanna took her purse off her shoulder when she was called on down

"I want you to know Johanna - now you may still win. But if you don't win that popcorn machine, I have one to sell you! And because you're a sweet lady, I'll give you a huge discount. I won't sell it to you for $9,999 - I'll give it to you for an even $9,000!" - Bob, offering Johanna a discount after one of the dumbest bids ever ($9,999 for a popcorn cart/machine)

"Here's the bid everyone in America is waiting for! Now, let me point out that we can only put four digits there!" - Bob, before Johanna's bid on the next item up for bids

"I hope you're kidding about that neutered on your shirt, Daniel. I tell you to neuter your pets. Well, it's too late now!" - Bob, pointing out Daniel's shirt, which simply said "Neutered"

"You still have some money to buy some gasoline. Not much, not much gasoline..." - Bob, after Paul won Lucky Seven, and still had $3 left over

"Carolyn, be very careful driving home!" - Bob, after Carolyn fell on her butt (and broke a few lights) spinning the big wheel

"Spin the wheel, Mattie, and don't fall down! Get it all the way around, and don't fall!" - Ranger Bob offering a safety tip to the next spinner

"They were going to do Happy Gilmore 2, but Adam Sandler's doctors said he couldn't take another beating like the one I gave him!" - Bob making like Mr. T and predicting pain (and proving that the price is still right, bitch!)

"Now this is getting really boring, you understand?!" - Bob, frustrated with more overbids on Contestant's Row

A million laughs once again... But for this week's Barkerism Of The Week:

"People are going to think this is the Jerry Springer show going on down here!" - Bob, after Holly, Gretchen and Vicki took turns hitting each other after being frozen out by each other's bids on Contestant's Row

NOW IT CAN BE TOLD!

With episode #6,310 finally hitting the airwaves, I can now offer full insight and thoughts into the events that I watched unfold live on November 16, ***5...

All I have to say, before I start offering my thoughts and insights, is that this was just surreal to finally watch the episode on television... I mean, to turn on The Price Is Right for a first-run, brand new episode and KNOW what was going to happen because I watched it live nearly two months before America saw it...

Did it make it any less exciting? No. I was excited, but then again, I had all these fun little secrets about episode #6,310 that I've been quiet about for nearly two months..

The first pricing game of the day was Make Your Move for a a laser measure, a sofa, and a trip to Tampa. When Meredith put the trip to Florida as $2,619, I thought she was wrong, wrong, WRONG. I saw the board and thought "That trip to Florida HAS to be $3,526. Switch that with the Measure!". She definitely had the sofa right...

A very pleasant surprise when she did turn out to be right. Good for her, and what a way to start taping #1!

Next up was One Away. Jeanette was in line a few people behind me, and I knew before we even entered the studio how badly she wanted to win a car. When they revealed that Pontiac Grand Prix, I was so thrilled for her. I thought "Hey, you wanted a car, and there's your chance!".

Normally, I am terrible at One Away, but when she got only two horns, I knew she had to change the middle three. When she changed the one, I was immediately bummed - I knew it just wasn't going to happen.

Poor Jeanette was shaking and on the verge of tears when she walked off the stage and down the aisle past me.

This was the loss that led Bob to say "You know, I don't think it's such a bad thing when a contestant doesn't win a car. Another one for my collection. When cars aren't won, Rich and I get them. We split them 50-50. I went to Rich's house last week, and he had a line of cars two blocks long!"

At this point, no doubt I was enjoying my trip to LA more than Jeanette. But, the day was still young....

Third on the list was Plinko. Oh dear!

My first reaction at seeing that board was horror. The bane of my TPIR existance. Stinko! The game that seems to be played everytime I turn on my TV is going to be played in person!

I began to lose my passion for Plinko when about 15 years ago that female contestant won all five chips, then managed to win $0! That left a bad taste in my mouth...

But, that being said, I was pulling for Andrew. And you can just imagine the deflation in the audience when Andrew dropped 5 chips and won a whopping $500 because four of them found the dreaded zero. I mean, nobody has ever won the maximum on Plnko, and the odds are believed to be over 59,000 to 1 of it happening. But $500? Heartbreaking!

Bob, during the commercial break: "You remember that woman who got five $0's on Plinko? She shot herself in the parking lot!"

What can I say, but the Plinko board is evil. EVIL!

Not a very good start...

Showcase Showdown #1: Well, the dream is alive for Jeanette. At that point, I'm hoping it took away some of the sting from One Away... She certainly looked pretty damned excited after she won her way into the Showcases.

Item Up For Bids #4: John Goodson?! I can't believe he slipped my mind, considering that we had a Janice Pennington in the audience, a James Brown in the audience, and a Deborah Gibson (me). What on earth, was this the celebrity edition of The Price Is Right?!

(Jonathan Goodson is the name of a game show producer, and the son of Mark Goodson - the man who created The Price Is Right)

Next up was Take Two for a baseball mitt chair, a computer, two guitars and dinnerware. I was absolutely lost as far as a first guess. But when I saw the $800 on the chair, I knew Elizabeth should've gone with the chair and guitars. Sadly, she did not...

And at this point, Bob is desperate for a winner, and to get the crowd fired up. During that commercial break, he asks "Do I have a bunch of losers here?! I'm trying to give away this stuff! Come up here and win it!"

The fifth game was Pass The Buck for a Ford Focus. No car for Kara, but she hit all three money spots and walked away with $9,000 (I believe this was the first time this has ever happened). And, quite honestly: If that had been me playing PTB, I would've rather won $9,000 than a Ford Focus! I don't drive, but if I did, I sure wouldn't want a Focus...

John (how can we have The Price Is Right without a Goodson?! Then again, we should've also gotten Janice Pennington!) closed out today's pricing games with Pick A Number, playing for a bed and sleep set. If you thought I was horrified seeing Plinko.. We could see the bottom of the game underneath the giant price tag, and I immediately turned to Mike and said "What the heck?! Didn't they retire that wicked thing!? I guess not..."

I mean, Pick A Number is definitely in my top 5 of least favorite pricing games. The set is ugly, the game is boring, and the prices are typically repulsive...

The 8 was obviously a very easy choice with it being a bed, and the first digit being a two. Fortunately, John closed out the pricing games on a good note (and a goodnight!) after a very tough day...

Not exactly the kind of won-loss record I wanted to see for my first taping, but it was still fun to watch.

John would win the second Showcase Showdown, and square off against Jeanette in the showcases. With John as the top winner, he had the choice to bid or pass on showcase #1.

The first showcase was a collection of cordless phones, a motorcycle and a ski boat. Very, VERY nice showcase. John chose to bid on this showcase, passing the second to Jeanette.

John bid $29,500 - which I was fairly sure was a reasonable bid, but I was a bit worried that he might be barely over...

At this point, I was thinking "Wow, I guess we're going to see nothing but furniture for the second."

However, while asking John to bid or pass, and for his bid, they began setting up for the second showcase, so those of us in the audience saw the Route 66 sign in front of door #3 before they even revealed Jeanette's kick boxing equipment. And the first thing that popped into my head was "Jeanette, girl, you're getting a shot at redemption..."

Jeanette seemed thrilled over the kick boxing equipment. She really seemed thrilled when they offered the trip to Spain...

But now, it's freak out time.

Imagine the absolute shock when they opened door #3, and sitting there was a black 2006 CORVETTE!

Obviously, we knew we were looking at one big showcase. I was thinking $52,000 myself, and when she bid $61,000, I thought "Oh no. Oh no!" I could just see the look of pain coming when Bob would tell her in a few minutes that she had overbid... At that moment, my thought was "John, if you didn't go over, you're going home happy."

John did not go over - his showcase was $33,350, leaving him with a difference of $3,850.

So, Bob walks on over to Jeanette's podium, and grabs the envelope concealing the actual retail price of her showcase.

"Jeanette, the actual retail price of your showcase is..."

I'm wincing, I'm thinking "I'm so sorry", I'm so set to groan...

"Sixty three thousand...."

The place erupts, and Jeanette just starts freaking out!

"...three oh two, for a difference of $2,302!"

Jeanette, who needs a Pontiac when you're leaving with a fucking 'VETTE! She had just won the biggest regular daytime showcase in TPIR history, and won one of the most expensive prizes ever given away.

"There she is, standing next to her new Corvette. Is that not a bee-u-tee-ful picture?!" It is indeed. I mean, she wanted to win a car so badly. She was so heartbroken when she lost the Grand Prix. And the day ends with her winning a Corvette. Redemption. And, a dream come true for her...

Good for her!

She runs on over to check out her new car, and Bob Barker signs off on episode #6,310, leaving me with memories that will last a lifetime.

A moment after the cameras quit rolling, Jeanette made her second walk up that aisle sobbing. And me, normally a very reserved person, did the unthinkable: I walked up to her, took her hands in mine, and said "Congratulations! Congratulations! You have no idea how happy I am for you..."

I meant it, too. I mean, we both showed up on that fateful Wednesday morning as total strangers, both with a goal. I wanted to see Bob Barker. She wanted a car... I got to hear "The Price Is Rigt, bitch!", and she got a fucking Corvette!

I'd say we both went home very, VERY happy... I hope she enjoys that car. And it truly warms my heart to have been there for that.

What a blast. What a blast to relive it on television... I have to do this again!

This is Madonna, reminding you to help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered... And I'll see you again in 18 days, Bob!

Barkerisms Of The Week - SPECIAL edition!

"I hope Anita wins - because she has no idea what she just bid $800 on!" - Bob, after Anita wasn't paying attention to the item up for bids.

"Anita is living proof that on The Price Is Right you don't have to know what you are doing!" - Bob, after Anita actually WON her way up on stage on that same One-Bid!

"Before we go any further, let me point out.. That is the prize you're playing for! That Ford Mustang!" - Bob, continuing to needle Anita

"Did that go all the way around? It didn't go all.. Booo! Booo! Booo! Spin it again!" - Bob, after Denise decided to become This Week's Contestant To Be Booed By Bob

"That was a blow to the solar plexus, wasn't it Troy?" - Bob, after Rebecca froze out Troy on the first One-Bid on Thursday (Rebecca was frozen out herself by Julie

"He (Troy) says he's going to kill himself if he doesn't win. He knows one product for sure. After that? Ladies, he needs help!" - Bob, during Troy's playing of Grand Game

"The nuts? Is it the nuts? The nuts! NUTS! NUTS! OH NUTS!" - Bob, after Troy loses Grand Game, going for $10,000

"Christopher was telling her 'Go go go!' and she almost did it. Shame on you!" - Bob, after Christopher (who had 80 cents) tried to encourage Katherine to spin again when she also got 80 cents (and would've forced a spinoff had she stayed - which she did)

"What are you going to bid? WHEN are you going to bid?!" - Bob, after Julie took her time deciding what to bid

"I love this contestant! Most contestants up here are like *imitates a contestant sliding the marker back and forth, looking at the audience*. She just came up and did it! I love her! She might be wrong, of course...." - Bob, after Meredith quickly set her prices on "Make Your Move" (and yes, she did win)

"Rich, might I point out that both of our contestants have come from this spot, and we kept being left with the same three leftovers." - Bob, just before the third One-Bid

And this week's Barkerism Of The Week is...

(Whoa! Wait!)

Wait! Stop the presses.. Because we've just been presented with some Barkerisms that the rest of America didn't get to see. Welcome to this week's SPECIAL edition of Barkerisms Of The Week!

"There's nothing worse than a drunk Canadian!" - Bob, taunting Eric and his film crew

"Get up, make another bad bid, sit back down already!" - Bob, to the three contestants waiting for the second One-Bid

"You know, I don't think it's such a bad thing when a contestant doesn't win a car. Another one for my collection. When cars aren't won, Rich and I get them. We split them 50-50. I went to Rich's house last week, and he had a line of cars two blocks long!" - Bob, after Jeanette lost One Away playing for a Pontiac (more on her later this weekend!)

"Shut up and smile. You haven't won anything yet" - Bob continuing to taunt the "leftovers" on Contestant's Row

"You remember the woman who played Plinko and got five $0's? She shot herself in the parking lot!" - Bob, after Andrew played Plinko and won only $500, because he put four chips into 0.

"Do I have a bunch of losers here?! I'm trying to give away this stuff! Come up here and win it!" - Bob, after the fourth pricing game, which resulted in 1 win (Make Your Move) and three losses

"No. No damned way am I giving my car away!"- Bob, after Alexander asked him if a car he saw on stage a couple years ago was Bob's

"And that's EXACTLY why I don't want him on camera!" - Bob, after a female contestant said "But he's cute!" after discussing why Rich Fields isn't shown on camera

And now, your special Barkerism Of The Week...

"Now, Eric, she wants me to say 'The Price Is Right, bitch!' Should I? You don't think I should? Well, then, I'm not going to say it!"

Hello America! And CONGRATULATIONS, Jeanette!