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Thursday, January 18, 2007
Barker’s last bark
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rodney Ho reporting from Pasadena, CA: Bob Barker, who began hosting “The Price is Right” when the Watergate break-in was still considered a minor robbery, explained to TV critics Thursday afternoon that at age 83, he just felt it was time to step down.
“I want to retire while I’m still young,” he joked.
Then Barker got more serious about why he’s leaving now: “It marks the 50th anniversary of my time on television. And it marks the 35th year of the ‘Price is Right.’ And we’re way up there in the ratings, right on top. And we have people lined up, sleeping out there on the sidewalk, to see our show. And I want to go out on top.”
Though his gait has slowed, the engaging Barker still exudes warmth with a sharp glint in his eye.
His scariest guest: He said there was a Samoan woman who lifted him up and thrashed him about. “Frankly,” he said, “I was terrified.” Then a second Samoan woman did the same thing. When a third one came along, he told her not to touch him. But when she won a new car, he said she lifted him up even higher than the other two. “I’m never going to Samoa,” he cracked. “My feet would never touch the sand.”
His personal abilities at guessing prices: “I would be a terrible contestant. I know nothing about prices. I’ve never paid any attention because I can’t win. Why should I? So sometimes when I go and do interviews, the writer will show up with a brown paper bag and say, ‘I’m going to test you, Bob.’ And I make a damn fool of myself every time they do it.”
Why do college students love his show so much?: “If I could explain that, I could make millions of dollars!” He said one time 15 years ago, he saw a group of college students and pointed them out. Then other groups came and soon it became a tradition, with students wearing matching T-shirts and chanting his name. He said his hilarious appearance punching out Adam Sandler in the film “Happy Gilmore” a decade ago may have also fueled his popularity. Young adults are always asking him at tapings to say his line, “The price is wrong, b——!” (During the press conference, though, he kept misquoting the line, saying it was “The price is right, b——!”)
How does he stay so peppy?: “Booze.” Pause. “Not actually.” Pause again. “Well, actually yeah.” In reality, he says he exercises regularly and is a vegetarian to boot, which he thinks gave him the energy to stay on the show five extra years.
**Why did he settle out of court those spate of lawsuits by former employees?: “These were frivolous lawsuits based on distortions, exaggerations and outright falsehoods. And we could prove that in court.” But he said it made more sense to settle from a financial standpoint.
He and CBS are planning a huge “Price is Right” farewell special in May on primetime with a million-dollar wheel though his final original episode will likely air in June.
No replacement has been named.
The Question Oprah Didn’t Ask
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You gotta hand it to Oprah. She played by the rules in her just-aired exclusive interview with 15-year-old Shawn Hornbeck (the boy allegedly kidnapped over four years ago) and his parents, Craig and Pam Akers: The rules set down by Shawn’s family and maybe the authorities (“I agreed to respect certain boundaries and not ask what went on during that four-year period.”) And the rules of journalism that say sometimes you have to ask the tough questions (“I’m gonna go there and ask what do you think happened?,” Winfrey calmly asked the Akers nine minutes into the show. “Do you think he was sexually abused?”)
Sadly, they do. Craig Akers also said there were different types of abuse and that “I have no doubt that mentally he’s not the same boy he was.” But they couldn’t say much more than that because as they’d already explained to Oprah, they haven’t yet asked Shawn anything about what happened on the day he disappeared or during the 51 months he was gone. On the advice of child advocacy experts, they said, they “were advised not to ask Shawn any questions” and to have trained professionals on hand when he is finally ready to talk.
So, um, what were they doing letting Oprah ask them questions about it instead?
Seriously, maybe there was a completely good explanation for this family that’s been through so much going on the most popular TV talk program in history to sort of share their pain and tiptoe up to the edges of off-limits topics like sexual abuse. Maybe they wanted to show the world they were doing OK, considering (really, it was heartwarming to see Shawn nestled between his parents on Oprah’s couch, smiling shyly and gripping their hands out of what sincerely seemed like love); Maybe, as Craig Akers said rthe day Shawn was found and reiterated to Winfrey, they want to give hope to other families of missing children. Maybe, understandably, they just wanted to do something nice for themselves after four years of horror. Maybe it was a combination of all three. Who knows?
The point was, Oprah never asked. Which was sort of weird for the woman who never leaves a stone unturned. Along with all the other intriguing questions that have swirled about what’s been dubbed the “Missouri Miracle,” it sort of hung in the air uncomfortably throughout the show. Frankly, as good as it felt to see them all doing fairly well, I’d almost rather they’d stayed home and worked on these profoundly difficult issues in the privacy they so richly deserve. And with the professionals who will prove so helpful. Mostly, though, I wish Oprah — who, it must be said did an excellent job otherwise — had asked why they’d agreed to be on her show. The answer might have been enlightening. At the very least, it wouldn’t have left me with any doubts about the motives of anyone involved in this high-profile program. Including our own, for feeling a bit like voyeurs for being unable to turn away from the TV…
An Office romance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Office” fans are still buzzing about the recent episode in which Michael accidentally sent out a spicy photo of Jan and Michael from their Carribean vacation in an email to everybody in the office. The office employees even created a life-sized blowup of the photo.
The twist was that Jan, who plays Michael’s supervisor, still knew nothing about the photo by the end of the episode.
The actress who plays Jan, Melora Hardin, had a theory. “I don’t think anyone sent it to Jan. I think people are scared of her,” she said at an NBC party in Pasadena Thursday. “Deep down, nobody wants to hurt her. That would have put her over the top.”
Or maybe, Hardin said, they just thought: “She’s hot. We’ll just enjoy the poster!”
Taking her character to the psychiatrist’s couch, she thinks Jan has “created a persona that has gotten her far in the corporate world. But she’s still a woman. And [Michael] doesn’t mind the imbalance of power. If we had fantasy sequences on the show, you’d see her in a dominatrix outfit!”
Indeed, “I imagine [Michael] as a 17-year-old kid when they’re in bed together. His enthusiasm carries it all the way!”
In the next few episodes, she said the relationship will become more open even if it’s rather inappropriate since she’s his boss.
1/18: Survivor survives
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rodney Ho reporting from Pasadena, Calif.: CBS didn’t offer much in the way of news Thursday morning at the Television Critics Association meeting, with no new dramas set to air the rest of the season and just one comedy, “Rules of Engagement.” In fact, the network announced that “Survivor” is getting two more cycles in 2007-08 the day before.
But CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler did get to brag to TV critics this morning that CBS is currently No. 1 among 18 to 49 year olds, a situation that would have been unheard of a few years ago when CBS’s reputation was rather dowdy. Its strategy of success is more akin to the more stable “steady as we go” approach rather than a handful of buzzworthy star shows on Fox and ABC.
The difference: a handful of criminal procedural type shows (“Criminal Minds,” “Without a Trace,” “CSI,” et.al.) that repeat well but don’t get a lot of heat because they aren’t serialized like “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Heroes.”
All in all, dull is good for CBS. One plaintive reporter, trying to milk something out of the session, asked what the media could write about CBS this spring.
“I think with the changes in ‘CSI’ and what’s happening with “Jericho,’ with ‘[The Adventures of Old] Christine’ moving to 8:30 [on Mondays], with ‘Rules of Engagement,’ we’re very excited about that,” Tessler offered. “Oh, and we’re sending off ‘King of Queens’ at the end of the year. They’ll be a lot to talk about.”
Or we can get back to gabbing about “Heroes” and “Lost.”
Tessler did talk about possible shows that might land on the fall schedule such as “Swingtown,” set in 1976 and featuring three couples who, well, swing. That could be a controversial show down the road.
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