I've been browsing thru Ken Tucker's book,Kissing Bill O'Reilly-Roasting Miss Piggy:100 things I love/hate about Television,and find him to be a rather grouchy fellow. I use to read his tv write-ups in Entertainment Weekly and enjoy some of his opinions(he atleast appreciated Buffy as a good show) and while I can certainly agree to disargee,some of his dislikes are puzzling to me.
One that caught my eye was that he hates The Price Is Right,claiming it to be a gaudy carnival
spectacle that only requires contestants("hungover college students")to know "rudimentary addition and the price of a love seat at Wal-Mart". How can you hate The Price Is Right? It's one of the best examples of goofy game show fun. The audience is not just made up of college kids but also retirees and middle aged homemakers(very red state,I suppose). Where else are you going to see both the older and the younger generation compete on equal terms?
Yes,Bob Barker is a animal rights loving lech(he still gets alittle too excited with female contestants) but at this point,he's rather quaint. I only object to his drawing out the suspension towards the end of a pricing game-he really milks the time hardcore,big audience teaser. Also,the pricing games are cool-how can you hate Plinko? In case you don't know,Plinko is a large scale version of those handheld pinball games that your mom buys right off the toy store rack. I also love the mountain climber game,where if you guess wrong ,the yodeling fella falls off the cliff. Kitsch at it's finest,people.
To each his own,I guess. Ken's a nice guy but can you trust the wisdom of a man who hates The Brady Bunch like they killed his dog(then again,Jan was always abit offcenter there)but loves Full House and ABC's TGIF line-up?
Pop Culture Princess
especially welcome to extensive readers
2 comments:
See,Plinko rocks! Even Little Sister loves the Plinko. I don't know what it is with EW writers sometimes. Oh and the Showcase showdowns,with those weird themes and mix of prizes such as
a coffee machine,a pool table and A NEW CAR!!!-totally campy cool:)
You're not that bad-those dopes deserve what they get! I do wish Let's Make a Deal was back on(Ken Tucker hates that one,too)-seeing folks in wacky costumes competing for prizes sounds so Waltons compared to the stuff we get now.
Post a Comment