A little more than a year after my appearance on The Price Is Right set off an Internet gawkfest, another one is blowing up. On Tuesday, contestant Terry made a perfect bid on his showcase, netting him more than $20,000 in prizes.
Two controversies are actually erupting from this, primarily on Golden-Road.net:
1) Host Drew Cary had the enthusiasm of a lump of coal over this historic game-show moment.
2) Terry cheated by taking advice from an audience member who knew the exact prices of every prize in the showcase.
Remember on TPIR, shouting bids to help contestants is not discouraged (except during Clock Game). So our contestant didn't break any rules. However, I am told there was a 45-minute pause in the taping while producers apparently debated this before revealing Terry's perfect bid.
As far as I know, Terry will still get his prizes. But we're not sure what will happen to "Ted," the person who fed him the information. We know "Ted" has attended multiple tapings of the show, and he knows the exact prices because TPIR recycles many of the prizes it puts up for bids (which is why I was offered money instead of prizes after my appearance).
According to Golden-Road.net, TPIR producers are taking action against these kinds of price experts by telling them either not to talk to other contestants in line or seating them at the back of the studio where contestants on stage can't see or hear them. As you would expect, the G-R folks aren't happy about that.
Terry won through the game-show equivalent of counting cards. It's not illegal, but it's frowned upon. And Terry didn't even do the counting. He did what thousands of other contestants have done. Unfortunately, his win will always be stained by the controversy of whether he deserved it.
Deja vu.
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