Barker's Bargain Bar
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Barker's Bargain Bar is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. Debuting on April 22, 1980, it is played for two four-digit prizes, usually valued between $1,000 and $5,000. Its name refers to Bob Barker, who hosted The Price Is Right for its first 35 years, and is the only game remaining (after Barker's Marker$ changed its name to Make Your Mark) that bears Barker's name.
The game is also known amongst the show's production staff as The Bargain Game[1] (which just happened to be the name for Barker's Bargain Bar on the 1994 syndicated version with Doug Davidson).
Barker's Bargain Bar seems to be more prone to breakdowns than any other pricing game; it has been played several times over the years with most or all of its electronics not working. On playings where the trilons do not function properly, the models turn them by hand.
[edit] Gameplay
The contestant is shown two prizes, each bearing prices marked below their actual retail prices. The contestant must determine which prize is marked further below its actual price to win both prizes.
A frequent running gag by current host Drew Carey pays homage to the 52-year history of the game show franchise; he will often state that the game is named after some ancient 19th-century "founder" of the show with the name "Jebediah Barker" or "Ezekiel Barker", or even the 1956-1965 host, Bill Cullen. Sometimes, Drew will name Bob Barker correctly and give a shout-out to Bob; sometimes he will "struggle" to remember Bob's name and finally come up with it. Drew has also called himself "the pretender" while referring to Bob.
[edit] Foreign versions
- On the British versions of The Price Is Right, the game has been called Bruce's Bargain Bar, Joe's Bargain Bar and simply Bargain Bar. Only on the '80s version did the "only one prize" rule come into effect.
- On all Spanish-language versions of The Price is Right (at least in Mexico and Spain), the game has been called simply La Ganga (The Bargain).
[edit] References
- ^ Pricing game lineup slate (seen in the background after the fifth pricing game), The Price Is Right, #4033K, aired 2007-06-13.
