The (New) Price is Right is also an Australian television game show based on the American game show of the same name that has been produced in a number of different formats. The first one based on the original Cullen format was on ATN-7 and GTV-9 with Bruce Beeby and Keith Walshe from 1957-59 and 1958 respectively then on the Seven Network in 1963 hosted by Horrie Dargie. A revival of the show aired on The 0-10 Network with Garry Meadows from 1973-74. It was also later revived with Ian Turpie on the Seven Network From 1981-85 and Network Ten in 1989. It was revived again on the Nine Network twice with Larry Emdur from 1993-98 and 2003-05. Their newest form premiered at 5:00pm on 7 May until its end on 7 December 2012 again with Emdur for the third time but was on the Seven Network.
ATN-7 (1957-1959), GTV-9 (1958) & Seven Network (1963)[]
Two regional versions based on the original 1950s US format hosted by Bill Cullen aired nearly concurrently - one aired on ATN-7 Sydney, hosted by Bruce Beeby and Kieth Walshe from 1957-1959 while the other was on GTV-9 in Melbourne and hosted by Geoff Manion in 1958. The latter version debuted 10 August 1958 airing for sixteen episodes on Sundays at 5:30PM. After it ended, the timeslot was taken up by panel discussion series Face the Nation (based on the US series of the same name) which had previously aired by 5:00PM. In 1963, the Seven Network aired a nationwide version hosted by Horrie Dargie.
The 0-10 Network (1973-1974)[]
1973-1974
The Price is Right then aired in Australia on what is now The 0-10 Network from 1973-1974; this version was hosted by Garry Meadows and announced by Keith Livingston. At this time Reg Grundy Organisation was copying many shows from Goodson-Todman Productions in the U.S. as they had a flair for making detailed copies of sets and The Price is Right was no exception. Grundy staffer Bill Mason went to the United States to research the show in detail. The show started in a daytime slot on 5 February 1973 (a mere five months after the original first aired in the States) And was later given a primetime slot on the network. This version established a completely different Showcase round that was played in a style of the short-lived U.S. pricing game Double Bullseye. Both players would be given a $50 range to bid within. After one player bid, the other player would be told whether to bid higher or lower than the other player's bid. The first contestant to bid the correct price then attempted to place the seven prizes in order from least to most expensive on a pricing board in the Showcase itself, similar to the U.S. pricing game Easy as 1-2-3. The playoff winner became one of the first four contestants on the next show.
Seven Network (1981-1985) & Network Ten (1989)[]
1984
1989
The New Price Is Right aired on Seven Network from 1981–1985 with host Ian Turpie and announcer John Deeks. In 1984, the show introduced a "carry-over" format with returning champions. Up to that point, the format of the show consisted of three pricing games, the Showcase Playoff, and the Showcase. The new format replaced the third game with the Showcase Showdown from the American version, with $1 earning a bonus prize. The winner faced the champion in the Showcase Playoff, whose winner advanced to the Showcase.
The show returned in 1989 for an hour-long version, again hosted by Turpie airing Saturday nights on Network Ten as part of Network Ten's attempted revamp that year; however, it only lasted 12 episodes. The format resembled the US version, with three games, then a Showcase Showdown, then repeat. The two Showdown winners then competed in the Showcase Playoff, with the winner advancing to the Showcase.
Pricing Game Lineup[]
The following pricing games were played during Ian Turpie's tenure:
- Any Number (Sometimes played for a car)
- Bonus Game
- Bullseye (2)
- Card Game
- Check Game
- Check-Out
- Cliff Hangers
- Clock Game
- Credit Card
- Danger Price
- Dice Game (never played for a car)
- Five Price Tags
- Give or Keep
- Grocery Game (sometimes played for a car)
- Hi Lo
- Hole in One (Mini-Golf / Putt Putt)
- It's Optional
- Lucky Seven (played for a car)
- Make Your Move
- Money Game
- Most Expensive
- Pathfinder (played for a car)
- Penny Ante
- Pick-A-Pair
- Poker Game
- Race Game
- Range Game
- Safe Crackers
- Shell Game
- Squeeze Play
- Switcheroo
- Take Two
- Temptation
- Ten Chances
- Three Strikes
- Two Price Tags (Double Prices)
Nine Network (1993-1998 & 2003-2005)[]
1993
2003
2005
The Price Is Right was revived again from 1993–1998 on Nine Network, hosted by Larry Emdur with announcer Shawn Cosgrove. The show used the original format of the 1981-86 edition.
The show returned on 23 June 2003 on the Nine Network, again with Emdur (earlier news reports had speculated that former A*mazing host James Sherry would be the star, but it never happened). This show carried on the same format until 2004, when it was made a one-hour show to combat the Seven Network's hit Deal or No Deal, in the hopes that people would stay tuned to the channel for the news after watching the first half hour. This format involved four pricing games; after the second and fourth games, a Showcase Showdown was played, with a $1,000 bonus for achieving a total score of $1. The two Showdown winners then competed in the Showcase Playoff, with the winner advancing to the Showcase.
Cars given away on the mid-'90s version of the program were provided by Daihatsu and later SEAT. Early in the 2003 run, Suzuki cars were used for both the pricing games and the Showcase; once the Mega Showcase was introduced, Citroën cars were used for the pricing games, while Alfa Romeo cars were used for the Showcase. Holden replaced Citroen in 2005.
The show was replaced for a period of one week with a daily version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (hosted by Eddie McGuire).
The Showcase at this time also added a prize of a condominium on the Sunshine Coast, making the showcase worth between $500,000 and $600,000, and making it known as the "Mega Showcase". Before the last prize was revealed (or if the producers knew the contestant was going to lose by misplacing a prize) they were tempted with a "cash buyout" of between $1,000 and $50,000. Three people won the "Mega Showcase" - Marisa Tamboro (15 September 2004), Laurie Dennis (exactly one week after Marisa won it), and Laurie's dennis (2004). Another person did get the Mega Showcase prizes in correct order, but he took the cash buyout of $50,000.
After a few months the show returned to a half-hour, albeit with a new format. Only two pricing games were played each day, followed by a single Showcase Showdown whose winner advanced immediately to the prize-ordering part of the Showcase. The Showcase dropped the condominium as the top prize, but a cash jackpot was added to the boot of the car to entice the bidder. It was then renamed the "Monster Showcase".
The Mega Showcase win of $569,747 (about US$612,000 or S$850,000) won by Segeviano was a world record for the Price franchise that stood until exactly three years later, in February 2008, when Adam Rose won $1,153,908 on the U.S. primetime version of the show.
The programme ended on 24 November 2005 and Larry Emdur then signed with the Seven Network to revive the ailing Wheel of Fortune, which was then cancelled after only a few months.
Pricing game lineup[]
The following pricing games were played during Larry Emdur's tenure:
- Any Number (never played for a car)
- Bump
- Buy or Sell
- Cliff Hangers (sometimes played for a car; here the climber was named "Cliff" and he had a dog named "Spot" climbing with him)
- Clock Game
- Cover Up
- Dice Game (never played for a car)
- Five Price Tags
- Flip Flop
- Grocery Game (sometimes played for a car)
- Hole in One (sometimes played for a car)
- Line 'Em Up
- Magic Number
- Make Your Move (the Australian version allowed players to win a prize that matched, even if all three did not match)
- Money Game (never played for a car)
- One Away (never played for a car, four-digit play)
- One Dollar Deal (Lucky $even)
- Race Game
- Range Game
- Safe Crackers
- Side by Side
- Squeeze Play
- Switch?
- Switcheroo
- Temptation
- 2 for the Price of 1
- Two Price Tags (Double Prices)
Models[]
The models of The Price is Right often drew as much interest as the show itself. Many of the models have become celebrities in their own right. Some of these models include:
- Danielle Atkins
- Angelica Binos
- Kimberley Chen
- Cameron Davis
- Chris Frankish
- Kellie Johns
- Daryl Keeley
- Kathy Lloyd
- Elise May
- James Nicholson
- Sarah Pope
- Roz Roy
- Jacqee Saunders
- Renee Slansky
- Khali Sneddon
- Samantha Steele
- Sarita Stella
- Susan Thorne
Seven Network (2012)[]
2012
After being off the air for no more than nine years, The Price Is Right was revived again in 2012 on Seven Network, hosted by Larry Emdur with announcer Brodie Young airing from 7 May until 19 December 2012. The 2012 revival used a similar logo and look to that of the 2009 French version called Le Juste Prix (The Right Price hosted by Vincent Lagaf'). This also played similar to the Doug Davidson syndicated version from 1994 until 1995.
Speculation of an Australian revival started when Emdur, during a winter 2011 trip to Los Angeles (July), visited CBS Television City, where U.S. version host Drew Carey had Emdur call down a contestant and host Cliff Hangers during a taping in July for an episode that aired in December 2011. Furthermore, U. S. version announcer George Gray appeared on Rove LA, an Australian chat show also taped at CBS Television City (Studio 56) and has featured a Price prop appear on the show often.
In 2012 it was reported in various local newspapers in Melbourne and Sydney that the Seven Network were looking at reviving the franchise.
On 28 March 2012, the Seven Network confirmed that the show would return with host Larry Emdur (for the third and final time) and was to air on the Seven Network.
On 4 April 2012, production on the game show began, with its debut scheduled for 7 May at 5:00pm, leading into Deal or No Deal (hosted by now-disgraced public figure Andrew O'Keefe), which remained in its 5:30pm timeslot. However, the prizes featured were a lot less in value than the previous versions, pertaining to a sponsorship deal with department store chain Big W, which disappointed many viewers. A scandal (Courtesy of A Current Affair) was also confirmed in this version.
The first episode (airing 7 May) was dedicated in memory to former 80s Price host Ian Turpie who has passed away from throat cancer earlier that month.
After three contestants had played pricing games, the two top winners competed in the Showcase Playoff. Any players tied for second place bid on one item and the winning bid, or two winning bids in case of a three-way tie, competed in the Showcase Playoff. At first, the two players bid within a $1,000 range, which would soon be narrowed to $100, and the winning bidder must place all six prizes in the correct order within 40 seconds.
As a mixed result of low ratings and negative feedback, the revival was cancelled at the end of 2012, with its final episode airing on 19 December.
Pricing Game Lineup[]
The 2012 series had 17 games on rotation, including:
- 3 Strikes
- Check-Out (4 Grocery item playing)
- Cliff Hangers
- Danger Price
- Hi-Lo
- Hole in One (4 Grocery item playing, never played for a car)
- It's in the Bag (4 bags playing, 5 Grocery item)
- One Away (never playing for a car, four-digit play)
- Pick-A-Pair
- Plinko (for up to 3 chips, each worth $0, $100, $250, $500, or $1,000)
- Push Over (based on Bump; not to be confused with the American Push Over game)
- Safe Crackers
- Secret 'X'
- Squeeze Play
- Take Two
- Walk the Line (based on the grocery product portion of the American Let 'Em Roll game)
- Wonder Wall (Punch-A-Bunch, top prize of A$5,000)
In Popular Culture[]
Fictional scenes from The Price Is Right were featured in the 1997 comedy film The Castle, showing the narrator's (Dale Kerrigan voiced by Stephen Curry) sister/daughter named Tracey Petropoulous (nee Kerrigan, played by Sophie Lee) appearing on the show, winning the amount of $4,321.
A tv show called The Checkout parodied The Price is Right as The Consumer Price is Right based on the 2003 Emdur version in 2015.
Link[]
Ranking Every 'The Price Is Right' Game From *Buzzer* To "Come On Down"