Hello! I hope you had a great Christmas yesterday, and Happy Boxing Day to you!

We’re hearing again from our guest blogger Ryan Vickers today, and this time he takes us through his experience on a show that’s pretty much an American institution – The Price Is Right.

There are some great tips too, so if you’re harbouring an ambition to ‘Come on Down’, read on….

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My Life in Game Shows

Episode 11 – Sick day viewing: ‘The Price is Right’, 2015.

When I was a kid in the 80s, Canadian and American television game shows were a dime a dozen in daytime television. You hoped that if you got sick, your parents would at least let you watch the glitz and glamour of these spectacles. I loved shows such as Scrabble, Blackout, Super Password and $ale of the Century.

Over the years, daytime game shows have for the most part gone the way of the wind. Yes there are syndicated offerings that pay in daytime hours, but the only true ones on network television are The Price is Right (since 1972!) and the current reboot of Let’s Make a Deal (which I’ll get to in the next entry).

The Price is Right is as classic game show as you’re getting to get, from the heyday of game shows of the last century. A smiling host, a jubilant announcer, an audience that clearly has come expecting a rock concert and prizes galore; and it also boils down to a simple premise: guess how much something costs, without going over.

I had been twice previously to Price in the 2000s but it had been a good ten years since my last visit.

Armed with that thought, I made attempt number three at trying to get on the show. I felt I had interacted well with the contestant picker that day and waited to see my fate. But I didn’t just rest on my laurels… I made sure that I interacted with other people while we were waiting in line (not that it took that much effort – I’m a people person!) and made sure my energy was at full capacity when we were ushered into the studio.

And then I heard those magical words…

“RYAN VICKERS, COME ON DOWN!”

(Side note: It’s so loud in the studio sometimes you can’t hear your name, so they have big cue cards with your name written on it. Which you get to keep and makes for an AWESOME souvenir!)

Then, thankfully, my body and brain did what they needed to do. You can see my episode here.

What a positive experience! I had been on game shows before but never quite like this one. Everyone wants everyone else to do well!

After the show finished, we signed for our prizes and then signed confidentiality agreements. It was fun trying to dodge questions for a very long four months between the tape date and the air date. We watched at my school with my students and they were very surprised!

Next time… A show that just aired a couple of weeks ago!

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Thanks for that, Ryan – you certainly looked like you had a lot of fun on the show. And your final Pro Tip here is a really great one; The Price Is Right is specifically designed for its contestants to ask the audience. Michael Pope, the producer of the Australian version, made this point when I interviewed him for the blog back in 2013. It’s not every game show that allows you to access The Wisdom of the Crowd like this, and they do know about this stuff… so do take advantage of the opportunity to ask them!

See you next week.