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Come On Down!
Feb 27 -
It's a dream come true! A glamourous studio filled with fabulous prizes! All for us! Even
if you're Canadian!
Four years ago (yes, again with the infamous trip to L.A. from four years ago), we thought,
hey, let's go see The Price Is Right! We called CBS, picked up some free tickets, and
showed up at the studio at 11:00, just in time for processing. We couldn't figure out why the seats
were already full. Then we read the fine print:
Tickets distributed are in excess of studio capacity.
Ticket does not guarantee admission. Arrive early to increase chances.
So this trip, we were prepared. We knew the ropes, all we needed were some tickets. Luckily, a
friendly couple from Ohio, Bruce & Kathy, gave us theirs at the Jeopardy taping yesterday afternoon.
Score! Fate was on our side. We could practially hear our names coming from Rod Roddy's lips already.
Before going to bed last night, we called Inga
and Bruce,
both in the Eastern Time Zone. They were to call us at 7:30 EDT, so that we could make it to the
studio in time for those increased chances the fine print was talking about. And so...
4:16am (Pacific Time) - A phone call from Inga creates the desired effect: a makeshift alarm
clock. The day has begun.
4:30am - Always punctual, Bruce creates the desired effect: the makeshift snooze button.
The day begins again.
4:59am - Showered, dressed, and on the road. Traffic is surprisingly light.
5:51am - Arrive at CBS Studios before the gates open. There's already a line down the block.
We make small talk with the group in front of us. It's a group of eight from north of Sacramento,
all wearing theme shirts. I don't like to talk mean 'bout folk, so I reckon I'sa just stop there, If'n
ya don't mind.
5:52am - Cooler people show up behind us. Yay! Meet Kara, C.B., Patrick and The Mysterious Mr G.
6:35am - The gates open. We're handed a number which corresponds with the order in which we
arrived. Now instead of sitting on cold hard concrete, we get to sit on cold
hard metal benches. But we're closer!
7:51am - They collect our tickets in the order we entered, and replaced them with other tickets
with the same number but on a different colour piece of paper. What a neat system. They tell us
these are the real tickets, and we can leave the area, but be back by 10:20, or risk losing
your place in line! Eep!
It's All Fun & Games Until Someone Loses Their Job...
Meet Linda. Linda is a waitress at Du-par's. She's been a waitress for 33 years, and has never
hurt a single patron. Until today. Sort of.
She served Kara water in a cracked glass. We thought, wouldn't it be a hoot if we pretended the
glass cut Kara? She put some very fake ketchup-blood on the glass, then called Linda over. Hee hee!
She fell for it. Too much actually. We just expected her to say, "Come on, dorks. This is ketchup."
Have you ever seen a sitcom where someone tells a lie at the beginning
of the show, and it balloons, and they tell more lies, and it balloons further, until finally we
all learn the lesson at the end of the show that sometimes a joke isn't funny? Just like any
episode of Punky Brewster, right?
Linda took the glass away in a fit of panic. She came back with a bandaid for Kara, apologizing
again and again. She took Kara's breakfast off the bill.
I think most of us would rather have been caught with the ketchup bottle than to have ruined the
poor woman's day. None of us had the guts to stop the joke. Our only consolation was that we would
be leaving soon, and wouldn't have to fess up if we ate fast.
Then she told the manager. The manager came over to make sure all was fine. We were sure he'd
spot the ketchup, but she'd already taken away the glass. He okayed the free hotcakes.
Then Linda blessed her. Then she quoted scripture to aid her recovery. Then she gave her a hug.
We're all going to hell.
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8:03am - The six of us vacate the premises to visit the Farmer's Market, apparently a Los
Angeles must-do that doesn't make the tour books. We love inside information.
8:11am - Arrive at Du-par's. The breakfast was excellent, and the service was gullib-- I mean
great!
9:24am - Explored the Farmer's Market, spending most of our time in the hot sauce store, laughing
at hot sauces like Ass In A Tub, Scorned Woman, Submission, and our favourite, The Hottest F**kin' Sauce.
Patrick bought a bottle of Submission, thinking it was Calvin Klein.
10:08am - Returned to the theatre, with 12 minutes to spare. Spotted our first Marine.
10:54am - Oh, did we say 10:20? We meant a half hour after that. Anyway, here's your nametags! Yay!
Everyone's name needs to be their first full name as it appears on your birth certificate. C.B.
wasn't too pleased about having to be Charles for a day.
11:16am - Loudspeaker guy says: Welcome to The Price Is Right! WOOOOO!!! We need to go over
a few rules with you! WOOOO!! So I need you to listen up. First, you all have your nametags. As we
said, the name appearing on them must match your birth certificate, for tax reasons. You must fill
out another form with your name and social security number on it, for tax reasons. You may not wear
any corporate logos into the studio. You may not shout out any brand names, companies or products
not appearing on this show or affiliated with CBS. No eating. No drinking. No cellphones. No
pagers....
11:25am - ...No smoking. No cameras. No video equipment. No chewing of gum. You will need four sources
of identification. You will require a note from your boss stating you were allowed the day off work.
You will require a doctor's bill of health to ensure calculated risk of heart attack should your
name be called. No crinkling of brown paper bags. No making rude noises with your tongue....
11:33am - No coveting of thy neighbour's wife. No taking of Rod's name in vain. Hairspray
will not be allowed within the studio, nor will stepladders, camels, inkwells, silly putty, or
people wearing socks with sandals. Hooray! Who's ready to play?! Hello? Are you awake?
11:40am - Our other tickets are collected in the order they were received, and we're given
another set of tickets with the same number on it, only this time they say these are the really
really real tickets. We're allowed to walk around until 12:20. Remember: be back on time,
or lose your place in line! Eep!
11:42am - We head over to Mel and pull out some of the food in the back. Munching on chips,
we play a few practice rounds with our new friends, using stuff in the non-perishable food bin. Which is cheaper? Campbell's
Chunky Soup, or Cheese Scallop Potatoes? Oh yeah, we're ready for you, Bob.
12:20pm - We're back. On time. For us.
1:18pm - The interview process begins. Yes, I said the interview process. I'll bet
you didn't know that the producer of the show has a quick chat with every single contestant (about
325 of us). In fact, I'll bet you the three dollars you have in your hand against one number in the
price of the car that you didn't know that. Yes, you've got five seconds to impress The Man, just
so he can see if you've got what it takes to be on TV. Great. You all saw the results of the
personality tests on Day 181. I'm dead
in the water. We line up.
1:35pm - We're in front of the producer. Interview time! Producer: "What do you do?" Aimee:
"I'm a world traveler!" Producer: "Good. You?" Kevin: "I'm with her, we're from Canada." The interview
was over.
1:37pm - After the metal detector, we're on the other side of the building! Let's hope the next side we see is the
inside. But remember: Tickets do not guarantee admission, as they keep reminding us.
2:12pm - The doors are open! We're sitting down! We're in the theatre! We made the cut!
Holy frickin' frack!
2:19pm - It's Rod Roddy! Holy Frickin' Frack!!
2:26pm - It's BOB FRICKIN' BARKER!!! HOLY FRICKIN' FRACK!!!
2:30pm - Welcome to The Price Is Right!!! Dut dut doodaaaaah! Dut dut doodaaaaah! HOLY FRICKIN' FRICKITY FRICK FRACKEN FRACK!!!!!
And this is where we figured it all out.
When you watch the show, and they do that sweep of the audience, do you see how crazy everyone is?
Would you ever, in your lifetime, imagine yourself shouting out the price of Pine-Sol, Mylanta, or
Citri-Cal? Yet here we were, screaming with the rest of them, "No! For the love of God,
Hershey's Syrup is $1.99!"
Why? Because after ten hours of waiting in line after line, bench after bench, ticket after ticket
after ticket, nothing is going to get between you and that Hershey's Syrup. The tickets may have
been free, but you've paid your dues in time.
Spot us on the Show!
The airdate is April 4, 2002. We tried to give you a few clues to let you know we were really there.
Here's how you eagle-eyes out there might be able to spot us...
1. We are sitting in the back row, all the way to the left of the studio,
under the big Price Is Right sign.
2. Aimee is the first person in the audience to yell "One dollar!"
3. Before the girl playing Barker's Markers even begins the game, Kevin
yells "Take the $500 and walk!"
4. After Cliffhanger, if you ever hear people yodelling in the rest of
the show, that's us.
5. As soon as the Oak cabinet comes out on the Showcase Train, Kevin
yells, "Pass it!"
6. Kevin suggests $300,000 as Herman's showcase bid.
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And when that moment comes, you're in such a frenzy of bottled-up excitement, that you yell, scream,
cheer, blurt out prices of dinette sets, silver candelabras, handsome oak writing desks... products
you didn't a damn thing about before the show, but of course, you would know better than that
dope who's on stage now, don't you? You woohoo when they win, you awww when they lose, because,
damn it, your whole day has built up to this single hour, and no one can take that away from you
now!
Did we win a car? Nope. Did we get to play Plinko? Nope. Did we get up to Contestant's Row?
Not a chance. Did we have fun? Absolutely. After ten hours, there was no way we were not
going to have fun.
And would we do it again? If you had asked us at eight o'clock, we would have nodded,
and said "yeah, sure". If you had asked us at ten, we might have shrugged our shoulders, and
said "maybe". At noon, we would have run our fingers through our hair, and said "I don't know".
At one? Forget it.
But at 3:30? You bet. Because, my friends, all this lead up makes the show so great that you
smile right through until 4:16 the next morning.
We've figured it out. After 30 years of running this show, they've got the process down to a
science. And all this excitment can be yours, too, because The Process
Is Right.
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parking lot practice round... |
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Creamette Kid's Club Elbow Springs, a great source of Niacin and Riboflavin, cooks in just 10 minutes. If it's fast, it's Creamette... |
Kara, I want you to arrange these products in order, by what you think the price is, lowest to highest. 45 seconds on the clock please. |
Gentlemen, do I have one number right? DING! Gentlemen, do I have two numbers right? DING! |
Mr G, you'll be jumping even higher when you see what Rod has behind that door for YOU!
A BRAND NEW CAR! |
| more photos in the archive... |
We've got mail...
OMG...that page for the price is right was hysterical! We all loved it, and
we're glad you had such a great time that day, we did too. You guys rock.
Aimee, it looks like I'll be playing soon in an Alanis Morisette tribute
band, lol....thought you'd get a kick out of that.
I really hope you are fully enjoying a
long, casual ride up the coast and like the view...it really is beautiful. I
don't want to buy Mel, but your site keeps luring me back to fantasies of the
road and how I should take my toys and be a nomad for a bit again.
- The Mysterious Mr G, Los Angeles CA
That was so funny...and fun to relive! Great pics and write up! Any bids on Mel?
Keep us posted!
This Sunday we are taking a day trip to see the poppies that bloom in the middle of the desert once a year. CB will be taking photos for us! No, Kevin we won't be trying to make opium!
- Kara, Los Angeles CA
I hope that you have the right price in American $$$ snd that you win a big prize. I have forwarded an interesting ice sculpture to kevin's email address that i am sure you would want to pass on to your friends in New York. Also I need the email for the men in Roswell for my brother-in-law. He has had several UFO experiences - in the navy in the Bermuda triangle and at home in Nova Scotia. He would love to correspond with them. Please let me know before yu head off the Australia.. Love your trip!!!!!!!!!- Erline, Thunder Bay ON
Drop us a note!
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 Today's Weather:
Dark when we entered, getting dark when we left
| Showcase 1: | Cabinet,
Other Crap, Snowmobile |
| Showcase 2: | Bracelet, Stereo, Boat |
| Sleeping Quarters |
Malibu Creek State Park
 
Site 11. After a night of drinking and Dennis Woodruff at CB's place, we retired to our residence, having to use a board
to drive over those nasty "severe tire damage" spikes. Welcome back!
Cost: $10.00
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Bkfast:
| Du-par's
Farmer's Market on Fairfax |
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| Kevin: | Hot cakes, Bacon |
| Aimee: | Oatmeal, Sourdough Toast, Coffee |
| Kara: | Free Pancakes, 1/2 Coffee 1/2 Hot Chocolate |
| Mr G: | Mushroom Omelette, Coffee |
| Patrick: | Onion Bagel w/ CC, Coffee |
| CB: | Turkey Sausage, Eggs, Wheat Toast |
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| Cost: | $41.05
(cakes deducted) |
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Lunch:
  | CBS Parking Lot
Around Mel |
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| Shared: | Nachos & Salsa |
| Wanted: | Cheesy Potatoes |
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Dinner:
 | Mexico City
Somewhere in Hollywood |
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| K's Order: | Sopa Turasca |
| A's Order: | Sopa Turasca |
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| Cost: | $7.90 |
Burger Joint
Mel's Drive-In
Specialty: Melburger
Price: $6.25
Onion Blossom: Not bad
Parking: Valet
We actually came here on Saturday, but we felt it deserved special recognition. I think Mel enjoyed his valet park, just like
we enjoyed meeting the infamous Dennis Woodruff, and scarfing down some ground beef. It's a must-eat on Sunset Boulevard.
  Overall Impression:
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