Like the famed small-screen game of Plinko, the chips are falling into the $10,000 slot for television’s Drew Carey, who took over hosting The Price is Right on Monday and recently became engaged. For months now, anticipation has been building as Bob Barker, who has hosted the legendary game show for 35 years, prepared to hand over the microphone and head on over to the Showcase Showdown – in court – again.
Having received an official blessing from Barker, Carey kicked off his new gig – on a brand new set – without a hitch. On Wednesday, the audience, which doubles as the contestant pool, even witnessed a "perfect game" where everybody won their games. The new emcee remained faithful to the custom of telling viewers to have their pets spayed or neutered.
†Oh, the humanity!
†In a rare and highly theatrical episode, daytime diva Ellen DeGeneres reminded the world how important it is to read the fine print. She told the tragic tale of the little dog Iggy, who was impounded by the pet-rescue agency Mutts and Moms after DeGeneres passed the pup to her hairdresser after he didn’t get along with the cats. Apparently there is a strict policy against moving adopted pets to new homes without going through all the proper red tape.
Despite the tons of viewer feedback, which included death threats, the agency is remaining adamant about its policy and losing sight of the bigger picture: this course of action is not only nitpicky in the worst way, it is also contradictory to the entire philosophy behind such agencies. Iggy found his way to a loving home and they took it all away. A mouthpiece for the agency even went so far as to say that it didn’t think "this is the type of family that should have a dog."
Hail to the Colbert?
Prime time viewers who tuned into Comedy Central on Tuesday must have felt it. There was just something in the air – as well as Jon Stewart’s introduction – that said something exciting and groundbreaking was about to happen. The apprehension was finally settled when Stephen Colbert rolled onto the set, driven by Uncle Sam, no less.
The pseudo-pundit has spent much time recently touting his new book I Am America (And So Can You!), which has led to much speculation about whether he will make a run for "the big one," as Larry King called it. Colbert’s coy little game came to a glorious and balloon-filled end when he officially announced his candidacy not to Jon Stewart, but on a "more prestigious show," to the loyal viewers of The Colbert Report, which airs after The Daily Show. Pomp and circumstance aside, even if Colbert doesn’t succeed, he will always be president of the Colbert Nation.
The Force is still strong
Perhaps to the delight of nerds everywhere, George Lucas has publicized his latest plot development: Star Wars for TV. The television spin-off of the big screen monster hit that keeps on hitting will reportedly avoid beloved protagonists like Luke Skywalker in order to focus on "minor characters." The director told the Los Angeles Times that the program would be about "the life of robots," but beyond that, the details remain sketchy.