The Price Is Right (partially found unaired pilots for syndicated game show; 1993)

The show's logo from the aired series.

Status: Partially Found

The Price Is Right was a short-lived syndicated game show based on the CBS game show of the same name that ran from September 12th, 1994, to January 27th, 1995. It was a half-hour version of the hour long CBS version and was the third syndicated incarnation of the show. The show was hosted by actor Doug Davidson (from The Young and The Restless) and announced by Burton Richardson (who would voice the CBS version on several occasions between 2001 and 2006). It was cancelled after 80 episodes with viewers finding the version to be too different than the CBS version, although it would go on to have a cult following and receive praise from fans of the CBS version for being different.

Format

The format for the show is a spin on the format from the CBS version, one contestant is called up on stage to play a pricing game. This happens two more times before the showcase showdown. The three contestants play "The Price WAS Right" as part of the showcase showdown where all them must bid on an item from a commercial from 40 years prior based on what the price was at the time the commercial aired. The contestant with the closest bid will go on to play the showcase. In some episodes, this was changed to the big wheel. The winning contestant gets shown a showcase and after being shown the showcase, they must stop a $10,000 range going up a chart of amounts ranging from $10,000 to $70,000. If the price of the showcase shows up in the range, the contestant wins the showcase.

Pilots

Before the syndicated show was picked up, four pilots were recorded on August 3rd and 4th 1993^[1]^[2] with KTLA anchor Mark Kriski as host. The pilots had the same format and same set as the aired series. The Showcase Showdown used in the pilots is unknown, but the showcase game was the same as it was in the final series. The series was picked up for syndication the next year with soap opera actor Doug Davidson as the host instead of Kriski^[3].

Availability

Only one clip from one of the pilots has been released, the showcase game (which looks like the pricing game "Range Game" with different colors) where an unknown contestant stops the range from going up was used in the series intro. There are rumored to be more clips from the pilots used in the intro. A ticket for the August 3rd taping^[4] can also be found. On August 3rd, 2023, clips of one of the pilots were shown on KTLA 5's Morning News during a segment about Kriski's hosting slot on the pilots. Kriski also stated in the segment that he did 4 pilots for the show and Plinko was among the games played^[5].

Gallery

Videos

The final series' intro with the showcase range clip at 00:37.

Photos

A ticket for one of the pilots.
The set from the pilots.
Mark Kriski (1/2)
Mark Kriski (2/2)
The audience from one of the pilots.
A screenshot of the Showcase Range from one of the pilots (used in the series intro).
An unknown contestant and Mark Kriski at the Showcase Range.
The price of the showcase from one of the pilots.