Oct 1 2007New Price is Right Set Confusing, Ironic

When it was announced that Drew Carey would be taking hold of the reigns of The Price is Right, I worried they might try updating the set of the show to mimic the stark, poorly-lit future world of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, and basically every other idiotic game show to come out in the last ten years. (Honestly, does a show called Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader need to look like it's an Orwellian dystopia?)

So, here's the bad news: they did remodel the set.

But here's the strange news: they've remodeled it to somehow look more campy than it originally did.

Yes, as the above slideshow demonstrates, the environment that made the set of Match Game '76 look like a concept showroom has been renovated with a new, barely-noticeable change in logo and scenery. The outdated '60s and '70s-style patterns have been replaced with new '60 and '70s-style inspired patterns for reasons that are still unclear.

But where before the kitschy look rang of nostalgia and heritage, it has now become a desperate wink at the audience that says, "Hey, look how goofy we kept them! We get it!" Whatever executive OK'ed this decision was likely wearing a trucker hat and Members Only jacket and, between swigs of Pabst Blue Ribbon, had just finished explaining how he ironically likes Journey.

Thank Oscar for his telling slideshow of this tragedy.