Game shows used to flood the dial of my TV back in the 1980s and '90s. And that was when my TV could only pick up eight channels, three depending on the weather.

Back then, almost everything from daytime fare to the occasional prime time bit of airtime starred game show hosts. Their purpose on television was solely to wear smart suits, make sure their teeth reached the optimum level of whiteness and keep the game moving but entertaining.

Now that game shows are making a slow but steady return to television, it seems the traditional role of "host" has turned away from the traditional "game" emcee like Chuck Woolery, Wink Martindale, Bob Barker and Art Fleming and more towards lively hosting personalities from other walks of entertainment life like Drew Carey, Wayne Brady, Howie Mandel and Guy Fieri. Does this mean that the role of the traditional TV game show has gone to that great big "Curtain No. 2" in the sky?

There's one thing weirder than a Japanese game show, and that's a reality show that goes behind the scenes of a Japanese game show. That's what Are You Game? is. It stars veteran game show host/entertainment reporter Todd Newton, who decides to go to Japan and be a contestant on a series of crazy game shows to see what happens (and maybe win a car). It's I Survived A Japanese Game Show: The Todd Newton Story.

No one will replace Bob Barker as host of The Price is Right. Not the statement you probably had in mind when you read the title of this post, but it is undeniably true. With 35 years and tens of thousands of episodes under his belt, Barker and TPIR became a single entity. And, at least in the short term, his successor would always be compared to Bob, no matter who was chosen to host the mother of all daytime game shows. Heck, the Pope could have been chosen to host and people would say 'Yea, the Pontiff is good, but he isn't Bob.'

With that out of the way I can say that Drew Carey is the right man to take the microphone as host of The Price is Right.

Well, after all the hemming and hawing about who was going to replace Bob Barker on The Price is Right, we finally have a name. And, apparently, a signature pair of glasses to go along with it.

According to James Hibberd of TV Week, Drew Carey has been signed to host the venerable game show. CBS decided to offer Carey the job after seeing his hosting skills in action on The Power of Ten. The plan is to have Carey announce the move tonight on Late Night with David Letterman.

This seems like a no-brainer, and I wonder why they haven't done it before. A video game based on The Price Is Right will be in stores in time for Christmas.

Now, that will be long after the CBS show picks a new host to replace Bob Barker (the latest rumor: Drew Carey could get the gig, if he audtions and his new game show Power of 10 does well in the ratings), so there's no word on there will be any host depicted in the game. But all the classic games will be there: Contestant's Row, Plinko, the Showcase Showdown, and there will be real products in the game just like on the TV show.

I just hope they also have annoying, screaming audience members who can confuse the contestants, and women who run down the aisle and their boobs fall out of their dresses.

It looks like the long search for the new host of The Price Is Right is down to two: Sarah Silverman and David Hasselhoff.

Just kidding! The New York Post is reporting that producers have narrowed it down to two contestants: Mark Steines and Todd Newton. Steines is a host on Entertainment Tonight (he'll keep the job if he gets the PIR gig), and Newton has hosted several game shows, including a PIR show in Las Vegas. The pay for the job is reportedly near $3 million a year. Nice.

Hmmm...I'm not sure about this. But I guess they're both competent hosts. It looks like producers are going for the safer choices (male, slightly older, experienced) than going with someone like Mario Lopez or Ian Ziering.

This is odd. We've been covering this whole "who is going to replace Bob Barker" story for several months now, and this is the first time I've heard Dan Patrick's name come up.

But the ESPN Radio host told listeners yesterday that although he didn't audition to be the new host of The Price Is Right, producers of the CBS game show did indeed call him and ask if he wanted to audition. He said, um, no. (OK, I added the "um" part, but you can probably imagine he was thinking it that way.)

Rosie O'Donnell has answered the prayers of many longtime Price Is Right fans: she has taken herself out of the running for the hosting job.

Of course, no one officially offered her the job, but she did meet with the show's producers for lunch last week. She would love to host the show, but as she says on her latest video blog, she doesn't want to uproot her family and move out to L.A., where the show is taped. She knows that a lot of people would, but she doesn't need the money and would rather take on projects that would keep her in New York.

So now we're down to only 47 other people who could host.

[via TV Tattle]

Yesterday was a big day for Bob Barker, now the former host of The Price is Right. His final episode of The Price is Right aired in primetime, just before he won a Daytime Emmy for Best Game Show Host. After the Emmys, Barker spoke to the press about what the future holds for his beloved game show.

Barker said that Rosie O'Donnell is in talks to take his place as host. And he gave her a little boost, saying, "There's no doubt in my mind she could do the show. Now, whether they want a lady host, I don't know." So far, the producers have only auditioned men. The top male contenders are said to be Todd Newton of E!, Mark Steines of Entertainment Tonight, George Hamilton and John O'Hurley.

I'm not so sure about Rosie (TV Squadder Paul is absolutely against it!). She has a wicked side to her that she would have to suppress on The Price is Right, which may make her seem disingenuous.

We told you recently that the search for the new host for CBS' The Price Is Right was down to three people: Mario Lopez, George Hamilton, and Entertainment Tonight host Mark Steines. Now it looks like another celeb has become the front-runner.

John O'Hurley, Mr. Peterman on Seinfeld and current host of Family Feud, supposedly wowed producers with his audition and just might get the gig. Of course, this could all be just talk from publicists -- who knows -- but since he did audition and currently hosts another game show, it's not out of the question. Sources say that Hamilton is no longer in the running but Todd Newton might be.

I like O'Hurley, and I think I've only seen about 12 seconds of his hosting Family Feud so I don't know how he'd do. Readers?

Seriously. Mario Lopez is supposedly one of the three finalists in the running to take over for Bob Barker when he retires from the long-running CBS game show later this year. The other two finalists? Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Donald Trump.

OK, I'm kidding about those last two names. But would they be more of a ridiculous choice than Dancing with the Stars star Lopez? What do producers see in him that they say, "you know, he might be a good replacement for Bob?"

There's an interesting little blurb on The Price is Right website which questions earlier reports that CBS weatherman Dave Price has been selected to replace Bob Barker when he retires at the end of the season. Here it is, straight from the site:

All fans of The Price Is Right, here is your chance to attend a taping on a Thursday as two non-air shows of Price will be taped on Thursday, January 25 at 12:15pm with John O'Hurley and Todd Newton and at 4:45pm with The Young and the Restless' Doug Davidson.

Hmm. Certainly sounds like an audition to me, particularly for Newton and Davidson, who have hosted other versions of TPIR. Todd has been hosting stage versions of Price Las Vegas and Atlantic City, while Doug hosted the short-lived, nighttime, syndicated version of the show back in 1994-95. O'Hurley may be there due to his recent hosting duties on Family Feud. So, if you live in the Los Angeles area you may want to stop by . . . you could be watching a try-out for the next host of The Price is Right. More information on tickets can be found at the show's website.

Ever since The Price is Right's Bob Barker announced his retirement, game show fans have been bandying about names of possible replacements. The names most commonly mentioned are Todd Newton, who hosts the TPiR road show, Marc Summers of FoodTV's Unwrapped (and the late, lamented Nick game show Double Dare), and Rich Fields, the show's current announcer. But an unexpected name is coming out of left field, and may be a strong contender: Dave Price.

The Early Show's weatherman and all-around goofball recently signed a new deal with CBS, and according to an article in the New York Daily News, that contract also calls for him to do "entertainment-based projects" for the network. In addition, the story reports that he was at the offices of TPiR producer Fremantle Media doing a mock run-through of the show for a small audience (who responded to a Craigslist ad, for crissakes). CBS is saying that it's too early to even talk about a replacement for Barker.