The Price is Wrong

June 15, 2007, was a very sad day. It was the airing of Bob Barker’s last time hosting “The Price is Right.”\nBarker was the host of the show that daily touched the lives of the elderly, the unemployed and sick kids staying home from school.\nBut after hosting the show for nearly 35 years, retirement had to come. Every end brings a new beginning.\nBarker recently said he felt Rosie O’Donnell would be a fine host to replace him, then retracted his comments saying he never meant to endorse anyone.\nI am very proud of Bobby for retracting that statement because, as a longtime viewer who enjoyed everything from winning a free car to Plinko, I would not ever watch the show again if Rosie took over. \nRosie and Bobby are extremely different, and the initial culture shock of her taking over would be devastating to viewers. Let me explain how they differ.\nBarker had this sort of flair to him that everyone loved and embraced. He got along with everyone (excluding Happy Gilmore). Rosie, on the other hand, can’t even win over her co-workers on “The View.” She also is feuding with Donald Trump, which is just pointless. I could easily see Trump buying CBS to spite her.\nBarker advocates helping control the pet population by spaying and neutering dogs and cats. Rosie just scares the hell out of pets.\nBarker is a skinny old guy. Rosie is, well, she’s Rosie.\nBarker and Rosie do have one thing in common. Bobby always enjoyed getting his kiss from every female contestant that made it up on stage, and Rosie would, too.\nBut even if you ignore the differences between the two, Rosie lacks the swagger and appeal to win over a tough crowd like “The Price is Right” fans.\nBarker is irreplaceable, and no one will be able to live up to his hype. It’s just like Mike Davis: He didn’t have a prayer for winning over the Bobby Knight crowd, and the same will happen with the next host to follow Barker.\nIf CBS wants to ease the mourning and keep the program alive, it will hire Richard Karn as the next host. Karn is best known for his role on “Home Improvement,” where he played Tim Allen’s flannel-loving co-host Al Borland. But that isn’t his only experience.\nKarn is the perfect fit to take over “The Price is Right” because he has already has game-show hosting experience. Karn took over for Richard Dawson on “Family Feud” and did a fine job. On that show, he was trying to live up to hype that was unattainable, and he did better than everyone expected. He recently stepped down from that position, making him available to take Barker’s place immediately.\nFilling Barker’s shoes will be impossible, but Karn has the best chance in doing it. \nThe two do even have a very loose link to each other. Barker made a cameo on “Yes, Dear,” which is currently running in syndication on TBS, airing right after “Home Improvement,” Karn’s former show. Coincidence? I think not.\nBut a bigger problem still is imminent. Now that 10 days have passed since Barker’s last episode, we are all now starting to wonder:\nHow are we going to control the pet population?