Ted's perfect bid helps Brandon win a car and $39,877, but producers stop him from joining the celebration.
This episode revisits the documentary "The Perfect Bid," exploring the true story of Ted Slauson, a math teacher who memorized the prices of items on "The Price is Right." Hosts Patrick Hinds and Gillian Pensavalle, known for their comedic true crime commentary, break down the film's investigation into whether Slauson cheated or simply outsmarted the game. They frame the story as a scandal involving a superfan who studied the show's patterns to help contestants win.
The documentary details how Slauson tracked product prices for years using meticulous, pre-Excel spreadsheets, noticing items like a specific refrigerator were repeated at the same cost. It features former producer Roger Dobkowitz, who explained the show's early production rules and his own 200-page college thesis on game shows. The hosts recount how Slauson attended 24 tapings before finally being called to "contestants' row" in the early 1990s. A key moment involves Slauson, from the audience, correctly shouting the price of an item before host Bob Barker finished describing it, leading Barker to have him take a bow. The film shows Slauson later helping a contestant named Lauren Reynolds achieve a perfect bid after befriending her in line.
One surprising insight is that the show's producers initially saw Slauson's actions as part of the fun, with Barker even encouraging the audience to learn prices by watching daily. The hosts note the documentary reveals Slauson is gay, a fact he mentions casually about his partner, contrasting with his earlier, closeted persona as a teacher. A memorable scene involves Slauson's homemade "I'm here to kiss Holly" t-shirt, which model Holly noticed on stage, prompting a joking kiss from Barker. The hosts express fascination with Slauson's organized, "encyclopedic" mind, which could differentiate between car models and their exact prices.
They highlight the shift when producers began using different product variations to "fool" superfans like Slauson, which only made him study harder. The tone is conversational and comedic, with the hosts frequently digressing into personal anecdotes about game shows, pop culture, and their own experiences. Their style is energetic and full of banter, treating the documentary subject with both admiration and humorous exasperation.
Fans of game show history, niche documentaries, and stories about obsessive superfans would love this episode. Listeners who prefer strictly serious true crime or dislike the hosts' tangential, chatty style might want to skip it.
