Drew Carey, come on down!

A few months back, when it was announced that Bob Barker was retiring from The Price Is Right, it was fairly big news.

When Rosie O'Donnell's name surfaced as a potential replacement candidate, it was arguably the top story in the entertainment industry at the time.

When Drew Carey was finally revealed as Barker's replacement, it was still fairly newsworthy.

Show of hands - how many of you realized that episodes with Carey as host have been airing for over a week now? Judging by the amount of ink I've seen devoted to the subject - none - it's probably very few of you.

I watched the first episode in full, and I've seen bits and pieces since then, and let me say this...Drew Carey was a really good choice. He might not be as adored by Joe Average as Bob was, but Drew's hardcore fans love Drew more than Bob's hardcore fans love Bob. It seems like he's rooting for the contestants, which is a good thing. And he isn't trying to make the show into something it's not.

I really only have two complaints about what I've seen. One, at times it seems as if Drew is too low-key, too understated. It's probably not his fault - maybe not even his decision - but the show's now about the games and the contestants, not about the host. That might be a good thing. What's not so good, however, is the Showcase Showdown. Bob had been watching that wheel for years; he instinctively knew where every number was, and where any spin was likely to land. Drew's still too new at the job to get any of that, but it will come in time.

Overall, good job CBS on the new hiring.

--Ryan

P.S. 'Google Whores', Dan? Did you really think anyone would believe that?