Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much (2017) User Reviews

Fascinating story

[drhoads-93743 · 8/10 · 24 January 2019]

If you are a fan of the Price is Right, you'll really enjoy this film.

The fascinating story behind some bizarre events on the Price is Right over the years. The main event centering around someone guessing the exact price of the showcase.

Subsequently, the contestant explained how he did it. The story was simply not credible. And I've been baffled ever since as to what the true story is. The true story is much more interesting than I thought it would be.

Give the film a watch to find out what actually happened.

Never happen again?!

[cccjerky · 8/10 · 16 May 2019]

Drew Carey stating (seemingly a bit bitter) that it will never happen again makes me think that it won't be fair in the future. Obviously they can randomly change prices based on a number of factors but if the game can't be beat, it's not a game! I don't watch anyway but it is a game show right? Maybe they're going to add pit bosses to get rid of people who know too much ha! Would have been much better if they exposed the show more. Drew being upset was hilarious. I remember when HE was.

Should have got Terry's take sooner...

[CubsandCulture · 8/10 · 3 March 2019]

There is a lot to like about this documentary. It covers a silly human interest story in a lighthearted way. It treats the film's subject-Ted, The Price is Right-in a respectful way and never condescends to either. It moves at a great clip and while it is very much in the talking head mode the various locations/angles keep the film visually fresh.

Now the film is centered on the 2008 incident where Terry K. got the final showcase bid perfectly. The doc is mostly interested in demonstrating that he got help from Ted, which is fine. But I think a more dynamic version would have centered on the conflict between their two accounts of what happened. In a weird way the film isn't about what it is about because of being one sided in how it presents the history. It is not hard to imagine a better take on this material.

Light-Hearted, Well Made Documentary

[VonCouch · 7/10 · 31 August 2018]

I didn't see a review for this film so I thought I'd leave one. It's an interesting story with a likable subject. The editing is very crisp, which is one of the most important things for a documentary. Some of the interviews have some slight audio issues and the music can be a little generic, but the illustrations and art style are well done. Overall, a fun watch.

Excellent Documentary on a Super-Fan

[Michael_Elliott · 31 August 2018]

Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much (2017)

**** (out of 4)

If you're a fan of The Price Is Right then you probably know about them an who won the showcase with the perfect bid. What you might not know is that the man who "won" the show wasn't really the one who gave the bid. This documentary covers super-fan Theodore Slauson who had a long connection with the show and did some pretty amazing things on it.

I had never heard of this documentary before stumbling upon in on Amazon and I'm so glad that I watched it because it truly is wonderful. If you're a fan of The Price Is Right then this here is a must see but I'd say that even if you hate that show this is still very much worth watching because it tells the story of a pretty incredible event and the various years of things that had to happen for everything to fall into place.

Game show scandals are always a hot topic and I'm sure most people know about the one on Press Your Luck. What was so shocking about this is that even casual viewers could often times know that the show repeated the prices on items so it's really no wonder that someone like Slauson took it to the next level and really programmed the prices. The documentary does a terrific job at getting his side of the story, his train of thought and letting him explain how he accomplished what he did.

Even better is that we get interviews with producer Roger Dobkowitz and Bob Barker who talk about some of the earlier episodes that featured Slauson doing his magic. There's also an archival interview with Drew Carey where you can see his reaction to this perfect bid and it makes sense as to why he was so worried and upset over it.

This documentary seems to slowly be picking up some traction as far as people talking and hopefully it gets out there into more homes. Slauson's story and what happened from that perfect bid were great entertainment and this is certainly worth watching.

Well-executed ode to The Price is Right, loosely about scandal

[Hallelujah289 · 7/10 · 5 February 2019]

Well-edited and visually pleasing documentary. Nice mix of old and new footage. There's a whole lot of talking heads but the camera work is such that you never get bored because of the various angles at play and the way sometimes the narration is laid over other types of images such as documents, animations, computer programs, old playbacks and etc. A number of editing tricks are employed so you get the message of the film without it being stated in an overt way. An appreciably well-made documentary film that makes a good point in a supported and subtle way. However if you, like me, are not familiar with the gameshow The Price is Right or its various scandals then there is a bit of too much subtlety about what exactly is being argued. If you read the documentary description then you will have the right context though.

This documentary is about "loyal friend and true" The Price is Right mathematician and super fan Ted Slauson. It is also about former producer Roger Dobkowitz and former host Bob Barker. Watching the documentary you start to wonder how the pieces fit together, but by the end you realize the documentary is about telling another side of the story and expunging Ted Larson and Roger Dobkowitz of any kind of public guilt about a scandal that happened in 2008 when a contestant Terry Kneiss got a showcase prize number exactly right. The argument is that Terry Kneiss was not responsible for his victory and has not given credit to Ted Slauson, who in turn was not set out to damage the show like it was supposed because of the firing of Roger Dobkowitz. The argument is that Ted Slauson simply liked seeing contestants win and gave the perfect number one time too many.

This documentary doesn't like to be overt but if you know that Ted Slauson knows his prices and that at one point he is banned from the show, then you have adequate context to watch the whole hour and twelve minute run. There is a fine line between spelling out too much and leaving your audience lost, and this documentary falls a bit to the latter fault. The various anecdotes are entertaining enough to keep you engaged but to me this documentary lacks a feeling of complete resolution. There is however one moment that I thought was particularly riveting by the end and that's the moment where we realize how much an effect this scandal has had on Ted and how much greater credit he deserves even if he has a way of coming off as slightly autistic and over zealous. From the various clips shown I don't believe Ted Slauson is as creepy as other reviewers here want to make out. I think the documentary is more about trying to help us view his oddities in a kinder light.

I have no previous knowledge about the scandals connected to Bob Barker but the documentary does give him a fair share of positive acknowledgement. I didn't think it went overboard or anything in doing so but the other reviewers are right in that there is basically no comment about the allegations against him. This documentary isn't exhaustive and it's kind of more like an ode to The Price is Right. It nods to scandal by the end but doesn't make it a focus, almost like it's trying to disengage the various figures involved from scandal more than anything. And I do happen to believe that there was a great deal of sensationalism that went on about the "2008 perfect bid showcase scandal" as it was called and the documentary makers are right to try to put much of that sensationalism to rest, at least in regards to Ted Slauson and by extension Roger Dobkowitz. There wasn't commentary about Bob Barker and what he had to do with the scandal because he wasn't there for two years or four years, but you get the feeling that the filmmakers are sympathetic to whatever side of the story he had to tell as well in his own scandals. There is a point where it seems implied that Bob Barker protected Holly from too long of an interaction with Ted Slauson by, as Ted says, pulling his elbow forcefully away and leading him to the other section of the stage.

Overall a particularly well-executed and rare de-sensationalist documentary that makes its point by rather being too subtle rather than being too overt. The case set for Ted Slauson is pretty straightforward and I'm glad the filmmakers cared enough to do him some small justice. It seems right for media to imply his innoncence as much as it has implied his guilt for its own reasons. That to me is the best part of this documentary, and probably the parts involving Bob Barker weren't relevant to Ted Slauson's story and I perhaps think the documentary was not as tightly woven as it could've been. However if this were a thesis it would still deserve high points for supporting its claims in the favor of Ted Slauson. But as we note Ted Slauson is not particularly charming or likable even though he has my sympathy in this matter. He is also gay, which does go a long way of removing the creepiness other reviewers have connected him to in regards to a model on The Price is Right, Holly. I think his antics there were more of an attempt to get him noticed and chosen to be on the stage to play. However because the documentary is so subtle the fact of Ted Slauson's sexual orientation just kind of slips in at the halfway point and we are left with having judged him prematurely by our own assumptions.

Recommended documentary, but do expect to have to orient yourself by way of outside context.

Interesting Story

[nitro72 · 6/10 · 3 May 2019]

Interesting story, with compelling characters, works hard to stretch out its content to feature length, but falls a little short; made me hungry for a more all-encompassing BTS of 'TPIR'.

Love Price is Right

[phillyben-71521 · 6/10 · 2 May 2019]

If you've ever watched the Price is Right (and if you haven't, congratulations for never being sick as a kid), you know how much fun it is to play at home. Well, this dude took it to a whole new level. The movie mostly follows one guys obsessed journey to win the Price is Right, and it's fairly entertaining. There's not a lot of drama, and the production value is not great, but if you are home from work and looking for something besides Price is Right to watch, this flick will do the trick.

Great Backstory

[rmosher315 · 10/10 · 22 May 2019]

I remember seeing the controversy over this event when it happened. It's interesting to see behind the scenes and what led up to it. One thing that surprised me was finding out that Drew Carey is kind of a dick.

Has Many Flaws But Story Saves It

[andymorris22 · 6/10 · 11 May 2019]

From a production standpoint it was pretty much as amateur as it gets... poor lighting, bad eye-lines, bad audio, and we only hear interviews from like 3 people. Feels like someone's college project that they decided to make into a feature. Very much a talking-head documentary with wallpaper b-roll. But again, it's saved by the story. Worth watching if you can get over it's technical issues

Great Idea Poorly Executed

[jt-nutt · 2/10 · 15 January 2021]

The idea is great. I honestly didn't mind the length or the subject. I thought the guy was weird but compelling. I couldn't get past how horrendously this was edited. I dunno if they never went to class on to how to edit video but it's beyond awful Random shots thrown over someone talking, sometimes randomly in slow motion. Just seems to jump everywhere. Should have used a full screen graphic or the natural video from the interview instead of some random shot of Bob Barker in slow motion. If I were a professor in college this would be what I would show my students on how NOT edit.

The other side of the Terry Kneiss story

[larry-473 · 8/10 · 18 January 2019]

This is a very interesting film in that it gives another side of the story about the Perfect Bid by Terry Kneiss. The long buildup is essential to prove in the end that Terry Kneiss' bid (that nearly brought the show to a halt), was not the work of Terry and Linda Kneiss. It is a pretty convincing argument as the video evidence is perfectly laid out.

Neat Little Documentary

[jeremycrimsonfox · 7/10 · 8 May 2019]

This is a near little documentary about The Price Is Right that tells the story of Price Is Right contestant Ted Slouson and how he learned to beat the system the game used, leading to the controversial Double Showcase win of Terry Kniess in 2008, which would result in him being banned from the show.

It is a good story, but it's not for everyone, as it has a interview with Drew Carey where the actor drops some f-bombs. Otherwise, it's a good documentary that explains the story.

So they basically make documentaries about anyone nowadays.

[juliankennedy23 · 5/10 · 24 January 2019]

Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much: 5 out of 10: Man this is a weird one. From the name, one would suspect that this documentary is about Terry Kniess who bid the exact amount for a showcase and made Price is Right history. Outside of the last five minutes or so it isn't. Perhaps it is an examination of Drew Carey's famously poor performance as the host during that moment (and bluntly many other moments)? No, not really. Oh, I see it is a framing device about the history of the Price is Right? Close, there is some of that to be sure, but if you expect any mention of the various sexual harassment and other lawsuits that plagued the show towards the end of the Barker years you will be disappointed and somewhat flabbergasted.

Nope, this is the story of one Theodore Slauson. Don't know who that is? Well, you will after this documentary. Boy, you will. Ted Slauson is a super fan of the Price is Right. He found a way to beat the show. No nothing earthshattering, diabolical or exciting. He just memorized all the prices for the prizes that they used. Did he use that knowledge to conquer the show? No, not exactly. I will let the documentary describe the details of his 37 times attending a Price is Right showing (Which they do as if we were watching the Zapruder film). What he did do was yell out the correct prices to other contestants. Which if you have viewed the Price is Right you would know is perfectly normal. This isn't a golf match.

So was there an actual scandal about the guy who made the exact bid? No. He did not acknowledge that Ted helped him but in all honesty that is understandable. There is a little something off about Ted, well besides the fact he was obsessed with the Price is Right to what one could charitably call an alarming degree. He is a bit like those guys that hang out in a video game or electronic stores telling you, with great passion, which tv or console to buy and then you realize they don't actually work there.

Part of the awkwardness is, of course, the subject matter being a game show. Sports Radio is full of lunatics like this. But if one were doing a documentary about the Giants 1991 Superbowl win would one really spend seventy-five percent of said documentary with someone who had season tickets and yelled plays at Bill Parcells.

Okay so is there anything of note in the documentary? Well, Bob Barker is in it. I mean current Bob Barker. You know 95-year-old Bob Barker. And bless his heart he brings a smile to ones face. Okay, I know about the lawsuits and he does look like the Crypt Keeper now but that positive attitude and joy is downright infectious.

Longtime Executive producer Roger Dobkowitz is also on hand. There is talk that he was dismissed when Drew Carey took over on Drew's orders. (Boo Hiss) and the documentary flirts with the idea that there was a secret underground army of Bob Barker/Roger Dobkowitz fans that were sabotaging Drew on the show. (They posted stuff online that was discussed in private meetings one producer's states.) Our subject Theodore Slauson was suspected of being a member of the Rebel Alliance when he shouted out the right showcase price to cause Drew that horrible embarrassment. He denies any involvement in the resistance.

Is the movie secretly part of the resistance? I think so. It does border on hagiography the way it demonizes Drew Carey (Who comes across as awful) and treats the old cast and crew with kid gloves.

Strangely, for all the time the movie spends with Ted Slauson we never really get a read on him. He has a wife in one story but a "partner" in a later tale. His jobs change over the years and he mentions kids once or twice but there are only glimpses into the madness.

We do see the Snoopy room, however. Ted has a bedroom filled hoarder style with hundreds of Snoopy dolls. It is introduced, shown once completely out of context and is never mentioned again. To a person that watches way too many horror movies and thrillers, this seemed like a thread was certainly going to pay off later. Like Norman Bates discussing his taxidermy.

The best example of the films myopic view is Ted's obsession with longtime Price is Right model Holly Hallstrom whom he gets autographs and kisses from. The film paints it as a sweet celebrity crush. Well, I don't know about that. I do know that Holly's famous 1995 lawsuit against Bob Barker doesn't even get a side glance let alone her contemporaneous quotes "miserable tyranny at the hands of a mad dictator" and "I refused to give up and let that evil old bastard win.". Kind of puts a different spin on wearing an "I am here for a kiss from Holly" homemade shirt as our protagonist does on multiple occasions.

Am I secretly creeped out by Ted Slauson? I could see nightmares where I am stuck on an airline flight next to him. After all, I have already spent ninety minutes with him and I am good thank you.

The quest to become the best shopper.

[Agent10 · 7/10 · 4 September 2021]

I will not lie, I love game shows. I especially loved The Price is Right for the seeming randomness of the show and the prizes. Over the years the internet exposed some of the underbelly of the show, such as people not being able to afford the taxes on the prizes of the fact some went dozens of times and never got on. Most importantly, I learned the selection of contestants wasn't always random.

These are not the kinds of details that would make me hate the show. They are no different than a carnival game, and they have to stack the deck in their favor because promising cars, trips and campers and giving them away constantly would be costly. So it makes for the question...what if someone studies really hard, took advantage of lazy producers and literally made spread sheets to beat the system? Well, that happened in 2008.

Ted Slausen was a mathematician, and like anyone who is good with numbers, he was incredible at remembering them as well. Ultimately, he turned that knowledge into an obsession and actually figured out a way to beat his favorite game show. Before computers and other systems were involved, we saw this happen on Jeopardy and Press Your Luck as contestants utilized learned patterns and probabilities to win games.

Slausen probably would have gotten the perfect bid himself if chance had not hurt him before the show case showdown. But the events that led up to the perfect bid are a slow burn, a lifetime revelation. Drew Carey's commentary at the end is pretty amazing. "I thought this was the end of the show."

If you like the old time game shows, you will probably dig this little documentary.

No Scandal. No Bad Guy. But an OK watch.

[mpcurrivan · 6/10 · 29 April 2022]

Other streaming services would have dragged this out for 2-3 episodes, which is unnecessary. Thankfully, we're presented with a 1 shot production that is more fascinating in showing the reality of a "live" game show (with an audience of less than 200) that airs to tens of thousands and comes across as a nationally known & important institution. Bottom line: there is no scandal, there is no fraud. It's actually kind of interesting to see the small audience regulars wrest control of a major network show that only intended to use them as background props and window dressing.

A great insight into the game show

[keigca · 7/10 · 16 April 2023]

This documentary focuses on a past contestant on the Price is Right. The contestant, Theodore, was fascinated by the game show from a young age and ended up using his fascination with the show to train himself into becoming the best contestant in the show who knew the most. The way the documentary follows him really makes you want him to win big-time when his actual appearance on the show comes. And he does well, but gets unlucky at the one part which requires luck over memorization. After that, the documentary follows him a decade later where his path with the game show once again crosses, and leads to one of the most interesting moments in the game show's history- which I won't spoil.

One thing I really liked about this documentary is that they used both interview footage as well as footage from the game show itself from the past and it was used to great ability as it went back and forth from the two times. One perhaps usually unnoticed thing I really enjoyed about the movie was the movie soundtrack bringing us back to the time of the show and was reminiscent of the game show itself as well.

Despite how simple the documentary was, I very much thoroughly enjoyed the film. I would recommended this to anyone I know who really enjoyed the game show, The Price is Right. And the topic covered in the show was very interesting, I think that was the strongest and most compelling aspect!

Aka: Everyone needs a hobby

[thejdrage · 6/10 · 27 April 2022]

The Price Is Right is obviously Ted Slauson's hobby. Or was. And he was a pro at his hobby as are lots of hobbyists.

My mother was really good at guessing the prices on the show and now I know how she did it!

It's an interesting documentary on how a long-running popular (loved) TV show almost screwed itself over with their own stupidity and/or laziness.

Some reviewers brought up a lot of other negative problems it had, but that's not what this documentary was about. I had no idea someone (Terry) gave a perfect bid. The Price Is Right isn't my kind of show. Bob Barker was too old and Drew Carey is/was too ............ well, just not my kind of show.

I was utterly fascinated at the time and energy Ted put into memorizing the prices. It's something I simply cannot wrap my brain around.

It was terribly slow and repetitive - even at an hour and 12 minutes.

If you love game shows - watch it.

Very Engaging Documentary

[larrys3 · 8/10 · 1 October 2018]

This very engaging documentary centers on the story of Ted Slauson, a mathematics teacher who become rather obsessed with the classic game show The Price is Right. Slauson, after becoming a fan of the show, realized that many of the items displayed for bids were often repeated. Thus, he began to record and memorize every item he could, leading to the knowledge that if he were on the show as a contestant he could be very successful.

Slauson, as the movie depicts, would begin to wait on the contestant lines very early in the morning, in the hopes of being interviewed and selected to be "called down" to bid on items, and, if successful, be in the final showcase. The film gives what I found to be a most interesting behind-the-scenes look at the game show, with Slauson narrating throughout and letting the viewer know his own personal experience, which was backed up by fascinating film footage of him in the audience and what was happening.

I won't give away too much how this all worked out but over the years Slauson appeared in the audience 37 times. There are also interviews with former host and executive producer Bob Barker and Roger Dobkowitz respectively, and another key figure in the doc is one of the gorgeous models on the show, Holly Hollstrom.

Postscript: As I usually do, after watching a doc I look up the histories of some of the people mentioned in it, and I was astounded to see on Wikipedia the bitter lawsuits, court cases, and settlements that took place over the years between Hollstrom, other models, and employees vs.Bob Barker and the show. This was not mentioned in "Perfect Bid", as I imagine the director C.J. Wallis just wanted to focus on the story at hand involving Slauson.

Engaging Pop Doc

[actaction · 7/10 · 27 May 2021]

I started it thinking I'd watch a few minutes and go to sleep and ended up staying up until 2am to see what happened. It was really interesting seeing the interview with the producer who was there for 36 years as a additional story to be told alongside the primary one about the contestant. I did hope that the guy would have been given something from the people he helped or was able to get on again and win big, but the tales of how he assisted others so many times over decades without that reward was a very human and real story as well. I got a chance to see two tapings of the Price is Right, likely met that producer in line, and loved meeting Bob Barker right before he retired. This was a fun way to remember that experience and how warm that set felt... I guess this is why it felt that way, the close friendships that it created.

Imperfect Doc

[matthewssilverhammer · 5/10 · 10 September 2019]

For me, the most important part of a documentary is usually its subject and the filmmakers' access to that subject. This movie goes a long way to disproving that stance, as no matter how interesting this guy is or how crazy his stories are, the film can't help but make way too many bad decisions (padded out narration, random side stories, nonsensical editing choices).

Highly Entertaining

[smithcameron24 · 10/10 · 9 February 2019]

This documentary held my attention like a white collar crime show. I've always been a huge fan of the price is right and love that someone was smart enough to beat the house!

Not documentary worthy

[ThereelscoopwithKK · 3/10 · 12 August 2022]

The story is fine and sort of neat for someone who has watched the show like myself, but the story is maybe more fitting for a podcast. It's not really all that shocking nor surprising that someone watched the show frequently and learned the prices. I was expecting there to be something more controversial like Theodore trying to sue for some of the winnings or something.

Some of the background parts on the production of the show were mildly interesting, but Theodore Slauson's story alone isn't enough to be worthy of a documentary in my opinion.

Ted Slauson is awesome

[faxanadonts · 8/10 · 8 May 2019]

I loved this documentary. It moves along at a slow pace, but it's great hearing Ted Slauson's story. He's so humble and likeable that it's fairly infuriating that he didn't get to win any of the prizes from his perfect bid calculation. But the fact that he was able to get a perfect bid in indirectly, and have his story told on Netflix, no less, is awesome. Long after Terry Kniess' material prize possessions disintegrate into dust, the story of all the crazy hard work Slauson put in memorizing via cool retro coded Price Is Right computer programs, will live on. After all, the story is now digitized, and so Slauson is immortal. Digital lives forever biotches!!! Woo hoo! :-). Also, any future AI super intelligent overlords will appreciate the nostalgic coding done in BASIC on the Commodore 64, and likely reanimate Slauson as a clone in appreciation. So yeah, that'll be cool beans.

Had potential.

[matthewrandyc · 3/10 · 7 May 2019]

If you like hearing a play-by-play from an eccentric super-fan with absolutely no charisma or story telling ability then you might find this entertaining. Look, the story was interesting but the presentation was so horrible that I had to take breaks during the viewing. If you have ever listened to someone tell a story that was captivating but who added so much filler and unnecessary and uninteresting dialogue that you were no longer interested by the end then expect that exact same feeling after watching this.