A worthy successor

DREW CAREY IS THE bravest man on TV. It isn't easy to follow a living legend.

And, as the new host of "The Price Is Right," Carey is doing just that. His predecessor, Bob Barker, transcended the game-show genre.

Drew Carey is no Bob Barker, but he doesn't have to be. He's Drew Carey, who has already proven himself to be personable and likable on TV in everything from his eponymous sitcom to "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" to "The Power of 10."

He continues to prove himself in his "Price Is Right" debut Monday at 10 a.m. on CBS/Ch. 2. Other than looking, perhaps, a wee bit nervous, Carey is the same guy he's always been — sort of a funny, charming everyman.

Carey told TV critics that he didn't think there would be a lot of pressure hosting the show.

"No, I think it would be really fun to do," he said. "As long as Bob Barker said, 'Hey, this is cool,' as long as he was happy about it, then I think the fans of the show would be happy."

And Barker has publicly signed off on his successor.

Other than the faces, not a lot has changed about "The Price Is Right." In addition to Carey, there's a new announcer (Rich Fields) and a group of new models.

The set has been changed, but not so much that it doesn't still look pretty much the same.

The game itself is exactly the same, as is the theme music. And the energy is still high for this remarkably long-lived show, which begins its 36th season on CBS on Monday.

"The show needs to be treated with a lot of respect," Carey said. "And as far as its place in American culture, as long as you do that and keep it going and join the party, so to speak, I think it's going to be great."

As far as Carey is concerned, this job isn't even work — it's just so "enjoyable to be in front of that audience with people screaming.

"All I'm doing is giving away prizes. And it's not even my money. It's like Oprah giving away those cars. She didn't give away those cars; the car company gave away the cars. Oprah just ... gets all the credit. That will be me."

Barker is gone but certainly not forgotten. Announcer Rich Fields tells viewers that the show is coming to them "from the Bob Barker Studio at Television Studio in Hollywood."

And one of the individual games still features "Barker's Bargain Bar," which, Carey jokes, is "named after the founder of 'The Price Is Right,' Ezekiel Barker."

He tosses in the occasional funny line, but Carey has not, as some had incorrectly speculated, turned "Price" into a venue for his stand-up act. He's smart enough to know that the show isn't about him, it's about the game and the contestants.

And it comes across that he's genuinely rooting for the contestants to win.

All of which means that it still looks like, as Carey tells viewers (with no apologies to Disneyland), "The Price Is Right" will remain the "happiest place on Earth."

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com