Sand toys made from sugar cane, an olive tree, a weather vane made from copper: “The price is hot” has a series of strange prizes that nobody really needs. And yet the simple classic is apparently well received by the TV audience.

Ingrid is excited. Her cheeks are as red as the strands in her hair. “I’m happy,” she says, giving moderator Harry Wijnvoord a kiss on the left cheek. The promised prize is a Vespa. Ingrid clenches her fist, laughs, screams, and crouches down deeply for happiness. “Now let’s see how you can win this thing,” says Wijnvoord. “Oh, I thought I had already won that,” says Ingrid, irritated. Harry laughs. Apparently Ingrid doesn’t know the rules of the “Show of Fantastic Prizes”. A classic of the show is then played: Kraxelhuber. A little man with a funny Seppel hat can climb up a mountain up to 30 steps. At step 31 it crashes. Ingrid needs to estimate the prices of products as best as she can. Every euro she misses brings Kraxelhuber to the abyss. She misses five euros on the roller skates, four on the backpack, and the man falls off the electric saw.

RTL is continuing the retro trend and is reviving a show classic on German TV with “The price is hot”. This also includes childish games and strange prizes. There’s a hot tub for the garden, a globe that folds out as a bar, a 185-euro copper weather vane for the roof, and twelve kilos of cheese. “That’s just enough for you for breakfast,” spokesman Thorsten Schorn scoffed at the weighty Harry Wijnvoord. He counters: “I’ll tell you that. That fits on half of my roll.” Player Heinz wins the cheese and later a set of suitcases for around 2,500 euros. This allows Heinz to transport the cold cuts home safely. Sand toys made of sugar cane, an olive tree or a polishing machine are also thrown away. The probability that the winner can use something like this by chance is rather low.

Marina is allowed to take a stylish wagon with her and wants to transport her husband with it. By the way, jokes about the spouse are especially popular on this show. The classic of the classic, so to speak. “He fits in there,” Marina is sure. But then she wins something completely different to drive her husband in style: an electric car in gray and black that looks like a suitcase that is too big on wheels that are too big. Marina correctly guessed the price of the car in one game at 8790 euros. Tears are streaming down her cheeks under her glasses. “You can now park in any parking space. The SUV drivers will be jealous. Any bet!” tweets speaker Schorn. Clearing two cars in just one show is probably a rarity, even in a show that throws prizes around. Marina’s fleet is growing.

“I’m really excited,” confesses Jessy. “But otherwise I’m fine.” Jessy is also good at estimating the prices. She knows what iPads, scooters and hot tubs cost and wins all of those things. “All prizes win – that’s a real joy,” says Harry Wijnvoord happily in a smart blue suit. The man exudes seriousness and probably contributes significantly to the fact that this show does not become a fairground slapstick. The manufacturers of the prices certainly do not expect any flat barkers. Only the audience is allowed to shout here. Again and again, men and women yell loud hums into the studio. There’s something surreal about that. The evening is also surreal for Margot. “Wonderful, a dream, it can’t be better,” she says, looking at a car to be won. She’s holding her chest in excitement. Then she loses the game and is disappointed. Later, when she spins the wheel of fortune and the number 100 appears, she still wins – a car!

The show combines expensive and rare prizes with simple games. This is a simple recipe and yet it seems to work even after 30 years. The atmosphere is more like that of a coffee trip, where there is supposedly a lot to buy for little money. But the emotions of the players are real and the games are easy for the viewer to understand. In addition, anyone who has ever gone shopping can guess at home. Only Ingrid should maybe look at the rule book again. Prizes do not become the property of the player until the player wins the game. The Vespa stays with Harry Wijnvoord.

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The original of this post “Thorsten Schorn mocks weighty Harry Wijnvoord: “Twelve kilos of cheese for breakfast”” comes from Bunte.de.