The Price is $tephen
“It’s The Price is Stephen! The number one game show by Stephen Ku about Stephen Ku.”
The Price is Stephen, a live, humorous game show hosted on Super Trashed TV, is a mirror to the Millenial Maslow's, an answer to Boomers’ favorite question. What could the generation who survived every 21st century collapse and disillusionment possibly do with their money? Avocado toast?
For TPi$ mastermind, Stephen Ku, the answer is fun, joy. With what could have been an obnoxious, vainglorious validation of veblen consumerism, The Price is Stephen always bent towards righteousness. TPi$ was always about good, funny people having a good, funny time during “unprecedented times,” the worst of times.
2021 will always pale in comparison to the years on either end of it, rightfully so. 2020 was literally “it’s so over.” 2022 was the beginning of “we’re so back.” The Price is Stephen launched before first COVID vaccination doses were widely available, when comedy and wrestling shows were held in parking lots (not by choice). Zoom and Twitch were (bleakly) booming; almost everyone had to become a tech wiz to function in peak digital society. “Do you remember 2021?” might be met with longing stares and confusion, details and events hard to place. It was mostly fog.
Everybody at that time could use the levity, ritual, and accessibility something like TPi$ provided. Anybody could play. All could watch. Wednesday night livestream or VOD, The Price is Stephen gave a 30 minute reprieve, as people from all walks of Stephen’s life—comedians, friends’ moms and former bosses—battled for hyper-specific supremacy. A community emerged around the happening, a “cult movie”-esque appreciation for the show’s intricate, handmade, wholesome whimsy. Whether the games centered around a “Drunken Purchase” or a “Stupid Toy,” the quantities and qualities of everything from soy sauce packets to Pokémon plushies said as much about the show’s audience as it did the host that procured them. What do we really value? What is worth? What items are modern life essentials (and how can Stephen get around not having them)?
To quote indie rock powerhouse Rilo Kiley,
“Any asshole can open up a museum
Put all the things he loves on display
So everyone could see 'em”
In our late capitalism nightmare, everybody could itemize all the things in their home, or compare their material goods to what’s expected of their age or station, and they could all recognize an emotional pull to their possessions beyond “utility.” Most wouldn’t investigate the inherent absurdity of the things they own (and whether those things actually own said individual). Few could make a game of it. And, to our purview, only two could make that game as entertaining as The Price is Stephen.
Along with co-producer Ben Spoon, Stephen Ku elevated a simple, silly concept—The Price is Right-style game show but about a single person—to the exquisite sublime. Sound effects and visual flourishes injected Ben and Stephen’s wry effervescence. Stephen was a magnetic showman. Ben kept the (hype) train on track. Moments like a mac and cheese candy taste test, guests being driven hysterical by bootleg Transformers, and Stephen revealing dating profile photoshoots or custom home decor expressed a laudable commitment to “the bit.” That, if not for TPi$, “the bit” would be enjoyed in solitude, never to be seen by anyone else but Stephen, affirmed the show’s refreshing authenticity.
Two seasons and a few years later, The Price is Stephen retains its charm. Every episode contains a kernel of wonder or a rollicking riff. Special editions, like the Dungeons & Dragons or Star Wars shows, highlight a supremely unique, local-sourced, organic phenomenon. Charity drives inspired generosity and grace. Virtual strangers sharing in digital congregation, communing in soul, The Price is Stephen was priceless, gold.
Here’s a YouTube archive of The Price is Stephen in its definitive form. We hope you’ll watch and enjoy.