The Price is Right, which is the longest-running game show in television history, is celebrating 7,000 shows on today’s edition.

That’s despite the fact that by all counts, what was really their 7,000th show actually hit back in January or so.  (It seems that the show’s numbering system for its episodes — including differentiating between daytime network and nighttime syndicated episodes early on — created some degree of confusion.)

Still, a milestone of 7,000 shows is worth celebrating, particularly these days when some shows don’t even make it to their third show.

Drew Carey, someone I’d have never cast as the host of the show, has gotten significantly better as a host.  Last season was as close as I’ve ever come to giving up on the show.  There was so much silliness, including a showcase in which everyone was pied in the face for no reason at all, and another in which the recurring theme — which likewise didn’t make any sense at all — was “fried chicken.”

It was as if they were trying to force comedy — and stupid, non-funny comedy at that — where it really didn’t need to be in the first place.

This season, they seemed to have gotten most of that out of their system, and the newer team has finally begin to hit its stride.

One of the things they’re planning in the showcases is a “remake” of the very first showcase from the show, which was so amazingly cheap that its first prize was a pair of roller skates.  Then again, back in 1972, maybe a pair of roller skates were considered a real prize.

There’s no word on whether veteran host Bob Barker will make an appearance, which almost certainly means he won’t.  But it’s still a show likely to be worth watching.