A devoted reader named Shawn e-mailed me with alarming news:

I just caught a commercial for “Captivity,” the upcoming horror movie with Elisha Cuthbert (one would assume that she plays a young girl in peril). It’s rated R, of course, but I was disturbed to see that it’s rated R for “strong violence, torture, pervasive terror, GRIZZLY IMAGES, language, and some sexual material.” I don’t know about you, but I find images of grizzlies highly offensive. Especially if they’re not eating Elisha Cuthbert.

I can only hope that no one notices the grizzly reference for a while. Someone needs to tell Stephen Colbert about this.

Sure enough, if you visit the movie’s official site, you’ll see that the film is rated R for the reasons Shawn cited, including “grizzly images.” The word should be “grisly,” of course — unless there are indeed images of grizzlies, and those images somehow contributed to the film’s being inappropriate for viewers under 17 unless accompanied by parent or guardian. Maybe the bears are doin’ it?

We’ll find out on July 13, unless the release date gets pushed back, as it has been twice already. In the meantime, stay alert, and keep watching the forests.

I have been watching “The Price Is Right” this week, because I wanted to see Bob Barker’s last few shows before he retires on Friday, and it is making me inexplicably wistful. I haven’t seen more than about 10 episodes in the last 20 years, but I watched it every day when I was kid. Bob has been hosting the show for literally my entire life. And now he’s going to stop. How can that be?! I’ve never known a world in which Bob Barker was not hosting “The Price Is Right.” I don’t even know what that world will look like!

So I’ve been TiVoing it this week, watching it while I eat lunch, and it’s easy to see why millions of people watch it all the time. You can complain if you want about how it promotes materialism, but I don’t care: Seeing people win money and prizes is exciting. I’d even say it’s uplifting. When someone is awarded a car or a bedroom set or whatever, they are genuinely happy about it, and it’s hard not to feel some of that joy yourself, too. It’s an hour of feel-good programming, five days a week.

Yesterday a father of four won a minivan, something he probably actually needs. He was ecstatic. What’s not to love about a show that brings people happiness?

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