1. Cullen, without a doubt, and not least because he was from Pittsburgh (where I grew up).

2. Carol Merrill, then Holly. Clearly, I'm a girl-next-door kinda guy.

Not me necessarily, but I do recall reading that when Mila Kunis immigrated to the US as a child, she learned to speak English by watching TPiR because Bob Barker spoke very clearly and deliberately, making him easy to understand.

As someone on the autism spectrum, I still sometimes struggle with speaking too quietly and fumbling over my words. I often go back and watch not just Barker, but the other old-school MCs who had extremely good diction and projection to help myself communicate better.

I've searched high and low and have not been able to find a list of air dates for the season. I've checked the TPIR page, etc. Where should I be looking?

One thing I noticed as a young kid in the '70s is how genuinely nice Bill Cullen was.  He seemed to be at ease talking to the contestants, getting laughs out of them and making them feel welcome.  I know there are other hosts that were also very good at this, but because Bill hosted so many shows I noticed this more with him than anyone else.

I couldn't have said it better. As for crushes, I grew up watching Barker's Beauties. I thought Janice was the elegant one, Dian the sexy one and Holly the lovable klutz.

One thing I noticed as a young kid in the '70s is how genuinely nice Bill Cullen was.  He seemed to be at ease talking to the contestants, getting laughs out of them and making them feel welcome.  I know there are other hosts that were also very good at this, but because Bill hosted so many shows I noticed this more with him than anyone else.

As for crushes, there were quite a few contestants that were very attractive!