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Wheel of Fortune (American game show)

Encyclopedia : W : WH : WHE : Wheel of Fortune (American game show)

Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show originally devised by Merv Griffin which runs in local editions around the world. It involves three contestants competing against each other to solve a word puzzle similar to Hangman. The name of the show comes from the large wheel that determines the dollar amounts and prizes won (or lost) by the contestants.

The highly-successful format has been seen daily in one form or another since its NBC debut on Monday, January 6, 1975, which would make it the second longest-running game show in American television history (behind the 1972 version of The Price Is Right). The current U.S. version has been distributed by King World since 1983, clearly the longest-running syndicated game show to date.

Contents

Wheel Stage, Crew, and Special Effects History

The early pilot for Wheel was called Shopper's Bazaar; Edd Byrnes and Chuck Woolery hosted pilot episodes in 1974. The theme song used in the 1974 pilot was "Give It One" by Maynard Ferguson.

Wheel debuted on January 6, 1975, on NBC; it was put on the air as compensation for cancelling Jeopardy! (which Merv Griffin produced) with one year remaining on its contract. Woolery was the show's original host, and Susan Stafford was the original hostess. Announcer Charlie O'Donnell has been "the voice of the Wheel" since episode one in 1975, save for most of the 1980s when Jack Clark announced due to O'Donnell's obligations to other shows. After Clark passed away in 1988, Los Angeles-area disc jockey MG Kelly briefly filled in until O'Donnell was able to take over permanently.

The theme song used from September 1975 to July 1983 is called "Big Wheels" by Alan Thicke.

Chuck Woolery left Wheel on December 25, 1981, after a salary dispute with Griffin. Three days later, Pat Sajak replaced him. Susan Stafford left a year later to pursue volunteer work. She was replaced by Vanna White. Sajak left the daytime show on January 9, 1989, to do a nighttime talk show for CBS that would fail after one year. Former football player Rolf Benirschke hosted the daytime show until NBC dropped it on June 30, 1989; Bob Goen became its host when it moved to CBS on July 17 of that year. The daytime show moved back to NBC on January 14, 1991, and was canceled for good on September 20 of that year.

A nighttime version of Wheel, which is syndicated to stations around the country, debuted on September 19, 1983. This version still airs today, and after two decades the show continues to have the highest Nielsen Ratings of any syndicated program. Pat Sajak and Vanna White have hosted the nighttime version since its debut. The original theme song from September 1983 to June 1989 is called "Changing Keys" by Merv Griffin. All others are alterations of this theme from July 1989 to August 1992, September 1992 to August 1995, September 1995 to August 1997, September 1997 to August 2000, and a somewhat new variation called "Happy Wheels" by Steve Kaplan as of September 2000.

The original puzzleboard was three rows consisting of 13 trilons on each row. On December 21, 1981, a new four-row puzzleboard (consisting of 11 trilons on the top and bottom rows and 13 trilons in the middle rows) was introduced, allowing for bigger puzzles and more cash to be given away. This puzzleboard would remain the same, except for light border changes and the "half-trilons" on the sides of the board being removed on road shows, and from September 1994 to August 1996. In February 1997, the original board for displaying the letters was replaced with a digital electronic puzzle board, with Vanna touching the letter spaces instead of turning them. Also, when the puzzle is solved, instead of the hostess turning the hidden letters to reveal the entire puzzle, the missing letters electronically fill in themselves. A fill-in-the-blank puzzle is displayed on a grid of video displays in front of the players. The puzzle board itself has 52 spaces, divided into four rows (with 12 spaces on the top and bottom rows and 14 spaces in the middle rows, making it one column wider than the old trilon board; occasionally puzzles will use up almost all of the board).

(Actually, the old four-row trilon puzzle had 52 spaces like today's board, with 13 in each row; the light border got in the way with the spaces in the corners, leaving only 11 trilons in the top and bottom rows)

In September 2002, the tote boards that showed the totals for each player were changed from eggcrate lights to monitors; the eggcrate lights had been in use since January 1975. Incidentally, the eggcrate display had room for the "$" sign and four digits in the 1975-1976 season(although the "$" sign could be removed in the rare event someone had more than $9,999). Sometime around 1976, the display was changed to allow for five-digit figures (along with the "$" sign); six-digit figures have never been achieved, although the eggcrate display was again changed in the seventh season so a six-digit figure could be displayed with the dollar sign. In September 2003, the entire studio was revamped. The gold, glitzy decoration that surrounded the wheel was changed to a neon blue decoration. The puzzleboard's border was changed to match that of the wheel, as was the video wall border.

Versions

Versions in different countries
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Versions in different countries

Main article: Wheel of Fortune in different countries

Wheel of Fortune airs (or has aired) in various countries, including Australia, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. The American version airs in Canada, but Canadians are not eligible to participate in any of its contests. People in Quebec have their version entitled "La Roue Chantreuse" (Scenic Wheel) which is in French.

Gameplay

Three players take turns. On a turn, a player can choose to spin the 24-sector wheel, buy a vowel, or attempt to solve the puzzle.

Starting a round

When a normal round begins, the spaces in a puzzle are shown as blank white spaces on the board. The category for the round is given, and any punctuation (hyphens, commas, periods for abbreviations, apostrophes), slashes and ampersand signs (&) are revealed. The solution to the puzzle usually falls under one of the following categories: Other specialty puzzle categories are explained below in the "Puzzle Round" section.

Spinning the wheel

Military members on an April 2006 taping of Wheel of Fortune.
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Military members on an April 2006 taping of Wheel of Fortune.

If the pointer lands on a cash value, the player names a consonant (Y counts as a consonant). If the letter is in the puzzle, the co-host reveals all instances of that letter in the puzzle, and the player receives the cash value multiplied by the number of instances of that letter. For example, if the puzzle was "TOO LITTLE TOO LATE", and the player spun $700 and guessed L, he or she would earn $2,100. If the letter is not in the puzzle, or the player guesses a letter that has already been guessed, the player's turn ends.

If the pointer lands on a prize, the player gives a consonant, and if it is in the puzzle, the player picks up the prize and sets it in front of them (previously, if a contestant had landed on a prize wedge, they could automatically pick it up, call a right consonant and spin again). They must then solve the puzzle in that round to win the prize. The prize is lost if he/she lands on "Bankrupt" later in the same puzzle.

If the pointer lands on the wheel's "Lose a Turn" space, the player's turn ends. If it lands on "Bankrupt", not only does the player's turn end, he/she loses all earned cash and prizes in that round. However, the player doesn't lose the cash and prizes earned during previous rounds.

If the pointer lands on a Free Spin space, the player can win the free spin in the same way as a prize. If he or she later lands on Bankrupt or Lose a Turn, or guesses a letter not in the puzzle, the Free Spin can be redeemed of later use (Until around 1990, the wheel had a "Free Spin" space in the game's first round, which automatically gave that player a Free Spin token without having to guess a letter; this idea was scrapped as skillful contestants often racked up six or more tokens before actually attempting to play the game).

In many countries, the contestant gives a word beginning with the chosen letter along with it. Hence: "C for Charlie" and "I for indigo" and the famous (in Australia, anyway) "N for Nellie". Although common during Wheel's early years in the U.S., this practice is not used today except in the rare case a contestant is asked to clarify his/her choice (for example, "S as in Sam)."

Buying a vowel

The red "Buy A Vowel" space from 1975, which was scrapped within one month of the show's premiere.
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The red "Buy A Vowel" space from 1975, which was scrapped within one month of the show's premiere.

If a player has at least $250 in cash, the player can pay that amount to have all instances of a single vowel (A, E, I, O, or U) in the puzzle revealed. If the letter is not in the puzzle, the player's turn ends, but the $250 must still be paid. The contestant does not pay for every copy of the vowel revealed; in the above example, if the contestant guessed E, although 2 E's are in the puzzle, the contestant would not have to give up $500.

Very early in Wheel's U.S. network run, contestants could also ask for a vowel by landing on a space marked "Buy a Vowel" in order to ask for a vowel (the space had also been featured in both the 1973 and 1974 pilots). This was deemed redundant (not to mention that any contestant who landed on said space but didn't have enough money to buy would lose his turn), and the space was scrapped in favor of a dollar amount before the show logged one month on the air. When the daytime show moved to CBS in July 1989 where the shopping portion of the daytime show was dropped, the wheel was "cheapened" so $50 and $75 wedges came back. The highest value for round one was $500 going to $1250 in the fourth round. As a result, vowels became $200, and then $100 by September 1991. Also in January 1991, the $50 and $75 wedges were dropped, so the minimum dollar value would be $100, enough to buy a vowel in 1991.

Vowel buying is very common on the U.S. version, mainly since many puzzles have large numbers of vowels, particularly E's (it is not uncommon to see five or occasionally even more of a vowel, especially E, in a larger puzzle—the record appears to be 11 E's). It is rarer in the UK and Australia.

Some argue that, because of the inflating dollar values, the amount spent for vowels should increase. Indeed, the lowest value on the wheel nowadays is $300; the smallest value started out at $25, then eventually $100, $150, and finally $200. However, when one accounts for inflation, $250 in 1975 would be worth almost $1,000, meaning if you use this inflated price to buy a vowel with the current values on the wheel, most of the time you'd have to spin the wheel twice and/or get more than one instance of a letter to be able to buy a vowel — which, it should be pointed out, was exactly the situation in 1975. (For those who are interested, if they consistently kept raising the cost of the vowel to keep up with inflation, and $250 was the value now, vowels would have originally cost approximately $65.)

The phrase "buy a vowel" has entered the public domain, meaning "get a clue". It is a sarcastic bit of advice for the clueless.

Solving the puzzle

Once enough letters have been revealed, a player can attempt to read the solution to the incomplete puzzle. If the guess is incorrect, the player's turn ends, although this seldom happens. Only the player who correctly solves the puzzle keeps the earnings from the round. If the player's total is less than $1,000, a house minimum of $1,000 is awarded.

During the show's early months, the house minimum was $100; this was quickly increased to $200. When the show moved to Sony Pictures Studios in September 1995, the minimum was boosted again to $500, where it remained until August 2005. As of September 2005, the house minimum is $1,000 per player, meaning during special weeks where two players compete on each team, the minimum is $2,000.

Shopping

From January 1975 to June 1989 on the NBC daytime version, and from September 1983 to August 1987 on the nighttime syndicated version, after a contestant won a round, he/she had the option of shopping for prizes amidst the studio, like cars, furniture, trips, furs (until animal activists complained), and jewelry. When the player spent enough to not be able to buy the least expensive prize, or when they didn't feel like shopping anymore, they could choose to put their money on a gift certificate or "on account" (which meant they risked their money for the next round; they had to avoid Bankrupts and also had to win the succeeding round in order to keep the money and use it for shopping.) The "on account" option was rarely used except when the contestant did not have a lot money left over after shopping such as having only a dollar left.

During a special "Retro Week" in October 1999, shopping was re-instated except the "shopping" portion was treated as a special space, and the contestant "bought" (selected) a prize package from a turntable. When the show started, the emcee, either Woolery, Sajak or Benirschke would say, "Watch out for the black space, 'Bankrupt,' because you will lose your cash, but not your merchandise, because once you buy a prize it is yours to keep." That saying became one of the most famous lines in game show history.

Playing for cash

In September 1987, the syndicated version of Wheel switched to an all-cash format that, while originally planned to last only for the month of September of 1987, became a permanent fixture as it sped up gameplay where it would be common to see 4, 5 or even 6 puzzles on a given night. Now, six maingame puzzles are rare with all the time taken up by three toss-up puzzles, the prize puzzles where a home viewer can win the same prize as the contestant via SPIN I.D., and advertisements for various rounds, most notably the Jackpot round. From the fifth season to the turn of the previous decade, to generate building interest as the game continued, the maximum dollar amount for each round increased significantly. It began with the $1,000 space as top dollar value for round one, $2,500 for round two, $3,500 for round three, and $5,000 in round four until the maingame was over. Earlier this decade, to account for inflation, the top dollar value changed to $2,500 in round one, $3,500 in rounds two and three, while the $5,000 space remained in round four. In one episode, Wheel tried to incorporate the $10,000 wedge as a normal space not surrounded by two Bankrupts, but it was eventually scrapped. In any event, the person who solved the puzzle won whatever amount he/she had in cash, in addition to prizes the contestant may have earned during a round. Like the shopping format, the total value of any prizes won is added to the contestant's overall score.

Special rounds

In recent years, various special rounds have been introduced.

Toss-up Round

The partly enjoyed, partly annoyed Toss-Up Rounds were made possible with the advent of an electronic board, compared to the mechanical board. A puzzle is revealed one letter at a time except for the last letter (similar to the Speedword on the Scrabble game show). A player may buzz in to solve the puzzle for a set amount of money ($1,000, $2,000, or $3,000 in the U.S. version). The Toss-Up Round debuted in September 2000.

From September 2000 to August 2001 , the player who won the first toss-up had the right to start, as there was no second $2,000 toss up. After the third round, whoever solved the puzzle won only $1,000, not $3,000.

Since September 2001, two toss-ups for $1,000 and $2,000 start the game. The first one determines who the host introduces first, and the second one determines who starts round 1. The $3,000 toss-up determines who starts the fourth round, which usually becomes the speed-up round.

An incorrect guess in a Toss-Up disqualifies that player for the rest of the puzzle. If all of the spaces are filled in or all of the players are incorrect, no cash is won, and play begins with either the left-most contestant or (if it was Round 4) wherever it left off before.

Though this rarely occurs, if 2 or all 3 players are tied at the end of the game, then a Toss-Up round is played for the right to go to the Bonus Round. No money is at stake in this round. This has happened at least twice.

Pat Sajak, the current host of the U.S. version, explained at the end of an episode that the reason for the addition of these rounds is a method to make the game more fair. He described the problem with the previous method of choosing which player started the game (via "just before the show drawing numbers to see who would start the game" as the host would put it) as giving an unfair advantage to Player 1, since they normally would start two rounds, where Player 2 and Player 3 would only start two rounds if time permitted. The Toss-Ups now allow a more competitive method of starting the game with the winner of the second toss-up, allowing each player to start one round. The third toss-up allows for the players to compete again to determine who will start the fourth round, giving each player a fair chance instead of the player that started the game an unfair advantage.

The Australian version added their version of a Toss-Up (called a Flip Up there) in September 2004, when the puzzle board was switched from a mechanical one to an electronic board. Germany had their own version of a Toss Up in September 2002, called a Turborunde, when they had a digital puzzleboard.

Bankrupt/$10,000/Bankrupt (Round 1)

In the first round, a gold wedge is placed on the wheel that reads $10,000 in the middle peg gap and Bankrupt in the other two. Landing on Bankrupt results in a normal Bankrupt; landing on the $10,000 allows the player to guess a letter. If he/she is correct, the player picks up the wedge, and turns it over, as it reads as a full $10,000 wedge on the reverse side, and it is treated as a prize. The $10,000 prize cannot be used to buy vowels; Pat will often say "You don't have any spendable cash" if the $10,000 is one of the first prizes claimed in the round.

When this space debuted in April 1995, it was on the wheel starting in round three and remained on the wheel until a contestant landed on the $10,000 slot and claimed it. This space was originally on top of one of the two bankrupt spaces, but is now over the orange $800 space in round one only.

Double Play

From September 1995 to August 1996, a special token called the "Double Play" was put on the wheel. A player won possession of the token if he/she landed on the space with the token and called a consonant in the puzzle. The player in possession of the Double Play could use it before any spin. If the wheel landed on a dollar amount, that amount was doubled for that turn (For example, if $550 was spun, each one of the correct consonants in the puzzle was worth $1,100). If the wheel landed on a penalty space, the Double Play token was lost, but the penalty was only endured once. If the wheel landed on a prize after using the Double Play, the Double Play was returned.

Jackpot Round (Round 2)

After each spin, the value of the spin is added to the jackpot, regardless of whether or not the letter chosen is in the puzzle. The jackpot starts at $5,000 (when the Friday Finals existed from September 1996 to August 1998, the Jackpot on that certain episode started at $10,000.) If a player spins and lands on Jackpot, they must call a letter in the puzzle and solve the puzzle all in that turn. If successful, the contestant wins whatever is in the Jackpot in addition to the total amassed during that round.

Until August 2000, the Jackpot Round was played in Round 3. It is now played in Round 2, with the space covering the $800 wedge, instead of the $500 wedge. Beginning in September 1998, the Jackpot Round had a sponsor; at the time, it was often Hot Pockets.

The current Jackpot Round debuted in September 1996 and was quite different from a Jackpot Round that was part of the NBC daytime show in 1987.

1987 Jackpot

This version of the Jackpot Round worked just like the syndicated Prize Rounds. The Jackpot space went into the player's bank upon correctly guessing a letter, and won the value for solving the puzzle AND avoiding Bankrupt.

The Jackpot started at $1,000 and increased by $1,000 for each show it went unclaimed. The resulting Jackpot was not a cash prize; it became available for shopping.

Prize spaces

The Prize Round was added in the first season, for the syndicated version only. It was played in Round 2, and the prize usually was worth anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000. The prize space originally concealed a $150 amount. When the "all cash" era began in September 1987, a second Prize Round was added, usually in Round 4, and concealed a $300 space; both prizes were specific to that round. The Prize Rounds were added to the daytime show in July 1989. Currently, the prize (which is almost always a trip) is placed on the wheel in Round one (over the $350 space), but carries over to later rounds if not picked up. The prize value is usually worth between $4,000 and $10,000. Until August 1998, the prize spaces were color backgrounds with normal wheel fonts. As of September 1998, the prize spaces were color backgounds with artistic pictures and unique fonts.

Originally, a contestant who landed on the prize simply picked it up, and it went into his/her bank. Starting in the eighth season, a contestant had to first guess a valid letter to be able to pick up the prize. To finally win the prize, the contestant had to avoid "Bankrupt" and solve the puzzle.

Also from September 1994 to August 1995, there was also a mauve space marked "Surprise" on the wheel in Round 1. The Surprise worked just like a normal prize, except that its identity was not revealed unless it was won. Like the basic prize spaces, it also carried over to later rounds if not picked up.

As of September 2000, along with the announced prize, there were two or three smaller "gift tags" on the wheel; usually gift certificates, gift packages or items such as an XM Satellite Radio, each gift tag carrying a value of $1,000. A crafty spinner could pick up several of these prize cards in a single round.

Mystery Round (Round 3)

Two $1,000 spaces (originally $500 from the round's debut in September 2002 to August 2004) marked with a stylized question mark are placed on the wheel. If a player lands on one of these mystery wedges and guesses a letter in the puzzle, they may either take $1,000 per letter as normal, or turn over the mystery wedge. On the other side of the mystery wedge contains either a Bankrupt or a prize (usually $10,000–$13,000 cars or a $10,000 prize).

If the player reveals the prize, as with any other wheel prize, they must solve the puzzle without hitting Bankrupt to win it.

After one mystery wedge is revealed, that space becomes a normal cash wedge, and the other mystery wedge acts as a regular $1,000 space for the remainder of the round. Beginning in the twenty-third season, the producers show the home audience what's behind the mystery wedge before a decision is made by the contestant.

On some occasions, when the contestant turns over the mystery wedge they landed on and it shows the bonus prize, their next spin ends up being either a "Bankrupt" or "Lose-a-Turn".

Puzzle round

Some puzzles have a question that can be answered in order to win some extra money (previously $500 from September 1990 to August 1995 , $2,000 from September 1995 to August 2000 , now $3,000 as of September 2000). Categories for this puzzle include:

Example of Fill In The Blank
? And Sour
? Dreams
? Home Alabama
The answer to the blanks is Sweet, and correctly guessing that earns the player $3,000.

TO BE ELATED IS TO BE ON CLOUD NUMBER #
The answer is 9, and guessing 9 earns $3,000.

Prize Puzzle

As indicated at the beginning of a puzzle, at seemingly random intervals there are Prize Puzzles that award the winner with a prize somehow relating to the puzzle. It debuted in September 2003. As of September 2005, there has been a prize puzzle every night, appearing in either round 1, 2, or 3.

Example: If the solution was "FUN IN THE SUN", the player would win a trip to a tropical island.

Starting sometime near the end of the 2003-04 season (which was during the 21st season), home viewers (in the U.S. only) were given a chance to win the same prize as the contestants with a "Special Prize Identification Number" (S.P.I.N), consisting the first letter of that contestant's first and last name, and five numbers (example: AB12345) from the show's web site, and having 24 hours to log on and claim their prize. (Also, as of September 2005, if a contestant won a car in the Bonus Round, a home viewer with the matching SPIN ID would also win the same car as the on-air contestant. The rules for claiming the car are the same as the Prize Puzzle rules.) If they are a SonyCard holder, they win an additional $50,000.

Apparently somewhere around this time, the prizes given away became exclusively trips. One puzzle where the prize was not a trip was "AN EVENING YOU'LL NEVER FORGET" in the category of "Event", and the prize was a gift package from TicketsNow.com. This occurred in May 2004 during the show's visit to San Francisco. Plus, there was a puzzle "CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS" that awarded a home theater set

The 2 letters are the winning home viewer's first and last initials. It is not known how the five digits are computed, and it is possible that either the numbers are randomly generated or how they come up with the digits is kept a secret.

Another note, Season 15 also had Prize Puzzles for their first round on their Friday Finals, but this one lasted in the first 3 months of the 15th season.

Speed-Up Round

Late in the game, if a fourth round has not been played or time is running short in the middle of a round, four consecutive bells are sounded, signifying the start of the speed-up round. In this round, a fixed dollar amount is set by one final spin of the wheel by the host - if the host spins and lands on either a non-dollar space (e.g., Bankrupt, Free Spin, etc.), or a remaining prize, he spins again. (Sometimes the prizes are removed before the final spin to minimize these occurrences. Nowadays, such bad spins are edited out.) Each player then in turn is given the opportunity to guess one letter, and a few seconds (originally five; later three) to solve the puzzle if they guess correctly. The prize awarded, like the regular round, is proportional to the number of correct letters. If the contestant selects a vowel, no prize is awarded. Unlike the regular round, they don't get another turn if they guess correctly.

Oftentimes, the speed-up round occurs in the middle of a round (usually the fourth round) although some fast-paced games continue to a fifth and, rarely, a sixth round. In slower games, the final spin will start the fourth round. The audience is told to remain silent so the answer is not accidentally revealed. As of September 2000, this round features background music.

In recent U.S. seasons as of October 1999, $1,000 is added to the value of the final spin (for example, landing on $550 means consonants are worth $1,550). Previously, the speed-up round was often anticlimactic, especially when the leader had a huge lead over the second- and third-place contestants and Sajak landed on a small dollar amount.

On some versions, such as in the U.S., the host intentionally aims for the top dollar value with the final spin; the wheel is set to give the host a better chance of hitting it. For example, in more recent shows in the U.S. version, the Speed-Up Round often starts before the round has begun, at which point the wheel is pointed at the $5,000 space. Since an average spin is around one rotation, this increases the odds greatly. In other versions, the host gives a random spin. To save on TV air time, those spins are edited out for broadcast, unless they may be found especially humorous, especially in recent years if Sajak hits a Bankrupt or Lose a Turn space during the spin.

The record for the most money won in the speed-up round is $54,000, set during a February 2005 episode from Las Vegas during the 22nd season and again in the 2nd Month of the 23rd season.

Round 4

Beginning with round four, all unclaimed prizes are removed from the wheel regardless of how much time is remaining in the maingame, even if the game goes past its usual four rounds. This was done sometime in either the 2004-2005 or 2005-2006 season, as mentioned above, to minimize occurrences of the host landing on a prize or penalty space, which would force the host to spin again.

Bonus Round

A final puzzle is put up and the contestant chooses several consonants and a vowel. Occurrences of these letters are revealed and the contestant has a small amount of time, but as many guesses as necessary, to solve the puzzle.

Several versions of the Bonus Round – including the long-familiar format introduced in December 1981 – have been used, and are detailed below.

1975 \"hour long WOF\" version

The U.S. version tinkered with a bonus round format for 6 weeks in September 1975, when the show was one hour long. The winner of the show would play a sort of bonus round, and have the choice of 4 different puzzles—easy, medium, hard, and difficult. When they chose the puzzle, they were asked to give 4 consonants and a vowel. Then they were given 15 seconds to guess the puzzle.

If the puzzle was solved, they won a prize based on the puzzle's difficulty. For example, if the contestant chose an easy puzzle, he/she might win a $1,000 television-stereo console, while solving a difficult puzzle would win them a $13,000 Cadillac El Dorado. The prizes varied widely.

1978 \"Star Bonus\" version

The "Star Bonus" round was played for a time in September 1978, which would enable a second- or third-place contestant to possibly become champion by solving a Bonus Round-type puzzle.

A special "Star Bonus" disc was placed on the wheel. If a contestant landed on the wedge, he/she was provisionally entitled to play the Bonus Round if he/she was the second- or third-place contestant that day. The contestant had to play for a prize that was more than the difference between him/her and the first-place contestant; just like the hour-long Bonus Round, the prize's value corresponded with the puzzle's difficulty.

As before, the contestant was asked to pick four consonants and a vowel, then given 15 seconds to attempt to solve the puzzle.

Critics of this format point to several flaws, most notably that merely landing on the space did not guarantee the Star Bonus would be played. It was possible for the day's eventual first-place contestant to land on the Star Bonus. Also, the Star Bonus prizes were available during shopping rounds, meaning a dominant player could buy that $13,000 Chevrolet Corvette and thus render an opponent's Star Bonus token useless (since no available prize would allow him/her to overtake the first-place player). Then, there was the possibility that the Star Bonus token would not be landed on at all; plus, some haphazard editing also irked viewers.

1981-current \"Bonus Round\"

Pat Sajak's first show in December 1981 was also when the current bonus round became permanent.

When it debuted in December 1981, the winner of that's day/night's show chose a prize (tagged with a special gold star, usually worth $1,500 or more). He/she then was presented a puzzle and told its category, and then chose 5 consonants and a vowel. The contestant was given 15 seconds to solve the puzzle. If correct, he/she won the prize. Contestants stood behind the wheel during the bonus round during the first week; after that, they stood on the other side of the wheel, with the chosen prize just upstage, and the "Wheel of Fortune" logo on the floor. (Sometimes a car would be between the wheel and the puzzle board, causing the logo to not be shown.)

A statistical analysis shows that R, S, T, L, N, and E are the best choices, and these were almost always selected by contestants, although sometimes a C, D, G, or an H would be substituded for one or more of the common letters, most oftenly the L. Occasionally, puzzles would feature none of these letters (or the selections would only produce one or two letters); at that point, the host would allow the contestant to pick three more consonants and one more vowel. As of September 1988, the contestant was automatically given the R, S, T, L, N and E, and was then asked for the additional three consonants and one vowel. The player was now only given ten seconds to solve the puzzle. These rules remain to this day.

Since then, the difficulty of the bonus puzzles has gone up, sometimes with only 1 or 2 instances of the automatic letters appearing in the puzzle; and often puzzles are one word. Often times, the four letters the contestants choose are not in the puzzle either; and when one-word puzzles are played, the first letter of the word is rarely revealed.

Changes to the December 1981 bonus round

By September 1998, with contestants still preferring $25,000 (or at least one of the available cars), the cash was eventually made available every day; the other prizes could still only be won once per week. For the last two months of this format from September to November 2001, the large prize packages were scrapped; three envelopes contained cars, and the other two had the $25,000 cash prize. In September 1992, the Blind-Draw style was changed from stars with words in them to Neon words on a Platform. In September 1997, the style was changed from a Platform One to a Straight one, used until November 2001.
In September 2002, the Bonus Wheel prizes were revised, with cash amounts of between $30,000 and $50,000 hidden in the mix (each in increments of $5,000). The prize distribution was thus:
* Six (6) envelopes containing one car.
* Six (6) envelopes containing the other car.
* Six (6) envelopes containing $25,000.
* One (1) envelope each containing $30K, $35K, $40K, $45K, $50K, and $100,000.
Five solo contestants and six teams have won the $100,000 prize. Douglass Ross was the first to do so in December 2001, and was the only one to win it during the 2001-2002 season. It was won three times during the 2002-2003 season, with 2 solo contestants and one team winning it. It wasn't won at all during the 2003-2004 season. It was won once in the 2004-2005 season and the first win on the road. At the end of the 2005-2006 season, a record-breaking six $100,000 wins have been shown.

Biggest wins and losses

Natasha and Robert Purdum react after identifying "Risky Move" and winning the $100,000 grand prize in February 2006 during "Sweethearts Week" in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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Natasha and Robert Purdum react after identifying "Risky Move" and winning the $100,000 grand prize in February 2006 during "Sweethearts Week" in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The $100,000 Club (pre-2001)
List of $100,000 winners
List of $100,000 losers

Bonus Round in foreign countries

Wheel of Fortune in popular culture

Wheel of Fortune For Prizes - Mobile Game

In 2005, InfoSpace Games teamed up with Sony Pictures Mobile to create the mobile game [Wheel of Fortune For Prizes]. Players compete against others across the U.S. in multiplayer tournaments for a chance to win daily and weekly prizes.

[IGN Wireless Review of Wheel of Fortune for Prizes]

Wheel of Fortune 2000

Slot machines

Given creator Merv Griffin's fondness for gambling (including being a successful casino owner), it would seem natural that Wheel would be featured as the basis for a slot machine. International Gaming Technology licensed the rights to make Wheel-based games in 1996. The first machines (and still the most popular) featured standard IGT traditional three-reel slot machines, each with a reproduction of the show's famous wheel above the reels. When a "SPIN" symbol lines up on any reel, the player presses a button to start the wheel spinning, and a player could win as many as 1,000 credits (with no "Bankrupt" wedges). Lining up three "Wheel of Fortune" symbols wins the progressive jackpot, which is usually linked with other Wheel machines throughout one or more states and reaches into the millions of dollars.

In more recent years, as video-based slot machines with many paylines have become popular, video versions of Wheel machines have appeared, all with the familiar wheel above the screen. In 2004, a version featuring Sajak and White was produced as a "Special Edition," the only machines in the series to feature human voices, aside from the familiar show-opening audience chant.

The Wheel slot machines are widely believed to be the most popular slot machines ever distributed in North America. Indeed, one can hardly walk through a casino anywhere on the continent without repeatedly hearing the "WHEEL ... OF ... FORTUNE!" audience chant that comes from a machine when a player gets to spin the wheel.

Episode status

The original pilot made for NBC with the host Edd "Kookie" Byrnes still exists from September 1974. A clip was shown in the 3000th episode celebration in November 1998. Most of the Woolery–Stafford episodes are believed to have been destroyed by NBC, which still has yet to be proven; however, surviving examples circulate among—and are treasured by—game show tape traders. All Sajak syndicated episodes are intact, however, and have been shown on GSN.

The status of the Sajak/Benirschke/Goen daytime versions is unknown, though it is likely that all of Vanna White's episodes have been preserved, since a clip of her first show was played during the 1997 April Fools episode of Wheel, in the 3000th episode celebration. (Although Vanna's first episode indeed exists, some sources say that most of the remaining daytime episodes up until about 1984 have been destroyed.)

Clips from early episodes—including several from the Woolery–Stafford era, early Sajak daytime episodes and Vanna's first show—surfaced on the recent E! True Hollywood Story episode chronicling the show's history. A short clip of an intro from a Woolery episode, with O'Donnell announcing, surfaced on the 3000th episode.

Theme songs

Although "Changing Keys" is far more commonly associated with Wheel, many game show fans consider "Big Wheels" to be the superior theme.

Trivia

The first Nintendo release of Wheel of Fortune was for the NES. It was published by Gametek and released in 1987.
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The first Nintendo release of Wheel of Fortune was for the NES. It was published by Gametek and released in 1987.

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SNES, version of Wheel of Fortune, available to consumers in 1992.
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The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SNES, version of Wheel of Fortune, available to consumers in 1992.
Several video games of Wheel of Fortune have been released since the 1980s, including a computer game for older Macintosh computers, a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System that was released prior to the overhaul of the bonus round during the "Big Month of Cash," a Super NES rendition, a Nintendo 64 version, several PC versions, and even an arcade version.

A week of shows in the twenty-third season was cancelled when the entire production staff had to evacuate New Orleans, Louisiana; the show was taping three weeks of episodes (five per day) in the city when Hurricane Katrina hit. The week cancelled was "Family Week" but the show flew the contestants originally scheduled for "Family Week" in New Orleans to tape in Los Angeles.

The working title for Wheel of Fortune was "Shoppers' Bazaar", apparently in reference to the shopping segment when a contestant won each round of regular play.

The show was mentioned in Billy Joel's history themed song "We Didn't Start the Fire".

The Wheel weighs 4,000 pounds. Because of this, risers are placed behind the podiums for short contestants to give them enough leverage to get a decent spin of the wheel. However, contestants with a considerable amount of upper-body strength will get more than one revolution with a single spin.

In 2004, there was a Wheel of Fortune handheld game that allowed players to point the device at the television and play along, as the puzzle would appear on a tiny LCD screen. [Tiger Electronics press release]

Taped shows

From January 1975 to December 1981 in Woolery's version from 1975-1981, Sajak's Daytime version from December 1981 to January 1989 on NBC and from Septermber 1983 to August 1989 on the Nighttime version on syndication, and Benirschke's version on NBC from January to June 1989, it was taped at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. From September 1989 to August 1995 on the syndicated Sajak's version, and the Goen's version from July 1989 to January 1991 on CBS and from January to September 1991 on NBC, it was taped at CBS Television City. On the syndicated version as of September 1995, it is taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.

Credits

External links

 

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