Wheel of Fortune wheel configurations

[Gus]

Isn't/Wasn't there a site/several sites that lists/listed the various wedge configurations of Wheel's wheel?

And am I crazy, or did the daytime version use pretty much the same configuration from the late seventies all the way through the 80s, up until the move to CBS?

[Ian Wallis]

And am I crazy, or did the daytime version use pretty much the same configuration from the late seventies all the way through the 80s, up until the move to CBS?

Don't know about the site, but the daytime version did switch things around from time to time.  Most notably are when they increased the top dollar amount.  If memory serves, I think the top dollar amound for the first few years was $1000 for round 3.  It was then changed to $1500 sometime in the late '70s, and by the early '80s it was $2000 (which became $5000 on the nighttime version).

[tvmitch]

I remember the site too but I have no idea where it is. I know that Brad Francini's site has some WoF trivia and whatnot. I remember looking at the site with the Wheel configurations and remembering that the bitmaps were done in super high quality and it took a long time to download on my DSL connection.

On another note, isn't it about time that the configuration of the current Wheel is modified? Game show fandom arguments ("No one except YOU notices that! tee hee) aside, why haven't the wedges been changed for so long? Wouldn't hurt to see a $650 or $850 space out there, or more spaces >$1000.

[Casey Buck]

Well, it's a Yahoo Photos group, but I think this will suffice

http://photos.yahoo.com/yankeedog792000

(Besides the Wheel configurations, there's some REALLY good looking game show set renditions there)

[tvmitch]

[quote name=\'Casey Buck\' post=\'156540\' date=\'Jul 2 2007, 03:57 PM\']
http://photos.yahoo.com/yankeedog792000
[/quote]
Hope this guy knows that Y! Photos is closing on 9/20...

[wheelloon]

[quote name=\'mitchgroff\' post=\'156530\' date=\'Jul 2 2007, 02:00 PM\']On another note, isn't it about time that the configuration of the current Wheel is modified? Game show fandom arguments ("No one except YOU notices that! tee hee) aside, why haven't the wedges been changed for so long? Wouldn't hurt to see a $650 or $850 space out there, or more spaces >$1000.
[/quote]
2 reasons:

1: It'll cost money (though, I don't think it'll be a budget breaker, nevertheless...)

2: Are the general WOF viewers complaining? Not at all, only the hardcore pro-WOF GS fans and the general Wheel loons (heh), would be inclined to say anything.

However, it is my hope that for their 25th syndie anniversary, Friedman and the gang will change up the configs a bit. This doesn't necessarily mean increasing the budget, for those that would be concerned, but I, for example, wouldn't mind seeing the reemergence of the 1500 space on the Wheel, especially in Round 4, possibly even a 2k or 2500 space instead. Also, any way to reduce the bevy of 300 dollar spaces (maybe with an additional underused 350, 450, 550, or 700, as opposed to 650 or 850) would be nice.

However, I'm not holding my breath...

[Gus]

For the last eleven seasons, since the move to Sony, the wheel has had the same base template of spaces for the entire show, with only the top dollar, second bankrupt, prizes, and whatnot being added on or moved around. In fact, examining that Yahoo Photos page, there've only been two bases, and the second one, from 1999, only modified six spaces from the 96 base, five of them 250s. They changed the colors around this past season with the HD wheel, but the values stayed put. So for the past eleven seasons, the wheel's been using the same amounts for the whole show, with the current values in use for eight.

Before then, they switched out the entire wheel and each round had a distinctly different configuration. I liked that setup because there were more values that were closer to top dollar than 900 is to 2500, 3500, or 5000. But even though they did change things a bit, it was always just a few spaces here, a few spaces there, maybe change the colors around. But by looking at that Yahoo page, it seems that in 20 years, from 1976 to 1996, in daytime and nighttime, they never did a total wheel overhaul. In fact, comparing the 1976 daytime round 1 wheel to the 1995 nighttime round 1 wheel, 11 of the 24 spaces are the same value in the same spot. You always had 450 right after Lose a Turn, etc.

While I'm on the subject, anyone know offhand what the typeface is for the spaces on the wheel? I was making my own wheel in Inkscape, but I used Clarendon, even though I knew it wasn't exactly the same. (EDIT: I found it. It's Volta Bold. Now to find a freeware imitation...)

[HYHYBT]

So does anyone here besides me *like* the fact that they leave the wheel alone except for special spaces? Not that I'd mind a bigger *variety* of regular spaces on that base wheel...

(somewhat contradictory edit: the Wheel Of Fortune hasn't changed its configuration in eight years and this is a problem... yet over in daytime TV, the Big Wheel hasn't changed its configuration in over 30 years and no one complains about *that*.)

[Steve McClellan]

[quote name=\'HYHYBT\' date=\'Jul 2 2007, 10:41 PM\'](somewhat contradictory edit: the Wheel Of Fortune hasn't changed its configuration in eight years and this is a problem... yet over in daytime TV, the Big Wheel hasn't changed its configuration in over 30 years and no one complains about *that*.) [/quote]
Much as it would amuse me to see a TPIR wheel of

100
3
72
37
12
69
44
86
9
77
50
88
28
91
23
420
56
63
31
  97
14

there's really not anywhere you can go with that format. You could change the order of the current numbers, but why?

There are some semi-legitimate gripes against the WoF wheel: huge chasm between highest and second-highest amounts, fully 1/4 of the wheel being the smallest dollar amount, etc. And the show's format doesn't have nearly the constraints on the wheel that TPIR's does. So I tend to agree that Wheel's could use a freshening up.

[sshuffield70]

[quote name=\'HYHYBT\' post=\'156586\' date=\'Jul 3 2007, 01:41 AM\']
So does anyone here besides me *like* the fact that they leave the wheel alone except for special spaces? Not that I'd mind a bigger *variety* of regular spaces on that base wheel...

(somewhat contradictory edit: the Wheel Of Fortune hasn't changed its configuration in eight years and this is a problem... yet over in daytime TV, the Big Wheel hasn't changed its configuration in over 30 years and no one complains about *that*.)
[/quote]

The Big Wheel order has never changed since September, 1975.  Even the experimental wheel had the current order.

[Fedya]

Wheelloon wrote:

However, it is my hope that for their 25th syndie anniversary, Friedman and the gang will change up the configs a bit. This doesn't necessarily mean increasing the budget, for those that would be concerned, but I, for example, wouldn't mind seeing the reemergence of the 1500 space on the Wheel, especially in Round 4, possibly even a 2k or 2500 space instead. Also, any way to reduce the bevy of 300 dollar spaces (maybe with an additional underused 350, 450, 550, or 700, as opposed to 650 or 850) would be nice.

I don't watch WOF much, but I wonder if a case of faux "Mo Money Syndrome" wouldn't be a bad thing.  I'm thinking something along the lines of changing a few of the prizes in the end game: something like one 25K card to 30K; the 35K becomes a 40K; the 45K becomes a 50K; and a second of the $25K cards becomes a $75,000 card.  Budget the increase by getting rid of one of the two toss-ups at the top of the show.  

Based on how often the bonus round is won, the total prize budget wouldn't be that much larger, but it would certainly look as though they were giving away more money, since there would be more people landing on higher-value prizes.

The switch to HD probably would have been a good time to do something similar with the wheel.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Fedya\' post=\'156660\' date=\'Jul 4 2007, 01:03 PM\']
I don't watch WOF much, but I wonder if a case of faux "Mo Money Syndrome" wouldn't be a bad thing.  
[/quote]
You mean, more than it already has?

No thanks.

[J.R.]

I think Matthew Lesko would like to speak to some of you...

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/3211/matmonbag2ec0.gif

[rebelwrest]

[quote name=\'HYHYBT\' post=\'156586\' date=\'Jul 3 2007, 01:41 AM\']
(somewhat contradictory edit: the Wheel Of Fortune hasn't changed its configuration in eight years and this is a problem... yet over in daytime TV, the Big Wheel hasn't changed its configuration in over 30 years and no one complains about *that*.)
[/quote]

Yes that is true, but the big wheel on TPIR is not really the most important part of the show and only seen about 6 minutes for every show.  The wheel on WOF is probably the most important part of the show and gets a lot of air time.

Also, changing the wedges on the wheel wouldn't take long.  When I won one of Brad Francini's giveaways, I got a tape that included WABC doing a report called "The Great Game Show Comeback" which included included a behind the scenes look of WOF.  The wheel's spaces were cut into two halves.  One-half was replaced, wheel spun, and the other half is replaced.  By the looks of it, the whole replacement could take less than a standard commercial break.  I'm not sure how expensive it would take to create new wedges, but it looks like it can be included in stagehand duties without incurring more expense.

[Jimmy Owen]

Wheel would be equally appealing to me if they gave away a million dollars or 10 cents.  That is, not very appealing.