Harry Friedman leaving Wheel & Jeopardy!

[Loogaroo]

They're usually not. Some (not all) car dealerships are open to negotiations because it's all part of making a sale, but for the companies that are using game shows to promote their products, shipping the prize is the necessary but unpleasant consequence of getting the advertisement. It's much less hassle for them to say "We're shipping you the model R2900 sofa in taupe microfiber that you saw" than to waste manpower on negotiating with a "customer" (who isn't giving the company any money) for something else.

In that case, save yourself the tax burden.

[colonial]

Finally back online at home following a move to a new state. My two cents on potential changes with new leadership …

WOF (note my viewing of WOF has been few and far between, so some of my remarks could be out of date. If so, I apologize)

-- I agree that the Prize Puzzle has probably worn out its welcome. Most episodes I've seen in recent years had the winners of the Prize Puzzle win the overall game. And the Prize Puzzle is always some kind of vacation … there's no variety. With all the top-dollar amounts and prizes on the wheel, there's no need to have that kind of bonus anymore.

-- The show is too graphic heavy, and whoever takes charge (whether Richards or otherwise) needs to tone those bells and whistles down. Given the current graphics display, the showrunners seemingly presume the average viewer has an IQ of a houseplant. Player hits Bankrupt and Lose a Turn? Zero need to show those graphics in front of the contestant. The called letters popping up on the bottom left of the screen is odd -- comes off as abrupt and something a "Sesame Street" staffer came up with (and the "Ghostbusters" circle appearing for an incorrect letter is even worse).

-- I'd replace the "pop-up letters" as well as the "No More Vowels" graphic with a stationary graphic of all the letters on the top of the screen. Once a letter is called, it disappears. It's somewhat similar in scope to what's done on TV poker shows where the "good" cards remaining are shown prior to a turn or river.

-- A few people mentioned showing more variety with prizes, particularly with bonus prizes. Not sure if this could be done, but could WOF work out a deal with popular apps for sizable prizes? For example, $5,000 in Uber rides, $5,000 in DoorDash meals, etc. Not everyone wants a car, but they may go bonkers for a $25k Amazon gift card. Also, I wouldn't mind seeing, for instance, big-ticket items like living room/bedroom furniture or kitchen appliances return to the bonus rotation (call it, say, the "home makeover" package. Perhaps go so far as a complete renovation of a room in your home or apartment?) I also got a kick out of an annuity being a prize every so often a couple a years back. I wouldn't mind seeing that return again to the bonus rotation.

-- Call me old-fashioned, but I would like to see the player's overall scores to be shown behind the contestants during games. I've seen a few international versions do that, and I think that's a lot easier to follow than having the totals pop up randomly on screen during a Prize Puzzle round.

--  A few people mentioned poor gameplay as an issue, particularly contestants who opt for a quick solve and leave too many letters on the board (I tend to see that particularly with contestants who are in 3rd place late in games -- play to win, don't play just to get over the house minimum). Perhaps bringing back returning champions to WOF could inspire players to be a tad more competitive? Fans remember the great and memorable J! champs. The only WOF contestants I could recall are those I've met on this board and elsewhere. WOF could garner some decent mainstream and social media attention if they had someone win, say, 10 games in a row to start

-- Every week of shows does not have to have a theme to it, especially if the same 8-9 prizes are being offered day in and day out.

-- Bring back "Celebrity Week" -- this is the perfect show to have those kinds of episodes.


As for J!, I don't see any changes really happen until after Trebek steps down. However …

-- I do agree with those who say that the Teen Tournament winner should get an automatic bid into the TOC. I attended the NAQT High School Championships earlier this year in Atlanta, and these players are a lot smarter and stronger than when I was playing in high school back in the 90s. Granted, J! is different than high-level quizbowl, but I truly believe there are a handful of HS players out there who could make competitive and deep runs in a TOC

-- I hate to say this, as I know a few people who are waiting for a phone call for this, but I think it's time to dump the Teachers Tournament. There is no need to have an annual tournament devoted to a specific career path.

-- I'd also bid adieu to the Clue Crew. Most shows these days, the "Clue Crew" categories are either avoided until the very last subject, or a contestant uses it to slow down the game for his/her advantage. I honestly think its freshness date expired a while back. Perhaps encourage a return of regular Audio and Video DDs as an alternative?

-- No matter what, all 61 clues should be played per episode. That's why you have editing.



JD



JD

[bscripps]

-- No matter what, all 61 clues should be played per episode. That's why you have editing.

Just like in the old days when TPiR shot live to tape with minimal editing, and it was terrible.  Now it's edited to within an inch of its life, and I think we can all agree it's much, much better now, right?  Right?

J! is not a game which lends itself to cutting out all of the silence and pauses just so that Peoria can see all five clues in the "Famous Icelandic Ballerinas" category.

[MikeK]

-- I hate to say this, as I know a few people who are waiting for a phone call for this, but I think it's time to dump the Teachers Tournament. There is no need to have an annual tournament devoted to a specific career path.

Don't read into this too much.  When I auditioned at the Trivia Nationals last weekend, the teachers tournament was not mentioned during my interview.

But for obvious reasons, I hope it returns. 🙂

[Dbacksfan12]

-- I hate to say this, as I know a few people who are waiting for a phone call for this, but I think it's time to dump the Teachers Tournament. There is no need to have an annual tournament devoted to a specific career path.

Out of pure curiosity, do you also dislike shows on other series dedicated to military/police/fire?

[clemon79]

-- I hate to say this, as I know a few people who are waiting for a phone call for this, but I think it's time to dump the Teachers Tournament. There is no need to have an annual tournament devoted to a specific career path.

On a show about knowledge, I would suggest honoring teachers is a little more appropriate than calling it just "a specific career path." It's not like they plucked a piece of paper out of a hat that also had "Plumbers" and "Waiters" in it.

[Fedya]

Out of pure curiosity, do you also dislike shows on other series dedicated to military/police/fire?

I do.

[Loogaroo]

The called letters popping up on the bottom left of the screen is odd -- comes off as abrupt and something a "Sesame Street" staffer came up with (and the "Ghostbusters" circle appearing for an incorrect letter is even worse).

The sense I get on that is that it's a visual aid in case anyone is watching the show without the benefit of audio. That may seem like a narrow group, but considering the average age of WOF's audience it might actually be something they focus grouped and got positive feedback on. Watch the show once on Mute and suddenly the presence of the letters in the corner is actually kinda helpful - especially for the ones that aren't in the puzzle.

I'd replace the "pop-up letters" as well as the "No More Vowels" graphic with a stationary graphic of all the letters on the top of the screen. Once a letter is called, it disappears. It's somewhat similar in scope to what's done on TV poker shows where the "good" cards remaining are shown prior to a turn or river.

I could see a rectangle-shaped graphic along the top of the screen that inconspicuously shows the letter availability, perhaps with a sparkly animation when a letter is attempted as it flies into the board, Scrabble-style.

-- No matter what, all 61 clues should be played per episode. That's why you have editing.

I don't know about that. I'm coming around to the opinion Herr Eberle had post-Throwdown when we went through all of the material during The Challengers: what's the point of having control if everything's going to be played anyway? Other than finding and controlling the Daily Doubles, having control of the board doesn't give you much power other than just deciding in what order the last 12 clues of the game are revealed. If you have a sense that there's only going to be time for 27 of the 30 clues in DJ! to be revealed, though, having control gives you a little bit of power over which clues you want to be played and which ones you want to avoid. IIRC, this was part and parcel of Alex Jacob's strategy: build a lead, bleed clock, don't give your opponents opportunities to catch you.

[Sodboy13]

The sense I get on that is that it's a visual aid in case anyone is watching the show without the benefit of audio. That may seem like a narrow group, but considering the average of WOF's audience it might actually be something they focus grouped and got positive feedback on. Watch the show once on Mute and suddenly the presence of the letters in the corner is actually kinda helpful - especially for the ones that aren't in the puzzle.

Speaking as an employee in an office that puts WOF on the screen with no audio every weeknight at 6:30, I can say that the called letter bubble is a positive.

[TLEberle]

-- No matter what, all 61 clues should be played per episode. That's why you have editing.

I don't know about that. I'm coming around to the opinion Herr Eberle had post-Throwdown when we went through all of the material during The Challengers: what's the point of having control if everything's going to be played anyway? Other than finding and controlling the Daily Doubles, having control of the board doesn't give you much power other than just deciding in what order the last 12 clues of the game are revealed. If you have a sense that there's only going to be time for 27 of the 30 clues in DJ! to be revealed, though, having control gives you a little bit of power over which clues you want to be played and which ones you want to avoid. IIRC, this was part and parcel of Alex Jacob's strategy: build a lead, bleed clock, don't give your opponents opportunities to catch you.

My ears are burning:

"Control of the board" has become a cliche and throwaway language, but it means something different on every show. On Jeopardy it means that you know what the next clue will be before your opponents, but also controlling the pace of the game and finding the Daily Doubles. Control of the board on The Challengers means little if the board is cleared every round. (There was a time when they took out the Challengers Sprint and padded out the show with banter betwixt Dick and Gary Johnson--put up two more categories on the board and play a seventh at that point).

At a root level I enjoy trivia. As a viewer I want to see (and by proxy compare my skills against) as much as I can. I also know that every two deadballs more or less means one clue left on the board, and that's life. Were it me I'd like to wean the boards off of the little hints that leaven the difficulty--a $2,000 clue should merit a gasp and a burst of applause, not just moving on to the next clue.

[weaklink75]

Mike Richards officially announced as new WOF and J! Exec producer....

https://deadline.com/2019/08/mike-richards-executive-produce-jeopardy-wheel-of-fortune-harry-friedman-exit-next-year-1202707378/

[BrandonFG]

Given that Wheel seems to have just as many themed weeks as TPiR does special episodes (if not more), I could see Mike adding a few new wrinkles to the show. Maybe not as drastic* as what we've seen on TPiR, but a much-needed shot in the arm. Wheel's been on cruise control for years, not unlike the last several of Barker's tenure.

*I mean that in a good way, because...see the last prior sentence.

[Kevin Prather]

Here's hoping Mike brings back Megaword, just to see Pat's head explode.

[cmjb13]

He seems to be a big fan of moving graphics, so I would expect to see more

[Neumms]

It'd be nice if Richards brought the theme music into this century. Either that, or go back in time before their dorky "updates." The arrangements are close to Muzak, especially the current Final Jeopardy song which shouldn't have been changed in the first place.

Also, it's time for a $10,000 space on the wheel, a real one that pays off for each letter. That'd be far more exciting than prize cards, prize puzzles and bumping up the bonus round minimum.