I like Marc Summers on
Scrabble. As a result,
Double Dare goes to another actor who auditioned for the hosting gig.......meet your host, Dana Carvey. What this does to
SNL, I don't know.
Back to
Wheel, with Chuck hosting, the original set and format remain in place; the bonus round doesn't premiere until the syndicated version in 1983. Like Jeremy, I see the syndie version running a few years, with a revival at some point in the early-2000s. It's not a juggernaut, but remains an early-evening (and morning) favorite. The host is another person who crossed Merv's radar: Ryan Seacrest. This is 2001...a year before
Idol, which he doesn't take. You're welcome, Brian Dunkleman.
I know that's a bold pick, but in this universe,
Wheel's been off the air for a decade, and wasn't the phenomenon it is in real life. The average viewer doesn't remember Chuck well enough to compare him to Ryan, who leaves the show in 2009 or so to focus on other projects. I have no idea who replaces him.
Since there's no Vanna-mania in the mid-80s and it's 2001, everything must be modern and high-tech. As a result, the puzzleboard now operates itself, but models still show off the prizes. The former causes a shitstorm on ATGS.
Vanna has a respectable acting career, and co-hosts an
Entertainment Tonight-type show, then retires to live her life in private, doing behind-the-scenes TV work.
Pat gets
Time Machine or
Your Number's Up in 1985. Soon thereafter, he hosts an unsold network pilot (
Keynotes?
Oddball?), and is still tapped for a (syndicated) late-night show, which has about the same result. Eventually he becomes an occasional conservative political commentator.
Last edit (hopefully): Bob Goen doesn't become a
Wheel host, but still co-hosts
Entertainment Tonight.