BREAKING: Pat undergoes emergency surgery, Vanna stepping in to host WOF.

[BrandonFG]

The reason most of the home audience is watching Wheel of Fortune is to play along.

This I wholeheartedly cosign on. The only current show I can think of where winning and losing is a driving factor for viewership is Jeopardy.

I think this highlights one difference of what makes Jeopardy! seem fresh, while Wheel feels like comfort food, which is interesting because there's only so many ways you can dress up answering in the form of a question. With J!, since the unlimited championships era began, we've gotten to know longtime contestants as celebrities in their own right. KenJen, Arthur Chu, Julia Collins, and countless others have become rockstars because we see these people's personalities, and begin rooting for them. We actually felt like we knew the late Cindy Stowell because of how the show handled her health with such class.

Meanwhile, most of Wheel's contestants come across as robotic, Diet Casting Central types. Sometimes you get a memorable one like the guy who jokingly talked trash about his family, but mostly, you see the same people found on any other daytime or basic cable game show, which only adds to Wheel's monotone feel. Chelsea hit the nail on the head when she said you could air a 2012 episode with a current copyright and not know the difference. Is GSN still showing episodes from c. 2013-14? I'd love to see an episode for comparison.

Keeping this back on track, I'm usually at my evening university job when this and J! are on, but I'll try and catch this at some point during Christmas break. The one very brief clip I saw in the GMA interview reminded me of Meredith on Millionaire, in that she interacted well enough but knew how to keep the game going.

[Chelsea Thrasher]

Is GSN still showing episodes from c. 2013-14? I'd love to see an episode for comparison.

They dropped it a few months back when their most recent lease expired.

That said, Sony isn't quite as militant about removing episodes as they used to be, and make special exception when it's the contestants themselves it seems. 

Here's a show from Spring 2013. Dub the theme song (which they actually did for some reruns after they changed it), ditch the 30th anniversary graphics and the Jackpot, and add in some more toss-ups and crosswords and you basically have Wheel ca. now.  And even if there are changes, it still *feels* interchangeable even with almost seven years distance. 

[Neumms]

I think when Pat is ready to retire (or take over Jeopardy! when Alex needs to step down?) the job is hers if she wants it.

I found her recovery from her small last-spin gaffe charming as heck, and it's great fun to see her host, but no. She's not hosting material. Pat and Vanna will ride off into the sunset together. I don't find Pat ruing his lot in life, but new hosts will freshen things immensely. Moving him to Jeopardy! only delays the inevitable.

[Neumms]

I heartily agree about shaking up the extras, and they should recalibrate where they stick the prize money.

Has increasing the minimum bonus-round award make it more exciting? No. It's still the minimum.

What was always exciting was hitting a multiple letter on a high-amount spin. It's time they put a regular $10,000 space on the wheel, scrimping elsewhere if they have to. $30,000 in one spin during the main game is exciting. $50,000 instead of $39,000 in Bonus Land isn't.

Scrap the Prize Puzzle. It prevents players from risking it to keep spinning. If they want to offer a trip or merchandise, give it away on toss-ups. Those dollar amounts are arbitrary anyway.

As to the bonus, throw an interesting prize out there once in a while. Give away a house or an airplane or a Lamborghini.

[Casey]

Or why not just make the prize in the Prize Puzzle a wedge?  Maybe put more prize wedges on the wheel during the Prize Puzzle round to make it interesting.  I agree that with no risk, it just makes whoever wins that round the game winner most of the time, so doing this would at least make the round a bit more interesting to watch.

[chrisholland03]

Prize Puzzle = source of revenue/free-to-production company prizes.  It's not going away anytime soon.

Honestly, I don't think throwing more, less, or reallocating prizes is going to resolve any issues with the show.  One could argue that is exactly what they've been doing for the last 15+ years, and it hasn't moved the needle.  In my opinion, the show has the same challenges the last 10 years of the Barker era of Price had.  Everything is rote, and feels stale.  Having Vanna host has really made that very apparent, in my opinion.  It will be interesting to see what Mike Richards brings to address this, especially since the set is already 'Price' loud and the game is already gimmick filled. 

[cmjb13]

Also, from a friend who's been to WOF tapings - during breaks and stopdowns, Vanna comes out and talks to the audience, Pat not so much.

My experience at previous tapings has been that Vanna goes behind the puzzle board and Pat will either do the same or go to the producer's table.

I suspect it's to take more and more time away from Rounds 4+ so the $5,000 space has less time in play.

I never noticed it was missing until you mentioned it.

It will be interesting to see what Mike Richards brings to address this, especially since the set is already 'Price' loud and the game is already gimmick filled.

I suspect he'll implement similar gimmicks as Price.

C + D level celebrities cameos
C + D level celebrities contestants
Having kids, parents, team rivalries play as contestants
High end designer/fashion prizes.

[TimK2003]

And isn't it a regular occurrence when Pat does the final dollar spin, the wheel is pretty much "set up" for him to land on the top value if the round starts as a speed round?  That's another aspect that makes the game seem robotic and predictable.

[Bryce L.]

And isn't it a regular occurrence when Pat does the final dollar spin, the wheel is pretty much "set up" for him to land on the top value if the round starts as a speed round?  That's another aspect that makes the game seem robotic and predictable.

I don't know that I'd say it's set up for him to hit it... in every round, the wheel is pre-set so that the yellow player's flipper is over the center portion of the top dollar amount.

[PYLdude]

And isn't it a regular occurrence when Pat does the final dollar spin, the wheel is pretty much "set up" for him to land on the top value if the round starts as a speed round?  That's another aspect that makes the game seem robotic and predictable.

I don't know that I'd say it's set up for him to hit it... in every round, the wheel is pre-set so that the yellow player's flipper is over the center portion of the top dollar amount.

They still do that?

[Bryce L.]

And isn't it a regular occurrence when Pat does the final dollar spin, the wheel is pretty much "set up" for him to land on the top value if the round starts as a speed round?  That's another aspect that makes the game seem robotic and predictable.

I don't know that I'd say it's set up for him to hit it... in every round, the wheel is pre-set so that the yellow player's flipper is over the center portion of the top dollar amount.

They still do that?

Yep.

[WarioBarker]

Has increasing the minimum bonus-round award make it more exciting? No. It's still the minimum.

If anything, it's made the cars look cheaper since a good number of them are under the cash minimum.

It's time they put a regular $10,000 space on the wheel, scrimping elsewhere if they have to.

That'd get pretty expensive pretty fast. I'd much rather have more four-digit amounts like $1500, $2000, and a standard $1000. Having $500-$900 plus top value just looks chintzy to me.

Prize Puzzle = source of revenue/free-to-production company prizes.

It also means crap puzzles and nothing but trips because that's apparently the only thing they can bother to put into the Prize Puzzle.

It's not going away anytime soon.

Not during this season, no, but who knows what Mike will do with the show?

[Strikerz04]

I heartily agree about shaking up the extras, and they should recalibrate where they stick the prize money.

Has increasing the minimum bonus-round award make it more exciting? No. It's still the minimum.

What was always exciting was hitting a multiple letter on a high-amount spin. It's time they put a regular $10,000 space on the wheel, scrimping elsewhere if they have to. $30,000 in one spin during the main game is exciting. $50,000 instead of $39,000 in Bonus Land isn't.

Scrap the Prize Puzzle. It prevents players from risking it to keep spinning. If they want to offer a trip or merchandise, give it away on toss-ups. Those dollar amounts are arbitrary anyway.

As to the bonus, throw an interesting prize out there once in a while. Give away a house or an airplane or a Lamborghini.

Without venturing too much in "mo money syndrome," I'd thought the $1500/2000/2500 spaces made the game a little more interesting (at least if the game isn't a runaway).


And also: did they oust the 1/2 Car Tokens this season?

[Bryce L.]

And also: did they oust the 1/2 Car Tokens this season?

Yes.

[Jeremy Nelson]

Prize Puzzle = source of revenue/free-to-production company prizes.  It's not going away anytime soon.

But if Royal Carribean gets a full on prize plug and just becomes an actual wedge, what's the difference to them? We can't be the only people noticing that the person who wins this round very frequently also wins the game.