Game Show “What If:” Wheel of Fortune

[TheInquisitiveOne]

Good evening.

In light of Chuck Woolery’s recent passing (as well as the fact we’re approaching the 50th anniversary of this topic’s subject), I wanted to look into what could’ve been with Wheel of Fortune.

The show has a very rich history, but there were two major points in time that could’ve easily altered the course of Wheel. Let’s look into them.

First, then-executive of NBC Fred Silverman ordered the cancellation of Wheel to make room for David Letterman’s 90 minute daytime talk show, but reversed his decision after it was clear Letterman’s show wasn’t making headway (it was truncated to 60 minutes before being canned). Chuck and Susan Stafford even taped a farewell message set for air; that’s how close of an “11th hour decision” Silverman’s reversal ended up being.

Let’s say Silverman stuck to his guns and decided that Wheel be canceled. Would Merv Griffin and King World have reached a deal to bring it to syndication without a daytime counterpart to sell the show? According to Connor Higgins (whose YouTube channel dove into the history of Wheel of Fortune), Merv planned to sell Wheel to syndication well before 1983, but his potential deals with Syndicast Services and 20th Television Fox fell through. It could be possible that Wheel would still be successful, seeing that it did work for Jeopardy, whose last daytime incarnation - with a modified format and a bonus round - ended five years prior.

If the previous point ended up as it happened and that particular discussion ended up moot, there was another major point that took place. Merv and then-host Chuck Woolery had a contract dispute, where NBC was wiling to pay the gap to help reach an agreement, to which Merv said no. (Merv even threatened to move the show to CBS if NBC didn’t back down.) This would ultimately cause Woolery to leave Wheel and open the door for Pat Sajak to take over the show for the next four decades.

However, let’s say that Merv and Chuck played nice (with or without NBC’s help) and Chuck stayed on. Where would Pat end up on this equation, if he’s even in it? Would the show have even been as successful with Chuck still at the helm?

I am sure there are a lot of complexities I am leaving out, so I’d like to know your thoughts. How do you think events would have played out if the two above events played out differently than they did? Let’s discuss.

Thank you in advance for your responses, and have a safe and Merry Christmas. Be well.

The Inquisitive One

[TLEberle]

Just to make a point--I watched Connor's history of Family Feud and found little that was not either widely known or written on more clearly by our Adam N. I found it tough to endure but my mileage is my own.

I wonder if the ratings of daily Wheel being ok not great means it becomes difficult to sell as a five-a-week strip with an eye toward knocking off Feud, Joker and Dough. The days of the weekly prime access show were quickly running out by '81.

If Pat gets the Puzzlers pliot he'll end up somewhere; I believe the previous timeline discussion puts him at Scrabble. The only deviation is what happens if the nighttime version doesn't get greenlit--surely Wheel doesn't last until it sputters to the end in 1991. Maybe it gets kneecapped with Sale of the Century and Super Password.

This doesn't pertain to the iron butterfly effect, but I think it was a mistake to have the nighttime version adopt shopping just with slightly higher money until round three. Playing for cash is such a different animal that it would have separated from the daytime mother ship and would have injected a bit of excitement plus you don't have the thumb-twiddling of what to do with $500.

[BrandonFG]

I’ve said this before but I don’t know if it does as well if it hits syndication in ‘80 or ‘81. Feels like the genre had a bit of a “recession” in the early-80s. NBC canceled a few shows in summer 1980. Blockbusters was a modest hit, and Gambit lasted a year.

ABC and CBS only had one show each until CBS rolled out Tattle Tales, Pyramid and Child’s Play in ‘82. Then NBC with a few shows on 1/3/83.

Meanwhile in syndication, out of the handful of shows that premiered in 1980 or ‘81, only Bullseye got renewed. I don’t think Wheel does much better if it comes out around that time, although I have no idea how it became such a breakout hit considering they didn’t even have NY or LA onboard till midseason.

EDIT: FU Autocorrect

[TheInquisitiveOne]

I’ve said this before but I don’t know if it does as well if it hits syndication in ‘80 or ‘81. Feels like the genre had a bit of a “recession” in the early-80s. NBC canceled a few shows in summer 1980. Blockbusters was a modest hit, and Gambit lasted a year.

ABC and CBS only had one show reach until CBS rolled out Tattle Tales, Pyramid and Child’s Play in ‘82. Then NBC with a few shows on 1/3/83.

Meanwhile in syndication, out of the handful of shows that premiered in 1980 or ‘81, only Bullseye got renewed. I don’t think Wheel does much better if it comes out around that time, although I have no idea how it became such a breakout hit considering they didn’t even have NY or LA onboard till midseason.

What you and Travis just said brings up an excellent point.

If nighttime Wheel did start around ‘80 or ‘81, the show would've caught Feud, Joker, and TTD at or slightly past their respective apexes. (Around that period, Joker held it’s “Million Dollar” Tournament of Champions, and TTD was in the “Thom McKee Era,” to get an idea of how hot those shows were at the time. Feud was simply being Feud.) Wheel would likely have been lost in the shuffle.

By 1983, those three shows got long in the tooth, and Wheel became the “shiny new toy” in nighttime syndication. The big markets (NY, LA, Chicago) caught wind when they saw the smaller markets watching in droves. It was as if King World knew when to strike, though I don’t think it was their strategy to sit and wait on it.

This really felt like “right place, right time.”

The Inquisitive One