Turn your backs

[SuperMatch93]

Why were contestants required to turn their backs during daytime Wheel commercials? Was it so they wouldn't be able to study the puzzle? It would make sense if they dismantled the puzzle on stage between rounds, but I thought that was done off stage.

[Kevin Prather]

[quote name=\'SuperMatch93\' post=\'243943\' date=\'Jul 11 2010, 12:05 PM\']Why were contestants required to turn their backs during daytime Wheel commercials? Was it so they wouldn't be able to study the puzzle?[/quote]
AFAIK, this.

[TLEberle]

Exactly. If I'm allowed to look at the words and the letters within, I can mentally roll through possible solutions, and check them to see if they make sense. If I can't look, that sort of thing is much much harder. Try playing Hangman without looking at the word and having someone else read out the letters and blanks.

[Jimmy Owen]

I always wondered why they couldn't put a curtain in front of the puzzle board.  Maybe even the same one Susan and Vanna used for their entrances.  Plus, what would stop a player from seeing the puzzle reflected in the mirrors.

[drmusic_99]

Since I only watched the nighttime version back then I was unfamiliar with this convention until a sitcom episode that had the stars go on the show (227?) and it got a big laugh when Pat made them all turn around.

[vtown7]

Just as an addendum, not sure about the old-school puzzle board days but since the days of the touch puzzle board players must step down and turn away from the board, just in case an answer would accidentally pop up.

R.

[trainman]

[quote name=\'vtown7\' post=\'243957\' date=\'Jul 11 2010, 06:05 PM\']...since the days of the touch puzzle board players must step down and turn away from the board, just in case an answer would accidentally pop up.[/quote]

Same deal with "Jeopardy!", where the contestants also have to turn away from the board during a stoppage in play (that usually happens when someone hits a Daily Double while the producers/judges are still researching a previous unexpected response).

[Ian Wallis]

This puzzled me back in the day too as it was never explained why.  Sometimes Chuck and Susan would talk about things like this during the close, but this topic never came up.  From a viewer point of view, it probably would have been better to wait until they faded to black into commercial to ask the players to turn away, or even when Chuck was off mike heading into a commercial.

[joker316]

Out of curiosity, was this done on any version of Concentration?

[MrBuddwing]

[quote name=\'trainman\' post=\'243958\' date=\'Jul 11 2010, 09:16 PM\'][quote name=\'vtown7\' post=\'243957\' date=\'Jul 11 2010, 06:05 PM\']...since the days of the touch puzzle board players must step down and turn away from the board, just in case an answer would accidentally pop up.[/quote]

Same deal with "Jeopardy!", where the contestants also have to turn away from the board during a stoppage in play (that usually happens when someone hits a Daily Double while the producers/judges are still researching a previous unexpected response).
[/quote]

With "Jeopardy!", I think there was the added concern that one or more of the answers would accidentally pop up on the board.

[Craig Karlberg]

The idea of having players turning their backs before the commercia breakl is a way to keep at least one player from having an "unfair" advantage over the others.  The problem is that the players know what the board looks like & have a mental picture in their minds while trying to comtemplate which letters to call next or if they think s/he knows what the puzzle is.

As for the reflections behind them, all those mirrors do is create a horizontally-flipped image of the puzzle.  Might as well close your eyes & try to think of what to do next.

The Art Flemming version of J! had a curtain which concealed the J! board before the game begins.  Once the J! round ends, the players are turned around so as not to see the board being reloaded for Double J! before the curtain closes again.  Same deal with Final J!  Why WoF couldn't use such a curtain just like the one used in the entrances is probably a budgetary matter I guess.

[ten96lt]

Ok I understand Wheel making you turn around so you can't study the puzzle, I understand Jeopardy makes you turn around so you can't create a strategy looking at the clues remaining. But I don't understand the justification about the "answer" showing by accident. If it did, wouldn't they just throw it out anyway? I'm sure it's pretty simple since it's all computerized especially for wheel, just press "Replace Puzzle" or whatever. The same thing could happen during actual game play if the system crashes or hits a glitch so they'd have to throw it out anyway so what's the difference during actual game play and during the break to use that justification?

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'ten96lt\' post=\'244039\' date=\'Jul 13 2010, 10:48 AM\']If it did, wouldn't they just throw it out anyway?[/quote]
Why waste content when you don't have to?

[ten96lt]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'244040\' date=\'Jul 13 2010, 01:01 PM\'][quote name=\'ten96lt\' post=\'244039\' date=\'Jul 13 2010, 10:48 AM\']If it did, wouldn't they just throw it out anyway?[/quote]
Why waste content when you don't have to?
[/quote]
Because it'd give the writers more work?

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'ten96lt\' post=\'244044\' date=\'Jul 13 2010, 11:36 AM\']Because it'd give the writers more work? [/quote]
Do not approve of your shenanigans