Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Author Topic: Wheel contestant rule  (Read 10850 times)

JMFabiano

  • Member
  • Posts: 1549
Wheel contestant rule
« on: July 21, 2010, 06:18:11 PM »
Forgive me if this was already discussed, but does WOF really have a "lifetime" ban on anyone who appeared in any of the NBC or CBS versions?  And if so, are they really doing it to keep people from talking about said versions?

/Given what age of contestant they seem to want, would they ever encounter anyone old enough to have been on it?
I'm a pacifist, and even I would like to see a little more action.

Kevin Prather

  • Member
  • Posts: 6729
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2010, 06:21:23 PM »
[quote name=\'JMFabiano\' post=\'244625\' date=\'Jul 21 2010, 03:18 PM\']Forgive me if this was already discussed, but does WOF really have a "lifetime" ban on anyone who appeared in any of the NBC or CBS versions?  And if so, are they really doing it to keep people from talking about said versions?[/quote]
As for the latter, I can't imagine that'd be the only reason, if indeed the rule is there. It's way too easy to just tell the player "Hey, we won't talk about that" before taping.

Matt Ottinger

  • Member
  • Posts: 12958
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2010, 11:19:07 PM »
Excuse me, but GOD what an annoying site that TV Tropes is!  Apparently, it's a haven for people who think that Wikipedia is far too stodgy and reliable.  

I'm not finding the specific reference to a lifetime ban on the Wheel of Fortune page, mostly because I couldn't spend more than a few minutes reading through the countless examples before my eyes started to bleed.  Apparently, ANYTHING that was once part of the show, but now isn't part of the show, everything from shopping for prizes to the Buy A Vowel space, is guilty of 'Chuck Cunningham Syndrome'.  And a player trying to make more money by continuing to spin even after he knows the puzzle?  According to the site, such a person is a 'Jerkass'.

Best as I can tell, if you were to combine Wikipedia with Jump The Shark, then take away anything that is remotely good, interesting or useful about either site, what you'd be left with is something still not remotely as obnoxious as TV Tropes.  Someone pulling out of his butt that the reason for a lifetime ban is to keep contestants from talking about earlier versions seems to be pretty typical of the nonsense you'll find there.  Without naming names, I also found the writing style (and some of the specific examples) to be very familiar, and consistent with some issues we've had here regarding accuracy and common sense.
This has been another installment of Matt Ottinger's Masters of the Obvious.
Stay tuned for all the obsessive-compulsive fun of Words Have Meanings.

Vahan_Nisanian

  • Member
  • Posts: 1830
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2010, 11:26:15 PM »
I like TV Tropes. I think it's a great and funny site, and in some cases, better than wikipedia.

JasonA1

  • Executive Producer
  • Posts: 3118
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #4 on: July 21, 2010, 11:39:44 PM »
From wheeloffortune.com...

"You are not eligible to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune if you have appeared on any version of the show - including the daytime version (with Pat Sajak, Chuck Woolery, Bob Goen or other hosts), Teen Week (or any special week), or "Wheel 2000".

Doesn't say lifetime verbatim, but it's pretty well implied.

-Jason
Game Show Forum Muckety-Muck

J.R.

  • Member
  • Posts: 3901
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #5 on: July 21, 2010, 11:43:01 PM »
TVTropes is a ridiculously addicting site. I go there vowing "Just one article. Just one" and end up spending the whole damn night there.
-Joe Raygor

chad1m

  • Member
  • Posts: 2871
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #6 on: July 21, 2010, 11:47:33 PM »
[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'244668\' date=\'Jul 21 2010, 11:39 PM\']"You are not eligible to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune if you have appeared on any version of the show - including..."Wheel 2000".)[/quote]Hm, that kind of sucks. Wasting your lifetime eligibility for the show on the chance to win limo service or a week. Interesting that Jeopardy doesn't mention anything about their spin-offs in their rules, like Jep or Rock & Roll Jeopardy.
« Last Edit: July 21, 2010, 11:47:58 PM by chad1m »

Joe Mello

  • Member
  • Posts: 3471
  • has hit the time release button
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #7 on: July 21, 2010, 11:57:11 PM »
I'm going on 6-year-old memories, but I may have recalled seeing that you couldn't be a contestant on Wheel if you were a contestant on Jeopardy.

/When I went to the tapings in Philly, they had Eligibility Rules displayed in various places, including, I believe on the projection screens, which is where I picked this up from
« Last Edit: July 21, 2010, 11:58:29 PM by Joe Mello »
This signature is currently under construction.

GiraffeBoy

  • Member
  • Posts: 343
  • "He can solve puzzles, that's for sure."-Pat Sajak
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2010, 12:03:51 AM »
[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'244674\' date=\'Jul 21 2010, 08:57 PM\']I'm going on 6-year-old memories, but I may have recalled seeing that you couldn't be a contestant on Wheel if you were a contestant on Jeopardy.[/quote]
Don't think so.  They'd have to take Jason Block's money away, since he's been on both.

--Charlie
« Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 12:04:50 AM by GiraffeBoy »
"B, 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds...final answer?"
WWTBAM Play It! DCA Million Point Winner #42 - Stick your neck out with pride!

TLEberle

  • Member
  • Posts: 15801
  • Rules Constable
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2010, 12:03:58 AM »
[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'244674\' date=\'Jul 21 2010, 08:57 PM\']I'm going on 6-year-old memories, but I may have recalled seeing that you couldn't be a contestant on Wheel if you were a contestant on Jeopardy.[/quote]Jason Block was on both, to varying degrees of success.

EDIT: SCREW YOU, PEVEY! :)
« Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 12:04:19 AM by TLEberle »
Travis L. Eberle

GiraffeBoy

  • Member
  • Posts: 343
  • "He can solve puzzles, that's for sure."-Pat Sajak
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2010, 12:07:06 AM »
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'244677\' date=\'Jul 21 2010, 09:03 PM\']EDIT: SCREW YOU, PEVEY! :)[/quote]
JINX! (:))

--Charlie
« Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 12:07:46 AM by GiraffeBoy »
"B, 2 hours, 52 minutes, 59 seconds...final answer?"
WWTBAM Play It! DCA Million Point Winner #42 - Stick your neck out with pride!

WarioBarker

  • Member
  • Posts: 1913
  • Mind Wanderer
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2010, 12:07:13 AM »
[quote name='JasonA1' post='244668' date='Jul 21 2010, 11:39 PM']"You are not eligible to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune if you have appeared on any version of the show - including the daytime version (with Pat Sajak, Chuck Woolery, Bob Goen or other hosts), Teen Week (or any special week), or "Wheel 2000"."

Doesn't say lifetime verbatim, but it's pretty well implied.[/quote]
...Wow. The show doesn't forget, but it doesn't want to remember either. And a special hello to Rolf Benirschke and Edd Byrnes, who are ostensibly the "other hosts".

[quote name='chad1m' post='244672' date='Jul 21 2010, 11:47 PM']Hm, that kind of sucks. Wasting your lifetime eligibility for the show on the chance to win limo service or a week.[/quote]
Or a home computer, or some blimp rides, or...something else the bonus round offered. And I'm betting those kids weren't told that beforehand...so yeah, that does suck.

[quote name='J.R.' post='244670' date='Jul 21 2010, 11:43 PM']TVTropes is a ridiculously addicting site. I go there vowing "Just one article. Just one" and end up spending the whole damn night there.[/quote]
This is how it draws you in, my friend.

"Ooh, this Trope looks interesting!"

(click...click...click...)


"It's three in the morning, go to bed."
« Last Edit: February 18, 2011, 08:30:16 PM by Dan88 »
The Game Show Forum: beating the **** out of the competition since 2003.

I'm just a mind wanderer, walking in eternity...

Matt Ottinger

  • Member
  • Posts: 12958
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2010, 12:16:33 AM »
[quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'244665\' date=\'Jul 21 2010, 11:26 PM\']I like TV Tropes. I think it's a great and funny site[/quote]
[quote name=\'J.R.\' post=\'244670\' date=\'Jul 21 2010, 11:43 PM\']TVTropes is a ridiculously addicting site.[/quote]
I get the appeal.  I only want to point out that not everything that's addictive is good for you.  In fact, very few addictive things are.

I think my problems are twofold.  One is the accuracy issue.  On the main page, contributors are specifically told that they don't need to verify anything, and for way too many folks, that means it's OK to say whatever you want, whether you know it to be true or not.  That means a LOT of false information is going to be published, not to mention opinion presented as fact, and people (like the OP of this thread) are going to be, at best, legitimately confused.  That's not good for something that's laid out like a reference site, whether it's intended to be one or not.

My second problem is that the site's basic layout, featuring lists of examples which fit various subjects, doesn't give priority to the best or most notable examples.  In a category of magical transformation phrases, for example, Captain Marvel's "Shazam!" is given exactly the same weight as -- and I'm not making this up -- "a failed cartoon pilot based on the video game series Battletoads".   Elsewhere on that same list, one contributor challenged the internal logic and consistency of a cartoon series about a superpowered teddy bear.  Also, as on just about any user-driven site of this type, anime and manga are preposterously over-represented compared to their real-life relevance.

Yeah, sure, it's addictive, maybe even entertaining if you look at it right.  To me, though, it just represents most of what's wrong with the internet, all packed inside one convenient URL.
« Last Edit: July 22, 2010, 12:17:23 AM by Matt Ottinger »
This has been another installment of Matt Ottinger's Masters of the Obvious.
Stay tuned for all the obsessive-compulsive fun of Words Have Meanings.

TLEberle

  • Member
  • Posts: 15801
  • Rules Constable
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #13 on: July 22, 2010, 12:20:01 AM »
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'244684\' date=\'Jul 21 2010, 09:16 PM\']Yeah, sure, it's addictive, maybe even entertaining if you look at it right.  To me, though, it just represents most of what's wrong with the internet, all packed inside one convenient URL.[/quote]I think next time I visit my Nana, I'm going to have her make a sampler out of that for me.
Travis L. Eberle

BrandonFG

  • Member
  • Posts: 18446
Wheel contestant rule
« Reply #14 on: July 22, 2010, 12:20:30 AM »
I've seen a couple of the pages over the last couple of years. While the site doesn't drive me up a wall, I could do without the obscure anime references.
"They're both Norman Jewison movies, Troy, but we did think of one Jew more famous than Tevye."

Now celebrating his 22nd season on GSF!