Old-School Wheel of Fortune

[Clay Zambo]

[quote name=\'whewfan\' date=\'Feb 19 2006, 03:34 PM\']Merv didn't want any shopping on Wheel in the first place. The shopping was Lin Bolen's insistence, to attract the ladies.

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Where do you get that?  The original version of "Wheel" (created by Merv) was called "Shopper's Bazaar"--that would seem to indicate that shopping was integral from the beginning.

...Not that Wikipedia is flawless...

* * *

I still want a ceramic dalmatian.

[HairMetalLives]

[quote name=\'Clay Zambo\' date=\'Feb 19 2006, 05:16 PM\'][quote name=\'whewfan\' date=\'Feb 19 2006, 03:34 PM\']Merv didn't want any shopping on Wheel in the first place. The shopping was Lin Bolen's insistence, to attract the ladies.

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Where do you get that?

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From the "E! True Hollywood Story" done on "Wheel" a couple years back straight out of the man's mouth.

[Kevin Prather]

[quote name=\'HairMetalLives\' date=\'Feb 19 2006, 05:26 PM\']From the "E! True Hollywood Story" done on "Wheel" a couple years back straight out of the man's mouth.

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Couple years back? Wasn't it just last summer?

But yeah, I remember that too.

[Argo]

[quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Feb 19 2006, 07:29 PM\'][quote name=\'HairMetalLives\' date=\'Feb 19 2006, 05:26 PM\']From the "E! True Hollywood Story" done on "Wheel" a couple years back straight out of the man's mouth.

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Couple years back? Wasn't it just last summer?

But yeah, I remember that too.

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Speaking of that, has it ever appeared on StarTV in Canada yet? Months ago i was scanning the starTV website about it but nothing.

[Jeremy Nelson]

The "Retro Week" format was a nightmare. To "go shopping," you had to land on the Shopping space on the wheel. Then you got to pick a prize off the turntable. It wasn't retro at all. I remember during one of those retro weeks the set looked like something stright from "Laugh In". The only 2 good things that came from that week were a recreated turntable and an interview with Dick Stiles (former set designer), and how he came up with the ideas for Wheel's sets.

[Game Show Man]

I have to agree with the consensus: shopping would not help the show at all.  But damned if it wasn't cool back in the day (that 70's shopping music [based off of "Big Wheels"] sure was catchy.  Anyone have an MP3 of that?).

Frankly, if I were doing a reboot, I'd just throw out the gimmicks, leave in a couple of Toss-Ups and the current bonus round and go from there.

[FOXSportsFan]

[quote name=\'WorldClassRob\' date=\'Feb 19 2006, 06:20 PM\']Keep everything as is on "Wheel"...just bring back Chuck Woolery. 

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Put that Guinness Charlie...Woolery left Wheel?  Oh, it's time for the Jackpot round!

[uncamark]

The story is that Merv's original title was "Wipeout"--supposedly, he pitched the show to Bolen and then she turned around and said "And we'll set it on Rodeo Drive and have the contestants shop for prizes!"

As I've said before, he should be relieved that Bolen didn't say to him, "And then we'll have the contestants play a giant pinball machine!"

As for contestants, Bolen obviously wanted them hyper (as you would note from the other NBC daytime shows of the time), Merv didn't.  She won.  After she left, the contestants got less hyper (something that I didn't know when I tried out for the show and hurt me, IIRC).  Today, with Merv gone, they're hyper again.

Actually, even though I only see the show a few times a year now (and the last time I saw it, I was as sick as a dog), it only seems to me that the overproduction with the graphics added in post and SFX and music cues are the only bad things now.  It's still pretty much as it was and for the most part, I don't object to the gameplay tweaks currently being used.

[tvmitch]

I've been watching Wheel lately more than I ever have. I think that besides all the flash, whooshes, and bling, all of which are inevitable, the show has been improving. My only quibble is that the last toss-up almost always leads into the final spin, which is too predictable.

[wheelloon]

To echo what some others have said, IMHO, reduce it to two toss-ups, one $1k before the interviews and one after Round 3 worth $2.5k (I never was a big fan of those), add another prize to the wheel in round 3 like a jet ski, sailboat, or Sony electronics package - a free plug , OR, instead, have the Mystery Round give away a prize again, like a sailboat, automobile, or extravagant trip, instead of just $10k everyday. In the bonus round, keep it as is, except maybe make the top prize $250k, and add something like a $50k trip around the world, for more variation. Oh yeah, bring back returning champions, it doesn't matter to me how long they're allowed to stay, that's the "classic" part of Wheel I miss most...

Set-wise, I think maybe a new modern $100k neon sign in the middle of the set would harken back to the Wheel of years past, and help the set not look so bare as it does some weeks. It would be kinda cool if they could also add some kind of neon design around the puzzle board that could be similar in build to the curves of the 81-97 puzzle board or the triangular design of the 97-03 board, because it all looks so bare in its current form...

Oh yeah, Retro Week was despicable...

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'wheelloon\' date=\'Feb 20 2006, 04:24 PM\']In the bonus round, keep it as is, except maybe make the top prize $250k
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Why? No, I'm not gonna bash you for being an idiot, I'm simply going to ask for your rationalization as to why this makes the show better.

You may, if you like, argue the converse and tell me why slashing it to $50K would make the show worse. I'm willing to listen to it either way.

[Robert Hutchinson]

My only real obstacle to enjoying the current show is the behavior of some of the contestants. I can put up with flashing lights, in all their forms.

Well, okay, if there's anything else, it's the breakneck editing on some shows, especially any "special" week.

[BrandonFG]

To be honest, the show is getting more and more tolerable, and starting to feel like the Wheel I liked in the mid-90s. The news stuff our anchor showed on air last week is making me appreciate the show a little more.

Just cut back on the editing, get a standard set, I don't mind the themes for center stage, esp. the Halloween week--that one is nice. However, the show needs a real contestant backdrop IMO. Other than that, it's better, but the editing is jarring.

[Casey]

I'm not an avid Wheel watcher by any means. but I do catch the show on occasion.  Someone (I think Chris Lemon) asked a poster what changing the top prize brings to the show.  I agree with that, but I'm forced to ask what all of the graphics bring to the show?  For over 15 years, the 4-bell chime that signified time was short and final spin time was adequate.  Why suddenly do we need a graphic?  Why even have a $5000 space on the wheel if there is never a possibility to spin the wheel when it's out there because usually it shows up just in time for the final spin.  The background behind the puzzleboard looks barren most of the time now.  The incessant clapping...

[Brandon Brooks]

[quote name=\'isucgv\' date=\'Feb 20 2006, 10:51 PM\']I'm not an avid Wheel watcher by any means. but I do catch the show on occasion.  Someone (I think Chris Lemon) asked a poster what changing the top prize brings to the show.
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Which of course the poster never responded to because it's an utterly dumb idea.

I agree with that, but I'm forced to ask what all of the graphics bring to the show?  For over 15 years, the 4-bell chime that signified time was short and final spin time was adequate.  Why suddenly do we need a graphic? 

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Not a damn thing.  That's because it was also an utterly dumb idea.  WoF is a good show, it's just overproduced.

Now I have an idea.  Bring back returning champions.  I really don't get why it was eliminated in the first place.  "More contestants can be seen" ... not that strong of an argument.

Brandon Brooks