User:CowboySpartan/Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)

CowboySpartan/Wheel of Fortune
240px 2009-2010 (Season 27) title card
Created by	Merv Griffin
Directed by	Dick Carson (1983-2000) Mark Corwin (2000-present)
Presented by	Network Host Chuck Woolery (1975-1981) Pat Sajak (1981-1989) Rolf Benirschke (1989) Bob Goen (1989-1991) Hostess Susan Stafford (1975-1982) Vanna White (1982-1991) Syndication Host Pat Sajak (1983-Present) Hostess Vanna White (1983-Present)
Narrated by	Charlie O'Donnell (1975-1980, 1989-Present) Jack Clark (1980-1988) M. G. Kelly (1988-1989)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	Network 4,215 Syndication 5,200+
Production
Executive producers	Merv Griffin (1983-2000) Harry Friedman (1999-present)
Producers	Nancy Jones (1983-1997) Harry Friedman (1997-present) Karen Griffith (1997-present) Steve Schwartz (1997-present)
Production locations	NBC Studios Burbank, California (1975-1989) CBS Television City Hollywood, California (1989-1995) Sony Pictures Studios Culver City, California (1995-present)
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Merv Griffin Productions (1975-1984) Merv Griffin Enterprises (1984-1994) Columbia TriStar Television (1994-2002) Sony Pictures Television (2002-present) Califon Productions (1975-1991, 1983-present)
Original release
Network	NBC (1975-1989, 1991) CBS (1989-1991) Syndicated (1983-Present)
Release	Network January 6, 1975-September 20, 1991 Syndication September 19, 1983 – present

Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin in which contestants compete against each other to solve a word puzzle, similar to those used in Hangman, for cash and prizes. Pat Sajak and Vanna White have hosted the program together since 1981.

Wheel of Fortune aired on network television from January 6, 1975 September 20, 1991. The syndicated version has aired in prime time access since September 19, 1983.

Broadcast history

Wheel of Fortune debuted on January 6, 1975 at 10:30 AM (9:30 Central). Lin Bolen, then the head of Daytime Programming at NBC, purchased the show from Griffin to compensate him for canceling another creation of his, Jeopardy!, which had one year remaining on its contract and aired its final episode on the Friday before Wheel of Fortune's premiere.

The network version of the show first aired on NBC from January 6, 1975 to June 30, 1989. From December 1, 1975 to January 16, 1976, the program aired a series of hour-long episodes. Two three-round games were played with two different sets of three contestants. The winners of each game played a head-to-head speed-up round, with the winner of that round playing the bonus round described above.

The program moved to CBS on July 17, 1989 and aired on that network until January 11, 1991, then moved back to NBC on January 14, 1991, airing on that network until September 20 of that year when it was canceled. Production of the show moved from NBC Studios in Burbank to CBS Television City in Hollywood when the daytime Wheel of Fortune first changed networks. The show remained there following the daytime show's move back to NBC in 1991.

The current syndicated version has aired in prime time access since September 19, 1983. Its 27th season premiered on September 14, 2009. The syndicated version, which is currently produced by Sony Pictures Television and distributed by CBS Television Distribution, is the longest-running syndicated game show in American television history and the second-longest in either network or syndication (behind the current CBS version of The Price Is Right, which began airing in 1972). It is also the third longest-running first-run syndicated program in the United States, behind Entertainment Tonight (which began in 1981) and Soul Train (which aired new episodes from 1971-2006). The program has been produced at Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City since 1995.

The syndicated version of Wheel of Fortune was offered to many of the stations that were already airing the network version, nearly all of whom passed on it due to commitments to other shows (including the NBC owned-and-operated stations, which all were running the hit Family Feud in the Prime Time Access slots). Although Wheel of Fortune did not debut on many stations upon its entrance into syndication, the series was offered to and picked up by most of the owned-and-operated stations held by CBS.

When it debuted, the syndicated version offered a larger prize budget than its daytime counterpart, such as a $5,000 wedge on the Wheel. By 1986, the show had the highest ratings of any syndicated television series in history, and in 1987, it was renewed for another five seasons at that point.

Personnel

Several pilots were produced in 1973 and 1974 hosted by Chuck Woolery and Edd Byrnes. Woolery was joined by cohost Susan Stafford joined Woolery on the first episode as the program's hostess. Stafford was hired because a mechanical puzzle board could not be completed prior to the time production began.

After seven years as host, Woolery left Wheel of Fortune after a salary dispute with Griffin; his last episode aired on December 25, 1981. Pat Sajak, a former weatherman, replaced Woolery the following Monday on December 28, 1981.

Stafford left the program on October 22, 1982 to pursue humanitarian work. Substitute hostesses included future Sale of the Century hostess Summer Bartholomew, Playboy Playmate Vicki McCarty and Vanna White. White was selected to replace Stafford and her first permanent appearance in that capacity aired on December 13, 1982. White remained as the daytime show's hostess for the rest of its run, working with both of its later hosts.

The pair continued to host the network version until Sajak's departure from that version on January 9, 1989. Sajak left the program to host a late-night talk show for CBS, which failed to make ratings headway against Johnny Carson on NBC. Sajak was replaced on the network version the following day by former San Diego Chargers place-kicker Rolf Benirschke. Benirschke hosted the program for only six months and NBC canceled the program on June 30, 1989. When the network version moved to CBS on July 17, 1989, future Entertainment Tonight co-host Bob Goen replaced Benirschke, who remained host of the network version for the remainder of its run.

Charlie O'Donnell was the program's original announcer, who was replaced by former Cross-Wits host Jack Clark in 1980 due to O'Donnell's obligations to other shows. After Clark's death in 1988, Los Angeles-area disc jockey M.G. Kelly announced for several months until O'Donnell returned permanently in March 1989. Those contributing periodic fill-ins have included current Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert, John Harlan, Don Pardo and Don Morrow.

Since the sydicated version's premiere on September 19, 1983, both Sajak and White have remained as co-hosts. Prior to 1989, the announcer for the network version doubled as the announcer for the syndicated version. Since that time, Charlie O'Donnell has been the permanent annoucer for each episode.

History

A pilot was produced in late 1973 hosted by Chuck Woolery, followed by two additional pilots hosted by Edd Byrnes in late 1974. All three pilots contained game elements which were either retooled or dropped prior to the time production began in 1975. Woolery was ultimately picked to host, the choice being made by Griffin after he reportedly heard Byrnes reciting "A-E-I-O-U" to himself in an effort to remember the vowels. The original pilot did not include a hostess and instead featured a mechanical puzzle board.

According to the E! True Hollywood Story episode on Wheel of Fortune, NBC daytime programming executive Lin Bolen is credited with implementing the shopping concept as well as the idea to have the wheel horizontally mounted. This story sometimes conflicts with other accounts; for example, on an A&E Biography episode, creator Merv Griffin said that his initial idea of the presentation of the show was "a stage full of prizes".

Gameplay

Main article: Wheel of Fortune gameplay

The core game is a variation of hangman. Word puzzles, with blank spaces representing the letters in the puzzle, are presented with an appropriate category. On their turn, a contestant can spin a giant wheel to determine a dollar value and guess a letter that they believe is in the puzzle, earning the value multiplied by how many times the guessed letter appears in the puzzle (if any). Before spinning, players can also buy a vowel for $250. The Wheel also contains special spaces which affect the course of gameplay, as well as special prizes. While other non-cash wedges have varied in the show's history, the Wheel has always featured Bankrupt and Lose a Turn, both of which forfeit the contestant's turn, with the former also eliminating any cash and/or prizes earned within that round.

Since 2000, the show has also featured Toss-Up puzzles, which are filled in one letter at a time and can be solved after ringing in with a buzzer.

At the end of the game, the highest-scoring contestant plays a bonus round. The contestant is given a smaller, partially filled-in puzzle and asked for additional letters to assist in solving it within a ten-second time limit. A correct solve earns a bonus prize which is determined by spinning a smaller wheel prior to the beginning of the bonus round.

Returning champions

The network version allowed champions to appear for up to three days (originally five). However, the winner on Rolf Benirschke's last episode, even though he had not yet won three games, was not brought back as returning champion on Bob Goen's first show when the program changed networks and formats. Throughout the history of the daytime version, a tie game meant that no bonus round would be played that day and all three players returned on the next show, even if one finished behind the other two. The cumulative scores from both days were used to determine which player became the champion.

On the syndicated version from 1983-1989 and again since 1998, contestants have been limited to one appearance, though some have been allowed to return under special circumstances. From 1989-1996, the top three winners (including contestants that had not played the bonus round) from the week's first four shows would return to compete in the "Friday Finals", with a Jackpot beginning at $10,000 instead of $5,000. From 1996-1997, the winner of the Friday episode received an additional prize package.

The wheel

The Wheel mechanism weighs two tons (4,000 lbs.) and is surrounded by light extensions. Until 1997, the Wheel spun automatically during the show's opening and closing and featured alternating gold lights and panels. These were replaced by a metallic blue circle surrounded by gold panels, with several similar paneled spikes going around the Wheel and the Wheel no longer spun automatically during these segments. The current LED and glass light extension debuted in 2003.

The green inner circle that is part of the wheel was purposefully colored in that hue to allow chroma key shots upon the wheel itself, usually during the credit roll and prize descriptions. Specifically because of this, green-shaded wedges were excluded from the wheel until the chroma key use was later eliminated.

Dollar amounts and prize values

Season 26 (2008-2009) Wheel configuration.

When the series began the minimum value on the wheel was $25 and the top dollar value was $500 in round one, $750 in round two and $1,000 for each round thereafter. In 1976, the minimum was raised to $100 and the top amounts were changed to $1,000 in round two and $1,500 for later rounds. In 1979, the top amounts were increased to $750 in round one, $1,000 in round two and $2,000 for the rest of the game, remaining at those values until the end of the first NBC run.

When the syndicated version of the program premiered in 1983, the values on the wheel were slightly higher than those used for the daytime version of the show. While the daytime top-dollar values in 1986 for rounds one, two and three were $750, $1,000 and $2,000, respectively, the top-dollar values on the syndicated version were $1,000 for both rounds one and two and $5,000 in round three.

When the network version moved to CBS and introduced an all-cash format in 1989, most spaces on the wheel had their values cut in half, making them an even smaller fraction of the analogous values on the syndicated version. The top values on the wheel were $500 for the first two rounds, $1,000 for round three and $1,250 for round four and beyond. $50 and $75 spaces appeared on the wheel for the first time since 1976, but those and some other spaces were eventually raised in value. To compensate for lower payouts, the price of vowels on this version was initially decreased to $200 and again to $100 in 1990.

Prizes similar to those on the syndicated version but smaller in value were introduced at this time, beginning with a trip to Lake Tahoe valued at $916. By the time of the last CBS episode in 1991, the prizes were usually worth around $2,000-$4,000. However, payouts still paled in comparison to those offered on the syndicated version. Bonus prizes offered on the all-cash network version were considerably smaller as well, with a $5,000 cash prize instead of $25,000 and cars in the $10,000-$15,000 range instead of the more expensive prizes frequently offered on the syndicated version. The first prize was introduced at the beginning of round two. Additional prizes were placed on the wheel in Rounds Three and Four, with new prizes in each round if previous ones had been claimed. When the show returned to NBC in 1991, a prize was introduced at the beginning of round one as well.

Prior to 1996, three different dollar value configurations were used during each show. There have never been amounts under $100 on the syndicated version. The current configuration is based on the one formerly used in round three (round two prior to 1987). In 2008, the configurations were revamped slightly, with the addition of a few new colors and dollar values.

Sets

The Wheel of Fortune set, as seen in 2006.

Various changes have been made to the basic set since the show's premiere in 1983, including changes to the color of the floor and various additions of lights/strobes to the puzzle board and contestant backdrops.

In 1996, a large video display was added center stage, which was then upgraded in 2003 as the show began the transition into high-definition broadcasting. The set decorations change with each weekly set of themed programs. Dick Stiles was the show's first art director, and the production is currently designed by Renee Hoss-Johnson.

The show was originally taped at NBC Studios in Burbank, the same place where its daytime counterpart was taped. In 1989 the show moved to CBS Television City, remaining there until 1995 when production moved to its current home at Sony Pictures Studios.

Puzzle boards

Until 1997, the show used a manually-operated puzzle board composed of 48 trilons in four rows (11, 13, 13 and 11, respectively). The board was surrounded by a double-arched border of lights which flashed at the beginning and end of the round. When a letter was placed in the puzzle, its space would light up and Vanna White would turn the trilon to reveal it. On February 24, 1997, the show adopted a computerized board composed of 52 monitors (adding one space to each row). To illuminate a letter during regular gameplay, White simply touches the edge of the monitor, although the board may be controlled remotely to reveal letters or solutions. The new puzzle board made Toss-Up puzzles possible and also facilitated an evolution of the hostess' role, which was originally justified by the need to turn letters. The old puzzle board was offered to the Smithsonian Institution, but was rejected as they did not have enough space. The old puzzle board was eventually donated to The National Museum of Television History.

thumb|right|The current Puzzle Board. The digital board also no longer requires taping to stop in segments that feature more than one puzzle. While the viewers at home saw a seamless transition to the next puzzle, what actually happened was a show stop down, during which the board would be wheeled off stage while the new puzzle was loaded in by hand out of sight of the contestants, who would typically stand in some place on the sound stage where they could not see the board. With the new board, no stop downs were necessary, meaning tapings could finish more quickly at a lower cost to the production company. In 2003, the gold panels were replaced with the current LED and glass light extension. In 2007, the current puzzle board was revamped with new flat screens.

The first puzzle board had three rows of trilons and a total of 39 spaces. A larger board with an additional row of trilons and 48 total spaces (11 on the top and bottom rows and 13 on the middle two rows) and decorative arched light border was adopted on December 21, 1981. The second board became popularly associated with the show and remained in place through February 21, 1997.

Contestant area

The contestants stand behind a large, padded railing that provides leverage when spinning the wheel. The area behind the contestants originally contained colored shapes (red for Player 1, yellow for Player 2, and blue for Player 3) that provided a backdrop as well as an additional scoreboard for displaying the amount a contestant had placed "on account" (see Shopping). In early 1997, the backdrops were removed in favor of a display that fit the theme for that week's set of tapings. In 1998, a video wall replaced the themed backdrops displayed behind the contestant. This video wall was upgraded in 2003.

Until 2002, the show used eggcrate displays to display scores. The eggcrate displays were replaced by LCD monitors in 2002 and again were replaced by flat-screen plasma displays in 2007. Also beginning in 2002, special animations play on these monitors if a contestant lands on "Bankrupt" or "Lose a Turn".

Tote boards used to display the totals for each player featured eggcrate light displays, with room for four digits and a dollar sign. Space for a fifth digit was added by 1978 and for a sixth in 1990.

When the show debuted, backdrops with the same shade and texture as the green mirrored puzzle trilons were used behind the contestants. On December 21, 1981, new backdrops were installed with bright sunbursts of red, yellow and blue. When the show moved to CBS Television City in July 1989, the sunbursts were replaced by red, yellow and blue chevron backdrops. Each of these backdrops included eggcrate displays showing money "On Account" (under the shopping format) or the total winnings for a champion.

Prize podiums

On the 1974 pilots, the prizes were placed behind the puzzle board. After a puzzle was solved, the board was quickly wheeled off stage to reveal the prizes. When the series began, the studio had individual podiums for each of the three main-game prize showcases which were placed center stage and in the area behind where the host stood.

On December 21, 1981, a single large turntable was adopted, which displayed the prizes for each round as it was played. When the bonus round was instituted the following Monday, gold stars indicated the larger prizes that were also available in that round.

With the move to CBS and the adoption of the cash format in July 1989, the turntable was retired. Smaller turntables featuring replica wheel templates were used to display the prizes (mostly cars) available in the bonus round. The $5,000 prize was displayed on a rotating, circular green sign.

When the show was produced at NBC, the image of the host and hostess saying goodbye at the end of the show was superimposed on the green center of the rotating wheel using chroma key.

Theme music

From 1983-2000, the show's theme music was "Changing Keys" by Griffin. Over the years, the theme was re-recorded several times in various arrangements from jazz to big band. The arrangements were by Griffin's longtime musical director, Mort Lindsey, with some of Lindsey's sidemen including Plas Johnson, Nick Ceroli and Jack Sheldon participating in the recordings.

Since 2000, the main theme of the show has been "Happy Wheels" by the late Steve Kaplan, which was remixed in 2002 and 2004 by Kaplan and in 2006 by Frankie Blue. Since 2006, a theme by John Hoke and Frankie Blue has been used.

The theme heard on the 1974 pilots was "Give it One", composed by Maynard Ferguson. The song was released on the Columbia LP "M.F. Horn Two", which was re-released on CD by Wounded Bird in 2006.

"Big Wheels", the theme used from 1975-1983, was written by Alan Thicke and credited to Stan Worth. Thicke also contributed all the prize cues including "Glorious Sax", "Hip Check", and "Lusherous".

"Big Wheels" was replaced by the Merv Griffin-composed "Changing Keys" on August 8, 1983 (beginning an "Armed Forces Week") in anticipation of the syndicated version's launch, so that Griffin could derive royalties from its use on both versions. Griffin also wrote an entirely new set of prize cues for the show at that time. A remix of "Changing Keys" debuted in Summer 1984 during a week featuring Olympic athletes.

"Changing Keys" was rearranged when the show moved to CBS. This included a jazzier arrangement of the original melody, featuring saxophones and updated percussion backings. This theme was used on both the daytime and syndicated versions after production moved to CBS, and was retained for the remainder of the daytime show.

Episode status

The original Shopper's Bazaar pilot is held by GSN, but has not been aired by the network. A color promotional picture from that taping, showing Chuck Woolery standing in front of the wheel, was used in the A&E Biography "TV Game Shows". A Woolery episode from June 3, 1976 exists in the Library of Congress and in the GSN library. This was one of three daytime episodes shown on GSN as part of a memorial tribute to Merv Griffin in August 2007, the only time a Woolery episode has re-aired since his departure.

Clips of early daytime episodes hosted by Sajak, plus portions of White's audition tape, have been seen on the syndicated version's retrospective episodes.

The E! True Hollywood Story episode chronicling the show's history showed pictures of the 1973 pilot plus footage of a 1974 pilot, 1975 premiere, Stafford's last episode, McCarty making entrances as substitute hostess and White's audition tape.

Winnings records

Michelle Loewenstein became the first contestant to win $1,000,000 on October 14, 2008 after the top prize was increased on September 8 of that same year. Lowenstein's grand total was $1,026,080.

Ratings and cancellation

The daytime Wheel of Fortune had good ratings for most of its run. From 1978, when it passed Match Game, until 1990, it was the second or third most-watched network game show, trailing only The Price is Right and sometimes Family Feud. However, since the available audience was considerably smaller, the daytime show never reached its syndicated counterpart's stratospheric level of popularity.

After Sajak's departure, the daytime Wheel of Fortune was cancelled three times, by NBC in 1989 and by both CBS and NBC in 1991. It was the last NBC network show to air in the 10:00 AM Eastern time slot for several years; following the show's cancellation in 1991, the network gave that hour back to the affiliates for local or syndicated programming. Wheel of Fortune was one of NBC's last daytime game shows.

The syndicated version has aired continuously since September 19, 1983.

Retrospectives

The syndicated version of Wheel of Fortune does not consider the daytime series as part of its history or episode count, declining to recognize that the game show overall has aired continuously on television since 1975.

Retrospectives on the syndicated version (airing as its 3,000th, 4,000th and 5,000th episodes) have aired clips of Sajak and White's first shows and other early daytime appearances, White's unaired audition tape, Sajak's last daytime show, one 1974 pilot hosted by Edd Byrnes, and the opening of a 1978 episode. None of the daytime show's other hosts have been seen in these clips.

GSN aired ten Wheel of Fortune episodes as part of a memorial tribute to creator Merv Griffin in August 2007. Three daytime episodes were included – a 1976 Woolery episode, White's first episode as permanent hostess in 1982, and Sajak's last daytime episode in 1989.

The December 24, 2007 episode featured appearances and interviews with the three "Teen Week" contestants from Sajak's first daytime show, to mark his 26th year with the series (with clips of the episode shown). Also mentioned during the reunion was the fact that White was not on the show when Sajak began, though Stafford was not discussed.

Merchandise

Board games

Numerous board game versions of the game show have been released by different toy companies. The games are all similar, however, incorporating a wheel, a puzzle display board, play money and various accessories like Free Spin tokens.

• Milton Bradley released the first board game in 1975. In addition to all the supplies mentioned above, the game included 20 prize cards (to simulate the "shopping" prizes of the show; the prizes ranged in value from $100 to $3,000). Two editions were released.
• Pressman Toy Corp. released several different editions between 1985 and 1991. They also released two Deluxe versions in the mid-1980s that featured a real spinning wheel which allowed dollar amounts on the wheel to be changed for each round (with the help of extra wedges).
• Tyco/Mattel created three editions between 1992 and 1998.
• Parker Brothers released their own version in 1999.
• Pressman, which currently retains rights to the home game, has released four editions since 2002 including a 20th Anniversary edition, a Simpsons Edition and a Disney Edition. The "Disney Edition" has a "hidden Mickey"-shaped wheel in the same style as the company's Deluxe Editions, albeit with only a few specific spots to place certain Disney-related prizes.
• Endless Games released a card game version of the show in the summer of 2008.
• Irwin Toys released electronic tabletop versions in 2009; a regular edition with 1000 puzzles and an overall gold motif, and a "Platinum Edition" with 1500 puzzles and a platinum-colored body & wheel.

Video, arcade, slot and online games

Main article: Wheel of Fortune (video game)

In 2005, Info Space Games teamed up with Sony Pictures Mobile to create the mobile game Wheel of Fortune for Prizes. Players competed against others across the U.S. in multi-player tournaments for a chance to win daily and weekly prizes.

External links

• Official website
• U-gottaseethis.com A website from Sony with classic Wheel video clips
• Play Wheel of Fortune online