The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Casey Buck on August 30, 2021, 10:37:38 PM
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The fairly biggie change: Pat will no longer make the Final Spin. Instead, the contestant who's in control will.
Also, solving all three Triple Toss-Ups is worth a total of $10K, though the individual ones are still worth $2K.
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My guess is that the former is due to strength issues on Pat's part?
Maybe this will result in the $5k being hit more often.
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That sort of depends on who wins the Toss Up Triad, right?
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That sort of depends on who wins the Toss Up Triad, right?
And whether they are in the lead or not. I can see someone with a lead trying to avoid the $5000.
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My guess is that the former is due to strength issues on Pat's part?
After the COVID set modifications, there was at least one instance where he damn near fell over giving the final spin!
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That sort of depends on who wins the Toss Up Triad, right?
And whether they are in the lead or not. I can see someone with a lead trying to avoid the $5000.
I remember Pat at one point saying that he could hit the $5,000 anytime he wanted to, and that always seemed like it posed a problem to me. How many of your final spins, then, are truly luck-based? If a contestant is way behind and has been kind of a poor sport, are you really trying to hit the big money?
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If a contestant is way behind and has been kind of a poor sport, are you really trying to hit the big money?
Part of being a host is not caring about things like that.
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I seem to recall one time that Pat Sajak mentioned some viewers inquired why he wasn't always trying to hit the $5,000 spot on the wheel more often. I believe he said he would just spin the wheel with just enough strength, and not try to make it look as though he was trying to help certain contestants win.
Sometimes, I think they should maybe bring back the $1,500 space in that round, (can't recall what season it was dropped), and maybe even keep the $2,500 and $3,500 wedges on the wheel during the entire show. I'm sure prize budgets have something to do with that!
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Sometimes, I think they should maybe bring back the $1,500 space in that round, (can't recall what season it was dropped), and maybe even keep the $2,500 and $3,500 wedges on the wheel during the entire show. I'm sure prize budgets have something to do with that!
I'd much prefer this to upping the bonus round minimum.
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Sometimes, I think they should maybe bring back the $1,500 space in that round, (can't recall what season it was dropped), and maybe even keep the $2,500 and $3,500 wedges on the wheel during the entire show. I'm sure prize budgets have something to do with that!
I'd much prefer this to upping the bonus round minimum.
And now that we're up to season 39, they're not gonna be able to keep raising the minimum much longer without introducing $60,000, $75,000, etc.
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Sometimes, I think they should maybe bring back the $1,500 space in that round, (can't recall what season it was dropped), and maybe even keep the $2,500 and $3,500 wedges on the wheel during the entire show. I'm sure prize budgets have something to do with that!
I'd much prefer this to upping the bonus round minimum.
And now that we're up to season 39, they're not gonna be able to keep raising the minimum much longer without introducing $60,000, $75,000, etc.
And Also $80,000 and $90,000!
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Having the player in-control handle the final spin, I don't know man. That mechanic could be weaponized to screw over your opponents.
-Dan
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Having the player in-control handle the final spin, I don't know man. That mechanic could be weaponized to screw over your opponents.
I imagine they have a certain number of spaces the wheel must spin, but if I have a sizable but surmountable lead, I’m definitely using my muscle memory to avoid the 5K wedge best I can. It can be strategic.
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Having the player in-control handle the final spin, I don't know man. That mechanic could be weaponized to screw over your opponents.
I imagine they have a certain number of spaces the wheel must spin, but if I have a sizable but surmountable lead, I’m definitely using my muscle memory to avoid the 5K wedge best I can. It can be strategic.
And when all the other spaces are within $400 of each other, the whole wheel consists of $5000 and Not-$5000, so that's all you have to do.
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Having the player in-control handle the final spin, I don't know man. That mechanic could be weaponized to screw over your opponents.
-Dan
CORRECT! If you want to control the amount of money in play, control the wheel. Win that third toss-up and spin to your advantage to either sock the game away or mount a comeback.
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I remember Pat at one point saying that he could hit the $5,000 anytime he wanted to, and that always seemed like it posed a problem to me. How many of your final spins, then, are truly luck-based?
Pat should not have said that, even if it is BS which I suspect it is. You want everyone thinking it is a truly random process and fair to all players.
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Depends on when he said this, honestly. IMO, it'd have much different implications if he said it within the last few years as opposed to, say, 1986.
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I know of a Wheel contestant that told me that one rule when spinning the wheel is that they couldn't look directly at it before spinning. They don't want anyone to try to spin it a certain way if they knew where the big money was on the wheel.
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I know of a Wheel contestant that told me that one rule when spinning the wheel is that they couldn't look directly at it before spinning. They don't want anyone to try to spin it a certain way if they knew where the big money was on the wheel.
That seems utterly unenforceable. I can see not visibly going "Hmm, where's that $5000? Over there?", but most people could dart their eyes down at the wheel without anyone even noticing.
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Depends on when he said this, honestly. IMO, it'd have much different implications if he said it within the last few years as opposed to, say, 1986.
Yeah, I doubt he can hit it whenever he wants now. Back in the day when he'd spin maybe it'd at least be in the vicinity and he'd just undershoot it or over shoot it. As he's gotten older, sometimes it seems like the spins barely make it halfway to the $5K. And that's something that it would appear hasn't improved since he had to have his emergency abdominal surgery.
I wouldn't be surprised if part of this move to the new rule was to help out Pat. If not, and it's purely COVID or gameplay related, I'm sure he might enjoy the benefits of it.
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Keep in mind there's been more than Wheel in his career. The current one is quite heavy, unlike the one in the NBC days.
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I know of a Wheel contestant that told me that one rule when spinning the wheel is that they couldn't look directly at it before spinning. They don't want anyone to try to spin it a certain way if they knew where the big money was on the wheel.
I attempted to do a Woolery in Season 23, and didn't get ANY rule about it.
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Keep in mind there's been more than Wheel in his career. The current one is quite heavy, unlike the one in the NBC days.
Okay, I’ve really been meaning to get some confirmation on just how heavy the wheel is and, concurrently, how easy it spins.
Any of you who’ve been on, can you enlighten me?
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Currently, the Wheel is reported to weigh two tons. I'm sure that includes the base as well, but it certainly looks a lot heavier in its current all-steel construction rather than the plywood construction of years gone by.
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I know of a Wheel contestant that told me that one rule when spinning the wheel is that they couldn't look directly at it before spinning. They don't want anyone to try to spin it a certain way if they knew where the big money was on the wheel.
When I was on (sadly many moons ago) the only rule is that you couldn't "beat the house" - ie. $3500 is five wedges away and you really don't give it your all when you spin.
I picked up pretty quickly that I would get the wheel around a full revolution (give or take a few revolutions) and you'd better believe that became part of my game play. I suspect many others surmised how far they could get the wheel to spin in practice although not everyone might have factored that in.
Ryan.
Class of '97
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Class of 2016. The wheel made my arm sore af.
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Okay, I’ve really been meaning to get some confirmation on just how heavy the wheel is and, concurrently, how easy it spins.
Any of you who’ve been on, can you enlighten me?
I've never been a contestant, but I did visit the show approximately five years ago and got to spin the wheel exactly once. I was able to spin it one complete rotation, give or take a wedge. I'm guessing that if I were a contestant who had to spin it multiple times, I probably wouldn't be able to maintain that strength.
For comparison of what my arm strength is, I can get The Price Is Right's Big Wheel to spin an average of one and a half rotations. I'm not particularly strong.
It doesn't much matter how heavy each wheel is -- it's all about the braking system installed on each. When the Adam Sandler movie Jack and Jill had a duplicate TPIR Big Wheel built (they needed a wheel they could attach things to for a gag that ultimately was cut from the script), they deliberately left off the pads that provided friction to make the wheel slow down. Even though the duplicate wheel was likely a similar weight to the official show wheel, once you spun that thing, it would keep spinning for minutes on end.
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Keep in mind there's been more than Wheel in his career. The current one is quite heavy, unlike the one in the NBC days.
Okay, I’ve really been meaning to get some confirmation on just how heavy the wheel is and, concurrently, how easy it spins.
Any of you who’ve been on, can you enlighten me?
Class of 2005.
I felt like I was about to separate my shoulder after spinning it.
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One thing that hasn’t been noted yet (I think) is that the Wheel was loosened significantly in the middle of this past season, presumably for Celebrity Wheel.
Pat’s spins went noticeably further after that, and he even hit $5000 a few times - something that had only happened once before this last season (and I’m pretty sure it was in a round that didn’t start as a Speed-Up). I guess it wasn’t enough for them to change the rules.
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More changes announced as Pat and Vanna sign on to host through 2024 ...
https://deadline.com/2021/09/pat-sajak-vanna-white-host-wheel-of-fortune-through-2024-1234829089/
-- Announcer Jim Thornton will have an "expanded on-scene presence"
-- Pat adds "consulting producer" to his business card
-- "Changing Keys" returns as the theme with a "modernized arrangement"
-- Free Play wedge is gone, minimum Bonus Round win is $39,000 (for 39 seasons)
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-- "Changing Keys" returns as the theme with a "modernized arrangement"
With so many classic prime time games - mainly the ones on (wait for it) ABC - rearranging their more familiar shows, I wonder if the Wheel crew realized it makes sense to bring back "Changing Keys" in some form or another.
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-- "Changing Keys" returns as the theme with a "modernized arrangement"
Hey how 'bout that. Nice touch returning to familiarity after...has it been 20 years since Changing Keys was replaced?
I hope "modernized" doesn't just mean the main melody for a couple bars at the beginning and end serving as bookends for random vamp in the middle, like the last couple of themes have been.
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Cautiously reserved on the "modernized arrangement" part
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For those playing along at home, Wheel hasn't had $850 as a value on the wheel since 1979.
/we can have that but we can't have a bog-standard $1000 wedge
//give me back my Double Play while you're at it
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I thought Pat said he wouldn't renew, but I guess with Richards gone, maybe he changed his mind.
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I am so glad to see the Free Play go. I just found it more of an annoyance than it was worth.
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I am so glad to see the Free Play go. I just found it more of an annoyance than it was worth.
My issue was nobody ever used it the way I would have used it. Everybody landed on it and just called the letter they were going to call anyway. If I land on Free Play, I ask for a Q, an X, or a Z. If it's not up there, I can keep playing. If it is up there, I just got a bit of help that players usually don't get when those letters are in the puzzle.
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I thought Pat said he wouldn't renew, but I guess with Richards gone, maybe he changed his mind.
I'm sure he had a bit more leverage in his favor when naming his terms for the extention. I don't think Sony wants to have to start looking for Pat and Vanna's replacements at the moment.
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My issue was nobody ever used it the way I would have used it. Everybody landed on it and just called the letter they were going to call anyway.
They called the vowel they were going to call anyway, as they wanted to save the $250.
If were a contestant who landed on Free Play, I would have combined the contestants' strategy with your strategy and called for a U.
Am I correct that Free Play immediately replaced the Free Spin token that was attached to the wheel? In other words, is this the first season in which there is no "Free ____"?
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Am I correct that Free Play immediately replaced the Free Spin token that was attached to the wheel? In other words, is this the first season in which there is no "Free ____"?
Yes, on both counts.
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-- Pat adds "consulting producer" to his business card
Wasn't he that in Season 38? He had some sort of nominal producer credit.
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-- Pat adds "consulting producer" to his business card
Wasn't he that in Season 38? He had some sort of nominal producer credit.
Yes, that's right! And Ken Jennings assumed the same role on J!
I'm wonder if under the new "Final Spin," rule; whether the amount is determined by the controlling players arrow, or the usual red player's arrow.
Reportedly, Sajak said this about the "Final Spin," change:
“If you think about it, by doing the ‘final spin,’ I, as host, had an impact on the outcome of the game and that has always bothered me because it just didn’t feel right. With this change, only the contestants determine the outcome of the game and the host does not impose themself in any way.”
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Another wrinkle for the new season: Pat Sajak's daughter will be a part of the show as well:
https://www.today.com/popculture/wheel-fortune-announces-changes-including-pat-sajak-s-daughter-s-t230454?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab&utm_content=algorithm
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Reportedly, Sajak said this about the "Final Spin," change:
“If you think about it, by doing the ‘final spin,’ I, as host, had an impact on the outcome of the game and that has always bothered me because it just didn’t feel right. With this change, only the contestants determine the outcome of the game and the host does not impose themself in any way.”
If you think about it, it only took the producers 40 years to change something that Pat "just didn't feel right" about, that "always bothered" him..
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Another wrinkle for the new season: Pat Sajak's daughter will be a part of the show as well:
https://www.today.com/popculture/wheel-fortune-announces-changes-including-pat-sajak-s-daughter-s-t230454?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab&utm_content=algorithm
So, not to get too presumptuous considering all we've been through this season...is she being groomed to replace Vanna? She's becoming a larger on screen presence, so everyone will become very familiar with her by 2024. Plus, she's pretty.
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So, not to get too presumptuous considering all we've been through this season...is she being groomed to replace Vanna? She's becoming a larger on screen presence, so everyone will become very familiar with her by 2024. Plus, she's pretty.
And they happen to be giving camera time to Jim Thornton this year too. Jim Thornton and Maggie Sajak?
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So, not to get too presumptuous considering all we've been through this season...is she being groomed to replace Vanna? She's becoming a larger on screen presence, so everyone will become very familiar with her by 2024. Plus, she's pretty.
And they happen to be giving camera time to Jim Thornton this year too. Jim Thornton and Maggie Sajak?
Here's the difference, IMO- Jim's time on camera seems like just that- having his face on camera. Here's what he looks like so you can attach a face to the voice. Maggie's feels like they're trying to establish her on screen presence. She's on camera to establish a rapport with the people watching as well as the people she's directly interacting with.
For the record, in his Wheel profile online, Jim is rocking a fresh haircut, accompanied by a smiley face emoji tie- his Dad Energy is way too high to take over Wheel if they're trying to reach new demos. Not sure when/why we decided to suggest announcers as fitting backfills for open hosting gigs, but most of them seem like capable fill-ins, not permanent options.
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...is she being groomed to replace Vanna?
This seems reasonable. Vanna will be 67 in 2024 and already has more money than she knows what to do with.
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Just my thoughts on music: for some reason I really dig the Toss Up Puzzle music. I'd work out to it ;D
As for theme...well...at least the old Changing Keys tune is very much there, but doesn't sound like many other real instruments are.
Synths, an electric guitar here and there, typical "modernized" standards. It's not terrible, though.
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...is she being groomed to replace Vanna?
This seems reasonable. Vanna will be 67 in 2024 and already has more money than she knows what to do with.
Banning any "natural causes", I see Pat and Vanna retiring at the same time.
If that is the case, why would the Sajak name be downgraded to letter-toucher? It would only make sense to groom her as taking over daddy's position, which might put the spark in the show that is so desperately needed -- Pat is just phoning it in.
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Just my thoughts on music: for some reason I really dig the Toss Up Puzzle music. I'd work out to it ;D
As for theme...well...at least the old Changing Keys tune is very much there, but doesn't sound like many other real instruments are.
Synths, an electric guitar here and there, typical "modernized" standards. It's not terrible, though.
I am not a fan of the new music package. Everything is so LOUD. It’s hard to distinguish a melody in a lot of the cues.
I really liked the previous package, too, so this is disappointing.
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Just my thoughts on music: for some reason I really dig the Toss Up Puzzle music. I'd work out to it ;D
As for theme...well...at least the old Changing Keys tune is very much there, but doesn't sound like many other real instruments are.
Synths, an electric guitar here and there, typical "modernized" standards. It's not terrible, though.
I am not a fan of the new music package. Everything is so LOUD. It’s hard to distinguish a melody in a lot of the cues.
I really liked the previous package, too, so this is disappointing.
I'm amused/annoyed by the haters of the "new" music. Yes, they called it a "new theme song." Mainly cause it's making me feel old knowing some people were born/grew up AFTER Wheel stopped using Changing Keys.
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I like the music package, and I find I have the opposite problem: it's hard to hear the music over the cheering and applause to fully appreciate it. They seem to be using the bridge or other parts of the theme that aren't the main melody line. The intro sequence, for example, uses the last few bars before the G-Ab-Bb "puzzle solved" cue. One would think they'd use the main part of the melody that everyone remembers.
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You think of how that music suite evolved from 1983 to now...for the first 17 or 18 years, all the changes to the music were personally done by Merv Griffin, and his upgrades always met with my approval. This time though it seems like too much gravitas for a hangman game. If you took the very end of the current J! and WOF themes and played them back, you couldn't tell the difference.
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It reminds me of the ABC prime time revivals. It’s catchy, it has me tapping my toes, but it feels like something’s missing. On the ABC shows, they play the same verse over and over and don’t get anywhere close to a bridge or a breakdown. And I get that we don’t have two minutes for the closing like we used to, but I’d love to hear other portions of the theme, instead of the same hook.
That’s not me being a hAtEr, I’d just like some variety.
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I will say the one new cue that I don't like at all: the final spin round music bed.
Sounds like music that'd be played during a stakeout scene. Just...out of place.
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It reminds me of the ABC prime time revivals. It’s catchy, it has me tapping my toes, but it feels like something’s missing. On the ABC shows, they play the same verse over and over and don’t get anywhere close to a bridge or a breakdown. And I get that we don’t have two minutes for the closing like we used to, but I’d love to hear other portions of the theme, instead of the same hook.
That’s not me being a hAtEr, I’d just like some variety.
Yeah, it's been a trend since Family Feud regained the Combs-era theme. They do not use the whole song and all the cues are just repeating portions of the song.
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Talking 100% ex-rectum here, but is it possible that trend is to avoid having to license the music? Aren't you allowed x-number of seconds before you have to start paying fees?
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Ok so...first credit roll, and hearing a bit more of the closing music. It's by John Hoke only? I was so sure I could blame...I mean...attribute it to Bleeding Fingers! :P
Seriously though, I think Merv positioned the monotony-breaking bridges just right in his composition. This arrangement is...boring.
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Ok so...first credit roll, and hearing a bit more of the closing music. It's by John Hoke only? I was so sure I could blame...I mean...attribute it to Bleeding Fingers! :P
And to Merv, for that matter....I noticed recently that J! now has a music credit for him in their full roll.
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The whole atmosphere (set, music) is very Nintendo Wii
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I must admit that I'm not really a fan of the updated theme song either. It's good they've tried to re-create a classic theme, but this one just leaves me cold.
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It gives me "The Fast and the Fortune" vibes.
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It's like they activated dark mode for the set and the music this season. Not a fan of all the black behind Pat and the players. The "string" arrangement and all that reverb make the theme sound distant and foreboding.
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The "string" arrangement and all that reverb make the theme sound distant and foreboding.
I admit that I haven't been keeping up with Wheel this season, so I don't know whether the theme is the same for both shows, but when I tuned to ABC as Celebrity Wheel of Fortune was ending, my reaction was, "Why is the Wheel of Fortune theme song angry at me?"
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I admit that I haven't been keeping up with Wheel this season, so I don't know whether the theme is the same for both shows, but when I tuned to ABC as Celebrity Wheel of Fortune was ending, my reaction was, "Why is the Wheel of Fortune theme song angry at me?"
Yep, it's the same one.
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I got to hear some of it last week. It sounds like a marching band playing the theme, but for an early-2000s video game. I realize that’s very specific.
The abrupt ending makes it seem like they were running out of time and just decided to stop the song right there.
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I admit that I haven't been keeping up with Wheel this season, so I don't know whether the theme is the same for both shows, but when I tuned to ABC as Celebrity Wheel of Fortune was ending, my reaction was, "Why is the Wheel of Fortune theme song angry at me?"
Yep, it's the same one.
I actually think it is different, the closing theme's tempo's much faster.
There's also another version on the show's FB page that plays in the "This week's stars" promo vids that sounds like it has a bit more instrumentation.
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I actually think it is different, the closing theme's tempo's much faster.
There's also another version on the show's FB page that plays in the "This week's stars" promo vids that sounds like it has a bit more instrumentation.
I agree. They definitely have made different arrangements.
Also the Celebrity version uses more of the "meat" of the theme playing many different parts, while the syndicated one pretty much only uses the same "famous" part repeatedly. Honestly when I first heard the syndicated one I thought whoever recorded it took a page from the ABC themes and just repeated the well known parts but that doesn't seem to be the case after hearing Primetime version