Wheel of fortune Final Spin

[abba]

Do the producers ever tell Pat to land on a certain amount?

[dale_grass]

Not frequently, but during the end of the season, producers need to hit certain "prize budget quotas."  If they're short, they had Pat aim for a high number; too high, and he aimed for a low one.  Recently (in the past four years IIRC), they finally had the good sense to install a small brake controlled by a computer that can "read" the wheel.  The season before, there was a stagehand underneath trying to slow the wheel down under the direction of the cue card writer, which never seemed to work.  In one episode, the wheel actually spun backward to the point of flipping over the adjacent peg.  The look on the contestant's face was priceless.  Pat's explanation about "too much gusto" was even better.

[Jeremy Nelson]

[quote name=\'dale_grass\' post=\'180252\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 09:03 AM\']
If they're short, they had Pat aim for a high number; too high, and he aimed for a low one.  Recently (in the past four years IIRC), they finally had the good sense to install a small brake controlled by a computer that can "read" the wheel.  The season before, there was a stagehand underneath trying to slow the wheel down under the direction of the cue card writer, which never seemed to work.  In one episode, the wheel actually spun backward to the point of flipping over the adjacent peg.  The look on the contestant's face was priceless.  Pat's explanation about "too much gusto" was even better.
[/quote]
What does S&P think of this? I can't help but think that the producers would be flirting with danger here.

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' post=\'180254\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 09:43 AM\']
[quote name=\'dale_grass\' post=\'180252\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 09:03 AM\']
If they're short, they had Pat aim for a high number; too high, and he aimed for a low one.  Recently (in the past four years IIRC), they finally had the good sense to install a small brake controlled by a computer that can "read" the wheel.  The season before, there was a stagehand underneath trying to slow the wheel down under the direction of the cue card writer, which never seemed to work.  In one episode, the wheel actually spun backward to the point of flipping over the adjacent peg.  The look on the contestant's face was priceless.  Pat's explanation about "too much gusto" was even better.
[/quote]
What does S&P think of this? I can't help but think that the producers would be flirting with danger here.
[/quote]
Wow.  And whoosh.

/Unless my sarcasm detector is on the fritz, in which case give the whoosh and wow to me.
//Dale gets another gold star for literary merit.

[lobster]

[quote name=\'dale_grass\' post=\'180252\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 09:03 AM\']
Not frequently, but during the end of the season, producers need to hit certain "prize budget quotas."  If they're short, they had Pat aim for a high number; too high, and he aimed for a low one.  Recently (in the past four years IIRC), they finally had the good sense to install a small brake controlled by a computer that can "read" the wheel.  The season before, there was a stagehand underneath trying to slow the wheel down under the direction of the cue card writer, which never seemed to work.  In one episode, the wheel actually spun backward to the point of flipping over the adjacent peg.  The look on the contestant's face was priceless.  Pat's explanation about "too much gusto" was even better.
[/quote]

Don't forget about the time during the 87 season when they shortened the pegs between the $5000 space inward by 3mm because it was getting "hit too much"..

that, of course, was largely overlooked by the general public with the exception of some astute members of The Game Show Discussion Group (a dial-up BBS precursor to ATGS, that ran off of a 1200 baud modem somewhere in the 213 -- which I believe at least three members here originally posted to..)

/not naming names

[tvmitch]

Not to mention this: when Chuck would aim for the $1750 space on his final spin in the '70s version, as he would lick his finger before he spun for good luck, he was actually hitting a large red button under his host area with his other hand that activated a system of weights and pulleys to land the wheel square in the middle of the top dollar space. (S&P thought this was a security buzzer for Chuck in case of overzealous contestants.)

The system was slightly different in international versions of the show, but it's basically the same premise.

And to answer the OP's question, it depends on the day of the week. Monday tapings are usually $450, which is tough for Pat to hit...he prefers the $300 Thursday episodes.

[clemon79]

Dale's been channeling Don Howard lately, I think.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'180275\' date=\'Mar 6 2008, 01:22 PM\']
Dale's been channeling Don Howard lately, I think.
[/quote]
And truth be told, I almost fell for it. Usually I'm good at picking up the Don and Dale's dry humor. :-P

[dale_grass]

I was ever so close to adding a line at the end requesting that a member explain the concept of Standards and Practices to the OP, but decided against.  I think it turned out better this way.

[J.R.]

All of this sounds like "Wheel of Numberwang"! ;-)

[bellbm]

In all seriousness, I will say that when I was on the show a few years ago, and we were waiting to come back from commercial before the 4th round, and they told us we were going straight to the final spin, Pat asked us if we wanted him to hit 5,000.  We all said yes, and he said to the contestant in the lead at the time that she may now win if he does, and she said thats fine.  He did end up htting it.

[peiboy91]

Pat gives his reason why he lands on it so often on his page at Sony Rewards. He's also said before that he never purposely tries to land on it as it'd be unfair to someone in the lead.

[TenPoundHammer]

While we're on the subject of Final Spin land, I have a related question:

Why is it now required that every freaking episode has a Final Spin? Most of the time, it seems like it would be faster just to play the rest of the round out normally and not go to a Final Spin at all (especially when there're only one or two letters missing from the puzzle anyway). After all, it used to be normal for an ep to not have a Final Spin.

[chad1m]

[quote name=\'TenPoundHammer\' post=\'180588\' date=\'Mar 9 2008, 12:42 AM\']Why is it now required that every freaking episode has a Final Spin?
[/quote]I can only assume it's part of the show's attempt to include as much gameplay as possible (see Toss-up, Unnecessary $1,000). Personally, even though it may seem forced, I don't mind it. More puzzles isn't really a bad thing.

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'TenPoundHammer\' post=\'180588\' date=\'Mar 8 2008, 09:42 PM\']While we're on the subject of Final Spin land, I have a related question:

Why is it now required that every freaking episode has a Final Spin? [/quote]Producer Fiat.