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It's been critisized here often that the current format of Wheel isn't good. Too many colors, too many pointless graphics, not enough nudity, etc.....
It's my opinion (and maybe it's swayed since I have met a few of the principal figures behind the production) that it works well...lots of puzzles, fast (enough) moving, and big (enough) prizes.... But it appears that i'm in the minority.
So my question (and admittedly, I'm sure I'm opening up a Pandora's Box here)...
How would you fix it?
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 08:14 AM\']It's been critisized here often that the current format of Wheel isn't good. Too many colors, too many pointless graphics, not enough nudity, etc.....
It's my opinion (and maybe it's swayed since I have met a few of the principal figures behind the production) that it works well...lots of puzzles, fast (enough) moving, and big (enough) prizes.... But it appears that i'm in the minority.
So my question (and admittedly, I'm sure I'm opening up a Pandora's Box here)...
How would you fix it?
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Get rid of the "toss-in" puzzles at the beginning...The "no more vowels" pop-up.....The "final spin" graphic...And as for that puzzleboard: Either make it manual again so Vanna actually has something to DO, or if you're going to keep it the way it is, dump Vanna. IMHO, she looks ridiculous doing a job that we know she's really not doing.
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I would keep everything as is. The only quibble I have is that I would prefer the show to be entirely live-to-tape, but the realities of television dictate otherwise.
RE: Vanna. She is the most beloved game show model in history, Wheel would not have been the phenom it is without her. She really doesn't need to have a function on the show, she just needs to be there.
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It amazes me how people want things to stay exactly as they are...It doesn't even make sense for the old puzzleboard to be there, because, well, it's 2005. Aussie Wheel and Glucksrad had non manual boards-In fact, Glucksrad had a giant video screen. It would seem totally asinine to bring it back now, or fire vanna, as people do like her.
But there are some changes I would make-
-cut back the tossups from 3 to 1, at the beginning.
-Drop the No more vowels graphic.
-try to use the same set every week (which they have been doing a lot more this season)
-change the music to something more recognizable (sad to say, the current theme is full is quite nice)
But honestly, Wheel or Fortune as it is is decent, IMHO.
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 08:07 AM\']I would keep everything as is. The only quibble I have is that I would prefer the show to be entirely live-to-tape, but the realities of television dictate otherwise.
RE: Vanna. She is the most beloved game show model in history, Wheel would not have been the phenom it is without her. She really doesn't need to have a function on the show, she just needs to be there.
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She has to be on the show to do the 'bumpers' whenever they go on the road.
Some notable 'bumpers' of the season:
'WHEEL OF FORTUNE' from San Francisco: What a Masterpiece!
It's Official: The Bonus Round is next.
We're back with more of America's Game.
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[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 08:07 AM\']I would keep everything as is. The only quibble I have is that I would prefer the show to be entirely live-to-tape, but the realities of television dictate otherwise.
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What part isn't done live-to-tape? I've seen plenty of eps taped, and only once was there a stopdown, due to judges checking out a bonus round answer (was it in time or not)....
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IMHO, the show's best years were after they got rid of the shopping, and before the toss-up puzzles began. Just a straight show of spinning the wheel, guessing letters, and buying vowels, with the winner moving on to play the bonus round.
Although I do prefer the current bonus round (i.e. spinning the little wheel to determine the prize). I always found it interesting in the past that the bonus round had little to do with the main part of gameplay (i.e. a wheel).
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Most of my gripes have to do with the wheel itself. I don't like how the wheel became static with the exception of the big money space. I liked the variety that went with the wheels, and not the all round-2 daytime-style wheel. Since they'd do the wheel changes during the commercial breaks and there's probably already a small stopdown to load things on the wheel, I don't see too many production problems there.
I know the show has always wanted to try to give away more cash on the show. How bout we start by not making the wheel so lob-sided? I mean, 5000 then straight down to 900 seems a bit dumb. Granted it's always happened in the syndie version, but I still don't like it. The daytime version always had a very good balance with the wheels in its amounts. At least pre-1996 they kept the 1000 with round 3 and 1500 with round 4 to keep something of a little balance. Heck, bring the 2000 and 1250 out of retirement and stick them on the later wheels!
Vanna's normal job may seem ornamental, but remember that she also models some of the prizes.
I miss the shopping, but that boat's dead in the water. I can put up with cash.
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[quote name=\'tmq800\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 11:33 AM\']
Some notable 'bumpers' of the season:
'WHEEL OF FORTUNE' from San Francisco: What a Masterpiece!
It's Official: The Bonus Round is next.
We're back with more of America's Game.
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What's notable about the last two?
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Replace Vanna? Come on. I do not find much to quibble about today. Just compare 'Wheel's' production values with 'Family Feud.'
I would bring back one of the better themes the show has had over the years. The only other thing I do not like is adding the $1000 to the amount of the final spin. There used to be added suspense when Pat would land on a four digit amount rather than a three digit amount.
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[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 12:30 PM\'][quote name=\'tmq800\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 11:33 AM\']
Some notable 'bumpers' of the season:
'WHEEL OF FORTUNE' from San Francisco: What a Masterpiece!
It's Official: The Bonus Round is next.
We're back with more of America's Game.
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What's notable about the last two?
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TMQ had to make a Bed, Bath and Beyond run shortly after she said them.
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[quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 12:32 PM\']Replace Vanna? Come on. I do not find much to quibble about today. Just compare 'Wheel's' production values with 'Family Feud.'
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That's not a fair comparison, and you know it. Try comparing Wheel's current production values to the ones from, say, the early '90s. The show looked and felt much smoother back then.
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[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 01:30 PM\'][quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 12:32 PM\']Replace Vanna? Come on. I do not find much to quibble about today. Just compare 'Wheel's' production values with 'Family Feud.'
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That's not a fair comparison, and you know it. Try comparing Wheel's current production values to the ones from, say, the early '90s. The show looked and felt much smoother back then.
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The show is too much of a mish-mash for me to really get into. Everrything of Wheel is now a mish-mash, music, format, constant plugs. If I were the producer, I'd keep the set, new bonus round, Pat and Vanna, the current dollar amouts, mystery spaces, and ONE tossup, but I'd revert the format back to around 1989 otherwise. It's just too distracting.
Ben
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[quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 01:30 PM\']
That's not a fair comparison, and you know it. Try comparing Wheel's current production values to the ones from, say, the early '90s. The show looked and felt much smoother back then.
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How did it feel smoother? Seriously, what was different?
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While there's nothing wrong with giving your opinion on the Toss ups and the way they do the bonus round these days, I will say this much:
The nitpicking about the graphics used is almost as senseless as those who whine about GSN's squeezed credits and cutting of the ticket plugs.
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 02:41 PM\'][quote name=\'Steve Gavazzi\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 01:30 PM\']
That's not a fair comparison, and you know it. Try comparing Wheel's current production values to the ones from, say, the early '90s. The show looked and felt much smoother back then.
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How did it feel smoother? Seriously, what was different?
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I think Ben in the post between ours summed it up pretty nicely.
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[quote name=\'hmtriplecrown\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 10:32 AM\'][quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 12:30 PM\']
What's notable about the last two?
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TMQ had to make a Bed, Bath and Beyond run shortly after she said them.
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TWO TOWELS!
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The main issue I have is the difference between values on the wheel. Like in round one; you're either getting $900 or $2,500. That's too much of a jump. It would be nice if they would either level it out a little or put a $1,000 or $1,500 space on the wheel, instead of just for the Mystery space consolations. The show just seems like it's more worried about the appearance now than the gameplay, though, which is the main issue with me.
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[quote name=\'itiparanoid13\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 12:29 PM\']The show just seems like it's more worried about the appearance now than the gameplay, though, which is the main issue with me.
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And they can do that, because there are enough mindless sheep out there who are just thrilled beyond belief to be watching Wheel that it doesn't really matter that the show plain sucks. Consider some of our more Wheel-obessessed forum members. That's their target audience.
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There has to be a greater price for buying vowels. Perhaps half your bankroll? Because people are now buying them three or four at a time, just to buy them.
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Since WoF is so plug-heavy, even by Pat's admission in an interview, here's how I would re-align the show if I were the producer...
\ One toss-up to start the game. Winner of that toss-up gets to spin the wheel first.
\ When a player wins a round, the next player in line starts the next round (read: if the player at the yellow arrow wins a round, the next round starts with the player at the blue position spinning -- regardless of when the yellow player won his/her round).
\ Keep all this up until the "time's running out bells" chime. Now, here's where I throw three decades of tradition out the window. When the bells toll, instead of Pat's final spin, the players' banks for that round freeze and the rest of the puzzle is played in "toss-up" mode. The remaining blanks in the puzzle gradually are filled in and the first player to buzz in and correctly solve it wins all the money and/or prizes in his/her bank for the round. Seemingly way too often, Pat's final spin and the ensuing speed-up round make the difference between who wins, who loses and also makes all the previous rounds pointless.
\ Finally, there's never a reason to give Vanna early retirement. Since the puzzle board was computerized, Vanna's had more of a spokesmodel role. If I were producer, I'd increase such a role slightly. When Charlie's finished plugging the sponsor of the jackpot round, he could toss to a video-taped clip of Vanna describing the prize added to the wheel for the jackpot round.
I'm probably putting band-aids on problems. Frankly, I'd prefer to have a straddling format to where the player who wins the most money after three completed rounds, even if it takes parts of two episodes to finish out one game, qualifies for the bonus round and defends his/her championship in the next game.
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Bring back the "Jeopardy" '78 prize music!! :)
There has to be a greater price for buying vowels. Perhaps half your bankroll? Because people are now buying them three or four at a time, just to buy them.
I like that...vowels haven't increased in price in the show's history, yet the values on the wheel have.
Also, bring back returning champions to a maximum of three days.
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[quote name=\'wschmrdr\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 11:24 AM\']Most of my gripes have to do with the wheel itself. I don't like how the wheel became static with the exception of the big money space. I liked the variety that went with the wheels, and not the all round-2 daytime-style wheel. Since they'd do the wheel changes during the commercial breaks and there's probably already a small stopdown to load things on the wheel, I don't see too many production problems there.
I know the show has always wanted to try to give away more cash on the show. How bout we start by not making the wheel so lob-sided? I mean, 5000 then straight down to 900 seems a bit dumb. Granted it's always happened in the syndie version, but I still don't like it. The daytime version always had a very good balance with the wheels in its amounts. At least pre-1996 they kept the 1000 with round 3 and 1500 with round 4 to keep something of a little balance. Heck, bring the 2000 and 1250 out of retirement and stick them on the later wheels!
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I would mix in a few intermediate dollar values in the $1000-$2000 range, but to make more variety, bring back some cheapies, perhaps even a $50 or $100 space in Round 1. There should be a few spaces that are worth less than the cost of a vowel.
John Brocato
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[quote name=\'jbrocato\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 03:55 PM\']I would mix in a few intermediate dollar values in the $1000-$2000 range, but to make more variety, bring back some cheapies, perhaps even a $50 or $100 space in Round 1. There should be a few spaces that are worth less than the cost of a vowel.
John Brocato
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What you're asking is going back to the CBS days...bah!
I personally hate the toss-ups since the fact that the time used for them can certainly be good for a longer 4th round, and possibly a 5th. Only one is neccessary, right at the start of the round, and thats it. Nothing further.
The jump from $1000 to $2500 may have been steep when they first retired it. I've grown to get used to it, although I haven't had a problem. Round 1 should have an intermediate value ($1000, $1200, $1400--my idea, or $1500), and perhaps increase it progressively. The minimum amount of the wheel ($300) is fine by these standards, but the wheel seems a little lopsided, but, its alright to mix them around by now.
Keep the mystery round, the extra wheel prizes, and the bonus round, those are okay. The additional graphics (for the most part) are unneccessary.
The $1000 final spin (not to mention the graphic) stinks. I rather just have the bells ring, then a close-up of pat, and then the spin, that's all there is to it.
If we want shopping back, we might as well bring back the daytime version, and we can tinker with that :p
-Dave
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[quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 11:32 AM\']Replace Vanna? Come on. I do not find much to quibble about today. Just compare 'Wheel's' production values with 'Family Feud.'
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I recall a time, it seems to me it was about 1999 or 2000 when rumors surfaced the Wheel was going to add raunchy puzzles, such as "On the Rag" or "A Trip To Hooters". Those never came to fruition.
To address the original subject, I would axe the toss-up rounds completely, and, as others have said, add more balance to the Wheels.
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As would many people, I would love shopping days to come back. But, in the meantime,
I would love to see a $1,500 space back on the wheel. As most already said, it's pretty weird to have one four figure space, and the rest to be substantially lower. (On a side note, it was a big letdown to have a $1,500 space on the wheel in the intro, but none during the course of the show.)
Make vowels cost $1,000. It is a pretty steep inflation, but with wheel inflation, it adds strategy to the mix. Besides, I hate to see players who make $10,000 or more on one spin spend a mere $1,000 buying 4 vowels. I want to see if that same player will spend $4,000 doing the same thing.
Let Pat spin prizes for the final spin. When he finally hits a dollar amount, any prize(s) he spins are also given to the player who solves the final spin puzzle. This would also cause the "add a thousand" rule to be repealed.
Add a jackpot space to the bonus wheel. It would start out at $100,000, but whenever a cash prize is not won, 10% of that prize is added to the jackpot (e.g. if a player loses a bonus puzzle with a $35K envelope, $3500 is added to the jackpot for the next night
***RETURNING CHAMPS*** The shows aren't shown in a random order like pre-Karn Feud. Even a Friday Final from a few years ago would work, even on special player weeks.
Let me know what ya think.
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I would bring back one of the better themes the show has had over the years. The only other thing I do not like is adding the $1000 to the amount of the final spin. There used to be added suspense when Pat would land on a four digit amount rather than a three digit amount.
There still is...the reason for adding $1K to the final spin was so the game's outcome would not be a foregone conclusion if Pat landed on a puny space like $300, thus leaving no way for significantly trailing players to catch up. Personally, I thought it was a good change
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 07:20 PM\'][quote name=\'PaulD\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 11:32 AM\']Replace Vanna? Come on. I do not find much to quibble about today. Just compare 'Wheel's' production values with 'Family Feud.'
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I recall a time, it seems to me it was about 1999 or 2000 when rumors surfaced the Wheel was going to add raunchy puzzles, such as "On the Rag" or "A Trip To Hooters". Those never came to fruition.
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That came from an "article" in everyone's fave satirical newspaper, The Onion...they also ran a piece in 01 about the writer's struggle to get home in time to catch TJW on GSN.
Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")
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[quote name=\'tvwxman\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 10:40 AM\']What part isn't done live-to-tape?
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I think it's been mentioned that if Sajak hits Bankrupt (and possibly other non-cash items such as Lose A Turn or a prize or if he hits more than one) the tape is edited accordingly so the only spin we see on the Final Spin is the first spin where he lands on money.
I always found it part of the fun if Sajak would land on a couple of Bankrupts in a row back in the old Burbank days, with Mother McKenzie chortling away (and the ticked-off look he'd give to the camera :) ).
Doug
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Can someone explain how a 15 second toss-up takes away from the fourth round? 'cause I don't get it. And would a return to the "CBS" values be so bad? $15,000 for solving a puzzle is excessive.
If I had my way, Wheel would be replaced by either Lingo or Countdown. But that's not gonna happen, so these would be nice changes.
Toss-up before each round to determine control, no cash value. If you're going to have them at all, do it before each round.
"This week of Wheel of Fortune is sponsored by thus-and-so." Poof! No more intrusive ads before the Jackpot round and what not. There's at least a minute or two saved for game play.
Back to classic categories, bonus questions worth $1,000, if you have to have 'em at all. No more On the Menu, Around the House or Living Thing. Person, Place, Thing or Phrase. With a few others as necessary.
Either cut the chat segment in the final act, or do an honest-to-Pete recap with it, like "Feud" or "Pyramid." That's more time that could be used for the game.
Create an identity for the show: replace rotating set pieces with permanent ones, colors behind the players, no more whizzy graphics and things. Keep it simple, it's worked for Jeopardy.
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[quote name=\'TLEberle\' date=\'Jun 6 2005, 01:15 AM\']Either cut the chat segment in the final act, or do an honest-to-Pete recap with it, like "Feud" or "Pyramid." That's more time that could be used for the game.
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Now, this is one thing I would keep. I actually like the informal chat at the end of the show, esp. since Wheel is the only show that actually does a post-mortem before the credits. I like the fact that they take the commercial break and come back to wind down, even if it is just 20 seconds. It makes the show feel a little casual, and allows a small breather btwn. the bonus round and credits. On Feud and Pyramid it's simply "He/she/they've won $xx,000! See you next time!" and cue credits. Way too rushed IMO.
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I'd like to have Charlie O. give us the total retail value of all the prizes on the stage during the intro.
Keep the first Toss-Up. Have it be worth the $500 house minimum.
Have the wheel prizes and jackpot space NOT count towards score.
Sign Pat and Vanna to fifty-year contracts. Chuck and Susan are never coming back. Never.
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The graphics are a minor thing, they don't bother me that much. I do agree we need more four-figure spaces on the wheel besides the Mystery $1,000 and the TDV for the round. Bringing back $1,500 in Round 4 would be devine.
I would also agree to truncate the Tossups to only one. While they may not be the major time-eaters, I fail to see why we need two tossups before Round 1. One tossup maybe, but why two?
Bring back returning champions. Probably go for a 3-day limit like before (although I don't think we'd see any major problem with 5 days).
Also, while people love cars, trips and cash, I'd prefer to see more varied prizes. Kinda go back to the days where Grand Pianos and other assorted prizes were given out during prize rounds. Maybe restrict the cars and cash to the bonus round only.
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I would axe the toss-ups. I know Sajak likes that someone who gets Wheel-bitten can still win money, but to me it defeats the purpose of the game. I would take out the Bonus Questions, as well. Their only purpose is to show the country that people don't know anything about the world around them.
Like many others, I think that the values on the Wheel are messed up. I would change them to:
Round 1: $100-$1,000
Round 2: $200-$2,000 (with a $1,000 space)
Round 3: $300-$3,000 (with $1,000 and $1,500 spaces)
Every round after that: $400-$4,000 (with $1,000, $1,500 and $2,000 spaces)
That would take out the disparity between the top two spaces.
There would be two prizes put on the Wheel. One worth about $2,500 in Round 2, and one worth about $5,000 in Round 4.
I would ditch the $10,000 Space, but I would keep the Jackpot and Mystery Spaces. Instead of being on daily, they would be Special Rounds along with the Prize Puzzle. The Jackpot would start at $2,000, and increase with the spinning. The Mystery Prize would be worth about $5,000, underneath one of two $500 spaces. They would show up every few days, accompanied by a lilttle chime, with only one Special Round in any given show. They are gimmicks, so I would keep them out of the forefront.
The Final Spin would continue to be $1,000 plus whatever Sajak spins. That is one of the changes I like.
The other one is the Little Wheel Bonus Round. I would probably change the frequency of the envelopes to include boats and trips, drop the intermediate cash values (no more $30K, $35K, $40K or $45K), and drop the big prize to $50,000.
I know that these ideas aren't very good. It's basically a budget cut, but I'm of the belief (and I know that others, like TLEberle, feel the same way, since it comes up whenever we discuss the Goen version) that it's ridiculous how high the scores get in the main game sometimes. I know that I personally wouldn't have a problem with the "CBS" amounts, but I think that people have gotten too spoiled by the way Wheel shovels cash away, so I think that they would be really turned off if a Chevy Aveo was the car in the Bonus Round.
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Retain the first toss-up puzzle only to see who gets control of the wheel.
Bring back the $1000 space in Round 1.
Jackpot round in Round 2. Put the Bankrupt/$10000 prize wedge back in round 2 only. Put a nice prize on the wheel and put a $1000 Gift Certicate on the wheel. Also bringing back the $2500 space.
Round 3. Mystery Round in fine. $3500 space on the wheel
Round 4. $5000 space on the wheel and play till time is up.
I'm in favor of keeping the "FINAL SPIN" graphic for editing purposes.
The "NO MORE VOWELS" graphic needs to go. This show has been on for how long now and all of a sudden the viewing audience needs to keep up with the letters called??? Heck the home viewing audience has a better time of keeping up with the letters called then the in-studio players and they have a used-letter board to remind them what was called??? (sigh)
As far as the Bonus round is concerned, I would bring in some big time prizes rather than the $30K, $35K, $40K, $45K, $50K prizes, they have to go and I would seriously cut down on the frequency of the $25K envelopes on the bonus wheel too.
Other than that, Wheel is fine.
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I agree with the elimination of the Final Spin graphic and the No More Vowels sound.
Now:
- Had the teen best friends had NOT solved FLIP-FLOPS back in the February week from Philadelphia (which had been taped back in the summer), it would have been two years without any $100,000 winner. I would have put a progressive jackpot (ala WWTBAM's 2001 jackpot, which finally reached $2.18 million) where the jackpot would have increased $1,000 a week until it's claimed. Hey, it's Sony's money, after all!
- I would cut the toss-ups. Two toss-ups before the maingame is excessive, IMHO.
- I would bring back the 15 biggest winners from the season for a "Big Winners Week" at the season's end.
- The Jackpot Round should be progressive, as well. The first show: The Jackpot should begin at $5,000. Next (should not it be won): $5,250. Next: $5,500...and so on, until it's won, where it would be reset at $5,000.
- I would upgrade the variety of the prizes in the Prize Puzzles. I know this was covered earlier, but it seemed each Prize Puzzle this season was played for a trip! How about, say, home makeover packages?
Anyone agree with me?
Brian
Don RUCKLES?
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Okay, as the guy who started this thread, I'm going to ask another deep and profound question.
You've all made your points, and the general consensus seems to be:
A : Dump the 2nd and 3rd Toss Up
B : Dump the No More Vowels and Final Spin gfx...
but everything else seems to be trivial.... progressive jackpots....dump the $1000 bonus for the final round.....better values on the wheel...
My question is this : Because there isn't a progressive bonus jackpot...because there aren't $2000 spaces on the wheel....because the prize puzzle is always for a trip.... why do you think the show isn't as good as it used to be? Most, if not all of the things you'd like to see, were never there to begin with!
So before we get any more off topic with individuals adding their fantasy suggestions to a better wheel, what's the gripe with the current version????
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Every time my family watches "Wheel" it seems, I always go off on a rant on how they screwed up the show and how I'd fix it.
1) Only one Toss-Up: Introduce the contestants, then go into the Toss-Up to decide who starts the game, and have it be worth $500.
2) No more pointless graphics: They're annoying more than anything to me. Is it really necessary to have the entire screen taken up with a noisy graphic announcing that this is the final spin of the day?
3) Roll back the set a few years: I know I've said this before, I've even shared some ideas I whipped up in Paint. And I'm gonna do it again. Go here (http://\"http://dc-lundberg.net/gstradepost/wheelsets.html\") if you'd like to see what I'd do to the contestant area.
4) Get rid of the Bonus Wheel: And bring back the W-H-E-E-L thing.
5) Change the values of the wheels in the main game: Here's what I'd do for that:
A) Top dollar value in round one is $1,000 with the second highest amount at $750.
B) Top value in round two is $2,500 with the $1,000 space kept on the wheel.
C) Top value in round three is $3,750 with the second highest space set at $1,500.
D) Top value in round four is $5,000, keep the $1,500 space and add a $2,000 space.
6) Get rid of the Mystery Round: Simple enough.
7) Lost the Prize Puzzles: How I forgot to add this in my original post is beyond me.
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I think that familiarity breeds contempt. Sure it's a good show, but imagine if it had been a marginal ratings performer. Instead of 20 years of the same show in prime access, we may have had more opportunities for different game shows to be placed in the slot. The superficial history of prime access as far as gameshows are concerned is 71-80 10-15 different shows, 80-84 Feud and TTD or TJW, 84-2005 (and beyond) Wheel and J!
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Well as for me, the only thing about Wheel that gets me is that this show gives just too much of everything when you don't really do anything.
For example, on Jeopardy!, you have to know something or have a whole lot of knowledge to earn your keep.
TPIR, you should know something about grocery products, and prices of things that go on in everyday life i.e (cars, trips, prizes, etc.)
Family Feud, you should guess the most popular answer to a survey of 100 people and do this in a back-and-forth battle with another team.
Card Sharks, they tested your ability to judge human nature and then the element of luck was either with you or against you.
On Wheel though, they just give stuff away. $10,000 Gift Certificates, $1000 Gift Certificates, Prize Puzzles, Toss-Up puzzles, $6000 in the final spin and guess what, call the right letter and win at least $20,000 and puts you in first place just to go to the bonus round and win more money, not prizes but more money. Not that this is a bad thing but it gets so routine to see a prize puzzle every other day (which awards a player for solving the puzzle another prize on top of what he actually . I think what turned me off from Wheel is when they added the Toss-Up puzzles, I think that ruined the flow of the game, not to mention the way-to-easy money that is awarded for solving a toss-up puzzle. Heck in the good ole days, you could have a long puzzle and spin crappy $$ amounts and the most you could win would be what? $4000 tops. If it was cash only. Now you get $3000 on the third toss-up puzzle of the night. If MMS had attacked one game show in the last few years, it's Wheel of Fortune.
I would prefer to watch an episode of Wheel (pre-2001 years) before all of this took place. Other than that, Wheel is a good show, still no.1 in the ratings, production values are great, it keeps up with the times and technology. It still takes at least a year to get on the show. Wheel is alright. I just think that in a game show you have to earn something rather than just hand it to you on a silver platter...brought to you by Zatarans Dirty Rice or The Room Store.
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So before we get any more off topic with individuals adding their fantasy suggestions to a better wheel, what's the gripe with the current version????
Since "it's not like they used to do it" won't cut the mustard...the show has become a parody of what it used to be: whooshing graphics, tense music beds under various game elements (which no shows had until "Millionaire" did that...), contestants yelling and hollering all the time...
Wheel was at least tolerable when the contestants (and wheel) were more subdued. The wheel was colorful without being garish, the contestants were a mix of good gameplay and excitement, and Pat's comments were actually funny once in a while.
I think that something more than "the wheel needs to have a $745 spot, vowels need to increase according to the inflation index" and all this other stuff is necessary, but some changes would be nice to make it a fairer game. I get that it's a wheel, and that means some luck is involved, but it can still be a good game too. The final round either decides the winner, with the previous rounds meaning nothing, or the final round being time for a snack run because the leader is up by twenty grand, and Pat spins $350. Parity (is that right?) would be welcome on the wheel.
Was this closer to what you had in mind, Matt?
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One thing Travis mentioned that I definitely agree with: The categories are WAY too easy. We should go back to Thing, Title, Place, Person, Fictional Character, Phrase, maybe keep the Before & After. I fear in a few years we'll see the category "Word ending in -ictionary".
The reason I brought up the wheel spaces is because Wheel had a "We wanna give away more money!" phase a few years ago. The upgrading of wheel values is the best I can do to answer the question. (BTW that intro wheel with the 1500 also has a 2000 on it.)
Yes, buying vowels is way too easy today. I would like to see the $200 and $150 spaces come back, because the 300+ makes the game too easy. The whole fun of the game is to be able to figure out a puzzle with a limited number of letters revealed. Maybe it's time for vowel inflation, I don't know. With the current configuration of today, $500 per vowel seems sufficient.
If any of you saw the old Woolery version of wheel (either by tape trade or first-run), you'll remember that when time was running out, Chuck licked his finger and actually aimed for the big one. Rumors have it he rarely missed, too! I'm not necessarily suggesting to send Pat to spinning school, but it'd be fun to watch if he aimed and tried to help out the contestant that was down $23000 to Squat.
I believe the extra graphics are simply a waste of time that could be used for gameplay. With syndication for game shows, you have to do the extra ads in order to make enough money. So, I do like seeing the prizes and gift certificates on the wheel. Just don't over-do the commercial on it.
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I'll add my two cents here because I worked on a concept in 2003.
Set: The video wall behind the players will be eliminated. The red, yellow and blue backdrops behind the players will return with some new futuristic design, maybe based on a diamond pattern similar to the one used in early 1990s. There will be chasing lights and backdrop behind the red/yellow/blue pattern. The electronic puzzle board will be retained, but moved closer to the wheel so there is not so much empty space between them like now.
Pat and Vanna will enter stage center from a raised area of the stage. A circle-shaped door will open and they will travel down several steps before meeting on a Wheel of Fortune logo center stage. The hosts will exchange a few words and then they separate. Then, the game will begin:
Theme Music: A new orchestration largely based on the 1992-1994 theme; with some 1989 variations mixed in will replace the current theme.
Toss-Up: This round will change slightly. The value of the puzzle will start at $3,000 and decrease by $500 after a few letters are filled to a minimum value of $1,000. After someone has buzzed in and successful solved the puzzle, they will earn control.
In a departure from previous years, there will be no contestant interviews at this point. I’ve found that this part of the show seems to drag and I would prefer to get right into the game.
At the end of the first round, Pat will chat briefly with the winning player. He will stay at his post. I’m eliminating his walk over to the player to save time.
The second round is still the Jackpot Round and a prize is added to the wheel as well as a second bankrupt.
Pat will chat briefly with the winning player after this round ends and then go to commercial unless it is the same person who won round one.
Round 3 will feature the Mystery Round as before. Pat will chat briefly with either one or two players that have not won rounds before it begins and then Charlie will describe the car featured on the wheel in the Mystery Round.
Round 4 will be preceded by a Toss-Up as Round 1 was and the winning player starts.
The purpose of cutting down on the contestant interviews, Pat’s walk to the winning contestants and eliminating one Toss-Up is to make sure we get four full rounds completed on at least most of the shows. Right now, the Speed-Up round is often happening right after the third Toss-Up on many shows.
Other changes are buying a vowel will cost $500. There is also a $500 penalty for guessing a letter that is already in the puzzle and $1,000 penalty for an incorrect puzzle solution.
Also, I totally agree with the lack of a gradually increase in money. In Round 1, I would have values of $300-$2,500 with a $1,000 and Round 1 would have the $10,000 wedge. In Round 2, a $3,500 would replace my $1,000 space.
The Wheel also gets a complete makeover with new configurations and a revised color scheme. Here is lineup starting at Bankrupt and moving counterclockwise.
I tried to cut down on the abundance of $300 spaces on the wheel and have a $1,000 and $2,500 space on the wheel at the same time.
I would add two new discs to the wheel in Rounds 1 and 2. In Round 1, “2-For-1” basically gives players a chance to guess two letters on one turn for the same dollar configuration. If they land on it and guess a letter in the puzzle, they pick it up and hold on to when they want to use it. They must tell Pat they’re going to use it before they spin. In Round 2, a disc called “Double Up” will give the person who has it a chance to double the amount of money in their bank at the end of the round. If they land on it and guess a letter in the puzzle that’s there, they get to pick it up. If they can hold onto it until they end of the round without hitting a bankrupt and successfully solve the puzzle, they will double whatever is in their bank for that round.
In Round 3, I would swap out half of the wheel with new configurations ranging $300 to $5,000 with a $1,500 and $3,500 space there.
The adding $1,000 to the final spin is retained, but the annoying think music played is dropped or severely quieted.
Pat goes over to congratulate the winners and losers. Then, the winning contestant takes a walk and meets Vanna as she comes center stage and helps Charlie with prize descriptions, which are done before the commercial break.
In the bonus rain, I would add more spaces for $30,000 and $35,000 are added. Right now there are about 12 $25K, one for each of $30K, $35K and $40K, $45K and $50K and $100K.
The annoying music they added for the walk from the bonus wheel to the spot for the puzzle solve is eliminated. Also, the 10-second bonus music is canned and only the doo-dee, doo-dee sound effect music is retained.
In the most radical move, the Pat/Vanna banter right after the commercial after the Bonus Round will be eliminated. Pat and Vanna will congratulate the winning contestant and sign off like Bob Barker does on The Price is Right or Richard Karn does right after the bonus round on Family Feud. I always thought it was pointless to go to commercial and then come back and sign off. Wheel used to end after the bonus round in the humble beginnings.
The top three players of the week will be brought back on Friday for the Friday Finals as was done from 1996-1998. On this show, the time will be cut a little short allowing for end-of-the-week banter between Pat and Vanna.
Also, the number of theme weeks like “Wheel Goes to the Movies” will be reduced to occasional status.
There will also be a tournament of champions at the end of the season. The top nine money winners will return and be randomly selected to compete on the first three shows of the week. The top three money winners will compete in a two-day final. There will be no bonus rounds on the last two shows. However, the winner will receive a $100,000 bonus. Everyone keeps all money won.
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Wow. I'll break down the problems after I get off work.
And as promised...
In a departure from previous years, there will be no contestant interviews at this point. I’ve found that this part of the show seems to drag and I would prefer to get right into the game.
At the end of the first round, Pat will chat briefly with the winning player. He will stay at his post. I’m eliminating his walk over to the player to save time.
So he's not going to talk to them, and then not talk to them?
However, the winner will receive a $100,000 bonus.
No.
Why, why, WHY do people insist on giving away more money? It's like we TRIPLED THE--errm never mind.
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[quote name=\'Strikerz04\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 04:46 PM\'][quote name=\'jbrocato\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 03:55 PM\']I would mix in a few intermediate dollar values in the $1000-$2000 range, but to make more variety, bring back some cheapies, perhaps even a $50 or $100 space in Round 1. There should be a few spaces that are worth less than the cost of a vowel.
John Brocato
[/quote]
What you're asking is going back to the CBS days...bah!
-Dave
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Not quite. The whole CBS wheel was cheap with practically every other space $100. The final round had a top space of $1250; the second highest was only $750. My idea would include spaces like $1000, $1500, $2000, along with the top-dollar space, but throw in a couple of low numbers.
John Brocato
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Let's just get rid of the damn wheel. The amount of money in play for each round will be determined by a check writer in the audience. It can be worth anywhere from one dollar to leventy billion dollars. No doubt the big wins will be held for sweeps. Each player in turn will begin picking letters for a puzzle chosen by the puzzle writer in the audience. Charlie O. can stand with each of these "writers" as they write what they write to enhance the drama. Keeping with the Less Is More [great phrase for a puzzle, future puzzle writers] mentality so prevalent within today's world, the title will be abbreviated to Fortune. Because you can win a fortune on Fortune.
I'm calling Sony to arrange a meeting.
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[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Jun 7 2005, 12:25 AM\']Keeping with the Less Is More [great phrase for a puzzle, future puzzle writers] mentality so prevalent within today's world, the title will be abbreviated to Fortune. Because you can win a fortune on Fortune.
I'm calling Sony to arrange a meeting.
[snapback]88087[/snapback]
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Not to mention with the Less Is More mentality, Charmin will be signing on as a sponsor. And only first names of contestants will be revealed, just to tick off Da Perf.
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I say keep the wheel, but do we really need the puzzles? Have the players earn spins by answering multiple choice questions. After three rounds of q's, take a break, then start spinning, trying to avoid bankrupt. Then take a break and three more q's, commercial, then reset the wheel with higher $ values and more bankrupts. 4 bankrupts put you out of the game. The player with the most money at the end wins their earnings.
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[quote name=\'wschmrdr\' date=\'Jun 6 2005, 11:51 AM\']I fear in a few years we'll see the category "Word ending in -ictionary".[/quote]
That's not even your joke. If you're going to try to be funny, at least be original.
On a different note, there is one show besides Street Smarts where a tournament of champions would be totally inappropriate, and it's Wheel of Fortune.
At this point, I'll either listen to the radio, or watch "The Simpsons." Sorry, Wheel, you lost a viewer.
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[quote name=\'mikeg\' date=\'Jun 6 2005, 04:37 PM\']Pat and Vanna will enter stage center from a raised area of the stage. A circle-shaped door will open and they will travel down several steps before meeting on a Wheel of Fortune logo center stage. The hosts will exchange a few words and then they separate.[/quote]
Gratuitous. The show is already strapped for time, and they chat enough at the end of the show.
Toss-Up: This round will change slightly. The value of the puzzle will start at $3,000 and decrease by $500 after a few letters are filled to a minimum value of $1,000. After someone has buzzed in and successful solved the puzzle, they will earn control.
This does exactly what? You do realize that it would only takes 4 letters for the puzzle to be worth $1,000, and how often is a Toss Up solved with 4 letters showing?
In a departure from previous years, there will be no contestant interviews at this point. I’ve found that this part of the show seems to drag and I would prefer to get right into the game.
At the end of the first round, Pat will chat briefly with the winning player. He will stay at his post. I’m eliminating his walk over to the player to save time.
- - -
Pat will chat briefly with the winning player after this round ends and then go to commercial unless it is the same person who won round one.
What if the same player wins?
PAT: Hey, you win again!
CONTESTANT: Yeah...
(cricket)
PAT: So...how bout those Cowboys?
CONTESTANT: Well, they...
PAT: OK, on with Round 2!
Round 3 will feature the Mystery Round as before. Pat will chat briefly with either one or two players that have not won rounds before it begins and then Charlie will describe the car featured on the wheel in the Mystery Round.
That's just ridiculously out of place. The interviews are fine where they are. Breaking them up would disturb the continuity.
The purpose of cutting down on the contestant interviews, Pat’s walk to the winning contestants and eliminating one Toss-Up is to make sure we get four full rounds completed on at least most of the shows. Right now, the Speed-Up round is often happening right after the third Toss-Up on many shows.
I'm sorry, but I like to get to know contestants. Otherwise, who do I root for. Damn it all, I'm just gonna root for blue, that's my favorite color!
Other changes are buying a vowel will cost $500. There is also a $500 penalty for guessing a letter that is already in the puzzle and $1,000 penalty for an incorrect puzzle solution.
What if I ask for an already used letter and I only have $450? What if I missolve the puzzle and I only have $950? This isn't Jeopardy, so I shouldn't go into the hole...only when I'm with a woman. {Quagmire}OH!{/QM}
Also, I totally agree with the lack of a gradually increase in money. In Round 1, I would have values of $300-$2,500 with a $1,000 and Round 1 would have the $10,000 wedge. In Round 2, a $3,500 would replace my $1,000 space.
What is this, Dyslexic Week on Wheel of Fortune? The Packjot round is brought to you by Hooked on Phonics and LensCrafters!
(cut a whole bunch of mumbo-jumbo that made my head spin, no pun intended)
In the most radical move, the Pat/Vanna banter right after the commercial after the Bonus Round will be eliminated. Pat and Vanna will congratulate the winning contestant and sign off like Bob Barker does on The Price is Right or Richard Karn does right after the bonus round on Family Feud. I always thought it was pointless to go to commercial and then come back and sign off. Wheel used to end after the bonus round in the humble beginnings.
For the same reason I'd keep the contestant interviews, keep some informalities in the show.
(cut some more gratuitous mumbo-jumbo)
The ideas are just a little too much, and it seems like you're just changing things just for the hell of it. Your ideas don't do much to improve the actual show, and actually slow some things down. However, do send your resume and a copy of this post to Fremantle.
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jun 7 2005, 12:55 AM\']
What is this, Dyslexic Week on Wheel of Fortune? The Packjot round is brought to you by Hooked on Phonics and LensCrafters!
[snapback]88093[/snapback]
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If it's Dyslexic Week, then you've got the show's name wrong. It would be Fheel of Wortune, with the Packjot round brought to you by Pooked on Honics and CensLafters.
Toss up round worth $.0001, buy a vowel for $0.52, and win up to $.000001 in the Ronus Bound!
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[quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jun 6 2005, 11:55 PM\']
Toss-Up: This round will change slightly. The value of the puzzle will start at $3,000 and decrease by $500 after a few letters are filled to a minimum value of $1,000. After someone has buzzed in and successful solved the puzzle, they will earn control.
This does exactly what? You do realize that it would only takes 4 letters for the puzzle to be worth $1,000, and how often is a Toss Up solved with 4 letters showing?
[snapback]88093[/snapback]
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While I agree that most of his ideas would permanently kill this dying show, he did say that the dollar value would fall in $500-increments with "a few letters," not with each letter.
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What I'd like to know is since when did the requirement (at least it seems to me) take effect that you have to be a sports fan (WNBA, NFL, Nascar) rather knowing how to play the game and being a fan of the show?
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[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 10:49 AM\']Although I do prefer the current bonus round (i.e. spinning the little wheel to determine the prize). I always found it interesting in the past that the bonus round had little to do with the main part of gameplay (i.e. a wheel).
[/quote]
Gee, I always thought the main part of gameplay was "guess letters, solve a puzzle." I'm not complaining about the prize wheel, though if I were it would be to say that it seems odd that the bonus-round wheel is smaller than the one used for the main game. Why not put the prizes on the big wheel and do the bonus round from the contestant's original position?
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[quote name=\'MCArroyo1\' date=\'Jun 7 2005, 10:31 AM\'][quote name=\'fostergray82\' date=\'Jun 6 2005, 11:55 PM\']
Toss-Up: This round will change slightly. The value of the puzzle will start at $3,000 and decrease by $500 after a few letters are filled to a minimum value of $1,000. After someone has buzzed in and successful solved the puzzle, they will earn control.
This does exactly what? You do realize that it would only takes 4 letters for the puzzle to be worth $1,000, and how often is a Toss Up solved with 4 letters showing?
[snapback]88093[/snapback]
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While I agree that most of his ideas would permanently kill this dying show, he did say that the dollar value would fall in $500-increments with "a few letters," not with each letter.
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I see, said the blind man to the deaf man. :-)
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[quote name=\'rollercoaster87\' date=\'Jun 5 2005, 06:02 PM\']Let Pat spin prizes for the final spin. When he finally hits a dollar amount, any prize(s) he spins are also given to the player who solves the final spin puzzle. This would also cause the "add a thousand" rule to be repealed.[/quote]Why repeal the rule? If Pat spun the wheel and it landed on a trip to Spain wedge, then he'd say, "...Vowels are worth nothing, consonants will be just a thousand apiece, but the winner also gets that $6200 trip to Spain!"[quote name=\'continued\']Add a jackpot space to the bonus wheel...[/quote]I'd just round it off to $1K for every full $10K not won, if only to give Charlie O'Donnell an even "THOUSAND" (add your own extra letters as necessary) to (EDIT) promote upfront without the (perhaps anticlimactic?) "...FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!"; I'd also include the value of the merchandise prizes, adjusted in the same way. [quote name=\'continued\']***RETURNING CHAMPS*** The shows aren't shown in a random order like pre-Karn Feud. Even a Friday Final from a few years ago would work, even on special player weeks.[/quote]I'd like that, especially with the Friday Final. I'd also like to see the weekly winners return every thirteenth week, etc.; logistics aside, I'm always looking for a game show that is itself an open-ended tournament.
Esoteric Eric, erstwhile GameTweaker...<OUTTAKE> ...If Pat spun and landed on a trip to Spain wedge he'd say... well, he'd probably say, "DEAR GOD, SOMEBODY HELP ME, I'VE FALLEN ON THE WHEEL AND HAVE A SPINDLE STICKING THROUGH MY RIBS!!!" ((8=D))</OUTTAKE>
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Well, this is getting a bit off track, but I'll throw in my 3 cents.
o Ditch the toss ups. They're just wrong, because they work opposite of how Wheel normally works - all of one letter shows up at the same time. Yeah, it's a personal thing, but I just can't enjoy playing along with them.
o As some suggested, a mid level value or two on the wheel seems like a good change.
o Vowels $500 seems like a good idea. They cost next to nothing now, and folks buy them even when they don't need them. I can't count the number of times I've seen folks buy the "U" when something like COLO_R TELEVISION is on the board. Drives me freakin' nuts. :)
o The big thing I've noticed is that they don't show the board as much nowadays. They show more of the spin, more of the contestants reacting to the spin, more of their reactions to their letters, etc. The wife and I are constantly yelling "Show the damn board!" at the tv.
o Control should always pass to the next person in line after a puzzle is solved. This makes sure the turns keep passing through everyone. I see all the time where someone will solve a long puzzle, win a tossup, solve a long puzzle, etc. I swear I've seen shows where some folks got something like two spins of the wheel the entire show.
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You have to remember with control that it always has been a place in Wheel, and they are using a toss-up to replace "Just before the show we drew numbers to see who would start our game." Maybe we should go back to such, as it would save time.
Concerning vowels, there's always that RARE possibility that the contestant doesn't know. I have a feeling considering how fast some contestants solve the puzzle that the producers almost encourage the players to solve the second they know it and not go for the money.
I think the whole board issue is probably the same reason why TPiR has ditched their Plinko sign. The directors think the home audience would rather see the contestants having fun than Vanna clapping. I think the amount of the spin shown has been about the same in the past few years.
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[quote name=\'wschmrdr\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 06:19 PM\']You have to remember with control that it always has been a place in Wheel, and they are using a toss-up to replace "Just before the show we drew numbers to see who would start our game."
[/quote]
They wanna save time? They're doing TWO tossups at the start of the show, one of which is meaningless aside from the grand they hand out. Idiotic. Do one, the winner of that gets first spin on the opening puzzle. Doesn't save a LOT of time, but every little bit helps.
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Here's my 2 cents:
Toss-up rounds: Limit to 1 or ditch em. It screws up the flow of the game.
Bonus round: I didn't mind the W H E E L round as much. The bonus round the way is right now I guess is fine.
The Wheel $ amounts: Raise the $5000 space to a proper $10,000 spot (and have it kept on the wheel and not picked up like a prize). Make the wheel up to date with more amounts over $1000. At least the $150 space is gone.
Gfx: We don't need all the pointers and that Bankrupt on the screen drives me nuts.
Multiplier wedges on the wheel.... good or bad? (would be interesting and at least better then the Mystery wedge IMO)
Oh yeah one last thing: Who'd be interested to put back the "Free Spin" wedge back from retirement? Offering one free spin for the entire game seems pointless. I remember players keeping free spins like poker chips... it was funny sometimes since people would hold on to them like lost treasure... then the game ended :)
I lied... I have one more thing: Either crank up the price to buy a vowel or force players to spin to buy a vowel. If the $ amount exceeded the player's stash, they would either lose a turn or be able to buy the vowel but then reset their stash to 0$ (don't know what's the best option yet). Or, have a "Buy a vowel" wedge where it would be like the old "Free spin" wedge: Hit the space, get a token, and then spin again. Players could buy vowels as long as they had a "Buy a vowel" token.
Some of this might be trash but some ideas might work. I just don't know how much tinkering around WOF is going to have though in real life... problably minimal if the ratings don't start to slide.
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[quote name=\'saussage\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 08:31 PM\']Some of this might be trash
[/quote]
Yes.
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 10:34 PM\'][quote name=\'saussage\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 08:31 PM\']Some of this might be trash
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Yes.
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Looks like you're quoting the best part as usual.
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1) One toss-up total, right after the Pat/Vanna intros. Winner gets, say, $2,500. Saves some time and $500.
2) The return of the $1500 space, plus 'fun' spaces like $850, $1250, and other ones like that. Probably from $300 to either $1,500 or $2,000, not including TDV, depending on round. It's real annoying to go from $900 to $5000.
3) No 'superspecialty' categories like "Best Seller". Let's bring back the days of Thing, Phrase, People, etc.
4) New Bonus Wheel config: 2 Car A, 2 Car B, 2 Boat, or some other fun Wheel Bonus Prize from the mid-90's, 2 Annuity, 10 $25,000, 1 $30k, 1 $35k, 1 $40k, 1 $45k, 1 $50k, and 1 Jackpot/$100k/huge-ass uberprize space.
5) Make the prize name on prize wedges at least a LITTLE easier to read. Black on tan is cool. Blue on a replica on the Mona Lisa is annoying.
6) Either keep control on a puzzle solve or have the next player get control. I prefer the former, because it gives more incentive for smart play... of course, Wheel players are not known for intelligence.
7) PLEASE. No more than 3 or 4 bonus discs/wedges on the main game wheel at a time. It's annoying to see a prize, two Mystery wedges, the free spin, and two gift tags on the wheel, with Pat going "Oh, that's Wedge X, sponsored by Y-Co."
8) If you need a bit more cash, why not put the company logo where the "SLOGAN" answer appears, for example, "COMPANY X (Company X's logo)" would appear instead of just "COMPANY X".
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[quote name=\'Monarx\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 09:01 PM\']2) The return of the $1500 space, plus 'fun' spaces like $850, $1250, and other ones like that.
[/quote]
What's "fun" about this? This is the same kind of logic the brain trust at Balderdash was using when they thought betting 483 points was funny.
4) New Bonus Wheel config: 2 Car A, 2 Car B, 2 Boat, or some other fun Wheel Bonus Prize from the mid-90's, 2 Annuity, 10 $25,000, 1 $30k, 1 $35k, 1 $40k, 1 $45k, 1 $50k, and 1 Jackpot/$100k/huge-ass uberprize space.
The average viewer gives not a single rip about this.
8) If you need a bit more cash, why not put the company logo where the "SLOGAN" answer appears, for example, "COMPANY X (Company X's logo)" would appear instead of just "COMPANY X".
You don't think they're not getting product placement money for this already?
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[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 11:10 PM\']What's "fun" about {$850 and $1250 spaces}? This is the same kind of logic the brain trust at Balderdash was using when they thought betting 483 points was funny.
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OK, fun wasn't a good choice of words, I was trying to get a phrase down to one word. How about 'lesser-used and slightly more balanced'? (And I like odd 483 point bids. <g>)
The average viewer gives not a single rip about {boats and annuities on the bonus wheel}[snapback]88521[/snapback]
You're right... Of course, there's not a lot viewers of Wheel care about other than LIGHTS LIGHTS LIGHTS!!! ( Excuse me. :-) )
You don't think they're not getting product placement money for this already? {About logos along with SLOGAN question answers}
[snapback]88521[/snapback]
I wasn't clear on about tying this to #7, sorry. I meant for Wheel to get rid of some of the sponsored bonus discs and to maybe put this in instead to get some lost revenue back.
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If i could make a better idea for Wheel of Fortune, here's what happened
1. Have a Stage Rush if someone wins the Jackpot in the Bonus Round or The Tournament Of Champions!
2. Bring back $1000 and $1500 and new values like $850, $725, etc.
3. Have a Scoreboard Overlay during the puzzle shot, as well as a contestant shot in the video screen
4. Bring back Double Play
5. Bring back NBA Week
6. Bring Back Soap Stars Week
7. Bring back Shopping
8. New Bonus Wheel Config (6 Car A, 6 Car B, 1 $25K, 1 $30K, 1 $35K, 1 $40K, 1 $45K, 1 $50K, 1 $55K, 1 $60K, 1 $65K, 1 $70K, 1 $75K, 1 Jackpot starts at $100,000 in $10,000 Cash and $90,000 Prizes increases 2 prizes if not won)
9. End of Season Tournament with 9 money winners return and selected to compete for the first 3 shows, top three compete for a 2 day final, no bonus rounds in the last 2 shows, winner will receive a $100,000 bonus and advances to the Jeopardy! Tournament Of Champions, rest keeps the money they won.
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[quote name=\'JIANORAN\' date=\'Jun 10 2005, 12:43 AM\']If i could make a better idea for Wheel of Fortune, here's what happened
1. Have a Stage Rush if someone wins the Jackpot in the Bonus Round or The Tournament Of Champions!
2. Bring back $1000 and $1500 and new values like $850, $725, etc.
3. Have a Scoreboard Overlay during the puzzle shot, as well as a contestant shot in the video screen
4. Bring back Double Play
5. Bring back NBA Week
6. Bring Back Soap Stars Week
7. Bring back Shopping
8. New Bonus Wheel Config (6 Car A, 6 Car B, 1 $25K, 1 $30K, 1 $35K, 1 $40K, 1 $45K, 1 $50K, 1 $55K, 1 $60K, 1 $65K, 1 $70K, 1 $75K, 1 Jackpot starts at $100,000 in $10,000 Cash and $90,000 Prizes increases 2 prizes if not won)
9. End of Season Tournament with 9 money winners return and selected to compete for the first 3 shows, top three compete for a 2 day final, no bonus rounds in the last 2 shows, winner will receive a $100,000 bonus and advances to the Jeopardy! Tournament Of Champions, rest keeps the money they won.
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I thought we threw this poster under the bus......
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[quote name=\'JIANORAN\' date=\'Jun 10 2005, 01:43 AM\']If i could make a better idea for Wheel of Fortune, here's what happened
1. Have a Stage Rush if someone wins the Jackpot in the Bonus Round or The Tournament Of Champions!
2. Bring back $1000 and $1500 and new values like $850, $725, etc.
3. Have a Scoreboard Overlay during the puzzle shot, as well as a contestant shot in the video screen
4. Bring back Double Play
5. Bring back NBA Week
6. Bring Back Soap Stars Week
7. Bring back Shopping
8. New Bonus Wheel Config (6 Car A, 6 Car B, 1 $25K, 1 $30K, 1 $35K, 1 $40K, 1 $45K, 1 $50K, 1 $55K, 1 $60K, 1 $65K, 1 $70K, 1 $75K, 1 Jackpot starts at $100,000 in $10,000 Cash and $90,000 Prizes increases 2 prizes if not won)
9. End of Season Tournament with 9 money winners return and selected to compete for the first 3 shows, top three compete for a 2 day final, no bonus rounds in the last 2 shows, winner will receive a $100,000 bonus and advances to the Jeopardy! Tournament Of Champions, rest keeps the money they won.
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Aside from maybe #2 (and we'd be the only ones who'd even care), you haven't suggested a single thing that would improve the program. #9 is particularly asinine...qualifying for Jeopardy! via Wheel of Fortune is a colossally stupid idea. I don't think the two shows even take players from the same gene pool, let alone the same contestant pool.
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How about this: the top dollar value on the wheel would be two dollars and fifty cents. OK, so somebody posted something not unlike that already, but what better cure for Mo Money Syndrome than to apply a strict budget.
So let's try this...replace the money amounts with the title of a pop song, with each song occupying six of the 24 spaces. Of course, this requires retitling the show Wheel of Four Tunes.
[crowd boos]
OK, now that I've had my fun, here's my serious response. Pat prefers not to use his likeness on licensed consumer goods. The touch-screen puzzle board makes Vanna mostly ornamental. The logical solution: meet your new host, Vanna White.
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[quote name=\'JIANORAN\' date=\'Jun 10 2005, 12:43 AM\']winner will receive a $100,000 bonus and advances to the Jeopardy! Tournament Of Champions, rest keeps the money they won.
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Oh, I'd love to see that. Don't think a Jeopardy! contestant has ever had a score of $-10000. That would change.
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At this point, the thing that would help Wheel the most is for them to STEER CLEAR of all ideas posted in this thread. :)
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[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Jun 10 2005, 08:51 AM\']I thought we threw this poster under the bus......
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I'm having a 1970s-era ZOOM flashback:
"But the cat came back, the very next day. . ." :)
Doug
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[quote name=\'saussage\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 08:43 PM\'][quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 10:34 PM\'][quote name=\'saussage\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 08:31 PM\']Some of this might be trash
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Yes.
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Looks like you're quoting the best part as usual.
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The sad thing is, you're right. That single line was the best thing out of your whole post. The problem is that everyone is making miniscule tweaks to the game. Do you think the viewers give two tin ones whether the wheel has a $1,475 space or "Free Spin" is a dedicated wedge and not a disk? Once someone posts their laundry lists, all of the kiddies rush to their terminals to be next in line to post their 'ideas', whatever they might be.
Your ideas include changing the $5,000 space to $10k. Great, make the game even MORE of a crapshoot. Then there's this mess about buying a vowel being a wedge and all this? Yipes. I know it's hard for some of the people here to grasp, but let the thought roll around in your head for a few minutes before you post it. Does it really make sense?
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I'm noticing a trend here......... we complain for years and years about what we think is wrong with the game show, and what usually happens? Jack Squat.
The probable reason for this is that us game show geeks are not the only demographic out there. So what if we don't like one little thing that Wheel is doing? Maybe about 10 million other people in the United States do. Heck, isn't Wheel of Fortune still atop the syndicated ratings? Obviously they have to be doing SOMETHING right, or Wheel wouldn't be in production anymore.
I realize the good thoughts of the posters in the thread, heck I've even made a couple suggestions myself. But, until one of us gets to sit in the producer's chair, let's sit back and try to solve the puzzle.
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[quote name=\'wschmrdr\' date=\'Jun 10 2005, 12:39 PM\']until one of us gets to sit in the producer's chair, let's sit back and try to solve the puzzle
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Let's do. And we shall begin at once.
Here's the puzzle:
_ _ _
_ _
_ _
It is PHRASE. Spin or solve?
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[quote name=\'wschmrdr\' date=\'Jun 10 2005, 12:39 PM\']I'm noticing a trend here......... we complain for years and years about what we think is wrong with the game show, and what usually happens? Jack Squat.
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No one was demanding the changes be made. Best I can tell, all ideas presented were hypoethetical.
[quote name=\'Don Howard\']Let's do. And we shall begin at once.
Here's the puzzle:[/quote]
I'd like to buy a vowel. Wait! I have to land on that wedge first?
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I have a feeling that what it all boils down to is "Do 'Wheel' like you did it in (insert date here)." Unfortunately, that's just not going to happen. There is a fine line between "If it ain't broke..." and keeping a long-running show fresh, but by the yardstick that counts in television, Harry Friedman hasn't crossed that line. Of course, it Pat and Vanna left tomorrow it may be a different story, but for now "Wheel" is still a highly-rated, highly-profitable show.
And let it be noted that *Merv* knew that "Wheel" and "J!" require tow different kinds of contestants--unlike most packagers, they held off on taking the Polaroids of prospective contestants until the second interview, meaning that you could be turned down for one show and still make it on the other. For most other packagers, those photos were for the bookers for different shows to go through the reject files and confirm that they didn't want that person on--the rule of thumb was bomb for one show, you're out for any other show from that packager. Not at Merv's place--and obviously not at the place Harry runs for Sony.
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[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Jun 10 2005, 01:24 PM\']I'd like to buy a vowel. Wait! I have to land on that wedge first?
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No. Because under one of the new sets of rules, contestants are automatically staked $5000 before the first puzzle is played.
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[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'Jun 10 2005, 08:51 AM\'][quote name=\'JIANORAN\' date=\'Jun 10 2005, 12:43 AM\']If i could make a better idea for Wheel of Fortune, here's what happened
1. Have a Stage Rush if someone wins the Jackpot in the Bonus Round or The Tournament Of Champions!
2. Bring back $1000 and $1500 and new values like $850, $725, etc.
3. Have a Scoreboard Overlay during the puzzle shot, as well as a contestant shot in the video screen
4. Bring back Double Play
5. Bring back NBA Week
6. Bring Back Soap Stars Week
7. Bring back Shopping
8. New Bonus Wheel Config (6 Car A, 6 Car B, 1 $25K, 1 $30K, 1 $35K, 1 $40K, 1 $45K, 1 $50K, 1 $55K, 1 $60K, 1 $65K, 1 $70K, 1 $75K, 1 Jackpot starts at $100,000 in $10,000 Cash and $90,000 Prizes increases 2 prizes if not won)
9. End of Season Tournament with 9 money winners return and selected to compete for the first 3 shows, top three compete for a 2 day final, no bonus rounds in the last 2 shows, winner will receive a $100,000 bonus and advances to the Jeopardy! Tournament Of Champions, rest keeps the money they won.
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I thought we threw this poster under the bus......
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I'm sorry, I didn't see it. I just kept driving :-p
-Dave
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My only changes would be:
1. Cutting contestants to two instead of three.
2. Instead of having them spin the wheel, have them pick two numbers from a 30-box board and try to match prizes behind those numbers
3. Instead of solving a word puzzle, have them guess a phrase made up of pictures, such as a prisoner ("Con") a meditating Hindu ("Zen"), a tray ("Tray") and turning somebody away ("Shun") The winner is the one guessing the phrase first.
4. Have Vanna turn the boxes on the board, although they make a loud click and whirr when they turn.
I mean, if we're going to go retro, let's go RETRO!
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[quote name=\'DrBear\' date=\'Jun 10 2005, 01:17 PM\']My only changes would be:
1. Cutting contestants to two instead of three.
2. Instead of having them spin the wheel, have them pick two numbers from a 30-box board and try to match prizes behind those numbers
3. Instead of solving a word puzzle, have them guess a phrase made up of pictures, such as a prisoner ("Con") a meditating Hindu ("Zen"), a tray ("Tray") and turning somebody away ("Shun") The winner is the one guessing the phrase first.
4. Have Vanna turn the boxes on the board, although they make a loud click and whirr when they turn.
I mean, if we're going to go retro, let's go RETRO!
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This is the best idea I've heard yet. Except they should can Vanna and just make the whole thing electromechanical. :)
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[quote name=\'Gromit\' date=\'Jun 9 2005, 02:36 AM\']Well, this is getting a bit off track, but I'll throw in my 3 cents.
o Ditch the toss ups. They're just wrong, because they work opposite of how Wheel normally works - all of one letter shows up at the same time.
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I don't think that's a good enough reason to ditch them. I'm in favor of (a) having just one, before the first round, or (II) having one before EVERY round, but let's run the letters the way they do in the maingame: all the occurences of a letter appear at once. (Yes, yes, I know, each E pops up separately, but all of them appear before the next different letter is revealed.)
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About the only changes I'd make are to get contestant coordinators who realize that enthusiasm does not necessarily mean having one's volume stuck at 11. Even though I'm not thrilled with it, I'd try and freeze things close to where they are, and then take a cue from a certain other show that hasn't had a format change in almost 30 years.