The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: brianhenke on July 29, 2014, 06:42:52 PM
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From the Buy a Vowel boards...there are some changes on tap for Wheel this fall. Among the known changes:
When Same Letter is a category, the contestant calling the Same Letter gets a $1,000 bonus.
The minimum on the bonus wheel is now ...$32,000. (Maybe Harry got tired, like many Wheel fans - of too many 30K spins - and only two $100K spins - last season).
The smallest amount on the wheel in any round is $500; $550 returns (I would like to see $1500 and $2000 back).
Among the things staying the same: Last season's structure is the same - Mystery Round in R2, The Express/Trip Puzzle round stays at R3 (I would like to see Express to R1 or the Trip Puzzle replaced by a Surprise Round), it will STILL cost $250 to buy a vowel, etc.
Brian
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$32,000? Why the hell would you pick a number like that?
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I'm calling shenanigans on all of those. They don't seem plausible.
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The changes come from sources - and even a contestant - who were at the tapings earlier this month.
Brian
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The changes come from sources - and even a contestant - who were at the tapings earlier this month.
Brian
Well, I'll believe it when I see it.
And I'm pretty sure contestants aren't allowed to make certain things public knowledge, which posting to a message board does.
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$32,000 is a strange choice, until you consider the fact that it's the 32nd syndicated season. I find it rather silly myself, but given a few tie-in theme elements the show has had before, such as looking for players 30 years of age during its 30th syndicated year, it has plausibility. Buy a Vowel's contestant sources have not failed us once; if it has been wrong, I'd be happy to be proven incorrect on this claim. They're not taken from any random rumor, or person. Both sources for all information in Brian's post are past or future contestants. Usually, Wheel news is broken there first, though credit to Chad Mosher on getting the Season 32 logo out before Buy A Vowel.
Mystery wedges are also getting a slight redesign this season, according to a notable former contestant. It's a small detail, take it for what little it is, but I was told these wedges are getting pinker in coloration, in the style of the $3500 wedge, and possibly the Salmon P. Chase note on the top of its $10,000 side as possibly gone.
Also, shenanigans on $500 as smallest wedge? Picture proof of Season 32's wheel:
(http://i.imgur.com/DanHWtc.jpg)
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And I'm pretty sure contestants aren't allowed to make certain things public knowledge, which posting to a message board does.
I thought it usually applied to game results? Have there been game shows that have put a clause in when it comes to game/format/set changes?
In any case, you can believe it when you see it, but BAV has been incorrect very few times, though I can't blame your skepticism. $32,000 seems like such a weird amount.
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$32,000 is a strange choice, until you consider the fact that it's the 32nd syndicated season.
No, it's still stupid then too.
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$32,000 is a strange choice, until you consider the fact that it's the 32nd syndicated season.
No, it's still stupid then too.
Right, I don't remotely disagree with you, but it at least gives some reason, stupid as it may be, rather than no reason at all.
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The minimum on the bonus wheel is now ...$32,000. (Maybe Harry got tired, like many Wheel fans - of too many 30K spins - and only two $100K spins - last season).
This doesn't make any sense; there's lots of $30k spins because there's lots of those spaces on the wheel. There aren't many top prize spins because it only appears once on the wheel.
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I say thank you for the comfirmation. I also do not appreciate the attitude.
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(http://i.imgur.com/DanHWtc.jpg)
Interesting they've added a second $650 space. Why not something like $750?
/I know, no big deal. Just an observation.
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Wheel is still bowling shoe ugly. Wonder if the $500s start off always covered by a Goody of some sort.
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So the $32K bonus round prize is the only true gimmick? Say it ain't so!
Personally, I'd rather see contestants show a little emotion when they win some money, but that's just me...
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I know! It's not like this is Jeopardy or anything.
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Right, I don't remotely disagree with you, but it at least gives some reason, stupid as it may be, rather than no reason at all.
That's fair, I did ask why. :)
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I think if there really was an issue with so many people winning the $30,000, maybe they should break up some of the monotony, no? You shouldn't bitch when you load the wheel with more cards displaying that amount than any other...
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Raising the minimum dollar value on the wheel to $500, while continuing to refuse to add any 'regular' four-digit spaces to the wheel, bothers me. It's like they're tacitly admitting that the 'regular' spaces on the wheel don't matter and it's all about the 'goodies'.
$900 used to mean something when there was still a chance of hitting $100 or $150 on the wheel, but when it's less than double the minimum? Yawn.
I feel like this proves that they are never going to change the price of vowels - this would be the ideal opportunity to raise the price to $500, and they still didn't do it. Fifty years from now, when the smallest number on the wheel is $3,862, vowels will still cost $250 each.
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Couldn't agree more with the vowels statement, Mr. A (mind if I call you Mr. A?). For the sake of argument, starting with the 1975 daytime wheel (in the first configuration that the "Buy A Vowel" space was removed), 8 out of 21 spaces were at or above the $250 level in the first round. so even with guessing multiple letters it was harder to raise enough money to buy vowels. Now, with the minimum value being $500, even just guessing a letter that pops up only once means 2 vowels can be bought.
Every year when the topic of changes in the new WoF season comes up, I always wait to see if the price of vowels are going up, and they don't. I really hope one of these years they do. To me, this dilutes the game a bit.
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I think if there really was an issue with so many people winning the $30,000, maybe they should break up some of the monotony, no? You shouldn't bitch when you load the wheel with more cards displaying that amount than any other...
Let's be clear, Brian Henke only imagined that Harry Friedman had a problem with a lot of $30K wins. Friedman runs two wildly successful gold mines. You can bet he's intelligent enough to grasp basic probabilities.
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To me, this dilutes the game a bit.
*This* is what's diluting the game for you? The show's bordered on homeopathic for a solid decade at the minimum.
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To me, this dilutes the game a bit.
*This* is what's diluting the game for you? The show's bordered on homeopathic for a solid decade at the minimum.
Well, that's just one. Toss-ups too, I've never been a fan of. And I realize *why* Vanna is still on the show but the moment I saw that puzzle board fill in letters on its own (not talking the Toss-up but for a solve, by example), I laughed.
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Thought that hasn't come up; if the value of the Prize Puzzle prize stays the same but everything less than $500 on the wheel is increased, that does balance the game a little. I doubt that the changes are designed to bring in viewers, and nobody sane is going to look at that list and say "I stuck by the show for this long but the Same Letter bonus tears it! I'm watching something else from now on."
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Well, that's just one. Toss-ups too, I've never been a fan of. And I realize *why* Vanna is still on the show but the moment I saw that puzzle board fill in letters on its own (not talking the Toss-up but for a solve, by example), I laughed.
I don't necessarily mind the Toss-Ups, but I think there's one or two too many of them. You have the pregame Toss-Up, contestant interviews, then another Toss-Up. Eliminate that second one, and maybe keep the one right before the Final Spin, as sort of a catch-up maneuver.
As for the board, I thought it made Vanna pretty useless myself, but because she's become synonymous with that show, she's pretty much there to stay. What's interesting is that the computerized board's tenure is slowly creeping up on that of the manual board (17-1/2 years vs. 22). And Vanna's now been "touching" the letters longer than she turned them (17.5 vs. 14 and change)!
/Two gray hairs popped into my beard as I made this post
//Get off my lawn
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You have the pregame Toss-Up, contestant interviews, then another Toss-Up. Eliminate that second one, and maybe keep the one right before the Final Spin, as sort of a catch-up maneuver.
This. The "who gets to be interviewed first" toss-up is one of the more idiotic things on the show. "Good luck to all three of you, Bob, since you won the toss-up you'll start us off." Simple.
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I happen to like the toss-ups because they're more of a pure game, and the change I'd make is that you do one before each round but the reward is starting the forthcoming round; no money for it.
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As for the board, I thought it made Vanna pretty useless myself, but because she's become synonymous with that show, she's pretty much there to stay.
If you think of it in terms of practicality, Vanna was useless with the old board too. You could always have a stagehand behind the puzzleboard turning the letters. (Remember even the Shopper's Bazaar puzzleboard was run standalone.) Vanna's only purpose, just like Susan's before her, is as a presenter and a model.
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I think if there really was an issue with so many people winning the $30,000, maybe they should break up some of the monotony, no?
Well, that's a good point. They could replace just under half of the $30,000 cards with $35,000 and accomplish the same result, without having an odd "$32,000!" win.
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If you think of it in terms of practicality, Vanna was useless with the old board too. You could always have a stagehand behind the puzzleboard turning the letters. (Remember even the Shopper's Bazaar puzzleboard was run standalone.) Vanna's only purpose, just like Susan's before her, is as a presenter and a model.
I forgot about Shopper's Bazaar. But yeah, she's absolutely there as the model, and I'm willing to bet that if the show had used pull cards, trilons operated backstage or even a Ferranti-Packard board, Susan and/or Vanna would've simply been on set modeling the prizes elsewhere on stage, just like in the bizarre Bazaar pilot.
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I happen to like the toss-ups because they're more of a pure game, and the change I'd make is that you do one before each round but the reward is starting the forthcoming round; no money for it.
Only thing I don't like about this is the possibility, granted wouldn't happen often, of someone never getting a chance to spin the wheel. (I like the Toss-Ups too, mostly because I like how it spreads the money around. Always nice whenever a struggling player reels in the $3000 one)
As for the vowel price, it's fine as it is. The show has long cemented its "comfort food" status as an breezy, casual game and any sort of "strategy" or tough decision making probably wouldn't be received very well.
ETA: I think the idea of "I'd like to buy a vowel" being ingrained into pop culture furthers this. Good to give them as many opportunities as they can.
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To Joe's point about strategy, and I say this going in knowing that I'm neither an average casual viewer nor who they're making the show for. I look at Wheel of Fortune inversely to how Matt O. thinks of Tic Tac Dough--he dislikes the red box mini-games that deviate from the game, and I say the more extra stuff they do that isn't spinning and solving is great. I loved the $3,000 puzzle, the Clue and extra questions, whatever else could elevate the game beyond just hangman was always welcome to me because after solving the puzzle I tend to zone out for the remainder.
I would love it if the wheel had a coloration similar to the mid-80s, and there were wedges like $425 and $275 on the wheel and whatever else is on my wish list. Some days I feel like watching and just accept the show on its own terms, and some times I pass it over and just grab the bonus puzzle before Jeopardy.
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How about this for an uneducated guess...
The idea is to enable buying of vowels faster to enable faster solves, so that the rounds go faster and there can be even less show time and more room for promos and commercials.
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How about this for an uneducated guess...
The idea is to enable buying of vowels faster to enable faster solves, so that the rounds go faster and there can be even less show time and more room for promos and commercials.
I think this is right, but there's also the factor of decreasing editing time, thus a cost saver as well. If you didn't know the puzzle in long past seasons, you probably could not purchase a vowel, relative to the overall value of the wheel values at that time; at present you can buy a minimum of 2, with each consonant revealed in the puzzle.
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How about this for an uneducated guess...
The idea is to enable buying of vowels faster to enable faster solves, so that the rounds go faster and there can be even less show time and more room for promos and commercials.
That does indeed sound exceptionally uneducated.
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That does indeed sound exceptionally uneducated.
Don't know about you, but I've certainly made that joke. Not the way Irwin did, but I've said that the show is on the path to Toss-up to Closing Chat.
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I look at Wheel of Fortune inversely to how Matt O. thinks of Tic Tac Dough--he dislikes the red box mini-games that deviate from the game, and I say the more extra stuff they do that isn't spinning and solving is great. I loved the $3,000 puzzle, the Clue and extra questions, whatever else could elevate the game beyond just hangman was always welcome to me because after solving the puzzle I tend to zone out for the remainder.
Some of the fun--back in the day, mind you--was that players would often keep spinning for more dough once they knew the puzzle, introducing an element of risk. Now it never seems to happen, largely taken away by Prize Puzzles and other bonuses that add nothing to the game.
But I didn't like red box mini-games, either.
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I like the toss-up puzzles, as a contestant who has the misfortune of spinning lots of Bankrupts and Lose a Turns can still win a few thousand dollars in consolation money if they're good at solving puzzles.
Wheel is still bowling shoe ugly. Wonder if the $500s start off always covering a Goody of some sort.
I'm conflicted -- I think the number of $500 spaces is excessive, but I do appreciate the fact that now that the rule is "nearly every piece of cardboard that can be picked up off the wheel is also worth $500 per letter," those prizes are only located on $500 wedges.
I'm a little surprised the Express wedge is still kicking -- given that it's a part of the Prize Puzzle round, where strategy dictates that you solve as soon as you know the answer, how often does it really get landed on?
I agree with the theory that vowels are deliberately inexpensive so contestants will quickly buy them all, but I think a primary reason for it is to increase home audience playalong. The more quickly vowels are revealed, the more quickly the viewers can solve the puzzle and feel good about themselves. (A thought that popped into my head a while back: I wonder when the last time was that the show had to play the chirp-chirp-chirp sound effect signifying that only vowels were remaining. And I wonder when the last time was when that didn't happen during either use of the Express or the speed-up portion.)
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I'm a little surprised the Express wedge is still kicking -- given that it's a part of the Prize Puzzle round, where strategy dictates that you solve as soon as you know the answer, how often does it really get landed on?
One spin out of 24, assuming each spin is a completely independent event (which of course isn't the case). I presume you meant to ask how often contestants actually try to take advantage of the Express once they hit it. I wouldn't know, since I only ever watch the bonus round if I tune in at the end of the show.
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As for the board, I thought it made Vanna pretty useless myself, but because she's become synonymous with that show, she's pretty much there to stay.
If you think of it in terms of practicality, Vanna was useless with the old board too. You could always have a stagehand behind the puzzleboard turning the letters. (Remember even the Shopper's Bazaar puzzleboard was run standalone.) Vanna's only purpose, just like Susan's before her, is as a presenter and a model.
I thought I read somewhere that they hired a hostess because the board was supposed to be mechanical but wasn't ready in time for the premiere- any truth to this?
To me, I don't see the problem in a little bit of a challenge with more expensive vowels. We're not ditching the puzzle board in favor of an Only Connect wall here- at the end of the day, you're still looking for the names of well known people, titles, and quotations.
I like how we voice the same concerns every year around this time when new tweaks come in, and this has basically become our annual "Lets Vent About Wheel" thread.
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I thought I read somewhere that they hired a hostess because the board was supposed to be mechanical but wasn't ready in time for the premiere- any truth to this?
Our own Adam Nedeff, in the January 6 entry of his four-volume almanac:
"Because of a fast-approaching deadline for taping, plans for a mechanical puzzle board that would flip letters automatically when called had to be scrapped, and a model named Susan Stafford was hired to turn the letters by hand."
Adam tends to be good at researching his facts. Also, he quotes frequently in that entry from former NBC daytime executive Dan Fox, who may well have been the source of that unattributed nugget.
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How about this for an uneducated guess...
The idea is to enable buying of vowels faster to enable faster solves, so that the rounds go faster and there can be even less show time and more room for promos and commercials.
That does indeed sound exceptionally uneducated.
Ah, just as I suspected! :D
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(A thought that popped into my head a while back: I wonder when the last time was that the show had to play the chirp-chirp-chirp sound effect signifying that only vowels were remaining. And I wonder when the last time was when that didn't happen during either use of the Express or the speed-up portion.)
According to the BAV recaps, they hit 'only vowels remaining' on the June 11th speedup - the third-to-last episode of last season. The chirps also sounded on June 3rd, but that was an Express round (and good thing she didn't need to buy the last vowel - she won by $3!).
As to the other half of that question, I have no idea, because I couldn't be arsed to look back more than a couple weeks.
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It's the 12/25/13 episode, in Round 2, that technically answers the second half of Scott's question. Strangely enough, the 'Only Vowels Remain' graphic didn't show up to the home viewers, nor did the chirping sound play. Hopefully, this suffices the question, because while sound wasn't played, it fits the rest of the requirements of when the sound itself would be played, normally.
To get there, previous lady bankrupted, the next guy guesses a B, and the puzzle board looked as follows:
C U P C A K E S
C O B B L E R S / &
C O O K _ E S
Didn't make too much of a difference in this case, as he finished a distant 3rd, with $4,800.
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I thought I read somewhere that they hired a hostess because the board was supposed to be mechanical but wasn't ready in time for the premiere- any truth to this?
Our own Adam Nedeff, in the January 6 entry of his four-volume almanac:
"Because of a fast-approaching deadline for taping, plans for a mechanical puzzle board that would flip letters automatically when called had to be scrapped, and a model named Susan Stafford was hired to turn the letters by hand."
Adam tends to be good at researching his facts. Also, he quotes frequently in that entry from former NBC daytime executive Dan Fox, who may well have been the source of that unattributed nugget.
Actually, my source was E! True Hollywood Story.
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(A thought that popped into my head a while back: I wonder when the last time was that the show had to play the chirp-chirp-chirp sound effect signifying that only vowels were remaining. And I wonder when the last time was when that didn't happen during either use of the Express or the speed-up portion.)
According to the BAV recaps, they hit 'only vowels remaining' on the June 11th speedup - the third-to-last episode of last season. The chirps also sounded on June 3rd, but that was an Express round (and good thing she didn't need to buy the last vowel - she won by $3!).
As to the other half of that question, I have no idea, because I couldn't be arsed to look back more than a couple weeks.
Sounding the chirps in the Speed-Up seems to be the exception, not the rule. From the times that I have heard the chirps in the Speed-Up, they apparently sound them only if a contestant fails to solve after calling the last consonant. The oldest episode where I've seen that happen is the "pill-pushers" game from 1999: Red says "group of will-wishes", beep-beep-beep-beep, awkward cut to Pat telling yellow "Everything else is a vowel", yellow solves.
On the other hand, there was a round last season where a team called the last consonant and did not solve. Cue both of the other teams calling incorrect consonants before the third team picks off a vowel and solves. They dubbed the chirps in after that last consonant, which IMO only made it even more awkward.
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(http://i.imgur.com/DanHWtc.jpg)
Interesting they've added a second $650 space. Why not something like $750?
750? *Sploosh* ;)
When I saw this picture before, I thought it was fake. Seeing it here, I laughed. I'm somewhat surprised they've inflated the numbers in this fashion. There are only 8 unique dollars values on the wheel at one time. Sure, that won't get monotonous at all...
Concurrently, keeping vowels at $250 with these changes... oy. It obliterates the original rule's strategy and purpose. Maybe they'll change them to $320 instead? Either way, I'm hopping aboard and commandeering your ship Jeremy. :)
This would've been a good time to, instead, emulate an aspect of the game from, now almost 20 years ago, that I miss: elevating values throughout the show that AREN'T the TDV (i.e. up one normal space to a 1000 and then to 1500 or 2000 in R3 or R4). It builds excitement for some, and makes the possibility of early runaways (especially due to prize puzzle, mystery, 1/2 car, etc.) decrease a bit. Just doing this, alone, with the values they were using last year I'm sure would've been cheaper than just axing every sub-500 space (and added better variety).
Maybe this layout should've been reserved for rounds 3 & 4, while last year's could've been kept for rounds 1 & 2.
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There are only 8 unique dollars values on the wheel at one time. Sure, that won't get monotonous at all...
Joe Sixpack isn't even going to notice. Bank on it.
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750? *Sploosh* ;)
You make agreeing with you really really hard.