Wheel of Fortune is the long-time
Australian television game show,
produced by
Grundy
Television. It aired on the
Seven
Network from
1981 to
2004 and
November 2005 to
July 2006. After
Wheel of Fortune
ended, the format was revived by the
Nine
Network in
2008 as
Million Dollar Wheel of
Fortune.
An earlier show of the same title had been broadcast on the Nine
Network. That version had been developed by Reg Grundy as a radio
game show before it transferred to television in 1959.
History
In 1981, Reg Grundy Organisation purchased the rights to
Merv Griffin's U.S. game show
Wheel of Fortune and
promptly created a very faithful reproduction of the American
series, as they had done with many other game shows.
The new show began
airing on the Seven Network on
July 21, 1981, and was
produced from ADS-7
.
The show's
production moved to SAS-7
when ADS-7
and SAS-10 swapped callsigns and network affiliations at the end of
1987. In 1996, Wheel of Fortune relocated
to ATN-7
, where it
remained until the series' cancellation in 2006.
In
2005, the show was rested, with Seven
filling its 5pm timeslot with reruns of
M*A*S*H. At 7:40am on the morning of
November 11 2005 on
Sunrise, hosts
Kochie (David Koch) and
Mel (Melissa Doyle) officially announced the
show's return featuring the old look (inc. muzac and font), with
film shoot starting in December 2005 with
Larry Emdur,
Laura
Csortan to host, and
Deal Or No Deal warm-up guy
John Deeks to re-narrate. On the very
first episode at the very end of 2005, the car was won!
One week after the final Winter 2006 episode, the 10.00am timeslot
was filled with 20 previously unaired episodes featuring former
hosts Steve Oemecke and Sophie Falkiner, after which Wheel never
returned to the schedule.
The original Australian series titled
Wheel of Fortune
began on the Nine Network in 1959. It was quite different to this
series, having been derived from a radio quiz show.
Mid-1996 incident
As part of an attempted major revamp with the remaining of the
show's very famous theme music and sounds, the program relocated
from Adelaide to the Seven Network's Sydney studios. Along with a
new set, new music, faster game format and modified rules, John
Burgess was sacked from his twelve-year stint as host and replaced
by
Tony Barber. By the time that
Burgess' final episode went to air, it had become common knowledge
that the show had relocated and that changes would occur. A sign
that drama would follow came at the end of Burgess' last episode on
July 12 1996, when he stated that the show was moving to Sydney,
that it would still be exactly the same despite a new location and,
that "Not everyone is coming with
us to Sydney, and
we are going to miss a lot of people."
The following Monday after Burgess's final 1996 episode, Tony
Barber began as host, amid much controversy. Beside the fact that
viewers did not appreciate the fact that John Burgess was sacked
without a chance to say his goodbyes on air, viewers had trouble
accepting the new rules, faster pace and Barber's energetic hosting
style. Additionally, John Burgess had made media appearances
telling of how he had been badly treated and only found out about
his sacking accidentally. Ratings quickly declined, and at the
year's end the Seven Network issued carefully-worded press releases
in which Barber announced that he was indefinitely shelved from the
show. In his memoir
Who Am I, Barber later explained that
he was removed from the position by the network, and was offered
future projects with the network in exchange for agreeing to the
press release. John Burgess has claimed on many occasions that he
was offered the job back with a heavy pay raise and declined, but
the Seven Network denied this story. John was quickly given a
contract by the Nine Network to host the game show
Catch Phrase (later re-titled
Burgo's Catch Phrase) that would be
Wheel of
Fortune's rival for a few more years.
Adding to the drama,
Adriana
Xenides, who had been with the show since it began and had
never missed an episode, fell sick - ultimately suffering from
depression and what she called a "physical breakdown".
Tony Barber appeared at the start of the 1997 series premiere to
introduce and hand the show over to
Rob
Elliott with ex-
Perfect Match
hostess
Kerrie Friend replacing
Xenides for the next seven months.
Wheel ends on Seven Network
On
June 18,
2006, the
Seven Network finally announced that they had stopped broadcasting
of the show with the last episode airing on July 28, 2006, just one
week after celebrating 25 years on Australian television. The final
episode was filmed on
June 23,
2006 at Channel 7's Epping studios. On the final
episode, the $2500 was won! One of the last contestants,
Edith Bliss, former field reporter for
Simon Townsend's
Wonder World, won the title of Undefeated Champion of
Wheel Of Fortune at the end of the 5093rd and final
episode for Channel Seven. The following Monday after the final
episode,
M*A*S*H reruns returned to the Seven Network
timeslot.
Game play
Before the taping begins, the players draw numbers to determine
their positions on stage. Play proceeds from left to right from the
viewer's perspective: from the red player to yellow, then to blue,
then back to red.
Categories
The game uses a wide variety of categories for its puzzles. Some
are generic, such as "Place" or "Thing." Puzzles frequently refer
to popular culture or common items encountered in everyday
life.
Starting In 1994
- ‘BEFORE AND AFTER’
- ‘STAR AND TITLE’
- ‘STAR AND ROLE’
- ‘ARTIST/S AND SONG’
Starting In 1995
Starting In 1996
Other categories include BUILDING, and LIVING THINGS, TRUE OR
FALSE?, EVENT, PHRASE.
Spinning the Wheel
The wheel has 96 pegs with 24 spaces that are each four pegs wide.
These spaces represent cash values (in multiples of 5 instead of 50
in the American version), prizes and penalty spaces, three
strategic elements for use in the game. The wheel also features two
additional spaces that are specific to particular rounds of the
game (see below).
A player who does not land on a penalty space asks for a consonant.
If it is not in the puzzle, play proceeds to the next player. If
the letter appears in the puzzle, the hostess reveals all instances
of the letter and the player receives either cash or a prize.
Unlike the American version however, the amount of money is NOT
multiplied for the number of times that letter appears in the
puzzle and the player just receives the amount spun. Calling a
letter that has already been called results in the loss of one's
turn. A "used letter board" is positioned off screen for the
contestants to see to aid in their guesses. All descriptions of
players being credited with cash or prizes in the remainder of this
article assume that the player calls a consonant which appears in
the puzzle. A player who lands on a value is credited with that
amount.
Top values
When the show started in 1981, the original top values were:
- 1981 - 1985: $240 - $460 - $1200
- 1985 - 1990: $360 – $690 - $1800
- 1990 - 1994: $450 – $750 - $2000 (launched since the 2000th
Episode in 1990)
- 1995 - 2000: $500 – $1000 - $2000
- 2000 - 2006: $750 - $1500 - $2500 (although still referred to
as "Dollars", by 1996, scores were only used to determine a winner,
and calculate the consonants in the end game, thus they were
essentially points).
Buying a vowel
A player who has sufficient banked cash during the current round
may choose to buy a vowel prior to spinning the Wheel. The cost of
the vowel, $50, is deducted from the player's score and all
instances of the requested vowel in the puzzle are revealed, if
any. The player's score is reduced by $50 regardless if the vowel
is in the puzzle or the number of times the vowel appears. If the
purchased vowel is not in the puzzle, the player loses his or her
turn in addition to the aforementioned cost. Multiple vowels may be
purchased until either the supply of vowels is exhausted or the
player's bank falls below $50. At that time, the player must spin
the wheel or try to solve the puzzle.
Special Features
In addition to the dollar values, there are other features to this
game:
- Flip-Up Puzzles - Introduced in 2004, it
merely gives control to whoever solves the puzzle (no money bonus
however). The Flip-Up done before the second round is a Prize
Puzzle; whoever solves correctly wins a prize related to the
puzzle, which are often small prizes. On Million Dollar Wheel
Of Fortune it was called Toss Up because the show
opens with the contestant becoming the first to spin and for
launching into next round. Prize Puzzle was called
Cash Up because of a chance to win $500 after guessing the
puzzle.
- Free Spin - The Free Spin wedge awards a token
that can be used to continue the player's turn if he solves the
puzzle incorrectly, selects a letter that is not in the puzzle, or
lands on Bankrupt or Lose a Turn; its use is optional. More than
one can be earned by a single player, and, unlike the US version,
they can be used suring the Speed-Up Round.
- Bankrupt: The black Bankrupt space ends a
player's turn and also costs the player any score accumulated
during the current round. From 1996-1998, the Bankrupt wiped out a
player's entire score from the start. From 1999-2006, solving a
puzzle save all points earned up to that point; hitting a future
Bankrupt took the score back to that prior point, much like the US
version.
- Lose a Turn: A player who lands on the Lose a
Turn space loses his or her turn, but keeps their score &
prizes. It remains on the wheel throughout the game. There is one
Lose a Turn space from rounds 1 to 3. A second is added in round 4,
making the Australian version one of the few versions to have
multiple Lose a Turn spaces on one wheel.
- Red Mystery Letter - From 1994-1996, and again
from 1999-2006, if a letter revealed turns up red, it doubles the
amount spun (Ex. If a person spins $110, picks a P, and one of the
Ps is red, the person gets $220). Because of this rule, the letter
that is painted red is always a consonant. However, there have been
rare occasions where production errors have made a vowel the red
letter. The red vowels have never been picked, though.
- Surprise Wedge (Space) – From 1995-1996, and
again from 1999-2006, the red-coloured wedge (or red with bold
glitter writing from 1995 to the middle of 1996 when John Burgess
retired) that says "SURPRISE" gives a chance for a contestant to
win a major prize during the main game. The prize is usually a
holiday worth between $3,000 to $6,000, but on rare occasions, it
has even been a car. In order for a contestant to win the prize,
they must spin up the Surprise Wedge, select a letter in the puzzle
to remove it and solve the puzzle in the same round. The
prize is only revealed when the contestant who won the wedge solves
the puzzle, they must solve the puzzle without hitting Bankrupt to
win it. The wedge appears in every round until removed by a
contestant.
- Goodie/Top Dollar - Introduced from 1994-1995,
spinning this up was automatically worth the top value.
- Bonus Wedge (Space) - works the exact same way
as the "prize space" on the American version & the "SURPRISE"
Wedge. The blue-coloured wedge (or gold with bold black writing
from 1993 to the middle of 1996 when John Burgess retired) that
says "BONUS" gives a chance for a contestant to win a prize package
during the main game. This was also referred to as "Health".
- Bonus Prize - worked the same way as a bonus
wedge, except it was given to the first person to spin the top
dollar value. This was short-lived, though.
- Bonus Puzzle - If the solution of a puzzle was
itself a clue to another answer, the person correctly solving the
puzzle was allowed to provide an answer to that clue. If correct,
an additional $200 was won.
- Mystery Wedge (Space) – Introduced from
2004-2006, Two 500 spaces marked with a stylised question mark are
placed on the wheel. If a player lands on one of these mystery
wedges and guesses a letter in the puzzle, they may either take 500
as normal, or turn over the mystery wedge. On the other side of the
mystery wedge contains either a Bankrupt, or a prize (usually
$3,000-$18,000 vacation). If the player reveals the prize, as with
any other wheel prize, they must solve the puzzle without hitting
Bankrupt to win it. After one mystery wedge is revealed, that space
becomes a normal cash wedge, and the other mystery wedge acts as a
regular 500 space for the remainder of the round.
- Car Wedge (Space) - February 2000-2002, If a
contestant spins up this wedge, they have to guess a correct letter
and solve that puzzle (and they are then halfway there). That
contestant then has to do the same in one of the following rounds
to win the car.
Shopping
From 1981 to 1996, money earned in each round was used to shop for
prizes. A player who could not buy the least expensive remaining
prize was offered a
gift
certificate in the remaining amount for merchandise from a
particular retailer. When this was removed, contestants were given
a set prize upon solving a puzzle, later a choice of two
prizes.
Speed-Up Round (Final Spin)
At some point, when time is running short, a bell rings to indicate
the Final Spin of the Wheel. The host spins the Wheel and all
remaining consonants in the puzzle are worth the value of the spin.
The player in control has his/her arrow determine the round's
value, compared to the red player's podium on the US version. The
players take turns calling one letter each. A vowel can also be
called at no cost. If the called letter appears in the puzzle, the
player has five seconds after the hostess stops moving to try to
solve the puzzle. If a player has a Free Spin, he/she can still use
it to keep her turn in the speed-up round. Unlike the previous
rounds, contestants may give multiple guesses within the time
limit. On several episodes, there have been more than one speed-up
round.
Like the US version, if a penalty space is hit the host spins
again, not affecting any scores if a Bankrupt is hit. Unlike the US
version, if a prize space is hit, the first player to call a letter
receives the wedge, along the value underneath it, and must be the
one who solves the puzzle in order to win it. The value under the
prize wedge becomes the value for the rest of the round.
The Major Prize Round (Golden Wheel)
Introduced in 1984, the winning contestant spins the Golden Wheel
which now has major prizes on it, including a new car. The prize
that the Major Prize wheel lands on is the Major Prize played for.
The contestant is given two consonants and one vowel, however, for
every $2,000 scored in the main game. Theoretically, enough money
($38,000) can be earned so as to call every consonant. The winning
contestant then gets 10 seconds to solve the puzzle & win the
prize. Originally, they had 10 seconds to think over the puzzle,
and then had to immediately solve. If a champ is unable to solve
the puzzle in the bonus round - that score is carried over to the
next episode, once a prize is run - the value is reset back to
zero.
The bonus round has sometimes tweaked its format. On one episode,
the contestant got common letters on the board, such as R, S, and
E, and providing more consonants and a vowel. On the 20th
Anniversary week in 2001, the contestant was given two
vowels.
At the start of its inception in 1984, there were two car wedges on
the Major Prize Wheel. On the 1,500th episode in 1988, the number
of car wedges was increased to three. On a few occasions, they had
a temporary jackpot system, in which the number of car wedges were
increased by one each day it was not won. The car has never,
however, regularly appeared on the wheel more than three
times.
On July 15, 1996, when Burgess was sacked for Tony Barber and the
show relocated to Sydney, the Golden Wheel was replaced with a
selection of five envelopes. This replacement to the Major Prize
Wheel lasted for a month before the Major Prize Wheel then
returned; it was then that the number of car wedges on the wheel
was increased to four when it featured a
Hyundai Lantra Sportswagon.
From 2000-2004, a new element was added to the Golden Wheel. A new
jackpot system, coupled with the car (most of which were from
Proton and
Daewoo),
starting at $2,000 and increasing $100 every night it was
unclaimed, was installed. There were two "Jackpot" slivers on one
of the "Car" wedges, and the player had to land on it, then solve
the puzzle to win both the cash and the car. The highest jackpot
won was $25,000 (added to the car, a combined prize of almost
$50,000). This, and the $5,000 prize on show 5,000 (see below), was
one of two cash prizes offered on the show.
From 2004-2006, The Major Prize Wheel saw the amount of car wedges
decreased to two when it featured a Renault and finally a
Mitsubishi to the closing of its
run on the Seven Network.
Celebrity weeks
Occasionally celebrities play for home viewers, with those viewers
earning the prizes and total of the amounts their winning celebrity
spun during the game in actual cash. At the end of the week, all
those winning home viewers were entered in a drawing to win a
car.
The 5,000th episode
On
21 March 2006,
"Australia's favourite game" celebrated a major milestone, as its
5,000th episode went to air on the Seven Network. An extra element
was added to the special show: the chance to win $5,000 in cash.
Two yellow "$5,000" wedges were added to the Round 1 wheel. A third
was added to Round 2's wheel. If a contestant was to spin it up and
select a correct letter, they would have 5,000 added to their
score, but to win the actual money, they had to solve the puzzle
(in the same way as the Surprise and Mystery Wedges). In Round 2,
one of the contestants did spin up the "$5,000" wedge and the
Surprise Wedge and solved the puzzle, winning over $10,000 in cash
and prizes for that round. The other $5,000 wedges were removed for
Round 3.
Champions
Record-breaking champions include:
- Donovan Newton, $63,110 August 1996 (under Tony Barber's
Format)
- Dell Edwards, $68,000 July 12, 2001 (amount unknown, rounded
off)
- Moita Lindgren, $72,917 August 24 & 27, 2001 (mathematical
mistake)
Presenters
Wheel of Fortune in Australia has had many hosts,
hostesses and announcers through its long history. They
include:
Hosts
Hostesses
Announcers
Fill-in hostesses
Changes to the show
Wheel Of Fortune's logo from 2003 to 2006.
- 1981: First episode. Studio very similar to
the American version at that time.
- 1982: Red, yellow, and green sunbursts were
installed behind the curtain, somewhat similar to the red, yellow,
and blue sunbursts in the US. The puzzleboard was slightly
remodified in colour.
- 1984: John Burgess replaces Ernie Sigley as
host.
- 1989: Diamond backdrops are used for
contestants.
- 1991: Red, yellow, and green wheels are used
as contestant backdrops. The border on the board is changed.
- 1993: The set is painted golden and
yellow.
- Late June 1994: The green backdrop is replaced
with the blue backdrop. An electronic category display replaces the
trilon on the board.
- Late 1994: A whole new set is created, with a
bigger puzzleboard, an elevated set and a slanted wheel. New
graphics are introduced and the show's logo is changed. Also,
during this time, the Bonus wedge and the short-lived
Goodie wedge are introduced, the wheel gameplay is
changed and the theme music is changed.
- 1995: Top values are tweaked to 500, 1,000,
and $2,000 respectively. The Show celebrates 3000th Episode. Also,
during this time, The Goodie wedge is removed, and
the Surprise wedge is introduced.
- July 1996: Tony Barber replaces John Burgess
as host.
- Late 1996: Rob Elliott replaces Tony Barber as
host. The Major Prize Wheel returns.
- Late 1997: A new set is created for the show,
with new graphics and a whole new puzzleboard.
- Late June 1999: Sophie Falkiner replaces
Adriana Xenides as hostess.
- Late February 2000: The CAR wedge is
introduced on the wheel beginning its run with The Proton Wedge. Top values are
tweaked to 750, 1,500, and $2,500 respectively. A cash jackpot
starts being used, starting at $2000, rising by $100 every night
until it is won (highest ever won was $25,000) (similar to Sale of the
Century)
- June 2000: 4000th episode on June 13. Four car
wedges introduced on the Major Prize Wheel.
- February 2003: The set background changes to
purple. The show's logo is changed and the green color is replaced
with the blue color. Also, during this time, the Lose a
Turn wedge becomes white instead of yellow.
- September 1, 2003: Timeslot changes from
4:30pm to 5:00 as part of the Wheel Deal hour, with Deal Or No Deal taking the old
Wheel slot. The puzzleboard is revamped, with electronic screens
replacing the trilons, making the show run faster. Scoreboards are
revamped with eggcrate readouts, which were previously seven-segment display. Flip Ups and
Prize Puzzles are introduced, along with the Mystery Wedges. The
Bonus and Car wedges is removed
and the Free Spin wedge is replaced with a green
Free Spin token on the wheel.
- Summer 2004: Steve Oemcke replaces Rob Elliott
as host.
- Late 2005: Larry Emdur and Laura Csortan
replace Steve Oemcke and Sophie Falkiner as host and hostess after
it was announced by Sunrise hosts David Koch & Meilssa Doyle.
The whole set is revamped with the remaining of the letters' font,
the theme music and the wheel. Show moves to Pyrmont from Epping's
studios. The puzzleboard is given a major change, with a blue
border that changes colour, and performs light animation. LG flat
screen plasmas replace the Contestant Trapezoid backdrops that
animate during events on the show, such as landing on Bankrupt,
bell sound, or solving the puzzle. The major prize round area, is
located next door to the Mitsubishi Colt instead of behind the
Wheel.
- July 2006: The show celebrates 25 years on
Australia television, and ends its run on the Seven Network a week later. 20 unaired
episodes were aired featuring Steve Oemecke, Sophie Falkiner and
the old set (see the 2004 section) from 2005, before it
was shelved.
- September 4, 2006: The show begins airing on
the Nine Network and Kelly Landry
begins being the hostess of the show.
Wheel of Fortune in film Angel Baby
The 1995 Australian movie
Angel Baby featured
Jacqueline McKenzie as a
schizophrenic woman who believes that her
guardian angel sends her messages via
Adriana Xenides. She sees the
Wheel of Fortune puzzles as
omens and guides by which to live her life.
For example, the puzzle
Great
Expectations makes her believe that she is pregnant, while the
phrase 'Worst Case Scenario' is a message of doom. The woman, Kate,
keeps a shrine to Adriana in her home, and is distraught when
Wheel of Fortune is put on hiatus and she has no way of
communicating with her angel.
In 1993-1994, special
Wheel of Fortune material was
recorded for the movie, with John Burgess, Adriana Xenides and John
Deeks playing themselves. The movie won McKenzie an
Australian Film Institute award
for best actress
Changes to the Opening and Closing Credits
References
External links
Wikis
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