April 2, 1997 Recap (European Vacation Week)

I'm back with my very first colorized recap! After listening to feedback from everyone, I've gone through and taken notes on the colors of the wedges that were hit, so I will be including that in this recap.

Today's recap comes from European Vacation Week, which lasted from March 31 to April 4, 1997.

Before we meet our contestants, Pat tells the three players present that their odds of coming back on Friday are greater because of a special show yesterday. "If you missed it, you should have been watching!" Pat tells the audience. He is of course referring to the April Fools Day episode where he and Vanna played for charity while Alex Trebek hosted.

But let's meet our contestants, shall we?

Maria Frick is from Massapequa, Long Island in New York. She is the superintendent of her Sunday school and married her childhood sweetheart. They have two children named Christopher and Rachel.

Amy Randolph is from Napa Valley, California. She and her husband Matt are in the process of buying their first home. They have a two-year-old daughter named Cassandra and are expecting their second child.

Jim Holborow is from Reno, Nevada and is a third-year marketing major at the University of Nevada. He has a girlfriend named Amanda and in his spare time he likes to play volleyball and go snowboarding. He’d like to "latch on" to the hotel marketing industry when he graduates.

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Maria drew #1 and Pat tells her to latch onto the wheel and get started. But she starts off with some bad luck after calling a dud F on $250.

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Just like that, it's Amy's turn, and she picks up $300 on a T. She then gets to literally pick up a FREE SPIN thanks to two N's. But it's a short-lived FREE SPIN as Amy uses it after she can't cash in on $1,000 thanks to a lack of R's in the puzzle. Her next $250 spin unfortunately doesn't go much better, as there are no S's.

T _ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _
_ N / _ N _ _ _

Jim gets his first turn at the wheel and picks up $250 on an L, followed by a $400 win on a solitary C. He decides to buy the first vowel of the game and finds one O. Jim spins again and gets $600 from a single H, then buys the one U. He spins again and picks up $300 on a D before buying two E's. He spins once again and gets $250 from a B.

T O U C H E D / B _
_ N / _ N _ E L

At this point, Jim decides to solve TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL. While it's never stated if Jim is a fan of the show, he does pick up $1,050 and does a little dance to celebrate. This includes smacking the podium, which causes Pat to chuckle in amusement.

Maria - $0
Amy - $0
Jim - $1,050

Round two will add a $10,000 space to the wheel, and here to talk about a prize that someone can win is...not Charlie O'Donnell, but rather Joe Lizura, from KNSD in San Diego. The prize is a trip to Sea World. The lucky winner will get to meet Shamu, pet a dolphin and come face to face with Jaws, "the fearsome predator of Shark Encounter." Guests will stay at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. The trip is worth $3,223.

Pat also mentions that, in a couple weeks, the show will be in San Diego recording two weeks' worth of shows.

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Pat initially says the category is Title before quickly correcting himself. It's actually Fictional Characters. He tells Amy to forget everything he said prior to that point as she begins round two. She starts off the round in a big way by landing on SURPRISE, and thanks to four T's, she can pick it up. As she has no cash, she chooses to spin again and gets $600 from a solitary N. She almost hits BANKRUPT on her next spin, but is able to stop on $900 and cash in on a single R. Amy decides it's time for some vowels, and gets two E's and a single A. Her next spin nets her $600 thanks to two L's on $300, followed by $400 because of a single C. She buys four O's and nearly hits a LOSE A TURN. "Whoa," she says as she calls three P's for $800 apiece. She decides to blow off some of that stress by buying the last vowel in the puzzle, a single I. Pat tells her to spin or solve, so she spins and gets $1,000 from two Y's on $500, followed by an additional $400 from an F. Amy tells Pat she'll spin one more time and picks up $250 from one M.

F L O P _ Y
M O P _ Y
C O T T O N - T A I L
& / P E T E R

Pat says she's welcome to spin again, but Amy's ready to solve FLOPSY MOPSY COTTON-TAIL & PETER. She won a respectable haul of $5,550 cash, but there's also the matter of her SURPRISE. Charlie returns to tell her all about her trip to BARBADOS. The weeklong stay includes lodging at the Almond Beach Club, where amenities include three pools, a piano bar and nightly entertainment. The Barbados adventure is worth $5,120, giving Amy a grand total of $10,670 for the round.

Maria - $0
Amy - $10,670
Jim - $1,050

Round three is the Jackpot round, and like every day (except Friday) it starts at $5,000.

Round #3

Category: Things

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Jim kicks off round three with $600 that he gets from two N's on $300. But he hits his first bit of bad luck and can't cash in on an additional $300 because of a dud C. Pat attempts to cheer Jim up by saying as a former player, he knows what he's going through. Maria laughs as she spins the wheel.

_ _ _ _ _ N _ _ / _ _ _
_ N / _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _

Sadly, Maria's luck isn't much better, as she hits LOSE A TURN.

_ _ _ _ _ N _ _ / _ _ _
_ N / _ _ _ / _ _ _ _ _

Current leader Amy hits $250 and triples her take with three R's, but a dud L prevents her from cashing in on $400.

_ _ R _ _ N _ _ / _ _ _
_ N / R _ _ / _ R _ _ _

Jim tries it again and lands on the SEA WORLD trip, which he can pick up thanks to a D. He decides to buy a couple vowels, and gets two E's and three A's. He's only got $100 left, so he has to spin, but it's an unlucky spin as he hits LOSE A TURN.

_ _ R _ _ N _ A / _ A _
_ N / R _ E / _ R E A D

After bad luck the entire game, Maria finally gets on the board with $700 thanks to a B. She spins again and gets $250 for a Y. She buys an O followed by three I's. But poor Maria's luck is short-lived, hitting BANKRUPT and losing her $450. Pat tells her she deserved a better fate.

_ I R _ I N I A / _ A _
O N / R Y E / B R E A D

It's Amy's turn again, and she picks up $250 on a G, followed by $900 from a V. Her next spin hits the JACKPOT, and Pat comments that Amy looks a little pained. He tells her to call a letter first. She gets a single M, and Pat tells her she can cash in on that $9,300 JACKPOT if she can solve the puzzle right now.

V I R G I N I A / _ A M
O N / R Y E / B R E A D

Amy decides to go for it, calling out VIRGINIA HAM ON RYE BREAD. She's got it, and just like that her $1,900 becomes $11,200. She has now more than doubled her already-impressive lead.

Maria - $0
Amy - $21,870
Jim - $1,050

As we get ready for round three, Amy has a commanding lead, while Maria has yet to score. But there's still time left, and anything can happen in round four.

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Maria gets another shot at the wheel, and starts on a good note by getting $600 from a solitary T. Sadly, her good note turns sour when she calls a dud N on $300.

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_ _ _ _ _ T
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Leader Amy spins next and triples her $600 take thanks to three R's in the puzzle.

DING DING! DING DING!

But that sound means that time is running out. Pat's going to give the wheel the final spin. He'll ask for a letter. If it's in the puzzle contestants will have five seconds to solve it. Vowels are worth nothing, but consonants are worth...the big one! Yes, Pat has hit the $5,000 space, which truly makes this anybody's game.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R
_ _ _ _ R T
_ R _ _ _ _

Amy - 1 S

Jim - 2 L's

Maria - No C

Amy - No P

Jim - No D

Maria - 2 B's

Amy - 1 F

Jim - 2 M's

F _ L M M _ _ _ R
_ L B _ R T
B R _ _ _ S

Once his five seconds start, Jim calls out FILMMAKER ALBERT BROOKS. Pat goes over to congratulate him and his $20,000 he won. But Pat says even though Jim has won $21,050 overall, he's in second place by just $820. The audience groans in disappointment, but Jim doesn't seem too disappointed.

Maria will be taking home some nice parting gifts as she wasn't able to cash in, but she tells Pat she still had a good time.

Maria - $0

Amy - $21,870

Jim - $21,050

With a trip to Barbados and a ton of cash, including a Jackpot victory, Amy is going to the Bonus Round!

In Bonus Land, Pat tells Amy that all five prizes are still available. They include a trip to Holland, a trip to Austria, a trip to Italy, a Volvo and $25,000 cash.

Amy picks the W, and now we see if she can solve the puzzle.

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Pat asks Vanna to reveal the location of the R, S, T, L, N, E.

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Not much help, unfortunately, as Amy is now tasked with picking three more consonants and a vowel. She chooses C, P, M and O.

_ O R O _ _ _

She gets a couple vowels, but will it be enough? Amy guesses MORTUARY, but when that doesn't work, she stands there in mostly silence as the 10 seconds click by. Pat tells her that it's a funny word and that she probably would have gotten it if she were from New York, as the answer is slowly revealed to be BOROUGH. Amy comments that she never would have gotten that. As Pat opens the envelope and shows it to Amy, they both cringe, as it was the $25,000. But Amy still gets to take home her $21,870, and Pat says he'll bet that we'll see Amy again on Friday. (Spoiler alert: Amy and Jim both returned on Friday, where Jim ended up besting her in the rematch, thanks to a Jackpot win of his own).

Additional notes:

- This episode kicks off a four-day Jackpot winning streak.

- Unusually, when Pat is speaking to the contestants for the final time, he talks to Amy, the winner, BEFORE going to Maria. In most episodes I've seen, he talks to the person receiving parting gifts before speaking to the big winner.

Next up will be another European Vacation Week episode!