Post by woffan4ever on Sept 18, 2020 9:05:58 GMT -5
Wheel is still my favorite game show and favorite show in general of all time, and has been for as long as I can remember. But, I can't help but feel that it has grown stale in the last few years. Predictable prize puzzles (Hey! I just wrote a Same Letter puzzle! 
), $3x,000 popping up in almost every bonus round win, off the wall bonus round puzzles, and song lyrics from before I was a gleam in my mother's eye...just to name a few.
I have to say that I've always been a bit miffed that J! gets a longer season and more attention than Wheel. Harry seemed to always have a special love for J! and put emphasis on it, especially over the summer digging in to the vaults and bringing back old shows, (I'm assuming he had something to do with this on his way out?) or having a primetime stint on ABC. I know legally speaking it's "harder" for Wheel to dig in the vaults because of royalties for the music used over the years. I am not sure what kind of deal J! has with Merv's estate by keeping the same theme from the get go and just updating it every few years, but it would be nice if Wheel had the same agreement. Granted, Wheel uses a lot more music/cues than J! ever has because of prizes, location shoots, etc. and that may be why they don't have that kind of deal because the royalties on the music packages may be astronomical. I don't know how the legality of all of it breaks down. But, the original Changing Keys is still iconic for Wheel after all these years. Heck, they still use it for their Wheelmobile stops! Also, I think it would be kind of fun if they did a primetime stint where it was tournament style and they have celebrities play for charities. If marketed the right way, it might draw in quite the number of viewers. I don't think Wheel has had an all celebrity game since Halloween 2000, if I am remembering correctly.
Of course, one could say that J! and Wheel cater to two different groups of people. Just peruse Twitter for a few moments and you will see what I mean. A lot of people think that Wheel is a game for simpletons, fools, and "old people." It's the butt of many jokes for them. While there are some, such as myself, who enjoy both programs, there are those who love one or the other, and I think Harry took that in to play a lot. Do I think Wheel could use some changing and freshening up? Absolutely! And not just visually. Besides a revamped set, puzzles more aligned with today's culture would be awesome. Trips are nice, but so are electronic packages, shopping sprees, RVs, and boats. No, I don't think we need to regress back to shopping, but varying the prize pool would be a great place to start. Varying the dollar amounts on the Wheel would be nice, too.
I know this is Mike's first season for both shows. We all remember how it went when he started at Price 12 years ago: he went in and made drastic changes almost overnight and the Price fan community was ready to burn him at the stake! Maybe he used that as a learning experience and has decided to make gradual changes to each show. He's still getting his feet wet, and with COVID, this is a much different scenario that he could have ever expected to have to tackle. Give him time. Who knows? He might have some surprises up his sleeve as the season rolls on.
), $3x,000 popping up in almost every bonus round win, off the wall bonus round puzzles, and song lyrics from before I was a gleam in my mother's eye...just to name a few.I have to say that I've always been a bit miffed that J! gets a longer season and more attention than Wheel. Harry seemed to always have a special love for J! and put emphasis on it, especially over the summer digging in to the vaults and bringing back old shows, (I'm assuming he had something to do with this on his way out?) or having a primetime stint on ABC. I know legally speaking it's "harder" for Wheel to dig in the vaults because of royalties for the music used over the years. I am not sure what kind of deal J! has with Merv's estate by keeping the same theme from the get go and just updating it every few years, but it would be nice if Wheel had the same agreement. Granted, Wheel uses a lot more music/cues than J! ever has because of prizes, location shoots, etc. and that may be why they don't have that kind of deal because the royalties on the music packages may be astronomical. I don't know how the legality of all of it breaks down. But, the original Changing Keys is still iconic for Wheel after all these years. Heck, they still use it for their Wheelmobile stops! Also, I think it would be kind of fun if they did a primetime stint where it was tournament style and they have celebrities play for charities. If marketed the right way, it might draw in quite the number of viewers. I don't think Wheel has had an all celebrity game since Halloween 2000, if I am remembering correctly.
Of course, one could say that J! and Wheel cater to two different groups of people. Just peruse Twitter for a few moments and you will see what I mean. A lot of people think that Wheel is a game for simpletons, fools, and "old people." It's the butt of many jokes for them. While there are some, such as myself, who enjoy both programs, there are those who love one or the other, and I think Harry took that in to play a lot. Do I think Wheel could use some changing and freshening up? Absolutely! And not just visually. Besides a revamped set, puzzles more aligned with today's culture would be awesome. Trips are nice, but so are electronic packages, shopping sprees, RVs, and boats. No, I don't think we need to regress back to shopping, but varying the prize pool would be a great place to start. Varying the dollar amounts on the Wheel would be nice, too.
I know this is Mike's first season for both shows. We all remember how it went when he started at Price 12 years ago: he went in and made drastic changes almost overnight and the Price fan community was ready to burn him at the stake! Maybe he used that as a learning experience and has decided to make gradual changes to each show. He's still getting his feet wet, and with COVID, this is a much different scenario that he could have ever expected to have to tackle. Give him time. Who knows? He might have some surprises up his sleeve as the season rolls on.
It's good to be back home... 
