MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Aug 16, 2021 20:09:43 GMT -5
Season 39 starts Monday, September 13. Here are the changes that we know, so far, based off information from reliable sources as well as various articles published online.
- The set has been received a slight makeover. The video wall behind the contestants has been removed and replaced with the same backdrop that is used on the Celebrity shows, albeit the logo is colorized and not in gold. There are some other set pieces that have migrated over, as well.
- The title card/opening has been updated.
- In much more exciting news, the syndicated show's original theme Changing Keys has been brought back with a new arrangement!
- For the Triple Toss-Up, if a player solves all 3, they will win $10,000 instead of $6,000.
- Free Play has been retired after 12 years. It is being replaced with a yellow $850 space.
- Pat will no longer be making the final spin. The contestant who is in control of the wheel when the bell sounds will make the final spin.
- The "white things" are still being used to spin the wheel.
- $39,000 is now the minimum dollar amount in the bonus round.
- Jim Thornton will have a more on-air presence on the show. He will have a podium that he stands at and he will be seen introducing Pat and Vanna at the top of the show, and presumably be seen other times throughout the show.
- Pat's daughter, Maggie, is the show's new social correspondent. Based on photos, she is wearing a microphone, meaning she will have an on-air presence on the show. She will be in charge of all of Wheel's digital platforms.
- At some point in the season, there will be a tournament of some kind. We do not have any details on the specifics of it yet, so stay tuned for more!
That is all we know for now. Check your local listings and stay tuned for all the fun and excitement of Season 39!
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Post by logicman27 on Aug 16, 2021 20:15:39 GMT -5
#1: Well, if it decreases the power the Prize Puzzle has, I’m all in for it.
#2: I’m guessing it’s because of Pat’s rather weak aim. Still, this is interesting to see!
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Post by usedletterboard on Aug 16, 2021 20:38:44 GMT -5
Very interesting developments. Thanks for sharing with us, Rob.
The Triple Toss Up scoring rule could have the ability to change the dynamic of the game in a similar way to the Express wedge (though not necessarily to the same degree; it's a $4K bonus). Do we have statistics compiled for how often contestants solve all three? The eye test over the last couple seasons tells me it's somewhat rare, but I don't have any concrete data to it that up.
As for #2, I'm guessing this has to do with an accommodation for Mr. Sajak's spinning ability which has generally been on the decline in recent years due to circumstances beyond his control. This is a gameplay change that I suspect will be kept into the new host's tenure whenever that day comes - hopefully not for a long, long time.
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Post by bigblue999 on Aug 16, 2021 21:17:24 GMT -5
$5000 final spins are back baby!
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Post by jjc927 on Aug 16, 2021 22:06:36 GMT -5
The Toss-Up change is an interesting wrinkle-- either we could get two players with very high scores (if one wins the Prize Puzzle and another sweeps the TTUs) or one player with a huge score if they can do both. And if there's a 10k Mystery win too... oh boy.
They should've had the contestant in control do the Final Spin rather than Pat last season since Pat had to move into the red contestant's area to spin.
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Post by pannoni1 on Aug 17, 2021 8:02:55 GMT -5
$5000 final spins are back baby! Not if the Final Spinner has a sizeable lead (>$10,000, where s/he will likely control it to the point where landing on it is unlikely, although it does add a bit of temptation to still land on it). But otherwise if player 2/3 have control with R4 starting with a speedup, I'm sure we'll see more hits. Still, as much as I don't like the TTU, it's a nice way for a trailing player to catch up, meaning that its even more theoretically possible now for a player to win on tossups alone with $13,000 even if the Wheel isn't kind to them. I'm still disappointed that those white things are being used to spin, and I'll bet social distancing will probably still be in effect. |
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therealcu2010
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Post by therealcu2010 on Aug 17, 2021 13:56:25 GMT -5
I wouldn't be surprised if the white things become permanent, even after the pandemic is over.
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germanname1990
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Post by germanname1990 on Aug 17, 2021 15:41:15 GMT -5
You know, for some reason, I have been having this thought, almost like a sixth sense if you will, for a long while. What if a player could make the Final Spin rather than the host? That concept was indeed on my mind before reading this considering that the Australian and N64 versions had the arrow of the player in control determine the Final Spin amount. Now that it's happening, I'm wondering which of the show's staff members has the ability to read my own mind despite the fact that we never met one another. Hindsight is something else, I'll tell you.
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Post by woffan4ever on Aug 24, 2021 6:36:54 GMT -5
Pat not giving the wheel a final spin anymore? I just don’t know how I feel about that one…
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Post by nowhammies11 on Aug 24, 2021 11:48:33 GMT -5
Do we know if the Final Spin still defaults to the red player's arrow, or is it also determined by the player in control?
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Aug 24, 2021 12:11:06 GMT -5
^ Not confirmed, but logically, it would be the own player's arrow. The only reason it was always the red arrow was because it was closest to the host.
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Sept 4, 2021 19:07:43 GMT -5
I went through every episode of Season 38. Out of the 195 episodes, 135 had the Final Spin at the start of Round 4. Of course, all of these spins were with the red arrow starting on the pink $650. Here are the tallies of every wedge Pat landed on whenever Round 4 began with the Final Spin. With the contestant now doing the Final Spin presumably from their own arrow, there ought to be a lot more variation in this.  |
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Sept 6, 2021 11:08:59 GMT -5
SuperSweeper brought up a good point on Game Show Forum. The Wheel was loosened for CWOF and mostly stayed that way for the rest of the season. Here are how Pat's immediate Final Spins stack up for episodes taped before and after CWOF Season 1. Notice how his spins began drifting much further left, allowing him to hit the $5000 from the starting position. 
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Post by jjc927 on Sept 6, 2021 11:24:56 GMT -5
Hmm, that is an interesting difference.
Random thought-- with the contestant now doing the final spin, will there be times that they call it during a contestant's spin, rather than waiting until after the spin or before their next spin (or vowel call)? Of course this is excluding times that the Speed-Up begins immediately.
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Post by willdj on Sept 6, 2021 11:54:50 GMT -5
Hmm, that is an interesting difference. Random thought-- with the contestant now doing the final spin, will there be times that they call it during a contestant's spin, rather than waiting until after the spin or before their next spin (or vowel call)? Of course this is excluding times that the Speed-Up begins immediately. Will probably just operate like Australia where it often rang during a contestants spin etc... but depends if they want to keep the Final Spin graphic (they probably do) etc... in which case they probably have to wait til after the spin |
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Post by jjc927 on Sept 6, 2021 14:14:59 GMT -5
They can probably show the graphic quickly before the letter call if they do call final spin during a spin. Pat would say that sound means this is the final spin and we're going to add a thousand to *dollar value* and then they flash the graphic before going to the split screen and the contestant calls their letter. The one issue would be if the contestant hits Bankrupt or Lose a Turn.
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Post by willdj on Sept 6, 2021 14:32:01 GMT -5
Id say the difference between doing it during or after a spin is meaningless anyway as it would still probably be on their next spin not retroactively applying to the current one in progress
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Post by woffan4ever on Sept 8, 2021 16:28:18 GMT -5
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Sept 8, 2021 16:42:47 GMT -5
^ Not to backseat mod, but I think that news warrants its own thread. 🤯
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Post by usedletterboard on Sept 8, 2021 16:47:11 GMT -5
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It's good to be back home... 
