May 12, 1995 recap | Buy a Vowel Boards

May 12, 1995 recap Apr 16, 2023 10:32:47 GMT -5

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Post by mechamind on Apr 16, 2023 10:32:47 GMT -5

Airdate: May 12, 1995

From Hollywood, It's America's game! Wheeeeeel Of Fortune!

Pat: I would never- I would never do anything to embarrass my dear friend Vanna. That's a beautiful dress.

Vanna: Thank you!

Pat: But it's a- I notice it's a little close together at the legs.

Vanna: Yes.

Pat: Will you be able to walk in this dress?

Vanna: No.

Pat: Well, let's watch her go to the puzzle board, shall we?

(She walks to the board normally.)

Pat: There she goes. Alright, nice job, Vanna. I hope we- Gee, I hope we have short puzzles tonight.
(applause)

Pat: We'll find out. What a trooper.

We can always put an emergency Megaword on the board, Pat.

Today's contestants:
Ellie Frees: Deals cards and roulette in a casino in Atlantic City, from Mays Landing, NJ
Victor Hart (returning with a 1-day total of $18,600)
Kristie Bowman: Grade 6 reading and math teacher (and her name will change in August when she gets married), from Bay City, MI

The top-dollar value on the Wheel is $1,000. We are playing for cash, and here's our first puzzle:

Round 1

THING

On second thought, the width of this puzzle suggests Megaword would be a bad idea.

ELLIE	Victor	Kristie
$200: R (x2) $500: T (x3) Lose A Turn!	$150: S (x2) $400: C (DUD!)	$400: N (x4) -$250: E (x3) -$250: A (x2) $500: L -$250: I (x3) Solve: Correct!
$1,900	$300	$1,350

Kristie can be overheard describing her own first spin as "wimpy".

THING

Kristie solves UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL.

Ellie	Victor	Kristie
		$1,350

Pat wouldn't dare embarrass Charlie in front of the press. Okay, maybe lightly, but someone has to stick around to plug a Meade telescope (labeled STARS) worth $3,700.

Even a "wimpy" spin could still land you on the $2,500 space.

Round 2

PHRASE

Ellie	VICTOR	Kristie
	Free Spin: T BANKRUPT! ($0) (Free Spin used) $500: N -$250: E (x4) $500: S (DUD!)	$200: H BANKRUPT! ($200)
	$250
$2,500: R (x2) $500: W SURPRISE: F -$250: O (x3) -$250: U Lose A Turn!	$250: D $400: C (DUD!)	$200: L (DUD!)
$5,000+	$500
$800: M (DUD!)	-$250: A (x2) $200: P Solve: Correct!
$5,000+	$650

PHRASE

Victor reads what's on the board. We missed an opportunity for Ellie to receive a prize out of nowhere.

Ellie	Victor	Kristie
	$650	$1,350

And so our contestants just think the $3,500 space appeared out of nowhere. As Kristie starts this round, one of her "wimpy" spins may still land on a puny $10,000 space.

Round 3

THE 70'S

Ellie	Victor	KRISTIE
		$550: N $250: T (x2) BANKRUPT! ($1,050)

BANKRUPT! ($0)	$900: H -$250: E (x2) $500: R (DUD!)	Lose A Turn!
	$650
Lose A Turn!	-$250: A (x2) $800: L (x3) -$250: I (x2) $800: Y $450: F $800: M -$250: O (DUD!)	$700: D Solve: Correct!
	$4,350	$700

THE 70'S

Ellie solves ALL IN THE FAMILY DEBUTS.

Ellie	Victor	Kristie
	$650	$2,050

This is Ellie's chance to come from nowhere and win the game. She could use a $5,000 spin, and we will also welcome a CRUISE to the Wheel.

Round 4

PLACE

ELLIE	Victor	Kristie
$600: R (x2) $900: T (DUD!)	$10,000!: S (DUD!)	STARS: N (x2)
$1,200		+

PLACE

DING DING! DING DING!

Since we can guess what's happening to Kristie next, we'll cut off early so Pat can give the Wheel a Final Spin. Consonants are worth... $300 a piece.

Kristie: F ($300+)

PLACE

Kristie solves NORFOLK VIRGINIA for some cash and the telescope.

Ellie	Victor	Kristie
	$650	$6,050

Nearly all of Ellie's lost turns were due to the Wheel itself, and there's not much you can really do about that. She goes home with the nice parting gifts.

Victor leaves with a 2-day total of $19,250.

BONUS ROUND:

Let's do one more puzzle here before we disappear for Norfolk. Kristie can solve one more puzzle before we take a break to win a pair of cars or a GM Mastercard.

Kristie can finish her Wheel debut episode in style, and she's grabbing the middle E. Here comes her puzzle:

Bonus Puzzle

THING

RSTLNE gives her:

THING

The last picks before the trip will be DGPA...

...and so much for debuting in style.

She guesses ROOM and ROOF. While they fit, she could not think of RUBY...

...and the Mastercard stays here. Kristie remains at $6,050 in cash and prizes, though she'll be coming back in a couple of weeks (Pat accidentally says "tomorrow").

In the post-game, Pat acknowledges that Armed Forces Week will be coming up next as we spend the next two weeks in Norfolk. They'll be interesting shows, because we're on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower! The show has never been taped on an aircraft carrier before!