December 19, 2012 Game Recap

As a contestant, I can tell you that it's standard protocol on game shows to STAY QUIET ON AIR if you think something adverse happened during the game that may have affected the outcome. That said, I saw the clip and Renee clearly acknowledged that she was at fault. She understood that the rules were "solve the puzzle as written on the board." She, like many contestants, got too excited and just wanted to hurry up and solve. It happens to everyone.

That said, if I was in a situation where I thought the judges were wrong AND it would've changed the outcome of who won/lost, I would bring it up to a contestant coordinator during the final stopdown, who can relay the concern on to a producer, and I would DEFINITELY NOT bring it up in front of the contestant in question if it involved someone else (like 12/20's SMOKE/SMOKED mixup). But, as far as the show is concerned, their word is law, and Renee treated it that way. Tough pill to swallow, yes, but that's all you can do. Can't blame someone else for a rule you may have overlooked.

I know you seek out Wheel articles everywhere you can Mario, but you can't change everyone's opinion. I would let it go.

And the one comment I did not see was that judging on "Jeopardy" is even stricter. I have to agree with Mario: this blogger was totally unprofessional and is blowing this out of proportion. Bottom line: the show is not out to deceive anyone. These things happen all the time and they're done in the interest of fairness. A fair game is a fun game.

Being a contestant has given me a newfound appreciation for what these people go through. You can't fathom how difficult it is until you are standing under the lights with a camera aimed at your face. Sometimes, you get too excited and forget what you were told backstage. Renee seems to have accepted this fact and moved on from it. I am not going to stop watching the show because of this fact, and I think it's hurtful to those who do love the show.

Here is his reply...



Umm...thank you? :-\ (Yeah, I guess I was sort of at fault for not getting the nature of the site at first, but still, his words were uncalled for. I'm just really sick of the "J/WOF is better than WOF/J, FACT!" arguments...)

They just talked about the story on ABC News today. They also mentioned that Renee's gonna be on GMA tomorrow morning (December 23, 8 AM) to talk about it.

Here is her interview. She uses the "That's how it's sung" argument, indirectly blaming the puzzle writers.



EDIT: Replaced with better quality version now that it's on the official YouTube channel

At this point, it really seems like the show can't win this overhyped battle...I hope they release some kind of statement about compensation so that people stop avoiding it like the plague.

The thing that bothers me the most is that Renee accepted it in studio, then still is grabbing another 15 minutes of fame today.

Like I said in chat last night, there's quite a few things that the media could justifiably use to hate on Wheel, such as a Toss-Up device clearly not working on 9/28 despite working about two minutes earlier, or a player turning in her Wild Card at Pat's insistence and because she didn't know this wasn't a rule, or the sheer fustercluck of Season 28 that was completely ignored.

Sure, inconsistent judging is a good thing to point out (and there's plenty of precedence regarding mispronunciation), but this has gone too far and completely ignores the elephant in the room -- that the next night, a contestant got credit despite very clearly mis-solving the puzzle, an event which itself has plenty of precedence.

Which is actually irrelevant, since the puzzle can't be compared to the song since the category was LIVING THINGS.

No publicity is bad publicity, and I'm sure Wheel will remain quiet on the siuation and allow it to blow over as the general population moves on to complaining about something else next week.