February 25, 2013 recap

Tammy did a whale of a job & way more than covered her road trip from there & back! I thought the first word of the bonus puzzle world be TRICK, but later I thought it would be TRUCK. I didn't get the bonus puzzle until late.

Score: 9

Pretty good start to the week.

This was a great start to the week.

R1: The L's and D's were uncalled, but nice round for Tammy (that includes her CA trip).

R2: That MDW didn't last long, but Tammy made quick work and won that $10K MW!

TPH, Jacinta in the red position won that MW alone from the Feb. 6, 2009.

R3: It's probably a good thing Tammy didn't win the Sonic, because she would have to pay more taxes. Still, another nice round for her.

R4: Now that's a RULE OF THUMB in this game -- solve if you had a good chunk of change showing, which Lawren did.

R5: Good for Chris to avoid being gooseegged.

Bonus Round: It took me a couple of seconds, but I got it w/ the RSTLNE. Great $45K win by Tammy! She played very well tonight!

MY EP. RATING: 8 out of 10

I'm going to forgo my usual comments this week and share some personal insights from the contestants and what I remembered about them. This was definitely a fun way to start the taping day. The audience was getting into it. Plus, you could ACTUALLY HEAR ME FROM THE STANDS! (I shouted "GO FOR IT!" when Tammy was thinking about whether or not to flip the Mystery Wedge)  I also remember getting shushed by the coordinators as me and a few other contestants whispered "Santa Barbara" during TU1 and immediately getting TRICK PLAY once Tammy's letter choices were revealed.

LAWREN: Didn't remember too much about her, as she was rather quiet and shy, but played through the rehearsal game and stood up to Tammy pretty well. I was happy to see her hit the $5,000. Got a handshake from me when she returned to the audience.

CHRIS: Didn't remember as much about him, either, but generally a likeable guy backstage. When rehearsing what he was going to say for his "Pat Chat," he was originally going to say "And Pat, if you need Super Bowl tickets, I'm your guy." However, the coordinators told us not to say anything that would date the show and pretend it was actually the air date when we announced events, so I think that plan got torpedoed. I was afraid that we were going to see the first Pity Thousand of the day with him, but he was sharp against a dominant player. I was pulling for him when he got the MDW. Great game player, got a high-five from me when he returned to the audience.

TAMMY: Definitely one of the most memorable contestants of the day. She sat right next to me in the Green Room. She was the first person to see Oscar, the stuffed ocelot I brought backstage as a good luck charm (it was a gift from my co-workers for being the top-selling developer in October and for getting on the show). She asked about it and took the time to pet it for good luck. Apparently, it worked VERY well. I also remember looking up from filling out my press release to gather my bearings, and I quickly glanced at Tammy's paper. Under the question that asked "Is there anything unusual about my journey?", I noticed that she wrote "I drove 2,700 miles and 50 hours to get here." We started talking about that, and I found out that she attended the Wheelmobile event in the town where I was born (Wilkes-Barre, PA). I also noticed that she entered the studio wearing hiking boots. When I asked her about her dress shoes, she held them up...in a plastic grocery bag. Then, the jokes starting flying: "You'd better win enough to make it back home!"

We gave her handshakes and high-fives as she returned to the audience during one of Jim's warm-ups, where she got a standing ovation from the crowd as she reunited with her family. The best part, though, was when she returned to the Green Room to gather her things and leave during our second lunch. We gave her a massive round of applause and a ton of congratulatory hugs, and I announced that she should've taken her car, loaded it on an airplane, and flew home! In reality, though, she only drove from PA to CA thanks to a one-way car rental. The thing I'll remember the most about her, though, was how sharp, daring, and friendly she was. It couldn't have happened to a nicer, more humble lady.

Jon D. was not only there, he was actually a contestant later that tapeweek. Unfortunately, he drew the sixth show.

So there is a Winnebago this week?

It seems a bit random to do it during California Coast.

So, much of this was Tammy's show, with her claiming a trip early on, then quickly cashing in a successful Mystery flip, then getting another trip with a good amount of cash.

At least the other two contestants could get something more than the minimum, thanks to TU2 and R4-5.

Unusual BR where CDMA is helpful and BGHO is not. I had it at RSTLNE, though.

Yes, it's been offered several times before.

Emphasis mine. Hehe, sure, absolute YES from me, since it doesn't Wheel doesn't view the cars as spoilers, it doesn't affect BAVGO (except if it's won or lost), so it's good by me. Plus, any story by you is an absolute JOY to read. How could I say no, given your polite, and fair, request?

I'm gonna be the oddball and say I'd like to have the Winnie, since I do a lot of short traveling, with the long-distance trip to see family, from time to time. That reason is odd, but it would give me lots of room to eat, sleep, etc. as necessary.

In terms of the show itself, I joined about midway through, and really liked this show, gameplay-wise (audience, erm, not so much). Notably, BGHO strikeout in the BR, and CDMA works? Welcome to 1995, get in the Delorean! My biggest issue was the softness of the P&V question (we need more of those, Wheel!)- didn't we know both these answers years ago? I was talking about this with Wayo last night, and while he expects more on the front of asking Pat and Vanna themselves, rather than Wheel history. I think this can be made into a good question or two that we might not know about otherwise. For instance: Pat's and Vanna's individual favorite memories (Pat would give us something totally unexpected here, I think), or why they actually got involved with a game show in general/what piqued their interest in becoming host[ess].