Season 33: What We Know

They didn't even have to touch the pink $900. It was right next to a Bankrupt space.

You can always stretch the picture too, MarioGS. In fact, that's how I found out about the purple $650 three years ago.

I knew that 3 $900 spaces wouldn't last long.

I'm hoping that's a yellow $800 and not $600. There's way too much $600 on the wheel...especially on the same side of the wheel.

IMO, this is the single worst configuration they've ever had. It looks just awful.

If that yellow wedge is a $800, here's the amount totals:
6-$500
1-$550
3-$600
3-$650
3-700
2-$800
1-$900

They should've left the pink $900 alone.

$600/BANKRUPT/$650 looks stupid.

I hate to sound grumpy. I'm not mad at anyone, I'm just expressing my feelings.

I'm beginning to wonder if someone didn't win a million in week 1 or 2, causing the new amounts in the 3rd week. Hmmm

Hopefully this configuration won't last but one season and we'll get something more even for season 34.

This would be a better configuration:
6-$500
1-$550
4-$600
2-$650
2-$700
1-$750
2-$800
1-$900

I agree. Besides, I'm thankful that Wheel is still on the air, even if there are some changes that have us scratching our heads out of confusion. It's better to have decent Wheel than having no Wheel. Money is always an important factor when it comes to making television shows like Wheel, so if they have to make changes to balance the budget, then so be it, whether we like it or not. At least Harry's done a great job by keeping both JEOPARDY! and Wheel Of Fortune on the air for more than 3 decades in syndication.

^^^I wasn't really saying they're being cheap. I just don't think the wheel itself looks balanced with its amounts. I like to look at an appealing wheel with amounts that are spread out and not all big amounts on one side and small amounts on the other side.

Yes, I will still watch every night and when I redo my homemade wheel...yes, I will use the current configuration if I like it or not.

I'm not mad, the voices in my head are just complaining because I DO love the show so much and I don't like when they downgrade. Nothing against the show, I just like to see it at its best.

I have to ask for proof when people say they still watch every night. Is anybody able to find statistics dating back to 2005 and put them into a chart?


This part I agree with. Back then I said that I would not attribute budget to the $1,000,000 prize, and I'm sticking with this.

Apologies in advance for the long post.


I don't think anybody's saying the show's not catering to its fans. I think they are saying the show doesn't seem to be thinking their changes through all the way, though.


Be...cause the typical viewers don't notice the kinds of things we do?


I don't think so. It's little more than a gimmick to tie in to the season number, and it's probably the only thing getting increased next season. My issue is that there's too much emphasis on the Bonus Round, to the detriment of the front game. Barring a single crappy week, $5,000 has been the top nighttime value since this version debuted in 1983, and it has a lot less purchasing power than it did back then.

And vowels still cost $250. You'd think with the budget issues, they'd up it to $1,000 or so.


I stopped watching the show in Season 28 because I thought how they handled the episodes Charlie taped before his death (the ones that hadn't aired yet) was one of the most head-scratching moves in the genre. I haven't watched anywhere near regularly since, the few exceptions being when a BAV member gets on the show; I think I watched Sanam and Josh Woo's episodes in first-run, but that's pretty much it.

And that's not even counting the fact the Culver City audiences are barely responsive to anything that happens on that set, whereas the audiences were more responsive during the trilon-era shows despite those being much longer tapings. Hell, the canned audience used at Burbank and Television City sounded more lively than the Culver City canned audience!


I'm sure Sony tells Harry the budget's tight, and it's the trickle-down effect at work since the higher-ups can't spend their money well. That still doesn't excuse the fact the puzzles come across as Friedman having a shaky-at-best grasp of the English language.


I'm sure the hacking incident and such did. The problem is that if somebody wins the Million on Wheel, the puzzle difficulty takes a sharp increase, so it's clearly intentional.


What about the prizes? Per Adam Nedeff, the whole "cars and trips only" thing is Harry's personal preference, and it's been that way since Season 19, long before any of the budget issues came into play. Shutting out a plethora of potential sponsors is basically shooting yourself in the foot for no reason other than "because shut up it's my show now". And really, that's my big problem with Harry's production style: he seems to act like Wheel and Jeopardy! are "his" shows, when in reality they'll always be Merv's.

Of course they will always be the brain-child of Merv. But, Merv was the one that sold the rights to the show, so...

Again, as far as the fan base...if the only viewers were the die hard fans, then the show wouldn't be on for long. Once again, majority rules; it doesn't matter if the average fan is not aware and does not see what they do. We are only a few very small fish in a large pond.

The show has been on the air for over 40 years. While the fan base has decreased greatly, they still attract millions every week. Yes, sometimes the small changes that we see do not make sense, but the millions will still tune in, so why would they do anything differently? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I like that mentality. Always have. I commend them for staying true to what their fans know and love. Vowels are going to change. Forget that. $250 for a vowel is ingrained in American culture. Has been for years. A change like that is change that everyone would notice. Some of may think that the show is stale and boring. But, they don't see that. They see the large crowds at Wheelmobile events. They see a studio full of people for each taping. They see the love from social media, emails, and letters. They are satisfied. I have been watching and been a fan since I was 2 1/2. I have seen many changes over the years. A new puzzle board; a new set; a new bonus round; the Jackpot's whole life; the $10,000 wedge's whole life; the Mystery Wedge; a million dollars; 21 seasons! I could go on and on. I love this show, even more now than I did then. Call it what you want, but they've got it going on, and have for many many years. They know what works and what doesn't. If they didn't, then Wheel would not be America's Game!

I like the idea of having shorter one or two word puzzles again in the maingame. I miss those days when you'd see "Mary Poppins" or simply "thumbtacks" as puzzles.

The change in the 3rd week of taping is also confusing me.

I'm really hoping that's a yellow $800. A $600 would look awful there.