I fully intended to post my tape day recap back in August, but kept getting sidetracked. Since my episode airs next week, I figured now would be a good time to finally post it. :lol:
Leading up to my tape day, I watched as many WOF episodes as I could, played the iPod game, and read and re-read all the tips and articles included in my contestant packet. I found out my tape date the same time I found out I was going to be on the show at all (which seems to not be the norm among other contestants), so I only had two weeks to prepare!
And then it was time…Wheel of Fortune Part III: Tape DayI set my alarm for 5:30am, giving myself ample time to get ready and have some down time before the shuttle would pick me and the other contestants up at 7:15 to drive us over to Sony Studios.
I said goodbye to my family (once we leave for the day, we’re strictly forbidden from making ANY type of contact with them. That means calls, texts, waving, anything. If the producers think you’re trying to connect with them or cheat in any way, it’s disqualification time) and went down to wait in the lobby for the shuttle, scoping out the area for my fellow shuttle-riders and, possibly, competition:
She’s wearing a button-down AND looks wide-awake! She must be a contestant!
Hey! That lady has the same FedEx contestant packet I do! She must be a contestant!
That group over there looks like they’re waiting for a shuttle. AND they’re nicely dressed. Where else could they be going but Wheel
?Sure enough, once the shuttle pulls up everyone in the area piles in. We get our seats, buckle up, and we’re off to the studio. (At this point, it still feels surreal.
I’m in a shuttle. In California. Going to Sony Studios. To be on Wheel-of-Freaking-Fortune. When did that happen?) We introduce ourselves as we’re driving, exchanging names, hometowns, and audition stories. I was surprised to find that a lot of the contestants for that day had been in the contestant pool for months and months before finally getting the call for a tape date, especially since the whole process for me—from first Wheelmobile audition to taping—took a month and a half.
Before we knew it we’re pulling up to the big gate with SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT at the top and you could tell everyone was excited we were finally there. I had expected to have to drive through the whole studio lot before arriving at the
Wheel stage, but it was one of the first we came to.
When we hopped off the shuttle Alex, Jackie, and Shannon from the final audition greeted us and took us through a Very Secret Door.
We passed through a small “museum” of sorts chronicling Wheel’s history and famous moments (which I would’ve liked to look at, but there were more pressing matters!), down a backstage hallway or two, and finally to the contestant room with three long rows of chairs, television monitors, and Wheel photos and props hanging on the walls. And most importantly: a heaping box of donuts. It’s the little things, after all. They were calling to me, but I didn’t know how much time we’d have before hopping into other Wheel-related activities. So I decided to pass for now, hoping we’d have some down time later.
After being welcomed in, we’re greeted by a stack of papers on each chair, ranging from contact and publicity information to the notorious eighty-seven (okay, more like nine) page legal agreement, which detailed all the same stuff we’d seen in our contestant packet: agreeing that you haven’t been on any game shows in the past year(s), that you don’t know anyone affiliated with the show or Sony, and—the most important—that you will not reveal the outcome of your show before the air date, or you run the risk of forfeiting all possible winnings.
But it’s a two-way street. There was also a game show legal representative (a job I didn’t even know existed) there to make sure everything would be fair for the
contestants. For example, making sure every contestant has the same assistance and that no one has any unfair advantages over another. Also, if you call a letter that Pat misunderstands, we were told, correct him immediately! Don’t wait until the game’s almost over to say, “Hey, you know when I called that N ten minutes ago? Well, I really meant
M.”
Afterwards we handed over our driver’s licenses and social security cards while they went through some more rules/paperwork, and began getting called back one-by-one to the make-up room (girls AND guys. The show’s filmed in HD, after all).
When we have some down time, I see the box of donuts is still there. I look through the box of glazed and éclairs and find the most delicious-looking donut: puffed up, a little firm, icing glistening in the artificial light of the contestant room. I ate it. And it was glorious. (And maybe apple?)
After breakfast (and more paperwork—I think I signed away a kidney), it’s the time we’ve all been waiting for: seeing the set! We walk out through a side door and I was surprised to see that it was Right. There. No winding corridors or passages. Everything was revealed: the Wheel, the Puzzle Board, set decorations decked out for Halloween (the theme week we were filming). I was happy to see that the set pretty much looks the same in person as watching at home (except the Wheel’s smaller than you’d think and the Puzzle Board is a little dull compared to how it looks on the HD monitors) and wished pictures would’ve been allowed. But it was probably for the best since it allowed me to really live in the moment and absorb everything.
The contestant coordinators gathered us around the Wheel and began introducing us to all the aspects of the set that we’d be interacting with throughout the day. Obviously there’s the Wheel and the Puzzle Board, but what the at-home audience might not realize is that there’s
also a Used Letter board (so no, contestants
don’t have to memorize which letters are called and not called), a separate screen indicating the round number and puzzle category, and (I didn’t know this beforehand),
another board detailing each of the three contestants’ scores: what they have in their “bank” (prizes, trips, wedges, etc.), their total for the current round, and grand total. I knew there was a used letter board, but the rest was pretty new.
I’ve heard so many people (myself included) critique contestants’ game play, decisions, etc. (“The R was already called!”, “That word doesn’t fit in that space!”, “Why didn’t she buy a vowel?”) and now I can say for certain: it’s totally different as a player in person. There is
so much to focus on between the Puzzle Board, what letter you want to call, the scores of your opponents, your current standing in the game, any special wedges on the wheel, and
how you spin the wheel, so much so that the CCs flat-out told us not to even pay attention to what the wheel is doing after we spin. That’s why Pat says what the Wheel lands on. Use that time to study the puzzle and think of what letters you’re going to call.
So as we gather around the wheel, gawking, seeing it in person for the first time, the CCs begin to call us up in groups of 3 to practice spinning. And yes, it was needed. There’s actually a very precise way to spin. We were instructed to reach as far right as we could (using only the top half of the spokes, since placing your whole grip around it would end up with your hand and the pointer meeting in a potentially bloody encounter. But I’m sure no one has actually bled onto the Wheel. Probably. Maybe.), bring it towards us to build momentum, and then push off. Easy, right?
Easier said than done.
For looking so small in person, the Wheel is deceiving. Watching at home, it always seems like it doesn’t take much effort to get it going, so I went in thinking I’d go up, spin, and it’d go around ten times. Wrong! I don’t know if you could say it’s “heavy” because you don’t actually
lift it, but it does take some effort.
While I’m waiting for my turn at the Wheel (or maybe I was actually
at the Wheel? Who knows for sure? As other contestants will probably understand, there’s some things you just don’t remember), there are some gasps and laughter from the other contestants and as I look around, I see a woman standing behind the Wheel, wishing everyone good luck. Everyone else already seemed to know who she was, but it didn’t click for me until she gave the advice to “buy vowels” that I realized it was Vanna! Wearing jeans and long-sleeved shirt, hair in a bun, she had stopped by to say hi on her way to the make-up room.
But our special guest visits weren’t over yet. As I was walking around the Wheel I moved to the side to let someone through and thought nothing else of it. Then he turns to me and says, “Hi, Ricky.”
Who is this guy, I think? And how does he know my name?
“I’m Jim, the announcer,” he says, and I immediately realize I had forgotten the huge nametag I was wearing (a running occurrence of the day, it seemed, when I was confused how so many people knew my name). I said hello and, wishing me luck, he pointed up to the announcer’s booth where he’d be during show time.
Lack of celebrity recognizing for the day: 2 for 2!
After we all had some time to get comfortable at the Wheel and spinning, we head back to the contestant room for more make-up and a review of possible puzzle categories and the week’s featured prizes (New England! Savannah! I’ll go anywhere, just let me land on one!). We also found out who we’d be playing agains—
ahem. I mean,
with (since the CCs said we’re playing with each other and
against the Wheel). The contestant room was pretty light-hearted all day and everyone was friendly but as the CCs started reading off each game’s players, there was a slight transition from
This is the best experience ever! Can you believe we’re here?! to
You are now my competition. I had thought the whole process of selecting who we’d be playing with would be randomized, but it seems like the CCs had already selected (either randomly or by choice, I’m not 100% sure) our co-players based on the variety of demographics in each game—old, young, black, white, etc. And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t cause the same nervous anticipation of getting paired up with school presentation partners (minus having to worry if you’d get stuck with two slackers and end up creating the speaking points and PowerPoint yourself). I was happy with my co-players, but everyone was so nice and personable that I wouldn’t have minded playing with anyone there.
Then we drew for our Wheel spots and show number (out of 5) for the day, which featured the hugely technical process of one person per game picking numbered golf balls out of a bin. All along I was hoping for the third show (so I’d at least have some time to observe a few before my own), but just didn’t want the first or last—the same positions I hate in any kind of spotlight/public speaking opportunity. I was the ball-picker for our group and drew show #4 (the last ball left, so there really wasn’t much of a choice anyway) and the red position, closest to Pat. Cue nervousness. I went in wanting yellow, to be right in the middle. I didn’t want red for fear of being nervous next to Pat, and the contestant at the blue position always seems to have bad luck for some reason. But red it was.
When everyone has their show number and position, it’s time for rehearsal, which consisted of an entire round of gameplay with each of us called up to the Wheel at different times spinning, calling out letters, the “Pat Chat”, etc. Then before we know it, we’re told it’s almost time for the day’s tapings to begin (by this time it’s almost 11:00am). Before I even left for California, I was thinking, what could they possibly do for all that time (remember, we’d been at the studio since 7:30am by this point)? But after all the prep, paperwork, and practice we had done so far, my mindset changed to:
What? Already? Where did the time go? The first batch of contestants were swept away and the rest of us were directed to the audience seats, the section farthest away from the rest of the audience to make sure we have as little interaction with our families as possible (disqualification, remember?). However, we could get up any time and go down to the contestant room, bathroom, etc., so it was kind of cool to have our own “VIP” area.
From here, I don’t want to run the risk of giving away anything about any of the tapings—but I can say it was so surreal to see Pat and Vanna walk out for the first time—so I’ll just give some fun facts about the behind-the scenes of the show:
- During the “commercial break”, there’s a ton going on. Pat and Vanna go back behind the puzzle board to find out the next puzzle, cameras are arranged and rearranged, contestants are prepped and given water and make-up touch-ups, and the Wheel is changed with each round’s different wedges.
- I thought it was interesting that during the commercial breaks, we’d come down from the Wheel for the commercial break pep talk and the CCs would make us turn our backs to the Wheel so we couldn’t see them moving around the wedges—I think, mostly, so we didn’t know which Mystery wedge featured Bankrupt and the coveted $10,000.
- During my game, Pat and Vanna were walking out and just about the second they stepped to the center of the screen, from the corner of my eye, I saw a pumpkin fall from the sky. The set was decorated for Halloween, so I’m guessing it was from one of the “house’s” roofs. I didn’t know if anyone else had noticed or if they would stop filming, so I was trying to contain my laughter. They actually did stop production for a few minutes, so they must have. Pat mentioned something to us about this being “real TV”, and that he didn’t know what the problem was. But I knew! I saw it! So I said to Pat, “Yeah, the second you and Vanna walked out, one of those pumpkins fell from the sky.” He laughed. “Oh really?” So he walks away, and a production guy comes up to us and says he’s not sure what the problem is, but Pat said something about a pumpkin falling and that he was probably joking. “No,” I said. “It’s true! I was the one who told him!” We hadn’t even begun the game yet, and were already laughing and having fun.
- I had always wondered whether the Puzzle Board was touch screen or had buttons (I guess you could make the case for either), but when the CCs took us up to it, you could see that there are actually three small buttons, one on top of each other, on each screen of the board for Vanna to press.
- Jim, the announcer, is actually announcing in real time (not post-production), which made the tapings even more exciting.
- It’s so much more fun—and nerve-wracking—when you’re watching the show with contestants you’ve been talking with all day. So when they land on Bankrupt—or a high-dollar wedge—you’re more invested in the outcome.
- During the commercial breaks, Jim does some Wheel trivia, and Pat and Vanna take questions from the audience. Depending on how smoothly things are running (i.e. any technical difficulties), these periods varied in length.
It was nice being able to watch a few games from the audience before my own, being able to take everything in and see the how the production side of things work, but after a while, I was starting to get a little antsy, ready to play my own game. We’d been there and doing things the whole day so actually having some downtime to sit in the audience for a while, it all kind of catches up with you. There was a break for lunch after the third show (they brought in pizza for us), and I used the time to eat and drink some coffee to give me an energy boost. My game is next, and if there’s ever a time for coffee, this is it!
After the remaining contestants have re-energized (I think there were 8 of us left at that point, from the initial 17), we go over the details on our cards for the Pat Chat, get mic’ed up, and go back out to the set. I thought I might be nervous when I was at the Wheel—the audience, the cameras, knowing that, eventually millions of people will be watching everything you do or say for the next 22 minutes, worrying about messing up, etc.—but the funny thing is that I don’t think I was even aware of the cameras. When you’re actually up there, the audience is dimmed and everything else goes away except for focusing on the game (and there’s no shortage of things to focus on there!). I was also surprised because I had assumed it would be super bright and I’d have sweat dripping down my face because of all the set lighting, but it was really comfortable. After adjusting each contestant’s platform at the Wheel (that’s why everyone always looks the same height) and testing our Toss Up signaling devices (
Why isn’t mine working?!), we got some last minute coaching and advice to touch our pointers for luck, picked up our signaling devices, and then Jim begun his intro and we were on our own! From my position I could see Pat and Vanna getting ready to walk out from behind the Puzzle Board.
This is really happening, I was thinking. And, again:
How the heck did I get here? And a few short seconds later, we were playing
Wheel.
Obviously I can’t reveal the details or outcome of my game (yet!), but I can say that it was so much fun. Just the experience of being there in the studio, spinning the Wheel and playing the game, and interacting with the other contestants was a blast. The only downside? Being on
Wheel is literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so once you’re on, you can never be on again. But what I can say is that I left the studio at 6:00pm after an eleven-hour day with some
Wheel of Fortune swag, an awesome story about one of most fun days in my life, and maybe, just maybe, something more.
Want to see how I did? Make sure to watch Wheel on
Thursday, October 29th, 2015!
(Then all my secret keeping is over!
)
)
