Clinton/Gore Re-elected in a Landslide ... Cuba Gooding, Jr. Asks "Show Me The Money!" ... Tragic Passing of Ray Combs ...
April, 1996...Atlanta, Olympics, and Pistachios
The 1996 Atlanta Olympics were accused of being over-commercialized, and it's hard to figure out why. Except for the fact that the Games had official game shows in Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. As part of the festivities, Wheel taped two weeks of shows in Atlanta at the Fox Theater. The first week featured normal contestants and aired in April, while a second week featuring former Olympic champions aired during the actual games in July.
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| The Atlanta Centennial Olympic logo... | ...at the fabulous Fox Theater. |
The Atlanta week featured the debut of the popular video wall in the middle of the stage. The wall became a permanent part of the set in 1997. A classic bonus round occurred on the April 24th episode in which a contestant guessed the puzzle PISTACHIOS at the sound of the buzzer. Replays show that the customer offered the answer at the end of the buzzer, but after a commercial break, Pat said that judges ruled that the contestant's answer was admissible, and he won a trip to Athens. Audience members at the taping witnessed a 15-minute tape stop down while the judges conferred on their ruling.
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Wheel couldn't resist the opportunity to sell some Olympic wares during the week... |
Pat vamps after the classic PISTACHIOS solve. |
September 2, 1996...14th Season Premiere
The 14th season premiere of Wheel was relatively uneventful. The show started with a bizarre monologue between Pat and Vanna complimenting each other on their success and...how good they both look. The biggest game play change was to occur two weeks later (see below), but the 14th season premiere was also the first episode moving from a returning champion format to a "Friday Finals" format. With the Friday Finals, the three highest scoring contestants from the week returned on Friday to play against each other, but 3 new players played from Monday through Thursday. The three highest scoring contestants were not necessarily show champions and in theory could all be from the same episode.
Also with this episode, the puzzle category of Person was split into two categories...Person and Proper Name. Prior to this date, Pat (and originally Chuck) would always preface this category with the disclaimer "Person does not always mean proper name." From this point forward, it never meant proper name.
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It's the Pat Sajak show! Oh wait. |
Look at the classy wood backdrop! |
September 16, 1996...Hit the Jackpot, Part Two
Two weeks into the season Wheel instituted the popular Jackpot! round during Round Three. The Jackpot starts at $5,000 and increases by the value spun on the wheel by each contestant in the round, no matter if the customer picks a correct letter or not. If a contestant lands on the special Jackpot! space on the wheel, picks a letter, and solves the puzzle in a single turn, s/he wins the Jackpot in addition to any other cash/prizes they have accumulated.
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This has to be the ugliest wheel tag ever. |
Can you see the Jackpot total up there? |
The running value of the Jackpot was displayed at the top left of the screen. On the first episode with the Jackpot Pat quipped, "You can also get the score of the San Diego/Los Angeles game up there." By the end of the 90's, the Jackpot round always had a sponsor, and initially it was always Hot Pockets. These days the Jackpot round is played in Round Two.
November 21, 1996...Pat is Speechless
During College Week in San Francisco Pat had laryngitis for pretty much the entire week. On the Monday episode his condition was so bad that he relinquished control of the bonus round to Vanna and turned letters at the puzzle board to save his voice. Vanna and Pat handled the role reversal very well and it turned into a treat for Wheel fans.
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Vanna's hosting? It's just like the Wheel of Fortune CD-ROM! |
Pat looks quite comfortable up there. |
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| Pat turns the letters after the contestant solves... | ...and Vanna shows him the good news. |