I know! I know! I should post more blog entries more often! It's just I haven't been really motivated to write in this blog.
Well, I've decided to start something new. Here, I'm going to compare popular American game shows with foreign versions of the same name. We'll see how long this lasts.
For the first one, I've decided to begin with America's Game...
WHEEL
OF
FORTUNE!!
But it's not just America's Game. It's also Australia's Favourite Game. And in case you didn't get it, I'll be comparing the U.S. version of "Wheel of Fortune" with the Australian version.
The American version of "Wheel" debuted on the NBC Television Network on January 6, 1975. It was initially hosted by Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford. The two would eventually be replaced by Pat Sajak (taking over for Woolery on December 28, 1981) and Vanna White (becoming the permanent hostess on December 13, 1982 after Stafford left on October 22). In 1983, a version for nighttime syndication as produced, and it is this version that still runs in the States to this day.
Now, as for the Aussie version...
This version was produced by Reg Grundy, perhaps the most famous television producer from Down Under. It debuted on July 21, 1981 on the Seven Network, and was initially hosted by Ernie Sigley, with co-host Adriana Xenides turning the letters. In 1984, Sigley was replaced by John "Burgo" Burgess, and the show took off. Unlike most other Australian game shows, which were primarily shot in Sydney or Melbourne, "Wheel" was shot in Adelaide, South Australia. That is, until 1996, when a number of changes were made to the show, which included moving it to Sydney and replacing Burgo with Tony Barber (best known as the host of "Sale of the Century" from 1980 to 1991). By November of '96, Adrianna became ill and had to leave the show, replaced on an interim basis by Kerrie Friend before returning in July 1997 and then leaving the show for good in July 1999, being replaced by Sophie Faulkner. Tony Barber left "Wheel" in January 1997, replaced by Rob Elliot, who hosted until the end of 2003. He was replaced by Steve Oemcke at the start of 2004, and at the end of 2005, Steve and Sophie were placed by Larry Emdur (best known as host of "The Price is Right" from 1993 onwards) and Laura Csortan until the show's cancellation in July of 2006, shortly after the show's 5000th episode and the show's silver anniversary.
Wow, that was a mouthful! But I'm not done yet. I haven't even gotten to what really matters...the gameplay.
GAMEPLAY
The basics of both shows are the same--spin the Wheel, buy a vowel, solve the puzzle.
In the American version, the player earns the value spun times the number of consonants in the puzzle (ex., if a player spun $750, and there are 4 T's in the puzzle, s/he earns $3,000). In the Australian version, consonants are worth a flat rate (ex., if a player spun $750, and there are 4 T's in the puzzle, s/he earns simply $750).
Vowels are worth $250 in the American version, and $50 in the Australian version.
If a contestant solves the puzzle, s/he keeps whatever s/he earned in the round. In the American version, contestants used their winnings to buy merchandise until the late 1980s, after which they simply won cash. Now, as for the Australian version, the players used their winnings to buy merchandise until 1996, in which they simply won a prize for solving the puzzle.
TOP DOLLAR
Originally, the top dollar values for the Wheel in the U.S. was $500-$750-$1000, then changed to $500-$1000-$1500 in 1976, then $750-$1000-$2000 (with a $1500 space) in 1979, and then dropped down to $500-$500-$1000-$1250 in 1989 until the daytime version ended in 1991. For the nighttime version, the top values started at $750-$1000-$5000 (w/$1500), then $1000-$1000-$5000 in 1984, then $1000-$2500-$3500 (w/$1000)-$5000 (w/$1500) when shopping was eliminated in 1987 (the $1000 and $1500 spaces for rounds 3 & 4, respectively, were eliminated in 1996), and then $2500-$3500-$3500-$5000 since 2000.
In the Australian version, the Top Dollar values were originally $240-$460-$1200 (one of the things about Aussie Wheel was that the dollar values were in multiples of 5 as opposed to multiples of 50 in the U.S. version {or 25 in the show's early days}), then $360-$690-$1800 in 1985, then $400-$750-$2000 in 1990, then $500-$1000-$2000 in 1995 (when the show went to four rounds in 1996-1997 and again in 1999-2000, the show had $1000 in rounds 2 & 3, with $2000 in round 4), and finally $750-$1500-$2500 in 2000 until the end of the show's runs in 2006 and 2008.
PUZZLEBOARD AND CONTESTANT SET PIECES
Both versions originally used a three-line puzzleboard consisting of 13 spaces each. The American version changed to a four-line puzzleboard of 11-13-13-11 spaces at the end of 1981 (Woolery's last week), and then added another space to each line (12-14-14-12) when they brought in the computerized puzzleboard in 1997.
The Australian puzzleboard kept the 3x13 look until 1996 (before the move to Sydney), when it added another row, becoming a 4x13 puzzleboard. In 1999, the puzzleboard was rearranged to look like the one seen in the American version, only it still used trilons until early 2004 (when Steve Oemcke became host).
The contestant podiums were red-yellow-blue during the entire U.S. run. Originally, the Aussie contestant podiums were red-yellow-green until the set was revamped in 1992, during which green was replaced by turquoise. In 1996, when the show was moved to Sydney, turquoise was replaced by blue.
BANKRUPT
Now, here's where it gets a little confusing, but I'll try to explain it to the best of my ability.
In American "Wheel", the BANKRUPT simply wipes out whatever a contestant earned during that particular round, prior winnings are not affected. In the Australian "Wheel", the scores carried throughout the game. Originally, the BANKRUPT wiped out a player's score, but if they solved a puzzle, their prior winnings were "safe". From 1996 to 1998, the BANKRUPT wiped out a player's score no matter how many puzzles they solved (a rule change I thought was unfair). From 1999 onwards, if a contestant solved the puzzle, the score they had when they solved the puzzle became their "safe point" and if they hit BANKRUPT, they simply went down to that "safe point".
At the end of the show, the player with the highest score won the game. In the U.S. version, winnings were banked only if a contestant solved the puzzle. In the Australian version, as mention earlier, scores aggregated throughout the game, unless they hit a BANKRUPT (as mentioned before), so even if a contestant didn't solve the puzzle, s/he could still win the game.
BONUS ROUND
Beginning in 1981 in the U.S. version and in 1982 in the Australian version, the winner had a chance to play for a bonus prize by solving one more puzzle. Because of certain differences, I'll list the versions separately for this round.
US Version
When it began, contestants chose a prize with a Gold Star, and were give five consonants (usually L, N, R, S, and T) and one vowel (usually E). If they could solve the puzzle within 15 seconds, s/he won the bonus prize. In 1988, this was changed to being given the R-S-T-L-N-E for three, and then choosing three more consonants and one more vowel before given 10 seconds to solve the puzzle. After 1989, the contestant either picked one of five envelopes (until 2001) or spun a mini-wheel to determine their bonus prize, which was not revealed until the round was over (and whether or not they won it.
AU Version
The contestant spun the main wheel, only this time it had prizes on it (ex., Tableware, Desk Set, Sewing, Bed, Cruise, Holiday, Car). Then a contestant chose two consonants and one vowel, and were given ten seconds to solve the puzzle. However, for every $2,000 accumulated in the main game, the contestant could choose an extra consonant until s/he won the major prize (ex., if they had accumulated $16,000-$17,999, they could choose TEN consonants; I've seen it happen).
MILLION DOLLAR WEDGE
Oh, that's right! The Million Dollar Wedge! Why did I forget that?!
Anyways, when the Australian version came back briefly in 2008, it was called "Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune", named so because in the first round, there was a "Million Dollar Wedge". If it was claimed, and the player won the game without hitting a BANKRUPT, then one of the wedges in the Major Prize Round wheel was replaced with the $1,000,000 Grand Prize (the regular top prize in this version was $200,000, which wasn't that bad a prize, either). In the U.S. version, the Million Dollar Wedge was treated like a bonus prize in the first three rounds, and the contestant HAD to solve the puzzle in order to claim it, and then win the game without hitting BANKRUPT. BTW, the Million has been won the U.S. once since it was introduced.
And that's it. If I've missed anything, please let me know. And tell me what version of the show you like better, and be honest. Me, I like the American version better.
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