"Pat, I want to buy a vowel." This phrase is almost as quoted as "One Dollar Bob" from the Price is Right. That is because this game show is only a little younger than TPIR.
Merv never intended for intelligence to be any part of this one. Unlike Jeopardy, you don't need to know a question or answer. This one requires just a special skill at solving puzzles with missing letters. Those that are good at it & lucky spinning the wheel make lots of money. Those that are just lucky should go TPIR & spin the big wheel.
This show is really the only claim to fame for Pat Sajak or Vanna White. Without Wheel, they would not have show business careers. It has worked out for both of them well. A lot of folks forget that Chuck Woolery was the first host of this.
Another thing is that it was a day time staple for 6 years when it first started. Then NBC tried it head to head against TPIR & it lost the daytime ratings race & became a prime time syndication bonanza. This show is food for the tired brain & food for the puzzle addicted.
Even when Pat & Vanna are long gone (as Merv already is), this could very well still be going. There will always be an audience for it. If it ever does leave the air, I'd be surprised.
Merv never intended for intelligence to be any part of this one. Unlike Jeopardy, you don't need to know a question or answer. This one requires just a special skill at solving puzzles with missing letters. Those that are good at it & lucky spinning the wheel make lots of money. Those that are just lucky should go TPIR & spin the big wheel.
This show is really the only claim to fame for Pat Sajak or Vanna White. Without Wheel, they would not have show business careers. It has worked out for both of them well. A lot of folks forget that Chuck Woolery was the first host of this.
Another thing is that it was a day time staple for 6 years when it first started. Then NBC tried it head to head against TPIR & it lost the daytime ratings race & became a prime time syndication bonanza. This show is food for the tired brain & food for the puzzle addicted.
Even when Pat & Vanna are long gone (as Merv already is), this could very well still be going. There will always be an audience for it. If it ever does leave the air, I'd be surprised.