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Pat Sajak was Wheel-y not a fan of those beloved, now-retired shopping rounds.
On Wednesday’s Wheel of Fortune, the host playfully mocked a contestant who championed the show’s old format, which involved players spending their winnings on a massive array of (sometimes very random) prizes that were presented on a rotating stage.
Wheel Of Fortune Shopping
- Do you like to shop 'til you drop? Watch Shopping Spree Week as our contestants play for some serious shopping sprees!Subscribe to Wheel of Fortune for exclu.
- Directed by Robert Ennis Jr. With Christina Baldocchi, Pat Sajak, Sheryl Senet, Chris Smith.
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Bob Mackie Clothing
“The most boring three minutes of television,” Sajak cracked of the retro gimmick.
One of the most successful game shows in history, Wheel of Fortune actually is a version of the children's game Hangman (with a large carnival wheel and priz. Wheel of Fortune has been on the air in some form since 1975. The current nightime version, which began in 1983, has accounted for over 30 seasons in its own right. Merv Griffin first conceived Wheel in 1973 while his other major creation, Jeopardy!, was in its tenth year on NBC.He decided to create a game show based on Hangman, and added a wheel to it as a 'hook' after being inspired.
Wheel Of Fortune Shopping Days
And he continued his rant at the close of Wednesday’s show (watch above), admitting to co-host Vanna White that he simply does not share many longtime Wheel watchers’ affection for the shopping spree days. “I don’t miss them,” he confessed. “In retrospect [you think], ‘Oh, that was kind of fun,’ but, really, it was this thing going around with the [contestant’s] head in a circle… It was really not exciting television. We like it just the way it is.”
For the record, White agreed with Sajak’s anti-shopping stance, asserting that the show “is so much better now.” Silver dollar coin values.
Wheel Of Fortune Shopping Era
The shopping element — which you can reacquaint yourself with via the vintage clip below — was eliminated from the syndicated version in 1987.