User:Daniel Benfield/Nighttime Video Archive/Seasons 23-26

Go back to Seasons 19-22, or forward to Season 27?

Next verse, same as the last.

LEGAL STUFF SO I DON'T GET SUED: I'm only linking to these videos, none of which were uploaded by me, for the purposes of research and as a public record. Footage ©2005-09 Califon Productions/Merv Griffin Entertainment and associated entities.

Season 23 (2005-06)
September 12, 2005 - June 9, 2006

Many gameplay changes are made: the second Bankrupt is once again permanent for Rounds 4 on, a third Gift Tag is placed on the yellow $400 between $600 and $300, the Prize wedge moves to Round 1, the Prize Puzzle now occurs daily, and all Wheel add-ons are removed after Round 3.

Aesthetically, the "?" circle on the Mystery Wedges changes to red with a black question mark, and a blue border is added. Also, the Wheel pegs become silver.

The commercial structure is changed for the first time since 1987: Rounds 1 and 2 are now in their own segments, and the Bonus Round and closing chat are combined into one segment, in which the Bonus Wheel is seen (instead of being taken offstage after the final break, like the W-H-E-E-L envelope holder). In addition, this is the first season to premiere the week after Labor Day (and has continued to do so since then).

On October 3, a graphic is shown to the viewers, displaying the back of a Mystery Wedge if it is landed on. Also, the Mystery Prize (barring a few exceptions due to out-of-order taping) is now always $10,000.

On October 24, the Jackpot wedge becomes silver.

Any contestant who does not win anything now gets $1,000 as a consolation prize; $2,000 is awarded for team weeks.

New Categories: TV Title on September 12, Movie Title on September 19, In the Kitchen on September 27, Song Title on October 13, College Life on October 24, Rock On! on October 25.

Road Shows: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana (November 7-18); Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (January 23-27, February 6-24); Colorado Convention Center in Denver (May 1-19).

GSN Repeat Dates: November 26, 2010 (#S-4411 and #S-4412 only).

2005


 * September 12, 2005 (#S-4291/Season Premiere/Wheel Around the World, Day 1)
 * September 16, 2005 (#S-4295/Wheel Around the World, Finale)
 * September 28, 2005 (#S-4303/Wheel Watchers Club I, Day 3)

Jackpot wedge becomes silver


 * November 2, 2005 (#S-4328/NBA Players, Day 3)
 * November 15, 2005 (#S-4337/Celebrating New Orleans, Day 2: Ben/Kenyatta/Jamie; taped from WLOX)
 * November 28, 2005 (#S-4346/Holiday Shopping, Day 1: Dave/Valerie/Angella {taped 10/6/05})
 * December 8, 2005 (#S-4354/5-Star Resorts, Day 4: Mike/Brenda/Yvette, with a dumb mis-solve in Round 3 and a player losing by $150 due to the frickin' Trip Puzzle {taped 8/5/05}; taped from WLNY, various small portions cut out {although removing two contestant interviews isn't}, ends after the final score tally)
 * December 13, 2005 (#S-4357/Sony's Winner Wonderland, Day 2)

2006


 * January 20, 2006 (#S-4385/Two Tickets to Paradise, Day 5)
 * February 20, 2006 (#S-4406)
 * February 27, 2006 (#S-4411/Soap Stars Week, Day 1; taped from GSN on November 26, 2010)
 * February 28, 2006 (#S-4412/Soap Stars Week, Day 2; taped from GSN on November 26, 2010)
 * March 1, 2006 (#S-4413/Soap Stars Week, Day 3: Susan Flannery & Ross/Peter Bergman & Deborah/Deidre Hall & Allen; taped from WABC)
 * March 2, 2006 (#S-4414/Soap Stars Week, Day 4; second tie of the Toss-Up era)
 * March 3, 2006 (#S-4415/Soap Stars Week, Day 5)
 * April 11, 2006 ("By the Sea", Day 2: Barb {one of my favorite contestants :}/Jason/Drexelle, with a fun moment with chimichangas and a senior moment for Pat; taped from FOX-10 {not sure what station}, montage of gameplay that begins at end of Drexelle's contestant interview {taped 11/4/05})
 * April 25, 2006 (#S-4452/Ultimate Adventures, Day 2: Rochelle/Kurt/Corinne)


 * May 15, 2006 (#S-4466/College Week, Day 1: Doug/Tricia/Elyse {taped 3/25/06})
 * May 16, 2006 (#S-4467/College Week, Day 2: Kristie/Micah/David {taped 3/25/06})
 * May 17, 2006 (#S-4468/College Week, Day 3: Amanda/Alex/Dustin {taped 3/25/06})
 * May 18, 2006 (#S-4469/College Week, Day 4: Ben/Deanna/Casey, with the EXCLUSIVE NIGHTCLUB fail {taped 3/25/06}; taped from KSDK with commercials, including 2:06 after the show {which itself includes a promo for that night's ER season finale})
 * May 19, 2006 (#S-4470/College Week, Finale: Challona/Carl/Lizzie {taped 3/25/06})


 * May 30, 2006 (#S-4477/Wheel Across America, Day 2)
 * June 1, 2006 (#S-4479/Wheel Across America, Day 4: Helen/Dale/Anisha)
 * June 9, 2006 (#S-4485/Season Finale/Wheel Watchers Club III, Finale)

Season 24 (2006-07)
September 11, 2006 - June 8, 2007

Aesthetically, the biggest change is that the show now airs in high-definition (HD). "Happy Wheels" is given a new re-arrangement as well, and the theme ends as soon as the credits end. There are also new cues for a Toss-Up solve and main game solve, as well as a new cue for when the Bonus Wheel spins.

The King World logo changes one last time: the sky is cloudy and blue, and the thunderclap is a little softer than its predecessor; this lasts until October 2007.

The Wheel is changed majorly: the numbers are given a bigger shadow, and the golden wedges disappear, in favor of blue ones. The wedges changed to blue are the pink $300 next to Lose a Turn, the golden $500, and the red $600. As a result, the orange $900 becomes pink, and the golden $300 becomes red.

Correct letters on the Jackpot are now worth $500. The Jackpot wedge from last season is changed to a new one with a similar design on October 23.

The Gift Tag over $400 between $600 and $300 is removed. The $700 Gift Tag moves over to mentioned $400 on October with the introduction of the Wild Card, until October 30 when it is removed, leaving only the one on the pink $300.

On February 5, new music beds are added for the Toss-Up, Speed-Up, and Bonus Round.

New Categories: Food & Drink (formerly On the Menu) on September 11.

Retired Categories: Who Said It? on October 27, the "decade" categories on November 8 (until Season 30), Best Seller on February 8 (although it shows up on April 22, 2011).

Road Shows: Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie, Dallas, Texas (October 30-November 17); Charleston Area Convention Center in South Carolina (February 5-23); San Diego Convention Center (April 30-May 18).

GSN Repeat Dates: November 26, 2010 (#S-4531 to #S-4535 {November 13-17} and #S-4661 to #S-4665 {May 14-18} only).

2006


 * September 11, 2006 (#S-4486/Season Premiere/"Fantastic Voyages", Day 1)
 * October 13, 2006 (#S-4510/"Going to the Game", Finale)
 * October 23, 2006 (#S-4516/College Week, Day 1)
 * November 2, 2006 (#S-4524/Best Friends Week, Day 4)

2007


 * January 5, 2007 (#S-4570/"Las Vegas", Finale {alternate copy})
 * January 31, 2007 (#S-4588/Teen Best Friends Week, Day 3: Stephanie M. & Kimberly/Gonzalo & Jacob/Natasha & Stephanie K.; taped from KABC, one round cut out, ends right after Bonus Round segment)


 * April 6, 2007 (#S-4635/"Fantasy Islands", Finale)


 * June 7, 2007 (#S-4679/"I Need a Vacation", Day 4; taped from KSBY, ends after pre-Bonus Round car spiel, and also features one of the {in}famous HeadOn commercials)
 * June 8, 2007 (#S-4680/Season Finale/"I Need a Vacation", Finale; includes a contestant imitating Charlie's "The prices of the prizes..." spiel; alternate clip uploaded by said contestant)

Season 25 (2007-08)
September 10, 2007 - June 6, 2008

To celebrate the show's quarter-century in syndication, special greetings are given by various celebrities and various flashback clips are shown (rarely, these are of the daytime show). In addition, the show gets an official "mascot/spokeswedge" (if you will) in $5K, a man dressed as the $5,000 wedge, as well as 26 people dressed up as each letter of the alphabet.

There is also a special "cold open" where $5K is complaining about why he isn't being hit during every Speed-Up round, despite Pat trying his best to do so (he explains such and calls the show's new "mascot/spokeswedge" by his other name of "Money"). Vanna explains that he is right about such and Pat can only sigh about the pressure.

The intro is composed of a photo-mosaic of various clips, all forming a large golden "25" with a silver two-row logo under it, with the "R" getting its hole for the only time in history.

New music is added to the opening, Speed-Up, bonus category solves, and Bonus Round solves.

The contestant scoreboards are changed again, this time to a basic screen and only the contestant's name flashes to signify whose turn it is; this is quickly changed to have two arrows at the bottom that flash. The displays no longer touch each other, as was the case from 1974-90.

Several gameplay changes are made: the Wheel adds the 25 Wedge (over $550 in Round 2) and Big Money Wedge (over $400 between $600 and $300 in Round 3) whose $5,000, $7,500, and $25,000 cash prizes are flat-rate and can be spent on vowels (originally, they were treated as prizes like the $10,000 Wedge). Other changes include the Free Spin now awarding $300 per letter (and also now out for the first three rounds instead of the first two; and no longer obscuring the "3") and the second Bankrupt now over the yellow $300 for both Rounds 2-3 (and is no longer present after Round 3).

For four various weeks beginning October 16, the $2,500 wedge is replaced with a larger wedge of the same value that covers both the top dollar space and the adjacent purple $600.

In October, King World becomes CBS Television Distribution. Sometime between October 22 and 31, the Big Money Wedge changes to a blue LED wedge with red and white "lights" at the bottom.

To honor the show's 25th anniversary, their website contains a mini-site that reflects on the show's history; while the Wheel Watchers Club site has a special 25th Anniversary Flashback Moments archive in which there are video clips, and members may answer a 4-choice question about the clip, with a correct answer earning them 10 Sony Rewards Points. The latter site is still active to this day.

New Categories: What Are You Doing? on September 12, What Are We Making? on October 23, Fictional Family on November 30.

Retired Categories: What Are We Making? on October 23, Slogan on February 19, Next Line Please on April 17, Who Is It? on April 23, Classic TV on May 6 (although it was used on April 2, 2010 and again on January 9, 2013).

Road Shows: Radio City Music Hall in New York City (November 5-23); Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois (April 28-May 16).

GSN Repeat Dates: N/A as of yet.

"Letters" promos 2007
 * I, E, & C
 * G
 * J
 * N
 * Y #1 {alternate copy}
 * Y #2
 * Z {alternate copy}


 * September 10, 2007 (#S-4681/Season Premiere/Let's Party!, Day 1 {alternate copy})

Normal plasma displays


 * September 19, 2007 (#S-4688/Casino Night, Day 3)
 * September 25, 2007 (#S-4692/Weekend Getaways, Day 2)
 * October 10, 2007 (#S-4703/"Made In the USA", Day 3)
 * October 12, 2007 (#S-4705/"Made In the USA", Finale)
 * October 16, 2007 (#S-4707/College Road Trip, Day 2)
 * October 26, 2007 (#S-4685/"Let's Eat", Finale: Jason/Rosemary/La Rasha; taped from Channel Five in Singapore with some commercials, tail end of Final Spin through end of show but no promotional-consideration plugs)

Second Big Money Wedge debuts


 * October 31, 2007 (#S-4688/"VIP", Day 3: Matthew/Maureen/Maryann; taped from Channel Five in Singapore, begins at very end of Round 2 but ends just before bonus envelope reveal)
 * November 1, 2007 (#S-4689/"VIP", Day 4: Annette/Ayesha/Chad; taped from Channel Five in Singapore with a partial commercial, begins a bit before the second Toss-Up and ends just after Round 1)
 * November 5, 2007 (#S-4691/Best Friends, Day 1 {alternate copy... thing})
 * November 16, 2007 (#S-4730/People Celebrity Week, Finale)
 * November 20, 2007 (#S-4732/Heroes, Day 2)
 * December 17, 2007 (#S-4751/Great Outdoors I, Day 1)
 * December 24, 2007 (#S-4756/Happy Holidays, Day 1; includes clips of Pat's debut {December 28, 1981} and a reunion with that day's players...but why didn't they just have those three playing the game?...oh, right, the "once-in-a-lifetime" rule)

2008


 * January 14, 2008 (#S-4771/Desert Passages, Day 1)
 * January 21, 2008 (#S-4776/Winter Hideaway, Day 1)
 * February 11, 2008 (#S-4791/Thanks a Million Sweepstakes, Day 6 {sixth episode from College Road Trip})
 * February 20, 2008 (#S-4798/Thanks a Million Sweepstakes, Day 13)
 * February 27, 2008 (#S-4803/Thanks a Million Sweepstakes, Day 18 {sixth episode from Teen Best Friends Week})
 * March 18, 2008 (#S-4817/QVC Shopping Spree, Day 2)
 * April 9, 2008 (#S-4833/Going Green, Day 3)
 * April 11, 2008 (#S-4835/Going Green, Day 5; begins as Pat greets players and ends after final tally)
 * April 24, 2008 (#S-4844/Mexico, Day 4)
 * April 25, 2008 (#S-4845/Mexico, Finale; montage of contestant JP, includes first and third Toss-Ups and full Round 4)
 * April 28, 2008 (#S-4846/College Week, Day 1)
 * May 13, 2008 (#S-4857/Get in the Game, Day 2)
 * May 19, 2008 (#S-4861/The Carribean, Day 1; taped from WATL, with commercials)

Season 26 (2008-09)
September 8, 2008 - July 17, 2009

The biggest changes come to gameplay: the $10,000 Wedge is replaced with the Million-Dollar Wedge (which means the Bonus Round now offers a potential payout of $1,000,000 if taken there; otherwise, it is played for the normal $100,000); the four wedges to the right of the top dollar wedge are changed to a green $600, a yellow $500, a red $300 (the only one left unchanged), and a blue $500; the new Jackpot wedge (recycled from the Big Money Wedge) moves to the red $300, the Mystery Wedges (which have their dark-blue bordering removed) are now on the new blue $500 and the blue $300; the second Bankrupt moves to the purple $600 next to top dollar for Rounds 2-3; and the Wild Card is now removed after Round 3.

The show does a promo for the new top prize featuring Don LaFontaine (who died before the season began), as well as a different promo with a man dressed as the new wedge in a similar manner to $5K.

In February, Valpak mails specially-marked envelopes that allow viewers to win their share of over $100,000 in cash and prizes.

The letters on the Bonus Wheel are now A-M-E-R-I-C-A-'-S-★-G-A-M-E-★★-S-P-I-N-&-W-I-N-★★★, due to the increase in the potential payout.

Initially, the $1,000,000 envelope has sparkly green lettering with "ONE MILLION DOLLARS" in curved text surrounding a large green dollar sign, similar to that of the wedge's reverse. On February 23, it changes to black text with "ONE" in very small letters and "MILLION" in much larger letters.

Retired Categories: Where Are We? on November 28, the last "bonus" question until Season 28 and the last time the High Rollers chimes are used.

Road Shows: Hilton Waikoloa Village in Hawaii (November 5-25, February 9-13); Sea World in Orlando, Florida (March 2-20, April 6-10).

Repeat Weeks: June 1-July 10 (technically, since the season finale week aired July 13-17).

GSN Repeat Dates: N/A as of yet.

2008


 * September 15, 2008 (#S-4881/Nothing But the Best, Day 1)
 * October 14, 2008 (#S-4902/Canada Week, Day 2 {taped 8/8/08}; yes, this is the big one... {Bonus Round clip from the show's YouTube page})


 * November 4, 2008 (#S-4917/Wheel Across America, Day 2)
 * November 10, 2008 (#S-4921/Big Island Week, Day 1)
 * November 17, 2008 (#S-4926/Best Friends Week, Day 1)


 * December 10, 2008 (#S-4943/Pet Lovers, Day 3; has commercials and optional captions)
 * December 12, 2008 (#S-4945/Pet Lovers, Day 5; Rounds 1-2 and Bonus Round)
 * December 25, 2008 (#S-4954/Happy Holidays, Day 4)

2009


 * January 1, 2009 (#S-4959/America's Game I, Day 4)
 * January 14, 2009 (#S-4968/Dream Vacations, Day 3)
 * January 15, 2009 (#S-4969/Dream Vacations, Day 4)
 * January 20, 2009 (#S-4972/Teachers Week, Day 2)
 * January 21, 2009 (#S-4973/Teachers Week, Day 3)
 * January 22, 2009 (#S-4974/Teachers Week, Day 4 {alternate copy... thing, uploaded the day the episode aired)

Current $1,000,000 envelope


 * February 27, 2009 (#S-5000/America's Game II, Finale {aka "The Overwhelmingly-Underwhelming Excuse for a Milestone Celebration"})


 * March 12, 2009 (#S-5009/Family Fun, Day 4)
 * March 13, 2009 (#S-5010/Family Fun, Finale)


 * April 9, 2009 (#S-5029/Vacation Adventure, Day 4)
 * April 13, 2009 (#S-5031/Spring Break, Day 1)
 * April 14, 2009 (#S-5032/Spring Break, Day 2)
 * April 20, 2009 (#S-5036/America's Game III, Day 1)
 * April 22, 2009 (#S-5038/America's Game III, Day 3)


 * May 1, 2009 (#S-5045/Sandals Resort Week, Finale)
 * May 25, 2009 (#S-5061/America's Game IV, Day 1 {College Episode})