User:Daniel Benfield/References and Clips

Given how long Wheel of Fortune has been on the air, it should be no surprise that many films or shows have made references or used clips.

The $1,000,000 Chance of a Lifetime
A Wheel ripoff hosted by Jim Lange where two couples deciphered words and solved puzzles to earn money. Their partners could root them on, but could not help them. The puzzles were displayed on a giant computer complete with keyboard, with the star key representing punctuation/numbers. Wrong letters were referred to as "Stingers".

When the show debuted in January 1986, the top prize was all cash; when the second (and final) season began that September it became $900,000 cash ($36,000/year for 25 years) and $100,000 in prizes including two new Mazdas, 40 round-trip tickets to anywhere in the US (on Delta Air Lines), five complete rooms of furniture (kitchen, living room, dining room, den, and bedroom), and an outdoor spa.

The full rules can be read here.

PlayMania/Quiznation
On these GSN live call-in game shows hosted by Mel Peachey and Shandi Finnessey (co-host of Chuck Woolery's Lingo, itself a game on the shows), one of the games was "AlphaBuck$" and played similarly to Wheel: players attempted to guess a letter that was in the puzzle of a given category. If the player's letters were in the puzzle, s/he would earn a small cash prize per letter and receive an opportunity to guess the full puzzle. Correctly guessing the full puzzle earned the contestant an additional, larger cash prize.

Temptation: The All-New Sale of the Century
On this Rossi Morreale-hosted 21st century revival of the 1980s classic hosted by Jim Perry, the Fame Game was brought back, with the "Who am I?"-type questions and clues, but without the 9-numbered Press Your Luck-style game board filled with cash, prizes, and Money Cards. Instead, Morreale read a "Who am I?"-type question (like the original), and the answer was a Wheel-type puzzle, filled in "Toss-Up" style as clues were given/read. A correct answer was worth T$15 added to their score (T$=Temptation Dollars, all of which were not valid currency, unlike the classic show; however, contestants still kept any cash and prizes earned in the main game, but the only cash that counted toward their total was Instant Ca$h and/or a cash bonus thrown into an Instant Bargain to coerce the player into buying it).

Who's Still Standing?
This game show, hosted by Cash Cab host Ben Bailey, was an Israeli import that had a similar-to-Wheel element, albeit by answering questions in which the answers were word puzzles similar to those on Wheel. One player (the "Hero") attempted to defeat 10 competitors ("Strangers") in a series of trivia showdowns and win $1,000,000. Thinking out loud and giving multiple guesses were allowed when answering questions.

The full rules can be read [http://gameshows.wikia.com/wiki/Who's_Still_Standing? here].

Cash Cab
On the September 26, 2007 episode (Episode #8) of Cash Cab: After Dark (all values are doubled to $50, $100, and $200, respectively; except for Red Light Challenges, which still award $250; these would later be the normal values starting in 2008; from 2005-2007, the values were $25, $50, and $100, respectively), one of the $50 questions asked about Vanna White clapping 720 times per episode of Wheel, according to her official bio (most likely referring to the bio on the show's website). The question, which can also be found on page 163 of the official Cash Cab book which came out in 2012, is "According to her official bio, which game show sidekick claps her hands about 720 times per episode?"

Jeopardy!
On the September 10, 1992 game, the $400 clue in the Double Jeopardy! category "Ancient Times" read "The Greeks added a set of this to the Phoenician alphabet & it didn't cost them $250 each to do it." The correct response was "What are vowels?" (alluding to the $250 vowel cost).

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
On November 25, 2002, contestant Kathy Hempel was asked the $1,000 question [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeY0NTRl4S8 "On the TV game show 'Wheel of Fortune', how much does it cost to buy a vowel?" A. $50, B. $100, C. $250, D. $500.] She went with her gut and picked B, but the correct answer was C, resulting in her leaving with $0. She was invited back for a special "$0 Winners Week" near the end of the season (May 19-20, 2003), and won $250,000.

On February 16, 2012, contestant Greg Sandukas was asked the $250,000 question "Eventually revealing the answer GENERAL HOSPITAL, what was the first letter Vanna White ever turned on 'Wheel of Fortune'"? A. S, B. R, C. T, D. N. After jumping the $100,000 question the previous day (February 15) and running out of lifelines, he was stumped and walked with his $73,500 Round 1 bank; the correct answer was C.

Back To The Future: Part II
In the second chapter of the film trilogy (released November 22, 1989), brief clips of Wheel – including a shot of what is clearly a Fictional Character chyron – appear among many others on a group of screens in the Cafe 80's of 2015 (specifically, on the second screen of the middle row and later on a smaller screen near the Wild Gunman arcade cabinet). Although the trilogy revolves around the year of 1985, the clip is clearly from Season 5 or 6 after the nighttime show switched to playing for cash.

The first Back To The Future movie's credits also mention Wheel footage, but it is not known where that footage was used.

The Craft
In one scene of this film (released May 3, 1996), a TV in the background shows approximately 13 seconds of Wheel from Season 10 or 11 (the puzzle board's border is the 1981-94 style, plus the "burst" backdrops and Surprise wedge are visible).

The Family
During this French film starring Robert DeNiro (released September 13, 2013), a TV shows a pre-September 1994 Wheel episode with a Title/Author puzzle. It is known that the contestants in the clip were playing for charity, and that the 1981-94 puzzle board was shown.

Friends
During the episode "The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy" (September 19, 1996), one scene has Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) watching an early Season 14 episode with the puzzle MOUNT RUSHMORE, complete with the then-current pastel category strip.

It should be noted that the footage was created specifically for the episode, with the contestant actually being episode co-writer Michael Curtis.

A clip of this scene appeared during the ceremonial 3,000th episode in 1998.

Full House
During the episode "The Test" (aired January 11, 1994, most notable for Vanna appearing as part of a dream sequence), the scene where DJ Tanner (Candace Cameron Bure) and Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber) study for the SAT has a TV showing Wheel. The clip, which appears for approximately one second, has Vanna standing next to a blank puzzle. As stated in the Parodies and Appearances page, Vanna plays herself in the dream sequence (in which Kimmy passes and gets a scholarship to Stanford while DJ fails and gets a scholarship to Clown University; Kimmy also wins the heart of Steve Hale, DJ's boyfriend {played by Scott Weinger, voice of Disney's Aladdin), then plays a teacher named Mrs. Moffatt when DJ takes the test for real.

Uncertain
Instances which used footage, although it is not known whether the footage is real.

Angel Baby
During one scene of this Australian film (released October 28, 1995), Kate (Jacqueline McKenzie) gets a message from her guardian angel Astral (Elise Mayberry) by watching Wheel.

Arachnophobia
A character during this film (released July 18, 1990) says he always takes the phone off the hook during the show. It shows several seconds of Wheel on his TV.

Beverly Hills Cop II
A snippet appears at some point during the film (released May 20, 1987), including "Thank you, and welcome to Wheel of Fortune. I thought I just heard Jack say..."

Erin Brockovitch
A clip of Wheel appears in this film (released March 17, 2000), during the scene where the boy is distracted enough by Erin (Julia Roberts) to let her in to view some reports. The film is set in 1993.

Identity
Near the beginning of the film (released April 25, 2003), in the lobby of the motel that is the central setting of the movie, motel owner Larry Washington (John Hawkes) watches Wheel while manning the front desk and shouts "Buy a vowel! Buy a vowel!" Clips are shown of Vanna touching the letters on the board, but while Pat is heard throughout he is never shown – indeed, after the puzzle is solved the camera cuts to a closeup of the Wheel spinning.

Present in the music portion of the credits is a listing for "Season 19 Win Music from Wheel of Fortune composed and performed by Steve Kaplan, courtesy of Columbia TriStar Television, Inc."

Lethal Weapon 2
A few minutes of Wheel may be on a TV in a hotel scene of this film (released July 7, 1989).

Rain Man
In one scene of this film (released December 16, 1988), Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman) turns on a TV at the hotel, tunes to Wheel, and begins reciting the opening spiel.

Ransom
A brief clip appears on a TV in this film (released November 8, 1996).

What Makes a Family?
A clip of Wheel appears at some point in this Lifetime made-for-TV movie (aired January 22, 2001).