User:Daniel Benfield/Nighttime Video Archive/Seasons 8-11

Go back to Season 7, or forward to Season 12?

These were cluttering up the main subpage, so they had to be moved; none really had enough for a page on their own, and I knew Season 12 would need its own sub-subpage given how much GSN aired the thing, so this sub-subpage contains Seasons 8-11...only one of which has actually been shown by GSN.

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 ©1990-94 Califon Productions/Merv Griffin Entertainment and associated entities.

Season 8 (1990-91)
September 3, 1990 - June 14, 1991

The road-show diamond backdrops become permanent at home base; the score displays become connected, with seven digits and an adjusting dollar sign; and the floor is now black (daytime retains the chevron backdrops and white floor). The Wheel's lights are brighter, and the bottom layer flashes clockwise in sync with the others (it previously went counterclockwise). The new backdrops also result in an outgoing/returning champ's total being flashed onscreen like the post-Bonus Round total.

Sometime between September 11 and December 25, the rule for picking up Prizes or the Free Spin is altered to require a correct letter first. Sometime between September 11 and January, the W-H-E-E-L envelope holder gets a thick golden ring around it; the Merv Griffin Enterprises graphic returns to its old animated form with "A unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc." underneath; and the King World logo adopts its familiar "spotlights" animation, where the logo starts just as the bars cross and the triangle flips to form the star.

Sometime between September 11 and January 25, Prizes stay on the Wheel past the round they're introduced in. The chevrons behind Pat get some lights sometime between April 16 and May 14.

Outside of Season 3, I'm pretty sure this is the rarest season prior to Nancy's departure. Much like Season 3, the seven episodes listed below are all that's known to circulate.

New Categories: Clue in October, Title/Author at...some point.

Repeat Weeks: December 31-January 4, April 8-12.

GSN Repeat Dates: N/A as of yet.

1990


 * September 10, 1990 (#S-1371: Gemini/Julia/Mark; taped from what appears to be WABC in New York, with commercials {including one for Citrus Hill orange juice that goes out of its way to not show the logo of the "leading brand", which IIRC resembles Tropicana; of course, everyone knows that such taste tests can and do swap the glasses around...}, fades out just as King World logo appears {alternate copy, by the original uploader})
 * September 11, 1990 (#S-1372: Dede/Don/Gemini; taped from what appears to be WABC, with commercials; ends during eligibility disclaimer {alternate copy, by the original uploader; NES Action Set plug})
 * Fall 1990 (WABC promo with clips from this season {alternate copy, same source; 6-second shorter version of promo})

1991


 * January 1991 ("Wheel is Gonna Get You!" promo featuring clips from the first 8 years, sans shopping era)
 * January 9-10 or 16-17, 1991 (#S-14??/Tricia Gist fills in {Wednesday or Thursday}: Ken/Shelly/Patti, with the gold-ringed envelope holder; begins at "Fortune!" part of chant, VCR counter in upper-right corner throughout)
 * January 25, 1991 (#S-1465: Bruce/Doug/Kim; repeat from 7/19/91, with commercials {alternate copy})

Prize wedges removed if a round begins as a Speed-Up


 * April 16, 1991 (#S-1517: Stella/Bill/Scott; taped from WABC, with commercials {alternate copy})
 * April? 1991 (Wednesday or Thursday: Carla/Bob/Winston, comes after the January and April 16 changes, but before May 6 {Teen Week})

Light-up chevrons behind Pat


 * May 14, 1991 (#S-1537/College Week, Day 2: Becky/Andrea/Vince, with commercials {alternate copy, has 1:05 of commercials pre-show})

Season 9 (1991-92)
September 2, 1991 - June 12, 1992

The contestant's Bonus Round letter choices become blue, and the blue Wheel wedges become teal. Bizarrely, "A unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc." is removed from the Enterprises graphic.

New Categories: Foreign Word(s) and Foreign Phrase at...some point. Definitely by May 6.

Road Shows: Disneyland in Anaheim, California (September 2-6; the regular puzzle board is used); Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago, Illinois (September 30-October 11); Disney/MGM Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida (October 28-November 22, April 27-May 22).

Repeat Weeks: December 30-January 3, April 20-24.

GSN Repeat Dates: N/A as of yet.

1991


 * September 1991 (Teen Week promo, albeit dated 1992)
 * September 3, 1991 (#S-1562/Teen Week, Day 2: Gary/Jason/Jimmie, with commercials {alternate copy by the original uploader})
 * September 6, 1991 (#S-1565/Teen Week, Finale; begins a bit into opening, but has commercials {alternate copy by the original uploader, begins at very end of contestant interviews})
 * October 4, 1991 (#S-1585/Chicago, Day 5: Bob/Don/Ron, with commercials but ends after Bonus Round segment; video is fine except on shots of the puzzle board, where it's hard to tell individual "blank" trilons...while the audio occasionally gets really low)
 * October 28, 1991 (#S-1601/Wheel Around the World, Day 1: Gary/Steve/Susan, with clips of the Aussie Wheel; video occasionally goes monochrome with a white skew from Round 2 onward {alternate copy})
 * October 29, 1991 (#S-1602/Wheel Around the World, Day 2: Tina Marie/Steve/Sheri, with clips of Italy's La Ruota Della Fortuna; begins right after contestant interviews)
 * October 30, 1991 (#S-1603/Wheel Around the World, Day 3: Kerry/Asheley/Steve, with clips of The Netherlands' Het rad van Fortuin; begins shortly into Pat's monologue, ends just before King World animation {spiel intact})
 * October 31, 1991 (#S-1604/Wheel Around the World, Day 4: Steve {not the guy above}/Kathy/Ron, with Merv talking to some international hostesses during the final segment; begins during Kathy's interview)
 * November 15, 1991 (#S-1615/Wheel Around the World, Finale: LeWanda/Jeff/Dennis, with a full credit roll {and the theme actually runs out}; taped from WDAM {with a station ID after Round 3}, bright video for most of the show but very watchable)

1992


 * March 18?, 1992 (#S-1698?/Watch and Win Sweepstakes, Day 13?: Jim/Glenn/Bennett, "contest" version; airdate is the most likely one per available info {alternate copy})
 * March 26?, 1992 (#S-1704?: closing segment of what's definitely a Thursday show {someone's going for the $25,000 "tomorrow"}, with a full credit roll but no fee plugs)


 * April 27, 1992 (#S-1721/Walt Disney World, Day 1)
 * May 6, 1992 (#S-1728/Walt Disney World, Day 8: Sherry/Nancy/Scott, with the THE SOUL OF WIT puzzle {alternate copy})
 * May 7, 1992 (#S-1729/Walt Disney World, Day 9 {alternate copy, by the original uploader})
 * May 8, 1992 (#S-1730/Walt Disney World, Day 10 {alternate copies: #1; #2, by the original uploader})
 * May 18, 1992 (#S-1736/Walt Disney World, Day 16: Joe/Shane/Peter {alternate copies: #1; #2, by the original uploader})
 * June 3, 1992 (#S-1748: Kathy/Linda/Charles {alternate copy})
 * June 5, 1992 (#S-1750: Sandy/Dwaine/Bob)

Season 10 (1992-93)
September 7, 1992 - June 18, 1993

Many cosmetic changes: the fourth version of "Changing Keys" (the closing segment alternates between this and the 1989 version), the "dancing wedges" opening, the "burst" contestant backdrops (the diamond ones are retained for road shows), the "clear block" towers behind the Bonus Round prizes and contestants, and the High Rollers chimes for Clue, Where Are We?, and Fill In the Blank.

Further, some Quotation and "decade" categories (as well as the occasional "regular" categories) are followed by questions asked by Charlie for a $1,000 bonus. These are preceded by a set of low-pitched beeps and are only for the contestant who solves the puzzle.

For the first two weeks, the base of the W-H-E-E-L envelope holder changes from this to this.

September 21 debuts a new, sturdier W-H-E-E-L podium with lights that flash if the Bonus Round is won, and light-up red letters which turn off when an envelope is selected at the sound of a chime (low-pitched at home base, high-pitched on road shows). At the same time, the center Wheel rug gets a golden border.

Surprise debuts on October 5, although its first week uses a narrow, plain Helvetica-ish font. The category chyron/prize value/credits/etc. font changes to the same narrow Helvetica-ish font for the first week of 1993, and then to Gill Sans by February 25, with road shows retaining the Helvetica style through Season 12 (with this font change, the rules disclaimer and Vanna and Pat's wardrobe credits "wipe in").

February 8-26 are the first Red-Letter Sweepstakes, which features a Red-Letter Puzzle in Round 3 that viewers at home unscramble.

Sony now owns Merv Griffin Enterprises, which adds "a Sony Pictures Entertainment company" to the Enterprises logo; on October 26, Charlie's closing spiel changes to "Merv Griffin Enterprises produces...Wheel of Fortune!", said over the title/copyright card, complete with drum roll in the background, with the King World logo getting its own music (the logo starts with the spotlights crossed, which then uncross as the music begins and then cross again and freeze as the music ends).

On April 1, the Enterprises logo becomes a gold griffin statue in front of the cloudy background used by Columbia Pictures Television, TriStar Television, and Columbia-TriStar Television, with the "Merv Griffin Enterprises" text and "Sony Pictures Entertainment Company" byline in the same Bank Gothic MD font as the aforementioned logos.

New Categories: Slang on September 7, Where Are We? at...some point, the "decade" categories by October 26, (Fill In the) Blank by December 25, Artist/Song by April 26.

Retired Categories: Foreign Word(s)/Phrase, around September 14; I doubt they made it to October.

Road Shows: Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California (November 2-6/23-27); Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center in Pennsylvania (November 9-20); Wang Center in Boston, Massachusetts (May 10-21).

Repeat Weeks: January 4-8, April 12-16.

GSN Repeat Dates: October 1997-October 1998 (sweepstakes references and King World logo edited out).

1992


 * September 1992 (10th-Anniversary promo #2, long version featuring clips from the first decade as well as people singing "I'm A Wheel Watcher"; taped from CKCK in Saskatchewan)
 * September 1992 (10th-Anniversary promo #2, short version; taped from WBRC in Birmingham, albeit dated 1991)
 * September 1992 (Tyco board game commercial, Jeopardy! included)

12-wedge Wheel envelope holder gets new wedges and colors (see above)


 * September 7, 1992 (#S-1756/Season Premiere: Stephanie/Ben/Marilyn, includes a pan of $25,000 sign in the intro; taped from GSN {alternate copies: #1, begins just before first contestant interview with intro from a different episode; #2, complete})
 * September 10, 1992 (#S-1759: Art/Cliff/Jim, with a pan of the $25,000 sign in the intro, the SLIPPED ON A BANANA PEEL Event puzzle {solved with only the N's and L's!}, and a precursor to the "Charlie, put down that _____!" gag; taped from GSN {alternate copy})
 * September 14, 1992 (#S-1761: Jude/Barb/John, with Clue still using its original "fanfare", the MAZEL TOV/"category from Hell" incident, a lower-than-usual camera in the Bonus Round, one of the last appearances of $950, and 10th-Anniversary messages from Australia {with the pre-'92-overhaul set} and Turkey; taped from GSN in 1997-98, with bits of some commercials and a full Wheel 2000 promo {alternate copy})
 * September 15, 1992 (#S-1762: Jude/Clayton/Jennifer, with the first known appearance of a "normal category bonus question" and a full credit roll {closing credits from original broadcast})
 * September 17, 1992 (#S-1764: Joy/Laura/Randy {alternate copy})

Puzzle-solve cue now used for correct Clue answers (Clue wasn't used on 9/15 and 17)


 * September 18, 1992 (#S-1765: Joy/Betty/Tony, with a weird opening, a good example of what it means when Pat omits "Person does not always mean Proper Name.", and a 10th-Anniversary message from Portugal; taped from GSN, with a Super Decades promo)

New opening: low-level pan from $25,000 sign to contestant area during the chant, with players walking into place; new W-H-E-E-L envelope podium


 * September 23, 1992 (#S-1768: Denise/Carol/Robert, taped from GSN in October 1997 or '98 {a "Happy Halloween" message appears briefly})
 * September 24, 1992 (#S-1769/"Charlie, can you say "aluminum" again?": Robert/Bob/Regina, with a very tiny portion of a Wheel-themed song; taped from GSN on August 18, 2007)
 * September 29, 1992 (#S-1772/Teen Week I, Day 2: Courtney/Natalie/Angie, with a full credit roll; uses the Helvetica font throughout, and the 1992 theme in credits {alternate copies: #1 and #2})
 * October 2, 1992 (#S-1775/Teen Week I, Finale)

Surprise debuts


 * October 5, 1992 (#S-1776: Rob/Jennifer/Chris, with some great comedic timing after Round 1 and a pretty hard Bonus Round thwarted; taped from GSN in late 1997, with commercials)
 * October 8, 1992 (#S-1779: George/JASON BLOCK/Dalet, with the MARILYN MONROE'S LAST FILM debacle and a downright-amazing Bonus Round {alternate copy})

Normal Surprise wedge


 * October 14, 1992 (#S-1783: Kathie/Mark/Bobby, with a lot of wrong letters in the Speed-Up round)
 * October 26, 1992 (#S-1791: Victoria/Shirley/Craig, with Surprise on $1,000 in Round 1{?!} and an awesome "dark set" intro that they should've kept)


 * November 2, 1992 (#S-1796/San Francisco Week, Day 1: Richie/Donna/Jim, with no dollar signs on the scoreboards {reminds me of the early Wheel 2000 tapings, actually} and a very infamous Round 2)
 * November 10, 1992 (#S-1802/Philadelphia Week, Day 2)
 * November 20, 1992 (#S-1810/"My Favorite Teacher", Finale {alternate copy dated "November 27"})
 * November 23-25, 1992 (Soap Opera College Challenge, Day ?: Jason/Scott Reeves {The Young and the Restless}/Frank Dicopoulos {Guiding Light} {alternate copy})
 * November 26, 1992 (Soap Opera College Challenge, Day 4: Fiona Hutchison {Guiding Light}/Lauralee Bell {The Young and the Restless}/Chico; Round 1 only)


 * December 9, 1992 (#S-1823: David/John/Chris, with Pat making an odd-in-hindsight comment before Round 4; taped from GSN, begins with a brief Price Is Right clip and ends with two Enterprises logos {alternate copy})
 * December 17, 1992 (#S-1829)
 * December 25, 1992 (#S-1835/Family Week, Finale {alternate copies: #1, #2; taped from GSN's "12 Games of Christmas" marathon in December 2000, with Betty White host segments and a Hollywood Showdown "new season" promo})
 * December 28, 1992 (#S-1836/Wheel Into the New Year, Day 1; has "the dance that goes like this", and the 1989 theme during the credits)
 * December 29, 1992 (#S-1837/Wheel Into the New Year, Day 2; uses 1989 theme in credits, and includes the tail end of a circa-1998 Chuck Woolery Dating Game {alternate copies: #1, #2})

1993


 * February 8-11, 1993 #S-1861-4/Red Letter Sweepstakes, Day 1-4; uses the narrow Helvetica font, and the 1989 theme for the credits; also includes a full episode of Jeopardy!)
 * February 12, 1993 (#S-1865/Red Letter Sweepstakes, Day 5; uses the narrow Helvetica font, and the 1989 theme for the credits)

Category chyrons change to Gill Sans, rules disclaimer and wardrobe credits wipe in


 * February 25, 1993 (#S-1874/Red Letter Sweepstakes, Day 14: Greg/Gordon/Larry, full BUTTINSKY round)
 * February 26, 1993 (#S-1875/Red Letter Sweepstakes, Finale; uses 1989 theme in credits)
 * March 5, 1993 (#S-1880; Wheel rug lacks golden border, and 1989 theme is used for the credits)

"Gold statue with cloudy backdrop" Enterprises logo


 * April 2, 1993 (#S-1900; uses 1989 theme in credits)
 * April 9, 1993 (#S-1905/Teen Week II, Finale; uses 1989 theme in credits)
 * May 7, 1993 (#S-1920/Sports Stars Week, Finale; uses 1989 theme in credits {{alternate copy})
 * May 21, 1993 (#S-1930/College Week, Finale {alternate copies: #1; #2a and #2b from WABC, with most commercials})
 * May 25, 1993 (#S-1932; uses 1989 theme in credits) {alternate copy}

Season 11 (1993-94)
September 6, 1993 - June 17, 1994

The opening is slightly altered to remove the "10th Anniversary" graphic and add a closed-captioning bug in the bottom-right corner. The Red-Letter Puzzles debut by November 12, while February 7-18 are the Gold Letter Sweepstakes.

For this season, the 1989 "Changing Keys" opens and closes every road show except Family Week (which uses Mannheim Steamroller's rendition of "Deck the Halls" in the opening and the 1992 "Changing Keys" in the credits) and Music Stars Week (which uses the opening version of the 1989 theme for the only time since the end of Season 9).

Weekend repeats of this season only feature Charlie's voice as he says the "Created by Merv Griffin" credit (which is heard in full credit rolls once the aforementioned credit appears on screen), before seguing into the Columbia-TriStar Television and King World spiels.

New Categories: The "new" (three question marks) Fill In the Blank, around January.

Road Shows: Disney/MGM Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida (December 20-24, April 4-22, May 2-6/16-20); James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida (February 21-March 4).

Repeat Weeks: December 27-31, March 28-April 1.

GSN Repeat Dates: N/A as of yet.

1993


 * September 21, 1993 (#S-1962: Sam/Lou/Jon; weekend repeat from 9/2/95, first few seconds cut off, ends during King World logo {"King Worl-"})
 * October 4, 1993 (#S-1971: Susie/Amy/Rod, begins during chant and uses a one-star wipe from logo to studio and the 1989 theme in credits {alternate copy})
 * October 5, 1993 (#S-1972: Rod/Jim/Belinda, with the second known nighttime tie and the 1989 theme in credits; has commercials and uses a one-star wipe from logo to studio {alternate copies: #1; #2})
 * November 12, 1993 (#S-2000: Stephen/Chanelle/Darryle {alternate copies: #1; #2})
 * December 24, 1993 (#S-2030/Family Week, Finale: David & Albertha/Chuck & Bridget/Kitty & Mariann {alternate copy})

1994


 * January 1994 (#S-20?? {Thursday}: RAYMOND TAYLOR/Steve/Dianne; begins as Pat recaps Steve's total, ends during Enterprises logo)
 * January 1994 (#S-20?? {Friday}: ? {female}/? {female}/RAYMOND TAYLOR; montage including Speed-Up and Bonus Round)
 * March 11, 1994 (#S-2080: Bob/Dan/Robin, with a likely-accidental {but how?} triple-buzz in the Bonus Round; begins right before "Of!" in opening chant, fee plugs cut out, decent video and audio, ends during Enterprises "page flip" transition {taped 2/10/94; alternate copy, by the original uploader})
 * March 14, 1994 (#S-2081: Deborah/Bob/Tony, with the 1992 theme in the credits; begins just as Pat walks up to his area, end of Round 4 cut out {taped 2/11/94; alternate copy, by the original uploader})
 * April 22, 1994 (#S-2105/Walt Disney World, Finale: Gloria/Chris/Donna)
 * May 3, 1994 (#S-2112/Music Stars, Day 2: Gladys Knight/Tammy Wynette/"Weird Al" Yankovic {alternate copy... thing})
 * May 6, 1994 (#S-2115/Music Stars, Finale: Lee Greenwood/James Brown & Little Richard/"Weird Al" Yankovic; Marilyn Horne appears)