Parodies and Appearances

The longevity and success of Wheel of Fortune has provided plenty of opportunity for various shows to make parodies or have their characters make appearances on Wheel as part of a (sub)plot. Oddly, there do not appear to be any instances of either before 1984.

Betty and Me
Issue #160 of this Archie spinoff (August 1987) apparently deals with a Wheel parody, but the specifics are unknown.

The Chimp Channel
Involving, you guessed it, monkeys. Notably, one player tries to solve without spinning (which is normally allowed), although "Pat" tells her that she has to spin.

Cracked
The satire magazine, a longtime rival to Mad, featured a Wheel parody in issue #222 (September 1986).

Family Guy
''"Alright, Peter, you made it to the Bonus Round. Congratulations." "Thanks, Regis."''

Probably one of the more beloved examples, "I Take Thee Quagmire" (aired March 12, 2006) began at the Bonus Round with Peter Griffin. With the category of Actor & Show, Peter chooses Z, 4, three Q's, and the Batman symbol; he then solves the puzzle (ALEX KARRAS IN WEBSTER) anyway, much to the host's shock.

With $1,300, Peter goes shopping (complete with insert over a pan of the prizes and the 1984 "Changing Keys" theme) – buying the ceramic Dalmatian ($600), a week of maid service ($250, which leads into the plot), and a hat rack ($400); with $50 left, he asks how much the fat guy in the circle is.

''"That's you." "Oh-oh, embarrassing. Okay, well in that case I'll take the rest on a gift certificate."''

Another parody consisted of a brief cutaway to a puzzle designed to make the viewer think something vulgar, but quickly realize that it couldn't possibly be that due to the shown letters; the solved puzzle was GO TUCK YOURSELF IN, and reference is made to an earlier puzzle of MY HAIRY AUNT.

FoxTrot
''"Jason, your father needs help with his homework." "Mom, I'm watching Wheel."''

The May 17, 1988 strip has Jason watching the daytime show while his mother tries to get him to help his father with the computer. Amusingly, the dialogue and puzzle board shot from the TV date the Wheel episode to between August 1980 and December 1981: the host uses Chuck Woolery's "One, two, three of them!" style, the puzzle board has three lines, and Jack Clark is mentioned by name. The puzzle, OBSEQUIOUS OPAQUE SQUID, is solved with just the Q's.

The October 5, 2008 strip has Jason hacking into the show's puzzle database, and the puzzle ends up being PAIGE FOX IS UGLY, prompting Paige to call the show. Jason tells her "I'll let you do the next one."

Full House
The episode "The Test" (aired January 11, 1994) had Vanna White appearing as part of a dream sequence in DJ Tanner (Candace Cameron Bure)'s classroom, where she takes the SAT. During the scene where she and Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber) study, the TV shows clips of a (possibly real) Wheel episode. In the dream sequence, Kimmy passes and gets a scholarship to Stanford while DJ fails and gets a scholarship to Clown University; Kimmy also ultimately wins the heart of DJ's boyfriend Steve Hale (Scott Weinger, voice of Disney's Aladdin). When DJ takes the test for real, Vanna plays a teacher named Mrs. Moffat.

Gravity Falls
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to...Cash Wheel!"

The episode "Boss Mabel" (aired February 13, 2013) had a spoof called "Cash Wheel", which Grunkle Stan frequently watches. He also appeared as a contestant on the show.

In Living Color
"Hello, and welcome to Wheel of Dozens! Where talkin' trash can get you cash, so when the Wheel's turnin', it's yo' momma we're burnin'!"

A sketch from the final season (aired December 30, 1993), hosted by "Stu Dunfey", had a Wheel consisting of "Yo' Momma" phrases (i.e., "Yo' Momma's So Ugly") that players completed for $100 per diss; filling the role of penalty spaces were "positive" comments (i.e., "Yo' Momma's So Beautiful").

The game ended in a tie, so the winners played a "Lightning Round" where they alternated spouting disses to Mother Teresa.

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee
In the episode "New Trickster in Town", the title character is placed by a monster on a game show called Let's Save Humanity. While the parody is more of a generic quiz show mixed with Let's Make a Deal, this parody should be noted for the fact that it uses the actual Wheel of Fortune puzzle chimes.

Mad
Issue #266 (October 1986) features a parody of Wheel titled We'll Make a Fortune, written by Dick DeBartolo (a longtime Mad contributor who has also written for several Goodson-Todman game shows, including Match Game and Family Feud) and drawn by Will Elder and Harvey Kurtzman.

Much later, an installment of the Monroe and… comic, a then recurring feature written by Anthony Barbieri drawn by Bill Wray, featured the title character competing on Wheel. Sajak was also caricatured in this.

Mad TV
Parodied on three different occasions:


 * February 9, 2002: It's Celebrity Couples Week! The three couples competing are Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar; Will Smith and Jada Pinkett; and Kenny Rogers and a girl he met at a bus stop named Ginger as a replacement for his wife Wanda, who couldn't make it. The first puzzle is Famous Love Songs, and Rogers makes the first spin, hitting top dollar of $1,500. Ginger calls a V, of which there is one on the board; after Vanna reveals it, Rogers thinks she is a witch. Pat interprets his accusations as an incorrect attempt to solve the puzzle, so play moves to Gellar, who spins and lands on the Prize wedge (a $940 home barbecue system). Prinze repeats the V, thinking that they were "hiding some". On to Smith, who hits Lose A Turn but Pinkett encourages him to spin again; he does so, only to land on Bankrupt. With control back to the blue team, Rogers spins $500. Ginger immediately asks to solve, and correctly does so with LOVE ME TENDER. After the remaining letters light up, Rogers again accuses Vanna of being a witch and chases her around the set as Pat casually throws to commercial.
 * November 15, 2003: It's Government Worker Week! The contestants are Debbie Jane, a DMV photographer; Stanley, a monument bird feces remover (played by guest star David Arquette); and Louis, a congressional light bulb changer. The show has returned from a mid-round break. The category is Quotation, and the puzzle reads GIVE ME LIBERT_ OR GIVE ME DEATH. With Debbie Jane in control, she mis-solves with LIBERTO; Stanley asks to buy a "continent", to which Pat tells him that only vowels can be bought, though Stanley doesn't exactly know what a vowel is. Pat reminds him that vowels are A, E, I, O, U, and emphasizes "sometimes Y" while pointing to the single blank spot remaining on the board. Stanley spins the Wheel and, after a very long spin, lands on $700 (although the camera accidentally shows Louis' arrow landing on $500). He asks to solve, and provides the same incorrect solution as Debbie Jane did. Louis spins the Wheel, which Pat impatiently stops after a few seconds; Louis lands on $1,250, and confidently asks for F. Back to Debbie Jane, who solves incorrectly once again with LIBERTU. A sound effect signals the Final Spin, to which Pat simply moves the Wheel without letting go. After Stanley calls two letters which are already on the board, he mis-solves with LIVERY; Pat asks if he said "Liberty", which Stanley denies. Louis passes his turn, as do Debbie Jane and Stanley. With Pat getting rather angry, he decides to have Vanna just reveal the last letter, and whoever says the answer first will be declared the winner. The last letter is revealed as a happy face, to which Stanley claims he solved with that solution earlier (GIVE ME LIBERT☺ OR GIVE ME DEATH) and a dumbfounded Pat is aware of. The show cuts to a test card which reads "DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULT_, WHEEL OF FORTUNE WILL N☺T BE SEEN. PLEASE STAND B_."
 * November 12, 2005: The show begins with Pat saying that he's been hosting the show for 60 years and stopped caring 58 years ago (implying a setting of 2041-42 and that he stopped caring when the nighttime show debuted). The three contestants enter and Pat appears lovestruck by the blue contestant named Lexi Von Cannon (guest star Pamela Anderson). Pat cuts short the introductions for the other players (homemaker Faye Schnantz and high school teacher Aubrey Simelle) and asks Lexi to start the game. Faye tells him that she won the toss backstage, but he dismisses her and tells Lexi to spin while announcing the first puzzle as a Famous Person. Lexi's spin lands on Lose A Turn, but Pat stops Faye from spinning and tells Lexi to spin again. Pat begins rigging the game in her favor, much to the other contestants' anger – as Lexi calls obscure consonants, Pat tells Vanna to light up most of the consonants in the puzzle. With the puzzle board showing _BR_H_M L_N__LN, Lexi solves the puzzle as MADONNA and, despite the buzzer sounding, Pat rules her correct. The skit ends with Pat and the other two contestants spinning the Wheel as Lexi lies down on it, much to Vanna's shock.

Mighty Max
In the 4th episode of the cartoon series' second season, titled The Missing Linked; Virgil, one of Max's sidekicks (Norman being the other), sends Max a message that appears on Max's TV as he watches a Wheel-like game show where a contestant is seen solving a puzzle. The puzzle (and message, for that matter) was MIGHTY MAX GO TO 4TH & ELM.

The Onion
The long-running newspaper/website has parodied Wheel a few times.

December 16, 1998

A story about Wheel, having exhausted its supply of "normal" puzzles, receiving permission from the FCC to use profanities and other objectionable language. Producer Robert Reynolds (a fictional person with no known direct allegory to any real Wheel staff) is quoted as saying that "Twenty-three years of daily broadcasts have depleted us of every last familiar, non-offensive phrase. I mean, last night we were doing puzzles like PYRRHIC VICTORY and MORE TO BE PITIED THAN CENSURED, and nobody could guess them."

The article then gives examples of several NSFW puzzles, including a Before & After.

May 22, 2008

Notes that the cost of vowels on the show has increased to $600, with showrunner Charlie Clark stating that the cost is unlikely to come down unless America improves its standing in the Middle East.

Interestingly, a (fake) contestant is quoted as saying "We need a legitimate vowel alternative, but I don't think we're ready for that. I know I'm not." Free Play debuted just over a year later.

October 9, 2009

Not so much a parody, but still notable: a (factually-inaccurate) TV listing for Wheel hurls a profanity at the contestant who made the WHEN YOU WISH UPON A STAR TREE mis-solve on the September 22 show.

On the Television
One sketch done sometime during the 1989-90 period was Wheel of Misfortune, created by a slightly alternate Merv Griffin. While the "roulette meets hangman" concept is mostly the same, some parts are taken very literally, and the clip shown indicates that Merv was using the puzzles as commentary (in this case, an opinion of Donald Trump).

Pookie Poo
''"Say hello, Vanity." "Hello, Vanity."''

An obscure Flash cartoon series from the late 1990s parodied Wheel (starring Saint Patjack and Vanity White) and other games, with the eponymous character bringing his attitude to each.

The Wheel layout seems to be somewhat based on early nighttime episodes, albeit with two $1,000 wedges plus $650 and $950; in addition, "Loose A Turn" is red. The puzzle, FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT (Famous Sayings), is accidentally solved by Pookie while he threatens to hurt Patjack.

The Rainy Day Numbers Show
"If you're ready to start today's game, nod your head "Yes!"

A "Golden Step Ahead" video from 1986 had a parody called "Count on Fortune", hosted by Bob Bunny (portrayed by Jumpin' Jack Rabbit; a spoof of Bob Barker) and Vanna Lamb with a chick named Henrietta (played by Meggie) and Ralph Raccoon (played by Rock Raccoon) as contestants. The cash values on the Wheel are replaced by the numbers from 1-9, dubbed "The Wheel of Numbers", while the puzzles are replaced with math problems. To begin the game, the players spin the wheel. The player with the highest number went first.

The first round's question decides which set is greater. The second round is called addition, where to answer the questions the contestants must add two sets together to make a new set. There are three questions in this round. The final round had contestants spin the Wheel to determine the winner of the game. Each players spins the wheel twice, with the highest number wins the game. Henrietta and Ralph each spun a total of 4, resulting in a tie game. Each won a pair of matching hat racks and a lifetime supply of pet toads (courtesy of Al. E Gator's Used Numbers.)

Sale of the Century
The 1983-89 daytime revival hosted by Jim Perry had at least one parody: on Episode #1543 (January 19, 1989), the first Instant Bargain had a less-than-subtle parody of Vanna with the prize backdrop resembling the Wheel turntable.

Despite being among USA's package when the cable network aired Sale from 1992-94, this moment appears to have flown under the radar until GSN first aired the episode on May 15, 2013.

Saturday Night Live
"A dermatologist would deal with this on a daily basis."

The most likely candidate for multiple entries on this list (Wheel debuted January 6, 1975; NBC's Saturday Night debuted October 11) is not known to have done any such sketches prior to 2006.

May 6, 2006

Guest starring Tom Hanks as Pat. Amusingly, it uses the 1983 "Changing Keys" despite the song as a whole being absent from Wheel for nearly six years.

The show returns from break with the puzzle board reading BY THE S__N OF OUR TEETH (Phrase). Donna elects to buy the I, after which Pat does the Final Spin that lands on $600. Donna accidentally mis-solves with SPIN, realizing her mistake afterward; play goes to Kenny, who also mis-solves with SHIN despite the H's already being present. Marjorie also mis-solves, albeit even worse as she says SMILES.

Back to Donna, who mis-solves with CHIN. Kenny then asks to buy a number, then a vowel: U, which is already on the board; he then tries to solve with SUIN, which is wrong as well. Marjorie mis-solves with BY THE SOCK OF MY FEET, after which Donna gets the proper missing word (SKIN) but with MY FEET at the end.

Pat figures that the players are nervous, and asks them to take a few deep breaths and look carefully at the puzzle board, then goes back to Donna. All three players pass for two cycles, which leads Pat to give a hint (see above); all three players begin shouting out answers, none of which even fit the puzzle. Pat realizes that the players simply aren't bright, but points out that neither is Vanna, and look at her career!

Vanna reveals the K, and the contestants seem to finally understand the puzzle...or not, as they think it has to do with lips. Pat gets them into a group hug, telling them that "If I were the old me, your stupidity would have sent me into a violent rage, and Vanna knows what I'm talking about. But today, I just feel sorry for you..."

The players, however, do not understand that they are being insulted, and when they do understand claim that "You insulted us by the skin of our teeth." This leads Pat to tear up his card and decide to quit, and the players chant "We! Are! Horses!" as he walks offscreen.

April 6, 2013

A parody simply called "Million Dollar Wheel", with guest host Melissa McCarthy as a replacement hostess who has less than no idea of her purpose.

Interestingly, the Wheel layout uses $650, $850, and $950.

Sesame Street
"Give the pig a spin!"

A parody called Squeal of Fortune hosted by Pat Playjacks (the world's nicest game show host) and Velma Blank, with Count von Count and Prairie Dawn as contestants. The money and puzzles are replaced by a single pig, and before spinning the Wheel the player must guess how many times it will squeal; Count von Count wins, but upon seeing his choice of prizes (including a larger-than-life portrait of Playjacks himself, grapefruit goggles, and a barrel of industrial-strength gray-green finger paint) he opts to take the pig instead.

After this, an eel comes along to ask Pat if the game is called Eel of Fortune.

The Simpsons
Near the beginning of the episode "Brother from the Same Planet" (aired February 4, 1993), Homer is seen watching Wheel with the puzzle I'M ON MY WAY (Phrase). Marge reminds him to pick up Bart from his soccer game while she leaves the house, but mistakes his solving the puzzle as a response to her.

The puzzle board uses the 1981 border with three lines of 11 trilons each, albeit with four of them in the corners (clearly blocked by the frame); the remaining 29 trilons have a shape and layout that were used much later by ICE for its Wheel games. Also, the category chyron appears to be based on the third Helvetica style introduced in February or March 1985.

2005

Much later, during the episode "Pranksta Rap" (aired February 13, 2005), at least of the Spanish version Rueda de Fortuna briefly appears while Santa's Little Helper changes channels by barking (he had accidentally swallowed the remote).

So Random!
The opening sketch of the 2011 premiere was "All-Star Wheel of Fortune" with Fred Figgelhorn (Chad Dylan Cooper, played by Sterling Knight), Taylor Swift (Tawni Hart, played by Tiffany Thornton), and Willow Smith (Nico Harris, played by Brandon Mychal Smith) playing. Unfortunately, the game barely progresses since Fred is obnoxious, Taylor sings about everything, and Willow whips her hair around continuously. The sketch ends with Vanna tearing off part of the puzzle board and smacking Fred unconscious.

Another sketch was "All Magic Students Wheel of Fortune" with Harry Potter (Shayne Zimbo, played by Shayne Topp), Rubeus Hagrid (Grady Mitchell, played by Doug Brochu), Gollum/Smeagol (Damien Johanssen, played by Damien Haa), and the Twilight Trio: Edward Cullen (Matthew Bailey, played by Matthew Scott Montgomery), Bella Swan (Tawni Hart), and Jacob Black (Chad Dylan Cooper).

Zimbo/Topp played as Pat Sajak for both skits, as well as Potter in the second skit.

South Park
"With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" (aired March 7, 2007) begins with Stan Marsh's dad, Randy, at the Bonus Round; having already been spotted RSTLE plus his choices of BNGO, with the category of People Who Annoy You and $30,000 on the line, he is very reluctant to say the only thing he can think of (a racial epithet) but still mis-solves NAGGERS (with the A missing), shocking the nation and beginning the plot.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
A spoof called Wheel of Misfortune appears in the animated episode "On Her Majesty's Sewer Service" (October 10, 1989).

Super Mario World
In the episode "Rock TV" (November 16, 1991), King Koopa's flashback of a trip to Earth includes either Wheel or a parody of it, as part of his remembering how television can put people in a near-vegetative state. Interestingly, the puzzle shown in the episode (DUH) is three letters in length, predating the use of three-letter bonus puzzles on Wheel by eleven months. The episode as a whole was essentially a commentary on television addiction, as the FCC had enacted the Children's Television Act the previous year.

Vanna, Pick Me a Letter
"I've just got to win, spin the Wheel again..."

A 1986 song by "Dr. Dave" (David Kolin) which was released on TSR Records #852 and frequently heard on The Dr. Demento Show. A parody of "The Letter" by The Box Tops, it describes a contestant on Wheel and mentions Bankrupt, Lose A Turn, the Final Spin chimes, the Bonus Round, the home game, and shopping. The song ends with the singer/contestant expressing shock at the fact that a black-and-white 5" portable TV set costs $500. ("You got ripped-off, man.")

A partial rewrite of the song, believed to have been performed by Greg Barnhill, was used in a 1987 Wheel promo for CBS affiliate WWL-TV in New Orleans. The ad includes footage from several early Season 4 episodes (one of which has the third sunburst backdrops), plus an answer of NEW ORLEANS being revealed.

You Can't Do That On Television
A very brief parody was one of the many "pre-emption" cards used at the top of the show: in this case, the episode "Luck" (1986) used The Wheel of Fortune Runs Over People and Flattens Them.

Appearances
Note that some of these appear from time to time in syndication or on cable networks.

227
"Over $100,000 worth of prizes, today on this special neighbors version of Wheel of Fortune! And now, let's meet our host: Pat Sajak!"

The Season 2 premiere "Wheel of Misfortune" (aired October 4, 1986) had Sandra Clark (Jackée Harry) and neighbor Mary Jenkins (Marla Gibbs) competing on a "neighbors edition" of nighttime Wheel against each other and a fisherman named Rusty. In Round 1 (Title), Sandra calls an M, which is not in the puzzle, and Mary hits Lose A Turn. Rusty then spins $1,000 and calls a Z; despite derision from his opponents, there is a Z in the puzzle (THE PRISONER OF ZENDA), which he immediately solves.

Later, in Round 3, Mary tries to solve the Thing puzzle with $19,750 but says SANTA FE TRAIL (a Place) instead of the actual answer, SANTA FE TRAIN. Rusty ends up shutting-out the women.

The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence, while the Wheel uses the tan and lime green $900 wedges temporarily used at this point on the actual show. Also present are the third sunburst backdrops and post-"walls" setup, despite not being on the actual show at this point (an episode aired the week of October 13 still has the 1984 walls and sunbursts).

The A-Team
"Wheel of Fortune" (aired January 14, 1986) begins during Round 3 on the daytime show, with H.M. Murdock (Dwight Schultz) spinning the Wheel a few times (oddly, despite his first spin landing on the $750 next to Bankrupt, the very next shot shows his flipper on the $600 next to the other Bankrupt) and solving ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR (Phrase) for $6,500 and a grand total of over $28,000. With the $6,500, Murdock buys a humidor with 50 cigars ($150), a solar-powered buffer and a year's supply of Reptile car wax ($250), a waterbed ($1,800), and a two-week trip for two to Hawaii ($4,250) with the remaining $50 on a gift certificate. Pat then mentions that Murdock will return in two weeks to play a Super Challenge Match (later referred to as "Championship Playoffs") for prizes beginning at $12,000.

The episode wraps by returning to Wheel for a Bonus Round with Murdock, playing for a new Mazda truck. With the category of Place and choices of TSLCDE, he solves SOUTH AMERICA just ahead of the buzzer.

Notably, this Wheel appearance is one of only two known instances with then-announcer Jack Clark (the other being the 227 episode above) and the only known time the shopping element is actually used despite the turntable appearing several other times; "Frisco Disco" plays while Jack describes Murdoch's prizes, and the puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.

Finally, as far as is known, the show never actually held a Super Challenge Match, although the All-Star Dream Machine (1976) would probably be the closest. Pat's comments suggest that the Bonus Round was temporarily dropped for the weeks leading up to the Super Challenge Match.

Gimme A Break!
"The Big Apple" (aired February 16, 1984) begins with Nell Harper (Nell Carter) and Adelaide "Addy" Wilson (Telma Hopkins) discussing Wheel, then going on a "Friends Day" edition of the daytime show. With $7,600, Nell mis-solves the Quotation puzzle GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH, but Addy solves correctly for $2,400; the remainder of the episode involves a trip to New York which Addy purchases.

The set still uses the white light-up trees, while the Wheel layout has $1,000 along with $1,500 and $2,000. The concept of friends playing on Wheel would later become (Teen) Best Friends Week.

Jeopardy!
Being its sister show, it should be no surprise that Jeopardy! has referenced and used elements from Wheel:


 * On October 1, 1985, the then-current theme "Changing Keys" was used for an Audio Daily Double. Amusingly, the contestant who played it started to bebop to the tune before giving the correct response.
 * On June 8, 1987, a Double Jeopardy! category was devoted to the show.
 * Several times, the Wheel puzzle board has been used for categories: a partially-revealed puzzle is shown while Alex Trebek reads the clue, with the correct response revealed on the puzzle board as well.
 * Late 1995: Following a "Costumes" category involving Vanna, a clip was shown of her next to the 1995-97 puzzle board, reading YOU'RE WELCOME ALEX! Despite this, there is no known record of Wheel using exclamation points on the show itself until May 13, 2004, and a puzzle of JEOPARDY PREMIERES in September or October 1995 (shortly after the 1995-97 board debuted) did not use one.
 * The second was on October 4, 2001, with the category titled as "WHEEL OF JEOPARDY!" (using an exclamation point), complete with a custom-recorded chant. Unlike the other games, the correct responses were not shown.
 * The third was on April 25, 2007, during a Double Jeopardy! round whose categories were names of tarot cards (and indeed, the sixth category was "Touring the Tarot Deck").
 * For the "Wheel of Movie Taglines" category on May 10, 2012, each clue was the tagline for a movie and each correct response was the movie itself. None of the puzzles used more than two lines, and some puzzles had words centered above or below another rather than always being left-justified.
 * For the "I'd Like to Solve the Puzzle...Fast!" category on April 23, 2013, each clue was shown normally but the correct response was revealed as if the puzzle had been solved on Wheel (i.e., the remaining letters were quickly filled in).

Other times, Pat and Vanna have been featured giving clues:
 * When both shows taped at New York City's Madison Square Garden in Fall 1999, on one episode (November 16, 1999) Vanna shopped at Christian Dior and gave a clue about Elizabeth Taylor wearing a Dior gown when she won her first Oscar for BUtterfield 8.
 * Another time (January 4, 2000), Bob Goen gave a clue about Edd Byrnes for a "TV Pilots" category, mentioning both of their connections to Wheel in the process; perhaps coincidentally, the episode aired two days before Wheel's 35th Anniversary.
 * During another game (February 2, 2012), Vanna demonstrated a clue about "planking" in front of the puzzle board.
 * For the "World Cities" category on April 2, 2013, Vanna gave the $800 clue about Ocho Rios in Jamaica; the clue itself was most likely taped while Wheel was taping the Sandals Resort Week shows, as the resort is located in Jamaica.
 * On July 1, 2013, the first category of the game was "Armed Forces Radio with Pat Sajak". Appropriately, Pat's voice was recorded and each clue was displayed as normal.

Goen also played on Rock & Roll Jeopardy! (September 18, 1999) for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Chicago, during which his Wheel connection was mentioned.

The King of Queens
"Inner Tube" (aired February 26, 2001) had among its dream sequences a brief bit of Wheel with Arthur ($666), Carrie ($3,500), and Doug ($1). Pat and Vanna appeared as themselves.

L.A. Law
"What did Shakespeare say, "kill all the downtown lawyers"?"

"Vowel Play" (aired November 29, 1990) is the only known example involving a host that is not Pat or a parody of him; instead, the subplot involves Bob Goen, Vanna, and Charlie O'Donnell (his only known appearance of this type).

Following the "previously on..." recap, a daytime Wheel episode begins complete with "From Television City in Hollywood" opening spiel. Round 1 (Phrase) is played with the Round 4 Wheel layout, and continues until Douglas Brackman Jr. (Alan Rachins) solves BALD IS BEAUTIFUL. The L.A. Law opening begins right afterward, and Vanna appears a few more times as part of the subplot.

While it is not known precisely when the Wheel segment was taped, the presence of the seven-digit contestant displays puts it somewhere after the taping of the July 23 episode. Interestingly, one element of this segment is a camera shot of the players applauding in front of the spinning Wheel, despite the fact that it had already stopped its automation; the shot was adopted on Wheel upon its return to NBC on January 14, 1991, with the logo dropped from that shot by March 11 (resulting in an exact match to the one seen in L.A. Law).

Lexus
"...and one that embraces change."

A 2008 series of commercials for the car company's then-new line of hybrid models showed various places the letter "H" vacated in favor of the car models' tags. One of these was Wheel, using the then-current set and a puzzle of _APPY BIRT_DAY. Neither Pat nor Vanna are present, their positions blocked from view by a staffer and another contestant, respectively.

The concept, however, falls flat due to the contestant (Andrea) trying to solve immediately after spinning, a move which is against the rules (although it had been allowed as late as mid-1987) and would hence merit the buzzer that plays afterward; the fact she was African-American resulted in several YouTube users jokingly claiming she said "birfday".

Strangely, unlike other appearances that used the top dollar value, the space landed on is not $5,000 but rather the nearby blue $600.

Promos
Several times, Wheel appeared in a fictional manner in its own promos (officially called "mini-movies") beginning in 1985:

Probably the most famous one begins with a male contestant named Harvey spinning the Wheel during Round 3; after he lands on $5,000, the scene cuts to the aftermath of his appearance: a large parade in his hometown, with one float containing the prizes he had purchased during the game. Harvey's son remarks that "You won all those things too, dad?", after which the scene cuts to Harvey right after solving the bonus puzzle WINNER TAKES ALL and the song mentions how he "reached for it all, and you got it". The parade continues, now showing Vanna on a float with a faux (and very low-value) Wheel layout (seen here) spinning behind her, and Pat is seen on the sidelines of the parade holding a young girl. Towards the end, Pat says "Dinner at your place, Harv?" before the two-row Wheel logo (believed to be its first use) appears, followed by the tagline "Wheel of Fortune: whose life will it change...tonight?"

According to the 1987 book Wheel of Fortune by David R. Sams and Robert L. Shook, the parade was held in Nelsonville, Ohio on July 6, 1985, with Haskell Wexler hired to direct filming of the event.

Another "mini-movie", made after King World successfully increased its audience of women 18-34 in 1985, begins with a young woman in a bikini relaxing on a boat. A man with a French accent asks her how she got to where she is, to which the scene goes to the woman just after solving the bonus puzzle BOB HOPE, followed by Pat noting that the prize ("the trip of a lifetime") "might just change your life". The promo suggests that winning on Wheel was why she was noticed by the Frenchman, although a few YouTube comments indicate that she didn't need that to be hit on.

Very brief clips of the "Harvey" mini-movie appeared on the ceremonial 3,000th nighttime episode in 1998.

Santa Barbara
An episode aired May 12,﻿ 1988 had Gina Lockbridge (Robin Mattson) solving the rather appropriate bonus puzzle BLACKMAIL (Thing, having chosen BKLNRI) just ahead of the buzzer, winning a grand total of $55,700. Her husband, shortly after hugging Vanna, gets pinched by Gina's earring.

It is not certain which version this was intended to be, partly since the Wheel is not seen clearly; the fact that both Santa Barbara and Wheel were on NBC at the time points to the daytime show and a large Jackpot win, but the lack of a stated prize and no shots of center stage suggest the nighttime show and a $25,000 win. No announcer speaks or is shown, which may suggest it having been done after Jack Clark became too ill to continue working.

Ten at 10:00
A promo made during the 2005-06 season for CBS-58 (WDJT-TV Milwaukee)'s newscast, with a contestant solving the puzzle FIRST ALERT WEATHER in the category Ten at 10:00. Pat and Vanna appeared as themselves, and the 1997 "Changing Keys" plays throughout. The audience chant used is similar to the usual, but with a higher-pitched audience.

Other WDJT promos during the same timeframe involved Family Feud (twice), Jeopardy! (once), and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (also once).