Wheel of Fortune timeline (syndicated)/Season 20

Go back to Season 19, or forward to Season 21?

A timeline for Season 20 of Wheel of Fortune, which aired in first-run from September 2, 2002 through May 30, 2003.

Season Changes

 * The Wheel is slightly altered again:
 * The second Bankrupt in Round 3 moves to the purple $600 next to $3,500.
 * The Gift Tag moves to $700.
 * The $10,000 prize is moved again, to Round 1 on the orange $800.
 * The Round 3 Prize is again retired.
 * The pegs are changed to shorter, bronze-colored ones. Perhaps as a result, the Wheel is now slightly looser than in Seasons 17-19.
 * The Mystery Wedges debut in Round 3, worth $500 per letter if not flipped over. They are initially located over the green $500 and the orange-yellow $500. If one is landed on, a synthesized chord and "tinkle" effect sound.
 * The long-standing practice of generally using a very short puzzle in Round 1 seems to disappear around this point. One-line puzzles generally stop appearing in the main game at all, except when a short final round is needed.
 * Both puzzle-solve cues are changed, with the main cue extending the final note from the Toss-Up cue.
 * A second music bed is added to the Bonus Round, between the end of the Bonus Wheel music bed and the start of the timer.
 * As of this season, almost all Wheel Prizes are trips, cash awards, or credit towards purchases from a certain company.
 * The eggcrate score displays are replaced with computer-generated panel displays. These displays are colored the same as the respective arrows below them, with an "embossed" texture of the Bankrupt-$600-$400-$300-Lose A Turn section of the Wheel as a background. Scores are displayed in a white Impact font. Whenever a score is altered, it swivels as it morphs to the new score. If a contestant hits Bankrupt or Lose A Turn, those words are shown on the display (in the color scheme of the wedge) for a few seconds. At the start of each show, the scoreboards each show one word in the show's title; upon the first letter being revealed in the $1,000 Toss-Up, they disappear via an "explosion" graphic.
 * Possibly in relation to the score display change, the scoreboard frames now remain off regardless of turn, although the contestant arrows below still blink.
 * The extra cash amounts added to the Bonus Wheel for Big Money Week in February 2002 become permanent. When they are described by Charlie leading out of the final round, there is an animation of the Bonus Wheel slowly spinning, as each amount's envelope flies out and opens revealing the new values. After the $50,000 envelope opens, the camera cuts to center stage for the announcement of the $100,000 cash prize. This lasts until at least the end of Season 23. The bonus round win graphics for cash prizes ranging from $30,000 to $50,000 are like the $25,000 win graphic first used last season. Also, in early episodes of this season, the bonus round cash spiel is "How's this for cash, you could win anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000, or course, the big $100,000!". The spiel was later chaged to "There's lots of reasons to win cash, from $25,000 to $50,000, or you could spin and win $100,000!"
 * Contestants who finish with $0 are now given $500 cash instead of parting gifts, to alleviate the cost of travel.
 * The opening is now blue rings in a reddish background, forming a maroon version of the two-row logo. Once it's complete, the "Wheel! Of! Fortune!" chant is heard. The logo then zooms up to the Wheel-shaped "O" in "of" to cut to the studio. Sometimes the logo has the accompanying text "20th Anniversary" below it, similar to the bug (see below).
 * For this season only, the shot during the intro starts at a "20th Anniversary" monitor hanging over the middle of the audience.
 * "Happy Wheels" is given a new rearrangement which samples the first few bars from the 1997 "Changing Keys".
 * The category strips are a purple rectangle with a green line at the top and bottom, with very narrow white letters.
 * For this season only, the category strip in the Bonus Round flies onscreen with a "whoosh" sound effect, and RSTLNE spins onscreen one letter at a time.
 * For this season only, there is a "20th Anniversary" bug on-screen. The same logo also spins onscreen to form the contestant window in the Bonus Round.
 * All sixth episodes this season retain the name of their respective weeks. Also, beginning this season, the last week of the season is always composed of sixth episodes.
 * If a contestant has friends and/or family members in the audience, they are now shown standing at the front of the audience before the Bonus Round.
 * Fill In the Blank is retired by the start of the season.
 * On an episode likely from this season, one round has a puzzle of I'D LIKE TO SOLVE THE PUZZLE.
 * On an episode sometime this season, Vanna brings out Giovanna in the final segment.

September 2002

 * For the first few weeks of the Mystery Round's existence:
 * During the Round 2 outro, Charlie announces, "The all-new Mystery Round is full of surprises, and it's coming up next!"
 * Charlie's original spiel at the start of the round is "The Mystery Round: it's all or nothing. What's on the other side of the Mystery Wedge? It could be a Bankrupt..." followed by a phrase that varies from day to day, then the name and value of the prize. An animation of the Wheel stopping, followed by both wedges dropping onto the Wheel, appears as Charlie says the first sentence; as he says "Bankrupt", the right one flips over to reveal a Bankrupt and the slide whistle sounds. A spinning silver question mark then wipes to a graphic of the prize as its value appears.
 * When Pat describes the Mystery Wedges, a unique low-angle shot of the Wheel is used, panning from one wedge to the other.
 * If a contestant flips over a Mystery Wedge, Pat flips over the other one at the end of the round (sometimes spinning the Wheel backwards to do so). However, he does not do this on September 2.
 * On September 2:
 * The Gift Tag is accidentally placed on the red $800. It stays that way for Round 2, only slightly moved to the left to make room for the Prize wedge.
 * There are two sets of duplicate categories: the $2,000 Toss-Up and Round 2 are Phrase, while the $3,000 Toss-Up and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * The very first Mystery Wedge is flipped. The other side is Bankrupt.
 * In Round 3, after contestant Kelly hits Bankrupt and uses her Free Spin, the overhead shot of the following spin is obviously dubbed in: not only does the shot show the red arrow instead of the yellow, but the $10,000 Wedge and a different Gift Tag (on the red $900) are visible.
 * September 9 is Las Vegas Week, taped in Culver City.
 * On September 9:
 * There is a Jackpot win.
 * There is a $100,000 loss.
 * On September 10:
 * Charlie's post-Round 2 announcement of the Mystery Round is edited out.
 * A contestant mispronounces "jalapeño" as "jalapeña" when solving the Speed-Up puzzle JALAPENO AND DR PEPPER, but is ruled correct after an edit. This is also the second known instance since Season 7 of Same Name spelling out AND.
 * Pat and Vanna do not sign off. This and the lack of post-Round 2 announcement are likely due to the episode running overtime.
 * On September 13:
 * The Gift Tag is on the red $900.
 * There is an edit at the start of Round 1, as Kristen's first spin is heading for Bankrupt but the close-up shows her landing in the center of the $10,000 Wedge instead; the edit is made more obvious in that she calls a correct letter to claim the wedge, which she proceeds to win. It is likely that a "null" cycle was edited out.
 * David spins the Wheel just after the Final Spin bells sound. He is allowed to complete his turn, and Pat does the Final Spin immediately afterward.
 * Wendy accidentally calls L in the Bonus Round, although Pat does not realize this until after she has called a vowel. When prompted for a third consonant, she accidentally calls M a second time before picking C.
 * The bonus puzzle has a redundant A at the beginning (A SPOKESMAN).
 * As of September 13 (and including the weeks of November 4-18):
 * The Bonus Round timer cue sounds the same as it did on December 10, 2001.
 * Before & After and Same Name, and puzzles on more than two lines of the puzzle board may still be used after Round 3; in this case, a three line Same Name of MARTIAL & CULINARY ARTS.
 * On September 16, Donny Osmond makes a cameo after the puzzle TV GAME SHOW HOST to promote the debut of Pyramid.
 * Beginning September 16, Wheel, Jeopardy!, and other shows previously produced by Columbia TriStar Television are now produced by Sony Pictures Television.
 * Season 20 starts with 13 consecutive Bonus Round losses, the longest known losing streak until May 2013.
 * On September 24, contestant Lee wins $3,250 in Round 4, but his scoreboard displays $10,250, which Pat says is his total for the round. This scoring error is likely due to a higher amount being added to his score than he should have gotten after a correct letter, and no acknowledgement is made of it in any way.
 * On September 27:
 * Rhyme Time makes its second known appearance in the Bonus Round; contestant Sharon's letters fill in the answer FINE WINE completely.
 * Charlie joins Pat and Vanna in the closing segment.
 * September 30 is Florida Week, taped in Culver City.
 * An episode sometime around this point has the only known aired instance of nobody even ringing in on a Toss-Up (specifically, a $3,000 Toss-Up of WHAT A RELIEF); if any subsequent instances occurred, they were likely edited out and replaced with new Toss-Ups, as this is confirmed to have been done on a Season 31 episode.

October 2002

 * For a short stretch around this point, many bonus puzzles consisting of two or more words begin displaying on only one line; this seems to stop around December.
 * October 1 begins the Play! Watch! Win! Sweepstakes, which lasts until December 31. During this period, viewers may submit each day's bonus puzzle on the show's website. The grand prize is a trip for two to Los Angeles with $1,000 spending cash and a chance to audition.
 * Also starting in October, the show begins sporadically doing "Wheel Changes Lives" in the closing segment, in which Pat and Vanna read letters from former contestants.
 * By October 7 (excluding the weeks of November 4-18):
 * Charlie's post-Round 2 introduction of the Mystery Round is accompanied by footage of contestants removing the wedges from the Wheel. This footage is displayed on the monitor in the middle of the audience except on the Seattle shows, where it is shown against a sparkling background.
 * The Bonus Round timer cue is modified slightly. This is the last modification until it is replaced in February 2007.
 * October 7 is the last European Vacation Week (or EuroTour, as in this edition) until Season 24.
 * On October 7:
 * Pat forgets to ask Jason who he has in the audience until the answer to the bonus puzzle is revealed.
 * Oddly, the correct letter ding sounds after the contestant pulls the envelope from the Bonus Wheel.
 * There is a $100,000 loss.
 * October 21 is Wheel Takes Manhattan, taped in Culver City.
 * On October 23:
 * In Round 1, Pat forgets to ask contestant LaMar if he wants to use his Free Spin after a wrong letter, even though he picked it up only one turn prior; he uses it in Round 2 without being prompted.
 * Both Rounds 1 and 2 are completely filled in before being solved.
 * Against normal practice, the buzzer sounds after a wrong answer in Round 2.
 * After the wrong answer, the next shot of the board appears to have been added in post-production, as the D's that were called on the previous turn are absent from the puzzle QUIET PLEASE STACKS DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM in that shot only.
 * After contestant Dawn solves Round 2's Where Are We? puzzle for $300, her score is not bumped up to the house minimum before she is asked to identify what the puzzle describes; it is not known if this was normal practice by this point, or a one-time error. This does not affect the outcome, as Dawn wins regardless.
 * Round 4 is an unusually short answer of HENNY PENNY, suggesting that Rounds 1-3 ran overtime. This is a rare instance of a puzzle with only one vowel.
 * Eight consecutive wrong letters are called in the Speed-Up, including a repeated C and an R that Pat incorrectly acknowledges as a repeat. Altogether, 10 wrong letters are called.
 * Also against normal practice, the "only vowels remain" beeps sound immediately after the last consonant is called in the Speed-Up. This also leads to a rare instance of a contestant losing their turn in the Speed-Up with only vowels remaining; with only the E's missing, LaMar gives a wrong answer and Dawn solves, both without calling a letter first.
 * October 28 is Halloween Week.
 * On October 31, a contestant loses $27,850 to Bankrupt.

November 2002

 * The weeks of November 4-18 are taped at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle. The intro includes shots of the Space Needle when it had the Wheel painted on its top in 1996 in honor of the show's last trip to Seattle.
 * On November 4, contestant Ashley wins two cars: a Ford from the Mystery Wedge, and a Mercedes in the Bonus Round.
 * Sometime between November 4 and 7, the close-up shot of the Mystery Wedges is removed: the former episode uses it, but the latter does not, suggesting that the use of such a shot on the 4th was a fluke.
 * Sometime around this point, the show generally stops using Same Name, Before & After, or any other puzzle requiring three or more lines in Rounds 4+, with a single known exception in early Season 22.
 * On November 8:
 * Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
 * Three females play.
 * November 11 is College Week. During this week:
 * The University of Washington marching band plays music bumpers.
 * All of the trips are sponsored by American Airlines.
 * On November 11:
 * The Round 3 puzzle JAMES TAYLOR'S YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND is on the second through fourth rows of the board, which is normally done only if the first word of the puzzle does not fit on the top row.
 * The $1,000 Toss-Up is Thing, and Round 4 is Things.
 * On November 12, a contestant solves the bonus puzzle WAKE UP with only the E and P showing.
 * On November 13, $3,500 is accidentally placed on the Wheel for Round 1.
 * On November 14:
 * Round 3 is the third known instance since Season 7 of Same Name spelling out AND. Oddly, Round 2 uses an ampersand even though AND still could have fit on the board (WEEKEND UPDATE ANCHORS JIMMY FALLON & TINA FEY).
 * Round 4 (U.S. POSTAL SERVICE) is the first known instance of Proper Name being used for something other than a famous person.
 * November 18 is Family Week.Gift_Tag_on_$350.png
 * On November 21, the Gift Tag comes loose and covers the dollar sign on $350. This is corrected in Round 2, so the placement of the Prize wedge is not affected.
 * On November 27 and 28, for the first known time, two contestants in a row get no help from their Bonus Round letters.
 * On November 29, a contestant (who does not solve the bonus puzzle) misses the $100,000 by one envelope.

December 2002

 * December 2 is Family Week, despite there having been one just two weeks before in Seattle. This one is called Family Vacations, and has the Universal Studios Orlando background, similar to the week of May 22, 2000. This Family Week has a sixth episode. It was originally scheduled for the week of December 30, but rescheduled to avoid being pre-empted by the Rose Bowl on ABC affiliates.
 * By December 2, Charlie no longer does the additional Mystery Round announcement after Round 2. This is likely the point at which Pat stops revealing the other Mystery Wedge if one has been flipped over.
 * On December 3:
 * The $2,000 Toss-Up is Things, and the $3,000 Toss-Up is Thing.
 * No vowels are bought in Rounds 1 or 4.
 * Round 5 is TEENAGERS, a now-rare instance of a maingame puzzle shorter than 10 letters.
 * The contestant window in the Bonus Round does not appear until Vanna starts revealing the letters that the contestants called.
 * On December 4:
 * There is an unusual edit after contestants Ray and Matthew buy a repeated I in Round 3. It is likely that Pat did not acknowledge it as a repeat, and this error was edited out.
 * The $3,000 Toss-Up is HAPPY NEW YEAR despite airing nearly a month before New Year's, indicative of the fact that the episode would have originally aired on New Year's Day before rescheduling.
 * Contestants Bonnie and Karen sweep the game and win $100,000 in the Bonus Round, solving a record nine puzzles. It would take until March 20, 2017 before anyone else did it again. This is believed to be the first sweep since the introduction of Toss-Ups.
 * On December 5:
 * Round 4 and Bonus Round are On the Map.
 * Round 4 is an unusually short answer of INDONESIA, one of the only known puzzles since Season 19 to be shorter than 10 letters; it is not known why this was done, as Rounds 1-3 did not run extremely long and a fifth round was played.
 * The right-letter ding does not sound when the R (the only letter provided by RSTLNE) is revealed in the bonus puzzle.
 * On December 6:
 * Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
 * Pat accidentally begins to throw to commercial after Round 1, but catches himself.
 * There is a $12,100 Jackpot win.
 * For the first of only two known times, a contestant or team is asked to be more specific when answering a bonus category's question. After the Round 3 Where Are We? puzzle COLUMNS HONEST ABE NATION'S CAPITAL, they guess Washington, D.C.; upon being asked to be more specific, they do not provide the right answer of the Lincoln Memorial.
 * On December 12:
 * Vanna wears a sleeveless shirt and pants.
 * Rene solves the Speed-Up puzzle TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT just after the buzzer, after which Bea calls a letter and solves. Pat then tells the contestants that the scores are tentative because they need to check the tape in regards to Rene. After the commercial break, it is determined that Rene was beaten by the buzzer, so Bea is present in the Bonus Round.
 * There is a $100,000 loss.
 * On December 13:
 * In Round 2, there appears to be an edit after contestant Meer calls a repeated N, possibly suggesting that his call was initially misheard as M; against precedent, the buzzer (likely added in post-production) sounds afterward.
 * There is a $7,500 Jackpot win.
 * On December 27:
 * The $2,000 Toss-Up is SPIN TO WIN.
 * The Gift Tag is a one-year membership to 24 Hour Fitness.
 * Both Rounds 1 and 2 are completely filled in before being solved.
 * Rounds 2 through 4 are Christmas-themed, despite the episode airing after Christmas; this would suggest that this week was moved forward to compensate for the Family Week originally slated to air this week being moved backward.
 * As of December 27:
 * Charlie's Mystery Round copy is still the same as it was at the start of the season.
 * The camera shot of the board during the Bonus Round is still static.
 * December 30 is San Francisco Week, taped in Culver City.
 * Sometime during the week of December 30, a contestant solves KELSEY GRAMMER AS DR. FRASIER CRANE with only the R's and S's revealed.
 * On December 30, there is a $100,000 loss.

January 2003

 * Sometime this year, possibly during Sweethearts Week in February, Michelle Stafford and Peter Bergman make guest appearances.
 * January 6 is NFL Players Week.
 * January 13 is the first Big Money Week to occur only once in a season.
 * On January 14:
 * The "only vowels remain" beeps sound twice in Round 3.
 * There is a $100,000 loss.
 * Likely by January 20 (known to be by January 24), the beginning of the Mystery Round spiel changes to "If you land on a Mystery Wedge, what will you do? One of the wedges is a Bankrupt." The last sentence still varies from day to day, and the animation is unchanged.
 * Possibly at this point, and definitely by February 3, the camera shot is changed slightly in the Bonus Round: rather than a static shot of the board when the category is revealed, the camera now slowly zooms in on the board until the timer starts. By the time the shot stops zooming in, the extra monitors in the middle two rows are cut off as usual.
 * On January 23, a contestant solves the bonus puzzle BLACKBIRD while Vanna is still revealing the letters that he called. Newwheel.jpg
 * Most likely on January 27 (known to be after the Mystery Round spiel changes), Lose A Turn and all of the three-digit cash wedges are changed to variants of Clarendon. The lettering on Lose A Turn is placed higher than before, with "LOSE" almost touching the Wheel's rim.
 * By this week or February 3, the permanent Bankrupt wedge now uses smaller text. The second Bankrupt is not altered to match until Season 24.
 * January 27 is Teen Best Friends Week. Starting this week, the house minimum and consolation prize for two-person teams are increased to $1,000.
 * On January 27, there is a $7,000 Jackpot win.

February 2003

 * The weeks of February 3-17 are taped at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
 * By February 3, the "LOSE" on Lose A Turn moves back down to roughly the same position it had been before the font change.
 * On February 3:
 * In Round 3, contestant Eric calls the last consonant in the puzzle on the Mystery Wedge, and the "only vowels remain" beeps sound before he is asked whether he wants to flip the wedge.
 * Eric wins two cars: a Hyundai in the Mystery Round, and a Chevy Impala in the Bonus Round. This does not happen again until February 2012.
 * The second-place contestant has $18,455.
 * Eric's letters fill in the bonus puzzle SNOWPLOW completely.
 * On February 5, the Prize is a $3,500 Visa gift card.
 * All five Bonus Rounds are won on the week of February 3.
 * February 10 is Sweethearts Week, and the last Hershey's Pot of Gold sweepstakes. Prizes include five Mercedes SLKs; trips to Paris, the Mexican Riviera, and Hawaii; a Sony plasma TV; and Hershey's gift baskets. As before, the sweepstakes form is found in Sunday, February 9's newspaper or online.
 * On February 13, a couple sweeps the game and wins a pair of Mercedes SLKs in the Bonus Round.
 * February 17 is the first Country Music Stars Week, with teams consisting of a contestant and a country music singer. The singers are Wynonna Judd, George Jones, and Alison Krauss on Monday; Lorrie Morgan, Darryl Worley, and Mark Wills on Tuesday; Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Charley Pride, and Richie McDonald (of Lonestar) on Wednesday; Ricky Skaggs, Brenda Lee, and Joe Nichols on Thursday; and Barbara Mandrell, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Pam Tillis on Friday.
 * On February 17:
 * Steve Azar makes a guest appearance.
 * Alison Krauss and her teammate solve the bonus puzzle BOOKWORM with only the R and M revealed.
 * On February 20, six consecutive wrong letters are called in the Speed-Up.
 * On February 21, there is a $100,000 loss.

March 2003

 * The Wheel Watchers Club, a rewards program where viewers can earn points by watching the show and exchange them for prizes, debuts early this month. It is powered by My Sony, which later becomes the current Sony Rewards.
 * On March 6, the bonus puzzle is a redundant answer of CHURCH HYMN.
 * On March 13:
 * Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
 * For the only known time, the Mystery Prize is a trip: specifically, a $16,310 Mediterranean cruise.
 * Round 3 is the third of only four known intances of a "bonus" category's question being multiple-choice: after the Slogan puzzle THE CLEAR ALTERNATIVE TO CELLULAR, Pat asks Mimi whether it is the slogan of Cingular, AT&T, or Sprint PCS, and she gives the right answer of Sprint PCS.
 * The game ends in a tie, which is broken by a fourth Toss-Up without cash value. This also creates the first known instance in the 2000s of a category appearing three times in one episode: Round 3 is Thing, while the tiebreaker Toss-Up and Bonus Round are Things.
 * During the week of March 17 (Bahamas Week), the floor is blue.
 * On March 17:
 * For the second of only two known times, there are three sets of duplicate categories: the $1,000 and $3,000 Toss-Ups are Around the House; Round 1 is Things, while Round 5 is Thing; and Round 2 and the Bonus Round are Fictional Characters.
 * There is an edit at the start of Round 1, as Mollie's first spin is heading for Bankrupt, but the close-up shows her landing on the pink $300 between $400 and $900 instead. It is possible that a "null" cycle was edited out.
 * Round 2 is also an abnormally short answer (MR. ROARKE & TATTOO).
 * There is a $6,250 Jackpot win. Interestingly, it comes with only vowels remaining, and is the only money won by the contestant in that round.
 * The chord/tinkle effect does not sound when Janice hits a Mystery Wedge in Round 3.
 * On March 18:
 * The Gift Tag is erroneously placed on $350; however, it is picked up in Round 1, so the location of the Wheel Prize is not affected.
 * During Round 2, an overhead shot of a spin is obviously edited in, as it shows a Gift Tag on $700.
 * There is a $9,000 Jackpot win.
 * Although a repeated H is called in Round 3, it is not acknowledged as such.
 * After the Bonus Round is lost, Pat forgets to open the envelope.
 * On March 20:
 * The $2,000 Toss-Up and Bonus Round are On the Map.
 * There is a $7,350 Jackpot win.
 * Christi solves the bonus puzzle HAMBURG with only the M and R showing.
 * On March 21, the Who Is It? puzzle SHE JUST WON A SEVENTH U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIP (Michelle Kwan) may be the longest puzzle ever used on the show in terms of overall spaces, as it uses 47 of the 52 spaces. In terms of letters used, it is only the second-longest known answer, as a 46-letter puzzle appears in October 2007.
 * March 24 is Hawaii Week, taped in Culver City.
 * On March 27, there is a $100,000 loss.

April 2003

 * April 7 is NASCAR Week.
 * On April 9, contestant Janice sweeps the game but loses a Dodge Intrepid in the Bonus Round.
 * On April 15, for only the third known time, a contestant solves incorrectly on the Jackpot wedge.
 * April 21 is Salute to Chicago Week, taped in Culver City. Various set pieces used during the show's visit to Chicago the season before are used this week.
 * April 24 begins a 20 Cars in 20 Days sweepstakes in honor of the nighttime version's 20th season. Home viewers can enter each week's bonus puzzle on the show's website, or via postcard, for a chance to win one of 20 different Lincoln or Mercury cars. This is promoted each day before the Mystery Round.
 * On April 24:
 * There is a $10,800 Jackpot win.
 * Round 3 is a Before & After of THE LAND OF THE FREE SPIN. Coincidentally, it is solved by Amy who uses the Free Spin in that round.
 * There is a $100,000 win. Contestant Byron solves JOCKEY with only the O and E revealed.
 * The weeks of April 28-May 12 are taped at the San Diego Convention Center. During these weeks: Wheel_of_Fortune_2003.jpg
 * The gold frames are inexplicably absent from the top and sides of the board, leaving only the bottom frames.
 * The floor is blue.
 * The second sentence of the Mystery Round spiel changes again to "One of the wedges - you're Bankrupt."
 * On April 29:
 * For the first known time, a contestant (Lori Ann) wins the Mystery Round with only the Mystery prize.
 * John solves the Round 4 puzzle SANFORD AND SON with only the S's revealed.
 * On April 30:
 * Three females play.
 * There is a $100,000 loss.

May 2003

 * On May 1, contestant Kara accidentally breaks her buzzer after the $2,000 Toss-Up by jumping in celebration while holding it. It is fixed in time for the $3,000 Toss-Up.
 * May 5 is Armed Forces Week.
 * On May 5, the yellow contestant starts the Jackpot Round with a wrong letter on the Prize wedge, but $3,000 is showing on her scoreboard. After control returns to her, she lands on the Prize wedge again, calls a correct letter, then buys an A; however, she later hits Bankrupt. This scoring error is likely due to her earlier round winnings not being "cleared", and it does not appear to have been acknowledged in any way.
 * May 12 is College Week.
 * On an episode sometime this week, contestant Sarah mentions that her mother won a trip on the show in 1977, which resulted in her marriage and Sarah's birth.
 * May 19 is Wheel Goes to the Movies. During this week, the Round 2 Prize copy is preceded by a movie trailer.
 * On May 20:
 * During the Round 2 Prize copy, an onscreen caption misspells the name of the Beverly Wilshire hotel as "Bevery".
 * The Round 2 puzzle MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU is inexplicably categorized as Phrase instead of Quotation.
 * Rounds 2, 4, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * None of the puzzles (including the Bonus Round) have an S in them.
 * Pat forgets to ask who Jason has in the audience until after opening the bonus envelope.
 * After the Bonus Round is not solved, Pat accidentally holds the envelope toward himself when announcing its contents. Near the end of the segment, he reopens the envelope so that it can be seen by the camera.
 * On May 21:
 * The winning contestant has only $5,500 before the Bonus Round.
 * There is a $100,000 win.