User:Daniel Benfield/Nighttime Video Archive/Seasons 31-Present

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Season 31 (2013-14)
September 16, 2013 - June 13, 2014

The logo again returns to the traditional style, although the Wheel inside the logo is removed and the words "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" are placed on a Wheel consisting of colored wedges (in orange, purple, green, red, yellow, and blue) with "OF" in the center and the dots on the sides (all inside the Wheel, of course). It somewhat resembles the long-gone overhead logo shot, which I loved, so kudos for reminding me of the 1974 style; opposite-of-kudos for removing the Wheel in the center, though the "classic" traditional logo is still present on the generic set.

The regular intro is actually pretty decent for the first time since Season 28 – the sequence begins at a cityscape with an amusement park (including a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster), with searchlights crisscrossing in the background. As the camera travels, the building lights turn on as Jim says "From the Sony Pictures Studios, it's America's Game...", after which the graphics fade into a CGI Sony Pictures Studios complex, right through the open gates (with a photo of Pat, Vanna, and the two-row logo on both sides). The complex's lights turn on as the camera travels in on a video screen showing the logo in the back. After the chant, the logo zooms in on the "O" in "of" as Jim says "Ladies and gentlemen, here are the stars of our show: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"

The Wheel is altered again: the purple $550 becomes $500, the Million-Dollar Wedge moves to the pink $500, and the Gift Tag moves from said wedge to the aforementioned purple $500...oh, and the Jackpot is retired because it had an unusually-high season last year and something had to be done after that $1,000,000 win – of course, it wasn't going to be "lower the top prize", although in fairness I think Friedman knows he can't touch said top prize because it'd make the show look cheap. Way too late for that, but hey...

Alternately, if the New York shows were any indication, Harry should actually get insurance for said Million this time. Not having that goes beyond Thunderdome inane and into "Dafuq are you thinking?!" territory.

Still, the Express debuts and it's a pretty good idea (and the complete opposite of "saving money") except for being in Round 3...which is still Trip pin' Puzzle territory, leading to some fans (including myself) noting that an Express win is immediately overshadowed by "ooh look a trip".

$5K Every Day Plus continues from the Summer (minus the Secret Santa shows, for obvious reasons), with the "Plus" being awarded if the winner is an active Sony Card holder – they get $10,000 instead. While I'm pretty sure that's also the opposite of "saving money", they evidently agreed with me because the "Plus" is removed on November 28 (the first show after Secret Santa).

Speaking of getting cheaper, the cash awarded with cars in the Bonus Round is dropped from $5,000 to $3,000 on November 25. Because Friedman has to save money somewhere.

Putting away the snark and negativity...long-time director Mark Corwin dies on July 25 due to cancer, and from what I gather it was a long battle; the two weeks recorded prior to this air September 30-October 4 and October 14-18, as originally scheduled, with the America's Game shows airing November 5 and 7. On September 4, Wheel puts a tribute into that day's repeat, replacing the original ending of May 29; while the tribute is great, I have my suspicions about why it was put into that particular repeat...

Jeopardy! director Kevin McCarthy fills in for the Vegas tapings (see below), with Wheel associate director Bob Cisneros filling in for the next two Culver City tapings and Jeopardy! technical director Robert Ennis Jr. doing the next three Culver City tapings. On November 19, 2013, the show announces that Cisneros is the new permanent director.

...But if they were "searching" for a new director, why stop after three candidates (all in-house) and only two months after the season began airing? I mean, Rich DiPirro isn't doing anything that I'm aware of these days...although given how he tried to be a Goodson person rather than a Fremantle one on The Price Is Right, he'd likely try to be a Griffin person rather than a Friedman one on Wheel...and Harry probably wouldn't like that.

February 24 marks a big change for the website, as the Wheel Watchers Club is no longer a separate site (thus taking out the 25th-Anniversary Moments Page and its Archive). In addition, the 404 page is updated with the same "PAGE NOT FOUND" puzzle, but with the "Spin Again!" category replaced with a "Back to Home" button; the background is changed to match the current set, as is Vanna's appearance (she's no longer standing next to the puzzle board).

The show celebrates its 6,000th nighttime episode with a week-long celebration, full of retro clips and the heartwarming return of "Changing Keys"...except the week comes three weeks after the actual 6,000th show on April 11 (which was acknowledged on said day). Regardless, the montages go N/A-#1,000-"#3,000"-#2,000-"#4,000"...and no, that's not a typo – that's the actual taping order, which also omits #5,000 entirely. The week is also notable for several other events: the upping of the top value from $5,000 to $6,000, the appearance of Buy A Vowel (BAV) moderator Josh Woo, and the appearance of special-needs contestant Trent who warms the internet's hearts and gets Pat to admit on-air for the first time in decades that Megaword (and, during the host chat, Foreign Phrase) sucked. :P

Oh, and that drought between July 2009 and March 2010 where the show went 131 episodes without anybody landing on either Big One ($100,000/Million) in the Bonus Round? Yeah, it got worse this season – between June 2013 and May 2014, we went 182 shows without such a landing. And given known news about Season 32, it seems like things are going to get better solely because the confetti hasn't been fired in so long.

New/Returning Categories: N/A as of yet.

Retired Categories: N/A as of yet.

Road Shows: The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas, Nevada (September 16-27, October 21-25, December 30-January 3, February 10-21).

GSN Repeat Dates: N/A as of yet.

2013


 * September 17, 2013 (#S-5852/Season Premiere from The Venetian, Day 2: Paul/Luis/Melissa, with the CORNO CURRO CABINET missolve that sent most of the general public into RAEG! mode because they {and the media} didn't bother to read the rules {"Paul got screwed! He should sue Wheel! Give him his million bucks!", etc.} and the first "Express ride"; begins during Round 1, middle of Round 2 skipped)
 * September 30, 2013 (#S-5861/Teachers' Week, Day 1: Casandra/Daniel/Navinka; clip of the regular S31 opening, its debut)
 * October 11, 2013 (#S-5870/Southern Hospitality, Finale: Sherri/Jesse/Joy; intro and Round 1, plus a clip of a pointless Mystery Wedge choice due to a record number of consonants {alternate copy of the Mystery Wedge choice, albeit 33 seconds shorter})
 * October 14, 2013 (#S-5871/Weekend Getaways, Day 1: David/Cindy/Patrice, with a huge front game; begins during Round 2)


 * October 16, 2013 (#S-5873/Weekend Getaways, Day 3: Andrew/Susan/Angela)
 * October 24, 2013 (#S-5879/Las Vegas Vacation, Day 4: Rod/Shelley/Mary; clip of a Bonus Round where the win cue accidentally plays...and there's a really obvious edit)
 * November 8, 2013 (#S-5890/America's Game I, Finale {Home For The Holidays}: Adam/Renee/Trisha, with Pat breaking a Bonus Round envelope and Vanna announcing the winner {chosen randomly?!} of last season's Millionaire Maker Sweepstakes {alternate copy})
 * [The giant novelty check presented to the winner of said sweepstakes, very obviously designed for this event, still follows the first name-last initial format, leaving a lot of white space; the odd thing about this is that it looks like nearly all of the last name had White-Out applied in post.]


 * November 11, 2013 (#S-5891/Secret Santa Sweepstakes III, Day 1/Walmart Family Week, Day 1: Alexa & Niki/Kristina & Kathy/Serena & Alethea)
 * November 12, 2013 (#S-5892/Secret Santa Sweepstakes III, Day 2/Walmart Family Week, Day 2: Tanushka & Bina/Abbot & Drew/Kimberly & Nolan)
 * November 13, 2013 (#S-5893/Secret Santa Sweepstakes III, Day 3/Walmart Family Week, Day 3: Alissa & Sandra/Marva & Ken/Monique & Britany {alternate copy})
 * November 15, 2013 (#S-5895/Secret Santa Sweepstakes III, Day 5/Walmart Family Week, Finale: Simon & Rafael/Jillian & David/Yvonne & Pamela)
 * November 21, 2013 (#S-5899/Secret Santa Sweepstakes III, Day 9: Jason/Rebecca/Jessica; clip of Round 1 with a lost turn edited out for no reason, with captions)

"Plus" element removed from $5K Every Day; cash bonus with Bonus Round cars dropped to $3,000


 * November 28, 2013 (#S-5904/Home For The Holidays, Day 1: Andy/Danielle/Meagan, with no Secret Santa or Walmart stuff because hey, who's gonna watch these shows and who's gonna notice/care that we just dropped our gimmicks unannounced halfway through a taping day? {Hint: They've seen this Wiki, so they really should know better than that!}; no $5K Every Day drawing, host chat, or fee plugs, ends during Merv's credit)
 * December 6, 2013 (#S-5910/Wheel Salutes Our Military, Finale: Joe/Jen/Jordon {alternate copy})


 * December 9, 2013 (#S-5911/Disney Cruise Week, Day 1: Jill & Larry/Jake & Rebecca/Eileen & Dave)
 * December 10, 2013 (#S-5912/Disney Cruise Week, Day 2: Dennis & Mary Jo/Ghamma & Kurt/Tiffany & Shannon)
 * December 11, 2013 (#S-5913/Disney Cruise Week, Day 3: Elaine & George/Brooke & Noah/John & Mary Jo)
 * December 12, 2013 (#S-5914/Disney Cruise Week, Day 4: Brent & Linda/Jennifer & Ron/Brian & Christina)
 * December 13, 2013 (#S-5915/Disney Cruise Week, Finale: Kelly & Justin/Juanita & Richard/Marilyn & John)
 * December 20, 2013 (#S-5920/Wheel Around the World, Finale: Danielle/Dan/Krista, full Round 4 Speed-Up with twelve wrong letters {none edited out} and four missolves; begins just after first call)
 * December 23, 2013 (#S-5921/Outdoor Adventures, Day 1: Crystal/Andrew/Wes, with Vanna telling a detailed story about losing a dental crown at the mall; taped from WABC)

''Note: All uploads from this point onward start at or during Jim's opening spiel and end after the Bonus Round. All ads, bumpers, the SPIN ID drawing, post-game chat, and credits are not present except where noted.''


 * December 24, 2013 (#S=5922/Outdoor Adventures, Day 2: Chris/Candace/Whitney)
 * December 26, 2013 (#S-5924/Outdoor Adventures, Day 4: Brian/Diane/Makida, with some awkward confusion over how to use the Wild Card followed by using it after a vowel purchase, a new rule for at least this season; begins at chant)

2014


 * January 17, 2014 (#S-5940/Always Great! Wheel & V8, Finale: Gretchen/Anne Marie/Rocco; full show)


 * February 27, 2014 (#S-5969/Spa Getaway, Day 4: Jeremy/Melody/Kelly; begins during Jim's opening spiel, ends after Bonus Round)


 * March 5, 2014 (#S-5973/European Vacation, Day 3: Ryan/Solmoz/Stephanie {alternate copy, begins at "It's America's Game!"})
 * March 6, 2014 (#S-5974/European Vacation, Day 4: Dan/Patti/Brook; full show)


 * March 13, 2014 (#S-5979/Beaches Resorts Family Week, Day 4: Joe & Melissa/Shawn & Annetta/Taylor & Belinda)
 * March 14, 2014 (#S-5980/Beaches Resorts Family Week, Finale: Beth & Lisa/Rico & Enrique/Kristen & Kimberly)


 * March 19, 2014 (#S-5983/America's Game III, Day 3 {European Vacation}: EMIL DE LEON!/Kendra/Charlene, with an amazing Bonus Round solve {NEW BABY BUGGY with just the NE!} that gave Wheel its most Internet fame yet...and by a BAV member, at that!)


 * March 26, 2014 (#S-5988/Girlfriend Getaways, Day 3: Shalonda & Heather/Ilana & Nicole/Kristin & Jessica)
 * [I'm just gonna say that this week feels awkward in the puzzle department. Similar to the weeks related to mothers and fathers, the puzzles relate to the stereotypes of "girlfriends" to the point of being embarrassing for some BAV users of both genders. Combine that with the fact that Friedman approves the puzzles that get used on-air, and I have to wonder if these tell more about him than I'd care to know.]
 * March 28, 2014 (#S-5990/Girlfriend Getaways, Finale: Danielle & Andrea/Maggie & Lauren/Amanda & Nikole; preceded by the end of the same day's Jeopardy! {Amy/Douglas/Julia}, ends after promotional plugs, includes commercials and captions)


 * April 23, 2014 (#S-6008/America's Game IV, Day 3 {College Week}: Symone/Jenna/Jake; begins during animated intro)
 * April 28, 2014 (#S-6011/Wheel 6000, Day 1: JOSH WOO/Rachel/Josh B., with a hilarious mis-solve in Round 3; full show)

Note: All uploads from this point onward now include at least part of the intro and end after the post-game chat, except where noted.


 * May 22, 2014 (#S-6030/Shop Your Way, Day 4: Mike/Amy/Sheila)
 * June 3, 2014 (#S-6037/America's Game V, Day 2 {Happy Mother's Day}: Debi/Jen/Kelly, with a really close finish)
 * June 11, 2014 (#S-6043/Happy Father's Day, Day 3: Corey/Chris/Ted)

Season 32 (2014-15)
September 15, 2014 - June 12, 2015

Last season, I said that Wheel only ever has one good idea per season and yet somehow bungles it. Last season, it was the Express...getting shoved in with the Trip Puzzle. This season...

Well, let's start with the positives: for one thing, the logo is mostly the same as Season 31 but now has a ring of lights around the logo. They're most likely meant to represent the spokes (which would be just outside the wedges), but I can't help but think of the short-lived "light ring" of 1975 and the overhead shots that used it.

The Mystery Wedges are now a brighter purple (at least something on the set's getting brighter...), while the nametags' font changes from Helvetica Black to Arial Black (most noticeable in the R's) with larger lettering for at least the shorter names. And the cash awarded with Bonus Round cars is restored to $5,000.

...So what's their one good idea this season? Increasing the Wheel amounts, even affecting the minimum for the first time in a while: the blue $350 is increased to $550 (and for the first time since mid-1986, outside of rug and turntable layouts, in a color other than purple), $400 upgrades to $700, the blue $300 doubles to $600, the orange $300 triples to $900, and $450 is upped to $650. See the problem? The minimum's now $500, sure, but there's still no $950 or regular four-digit values.

And vowels still cost $250. Sure, I'm all for tradition and sticking to it, but this is the wrong place to do so. Vowels were trivial as it was after the Wheel's minimum value became $250 – now it's just become silly!

Starting this season, calling the titular Same Letter in said category awards an extra $1,000...because it doesn't already award at least $1,000 with the new minimum? "Bonus" questions, Harry; we said "bring back the bonus questions", not "shove an arbitrary bonus into a category that doesn't need it".

Sick of seeing $30,000 pop up frequently in the Bonus Round? Well, now you'll be seeing $32,000 frequently because that's the new minimum. And it'll keep going up another $1,000 for each new season, probably becoming more $35,000 envelopes if Wheel manages to get that far.

...So explain to me again how "put more money into the show" means "put more money into the wrong places", Friedman.

On August 5, prior to the season, the official website stops awarding points to Wheel Watchers Club members who solve the daily Bonus Round puzzles. The site FAQ claims that they're discontinuing this as part of something better for members, although based on the other changes this season I'm doubting it'll be "better"...or existent.

Still, on a more positive note, Secret Santa IV was actually in December, possibly even covering Christmas week.

New/Returning Categories: N/A as of yet.

Retired Categories: N/A as of yet.

Road Shows: Hawaii (November 3-14, February 9-20).

GSN Repeat Dates: N/A as of yet.

2014

When something gets here, we'll let you know.

2015

See above.