Wheel of Fortune timeline (syndicated)/Season 9

Go back to Season 8, or forward to Season 10?

A timeline for Season 9 of Wheel of Fortune, which aired in first-run from September 2, 1991 through June 12, 1992. Please note that this page is somewhat incomplete, as Game Show Network has never aired any episodes from this season.

Season Changes

 * The blue Wheel wedges become teal.
 * Foreign Word(s) and Foreign Phrase debut, possibly later in the season.
 * The contestant's Bonus Round letter choices are changed to light blue.
 * The Enterprises logo is altered to remove the "A unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc." byline.
 * The diamond backdrops are dimmed a bit in the opening.

September 1991

 * September 2 is Teen Week from Disneyland in Anaheim, using the Friday Finals. During this week:
 * Vanna introduces the show with "From Disneyland, it's Teen Week on Wheel of Fortune!", followed by footage of Disneyland. Charlie follows with "This week, we'll be meeting our home viewer contest winners who've come to meet us from all over the United States! So join us for the fun and excitement as we enjoy this special place!" He then pauses for further Disneyland footage and then continues the intro as normal.
 * These are the only known road shows not to use the road show board. Also, for only the second time, the turntables and rugs are used on a road show.
 * Strangely, the opening logo animation is not used.
 * During Pat and Vanna's chat, footage is shown of them greeting contest winners at Disneyland.
 * On September 3:
 * Three males play.
 * Although a repeated N is called in Round 1, it is not acknowledged as such.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 4.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 1 and 2, Things in Round 3, and Thing in the Bonus Round.
 * On September 6:
 * The Round 2 Prize is a $1,000 Service Merchandise gift certificate; oddly, its wedge says "SHOP".
 * Six rounds are played; for the second and final known time since May 1990, Rounds 3 and 4 (complete with its Prize) are in the second segment. This is also the first of only two known instances of a road show going to six rounds.
 * The weeks of September 30 and October 7 are taped at the Arie Crown Theatre in Chicago.
 * On September 30, the Round 4 Prize is accidentally placed on the red $500.

October 1991

 * On October 1:
 * The Round 2 Prize is accidentally placed on the red $500 in Round 4.
 * The Round 4 Prize is an $11,540 trip to Tahiti. During that round, contestant Vennie lands on it and immediately puts it on his arrow (as was the case from 1983-90). Pat walks over, takes the Prize wedge, and jokingly whacks him repeatedly with it. He then puts it back on the Wheel and tells Vennie "You have to find a letter first!" Vennie calls a letter that is in the puzzle, so Pat takes the Prize wedge and puts it back on his arrow. Vennie later wins the trip.
 * On October 4:
 * Three males play.
 * The Round 2 Prize value chyron does not use a comma.
 * Contestant Bob accidentally calls N in the Bonus Round, and the N is briefly placed on the chyron.
 * The weeks of October 28-November 11 are taped at MGM Studios in Orlando and titled "Wheel Around the World", paying tribute to various international versions. Each episode features a guest appearance by an international version's then-host and/or hostess, also showing a few clips. The hosts and/or hostesses also throw the show to break.
 * Each program uses the usual opening angles at home base, except when the logo is formed, which is done over Walt Disney World footage, which fades to the audience as the logo zooms back out. Charlie's opening spiel begins with "From Walt Disney World's 20th-Anniversary Surprise Celebration in Orlando, Florida; it's Wheel of Fortune Around the World! America's most watched game show!" before continuing as normal.
 * The closing spiel is "Wheel of Fortune was taped at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida; it is a Merv Griffin Enterprises production and is distributed by King World." The first half of the spiel is done over the Disney-MGM Studios logo.
 * During the week of October 28, the Wheel and turntable automations begin a few seconds into the credits.
 * On October 28:
 * The guests are John Burgess and Adriana Xenides of the Australian version.
 * Round 1, GHOSTS AND GOBLINS, is inexplicably categorized as Things instead of Fictional Characters.
 * The Round 2 prize is a trip to Palm Springs, which strangely has just "P.S." on the wedge.
 * The Round 4 prize is a Chevrolet Tahoe, worth $14,303. It is not picked up.
 * Contestant Steve sweeps the game and wins a trip to Paris in the Bonus Round.
 * On October 29:
 * The guest is Paola Barale, hostess of the Italian version.
 * Pat nearly does the opening spin, but stops himself.
 * Steve sweeps the game again, but loses $25,000 in the Bonus Round. He also accidentally picks L, which is briefly placed on the chyron.
 * On October 30:
 * The guests are Hans van der Togt and Leontine Borsato, the host and hostess of Holland's version, although Pat pronounces the latter's last name as "Boratas".
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt. His second attempt lands on $1,500.
 * Steve retires with $47,203.
 * On October 31:
 * There is no second Wheel Prize, even though Round 4 does not begin as a Speed-Up.
 * Merv appears at the end of the show with 13 of the international versions' hostesses. He speaks with Carol Smillie (hostess of the British version) and Barale (see above).

November 1991

 * On November 8:
 * The guests are Christian Morin and Annie Pujol, the host and hostess of France's version.
 * Against normal practice, Round 2 is a shorter puzzle (HUMAN WILLPOWER).
 * An episode sometime this month, known to be during "Wheel Around the World" (but not the 15th), has the fifth known use of Quotation in the Bonus Round. The puzzle, LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, is solved for $25,000.
 * Possibly from the same week, an episode has a bonus puzzle of WEEKEND, which is both a rare instance of RSTLNE revealing more than half of the answer and a rare instance of E being the only vowel in a bonus puzzle.
 * On November 15:
 * The car turntable is inactive during the intro.
 * Charlie's intro is the same as the previous shows, but ends with "And now, here are your host and hostess: Pat Sajak and Vanna White, and our international hosts and hostesses from around the world!" Their international counterparts are already onstage as they make their entrance.
 * The camera is further to the right than usual during Rounds 1-3, showing some of the international hostesses. Despite being present, they do not do anything except stand and clap.
 * The first three commercial outros are done by various international hosts, albeit pretaped: New Zealand, Sweden, and Portugal after Round 2; Germany (both hosts) and Greece after Round 3; and Belgium, Canada, and Denmark after Round 4.
 * The camera is also further to the right than usual during the Bonus Round, showing the extra trilons in the middle rows.
 * During the post-game chat, clips are shown of Merv, Pat, and Vanna in a parade as well as their international counterparts on a double-decker bus. Toward the end, Pat and Vanna give autographed Prize wedges to their international counterparts as tokens of appreciation.
 * The full credit roll is not done over road show footage, as was then the case.
 * "Changing Keys" is played in its entirety during the credits, ending just as Charlie finishes the King World spiel.

December 1991

 * Reruns air during the week of December 30.

March 1992

 * The weeks of March 2-16 are the Watch and Win Sweepstakes. Home viewers compete via mail, attempting to solve at least three of the five puzzles by getting a Procter & Gamble game piece in the Sunday newspaper. Entries must be post-marked by March 30 and received by April 6 to be eligible for the April 13 weekly drawing. During each show of each week, Pat presents a puzzle as it is on the piece, then adds up to four more letters; viewers then have 10 seconds to study the puzzle, accompanied by the Bonus Round timer and double-buzz. 34 winners each week receive a trip for two to Los Angeles and "a chance" to attend a taping and the show's 10th-Anniversary Gala (see September 1992 for more), with hotel accommodations provided by the Beverly Hilton. 334 winners each week will receive Laguna sportswear, and 3 grand prize winners each week will win a pair of 1992 Chevrolet Z28 convertibles.
 * Viewers may submit their puzzle responses to: Wheel of Fortune Week (number) Sweepstakes, P.O. Box 4002; Blair, Nebraska 68009. The address for rules and winners is: Wheel of Fortune, P.O. Box 4774; Blair, Nebraska 68009. In addition to employees of Proctor & Gamble, King World and their families, Sony Pictures Entertainment employees and their families are also ineligible (despite the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo not mentioning Sony's ownership until Seasons 10-11). The disclaimer is seen over a still of a zoomed-in Round 1 template.
 * By the week of March 2, Foreign Word is an active category.
 * On March 26 and 27, contestant Gary wins $39,400. He later appears on "Some of The Greats!" in February 1995.
 * On March 26:
 * Pat forgets to announce the category of Round 3 (Before & After) until after the first spin. As a result, the first shot of the board does not have the chyron, and the puzzle chimes do not sound until after Pat announces the category.
 * Round 4 is the first known appearance of Foreign Word(s).
 * Gary solves the bonus puzzle GO FOR IT despite getting no help from his extra letters.

April 1992

 * On April 6, contestant John fills in the bonus puzzle GRANDMA completely.
 * Reruns air during the week of April 20.
 * The weeks of April 27-May 18 are taped at Walt Disney World.
 * The first intro to the Walt Disney World episodes is "America's most-watched game show! Celebrating Walt Disney World's 20th-Anniversary surprise celebration! Special friends, entertainment, fun, fantasy, magic, fabulous fireworks! On Wheel of Fortune! And now, here are your host and hostess, Pat Sajak and Vanna White!" Disney World-related video footage appears during the opening (including a shot of Pat and Vanna in a parade), ending with an animation of Tinker Bell using her magic wand to "zap" the screen as the transition to the typical shot of Pat and Vanna walking onstage. As soon as Charlie says "On Wheel of Fortune!", the logo zooms up just before Tinker Bell "zaps" the screen.
 * A second intro with the same opening spiel uses the former Round 1 template complete with Free Spin, the blue $150 between the peach $200 and red $450, and a sparkly blue center that is also used as a bumper graphic accompanying the text "Wheel of Fortune from Orlando". In the first few seconds of the intro, the template is seen on the bottom of the screen zooming out as the camera flies over footage of Mickey Mouse waving while standing on top of the Epcot Center dome.
 * The third intro is "On location in Orlando, Florida! America's favorite game show! Coming to you from America's favorite theme park!" More footage is seen (including a shot of Merv waving in a parade), before the logo forms over Mickey Mouse waving from the Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty castle, and the intro continues, "The famous Wheel is spinning your way, with lots of cash and fabulous prizes! And now, here are your host and hostess, Pat Sajak and Vanna White!" As usual, Tinker Bell appears and "zaps" the screen with her wand to transition from the logo to the studio.
 * The fourth intro starts with Vanna's intro of "It's Wheel of Fortune from Walt Disney World!", followed by Tinker Bell "zapping" to a shot of Cinderella's/Sleeping Beauty's castle. Then the logo graphics forms over footage of the Disney-MGM Studios at night, before more footage of Walt Disney World is seen, as the opening text is "Tonight, the famous Wheel is spinning your way! America's favorite game show! Coming to you from America's favorite theme park in Orlando, Florida! It's fun and fantasy! With lots of cash and fabulous prizes just waiting to be won! And now, here are your host and hostess, Pat Sajak and Vanna White!". It ends with a shot of the monorail traveling at sunset, before a graphic of the aforementioned Round 1 template "rolls" counterclockwise to wipe the screen to a shot of the studio.
 * There are two separate bumpers featuring only the bumper graphic Wheel that features no text: a time-lapse of Cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom from day to night, and a fireworks show at said castle.
 * On certain shows, the bumper graphic Wheel used is the Rounds 1-2 template from the Goen NBC era (complete with Free Spin disc and Prize wedge) which rolls beneath the screen (often seen on certain Goen episodes as well). The graphic has the white text "Wheel of Fortune" in two-line form on the template.

May 1992

 * On May 6:
 * All three contestants hit Lose A Turn in Round 3.
 * All three contestants give incorrect responses when asked what Round 3's Clue puzzle THE SOUL OF WIT describes: Nancy says "Pat Sajak", Scott says "Bill Cosby", and Sherry says "laughter". When Pat then tells them that the correct response is "brevity", Nancy asks what "brevity" means.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on a Prize wedge.
 * Foreign Word(s) makes its first known appearance in the Bonus Round.
 * The Wheel and car turntable automations begin a few seconds into the credits.
 * On May 8, contestant Shane solves the bonus puzzle BUENO despite getting no help from his extra letters. This is the second known appearance of Foreign Word in the Bonus Round.
 * All five Bonus Rounds are won on the week of May 4.
 * May 11 is College Week.
 * On May 18: Screen_Shot_2012-11-13_at_10.52.56_PM.png
 * Rounds 2 and 4 are Thing, while the Bonus Round is Things.
 * The Round 4 Prize is an $11,626 Geo Tracker.
 * In Round 4, the Round 2 Prize (a $3,720 ring) is accidentally placed on the blue $200.
 * The cameras switch to the over-the-Wheel shot too soon during a spin in Round 4, catching it in mid-spin.
 * In the break after Round 4, one of Shane's opponents accuses him of aiming the Wheel, saying that his only spin was "not hard enough"; it is later determined that Shane was not aiming the Wheel.
 * Shane retires with $119,826. It is likely that he is the only contestant to have won the $25,000 twice.
 * For the weeks of May 25 and June 1, Pat and Vanna announce several winners of the Watch and Win Sweepstakes. On at least May 27 and 29, footage is shown of Pat at the D.L. Blair Company in Blair, Nebraska to verify and announce winners from the first week of the contest, standing on a very large bin of envelopes.
 * On May 22:
 * Rounds 1 and 3 are Clue. This results in the first known instances of two bonuses being used and a "bonus" category being repeated.
 * Foreign Word makes its last known appearance in the Bonus Round.
 * On May 27:
 * The lights around the Wheel are turned off during the intro.
 * After contestant Kathy spins $350 in Round 2, she buys an I and the I's in the puzzle light up, but an offstage voice can be heard telling Pat "she doesn't have enough". Pat then asks why her scoreboard reads $100, but the confusion is quickly straightened out and Vanna turns the I's. A likely explanation is that Kathy's display immediately showed the $100 she had left after buying the vowel, instead of displaying $350 and then removing the $250 for the vowel.
 * As of May 29, Augustus still provides Pat's wardrobe.
 * On May 29:
 * In Round 2, contestant Dwayne accidentally calls a vowel after spinning and loses his turn.
 * The Round 4 Prize is accidentally placed over the pink $200.

June 1992

 * June 8 is a Teen Week salute to Disneyland, taped at Television City.