Wheel of Fortune timeline (syndicated)/Seasons 1-12

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A timeline for the first 12 seasons of the nighttime Wheel of Fortune which will likely never be complete, as many episodes do not circulate or have not been aired by Game Show Network.

Season 1 (1983-84)
August 1983 :
 * On August 22, WKBW in Buffalo, New York debuts Wheel with episodes from the show's home base of Burbank, California. It is known that the first episode aired, also the first shown by WHEC in Rochester two weeks later, was the first episode aired by GSN.
 * Another station, WJRT in Flint, Michigan, debuts the show sometime in August with Burbank episodes.
 * On August 29, four TV stations in Ohio (including WEWS in Cleveland, WKEF in Dayton, and WBNS in Columbus) debut Wheel with a special week of episodes taped at the Ohio State Fair on August 18-19. According to Pat Sajak during some 1997 tapings at the same location, these were the first nighttime tapings but did not go over too well due to at least some contestants having no idea how to play the game.
 * A set of photos that surfaced in June 2014 suggest that these were not "true" episodes, but rather a "mock" version, with audience members drawn randomly to play a reduced-stakes version with a vertical Wheel. The photos indicate that two people played at a time at individual miked podiums, with the Wheel between them (a similar setup to the Melody Roulette round on Name That Tune) and the puzzle board to their left (the audience's right). Although the photos do not include a full view of the puzzle board, the portions visible suggest an appearance similar to the 1974-81 style.
 * The Wheel used in these shows later appears in an official "mini-movie" made by the show in mid-1985, part of which (specifically, a parade) is done in Nelsonville, Ohio.

September 1983 : (series begins September 19)
 * The nighttime Wheel debuts on September 19 in most markets, September 12 or 5 in others. It plays identically to the NBC daytime version, with Pat and Vanna White hosting, Jack Clark as announcer, and only six major differences at this point:
 * There are no returning champions.
 * The prize budget is noticeably higher.
 * Round 2 adds a Prize wedge to the orange $150 near Lose A Turn.
 * The top value in Round 3 is increased to $5,000, which is on a shiny, silver wedge covering the $2,000 wedge.
 * Following the Merv Griffin Productions logo, Jack adds "Distributed by King World Productions, Inc." The King World logo ("KING WORLD PRODUCTIONS, INC."), using the Eurostile Heavy font, is shown over Pat, Vanna, and the day's winner.
 * Each week is compiled from five taping sessions, and episodes typically air out of sequence due to the "bicycling" method of syndication still in use at this point.
 * The September 19 show is Jeff/Leslie/Linda, taped July 6.
 * On September 20 (Lisa/Bob/Nancy):
 * No vowels are bought in Rounds 1 or 3.
 * Oddly, the category strip is white in the Bonus Round, but red for the rest of the show.
 * The contestants are shown turning their backs during the commercial outro in Round 2.
 * In Round 2, Nancy accidentally asks to buy a vowel after spinning, but is prompted for a consonant by Pat. She then calls a D, which is not in the puzzle.
 * A total of ten turns are lost in Round 2, including six wrong letters (of which three are consecutive), and a streak of six consecutive lost turns.
 * Round 3 begins as a Speed-Up. Against precedent, the slide whistle does not play when Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt.
 * There is a brief pause between Bob solving the Round 3 puzzle BIRTH CERTIFICATE and Pat ruling it correct, due to Bob beginning his solve with an A at the front of it.
 * By September 20, the money graphic and logo begin using white outlines; previously, they were black.
 * On September 21 (Kathy/Janet/Barry): DollarSignPrizeWedge.jpg
 * Janet had previously played on the October 8, 1980 episode.
 * The Wheel Prize is $500 cash, displayed as five "crisp, new" $100 bills in a bird nest (a "nest egg"); the wedge has a large dollar sign in the same font as other Prize wedges. This is not the least expensive prize ever offered, as a $425 camera is also known to have been offered early in the show's run.
 * After the above plug, the players are shown turning around to face the puzzle board.
 * Oddly, one of the fee plugs is a pre-recorded ad for Big Boy Restaurants, although "Changing Keys" continues to play over it. This is the first of only four known instances prior to Season 14 of a fee plug being pre-recorded by the company.
 * On September 22 (Lou/Cindy/Karen)
 * The Round 3 puzzle THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA is on the second through fourth rows, a practice normally done only if the first word is too long for the top row.
 * Cindy lands on $5,000 three times in a row in Round 3. She then solves for $25,100, buying a total of 12 prizes (including two cars). The resulting prize copy runs for three minutes and twelve seconds.
 * By September 22:
 * The top value in Round 1 is increased to $1,000; the green wedge is placed over the $100 near $750 (which was previously the top dollar). At least two other episodes (Cyn/Susan/Steve and Laura/Lisa/Glenn) have $750 as the top value in Round 1 along with the white outlines.
 * On Laura/Lisa/Glenn, Pat explains how players choose bonus prizes during the final segment.
 * On an episode after the $1,000 top value is introduced, but before the trees change (Barbara/Harlene/Kevin), the Prize wedge's lettering (SILVER) is much smaller than usual. The smaller lettering continues to appear at least occasionally until early next season.
 * On another episode from the above timeframe (Richard/Claire/Melissa):
 * During Round 1, the buzzer sounds on a correct letter.
 * The Prize wedge (VIDEO) uses the smaller lettering.
 * The players are shown turning their backs during the commercial outro in Round 2.
 * Claire puts $25 on account after Round 2, which she claims in Round 3.
 * In late September or early October, the on-set trees become brown; previously, they were green.

October 1983 :
 * On an episode with the brown-leaf trees (Ed/Dawn/Ellen, stated by GSN as being taped in September):
 * Ed solves the Speed-Up puzzle with $16,050. Pat throws to commercial, but is quickly stopped and Ed shops. "Changing Keys" is heard briefly while the situation is resolved.
 * Ed sweeps the game and wins a hot tub in the Bonus Round.
 * On another episode with the brown-leaf trees (Bob/Pearl/Carmen), Jack does not do his "the prices of the prizes..." spiel, possibly due to the available copy being a repeat.
 * On another episode from around the same point (Dan/Gloria/Ola):
 * No vowels are bought in Round 2.
 * Gloria sweeps the game but loses a Mazda in the Bonus Round.
 * Oddly, one of the fee plugs is a pre-recorded ad for Meow Mix, although "Changing Keys" continues to play over it. This is the second of only four known instances prior to Season 14 of a fee plug being pre-recorded by the company.
 * By October 31, the on-set trees become white with lights on them.

November 1983 :
 * On an episode with the light-up white trees, but before the Griffin logo changes (Rick/Joan/Cecelia):
 * The Prize wedge uses the smaller lettering.
 * Neither Thing nor Phrase is used.
 * On November 28, the Griffin logo is replaced by a full-color drawing of a griffin against a black background. The griffin blinks, and the company's name is animated with light blue inside; below the Griffin company name is a Califon Productions copyright notice.
 * Most likely on November 28, and definitely by the end of January, the King World logo is also altered: it now uses a rounder font, similar to Helvetica, with "KING WORLD" larger than "Productions Inc." Oddly, the new logo is shown over a slowly-spinning Round 1 layout.
 * November 29 (Francine/Kim/Paul) is Episode #S-052, taped August 28.

December 1983 :
 * Reruns air during the week of December 26. Repeat airings use a new set of fee plugs and cut away to a gold gradient background listing the replacement sponsors during the normal sponsor crawl.

January 1984 :
 * Kathy Najimy is a contestant sometime this year, between appearances on the nighttime Family Feud (1981) and The $25,000 Pyramid (July 31, 1985). On May 2, 1989, she appears as a guest on The Pat Sajak Show and shows a picture of her Wheel appearance.
 * On an episode from this month (Lloyd/Linda/Debbie):
 * During the opening, Pat sits in the on-stage motorhome and throws a wadded ball of paper out the window, causing Jack to laugh. After the logo appears, Jack introduces him as "And now, here's your litterer: Pat Sajak!"
 * The overhead Wheel shot during Pat's opening spin is positioned too far upward, cutting off the lower portion.
 * The puzzle board uses its original chase light sequence (see below).
 * Following the Bonus Round, Vanna spins the Wheel for the first known time. She does so from the host's area, and (with the red contestant arrow, much like the Final Spin) lands on the red $200 next to Lose A Turn.
 * Beginning around this point, the puzzle board's chase light sequence (used when the category is revealed and after the puzzle is solved), which normally goes counterclockwise on the left side and clockwise on the right, is occasionally reversed. As far as is known, episodes used either the original sequence or the reversed one, but never both.
 * On an episode from January or February (Thelma/Sam/Lisa), with the animated Griffin logo and light-up white trees:
 * Pat models the Cadillac in the opening, causing Jack to introduce him as "And now that he's parked, here's your host: Pat Sajak!"
 * The curtain becomes stuck on the right-hand spiral pillar after Pat's entrance, and he successfully pulls the remainder down into place. After Pat introduces Vanna, the curtain does not open and she has to push it apart herself.
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * The hyphen in the Round 1 puzzle MASON-DIXON LINE (itself inexplicably categorized as Thing instead of Place) fails to light up for several seconds.
 * The Round 2 puzzle has both an apostrophe and a hyphen, although the answer (BACHELOR'S-BUTTON) should not have the latter. This is the first known instance of improper punctuation.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Thing in Rounds 1-2, People in Round 3, and Person in Round 4.
 * Surprisingly, no vowels are bought in the entire game.
 * On an episode from around this period (Tom/Cindi/Velma):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 1.
 * Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
 * Rounds 1, 2, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * In the final segment, Pat and Vanna plug the Arlington Hilton in Arlington, Texas, at which they stayed (apparently during a contestant search).
 * On an episode taped this month (Fern/Darlene/Michael):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * Oddly, the category strip is white in the Bonus Round, but blue for the rest of the show.
 * Both Fern and Darlene get Free Spins in Round 1.
 * The Prize wedge (BIKE) uses the smaller lettering.
 * In a rather rare occurrence, Michael spends all of his money in the Round 3 shopping segment.
 * Mark Corwin, then the associate director, fills in as director.

February 1984 :
 * Early this month, the on-set trees are replaced by walls with foliage on them. The walls are altered according to the time of year (with snowflakes and lights in Winter), while the trees continue to appear occasionally.
 * On an episode from after the walls are introduced (Teresa/Mark/Gladys):
 * Oddly, all three puzzles are very short; Rounds 1 and 3 are only 15 letters, and Round 2 only 10.
 * Even more oddly for this era, the Round 2 puzzle RAY CHARLES uses only one line.
 * On another episode from around this point (Mike/Sonya/Betty):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * Oddly, Round 3, which begins as a Speed-Up, is the longest of the three puzzles, at 16 letters.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt.
 * Oddly, two of the fee plugs are pre-recorded ads; one is for Champale, the other is for Vanish detergent, although "Changing Keys" continues to play over both of them. These are the third and fourth of only four known instances prior to Season 14 of a fee plug being pre-recorded by the company.
 * Strangely, GSN's airing of this episode in the 1990s includes the replacement fee plugs.
 * As of the above episode, the Griffin logo still looks the same as it did on November 28.
 * On yet another episode from around this point (Joy/Norm/Ann):
 * The Prize wedge (WATCH) uses the smaller lettering.
 * Ann solves Round 3 with no money, bumped up to $200.
 * Ann calls R twice in the Bonus Round, and the second R is displayed briefly before Pat tells her to choose a different letter.
 * Strangely, GSN's airing of this episode in the 1990s includes the replacement fee plugs.
 * By the above episode, the Griffin logo is slightly altered to use much smaller text in the Peignot font.
 * By February 27, the Griffin logo is altered again to remove the blinking animation from the griffin. Over the next two months of tapings, the logo alternates between its animated and static forms.

March 1984 :
 * On an episode taped sometime this month (Misa/Chloe/Frank):
 * During the final segment, Pat and Vanna discuss unusual names, including Misa. During this, they note that "Vanna" is not short for anything and is not unusual (at this point, Vanna has met four other people with the same name).
 * The Griffin logo is animated, with the larger font.

April 1984 :
 * On an episode sometime this month (Virginia/Bob/Norma, taped February 14):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * Virginia wins with $5,000, due entirely to hitting that amount on the very last spin of the game; interestingly, this also amounts to a win by only $75.
 * On an episode taped sometime this month (Betty/Debbie/David):
 * The opening graphics do not have their white outlines.
 * During the opening, Pat and Vanna model a motorcycle with sidecar. Pat acts as if they are going around a curve, falling into Vanna's lap in the sidecar.
 * Debbie puts $19 on account after Round 1, but loses it to Bankrupt in Round 2.
 * The Griffin logo uses the smaller font and animated griffin.
 * On another episode taped this month (Bill/Jude/MaryAnn):
 * At least two cracks are visible on the gold ring of the red sunburst backdrop.
 * MaryAnn calls Pat "Jack" during her contestant interview.
 * Round 4 begins as a Speed-Up, with no shopping.
 * Possibly due to the presence of Round 4, Pat signs off after the Bonus Round.
 * By the above episode, the Griffin logo appears to return to its static, small-text variant permanently.
 * Reruns air during the week of April 23.

May 1984 :
 * On an episode from around this point (Mark/Carol/Debi, taped in April):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * Rounds 2, 3, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.

June 1984 : (season ends June 29)
 * Among the Summer repeats are Thelma/Sam/Lisa (June, most likely in a market that debuted Wheel prior to September 19), Teresa/Mark/Gladys (July), Frances/Elaine/Duane (August), and Lloyd/Linda/Debbie (August). While Bob/Pearl/Carmen, Tom/Cindi/Velma, and Joy/Norm/Ann are known to have rerun copies circulating, it is not known when they were reshown.
 * In one episode from around this time, a contestant only spins once, calling an incorrect letter on $700 in Round 3. Although he would later participate in the Speed-Up the following round, none of his letter choices appear in the puzzle.

Season 2 (1984-85)
Season Changes :
 * Around this point, at Merv's insistence, contestants generally stop using "as in" when calling their letters (e.g. "N as in Nancy"), except when necessary if Pat does not hear them clearly.
 * The show is now credited as being "produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises", and the Griffin logo is altered accordingly (although the credit is smaller). KingWorld112384.png
 * The King World credit is changed to the company's "star" logo, and is moved up to the center of the Wheel (itself changed to use the Round 3 layout).
 * Presumably at this point, and likely due to the debut of Jeopardy!, episodes of Wheel are now transmitted by satellite to subscribed affiliates; as a result, episodes now air in production order.
 * Probably at this point, and definitely by Spring 1985 (a "Gary Deeb Deeb on TV" article stated this around that time), a weekend feed is added consisting of repeats from the previous season. They typically air on Saturdays, though a few stations air them on Sundays.
 * On an episode from Season 2 or 3, according to one recollection, IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER is a bonus puzzle. At 22 letters, this is likely the longest bonus puzzle ever used on the show.

September 1984 : (season begins September 10)
 * On an episode likely from the first week (Kersteen/Cinders/Jack):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * No vowels are bought in Rounds 1 or 3.
 * Pat does not mention the hyphens in Round 3 until someone reminds him from offstage.
 * Jack sweeps the game, but loses a diamond star pin in the Bonus Round.
 * The Wheel starts its automation as Pat throws to commercial after the Bonus Round.
 * Possibly on September 17 (known to be after at least five episodes), "Changing Keys" is re-orchestrated slightly to sound less "chirpy", and a glissando is added to the beginning. The theme now begins at the first bar during the intro, instead of the 0:56 mark.
 * On an episode from this month, after "Changing Keys" is redone (Larry/Diane/Howard):
 * The money graphic and subsequent logo are much smaller than usual. The former only zooms in a bit, while the latter only zooms as it slides offscreen.
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * The letters on the puzzle board light up very quickly, much like they did in the 1974 pilots.
 * In a rare instance, the Round 2 Prize uses a shopping pricetag to indicate its value, as opposed to Jack simply saying it. Also, its wedge (VIDEO) uses the smaller lettering.
 * Although Howard solves Round 2 for $1,050, Pat notes before the start of Round 3 that the flipper clicked over from $300 to $700 as he called the last consonant. The extra $400 is credited to Howard on a gift certificate.
 * Larry solves Round 3 with $0, increased to the house minimum of $200, without spinning at all. Since this is not enough to buy a prize, no shopping round is done and the $200 is put on a gift certificate. "Nightwalk" plays while Pat explains the situation, but is replaced with "Changing Keys" when he throws to commercial.
 * Coming out of Round 3, Howard's scoreboard reads $3,900 despite him only having $1,450, likely because his display was not cleared after Larry solved. Shortly after Pat throws to commercial, both score displays go blank.
 * At the beginning of the Bonus Round, the hazard lights are blinking on the Mazda that is being played for. During Jack's description, Pat leans into the shot to open and close the driver's-side door. After Jack finishes, Pat says that the car's door-ajar bell was ringing.
 * The winning total after the Bonus Round is in a larger font.
 * The overhead Wheel shot is not used during the credits.
 * On another episode from this period (Charmaine/Debbie/Janice):
 * Three females play.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Lose A Turn.
 * The Speed-Up has two rare instances of a contestant failing to solve with only vowels remaining. Janice calls the last consonant (H) in the puzzle CHAPERON but remains silent; Charmaine calls I after Pat tells the contestants that only vowels remain; Debbie then calls A and solves.
 * On yet another episode from this period (Debbie/Suzie/Dan):
 * Before Round 3, the puzzle chimes accidentally sound as the camera cuts to the $5,000 wedge. Oddly, they do not sound again when the puzzle is shown.
 * Suzie's microphone falls off during one of her spins in Round 3, and Pat is shown asking her for a letter while trying to put it back on.
 * After Suzie solves the Round 3 puzzle, her display briefly clears along with the others before coming back on.
 * Rounds 1, 4, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * The footage for the Bonus Round prize (a camper) is likely edited in, as Vanna is shown modeling it from behind the puzzle board.
 * After the Bonus Round is solved, the board can be seen getting pulled off-camera to reveal the camper.
 * The sponsor list is not done over the spinning Wheel.
 * On yet another episode from this period (Michelle/Emil/Linda):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * Rounds 1, 4, and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * Pat does not hear the Final Spin chimes in Round 4, and prompts the current contestant to spin again. The player takes another turn, and the chimes play again after the letter is called.
 * As Pat and Vanna sign off after the Bonus Round, the Wheel can be seen starting its automation.
 * The overhead shot of the Wheel during the credits is zoomed in further than usual.
 * On yet another episode from this period (Lynn/John/Pat):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * Rounds 1, 2, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * Oddly, the category strip is white in the Bonus Round, but blue for the rest of the show.
 * After contestant Pat buys the O's in the Round 1 puzzle KNOCK KNOCK WHO'S THERE, host Pat forgets to mention that there are no more vowels remaining.
 * Contestant Pat uses her Free Spin in Round 2 after calling a repeated R. She then immediately solves the puzzle afterward.
 * The Round 3 puzzle SLEDGE HAMMER is misspelled (it should be one word).
 * Mark Corwin fills in as director.

October 1984 :
 * Likely on October 1 (known to be after at least ten episodes with the second "Changing Keys"), the squared-off edges of the contestant backdrops become pointed. The outer edge is now dark brown, while the area immediately surrounding the player's color is changed to light brown.
 * On an episode from October or November (Father Rob/Betty/Marla):
 * Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * No vowels are bought in Rounds 1 or 2.
 * Coincidentally, Father Rob ends up solving the Round 1 puzzle THE NEW TESTAMENT, after which Pat points out that the puzzles are chosen at random.
 * The camera zooms out too far during the commercial outro following Round 2, accidentally showing a nearby camera in the process.
 * During Round 3, Marla's flipper briefly stops on Bankrupt, then barely clicks over to the adjacent $700. The slide whistle begins to sound, then cuts off halfway.
 * On another episode from the above period (Janice/Faye/Marvin) FrankfurtersAndSauerkraut1984.png:
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * During Round 3, the trilon containing the first F in the puzzle FRANKFURTERS AND SAUERKRAUT accidentally lights up after the first letter (T) is called, and refuses to turn off. Pat repeatedly tells the contestants to disregard it until F is called later in the round.
 * Perhaps because of the above malfunction, the bonus puzzle RHINESTONE uses the third row instead of the second.
 * Pat can be heard talking during the credits.
 * On another episode from this period (Shirley/Dewey/Boone):
 * Dewey's microphone falls off during his first spin, and Pat can be seen walking over just before the shot changes.
 * The 1983 "Changing Keys" plays coming out of Round 1.
 * Pat stops Dewey before the first spin of Round 2 to state the "People does not always mean proper names" disclaimer.
 * On another episode around the same point (Michael/Sandy/Karen):
 * Rounds 2 and 3 are played entirely by the contestants that began them, although a Free Spin is used in Round 3.
 * Karen guesses STRAWBERRY PIE in the Bonus Round, and the applause machine begins to sound before Pat tells her that she is incorrect. Later on, she says STRAWBERRY, pauses for about three seconds, and says JAM after the buzzer, which Pat rules as a win.
 * At this point, there is still a $150 next to $1,000 in Round 2.

November 1984 :
 * On November 19 (Marge/Bill/Patricia):
 * The 1983 "Changing Keys" plays after Round 1.
 * Rounds 2 and 3 are Phrase.
 * By November 19, the $150 next to $1,000 in Round 2 decreases to $100.
 * On November 22 (Nancy/Al/Nicki):
 * Oddly, contestants Nancy and Al's last names are never stated on-air.
 * The 1983 "Changing Keys" plays after Round 1.
 * In Round 2, Pat walks over to fix Al's microphone.
 * In the Speed-Up, Nancy missolves YOUR GOOSE IS COOKED as YOUR MOOSE IS COOKED, a wrong answer that has been recalled by many viewers over the years. She gives the right answer after the buzzer.
 * All of the puzzles are very short, with Round 2 and the Bonus Round being the longest at 19 letters each; this is the second known instance of the bonus puzzle being the longest.
 * Starting November 22, the green $1,000 wedge begins using a much wider font than usual, most noticeably the dollar sign and first zero. Oddly, the normal font is used on November 23. 5Kwide1984.png
 * As of November 23 (E.R./Casey/Stacey), the King World logo still looks the same as it did at the beginning of the season.
 * On at least two episodes after the wide-font $1,000 debuts (including Sharon/Dee Dee/Brent and Laura/Bob/Rochelle), the $5,000 space also uses a much wider font. The altered spaces likely debuted at the same time, with the latter removed shortly afterward.
 * On Sharon/Dee Dee/Brent:
 * During the intro, Jack describes a Parisian holiday in a mock French accent.
 * Vanna wears a suit.
 * The Round 1 puzzle SCUTTLEBUTT is a rare instance of a one-word Phrase.
 * On Dee Dee's last spin in Round 1, the Wheel noticeably wobbles and makes a grinding noise.
 * Rounds 1 and 2 are Phrase, while Round 3 and the Bonus Round are Person.
 * On Laura/Bob/Rochelle:
 * The top half of the Speed-Up split-screen is zoomed out too far, showing most of the Wheel.
 * The bonus puzzle LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE uses all four lines of the puzzle board, one of the few known instances of a bonus puzzle doing so. At 20 letters, it is also either the longest or second-longest known bonus puzzle at this point, and at least three more 20-letter answers appear between now and 1988.
 * The Bonus Round is played for a mink coat, which Vanna wears throughout.
 * The board malfunctions during the Bonus Round, as it takes several seconds for any trilons to light up, and several of them do not light up in sync with the dings.
 * Very strangely, the wardrobe plugs are shown over the spinning Round 1 layout.
 * On an episode from around this point, with the wide-font $1,000 and regular $5,000 (Jeannette/Tim/Colleen):
 * The Wheel spins very slowly during the intro.
 * "Changing Keys" is slightly slowed in the intro and "Nightwalk" warbles during the shopping rounds.
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * Jeanette gets four Free Spins in Round 1, the first three on consecutive spins, and uses three of them in Round 3.
 * The 1983 "Changing Keys" plays coming out of Round 1. Patrevealsapostrophe.png
 * Pat runs up to the puzzle board to reveal the apostrophe in the Round 3 puzzle, for which he is applauded.
 * Later in Round 3, both the buzzer and ding sound on a correct letter.
 * Pat informs Jeanette that the bonus puzzle is both a Phrase and a Title, although the chyron only shows Phrase. This is one of only two known instances of Pat stating that a puzzle can fit in more than one category.
 * Jeanette reveals only the B in the bonus puzzle SIDE BY SIDE, believed to be the fewest letters revealed under five-and-a-vowel rules.
 * On another episode from around this point (James/Gale/Sharon):
 * The money graphic and subsequent logo do not have their white outlines.
 * Oddly, the category strip is white in Round 1 and the Bonus Round, but purple for the rest of the show.
 * Gale solves the Speed-Up puzzle CLEVELAND OHIO with just the N revealed for $5,000, a moment which appears in several retrospectives.
 * Gale sweeps the game and wins a classic car in the Bonus Round.
 * At this point, the Round 1 layout is still the same as it was near the beginning of Season 1 and the Round 2 layout is still the same as it was on November 23.

December 1984:
 * On an episode from early this month (Ken/Kathy/Bruce):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * The Round 2 puzzle CATCH-AS-CATCH-CAN has three hyphens, a likely record for the most punctuation ever revealed on the trilon boards until 1994. It is also a rare main-game puzzle with only one vowel.
 * Rounds 1, 4, and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * The winning contestant has only $1,000 before the Bonus Round; even more interestingly, his two opponents both have $900.
 * By the above episode:
 * The walls introduced in February begin using their Winter decorations. It is uncertain whether they were used in Season 1.
 * The Wheel is altered again:
 * In Round 1, the tan $100 next to Free Spin becomes a light red-orange $700 and the sole $175 becomes a light orange $800.
 * The light-orange $100 next to $1,000 in Round 2 is increased to an orange $600. Yellow_$500.png
 * The red $200 next to the tan $250 in Rounds 2+ becomes a yellow $500, resulting in two spaces of the same color adjacent to each other in Round 3.
 * On another episode from early in the month (Reiko/Ralph/Conrad):
 * For the only known time since late 1982, the money graphic and subsequent logo are white.
 * The closing segment is not done at or near the Wheel.
 * Mark Corwin fills in as director.
 * By the above episode, the aforementioned yellow $500 is moved to cover the red $300 next to Bankrupt instead.
 * On December 19 (Kathe/Esther/Dennis):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * Rounds 1-3 are Phrase.
 * In Round 2, the trilon containing the N in the puzzle SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY accidentally lights up after R is called, but quickly turns back off.
 * Contestant Dennis only spins once in the entire game, calling a wrong letter on $700 in Round 3.
 * By December 19, the set is decorated for Christmas with wreaths and bows.
 * By December 19, the Wheel is altered again: Round1whl-85.jpg
 * In Round 1, the $200 near Lose A Turn becomes $900.
 * The outer frame becomes slightly misaligned.
 * John/Larry/Peggy likely airs on December 24 or 25, as it has Christmas-themed puzzles. On this episode:
 * Peggy looks at the wrong contestant arrow for two spins in a row.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 2.
 * Round 2 also has a rare instance of a contestant losing their turn with only vowels remaining: Peggy accidentally reads the last word of the puzzle CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT as "you", after which John solves for $250.
 * On an episode possibly from December 31, 1984 (Angela/Diane/Roger):
 * Mark Corwin fills in as director.
 * $800 is placed over $750 by mistake, thus putting $175 back into play.
 * It is initially thought that the week of December 31 consisted of reruns, but this recollection is contradicted by the above; however, it is not impossible that either the above episode is mis-dated, or that the week of reruns was actually a week later:

January 1985 :
 * On an episode between January 7 and 18 (Rita/Lynn/Jonas): 1kspace85.jpg
 * $175 is used for the last known time in Round 1, due to the orange $800 being put on the adjacent $750 instead. This same mistake had occurred on at least two other episode previously (Dave/Melanie/Ricky and Angela/Diane/Roger).
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * On another episode from the above timeframe (Mike/Renita/Laura):
 * The Wheel's outer frame is still misaligned, and it spins more tightly than is normal at this point. The misalignment causes Pat to claim that Renita landed on $400 in Round 2 despite the flipper clearly being over the $500 portion sticking into that section. This error does not affect the outcome.
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * One prize purchased after Round 1 is a pair of "Practically Perfect People" with Pat and Vanna's faces on them.
 * Renita sweeps the game and wins an $11,000 pair of diamond earrings in the Bonus Round. Among her winnings are two cars, both purchased in Round 3.
 * Landmark appears in the Bonus Round for the first known time.
 * On January 17 (Cynthia/John/Susie):
 * During his contestant interview, John pulls out a list of people he wants to say hello to.
 * The puzzle board uses its original chase light sequence.
 * John solves the Round 2 puzzle LEMON MERINGUE PIE by putting an A in front of it, which is accepted. Afterward, Pat notes that "You can add an 'a' or 'an' at the beginning of solving", a rule which has been inconsistently applied over the years.
 * After John wins the game, Pat lets him begin reading the aforementioned list into the commercial break. After the break, John finishes reading the list and puts it away.
 * By January 17, the King World logo is no longer shown over the Wheel.
 * Possibly on January 21 (known to be after the above episodes and at least seven others), three graphical changes are made:
 * The logo used at the beginning of the show becomes a chyron with white borders and letters which are closer together than the previous logo. The transparent portions of the Wheel graphic are filled in, while the formerly-filled spaces become white. BlackBlueAnimatedLogo1-85.pngGreenYellowAnimatedLogo1-85.png
 * The logo shown after the money graphic is updated to an animated one with colored sections rotating in the center. The letters and dots flash in dark and light shades of yellow.
 * The colored sections vary by episode: Maryann/Linda/Joel uses a blue and black iteration with the rest of the logo being blue, while Melanie/Helene/Art uses red and yellow; Steve/Christina/Debra and Judy/Tim/Iris use green and yellow; and Peg/Renee/Doc uses red, yellow, and green.
 * The category chyrons are changed to a medium form of Helvetica. The Bonus Round totals and credits are also changed to Helvetica. Also, the value of the Prize now appears on a chyron as it is announced; previously, no graphic was used.
 * On Steve/Christina/Debra:
 * The puzzle board uses its original chase light sequence.
 * No letters are revealed in Round 1 until the sixth turn.
 * In Round 1, Steve buys only one prize (a $1,299 refrigerator) and puts the remaining $1 on account. He loses that to Bankrupt in Round 2, then puts $12 on account following that round. Bikeprize.png
 * The Round 2 Prize is a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, whose wedge has "BIKE" in small letters on the top half of the wedge.
 * Bankrupt is hit five times in Round 2; overall, fourteen turns are lost in the round, including eight wrong letters (of which four are consecutive), and a streak of six consecutive lost turns.
 * Surprisingly, no vowels are bought in the entire game.
 * All of the puzzles are very short, with the Bonus Round being the longest at 16 letters; this is the third known instance of the bonus puzzle being the longest.
 * None of the puzzles have an N in them; in addition, none of the maingame puzzles have R or T in them.
 * Steve sweeps the game and wins an $11,700 set of gold chains in the Bonus Round. Strangely, his post-Bonus Round total is displayed in Korinna, the font used for clues on sister show Jeopardy!Wheel of Fortune (January 1985, Steve-Christina-Debra).png
 * By the above episode, the Wheel's frame is fixed.
 * Likely on January 24, the category chyrons get a shadow effect. After at least two more episodes (Judy/Tim/Iris and Bob/Kathy/Mike), the regular animated logo (with red, blue, green, and yellow sections) debuts, although at this point the credits are still white.
 * On Judy/Tim/Iris:
 * In an unusual move, Pat walks over to Vanna after her entrance, having noted her dress making a rustling sound, and shakes her sleeve.
 * After Round 1, in an unusual move, Jack plugs the gift certificate provider (American Express) before describing the purchased prizes.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Lose A Turn.
 * Pat and Vanna do not sign off; rather, the final segment begins with the fee plugs.
 * On Peg/Renee/Doc:
 * Vanna wears a sleeveless shirt and pants.
 * For the only known time after the font change, the category chyrons are white.
 * Doc begins to solve the bonus puzzle THE LOVE BOAT just before the buzzer, giving the last word just after the buzzer ends. Despite this being one guess, and against precedent, he is told that the buzzer beat him (with Pat stating that Doc had to say the full answer within the 15-second time limit). Afterward, Vanna gives him a set of keys which Pat claims are the keys to her apartment, but are actually the keys to a car he purchased during the game.

February 1985 :
 * On an episode with the shadowed Helvetica chyrons and regular animated logo (Mary/Dick/Chris):
 * The 1983 "Changing Keys" plays coming out of the Bonus Round.
 * The puzzle board reads LEE RAWLS during the credits. This was done (most likely by Pat) by swapping out letters in the bonus puzzle LOU RAWLS, referencing the fact that Dick said "Lee Rawls" at the start of the Bonus Round and did not come up with the right answer until several seconds later.
 * On another episode from the above period (Steve/Kelli/Jim):
 * Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
 * Pat begins to say the first half of the rules spiel but only gets as far as "$1,000...you know the rules, let's get on with it."
 * Kelli says the first word of the bonus puzzle THE NATIONAL ANTHEM just before the buzzer, with the rest immediately afterward. It is immediately ruled as a win.
 * On another episode from the above period (Milt/Fran/Stuart):
 * Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the person who began them: Milt puts $654 on account following Round 1, while Fran puts $13 on account after Round 2.
 * Following Round 3, Pat suggests that Milt put his remaining $179 on a gift certificate due to it being Round 3, after which Milt asks "Will we have time for a fourth round?", causing Pat to laugh. Milt opts to put his remaining money on account if there is time for a fourth round, after which Jack begins reading the prize plugs. Returning from break, Pat says "Welcome back to On Account Playhouse." before doing the Final Spin.
 * On yet another episode from the above period (Joyce/Nancy/Mark):
 * The Round 2 Prize (JADE) uses much larger lettering than usual.
 * One of Mark's spins in Round 2 causes the Wheel to make a loud noise.
 * Nine consecutive turns are lost in Round 2, four of which are Bankrupts.
 * Joyce puts $1 on account following Round 2, but does not claim it.
 * Nancy tries to use her Free Spin in the Speed-Up.
 * Mark solves the bonus puzzle TRIAL LAWYER (Occupation) with only the T, R's, and E showing.
 * Following the sponsor list, Pat can be seen removing the first R from the bonus puzzle and slotting in an I; the first L is also pulled off its trilon.
 * On another episode around this point, before the chyrons are changed to having a white outline (Mary/Dan/Marianne):
 * The Round 1 puzzle THREE-RING CIRCUS is categorized as Phrase instead of Thing.
 * In Round 1, contestant Mary just barely avoids hitting Bankrupt, and her scoreboard briefly goes blank as a result.
 * Later in Round 1, Pat asks Mary to "follow through a little more" on her spins, due to her last spin only moving eight wedges.
 * In Round 2, Dan accidentally calls an O after spinning, but quickly changes to P; Pat rules it as an O, and Dan loses his turn. Oddly, the buzzer sounds during this ruling.
 * Rounds 1 and 3 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
 * By February 8, the money graphic font and all other chyrons are changed to a bolder form of Helvetica with no shadow and a white outline around the bottom of each letter. They again display in various colors, often matching Vanna's outfit (with the exception of neutral colors such as black, white, brown, and gray). At least 12 episodes used this design.
 * By about this point, the Winter decorations are again removed from the walls. This is uncertain, however, as three episodes with the shadowed chyrons (Bob/Kathy/Mike, John/Doreen/Janis, and Steve/Kelli/Jim) do not use the decorations while two from this period (Stacey/John/Kim and Mary Lou/Lee/Greg) do.
 * By about this point, the graphics for the eligibility disclaimer, wardrobe plugs, and full credit roll become blue.
 * One episode from this period (Marge/Eddie/Susie) does not use the blue portions of the animated logo.
 * On an episode around this point, a contestant solves the puzzle BUFFALO NEW YORK with only the N revealed.
 * On an episode around this point (Ann/Derek/Jeremy):
 * Ann puts $107 on account in Round 1, and uses it in Round 3.
 * Unusually, a very short puzzle is used in Round 2 (FORT KNOX).
 * Eight wrong letters are called in Round 2, five of which are consecutive; also, no vowels are bought.
 * Ann solves the bonus puzzle OUT TO LUNCH with only the T's and N showing.
 * On another episode around this point (Carol/Susan/Beverly):
 * Three females play.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 1.
 * Rounds 2-4 all have punctuation marks: hyphens in Rounds 2 and 4, and an apostrophe in Round 3.

March 1985 :
 * On an episode around this point (Denise/Gloria/Ron), after the aforementioned graphics become blue:
 * No vowels are bought in Round 2.
 * Pat wears Denise's nametag during the Round 3 outro.
 * Nine wrong letters are called in Round 4, including seven in a row.
 * Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
 * Denise sweeps the game and wins an Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera in the Bonus Round.
 * Hal/Chris/Rita also airs during the above period.
 * By March 29, the category chyrons are altered again to have the white outline around the entirety of each letter, a style which remains until January 1993.

April 1985 :
 * Reruns air during the week of April 8.
 * Jerry/Joan/Elaine, Deborah/Cheryl/Robin, Gina/Cindy/Mike, Kim/Brad/Carla, Kathy Jo/Tom/Beth, and Ron/Margot/Elaine air around this point.
 * On Jerry/Joan/Elaine:
 * In a rather rare occurrence, Joan spends all of her money in the Round 1 shopping segment; despite this, Jack still plugs the gift certificate.
 * No vowels are bought in Rounds 1 or 2.
 * On Deborah/Cheryl/Robin:
 * Deborah gets two Free Spins in Round 1, while Robin gets one.
 * In Round 2, Deborah uses both Free Spins after hitting Lose A Turn twice in a row, but she hits it a third time. It is hit four times overall, possibly a one-round record.
 * On Kim/Brad/Carla:
 * The contestant overlay does not appear during Round 1's shopping round.
 * Kim wins with $4,000, earned entirely from a single spin landing on $1,000 in Round 2.
 * By Ron/Margot/Elaine (known to have been rerun on September 27, 1986), the King World logo becomes light blue and is again at the bottom of the screen.
 * On another episode during this period (Shannon/Larry/Meryl):
 * Meryl puts $279 on account following Round 2, then claims it in Round 4. As the latter is played for a gift certificate, the $279 is simply added onto that.
 * One prize bought after Round 2 is a $330 desk set, which includes a digital clock showing a time of 5:57.
 * In a somewhat-unusual move, the platform for the chosen bonus prize (a $7,850 Mediterranean cruise) is placed in front of the puzzle board.
 * Due to a longer-than-usual sponsor credit, the sponsor list zooms out partway through.

May 1985 :
 * On May 2 (Diane/Linda/Ronda), Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt. His second attempt hits $5,000.
 * As of May 2:
 * The wide-font $1,000 is still in use.
 * The slide whistle is still used if Pat hits Bankrupt on the Final Spin.
 * Sometime between May 3 and June 21, the green $1,000 returns to its normal appearance.

June 1985 : (season ends June 21)
 * On an episode from May or June, after the green $1,000 returns to normal (Lori/Peggy/David):
 * During the interviews, Lori presents a key to the city of Henderson, Nevada and a certificate that certifies Pat as an honorary member of Henderson, both provided by the city's then-mayor. In exchange, Pat gives Lori a set of keys, which he takes back after the interviews are done.
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * The Round 2 prize (a Harley-Davidson motorcycle) uses the same "BIKE" wedge with bunched-up letters from January.
 * The Speed-Up puzzle MORRIS THE CAT is inexplicably categorized as Thing instead of Fictional Character. Afterward, Pat says the puzzle is "difficult to categorize" because he's "sort of real".
 * During the fee plugs, Pat rearranges the letters in the bonus puzzle FRANK SINATRA to RANK RATS. He can be seen adjusting the S and walking away from the puzzle board after the fee plugs, causing Jack to laugh as he signs off.
 * By the end of Season 2, a contestant is believed to have won the game with just $600, the lowest known winning score for the nighttime show.

Season 3 (1985-86)
Season Changes :
 * The Round 1 layout is altered slightly: $1,000 becomes yellow, the light orange $800 slightly darker, and the $700 becomes a dark red.
 * The Griffin logo is altered slightly: the font color is now pacific blue, rather than the silver used previously.

September 1985 : (season begins September 9)
 * On an episode early this season, according to one recollection, a contestant solves TUTTI-FRUTTI ICE CREAM with only the T's revealed.
 * On an episode sometime this season, a $31,211 Cadillac is the Wheel prize.
 * According to one recollection, a contestant during this season loses over $60,000 by forgetting the seventh word in the puzzle STAR LIGHT STAR BRIGHT FIRST STAR I SEE TONIGHT.
 * On an episode from sometime in the Fall (Vicki/Scott/Kim):
 * The Round 1 puzzle THUNDERSTRUCK is a rare instance of a one-word Phrase.
 * In a somewhat unusual move, after Scott fails to solve the bonus puzzle CIVIL DEFENSE, Pat asks Vanna to turn a couple more letters (specifically, she turns the D and V), and then asks if anyone in the audience knows the answer.

October 1985 :
 * Charlie O'Donnell fills in for Jack beginning on October 21. During this time, Jack announces on The $25,000 Pyramid.

November 1985 :
 * Jack returns on November 4, having resigned from Pyramid due to scheduling conflicts with Wheel.

December 1985 :
 * On December 5 (Nikki/Tony/Terry):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * Terry hits $5,000 four times in Round 3, but loses $62,400 by calling a wrong letter (S) with only the L's, V, and C missing from the puzzle THE THRILL OF VICTORY AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT; she loses $10,000 more in the Speed-Up. Incredibly, $62,400 would still have been a one-round record more than 30 years later.
 * On December 25, Jack wishes the home viewers a Merry Christmas at the end of the show.
 * Reruns air during the week of December 30.

January 1986 :
 * On January 20 (Virginia/Karin/Kent):
 * In Round 1, the $900 wedge is placed on the orange $250 instead of its usual tan $200 space one wedge clockwise. Neither the $900 nor the $200 is landed on.
 * Virginia plays Round 1 entirely, winning $5,850, $20 of which she puts on account. She loses the $20 (along with $3,000) to a Bankrupt in Round 3.
 * Sometime this year, contestant Nikki Frey sweeps the game and wins a Corvette in the Bonus Round, setting a nighttime winnings record of $61,620.

February 1986 :
 * On February 11, the Round 1 layout uses the regular green $1,000.
 * By February 11, the walls are given blinking lights.
 * On an episode after the lights are added to the walls (Pam/Dolores/Allan):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * The Prize wedge uses a wider font than usual.
 * In the final segment, Pat and Vanna promote the De Soto Hilton hotel in Savannah, Georgia, at which they stayed (apparently during a contestant search).

March 1986 :
 * On March 6, Wheel and Jeopardy! become the first game shows to be closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired. Strangely, this does not appear to have been noted in any way on Wheel until at least October 1989, though a bug is used in Season 11.
 * On March 14 (Dick/Diane/Betty):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * No letters are added to the Round 1 puzzle PRIMA DONNA for 9 turns in a row (an incorrect vowel, 7 incorrect consonants, and a Lose A Turn). Altogether, 11 wrong letters are called.
 * Rounds 3, 4 and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * Dick sweeps the game and wins a Mazda in the Bonus Round.
 * Reruns air during the week of March 31.

April 1986 :
 * On April 15 (Brad/Cornelia/Pam):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence.
 * Round 1 uses the regular green $1,000.
 * The Prize wedge uses a wider font than usual.
 * Before announcing the category for Round 2, Pat walks over and reattaches Cornelia's microphone.
 * The orange $600 normally covering the beige $100 in Round 2 is accidentally placed on the adjacent red $300. Although the $600 is landed on for a correct letter by Cornelia, it does not affect the outcome of the game, as she does not win that round.
 * Rounds 1, 3, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * In the final segment, Pat and Vanna promote the Intercontinental Hotel in San Diego, at which they stayed (apparently during a contestant search).

May 1986 :
 * On May 5 (Ken/John/Andra):
 * The puzzle board uses its reversed chase light sequence. 04sixhundredinwrongspot.JPG
 * Round 1 uses the regular green $1,000.
 * For the last known time, $100 is used on the nighttime show, as the orange $600 normally covering the beige $100 in Round 2 is accidentally placed on the adjacent red $300. Neither the $600 nor $100 is landed on.
 * Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the person who began them.
 * John puts $382 on account in Round 2.
 * After John wins Round 4, the contestant backdrop glitches, removing "on account" and changing the total to $9. The money amount then disappears, with "on account" showing up briefly before John's grand total is shown.
 * Ken guesses AT MY CAT'S END in the Bonus Round. Very shortly afterward, he says "At my" just ahead of the buzzer, pauses slightly, then says "wit's end" after the buzzer (as well as the applause machine's groan track). Since there is no time for another commercial break, a stopdown is required before he is declared a winner. The stopdown results in a very obvious jump cut that cuts off Pat in mid-sentence, followed by an offstage voice saying "winner", before Vanna reveals the answer in an angled shot of the set (identical to the shot used at the start of the Bonus Round). Of these events, only the "cat's end" guess has been seen on specials.

June 1986 : (season ends June 20)

Season 4 (1986-87)
Season Changes :
 * The Wheel templates are overhauled: Season4wheel.png
 * Lose A Turn changes from tan to yellow.
 * In Round 1, $1,000 becomes pink. Going clockwise from there, $500 changes from light orange to yellow, $400 from red to purple, $200 from tan to red, Free Spin from brown to peach, $700 from orange to pink, $200 from tan to peach, $150 from red to blue, and $450 from brown to red. The blue $400 decreases to a purple $200, while the $250 next to it becomes a peach $400. The green $900 becomes a pink $250, the tan $600 darkens to peach, the brown $250 becomes purple, the blue $350 becomes orange, the tan $750 darkens to yellow, the orange $800 becomes blue, and the orange $200 lightens to peach.
 * In Round 2, $1,000 becomes yellow. From there, the orange $600 becomes red, the red $300 becomes pink, and the brown $700 lightens to peach. Lose A Turn swaps positions with the $150 two wedges clockwise (which becomes purple), while the tan $800 becomes red, the red $500 becomes pink, the tan $400 becomes blue, the blue $250 becomes purple, the tan $400 upgrades to a peach $900, the blue $550 reduces to a red $300, and the brown $300 becomes a blue $250. The red $200 and tan $900 trade places (the former becoming pink and the latter becoming yellow), the orange $200 increases to $400, the blue $400 becomes a purple $550, the tan $500 becomes an orange $200, the second Bankrupt moves one wedge clockwise to replace the tan $600 (with a red $500 replacing the Bankrupt), the brown $250 becomes a pink $600, and the red $200 becomes blue. $500.$700.Bankrupt.$1,500_S4.png
 * In Rounds 3+, the $1,500-Bankrupt-$700-$500 stretch is reversed. Also, $1,500 becomes yellow, the blue $700 becomes purple, the orange $500 becomes blue, the red $350 becomes pink, the brown $350 becomes purple, and the tan $300 becomes pink.
 * Sometime this season, the $200 between $500 and $550 is temporarily increased to $900 for Rounds 2+, and the peach $900 temporarily becomes lime green. Kingworldseason4.png
 * The King World logo becomes aqua blue, a color which remains through the end of Season 6.
 * Around this point, Pat no longer says "For [amount], [solve/identify/what's] this [category]" after a contestant asks to solve.

September 1986 : (season begins September 8)
 * On an episode sometime this season, a $15,000+ Buick Skylark is the Wheel Prize. It is not picked up.

October 1986 :
 * On an episode during the week of October 13 (Julie/David/Nita), the puzzle board uses its original chase light sequence.
 * As of the above episode, the set still looks the same as it did in October 1984.
 * On an episode sometime between October 20 and November 13 (Marsha/Ed/Kathleen, known to have been rerun on September 11, 1987):
 * Oddly, the red portions are missing from the opening logo.
 * The Round 3 puzzle FOOT-LONG HOT DOG is a very rare instance of a puzzle with only one vowel.
 * Ed wins with $4,750, earned entirely from a $5,000 spin in Round 3 followed by the purchase of a vowel.
 * After Ed wins the Bonus Round, he is briefly shown in a "window" accompaying a shot of the prize played for (a diamond necklace), similar to the shot used in shopping rounds at the time.

November 1986 :
 * By November 13, two set changes are made:
 * The contestant backdrops are changed to streamline the "jagged" edges while retaining the same color scheme. The new backdrops' "beams" appear to resemble flower buds.
 * The walls are replaced by a set of lights and a more colorful background.
 * As of November 13, the Enterprises logo still looks the same as it did on September 10, 1984.
 * Sometime this month, known to be after the third sunburst backdrops are introduced, a female contestant sets a new one-round record of $44,300 by solving AN AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY. She also wins three cars: one from the Prize wedge, the other two from the aforementioned one-round record. Her overall maingame winnings are $59,013, but she loses a $17,000+ piece of jewelry in the Bonus Round.
 * On an episode sometime in November or December (Kate/Marc/Caryn):
 * A $13,187 Renault Alliance convertible is the Wheel Prize. It is won.
 * Round 4 is played for a gift certificate despite not beginning as a Speed-Up.
 * By the above episode, and definitely by December 22, the Enterprises logo is altered to add the line "A unit of The Coca-Cola Company" between the "Enterprises" marking and copyright date.

December 1986 :
 * As of December 11, the Used Letter Board is still a chalkboard.
 * Reruns air during the week of December 29.

January 1987 :
 * On January 5, 6, or 7 (Ann/Valerie/Helen):
 * The puzzle board uses its original chase light sequence.
 * Strangely, the Prize wedge closeup has it on the Round 1 layout, specifically the red $300 next to $800.
 * Valerie sweeps the game and wins a Hi-Lo trailer in the Bonus Round.

February 1987 :
 * On February 12 (taped January 18), then-future Oprah Winfrey Show producer LeGrande Green is a contestant. He wins $4,900 in the main game (including a sofa bed, brass clock, stereo system, and trip to Hawaii) plus a Renault in the Bonus Round, a total of $19,508.
 * By February 12, the puzzle board's chase lights begin using the reversed sequence permanently.
 * On an episode sometime this month (Therese/Ed/Rodger):
 * The Round 2 puzzle PLEASE DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS is on the second through fourth rows, a practice normally done only if the first word is too long for the top row.
 * In Round 2, Ed accidentally asks to buy a vowel after spinning, but is prompted for a consonant by Pat. He then calls an S, which is in the puzzle.
 * The camera is zoomed too far out for the entirety of Round 2, showing the entire puzzle board, and a portion of the Wheel.
 * Round 4 begins as a Speed-Up, with no shopping. Oddly, the letter ding is used when the apostrophe in the puzzle is revealed.
 * During the end-of-game tally, Pat mentions that Rodger's twin brother had been a contestant as well.
 * Possibly due to the presence of Round 4, Pat signs off after the Bonus Round.

March 1987 :
 * Sometime between March 17 and 30, the money graphic begins zooming in rather than "flipping".
 * By March 30, Jack begins announcing from a booth in front of the audience. This setup remains through at least mid-October 1988, and likely through the end of Season 6.

April 1987 :
 * Reruns air during the week of April 20.

May 1987 :
 * On an episode sometime this month (Mark/Barbara/Susan):
 * In a rarity for the shopping era, two contestants (Mark and Susan) win at least $10,000.
 * Mark wins two cars: a Jeep in the main game, and a Renault in the Bonus Round.
 * The bonus puzzle, THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL, ties the record for the second-longest known bonus puzzle at the time.
 * On another episode sometime this month (Sandra/Janet/Ray), Jack appears on-camera.

June 1987 : (season ends June 19)
 * On an episode sometime this month (Martine/Jim/Gerri), another 20-letter bonus puzzle appears: UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. This is also only the third known bonus puzzle to use all four lines of the puzzle board.
 * As of the above episode, the category chyrons are still not present during Speed-Up rounds.
 * As of the above episode, the Enterprises logo still looks the same as it did on December 22, 1986.

Season 5 (1987-88)
September 1987 : (season begins September 14)
 * On an episode sometime this month (Sandy/Mark/Jim):
 * The Prize wedge is in a font different from the usual, similar in style to the Mad magazine logo.
 * The $200 by $550 is increased to $900 for at least this episode only.
 * Sandy sweeps the game and wins a Mazda in the Bonus Round.
 * By this episode, the pink wedges have become noticably brighter.

October 1987 :
 * October 5 (#S-796) begins the Big Month of Cash, a special format which eliminates the shopping rounds and has the contestants play for cash. Changes introduced on this episode include:
 * Games are now played to a minimum of four rounds. The templates for Rounds 2 and 3 are moved to Rounds 3 and 4 respectively, while the Round 1 template is now used for the first two rounds. As a result, Free Spin now remains for Round 2.
 * Top dollar values of $2,500 and $3,500 are introduced. These are both sparkly like the $5,000 wedge, and are respectively colored teal and magenta. The $2,500 wedge replaces $1,000 for Round 2, and the $3,500 wedge replaces the red $300 for Round 3.
 * The Round 2 prize is on the blue $150 two spaces to the left of Lose A Turn.
 * A second Prize wedge is added in Round 4. It is placed over the purple $150 if Rounds 3 and 4 are in the same segment and on the red $300 if Round 4 is in its own segment.
 * Commercial breaks no longer occur mid-round. The breaks are now between Rounds 2 and 3, between Rounds 3 and 4, between the last round and the Bonus Round, and between the Bonus Round and Pat and Vanna's post-game chat. If time permits, some games advance Round 4 and its prize to the second segment, with the third segment introducing $5,000 in Round 5. This practice is abandoned in the early 1990s, most likely during Season 9.
 * Five (sometimes six) prizes are available in the Bonus Round: $25,000 cash, a car, and three or four other prizes which are changed out every week. A neon blue-and-green $25,000 sign represents the cash prize; if it is chosen, the sign lowers at the start of the round and Jack says, "Solve the puzzle and you win good ol' American cash that adds up to $25,000."
 * "I'm a Wheel Watcher", also used in commercials around this point, now plays when Vanna walks out. This song, performed by Kool & the Gang, is a rewrite of "I'm a Girl Watcher" by The O'Kaysions.
 * The entire puzzle board is now shown during Speed-Up rounds. Previously, the shot of the board would be cropped as tightly as possible.
 * The stage now has several rugs and turntables showing various (mostly nonexistent) Wheel layouts, used mostly to display prizes like cars and boats; this includes a smaller rug which Pat, Vanna, and the day's winner stand on at center stage during the credits. The turntables are active during the opening, car descriptions, and closing (unless the champion wins a car and the post-game chat and credits take place there).
 * A dramatic orchestral cue called "I Remember the Child" accompanies Pat's rundown of the Bonus Round prizes.
 * As it no longer applies, "gift certificates do not include sales tax" is removed from Jack's closing disclaimer.
 * "The following companies have furnished prizes and/or paid a fee for promoting their products." is the new sponsor list preface.
 * Years after the retirement of shopping, Vanna retains a ceramic Dalmatian and occasionally brings it out for special appearances; by 2009, it is named "Sheldon".
 * Other notable events on October 5 (John/Nancy/Peter):
 * Jack's intro is "The studio is buzzing today in anticipation of magnificent prizes and lots of money in this Month of Cash on Wheel of Fortune! And here's our host, who's also buzzing to tell us more about it: Pat Sajak!" During the intro, the puzzle board reads WHEEL OF FORTUNE on three lines, center-aligned (which had previously been, and continues to be, a hallmark of the show's merchandise). Perhaps due to a technical error, Jack's intro echoes slightly. Also, neither the money graphic nor animated logo are used.
 * In Round 2, contestant Peter lands on $800, but looks at the wrong arrow and tries to turn in his Free Spin after thinking that he has landed on Bankrupt. On the next spin, he lands on $400, then tries to buy a vowel first.
 * In Round 3, Peter tries to buy another vowel after having bought every vowel that is in the puzzle, but Pat stops him.
 * John accidentally asks to buy an owl in Round 4, to which Pat responds "We do not sell any birds on this show anymore."
 * The first four puzzles all have apostrophes in them, much to Pat's amusement.
 * Rounds 1, 2, and 5 are Phrase.
 * By October 5, the category chyron now appears in the Speed-Up, a practice that appears to have been dropped in 1981.
 * Sometime after the above change, and most likely still within Season 5, contestant Bill guesses STYROFOAM HAT for the Speed-Up puzzle STYROFOAM CUP, a moment which has been seen in several retrospectives.
 * For possibly the last time on the nighttime show, the chroma-key Wheel shot is used during Pat and Vanna's sign-off.
 * Most likely on October 6, the opening is mostly reverted to the original, albeit ending with "Plus thousands of dollars in cash! Over (amount) just waiting to be won, as we continue this special Big Month of Cash on Wheel of Fortune!", and Pat still walks out to center stage to explain the change. Rhonda/Patt/Jay and Mary Beth/Donna/Robin are known to use this.
 * On Rhonda/Patt/Jay, known to not be from the week of October 5:
 * The "only vowels remain" beeps still sound eight times.
 * The Round 2 prize is placed on the $150 between $250 and $400.
 * "I Remember the Child" is still used.
 * Jay sweeps the game and wins a Jaguar in the Bonus Round; said Bonus Round, PEOPLE WHO NEED PEOPLE, is the second known instance (and first nighttime one) of Quotation being used there.
 * Pat and Vanna do not sign off; rather, the final segment begins with the fee plugs.
 * By the above episode, the Enterprises logo is altered: the background becomes yellow, and "A unit of The Coca-Cola Company" is changed to "A unit of Coca-Cola TELEVISION". This credit is also used on Mary Beth/Donna/Robin.

November 1987 :
 * On November 2, the changes from Big Month of Cash are made permanent, and it is now referred to as "Big Bonanza of Cash". Pat no longer walks out to center stage, and Jack's intro changes slightly to end with "as we continue by popular demand our Big Bonanza of Cash on Wheel of Fortune!" At least three episodes are known to use this opening: Geri/Chip/Betsy, Norm/Marci/Dean, and Deb/Art/Amy.
 * Daytime retains the shopping rounds through Rolf Benirschke's last episode (June 30, 1989), while Pat continues to tell nighttime players "We're playing for cash" until about March 1997.
 * Most likely on November 2, the "only vowels remain" beeps are shortened from eight to four. They are known to be used on Norm/Marci/Dean and Deb/Art/Amy (the latter taped in October).
 * "I Remember the Child" is likely dropped on November 2. It is not used on any of the aforementioned episodes.
 * On Geri/Chip/Betsy and Norm/Marci/Dean, the Wheel layouts still look the same as they did on October 5. By Deb/Art/Amy, two changes are made: the tan $600 in Round 1 increases to $900, while the pink $500 and purple $250 near the light-blue $400 in Round 3 swap positions. From this point until the one-template layout is introduced in the third week of Season 14, $600 is absent from Rounds 1-2.
 * On Norm/Marci/Dean:
 * The first known five-figure non-car Prize wedge is offered in Round 4: a mink coat worth $12,000+. It is claimed, but not won.
 * Dean sweeps the game and wins a Mercedes-Benz 190E in the Bonus Round, a total of $74,834.
 * Dean solves the bonus puzzle JANE EYRE (Title) just after the buzzer begins to sound. Despite his answer clearly being a loss, Pat asks for a ruling, and an offstage voice (possibly Nancy Jones) can be heard saying "yes" before he is declared a winner.
 * On Deb/Art/Amy, Rounds 2-4 and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * Later this month, Jack's opening spiel is slightly changed to end with "...as we present our Big Bonanza of Cash on Wheel of Fortune!"
 * On an episode from November or December (Norm/Diane/Linda), Diane chooses to play for a $39,792 RV and wins it. This may well be first time a contestant forgoes both the cash and car in the Bonus Round during the Big Month/Bonanza of Cash.
 * On another episode from the above period (Sheila/Greg/Dick, known to have been rerun February 18, 1989):
 * Pat jokes at the top of the show that he forgot to put on a belt because he was talking to Bob Murphy, then-president of Merv Griffin Enterprises.
 * Strangely, the Round 2 Prize value chyron does not use a comma.
 * The Round 2 Prize is erroneously placed on the other blue $150 (between $250 and $400).
 * During the post-game chat, Pat deliberately lets his pants fall down (in reference to the above joke), causing Jack to laugh as he begins the fee plugs.

December 1987 :
 * On an episode taped sometime this month (Rick/Julie/Gretchen):
 * The game ends in a tie, which is broken by a second Speed-Up played by the tied contestants in the segment normally occupied by the Bonus Round. As a result, the Bonus Round and sign-off are both in the last segment, the only known instance of this happening after the retirement of shopping.
 * The bonus puzzle SKI SEASON is inexplicably categorized as Thing instead of Event.
 * As of December 17 (or the above episode, whichever is later), the money graphic is still in the center of the screen.
 * On December 17 (Eileen/Peggy/Paul):
 * No vowels are bought in Round 1.
 * Rounds 1, 2, and 4 are Phrase.
 * Reruns air during the week of December 28.

January 1988 :
 * Suzie/Jay/Lorie airs sometime between January 4 and February 5.
 * On an episode from between January 4 and about February 12 (Marj/Paula/Denia, taped in January), Denia sweeps the game and wins $25,000 in the Bonus Round.
 * By the above episode, the money graphic begins to be shown at or near the bottom of the screen.
 * By the above episode, the Prize wedge lettering becomes shorter (more "squished") than usual.
 * From about January 31-April 30, Acme Supermarkets promotes a special Acme Wheel of Fortune game in which shoppers can receive game cards that award over $4,000,000 in cash and prizes including food, gift certificates, and $5,000 in cash (promoted with footage of the Wheel stopping on said space). The ads use a rendition of "Changing Keys" played on trumpets, somewhat resembling the 1994 rearrangement of the theme.

February 1988 :
 * On February 8, the Enterprises logo replaces "A unit of Coca-Cola TELEVISION" with "A unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc."
 * On February 12 (Hank/Nancy/Becky):
 * Rounds 2 and 4 are Title.
 * Becky solves the Speed-Up puzzle ARE YOU THINKING WHAT I'M THINKING with only the T's and N's showing.
 * As of February 12, the "Big Bonanza" title and opening are still in use.
 * On an episode sometime this month (Michael/Tracy/Vicky):
 * The Round 2 puzzle IN THIS BUSINESS IT'S DOG-EAT-DOG has an apostrophe and two hyphens, tying the record for the most known punctuation used in the trilon era (barring Fill In the Blank puzzles) until September 1994.
 * Six rounds are played, with $5,000 introduced in Round 5.
 * Michael sweeps the game and wins a Maserati in the Bonus Round. 200ClareYellow3.jpg
 * Sometime between February 12 and the end of April, Free Spin reverts to only being present in Round 1, with a yellow $200 replacing it for Round 2. This $200 wedge is "off-model", using a thinner variant of the font used for $2,500. This also results in a very awkward layout, with two adjacent $200s and a third only two wedges away.

March 1988 :
 * By March 23 (Barbara/Laura/Marc), "as we present our Big Bonanza of Cash" is removed from the intro.
 * As of March 23, the money graphic is still shown at the bottom of the screen.

April 1988 :
 * Reruns air during the week of April 4.
 * On an episode between March 24 and mid-April (Gerri/Maria/Kevin), known to have been rerun on June 28:
 * The "off-model" $200 is accidentally present on the Wheel from the chant through Pat's opening spin.Thin_Font_$3,500_1988.png
 * $3,500 uses the same font as the "off-model" $200.
 * Kevin sweeps the game but loses a Corvette in the Bonus Round.
 * At the end of the show, Vanna gets into a pool on-set and soaks her dress. She stands up, only to realize that her dress has become transparent.
 * By the above episode, the money graphic returns to the center of the screen.
 * On April 28 (Jan/Peter/Phil):
 * Pat mentions that some "guests from Denmark" are in the audience.
 * Jan's and Phil's hometowns are never mentioned.
 * Six rounds are played, with Rounds 3 and 4 in the same segment.
 * For the first of only two known times, there are three sets of repeated categories: Rounds 1 and 6 are Phrase, Rounds 4 and 5 are Thing(s), and Round 3 and the Bonus Round are Person.
 * The Round 4 Prize is a $10,292 travel trailer. It is not picked up.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 4.
 * Vanna begins to turn the hyphen in Round 6 before it is lit up, but she catches herself.
 * The shot of the Speed-Up puzzle is cropped as tightly as possible, a practice that was abandoned at the beginning of this season. $300_yellow.png
 * In the final segment, Pat has two of the stagehands raise and lower the $25,000 sign.
 * By the above episode, the "off-model" $200 increases to an also off-model $300.
 * As of the above episode:
 * $3,500 is still using the same font as the "off-model" $200/$300.
 * The shorter Prize wedge lettering is still present. The lettering returns to normal by the start of Season 6.

May 1988 :
 * May 6 is Jack's last full episode. Charlie fills in for at least the weeks of May 9-16, and most likely through the end of the season.
 * Sometime this month, a College Week is held. During the intro, all representatives are shown in front of the puzzle board, which reads COLLEGE WEEK, and holding signs for their respective colleges. The week is known to have had Charlie filling in as announcer.
 * On an episode from the above week (David/Eugene/Ken), which was rerun on July 29:
 * Vanna wears a sweater and pants.
 * Three males play.
 * When Eugene calls an incorrect T in Round 1, the buzzer does not sound until after the next contestant (Ken) starts to spin.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 1.
 * Before Round 3, each contestant gives a presentation on their respective university, accompanied by pictures of the campus.
 * The values of the Prizes do not use commas.
 * Perhaps in relation to the presentations, the puzzles are all somewhat shorter than usual.
 * As of the above week, the thin-font $3,500 is still in use.

June 1988 : (season ends June 24)
 * The Summer reruns begin with Jack reading newly-recorded fee plugs, but he quickly becomes too ill to do even those. As a result, Pat and Vanna do the new fee plugs for the rest of the Summer (at least one of which promotes the Mattel game).
 * On the July 20 rerun airing of Suzie/Jay/Lorie, the replacement fee plugs are done by a noticeably ill-sounding Jack.
 * On July 21, Jack dies.
 * On July 27, that day's rerun on WEWS in Cleveland is interrupted around the 20-minute mark by a Jimmy Carter campaign ad from 1976, which runs for about 15 seconds before switching back to Wheel.
 * Beginning on August 31, owners of the Mattel game can play along with the in-show puzzles.

Season 6 (1988-89)
Season Changes :
 * A "registered trademark" (®) symbol is added to the show's logo.
 * The Wheel is slightly changed:
 * The $2,500 and $3,500 wedges are now in the Clarendon font.
 * In Round 2, the "off-model" $300 wedge covering Free Spin is changed to the Clarendon font and now has a large dollar sign, shorter "3", and narrower zeroes.Off-model$300.png
 * The Prize wedges' lettering returns to normal.
 * Nickname is used several times this season, including at least two Bonus Rounds (HOT LIPS and MOTOR CITY, both between October 3 and February 17). Although it previously appeared on May 31, 1979, it is not known whether the category had a consistent presence or was "un-retired" at some point; its presence was likely sporadic at best, as no other known circulating episodes in between use the category.
 * As of this season, the slide whistle no longer sounds if Pat hits Bankrupt on the Final Spin. 25000sign.png
 * The second (and more familiar) $25,000 sign debuts. This one, shaped like an elongated hexagon, is composed of green and blue light bulbs which give a "pulsating" effect.
 * A week sometime this season offers a $75,000 Russian sable mink coat in the Bonus Round.
 * A week sometime this season offers a $39,000+ Mexican cruise in the Bonus Round, which may be the most expensive vacation offered in the Bonus Round.
 * On an episode sometime this season, Pat shows off a Free Spin boomerang. Oddly, the GSN airing of this episode has a TV-PG rating.
 * Starting this season, and lasting until at least Season 9, the show offers official T-shirts and sweatshirts to all contestants as consolation prizes. The shirts have the traditional logo with the Round 4 template as the Wheel part of the logo, with "I'm a Wheel Watcher!" under it.

September 1988 : (season begins September 5)
 * Until about the end of the year, most (if not all) Prize chyrons do not use commas.
 * September 5-26 is the New York Contest, where viewers solve puzzles shown on-air and must submit entries by the 26th. The winners receive a trip to New York to see the Radio City Music Hall tapings in late October. The contest may have only been promoted during the week of the 12th (and possibly the 19th as well), as the September 14 show contains said contest rules (albeit with GSN cutting out the puzzle segment and crunching most of the crawl explaining its details). Perhaps because of these puzzles, the winning contestant does not appear with Pat and Vanna during the credits and the blanks from the contest puzzle can be seen. A promo with Don Pardo airs during this period, using the same animated graphics as the upcoming shows themselves. Runners-up receive the new Wheel play-along game from Mattel (see Video games).
 * On September 5 (Ann/Constance/Jan): MGKellyAudition.jpg
 * M.G. Kelly becomes the show's announcer.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 2.
 * Pat pays tribute to Jack after Round 2, although this appears to have been edited in.
 * Oddly, Round 4 (ROAST BEEF AND YORKSHIRE PUDDING) is the longest puzzle.
 * Constance wins $78,097: $36,000 cash and a $42,097 Corvette.
 * In the Bonus Round, Constance calls E as her vowel, but the chyron briefly displays R by mistake.
 * After Constance solves the bonus puzzle, the lights in the studio stay dimmed for a few seconds longer than usual.
 * M.G. accidentally says "Gift certificates do not include sales tax" during the closing disclaimer.
 * On September 6 (Sharon/Nathalie/Peter):
 * Same Name debuts, with a trumpet fanfare preceding Pat's announcement of it being a new category. For the next several episodes, he comes up with punny non-examples of Same Name puzzles (such as "stretch and Groucho Marx") whenever the category appears.
 * After the Bonus Round, M.G. appears on-camera while Pat and Vanna welcome him as the new announcer.
 * The September 7 show is Ellen/Gayle/Richard.
 * On September 8 (Mitchell/Diana/Colin):
 * Colin returns due to an error on his first appearance (sometime before this season).
 * During the Round 2 Wheel Prize plug, the volume on M.G.'s microphone is turned too low.
 * The category chimes warble in Round 2.
 * Pat and Vanna show off the new $25,000 sign at the end of the show.
 * The September 9, 12, and 13 shows are Judy/Bob/Lynne, Pam/Steve/Kay, and Carrie/Nannette/Rick, respectively.
 * On September 14 (Terri/Debra/Mike):
 * The winning contestant's end-game total chyron does not have a comma.
 * During the credits, the New York Contest puzzle appears to have two hyphens still lit while the rest of the blanks are dark.
 * At least one GSN airing leaves the contest rules crawl intact.
 * On an episode this month, the original Speed-Up puzzle is thrown out for reasons unknown. Due to poor editing, the thrown-out puzzle is introduced normally at the top of the round (just as the Final Spin bells sound), but the replacement puzzle is seen immediately after Pat makes the Final Spin. The error is more obvious in that the original puzzle is Phrase, and the replacement puzzle is a one-word People.
 * On another episode this month, Quotation makes only its third known appearance in the Bonus Round: TWO IF BY SEA, which is not solved.
 * The September 15, 16, and 19 shows are Susan/Connie/Louis, Aaron/Mary Lou/Lee, and Mary/Karen/David, respectively.
 * On September 20 (Pam/Marlene/Gary):
 * Both Prizes (a pair of chairs and a cruise) are modeled by Vanna.
 * The category chimes warble in Round 2, as do the letter dings in the Bonus Round.
 * The September 21 show is Elliott/Mary/Joe.
 * On September 22 (Varda/Sam/Kathy), Rounds 4 and 5 are in the same segment for the first known time. While abnormal at this point, the pacing becomes the norm for games with five or more rounds by Season 8.
 * The September 23 show is David/Jennifer/Ellen.
 * During the week of September 26 (Kathleen/Addie/Betsy, Marianne/Jon/Kathy, Susan/Michael/Carolyn, Hal/Teresa/Deidre, and Terry/Carolyn/Donald), Pat repeatedly mentions that the Bonus Round rules will change next week.
 * On September 30, the Bonus Round uses the original rules for the last time. The puzzle, FIRST PRIZE, is not solved.

October 1988 :
 * By October 3 (Sharon/Amy/Gordon), the $5,000 wedge also changes to the Clarendon font.
 * On October 3, the Bonus Round rules are changed to give RSTLNE, and ask the contestant for three more consonants and one more vowel; also, the time limit is reduced to 10 seconds. BOOKKEEPER, the first puzzle under these rules, is solved for $25,000.
 * On October 4 (Rick/Renee/Chris), after the last consonant is called in Round 3, the Bankrupt slide whistle accidentally sounds instead of the "only vowels remain" beeps, which themselves sound immediately afterward.
 * The October 5 and 6 shows are Vila/Scott/Marla and Karen/Jay/Jim, respectively.
 * On October 7 (Maureen/Morris/Howard): S-1000 Slate.png
 * It is the 1,000th nighttime episode, taped August 17, although no mention is made of this in-show.
 * The Round 4 Prize is the same $10,292 travel trailer from April 28. It is not known if it is picked up.
 * The October 10 show is Duane/Ginni/Pam.
 * On an episode sometime this month (Shari/Tom/David):
 * Rounds 1-3 are Phrase.
 * The bonus puzzle, THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE, ties the record for the second-longest known bonus puzzle at this point. It is very likely that this is also the longest bonus puzzle until 2010.
 * On an episode likely from mid-October (Mimi/Geraldine/Anthony):
 * Round 1 begins with five consecutive lost turns (four wrong letters and a Bankrupt).
 * The Round 2 Prize is a trip to Caesars Palace, plus tickets to a boxing match between Sugar Ray Leonard and Donny Lalonde held on November 7.
 * Anthony wins the game by calling only two right letters: one each on $2,500 and $3,500.
 * Round 1 is Person and the Bonus Round is People, while Rounds 2 and 4 are Phrase.
 * By mid-October, the Used Letter Board is changed to a dry-erase board much like that used in auditions since at least 1985. It is known to have changed before the Radio City Music Hall tapings (see below).
 * October 24 is the first Wipeout Week. During this week:
 * Any prize won in the Bonus Round is "wiped out" for the rest of the week and not available to other contestants; red "WO" letters are placed on the prize to indicate that it is no longer available. Winning the Bonus Round allows that player to return the next day.
 * M.G.'s intro on the 24th is "Over [amount], just waiting to be won as we begin Wipeout Week on Wheel of Fortune!", with the amount decreasing throughout the week as prizes are won. As he says "Wipeout Week", the words "Wipe Out" appear on-screen in multiple colors while a snippet of "Wipe Out" by The Surfaris plays. On the 25th-28th, this is changed again to "Over [amount] left, just waiting to be won as we continue Wipeout Week on Wheel of Fortune!" as prizes are won and their values subtracted.
 * The snippet of "Wipe Out" also plays in place of the puzzle-solve cue if the Bonus Round is won.
 * On October 25 (Allan/Shirley/Peggy):
 * Peggy sweeps the game and wins $25,000 in the Bonus Round.
 * Although Peggy calls her vowel third instead of last, the chyron puts the vowel in its normal position and leaves a gap for the third consonant.
 * On October 27 (Altorlee/Anne/Jeff):
 * The Round 2 Prize is a Kawasaki motorcycle.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Lose A Turn.
 * After the Speed-Up, Pat says that Anne's two-day total is $53,239. Before the Bonus Round, he points out that it is actually $47,139, although this is still $1,000 over her actual total to that point (barring the less-likely event that she was shortchanged $1,000 on her previous episode).
 * Round 3 and the Bonus Round are Title.
 * On an episode likely from this month (Diana/Judy/Dan), after the change to the Bonus Round rules and likely early in Same Name's life due to Pat's joking about it:
 * Rounds 2 and 4 are Phrase.
 * In the final segment, Pat and Vanna promote the Moana Surfrider hotel, at which they stayed (apparently during a contestant search).
 * On a Fall episode (Nadia/Tricia/Betty):
 * Oddly, both Wheel Prizes are mentioned in the intro. (The other is a $5,500 mink coat.)
 * Three females play.
 * The Round 4 Prize is a $14,735 Chevrolet Corsica. It is picked up, but not won.
 * On different episodes all believed to be between October 4 and February 17:
 * A contestant fills in the bonus puzzle WHAT'S THE CATCH completely.
 * The O in the bonus puzzle POLICE CAR accidentally lights up while Vanna is revealing RSTLNE, but it turns back off.
 * There is a game where every puzzle in the main game is Thing; interestingly, the Bonus Round is Fictional Character (OLD KING COLE).
 * There is a game with a Place puzzle of SECRET HIDING PLACE. This is believed to be the first time that the category name is also part of the answer.
 * A bonus puzzle of THE PLOT THICKENS is the first known instance of RSTLNE revealing more than half of the answer.
 * On an episode sometime between October 11 and December 16:
 * Three females play.
 * Six turns in a row are lost with only the O and L missing from the Round 3 puzzle WHICH OLD WITCH THE WICKED WITCH; two of the turns are a contestant buying a repeated A, followed by her using Free Spin to call another wrong letter.
 * The bonus puzzle CANADIAN BORDER is categorized as Thing instead of Place.

November 1988 :
 * On November 2 (Louanne/Ann/Walt), Walt Ruskoski sets a winnings record of $90,095: $34,850 cash and a $55,245 motorhome.
 * On an episode sometime this month, but not during the New York tapings, Jane Pauley makes a cameo after her name is a puzzle.
 * The weeks of November 14 and 21 comprise the show's first "official" set of travel episodes, taped at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on October 26-27. Changes for these weeks include: Wheel_Road_Show_Puzzle.png
 * New diamond-shaped contestant backdrops, connected scoreboards that hold six digits, a new puzzle board, and a new Wheel are built exclusively for this and future road shows. The Wheel's bottom lights flash clockwise while the other lights flash counterclockwise, as previously done at home base on both versions. The new board does not have "dummy" trilons in the corners, and the others are spaced further apart. NYC_Day_1_$337K_Graphic.jpg
 * The prize budget is higher than usual (the money graphics range from $268,000 to $342,000). Several of the prizes are suspended above the set.
 * Each show opens with Vanna saying "I Love New York!", followed by a montage of New York-related scenery at night, accompanied by a recording of "New York, New York" (from Leonard Bernstein's On the Town, not to be confused with the Frank Sinatra song); with "It's a wonderful town" replacing "It's a hell of a town" from the original (most likely to keep it family-friendly). Among the montage shots are: a fireworks show at the Statue of Liberty, the Times Square monitor reading "NEW YORK WELCOMES WHEEL OF FORTUNE", a graphic of Pat and Vanna appearing on the front page of a fictional newspaper called the Anytown Times with the accompanying headline "PAT & VANNA IN NEW YORK", the River Cafe, the Empire State Building, and towards the end, the Brooklyn Bridge and the World Trade Center.
 * The post-Round 3 commercial bumpers feature "Wheel of Fortune: Radio City Music Hall" (using the two-row logo) written in gold letters in the middle of an apple, against a shot of the city's landmarks (such as the Manhattan skyline and the World Trade Center's Twin Towers as an airplane flies past, or the Rockefeller Center skating rink filled with skaters). Often, they will include zoom-ins or zoom-outs on the Times Square monitor from the intro.
 * "Changing Keys" is played on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ during the intro and post-Round 2 commercial break. For the rest of the program, the regular version is used.
 * Don Pardo announces. His spiel, complete with a new timpani roll when the venue is announced, starts with "From Radio City Music Hall in New York City, it's America's #1 game show!" over a flyover shot of the theater's exterior (containing the show's title on the marquee), which cuts to a shot of the theater's interior. The intro then uses a star wipe to a shot of the audience doing the chant. His spiel continues as normal, and ends with "Over [amount] in cash and prizes, just waiting to be won tonight as the Wheel takes Manhattan! And now, here's your host: Pat Sajak!", and the logo rolls away towards the right instead of just panning towards the right.
 * For the first week, seven prizes are available in the Bonus Round: a $64,000+ Porsche 911 convertible, Toyota Supra, $37,000+ boat, $49,000+ "Shipboard Party", $50,000+ motorhome-van, some jewelry, and the $25,000. Four of the five Bonus Rounds are played for the Porsche, and three are won. For the second week, the Porsche and Toyota are replaced with a pair of his-and-hers Cadillacs while the Shipboard Party is replaced with tickets to every sporting event in America.
 * Most of the Wheel prizes are presented via video footage of Vanna "shopping" in various upscale shops in New York City.
 * Except for November 15, Pat's opening spin does not use the overhead Wheel shot.
 * Several five-figure non-car Prize wedges are offered: a $15,000 fur coat on the 16th (Round 4), a $15,300 pair of watches on the 17th (Round 4), a $13,000 diamond bracelet on the 18th (Round 4), and a $15,200 diamond pin on the 21st. None are claimed.
 * According to a contemporary news article published October 31, the audience becomes restless as the tapings progress, going so far as to yell "move the cars" and "get that damn Porsche out of here" (referring to the platform in front of the set during the first week). At least half of the original audience departs before tapings conclude.
 * The Wheel does not spin during the credits.
 * Presumably due to the extra room on the Radio City Music Hall stage, the diamond backdrops behind the contestants are placed much farther away than they would be in later road shows.
 * Don's closing disclaimer is appended with "Production support provided by Radio City Music Hall Television Productions."
 * On November 14 (Meg/Dave/Matt):
 * During Pat's intro speech, the Wheel's loud automation can be heard, so he asks the control booth to "Stop the Wheel!" He also calls the Wheel "noisy" when doing the opening spin.
 * Dick Cavett makes a cameo after his name is the Round 3 puzzle (itself a departure from the normal practice of using longer puzzles in middle rounds). He returns at the end of the show to talk with Pat and Vanna, and stays to chat with the winning contestant during the credits.
 * The post-Round 3 commercial bumper is the "Radio City Music Hall/Big Apple" logo beneath the Manhattan skyline.
 * In Round 4, contestant Dave asks to buy a vowel, but the Final Spin bells cut him off. He ends up calling a consonant instead.
 * An animated graphic of a city skyline is shown following Round 4. Among the graphics are Vanna popping out of an apple, a lighted "WELCOME TO NEW YORK" sign, a taxicab driving by, and the letters in "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" turning in the windows of a skyscraper. This was also used in a promo for the New York Contest at the beginning of the season.
 * On November 15 (Andy/Shari/Sonia): PinOverLoseATurn.jpg
 * The Round 2 Prize is accidentally placed over Lose A Turn when it is shown. By the first spin, it is moved to its proper spot.
 * The post-Round 3 commercial bumper is the "Radio City Music Hall/Big Apple" logo beneath the Manhattan skyline.
 * None of the puzzles have an S in them.
 * On November 16 (Regina/Donna/David):
 * The post-Round 3 commercial bumper is the "Radio City Music Hall/Big Apple" logo beneath the Manhattan skyline.
 * David calls his vowel first in the Bonus Round, and it is put on the chyron first, establishing the precedent that out-of-order letter calls are placed on the chyron in the order called.
 * Don can be heard groaning after David fails to solve the bonus puzzle APRICOT, followed by booing from the audience.
 * On November 17 (Amy/Bill/Mary Lou):
 * After Pat does the opening spin, he complains that the Wheel needs to be oiled and "It's really noisy."
 * The Round 2 Prize value accidentally uses the opening money graphic's font.
 * The post-Round 3 commercial bumper is a zoom-in on the Times Square monitor reading "NEW YORK WELCOMES WHEEL OF FORTUNE" (from the intro).
 * A Prize is added for Round 4, even though it goes to Speed-Up after only one spin.
 * The camera is much further to the right than usual during the Bonus Round.
 * The trilon containing the A in the bonus puzzle MINK COAT squeaks when Vanna turns it.
 * On November 18 (Alan/Karl/Nikki), the post-Round 3 commercial bumper is the "Radio City Music Hall/Big Apple" logo beneath the Manhattan skyline.
 * On November 21 (Jason/Denise/Jane):
 * The shot of Radio City Music Hall in the opening uses a Dutch angle.
 * The Round 3 puzzle is RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL ROCKETTES, despite their official name not using "Music Hall". After this round, the Rockettes make an appearance. As a result, there is no commercial bumper. They then do another performance after the Bonus Round to "New York, New York" (the opening music).
 * Denise solves the bonus puzzle BROADWAY just after the buzzer, but she is still credited with a win and the answer is never checked.
 * On November 22 (Tim/Steve/Sharon):
 * Oddly, there is a commercial bumper after Round 2, which features just the Times Square monitor reading "WHEEL OF FORTUNE" (lacking the "NEW YORK WELCOMES") as it zooms out.
 * Before Round 3, the organists perform the "Charge" fanfare at Pat's request.
 * The Round 3 commercial bumper is the animated city skyline with Vanna popping out of the apple.
 * On November 23 (Joseph/Charlie/Leslie):
 * In Round 1, only three of the four "only vowels remain" beeps sound.
 * The commercial bumper (namely, the "Radio City Music Hall/Big Apple" logo) occurs after Round 2.
 * The Round 4 puzzle SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN THE STATE OF DENMARK is the longest known puzzle to be used outside of Rounds 1-3, at 36 letters.
 * Five rounds are played, with Round 3 in its own segment.
 * On November 24 (Rubin/Father Joe/Lorraine):
 * Debbie Reynolds makes an appearance after her name is the Round 2 puzzle.
 * Instead of a commercial bumper after Round 3, Pat mentions that the contest winners were flown in, and they are shown prior to break.
 * The camera is positioned incorrectly during the Bonus Round, cutting off the top and right of the puzzle board.
 * On November 25 (Martha/Linda/Willie):
 * In his opening speech, Pat thanks the two Wurlitzer organists, who once again play the "Charge" fanfare at his request.
 * Willie gets three consecutive Free Spins in Round 1. He uses two of them after making two incorrect guesses on the puzzle KENNY AND ROY ROGERS with only the K unrevealed, and solves correctly after getting the third.
 * The post-Round 3 commercial bumper is the "Radio City Music Hall/Big Apple" logo beneath the Manhattan skyline.
 * On November 29 (Pamela/Robin/Chet)
 * Pat makes several jokes about the Shipboard Party after he walks out, thus suggesting this is its first appearance, which in turn would indicate it aired out of taping order.
 * Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
 * In a rather rare occurrence, Round 4 (A TIME TO BE BORN AND A TIME TO DIE) is the longest puzzle.

December 1988 :
 * During the week of December 19, the puzzle board is decorated with holly leaves on the center and edges of its frames, and large candles on either end.
 * On an episode during the above week, a contestant solves the bonus puzzle EGGNOG despite getting no help from their extra letters.
 * On another episode from the above week (Marilyn/Sandi/Jon):
 * Oddly, the applause machine is used on its loudest setting after M.G. describes each prize in the intro, as opposed to a lighter setting and/or the "ooh" tracks.
 * The Round 2 Prize value does not have a comma, but the Round 4 one does.
 * Five rounds are played, with Round 3 in its own segment.
 * In Round 5, after Jon calls L, his scoreboard briefly displays $15,000 before correcting to $15,600.
 * Rounds 3, 5, and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * On December 23 (Jan/Don/Eric):
 * The Round 1 puzzle APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS is inexplicably categorized as Things instead of Place.
 * Round 4 is a Same Name of VANNA AND SNOW WHITE.
 * Round 1 is Things, while Rounds 3 and 5 are Thing.
 * All of the puzzles are unusually short, with Rounds 2, 3, and 5 each being only two words; Round 1 is the longest puzzle, at only 20 letters.
 * In the final segment, Pat gives an intentionally off-key rendition of "White Christmas" while Vanna accompanies him on a piano.
 * Reruns air during the week of December 26.

January 1989 :
 * By about this point, the Prize chyrons once again use commas.
 * On January 2, a contestant sweeps the game but loses $25,000 in the Bonus Round.
 * On an episode in January or early February (Eileen/Irene/Ray), no letters are added to the Round 4 puzzle RAZZMATAZZ for nine turns in a row, seven of which come after the Final Spin. 16 wrong letters are called in this round, including a repeated H, and an I that was called after the A due to Pat never telling the contestants that no more vowels remain. Finally, Ray calls the four Z's at $5,000 each and solves. This is also a rare instance of a one-word Phrase.
 * On another episode from the above timeframe (Arnie/Judy/Valerie):
 * Six consecutive turns are lost in Round 3.
 * Rounds 1 and 4 are played entirely by the contestant who began them.
 * The buzzer does not sound on an incorrect letter in Round 5, and the Final Spin bells sound immediately afterward.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt twice. His third attempt lands on $1,500.
 * Arnie jokingly asks to play for Vanna in the Bonus Round. After he says that he actually wants to play for $25,000, M.G. replies, "I was getting ready to tell him about Vanna!"
 * The bonus puzzle is one space further to the left than usual.
 * On another episode from the above period (Bill/Gail/Carolyn):
 * The Wheel's automation can be heard during the opening.
 * Rounds 1, 2, and 5 are Phrase.
 * For only the fourth known time, Round 3 is in its own segment with Rounds 4 and 5 in the same segment.
 * Pat forgets the apostrophe in Round 5 until someone notifies him from offstage.
 * Against normal practice, the audience applauds during the first three turns of the Speed-Up. On the fifth turn, a single audience member can be heard clapping.
 * Carolyn mispronounces the bonus puzzle MILAN ITALY as "MILL-in", then "MY-lun". After time expires, Pat says "We're gonna come back and discuss this matter." In the final segment, the puzzle is shown again in close-up before he tells her that her pronunciations are not acceptable.
 * On yet another episode from the above period, contestant Joy wins his-and-hers cars in the Bonus Round, but tells Pat that she wants the one designated "His". As a result, Pat switches the signs in front of each car. Interestingly, Joy finds a Free Spin token on the car seat.
 * On still another episode from the above period (Eunice/Polly/Michelle):
 * Michelle returns due to an error on her first appearance.
 * Rounds 3 and 4 are played in the same segment, with $5,000 added in Round 5.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 1 and 5, Things in Round 3 and the Bonus Round.
 * The Round 4 Prize is a $15,000 Dicker & Dicker mink cape. It is not picked up.
 * Round 5 inexplicably goes to Speed-Up with only one consonant (W) missing from the puzzle WELL IN ADVANCE.
 * The shot of the Speed-Up puzzle is cropped as tightly as possible, a practice that was abandoned at the beginning of Season 5.
 * Michelle plays the bonus round for a $77,000 annuity, and wins it. Her final total is $87,450.

February 1989 :
 * February 6 is the second and final Wipeout Week, played identically to the first. Pat obviously has a cold throughout, as he sounds congested and can occasionally be heard coughing.
 * On February 7, Pat mis-hears a contestant's accidental call of N as an M in the Bonus Round, and prompts the contestant for a vowel. Unlike most other accidental RSTLNE calls in the Bonus Round, the chyron instead displays the contestant's vowel (O) in the third position, and Pat asks the contestant for a third consonant, which then appears after the O.
 * On February 8 (Ken/Chris/Eugene), there is a rare instance of the last puzzle being the longest (QUE SERA SERA WHATEVER WILL BE WILL BE, in Round 5).
 * On February 9 (Lynne/Carol/Eugene):
 * Vanna is wearing red, but the category chyrons are brownish-orange.
 * The Round 5 puzzle LOLLIPOP is a rare instance of a main-game puzzle with none of the five most common consonants. It also has only two unique consonants, likely a record low for a main-game puzzle.
 * Also during Round 5, $5,000 is hit three times, but a wrong letter is called each time. In addition, no vowels are bought.
 * Six rounds are played.
 * The February 16 show is Sandy/Jodie/Vallie.
 * On February 17, M.G. announces for the last time.
 * All five Bonus Rounds are believed to have been won on the week of February 13.
 * On February 20 (Renee/Carol/Damon):
 * Charlie O'Donnell permanently returns as announcer. Strangely, no mention is made on-air of the change.
 * Marla Gibbs makes a cameo after her name is the Round 2 puzzle. She appears again at the end of the episode, and Pat mentions the episode of 227 on which Gibbs' character, Mary Jenkins, appears on Wheel.
 * Ten wrong letters are called in the Speed-Up.
 * Round 2 and the Bonus Round are Person, while Round 4 is People.
 * Abnormally for this era, some spins appear to have been edited for time, possibly due to Marla's appearances and/or the longer Speed-Up round.
 * On February 27 (Barbara/Lisa/Larry), Before & After debuts in Round 1. The "Charge" fanfare plays when Pat refers to it as a brand-new category.
 * On an episode shortly after Before & After is introduced (Michelle/Bettye/Andy):
 * Andy is nearly disqualified because he had gotten lost from the group before the taping, and accidentally ran into Vanna backstage. His brother, Jeff, competed on a late-1986 episode with the third sunburst backdrops and late-1984 Griffin logo.
 * Against precedent, the buzzer sounds on a repeated N in Round 1, even though there is an N in the puzzle; normally, the buzzer only sounds on repeats if the letter is not in the puzzle.
 * On an episode sometime after Charlie's return, contestant Karen makes an incorrect guess on the bonus puzzle FANCY THAT which has to be censored by the cuckoo sound from the Pyramid franchise.
 * On another episode sometime after Charlie's return (Sallie/Wendy/Cheyney):
 * In Round 2, contestant Cheyney calls N on $2,500, but when asked by Pat to repeat his call, he changes to D. This is never noticed, although it does not affect the outcome, as he calls N on his next turn and does not solve the puzzle.
 * The Round 4 Prize is a $10,000 savings bond.
 * Contestant Sallie hits $5,000 three times in Round 4; on the first hit, she calls a wrong letter and uses a Free Spin.
 * All of the puzzles are unusually short, with Round 5 (WORTHY OF ATTENTION) being the longest at only 17 letters.
 * There are two duplicate categories: Round 1 is People, Round 4 is Person, and Rounds 2 and 4 are Phrase.
 * On another episode sometime after Charlie's return (Jim/Jeannette/Tammi):
 * Five rounds are played, with Round 3 in its own segment.
 * Rounds 1, 3, and 5 are Phrase
 * After contestant Jeannette solves the Round 3 puzzle ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE, Pat comments "Damn nice job on that one!"
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt.
 * The letter dings are accidentally used on the first turn of the Speed-Up.
 * Contestant Jim solves the Speed-Up puzzle without calling a letter first, and receives the house minimum of $200 as a result.
 * Quotation makes its fourth known appearance in the Bonus Round: WE SHALL OVERCOME, which is solved for $25,000.

March 1989 :
 * On an episode from between February 27 and June (Maxie/Penny/Steve):
 * No vowels are bought in Round 1.
 * In Round 1, and three times in Round 2, Pat does not ask Penny if she wants to use her Free Spin. She uses it in Round 3, again without Pat asking.
 * In Round 4, Maxie asks to buy a repeated O while Pat is being told that no more vowels remain. Pat asks what should be done, and the O call is disregarded.
 * During the credits, footage is shown of a "goofy hat contest" that the staff had before the taping.
 * On an episode in this timeframe (Lori/Dianne/Teri), the letter dings are accidentally used on the first two turns of the Speed-Up.
 * On another episode from the above timeframe (Liz/Victor/Leo):
 * The Round 2 puzzle CHARLIE AND AMERICAN PRIDE is misspelled (it should be "Charley").
 * Rounds, 1, 4, and 5 are Thing.
 * On another episode from the above timeframe (Dennis/Derek/Donna):
 * The Prize chyrons do not have commas.
 * Five rounds are played with Round 3 in its own segment.
 * There are two instances of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 2 and 3, Thing in Round 5 and the Bonus Round.
 * Rounds 2, 3, and 5 all have punctuation marks: an apostrophe in Round 2, and hyphens in Rounds 3 and 5.
 * Pat forgets the apostrophe in Round 2's Phrase puzzle until after the first spin. It is revealed before Derek calls his letter, which is in the puzzle.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt.
 * Reruns air during the week of March 27.

April 1989 :
 * Sometime this month, Andy Pargh is a contestant, finishing with $0. He later gains fame as the "Gadget Guru" on The Today Show.
 * The April 18 show is Fred/Fran/Betty.
 * On April 24:
 * The Round 4 Prize is an $11,500 Fred Joalier gift certificate with which a gold and diamond bracelet may be purchased. It is claimed but not won.
 * Contestant Vince is given THE ACROPOLIS as a bonus puzzle, itself only the second known appearance of Landmark in the Bonus Round. He says "tie" and "toe" for the first word despite getting "Acropolis" correct, but oddly never says "The".

May 1989 :
 * The May 5 show is Barbara/Tom/Ed.
 * May 8 is Family Week.
 * The intro includes footage of the competitors standing in front of the puzzle board (which reads FAMILY WEEK, center-aligned on the middle rows).
 * The five episodes, in order, are Lynda & Beverly/Scott & Ken/Smitty & Andy; David & Irene/Debbie & Vickie/Shirley & LaToucha; Ross & Bill/Dorothy & Susan/Becky & Dick; Kellie & Mary Ann/Art & Marla/David & Meredith; and Ed & Wayne/Alan & Madelyn/Joanne & Pat.
 * Because of the two-person teams, the Bonus Round "window" is rectangular instead of circular.
 * The top winning family receives a plaque and a trip to the Roseland Ranch in New York.
 * On May 12:
 * Oddly, Joanne and Pat do not mention their hometown.
 * The Prize chyrons do not have commas.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 3.
 * Joanne and Pat are declared the week's top winners in the final segment, with an all-cash total of $37,150.
 * May 15 is College Week. There are three representatives for the schools represented each day; however, only one from each school may be on stage at any time during the main game. Whichever school wins has all three representatives available for the Bonus Round.
 * Strangely, the finals are held on the 18th, with the 19th being Kevin/Nicole/Steve. The first three episodes are Jeff/Jill/Melanie, Kristi/O.J./Gary, and Mike/Sean/Traci.
 * On May 16, the bonus puzzle DAYDREAMING is a rare instance of a one-word Phrase. It is not known why the puzzle used that category instead of the more logical Event.
 * On an episode from between May 22 and June 9 (Arlene/Tina/Bill), five rounds are played with Round 3 in its own segment.
 * On another episode from the above timeframe (Cynthia/Scott/Jeff):
 * The slide whistle does not sound on the first Bankrupt of Round 5 until after the next contestant starts to spin; this is believed to have happened on other episodes around this point.
 * Scott accidentally calls L in the Bonus Round, and it is put on the chyron. The D's in the answer REDD FOXX light up (but are not turned) before an offstage voice can be heard acknowledging the mistake. Pat then asks Scott for another consonant, and it replaces L on the chyron as Vanna turns the D's.
 * Sometime this month, for what is most likely the first time, a contestant calls Z in the Bonus Round. Interestingly, she only does this because she already called the other two consonants in the puzzle (A HIT OR A MISS).

June 1989 : (season ends June 16)
 * On an episode likely from this month (Ron/Lindsay/Jim):
 * Jim gets two Free Spins in Round 1.
 * The "only vowels remain" beeps do not sound in Round 1 until Pat notes the situation himself.
 * The Round 2 Prize is a trip to Chicago to see the 5th-Annual Chicago Gospel Festival on July 29-30, which is claimed but not won. Given the dates, it seems likely that this episode is from June.
 * Jim solves the Round 3 puzzle THE EIFFEL TOWER'S ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY (Event) for $20,900. Of that total, $14,000 comes from calling four N's on $3,500.
 * The Round 4 Prize is a $14,000 diamond ring. It is not picked up.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt twice. His third attempt lands on $1,500.
 * For the week of June 12, a $68,000 diamond solitaire ring is offered in the Bonus Round. This is very likely the most expensive piece of jewelry ever offered on the show.
 * On June 13 (Theresa/Pat/Roland):
 * The Round 3 puzzle HEIGH-HO HEIGH-HO IT'S HOME FROM WORK WE GO has an apostrophe and two hyphens, tying the record for the most known punctuation used in the trilon era (barring Fill In the Blank puzzles) until September 1994. This same puzzle is known to have been used at least one other time before the electronic board was introduced (January 9, 1995).
 * The Round 4 prize is a trip to New York, London, and Paris worth $11,019. It is claimed, but lost to Bankrupt.

Season 7 (1989-90)
Season Changes :
 * The nighttime show moves from Studio 4 at NBC Studios in Burbank to CBS Television City's Studio 33 (now the Bob Barker Studio, longtime home of The Price Is Right), used by the daytime version since July 17. Unlike the daytime show, nighttime credit rolls do not mention being "Recorded at CBS Television City in Hollywood, California".
 * Several cosmetic changes introduced in July-August carry over to nighttime, including:
 * An updated sound effects package which comprises the current puzzle chime, "wrong letter" buzzer, Bankrupt slide whistle, "only vowels remain" beeps, Final Spin bells, and a double-buzz for the time's-up buzzer in the Bonus Round (where previously, an elongation of the "wrong letter" buzzer was used). The Bonus Round timer is also changed to a different style of beep, which is used through Season 17. In addition, the CBS applause machine used on their other game shows carries over.
 * A second rearrangement of "Changing Keys", whose melody is now played on saxophone and jazz guitar, and backed by organ and percussion. Two versions are recorded: an opening theme that starts in the middle of the bridge, and a closing theme that starts with a series of rapid drumbeats and a sped-up final bar of the bridge. Although the theme now ends on a single note, the three-note "puzzle solve" fanfare is rearranged to match. Even after "Changing Keys" is redone in 1992, the 1989 version continues to be used on select episodes until 1994.
 * The white shadow on the chyrons is now thinner.
 * The second design of the Free Spin disc, which is now green with the word "SPIN" in white sandwiched between two yellow "Free"s in script.
 * The nighttime version adopts a three-day returning champion rule, just like the daytime version.
 * The contestant nametags are changed to a gray parallelogram design with the name in black letters. Unlike the previous nametags, they are not cut to size depending on the length of the name.
 * Some Person and People puzzles begin including descriptive phrases (e.g., COUNTRY SINGER JOHNNY CASH instead of just JOHNNY CASH), a tradition that continues into the present day with most Proper Name puzzles.
 * The Round 2 Prize is moved to the other blue $150 (between the pink $250 and red $400).
 * The prize value graphic, although in the same font, now has a thick white outline around the characters instead of a drop shadow.W-H-E-E-LenvelopeHolder1990.jpg
 * The contestant's Bonus Round prize is now determined by picking from one of five envelopes, placed in a holder that spells out W-H-E-E-L in gold letters on green sparkling stars. Each letter is atop a thin metal pole, with the five poles forming a "fan" shape, all placed on a 12-wedge Wheel podium like the one seen here. Any prize that is won is taken out of rotation for the rest of the week. The change to envelopes was presumably because almost every contestant chose to play for the $25,000 cash (or occasionally the car).
 * If the $25,000 is won, the sign now lowers after the envelope is opened, and Charlie announces one of several rotating lines related to the prize.
 * Bonus Rounds almost entirely stop using more than two lines of the puzzle board. Previously, an answer that was three words or longer might be on three lines, even if it could fit easily on two.
 * The lights no longer dim during the Bonus Round, and the timpani roll is removed.
 * The intro is changed. During the "Wheel! Of! Fortune!" chant, the contestants run onstage. Charlie's spiel is now "From our studios in Hollywood, It's America's most watched game show! The famous Wheel is spinning your way with lots of cash and an assortment of fabulous and exciting prizes! Over [amount], just waiting to be won tonight/this week (Mondays)/given away so far this week (Fridays)! And now, here are your host and hostess: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * The intro graphic starts with several colored rings curling into place to form the frame of the Wheel, followed by the wedges falling down to form the Wheel itself. Once the Wheel graphic is fully formed, it tilts to form the "O" in "OF" (and fades as it does so), with the rest of the show's name spelled out in gold letters. The camera pans from the Wheel to the board as the logo appears, cuts to the audience as the logo reverses its animation and the Wheel graphic reappears and its wedges fly back out of the graphic, then cuts again to center stage while Charlie reads the cash value of the prizes, which drops off the screen as he introduces Pat and Vanna. As with most of the other "falling wedges" graphics used in later seasons, this one is extremely inaccurate; it has only 20 wedges, and it lacks Bankrupt and Lose A Turn while featuring $850 (not used since 1979), an "off-model" yellow $750 in a font similar to Times New Roman, and the nonexistent (outside of rug and turntable layouts) $950.
 * The center rug sees some minor changes: the $750 becomes $150, while the yellow $300 becomes $800 and swaps places with Lose A Turn. As a result, it goes from this to this. This carries over into the 1992 set (with a golden border attached) and lasts until the end of Season 11.
 * Because Pat and Vanna now walk out together, "I'm a Wheel Watcher" is no longer used.
 * The host/contestant area is changed to a solid brown design.
 * The contestant backdrops are updated to a chevron shape. The midsection of the backdrop shows a contestant's cumulative score if s/he has been on for more than one day.
 * "The following companies have furnished prizes or paid a fee for their promotion on the program." is the preface for the sponsor list from this point forward.
 * The King World logo becomes teal.
 * This season is the first of only three following Season 6 which does not have a College Week.
 * Around this point, Charlie starts announcing more deeply and softly than he did previously; this remains until about 2001.

September 1989 : (season begins September 4)
 * On September 4:35005000.jpg
 * Inexplicably, the Round 3 template is kept for Round 4, with $5,000 over the red $300 (normally the location of $3,500 in Round 3).
 * The bonus puzzle, BINGO, is the first known five-letter bonus puzzle. This starts a trend towards much shorter bonus puzzles, which is gradually reversed through the 2000s.
 * After the contestant fails to solve the bonus puzzle, Pat places the unopened envelope back in the holder. From September 5 onward, he always opens the bonus envelope at the end of the round.
 * On September 5:
 * Round 2 is the first nighttime instance of Same Name using an ampersand.
 * In Round 4, contestant Rob accidentally calls A after picking up that round's Prize.
 * On September 7:
 * In Round 2, Pat accidentally says that the puzzle does not have an A while Vanna turns it, but quickly corrects himself.
 * Pat is briefly visible in the contestant window in the Bonus Round, due to its camera being zoomed out too far.
 * The bonus puzzle uses a zero for an O. This anomaly, which started on daytime shortly before this season began, continues through the 29th. The zeroes can be easily discerned, as they are wider and rounder than the O's.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Thing in Rounds 1 and 4, Phrase in Round 2 and the Bonus Round.
 * On September 8:
 * No Wheel prize is added for Round 4, even though it does not begin as a Speed-Up.
 * Contestant John becomes the first nighttime player to retire undefeated, with $66,350. His final Bonus Round is the first known instance of a contestant choosing U there.
 * On September 11:
 * Contestant Bob accidentally buys a repeated A in Round 1 after all the vowels in the puzzle have been revealed, although Pat never informs the contestants of this. This does not affect the outcome as he wins regardless.
 * Bob's letters fill in the bonus puzzle MARMALADE completely.
 * Sometime during the week of September 11, the aforementioned shirts are plugged for the first time.
 * On September 18 (recorded August 12):
 * The bottom-most tier of lights around the Wheel is not working.
 * The bonus puzzle SLAPHAPPY is an extremely rare instance of a one-word Phrase.
 * On September 19:
 * Rounds 2, 3, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * Rounds 2 and 3 use zeroes for O's.
 * On September 20:
 * The money graphic in the opening appears at the middle of the screen instead of the bottom.
 * Three females play.
 * Vanna is wearing purple, but the category chyrons are pink.
 * The Round 4 Prize is accidentally placed on the pink $300.
 * Six rounds are played.
 * Rounds 5 and 6 are Thing, Round 1 is Person, and the Bonus Round is People.
 * On September 21:
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 1 and 2, Things in Round 4, and Thing in the Bonus Round.
 * Round 2 and the Bonus Round use zeroes for O's.
 * During the final segment, Pat and Vanna guess how many lights are in the $25,000 sign; after this, Pat asks stage manager Randy Berke for the actual number, which is 1,206. Pat then asks for the sign to stop flashing and notes about six burnt-out lights, at which point the entire sign turns off for a few seconds.
 * On September 22, the Round 4 Prize is an Eagle automobile worth around $11,000.
 * On September 29:
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Thing in Rounds 3 and 5, People in Round 4, and Person in the Bonus Round.
 * For the last time, a puzzle uses zeroes for O's: specifically, Round 4 and the Bonus Round.

October 1989 :
 * On October 2:
 * The Round 2 puzzle BOB HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL uses all four lines of the puzzle board with HOPE on its own line, even though it could have easily fit on three. (This becomes the norm in the 2000s, by which point most Before & After puzzles put the connecting word on its own line if possible.)
 * The dollar sign now disappears from the contestant score displays if that contestant has at least $10,000, an apparent glitch which remains for the rest of the season.
 * During the Bonus Round, the category chyron is red when Pat announces the category (People). As the contestant window appears (right before Pat says "proper names" in his reminder), the camera suddenly shifts to the left and the category chyron becomes purple.
 * On October 4:
 * Rounds 2, 4, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * The Round 3 puzzle GEORGE C SCOTT AS PATTON is inexplicably categorized as People instead of using IN and Person/Title. This is likely why Person/Fictional Character became Star & Role less than two weeks later, so as to make the category inclusive for actors who portray real-life people.
 * On October 5, contestant Allison retires with $89,683.
 * On October 6:
 * The original Round 1 puzzle is thrown out for reasons unknown, although its blanks are still visible during the opening pan. This is most notable in that the original puzzle uses the middle two rows, while the replacement (Before & After) uses all four rows.
 * Round 2 is the only nighttime appearance of Person/Fictional Character.
 * Both Wheel Prizes are jewelry: a watch in Round 2, a diamond bracelet in Round 4.
 * Five rounds are played, but Round 3 is in its own segment, with $5,000 as top dollar value for Rounds 4 and 5.
 * On October 10:
 * Rounds 2, 3, and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * For no particular reason, the camera briefly cuts to an angled close-up shot of the Bonus Round envelope after Pat opens it.
 * Contestant Alan retires with a total stated to be $35,450, despite losing all three Bonus Rounds. During the credits, Charlie notes that this total is a mathematical error and his total is actually $42,100.
 * On October 11, Round 3 is the nighttime debut of Person/Title.
 * On October 13:
 * The prize value graphic in the opening abruptly disappears from the screen, instead of dropping off.
 * The category chyron is accidentally dark red for the entirety of Round 3. Vanna's outfit for this episode is blue, which all the other category chyrons match.
 * On October 16:
 * Three females play.
 * The Free Spin wedge is retired, with the "off-model" yellow $300 replacing it. From this point until its retirement, there is only one Free Spin disc. At this point, it is placed over a random dollar amount, covering that amount's hundreds digit, and claimed in the same way as Prize wedges. Until the end of Season 24, the disc is removed from the wheel before Round 3 if not claimed.
 * In Round 1, Person/Fictional Character is renamed Star & Role.
 * Both the winner's and yellow contestant's scoreboards turn off as Pat and the winner go over to look at the Bonus Round prizes. Strangely, the first eight bars of "Changing Keys" loop during the prize descriptions.
 * The winner's Bonus Round letter choices begin to be displayed in black, a color typically not used by the category chyrons. This continues for the rest of the season.
 * While both car turntables are active in the opening, only one (which has a Volvo on it) spins during the credits.
 * On October 17:
 * Contestant Bruce incorrectly solves the completely-revealed Round 1 answer DESE DEM AND DOSE GUYS by pronouncing the first word as "Desi". After calling the puzzle "crummy", Pat asks Nancy Jones for a ruling. She tells Bruce to say it again, and after he does with the same mispronunciation, Pat says "Listen, he's got all the letters up, I'm taking it" and the answer is accepted. Pat then explains the answer to Bruce. This ruling ends up affecting the outcome.
 * The Round 2 prize includes a TV, which during Charlie's prize description shows a clip of Pat, Vanna, and some Muppets.
 * Round 2 is the first instance of a contestant landing on the Free Spin disc; the rule change was not mentioned on-air until this point.
 * Rounds 2 and 3 are also solved after being completely revealed: Round 2 by Mike, Round 3 by Donna.
 * As a result of Rounds 1 and 2, the first segment runs for a very long 12 minutes and 51 seconds.
 * On October 19:
 * Three females play.
 * Contestant Helen picks up the Round 4 prize, but accidentally asks to buy an E without calling a consonant first and loses her turn.
 * Contestant Diane Landry wins a $36,488 Oriental cruise in the Bonus Round, which may be the most expensive vacation ever won on the show.
 * On October 20:
 * Pat stops the Wheel's automation after he walks out.
 * Round 1's puzzle GIMME A BUZZ is a very rare main-game puzzle with none of the five most common consonants. No letters are revealed until the 13th turn, a likely record.
 * On October 23: DianeGrandTotal102389.jpg
 * Contestant Shelly's nametag is in a larger, wider font than usual.
 * The off-model $300 is upgraded to an on-model dark-yellow $500, even though there is a light-yellow $500 only five wedges counterclockwise.
 * No music plays under Charlie's description of the Round 4 prize.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 2 and 4, Thing in Round 5 and the Bonus Round.
 * Diane retires with $129,370. After she wins the game, Pat affixes a piece of cardboard reading "$1" to the far left side of her backdrop, since the display only has five digits (and then only by removing the dollar sign). At the end of the show, he mentions the network's winnings cap of $100,000 and notes that anything over the limit is donated to a charity of the winner's choice.
 * On October 24, Vanna sings "Proud Mary" at the end of the show.
 * On October 25:
 * Pat forgets to mention the ampersand in Round 2's Same Name puzzle until after the first spin. It is revealed before that contestant calls her letter, which is not in the puzzle.
 * 12 wrong letters are called in Round 2, two of which are vowels.
 * As the Final Spin bells sound, the category chyron quickly "decreases" from purple to darker shades of blue until it disappears. It returns to purple for the rest of the round.
 * On October 26: FS350-02.jpg
 * For the only known time, Free Spin is on a value not ending in "00": in this case, $350. This is also the only known time that Free Spin is placed on a wedge adjacent to Bankrupt.
 * Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
 * Rounds 2-5 are Phrase.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Lose A Turn.
 * Contestant Mark retires with $110,757.
 * At the end of the show, Vanna surprises Pat with a birthday cake, and the audience sings "Happy Birthday" while "Happy Birthday, Pat!" appears on the chyron. Pat jokes that he has turned 30, although he was actually 43.
 * On October 27:
 * In Round 3, contestant Nicole (who later appears on "Some of The Greats" in February 1995) hits $3,500 three times in a row.
 * No prize is added for Round 4, even though it does not begin as a Speed-Up.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 1 and 2, Thing in Round 3 and the Bonus Round, and Things in Round 4.
 * Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Pluto are seen in the audience during the credits.
 * On October 30:
 * In Round 1, there is a somewhat well-known incident: with only the B, P, and U missing from the puzzle BARBECUE SPIT, contestant Tom guesses H, after which Pat comments on the implied inappropriate word with "Happpily, no."
 * The Round 2 prize is accidentally placed on the blue $150 two spaces to the left of Lose A Turn (its previous location).
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Thing in Round 1 and the Bonus Round, Phrase in Rounds 2 and 4.

November 1989 :
 * Sometime this month, there is a promo featuring a young boy watching the show as his mom calls him for dinner. Some strange aliens appear as he solves a "Wheelies" puzzle and receives a toy car as the grand prize, which his mom asks where he got it from. While the promo is for the nighttime show and the TV shows clips from such, the template in the living room is either from Round 3 or Round 4 of the Goen version airing at this time.
 * November 1-8 is the Cash and Splash Sweepstakes (also known as the Cruise and Cash Splash Sweepstakes in the mail-in portion). This is a fundraising event involving a 900-number and/or a mail-in, sponsored by Pizza Hut and Norwegian Cruise Lines. During this sweepstakes:
 * Presumably to allocate for the rules and disclaimers, both $2,500 and $3,500 are on the Wheel for Round 2, with the former over the purple $150. This would also suggest that only one round is played in the first segment.
 * 50 viewers each day win a $1,000 cash prize and a vacation aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines, with airfare provided by Delta Air Lines.
 * Before the first commercial break, a partially-filled puzzle is shown with category. Viewers then have 10 seconds to study the puzzle, after which they may either call the 900-number or mail their entries.
 * All callers receive a $4 gift certificate towards a Personal Pan Pizza with their choice of topping(s) and a pitcher of Pepsi.
 * November 13-17 is another sweepstakes, which offers a trip to Orlando from January 11-15 to attend the Disney World tapings. Entries are accepted through the 27th.
 * All episodes this week have two different closing segments. The one used by participating stations details the contest and does not contain fee plugs, instead fading to more contest details after the wardrobe plugs. Before and after the crawl, Pat and Vanna are shown talking behind the host's railing at the Wheel. GSN reruns use the "contest" version, with the segment itself edited out and the rules crunched.
 * All episodes this week also feature the car turntable in reverse during the intro and outro.
 * On November 13:
 * The first six turns of Round 1 are all lost (three Lose a Turns and three wrong letters). Overall, Lose A Turn is hit four times, a likely one-round record.
 * After an N is revealed in Round 3, the buzzer accidentally sounds amid the applause.
 * No Prize is added for Round 4, even though it does not begin as a Speed-Up.
 * The bonus puzzle (A FLIRT) is the first known instance of a puzzle including a redundant A. Oddly, the A is by itself on the second row.
 * By November 13, some episodes begin using a bumper that consists a shot of the audience, framed in a thin purple border surrounded by a thick blue border, following Rounds 2, 3, or 4. The CBS Eye curtains can be seen in these shots.
 * On November 14, the alternate ending has Vanna playing a round for charity, with Pat turning the letters. She spins the Wheel once and calls letters until the answer, STARK REALITY, is completely revealed. Her first spin lands on Bankrupt (complete with slide whistle), and her second spin lands on $250, but Pat tells her to move it to the $900 that she almost hit; her $900 goes to the American Cancer Society. The remainder of the segment consists of the fee plugs, followed by Pat and Vanna talking to the day's winner at center stage.
 * On November 15:
 * No vowels are bought in Round 1.
 * The Round 4 Prize is an Addictor Bambino boat.
 * Contestant Kelley retires with $67,524.
 * On November 16:
 * Rounds 2 and 3 are Phrase.
 * The Round 4 Prize is a $10,000 Dicker & Dicker mink coat.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt.
 * November 27 is the debut of Husband & Wife (PHIL DONAHUE AND MARLO THOMAS), although Pat remarks that it is a "category we haven't seen much of this season", suggesting that any previous appearances had been thrown out (or, less likely, that it debuted in Season 6).

December 1989 :
 * On December 4:
 * The camera is zoomed too far out for the entirety of Round 3, showing the entire puzzle board.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: People in Rounds 1 and 5, Phrase in Rounds 2 and 4.
 * On December 6:
 * The chyrons for Round 4 and the Bonus Round are smaller than usual.
 * Pat offers to pick the Bonus Round envelope instead, and Dorothy lets him.
 * Pat and Vanna do not sign off.
 * On December 8:
 * All three contestants are male.
 * The audience shot (used after Round 2) is framed in a rotating star without a border.
 * Contestant Gary solves the Round 3 puzzle MEL BROOKS AND ANNE BANCROFT with only the N's and T showing.
 * The "only vowels remain" beeps accidentally sound twice in Round 4.
 * Even though Rounds 3 and 4 are in the same segment, the second Wheel Prize is not added until Round 5.
 * The bonus puzzle, ATOM, is the first confirmed four-letter bonus puzzle, although according to one recollection, CHER was used as a bonus puzzle sometime before Season 6.
 * The weeks of December 18 and 25 have the set decorated for Christmas: large "spiked" lights are placed on the chevron backdrops behind Pat, while the puzzle board is decorated with three large starbursts.
 * On December 22:
 * During Round 4 (done on the Round 3 Wheel template), the Prize is on the pink $300.
 * During the final segment, Pat throws a handful of fake snow at Vanna, a moment which appears in various retrospectives.
 * December 25 is Family Week, with the Friday Finals format; the winning team on Friday receives a "Family of the Year" trophy. Some general notes about this week:
 * The opening has the teams already in place, with no movement by them until the "Wheel! Of! Fortune!" chant finishes.
 * Appropriately, Family debuts on the 25th.
 * The contestant window in the Bonus Round is an oval instead of a circle, and (perhaps as a result) the shot of the board is zoomed out further than usual.
 * On December 29: FamilyWeek122289.jpg
 * The teams are introduced with their previous scores on the main contestant displays; oddly, the chevron backdrops are not used for the cumulative scores after the game.
 * Rounds 1 and 2 are played entirely by the teams who began them.
 * Rounds 1-3 are Thing. Round 1, IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS, is given this category instead of the more logical Person/Title.
 * The Round 4 prize is a $10,000 savings bond. Strangely, there is no close-up shot of its wedge.
 * In the final segment, the trophy is shown with Pat, Vanna, and the winning team inlaid in the lower left-hand corner (continuing from Pat's joke about it being "six stories tall"). The camera remains on the group during the credits, almost certainly to continue the illusion, only to "break" it when the King World logo appears.

January 1990 :
 * Reruns air during the week of January 1. The repeats have "It's an encore presentation" dubbed in right after "It's America's most watched game show!" One such rerun week, consisting of players retiring with over $100,000, has "It's encore week, featuring our $100,000 winners" dubbed in.
 * On January 8, six rounds are played, with Rounds 3 and 4 in the second segment.
 * On January 9:
 * Only one turntable (which has a Cadillac) moves during the opening and credits. The stationary turntable has a Toyota Celica.
 * Contestant Meg retires with $107,938.
 * On January 10:
 * Vanna forgets to turn an L in Round 5 (during Speed-Up), although the puzzle is solved immediately afterward.
 * After describing the Cadillac won in the Bonus Round, Charlie accidentally says "Good luck."
 * Full credit rolls now begin with Merv Griffin as Executive Producer and continue to end with his creator credit.
 * At the end of the January 11 show, Pat and Vanna plug the upcoming Disney World tapings.
 * On January 12:
 * Six rounds are played, with Rounds 3 and 4 in the same segment.
 * Rounds 1, 2, and 6 are Phrase.
 * Contestant Louise retires with $118,936, a rare instance of two consecutive undefeated champions.
 * The Round 4 Prize is an $11,269 grand piano, which is won.
 * On January 29, the Merv Griffin Enterprises graphic now flips down from above the screen for Charlie's spiel, then back up to show the set and King World logo/announcement. Previously, the camera cut to the logo for that portion of Charlie's spiel, then cut back to the set for the King World logo/announcement.
 * On January 30:
 * Six rounds are played, with Rounds 3 and 4 in the same segment.
 * During Round 6, contestant Alan begins to spin right before the Final Spin bells. He is allowed to complete his turn, after which Pat does the Final Spin.
 * Rounds 3, 5, 6, and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * On January 31:
 * 10 wrong letters are called in Round 5, two of which (D and L) are repeats.
 * Rounds 1, 2, 4, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * Alan calls A as his vowel in the Bonus Round, but the chyron briefly displays E by mistake.

February 1990 :
 * On February 1, all three contestants are male.
 * On February 2:
 * One of the contestants is referred to by her nickname, Mouse.
 * Rounds 1, 2, and 4 are Phrase.
 * Pat and Vanna talk with Charlie after the Bonus Round.
 * On February 5:
 * The Final Spin bells sound just before Pat's "People does not always mean 'proper names'" explanation, after which they sound again.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Thing in Rounds 1 and 3, People in Round 5 and Person in the Bonus Round.
 * On February 6:
 * Contestant Lisa calls a wrong letter, then opts to turn in her Free Spin, but before she can do so, Jeff begins to spin the Wheel. He quickly stops himself, after which Pat resets the Wheel by moving it backward. On her immediate next turn, Lisa tries to buy a vowel after her spin, and after being corrected, she calls an incorrect consonant.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Thing in Rounds 1, 4 and the Bonus Round, and People in Rounds 2 and 3.
 * On February 7:
 * Six rounds are played, with Rounds 3 and 4 in the second segment.
 * Round 6, GRACELAND, is categorized as Place instead of Landmark.
 * Things is used in Round 3, while Round 4 and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * The weeks of February 19 and 26 are done from Walt Disney World, recorded in mid-January. Unusually for a road show, these weeks use the rugs, turntables, and CBS's applause machine. Near the end of the intro, an animation of Tinker Bell flies on-screen and taps the screen, the glow from her magic wand forming the wipe to the set.
 * Each intro starts with Vanna at a Disney World attraction, saying "It's Wheel of Fortune from Walt Disney World!" before the theme is cued to Disney World footage.
 * In one intro, Charlie's part is "On location in Orlando, Florida; America's favorite game show! Coming to you from America's favorite theme park!" As the logo forms over footage of Mickey Mouse waving from the Cinderella/Sleeping Beauty castle, he continues, "The famous Wheel is spinning your way: Wheel of Fortune!" at which point Tinker Bell zaps the screen with her wand and then flies off. He then ends by saying, "With lots of cash and fabulous prizes! Over (amount) just waiting to be won! And now, here are your host and hostess: Pat Sajak & Vanna White!"
 * A second intro features Vanna's usual opening line, followed with a shot of Mickey Mouse on the EPCOT Center dome, as a spinning 1987 Round 1 Wheel template complete with blue center zooms back as it spins. Charlie's part is "America's most watched game show, coming to you on location from the Disney-MGM Studios! Magic, fantasy, fun, excitement, special friends, and fabulous fireworks, on Wheel of Fortune!" The logo zooms up before Tinker Bell zaps the screen with her wand and then flies off. He then ends by saying, "Lots of cash, wonderful prizes! Over (amount) given away so far this week! And now, here are your host and hostess: Pat Sajak & Vanna White!"
 * The repeats for these shows include a modified intro for Charlie: "It's an encore presentation of Disney Week!" The rest of the intro remains unchanged.
 * Like the New York shows in 1988, the money graphic is used in the intro.
 * From the week of February 12 until at least the Virginia episodes in late Season 12, two-line bonus puzzles on road shows use the first and second rows of the puzzle board instead of the second and third. This is probably done to increase visibility in larger venues.
 * On all of the Disney World episodes:
 * The contestant's Bonus Round letter choices are the same color as the category chyrons.
 * The puzzle board uses its original chase light sequence.
 * Prior to the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo, there is a disclaimer that the show was "Taped at the Disney-MGM Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida", with the logo for the Disney-MGM Studios theme park minus the MGM portion. The camera zooms up on the flashing light background behind Pat. In full credit rolls, this disclaimer is seen scrolling at the end of the credits.
 * On February 19:
 * One of the contestants is named Patty Hearst, not to be confused with the infamous kidnapping victim.
 * In Round 2, contestant Catherine asks to buy a vowel but changes her mind; her display deducts $250 briefly before re-adding it.
 * As Round 3 starts and Pat announces the $3,500 space's presence, the entire Wheel can be seen before the camera switches to the usual crane shot of the space.
 * Rounds 3 and 4 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
 * The November 1989 contest winners are shown in the audience prior to the credits.
 * Contestant J.D. leaves with $106,785, and his chyron flashes when announced. Charlie announces during the credits that winnings over $100,000 are donated to the charity of the contestant's choice.

March 1990 :
 * On March 2:
 * The Round 2 Prize is a $3,437 trip to Mexico, which is promoted by Vanna and Donald Duck dancing "La Cucaracha" at the Pyramids of Mexico at EPCOT Center.
 * After that round, as the show goes to break, Goofy and Pluto can be seen entertaining the audience.
 * After Pat and Vanna sign off, there is a wide shot of the set, including the champion (Cornelia) standing at the podium, just before Charlie begins the closing plugs.
 * All five Bonus Rounds are won on the week of February 26.
 * On March 6:
 * Bankrupt is hit four times in Round 3, including the first two spins.
 * Rounds 2, 4, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * Contestant Cornelia retires with $45,637.
 * On March 9, the Round 1 puzzle ROGER & ME is both a rare instance of a puzzle with only three unique consonants, and the first known use of an ampersand outside Same Name. Oddly, ampersands do not seem to be used in Family or Husband & Wife until much later.
 * On March 12:
 * After the bonus puzzle AT ITS PEAK is solved, the ding accidentally sounds when the I is turned, probably because it was the only letter unrevealed.
 * Vanna shows off an afghan she made for Merv.
 * On March 13:
 * Contestant Gerianne, a two-day champion, loses by $50.
 * Only Phrase and Thing are used: Phrase in Rounds 1, 3, and 5; Thing in Rounds 2, 4, and the Bonus Round.
 * Pat very nearly forgets to open the bonus envelope until he is reminded from offstage.
 * On March 14:
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 1 and 3, Thing in Rounds 2 and 5.
 * Round 4 is ALEX TREBEK; no vowels are bought in this round.
 * On March 15:
 * No vowels are bought in Round 1.
 * In an unusual move, the value of the Round 4 Prize "spins" onscreen like the blade of a windmill, and the value of the bonus prize is formed by horizontal lines flying in from the left and right. (The Round 2 Prize's value uses the normal dissolve.)
 * In another unusual move, the Round 4 Prize is kept for Round 5, despite the change of templates. It is placed on the red $300, its normal position.
 * Six rounds are played, with two sets of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 2 and 4, Thing in Rounds 3, 5, 6, and the Bonus Round.
 * Pat draws the Bonus Round envelope for the contestant.
 * On March 16:
 * The lettering on the Round 2 Prize's wedge is very "squished".
 * Inexplicably, Round 4 goes to Speed-Up with only two consonants remaining.
 * The bonus puzzle HIGHER AND HIGHER uses three lines of the puzzle board, and the camera is much further to the right than usual.
 * On March 20, a fur coat is offered for the last known time: specifically, as the Round 2 Prize, which is not won. While furs were generally dropped from the prize rotation in late March due to their impracticality in warmer weather, they are dropped permanently at PETA's insistence.
 * On March 27:
 * Pat escorts Vanna to the puzzle board.
 * The Round 4 Prize remains on the Wheel for Round 5; it is won during that round.
 * The Chrysler convertible is on a turntable, while a 4×4 near the puzzle board is on a boat rug.
 * On March 29, contestant Emily retires with $111,024.
 * On March 30:
 * In Round 2, Pat accidentally tells contestant Maureen that there is no H in the puzzle, but corrects himself.
 * Contestant Joe wins with $27,500, all claimed in Round 3, thanks to a total of eight letters found on two spins of $3,500 (five S's and three N's).
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 1 and 2; Thing in Rounds 4, 5, and the Bonus Round. Interestingly, Round 3 is Landmark.

April 1990 :
 * Reruns air during the week of April 2.
 * On April 9, the overhead shot for Pat's opening spin is dropped; daytime, however, continues using it until Spring 1991. Pat is apparently told to discontinue the opening spin, but still performs it a few times out of habit, and seems annoyed at himself when he does so.
 * On April 12, contestant Wilma retires with $126,233.
 * From at least this month, some local stations air a promo with Vanna doing an audition plug on the set. Strangely, the use of the Round 4 daytime layout suggests it was done after a daytime taping.

May 1990 :
 * There may be a seven-round game in May or June. If so, it is very likely the first, and just as likely that Rounds 3 and 4 are in the second segment.
 * Beginning on May 2, Pat stops doing the opening spin (daytime, however, continues using it until Spring 1991). He does it again on the 3rd and 7th, but these appear to be flukes.
 * On May 2:
 * The Round 4 puzzle HONKY-TONK BAR OF SOAP uses three lines of the puzzle board with BAR on its own line, even though it could have easily fit on two.
 * Rounds 1, 2, and 5 are Phrase.
 * Contestant Vince retires with $101,649.
 * By May 7, the colors of the audience shot border (used on this episode after Round 2) are changed to dark blue in a border that is purple on the right and gold on the left.
 * On May 7:
 * In a departure from the usual practice of using longer puzzles in middle rounds, Round 3 is HIEROGLYPHICS.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 2 and 4, Thing in Round 3 and the Bonus Round.
 * Charlie appears on-camera at the end of the show.
 * On at least May 7 and 9, a car is the Round 4 Prize: a $13,394 Geo Prizm LSI on the 7th, a $10,863 Toyota Tercel on the 9th (and perhaps as a result of this, no cars are offered in the Bonus Round this week). Pat jokes on the 9th that the wedge says "Car" because nobody on the staff could spell "Tercel".
 * On May 10, Rounds 2, 4 and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * On May 14, the blue $150 near Lose A Turn is increased to $500, leaving only a single blue $150 (between the pink $250 and red $400) for Rounds 1 and 2. This is the last alteration made to the Wheel templates until September 1996.
 * On May 18:
 * PAT AND LESLY SAJAK is the Round 4 puzzle (Husband & Wife), and the last known instance until December 2001 of the category using AND instead of an ampersand.
 * After Pat consoles the contestant who solved Round 5 for his not hitting a larger amount, she replies with "Well, there's always Jeopardy!"
 * As the camera pans the set leading into the pre-Bonus Round commercial break, the lights on the $25,000 sign are solid instead of flashing.
 * May 21 is College Week.
 * During the week of May 28, one prize includes a collection of doves that can be heard often during the week, a fact which Pat brings up several times during each show. They are shown on-camera on at least June 1.
 * On May 29:
 * Round 3 is Things, while Rounds 4 and 5 are Thing.
 * Following the Bonus Round, Pat is shown holding the $39,000 earrings that had just been won. He tosses one in the air after saying "Want to see a producer get nervous?", then puts the pair on Vanna's ears.
 * On May 30:
 * The Round 1 puzzle PRIM AND PROPER uses three lines of the puzzle board, even though it could have easily fit on two.
 * Six rounds are played, with Rounds 3 and 4 in the second segment. This is the last known game to use this pacing until early 1991.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Phrase in Rounds 1 and 2, Thing in Round 5, and Things in Round 6.

June 1990 : (season ends June 15)
 * On June 1:
 * Rounds 2, 4, 5, and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * The yellow and blue contestants' scoreboards are still lit up during the Bonus Round.
 * On June 8:
 * Vanna is wearing a dark yellow dress, but the category chyrons are blue.
 * Contestant Steve's nametag falls off as he picks up the Free Spin in Round 1. He retrieves the nametag, after which Pat tosses it aside and says "You don't even need this."
 * The Round 2 puzzle STANLEY CUP OF SOUP uses three lines of the puzzle board with CUP on its own line, even though it could have easily fit on two.
 * The above puzzle is mis-solved by contestant Jana (saying "soap"), who then immediately says the proper last word. Play passes to Denise, who immediately asks to solve and slowly says the correct answer.
 * Steve retires with $74,455.
 * Rounds 1, 3, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * On June 14:
 * All three contestants are female.
 * Vanna is wearing a green dress, but the category chyrons are red.
 * The Round 3 puzzle FIRE-ENGINE RED SKELTON uses three lines of the puzzle board with RED on its own line, even though it could have easily fit on two.
 * In Round 4, contestant Kathleen nearly lifts up part of the Wheel template when attempting to pick up a prize wedge. Pat lifts it off the Wheel for her.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt three times. His fourth attempt lands on $5,000.
 * On June 15:
 * The Free Spin disc comes loose during Round 1 and nearly falls off the Wheel.
 * Rounds 2 and 4 are Event; the latter, UNDER HOUSE ARREST, is inexplicably in that category instead of Phrase.
 * September 1 is the last known day on which the Mattel game is compatible with the TV show.

Season 8 (1990-91)
Season Changes :
 * The chevron contestant backdrops are replaced by the diamond backdrops first used on the Radio City Music Hall shows in November 1988. (Daytime, however, continues to use the chevron backdrops until its end.)
 * The floor is changed to black, and (likely as a result) the projected Wheel of Fortune logo is retired. (Daytime, due to not using the black floor, retains the projected logo until its end.)
 * The scoreboards are widened to seven digits, and the dollar sign now "adjusts" to scores instead of remaining at the far left. A similar six-digit style was used on the New York City and Disney World shows.
 * The contestant displays are now connected to each other, with no spaces between them.
 * The lights surrounding the Wheel become much brighter, and the bottom layer now flashes clockwise as the Wheel is spinning (much like the other layers); previously, they flashed counterclockwise.
 * The Wheel is noticeably tighter and louder than in previous seasons.
 * Title/Author likely debuts this season.
 * Following the last puzzle of the game, the cumulative total of an outgoing or returning champion is shown flashing in a similar manner to the post-Bonus Round totals.
 * The contestant's Bonus Round letters are now red unless the category chyrons are also red, in which case the letters are blue.
 * This is the first season after Season 6 not to have a road show and the only one until Season 33.

September 1990 : (season begins September 3)
 * September 3 is Teen Week, a tradition which leads off the next several seasons.
 * Actress Alicia Witt, whose only role at this point is a character in Dune, competes on one of the Teen Week episodes. She later appears on a celebrity episode in November 1997.
 * On September 10, during the post-game chat, Pat and Vanna mention the black floor. A shot of this occurs twice, and the $25,000 sign can be seen in both shots, although its lights are not flashing until the credits.
 * As of September 10, the Merv Griffin Enterprises and King World graphics still look and act the same as they did on January 30.
 * On September 11:
 * On the third spin of Round 3, contestant Gemini's flipper manages to completely bypass the middle portion of the blue $450 right as the Wheel stops.
 * As the post-game chat and credits take place near the car that Don wins in the Bonus Round, the turntable is not active.
 * As of September 11:
 * The Round 2 and 4 Prizes are still removed from the Wheel if they are not claimed in their respective rounds.
 * The Bonus Round envelope holder still looks the same as it did on September 4, 1989.
 * The contestant who lands on either a Prize wedge or the Free Spin is still allowed to pick up the item before calling a letter.
 * On September 14, contestant Mindi Mitola retires with a new winnings record of $146,014.

October 1990 :
 * Clue debuts sometime this month. Until shortly into Season 10, a light saxophone sting plays if a contestant correctly identifies what the Clue describes.
 * Sometime after the introduction of Clue, according to one recollection, a Round 1 Clue puzzle of OZ DOG is the shortest known maingame puzzle at this point.
 * Likely sometime this month, and definitely by December 24, the rules are changed so that a contestant who lands on a Prize wedge or the Free Spin now has to call a letter correctly before picking it up. Additionally, money is no longer awarded for the correct letter.

November 1990 :
 * November 5-9 is a sweepstakes sponsored by Norwegian Cruise Lines. Viewers may submit five puzzles from this week (presumably extra puzzles shown within the game), and 200 winners receive a chance to leave on a seven-day Wheel of Fortune cruise (December 15-22) on which all passengers can audition for the week of February 4, 1991.
 * Sometime this month, contestant David wins $71,534. He later appears on "Some of The Greats!" in February 1995.
 * On one of his episodes, David solves the bonus puzzle LUGGAGE despite getting no help from his extra letters.

December 1990 :
 * December 24 is Family Week.
 * Reruns air during the week of December 31.

January 1991 :
 * On an episode sometime this year, Pat and Vanna pie each other at the end of a show. This moment has been seen repeatedly in clip shows.
 * Vanna is absent for the weeks of January 7 and 14 due to her honeymoon. Tricia Gist, then the girlfriend of Merv Griffin's son, Tony, fills in for her. During these episodes:
 * Charlie introduces only Pat, who then introduces Tricia. As is done with Vanna on daytime at this point, the bridge of "Changing Keys" plays when Tricia walks out.
 * New Leaf provides Tricia's wardrobe.
 * On one of Tricia's episodes (Ken/Shelly/Patti, definitely a Wednesday or Thursday):
 * In Round 1, Free Spin covers the dollar sign instead of the 3 on the blue $300. This is corrected by Round 2.
 * The Round 2 Prize is accidentally placed on the pink $250, one wedge counterclockwise from its typical spot on $150. It is won.
 * By January 18: 2nd_W-H-E-E-L_Envelope_Holder.jpg
 * A thick golden ring is added behind the letters on the Bonus Round envelope holder.
 * The copyright date is now shown during the credits, as opposed to being on the Enterprises logo. If there is no credit roll, it is shown as a chyron; but if there is a credit roll, it scrolls up.
 * The Enterprises logo returns to its original black background with "Merv Griffin Enterprises" animated, and is now revealed by a "page turn" effect; the byline, "A unit of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.", is orange. The Griffin also winks at the camera, as was the case from November 28, 1983 to February 1984. (Daytime, however, uses the "page turn" effect with the previous graphic until at least August 9, if not the end.)
 * The King World logo is changed to its more familiar full-screen "spotlights" animation, which begins at the point where the bars cross and the triangle forms the star.
 * On an episode believed to be from January 25 (Bruce/Doug/Kim, known to have been rerun on July 19):
 * For the first known time since May 1990, Rounds 3 and 4 (complete with its Prize) are in the same segment.
 * Round 4 and the Bonus Round are Thing, while Round 5 is Things.
 * Bruce appears to say the answer to the Speed-Up puzzle INNERMOST THOUGHTS on the buzzer. After conferring with the judge, Pat moves on to Doug who calls a letter and solves. Pat then notes that Bruce's response will be checked during the commercial break; his answer is determined to have come after the buzzer, but it would not have mattered as Doug would have proceeded to the Bonus Round regardless.
 * By January 25, the practice of removing Prize wedges after their respective rounds is abandoned. As a result:
 * The Round 2 Prize is placed on the purple $150 for Round 3, then the red $300 for Rounds 4+.
 * The Round 4 Prize moves to the orange $200.

February 1991 :
 * February 4 is a week consisting of players who auditioned on the Wheel of Fortune cruise in December.

March 1991 :
 * During the week of March 11, Tricia fills in for Vanna again, due to Vanna having a cold at the time of taping.

April 1991 :
 * On April 1, at the end of the show, Vanna appears to be pregnant. She then takes the cushion out of her dress and notes that it is an April Fool's joke.
 * Reruns air during the week of April 8.
 * On April 16:
 * The original Round 1 puzzle is thrown out and replaced, as mentioned by Charlie at the end of the show. The original puzzle's blanks can be seen in the opening pan.
 * Before the fee plugs, there is a contestant plug (phone number and address) for those wanting to audition for the Season 9 Teen Weeks.
 * By April 16, Prize wedges are now removed from the Wheel before the last round if it begins as a Speed-Up.
 * As of April 16 (or the below episode, whichever is later), the Bonus Round chevron backdrops look the same as they did on September 4, 1989.
 * On a Wednesday or Thursday after the above changes, but before May 6 (Carla/Bob/Winston):
 * The Round 4 Prize is an $11,792 trip to Ireland.
 * Six rounds are played, with two sets of duplicate categories: Phrase in Rounds 2, 4, 6, and the Bonus Round; Things in Round 3; and Thing in Round 5.
 * The Round 2 Prize is inadvertently placed over the pink $250 instead of the usual blue $150 to its right.

May 1991 :
 * May 6 is Teen Week.
 * May 13 is College Week. Unlike Season 6, this format uses one player for each school represented.
 * On May 14:
 * Only one turntable (which has a Jeep) moves during the opening and credits. The stationary turntable has a Saab.
 * With only vowels left, contestant Andrea incorrectly solves the Round 2 puzzle HAVE IT ON GOOD AUTHORITY by saying "in". Play passes to Vince, who only has $200 and begins the same incorrect answer, only to be buzzed out. Becky then solves correctly for $200.
 * Vince begins to solve the Round 3 puzzle BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY, but stops before the last word, after which the camera cuts to a close-up of him saying "difficulty". This and Pat's comments afterward clearly indicate that there was an error of some sort.
 * By May 14, the Bonus Round chevron backdrops add lights which flash during the opening, bonus prize descriptions, and credits.

June 1991 : (season ends June 14)
 * Around this point, the show holds a home viewer contest in which winners receive a trip to Disneyland.
 * On June 11, contestant Patti retires with $77,137.

Season 9 (1991-92)
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 : (season begins September 2)
 * 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.
 * 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.

January 1992 :

February 1992 :

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 puzle 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 : (season ends June 12)
 * June 8 is a Teen Week salute to Disneyland, taped at Television City.

Season 10 (1992-93)
Season Changes :
 * The opening is changed: after the "Wheel! Of! Fortune!" chant, spotlights criss-cross to reveal an animated intro featuring a disco ball, anthropomorphic Wheel wedges walking up and down a staircase, a "10th Anniversary" graphic that fades out after a few seconds, and the show's name on three rotating platforms ("Wheel" rotating counterclockwise, "Fortune" rotating clockwise, and "of" rotating clockwise for only a few seconds), which lock into place when the camera pans to the bottom of the staircase as the 4-digit wedges walk up. Charlie's intro is "From Hollywood, celebrating its 10th Anniversary, the world's most popular game show! Filled with fun, glamor, excitement, surprises – Wheel of Fortune! Here they are, the stars of the show: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * The logo for this season and the next is a "falling wedges" variation of the 1989 logo, as the Wheel surrounds the "of" in the traditional logo. The template is a variation of the Round 4 template with $3,500 in place of the pink $300, $2,500 in place of the blue $200, and a pink $200 in place of the second Bankrupt. The Wheel spins counterclockwise as the wedges form, and as the show's logo completes transformation (with a color-only version of the template in the background spinning clockwise), it fills the screen with light and wipes into center stage using a star-like graphic.
 * The walking wedges include a $1,500 dressed with a hat and cane (dancing on the word "Fun!"), a $2,500 dressed as a showgirl (showing off on the word "Glamor!"), a $5,000 dressed as a magician (using its magic wand as an arm and waving on the word "Excitement!"), and a $3,500 dressed as a beauty queen (using its sash as an arm and waving on the word "Surprises!" to magically reveal the logo). The other walking wedges in the intro all have bow ties and crowns with earrings (starting with $400 with the bow tie, followed by $200 with a crown and earrings and so on).
 * The question following a Clue, Fill In the Blank, or Where Are We? puzzle is now preceded by a six-note chime, recycled from the Wink Martindale version of High Rollers.
 * Some puzzles are now followed by $1,000 trivia questions pertaining to the answer. Unlike Clue and Fill In the Blank, the questions are asked by Charlie, signaled by four low-pitched beeps, and available only to the contestant who solves the puzzle.
 * "Changing Keys" is given another re-arrangement, a slower, less "powerful" version of the 1989 re-orchestration, still utilizing a saxophone and this time including an electric guitar solo. However, the puzzle-solve cue introduced in 1989 remains intact. For reasons unknown, the 1989 theme continues to be used on select episodes until early 1994.
 * The contestant backdrops are changed to a "burst" pattern shaped like a circle of W's atop clear blocks. The same clear blocks are also used at stage left as a backdrop for the Bonus Round prizes. The blocks all have lights that flash during the opening, closing, and when a puzzle is solved.
 * The Merv Griffin Enterprises logo is slightly altered again to add the byline "A Sony Pictures Entertainment Company" in school bus yellow Arial font, even though Columbia Pictures Entertainment had been renamed on August 7, 1991. The "page turn" transition is mostly retained, although some episodes (including September 14 and October 8) simply cut to the logo, as was the case from November 28, 1983 through January 26, 1990.
 * For this season, the show's promo campaign uses the "America's Game" trademark with a variation of the 1987 "I'm a Wheel Watcher" and the Round 4 template. The template is seen as the 0 in "10th ANNIVERSARY", with "10" in large numbers, "th" in script, and "ANNIVERSARY" below that. Included in the promo is a montage of clips of previous promos, including the Wheelies and the kids' promos. The Wheel's handles and base also double as a film projector, with the spinning sound imitating that of a film projector, and the clip montage as the "film".
 * A second promo features the same song and template as the first, and includes clips as well as ordinary people singing the song. The template makes up the "O" in "of" as the promo ends. A short version can be found here.
 * Sometime this season, a new board game is released, and is awarded to all contestants as a consolation prize. For more info, see Board games and other adaptations.
 * The 12-wedge Wheel podium changes colors, as it transitions from this to this.
 * At least twice this season, the Surprise is a car with a trip.
 * It is believed that a week sometime this season has the Surprise being won every day, the only known time this happens during the wedge's lifespan.
 * Fill In the Blank debuts early in this season. For no particular reason, the category is shown as just "Blank" on the chyron until near the end of Season 12.

September 1992 : (season begins September 7)
 * For the first two weeks, the contestants still run to their positions during the chant.
 * For at least the first three weeks, the 10th-Anniversary logo is seen in the studio.
 * On September 7:
 * Before Charlie introduces Pat and Vanna, there is a close-up pan of the $25,000 sign.
 * Slang debuts in Round 1.
 * Contestant Ben sweeps the game and wins a Cadillac Eldorado in the Bonus Round. He solves the bonus puzzle FROG despite getting no help from his extra letters.
 * Fred Hayman begins providing Pat's wardrobe. This essentially concludes the long-standing relationship between Augustus and Wheel, dating back to at least March 15, 1978.
 * On September 10:
 * Before Charlie introduces Pat and Vanna, there is a close-up pan of the $25,000 sign.
 * Three males play.
 * The Round 1 puzzle SLIPPED ON A BANANA PEEL is inexplicably categorized as Event instead of Phrase (although "slipping" would make it an Event). It is solved with only the N's and L's showing.
 * In Round 4, contestant Cliff tries to buy a repeated A, but Pat stops him as he has only $200.
 * Slang makes its first known appearance in the Bonus Round. Between its debut and its last known use at the end of Season 12, the category is used for bonus puzzles with disproportionate frequency.
 * On September 14:
 * No vowels are bought in Round 1.
 * Foreign Phrase makes its last known appearance, in Round 4. After the puzzle MAZEL TOV is solved, Pat explains that there are multiple acceptable pronunciations of the answer, then refers to it as "the category from Hell". It is likely that the leeway with pronunciation led to the short life of this and Foreign Word(s).
 * As of September 14, the saxophone sting is still used if a contestant correctly identifies what is being described by a Clue or Fill In the Blank puzzle.
 * On September 15:
 * Round 4 is the first known instance of a "normal" category offering a $1,000 bonus for answering a trivia question asked by Charlie in relation to the puzzle's answer. In this case, after the Person puzzle TEXAS BILLIONAIRE ROSS PEROT, the contestant is asked how Perot made his money, and she does not provide the right answer of information technology.
 * When Charlie plugs the new Jeopardy! and Wheel video games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis system, he mispronounces "Sega" as "Saga".
 * When the credits start, the Wheel can be seen slowly starting its automation.
 * On September 17, Rounds 2, 4, 5, and the Bonus Round are Thing. This is the last known instance of a category being used four times in a single episode.
 * On September 18, there are two sets of repeated categories: Person in Rounds 2 and 3, Thing in Round 5 and the Bonus Round.
 * By September 18, the saxophone sting for correct answers on Clue and Fill In the Blank is replaced with the puzzle-solve cue. The exact date of change is not known, as the September 16 episode does not circulate, and neither the 15th nor 17th uses those categories.
 * During the week of September 21, footage from the show's 10th-Anniversary gala is shown during the final segment. The footage on the 24th includes Vanna singing a Wheel-themed song with Merv.
 * On September 21:
 * The camera now makes a low-level pan from the $25,000 sign to the contestant area during the chant, with the contestants now walking into place instead of running. Also, "Here they are" in Charlie's spiel is replaced with "And now". 1992-97_W-H-E-E-L_Envelopes.png
 * The W-H-E-E-L envelope holder is changed to a heavier frame with lights that flash when a Bonus Round puzzle is solved. The letters are now red and arranged in a zig-zag. When a contestant picks an envelope, a chime sounds as the chosen letter's light turns off. Also, the Wheel-shaped platform beneath it is removed.
 * The center Wheel rug is enhanced with a gold border.
 * On September 23:
 * Round 1 (PANCAKE TINA & TED TURNER) is the first known instance of a Same Name using three "names" instead of two.
 * Rounds 2, 4, and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * Contestant Robert fails to solve the bonus puzzle CORK with only the K missing.
 * On September 24, the puzzle-solve cue does not play when the Round 2 puzzle is solved.
 * On September 25, Robert retires undefeated.
 * September 28 is Teen Week, using the Friday Finals.
 * On September 29: Blueframe.png
 * Three females play.
 * A Prize is added for Round 4, even though it goes to Speed-Up after only two spins.
 * There is a blue frame around the Speed-Up split-screen.

October 1992 :
 * On October 2:
 * Actress Danica McKellar of The Wonder Years appears in the audience at the beginning of the show.
 * None of the contestants give the correct answer to the Clue puzzle REAGAN'S JOB JUST BEFORE PRESIDENT (Governor of California).
 * After the Bonus Round, Danica appears onstage with Pat and Vanna to promote gift bags for the Teen Week finalists, and stays with Pat, Vanna, and the day's winner during the credits.
 * On October 5: Original_Surprise_Wedge.jpg
 * Vanna is wearing yellow, but the category chyrons are blue.
 * The Surprise wedge debuts. For the first week, it has a much thinner and plainer font similar to Helvetica. It starts out on the peach $200 in Rounds 1 and 2, and moves to the tan $200 in Rounds 3+. If it is claimed before Round 4, the Round 4 Prize takes its place on that particular wedge; however, if neither it nor the Round 2 Prize is claimed before Round 4, the Round 4 prize is placed on the blue $200. Sometimes, if Surprise is claimed, the Round 4 Prize is placed on the orange $200.
 * The bonus puzzle WAX is the first known nighttime instance (and only second overall) of both a three-letter bonus puzzle and a bonus puzzle without RSTLNE in it. Contestant Jennifer solves it with only the A revealed.
 * On October 8: Pat_Vanna_and_Winner_in_Wheel_Credits_1992.png
 * Vanna is wearing blue, but the category chyrons are red.
 * The Surprise is on the purple $150 in Round 3, but moves to its customary position on the tan $200 in Round 4.
 * After solving the Round 3 Clue puzzle MARILYN MONROE'S LAST FILM, contestant George gives an answer of Something's Got to Give, which is not accepted; contestant Jason says The Misfits, and is credited with the $500. Returning from commercial, Pat states that George named the last film Monroe worked on, then claims that the puzzle was implying her last completed film. This error does not affect the outcome.
 * The bonus puzzle is once again a three-letter answer without RSTLNE in it. Contestant Dalet's letter choices (including the second known instance of Z being called in the Bonus Round) reveal the answer ZOO completely. Strangely, the chyron disappears as soon as the second O is revealed, but several seconds before the timer starts.
 * Dalet retires with $100,257.
 * On October 12, the lettering on the Surprise wedge is changed to a much heavier font, and sparkles are added to the letters.
 * On October 14:
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt.
 * 14 wrong letters are called in the Speed-Up, including 6 in a row.
 * Contestant Mark accidentally calls four consonants in the Bonus Round.
 * On October 15:
 * The Surprise is a $12,000 diamond watch.
 * Contestant Peter sweeps the game and wins a motorhome in the Bonus Round.
 * On October 16, contestant Barbara sweeps the game and wins a Pontiac Sunbird convertible in the Bonus Round.
 * On October 22, the bonus puzzle BABY BOY is believed to be the longest bonus puzzle without RSTLNE in it (a record which is later tied on at least three separate occasions). The contestant solves it without any letters revealed, the only known instance of this happening.
 * On October 23:
 * The Surprise is placed on the blue $300 for Rounds 1 and 2 and on the purple $150 for Round 3.
 * The bonus puzzle WIG is both the fourth known instance this month of a bonus puzzle not having RSTLNE, and the third known instance this month of it being only three letters long. It is not solved.
 * In the final segment, Pat brings in his son Patrick.
 * On October 26: ZSurpriseOver1000.jpg
 * Surprise is placed on $1,000 for Round 1. Pat still tells the contestants that $1,000 is the top dollar value, although he seems to do a quick double-take in realization of the error. Interestingly, this does not affect the final outcome: contestant Victoria lands on the peach $200 but calls a wrong letter, while contestant Shirley calls correct letters on both the Surprise wedge and the aforementioned $200, solves the puzzle, then wins the game anyway.
 * After the Round 3 puzzle FLOWER CHILDREN FLOCK TO SAN FRANCISCO (The Sixties), Shirley is asked what district the Flower Children flocked to, and is unable to come up with the correct response of Haight-Ashbury.
 * Six rounds are played.
 * All three Wheel Prizes are won.
 * Charlie's closing spiel is changed to "Merv Griffin Enterprises produces...Wheel of Fortune!", with the title said over the copyright and opening logo (the latter shown in a box), with a timpani roll in the background. The King World logo and spiel are accompanied by their own music; during the music, the spotlights are crossed, then uncross as the music begins and the star inside flashes, and then cross and freeze as the music ends.

November 1992 :
 * The weeks of November 2 and 23 are taped at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, thus becoming the first set of road show episodes not to air contiguously. These are the third known set of road shows to use the rugs and turntables. During these weeks:
 * The opening begins with a shot of the darkened studio as Charlie does his part of the intro, at which point all the lights turn on.
 * Vanna introduces the first week's episodes with "From the City by the Bay, it's Wheel of Fortune!" This is followed with footage of the Bay Area set to Judy Garland's "San Francisco" (not to be confused with the Scott McKenzie "Wear Flowers in Your Hair" song), which ends with a shot of the exterior of the Palace of Fine Arts. It then cuts to a shot of the interior, as Charlie says "From the Palace of Fine Arts Theater, built in 1915 for the San Francisco World's Fair, it's Wheel of Fortune from San Francisco! Now, the stars of our show: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * For the first week, the dollar signs do not appear on the scoreboards.
 * On November 2:
 * The Wheel does not spin in either the opening or the credits.
 * The Round 2 Prize is a $1,000 shopping spree at Ghirardelli Square.
 * Round 2 is VANNA'S PREGNANT. As shown during Vanna's A&E Biography, Merv Griffin comes onstage with balloons to congratulate Vanna after she reveals the answer. Due to her miscarriage shortly after taping, the round is edited out. Viewers instead see a three-minute spiel about the San Francisco tapings, narrated by Charlie. The segment begins and ends with post-production clips of Pat standing at the puzzle board, which reads WHEEL ON LOCATION. At the end of the segment, he says that the show "played a round" during the spiel and mentions that the winner got $1,350, as a still shot of the winning contestant appears in a circle at the lower right-hand corner of the screen.
 * In Round 3, two references are made to the edited-out Round 2: Pat tells the blue contestant (Jim) that "at long last" he gets to spin the Wheel, and the yellow contestant (Donna) uses a Free Spin that she could only have earned in that round.
 * Rounds 1, 2, and 4 are played entirely by the person that began them.
 * Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
 * After the Bonus Round, Charlie promotes the remaining three road trip weeks (see below). The touched-up Wheel rug can be seen during the promotions.
 * The weeks of November 9 and 16 are taped at the Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center (which closed in 1996 and was torn down in 2005). During these weeks, the chyrons are red, white, and blue.
 * During the week of November 9, Vanna introduces the show with "From Philadelphia, the birthplace of America, it's America's favorite game: Wheel of Fortune!" from a vantage point overlooking the city at night, after which Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" plays over footage of Philadelphia. Afterward, Charlie's introduction is "From the home of the Phillies, the Flyers, the Sixers, and the Eagles, here in Philadelphia's Civic Center, it's Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * On November 10, a contestant wins a historic document signed by Benjamin Franklin in the Bonus Round.
 * On November 13 (Lori/Dacia/Debbie):
 * Lori retires with at least $105,000.
 * Dacia wins Round 4 with only the Round 4 Prize and Surprise.
 * November 16 is the first My Favorite Teacher Week, with teacher/student teams. During this week, the intro begins with Vanna saying "From Philadelphia, it's Wheel of Fortune!" followed by "Philadelphia Freedom", and finally Charlie saying, "We're at the Civic Center on the University of Pennsylvania campus to celebrate My Favorite Teacher Week! And now, your host and hostess: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * On November 20:
 * The Round 2 Prize, a trip to United States Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, has "SPACE" written horizontally at the top of its wedge in very narrow letters with "CAMP" written vertically underneath.
 * The bonus puzzle NEIGHBORHOOD takes up all but one space of the second row, obviously meaning that the camera is zoomed out further than usual.
 * The Bonus Round prize (which is won) is a pair of Gold MasterCards worth $10,000 each.
 * The Quaker City String Band makes a guest appearance in the final segment, playing music over the fee plugs and credits in place of "Changing Keys".
 * The week of November 23 is Soap Opera College Challenge, which has a college student playing against two soap opera stars. The student plays for themselves, while the soap stars play for charity (and also themselves, given the presence of Prize wedges and Surprise). During this week:
 * Each star's total is matched and donated in cash to a charity or charities of their choice, with a minimum guarantee of $10,000.
 * After each soap star is introduced, a clip is shown from their respective soap.
 * The Friday Finals are used, and the top winner receives a trophy on Friday.
 * The intro this week begins with Vanna saying "Join us from San Francisco!" followed by the 1992 "Changing Keys" as Charlie says "It's  Wheel of Fortune' s Soap Opera College Challenge! With daytime stars from: Days of our Lives, Melissa Reeves and Michael Sabatino! From The Young and the Restless, Lauralee Bell and Scott Reeves! From All My Children, Jill Larson and Richard Lawson! And from (The) Guiding Light, Fiona Hutchison and Frank Dicoupolos!" with each star's image in a split-screen over footage of the Golden Gate Bridge. Over an extended timpani roll, Charlie continues with "From the Palace of Fine Arts Theater in San Francisco, it's Wheel of Fortune! And now, the stars of our show: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * For the first known time, no cars are offered in the Bonus Round; the prizes are a $20,000 certificate of deposit, a $20,000 annuity, $30,000 savings bonds, a precious metals package, and the $25,000.
 * On November 24:
 * No letters are revealed in Round 1 until the seventh turn.
 * Round 1 also has a rare instance of a contestant losing their turn with only vowels remaining: with only the I and E missing from the puzzle DRIED-UP PLUM (Clue), contestant Jacqui buys A.
 * The Round 2 Prize is a $1,000 gift certificate for The Sharper Image.
 * Jill wins both the Prize and Surprise in Round 2.
 * All three contestants hit Lose A Turn consecutively in Round 3.
 * The Round 3 puzzle X & Y CHROMOSOMES (Things) is followed by a trivia question asking for what the chromosomes determine, and Jill provides the correct response of gender. Oddly, the beeps sound twice.
 * Rounds 2 and 4 are Phrase.
 * Oddly, Round 4, which begins as a Speed-Up, is the longest of the four puzzles.
 * Vanna forgets to turn the first I in the Round 4 puzzle GETTING A HANDLE ON THE SITUATION after it is solved.
 * The car cue "Buzzword" is used for a prize other than a car; specifically, the certificate of deposit.
 * On November 25:
 * Three males play.
 * Nine consecutive wrong letters (including one vowel) are called in Round 1.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Clue in Rounds 1 and 3, Phrase in Rounds 2 and 4. The former is the second known instance of a "bonus" category being repeated.
 * Although the rest of the chyrons are pink, the value of the Surprise (won in Round 1) and the answers to both Clue puzzles are blue.
 * The bonus puzzle, FOG HORN, is misspelled (it should be one word).
 * On November 26:
 * The Round 2 Prize is a $17,483 Chrysler LeBaron convertible, likely the second-most expensive car ever offered through the Prize wedge. Interestingly, contestant Chiko wins Round 2 with only it and the Surprise.
 * In Round 3, nobody correctly identifies who is described by the Clue puzzle INVENTED BIFOCALS (Benjamin Franklin).
 * The Round 4 puzzle HE STUCK A FEATHER IN HIS CAP (Quotation) is a very rare instance of a Speed-Up puzzle being followed by a bonus question; specifically, the person who did that. Fiona does not provide the correct response of Yankee Doodle.
 * The commercial bumpers for all four weeks are the same: the 1992 logo rolls by and leaves behind either "from San Francisco" (November 2 and 23) or "from Philadelphia" (November 9 and 16).
 * For all four weeks, the Enterprises logo fades in instead of flipping down.
 * On November 30, the W-H-E-E-L envelope holder now uses a higher-pitched chime for episodes taped at home, and the original chime is now used only on road shows.

December 1992 :
 * On December 3, 4, and 7, contestant Carol Terrana wins a three-day total of $76,403, despite not making it to the Bonus Round on her third appearance. She later appears on "Some of The Greats!" in February 1995.
 * On December 8:
 * Six rounds are played.
 * The Round 6 puzzle PHOTOGENIC is a rare instance, and the last known, of a one-word Phrase.
 * Starting December 9 and continuing through the end of the season, some of Charlie's intros are obviously pre-recorded and far less enthusiastic than usual; this also results in at least some of them not synchronizing properly with the opening animation.
 * Around the same point, the opening pan is changed to start at the puzzle board before ending up at its usual spot (the Wheel, as the contestants enter).
 * Sometime this month, possibly during the week of December 14:
 * Rounds 3 and 4 are Before & After.
 * A contestant sweeps the game and wins a Holiday Dining package in the Bonus Round.
 * On December 14, Vanna forgets to turn the O after the Speed-Up puzzle BALE OF HAY is solved; she fixes this after Pat points it out to her.
 * On December 17:
 * Three males play.
 * After the Round 3 puzzle CHICKEN LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS (Before & After), Skip is asked what Chicken Little proclaimed, and he provides the correct answer of "The sky is falling".
 * Contestant Skip retires with $65,820.
 * On December 18, there is a rare instance of a bonus puzzle without RSTLNE in it. The puzzle, BAMBI (Fictional Character), is solved.
 * December 21 is a Family Tournament with the Friday Finals format. The winning family on Friday receives a silver bowl as a bonus prize. During this week:
 * There is a large red bow across the top of the puzzle board frame.
 * The chyrons are displayed in red and green to commemorate the holidays.
 * On December 21 or 22, the bonus puzzle UP AND DOWN uses three lines of the board for no particular reason.
 * On December 23:
 * The camera is zoomed out too far when the Round 1 puzzle is revealed.
 * A Prize is added for Round 4, despite it going to Speed-Up after only two spins.
 * The car cue "Buzzword" is used for a bonus prize other than a car: specifically, a $30,000 family annuity in the form of a Christmas stocking.
 * On December 24, contestants Ben and Bunnie set a one-day record of $75,514, winning a home improvement package in the Bonus Round.
 * On December 25:
 * The Surprise is a $15,065 Geo Tracker, which is won. This is the most expensive known Surprise.
 * For what may be the first time, two different "bonus" categories are played: Fill In the Blank in Round 1, Clue in Round 3.
 * The Round 4 Prize is an $11,953 trailer.
 * The Round 4 puzzle VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP uses three lines, even though it could fit easily on two.
 * When Charlie describes the Round 4 Prize, the Wheel can be heard being spun into place for the closeup of the wedge.
 * In an unusual move, Pat opens the sole remaining envelope at the beginning of the Bonus Round to show the $25,000 prize, instead of letting the contestants pick it as usual. Ben and Bunnie win the cash, leaving with a grand total of $130,708 plus the silver bowl.
 * Following the Bonus Round, Vanna gives Pat a book by Jack Paar, while Pat gives her $3 of his own money so she can buy something for herself.
 * During the credits, Charlie notes that winnings over $125,000 are donated to the charity of the team's choice, and that "This show has been edited for broadcast."
 * All five Bonus Rounds are won on the week of December 21. This is known to be part of a winning streak comprising at least seven episodes.
 * December 28 is the first "Wheel into the New Year" Week. During this week:
 * The Wheel rugs and turntables are all replaced with giant silver stars.
 * Aside from the cash, almost all the Bonus Round prizes are cars.
 * The 1989 "Changing Keys" is used during the credits. From this point through the end of Season 11, several other episodes do so as well.
 * On December 28:
 * The opening pan is now shot at a higher level.
 * Two "bonuses" are played: Round 1 is Clue, and Round 2 is the first of only two known instances of The Twenties (BATHTUB GIN & FLAPPERS, oddly with the ampersand by itself on the second row) followed by Charlie asking for the most popular dance of that decade. Contestant Kelly responds by saying "the dance that goes like this" while dancing the Charleston. Although the buzzer sounds while he dances, Nancy Jones decides to accept the answer.
 * The Round 2 Prize is a $5,000 Rodeo Drive shopping spree. Its description is accompanied by footage of Vanna walking out of Fred Hayman's store on Rodeo Drive.
 * In Round 2, contestant Greg starts to spin while contestant Linnea is turning in her Free Spin. Pat stops him and then resets the Wheel by spinning it backward so that Linnea can proceed.
 * Both the ding and buzzer sound on a correct letter in Round 3.
 * On December 29:
 * Three males play.
 * After the Round 1 puzzle YOU ARE THE WIND BENEATH MY WINGS (Quotation), Kelly is asked for the artist who made the song famous. He provides the correct answer of Bette Midler, although the puzzle-solve cue does not sound when he does.
 * While the category chyrons and Round 4 Prize value are red, Round 2's is blue.
 * Round 3 is the first known instance of an "old-style" Fill In the Blank having its question mark in the middle (SHOULD AULD ? BE FORGOT).
 * The Round 4 Prize is a $10,236 Greek vacation.
 * After contestant Jeff's first spin of Round 4 barely misses the Round 4 Prize, the applause machine accidentally plays applause and the "ooh" track twice, the second being slightly lower in pitch.
 * Kelly Vaught retires with $75,498. He later appears on "Some of The Greats!" in February 1995.

January 1993 :
 * On an episode sometime this year, a contestant is believed to have called X in the Bonus Round for the only known time until 2014.
 * On a 1993 episode (exact date unknown, but likely in this season), none of the contestants or Pat can figure out what is meant by the Clue puzzle SILENT BUTLER'S TARGETS, for which the bonus answer is "crumbs or ashes". One contestant gives a humorous guess of "maid".
 * Reruns most likely air the week of January 4.
 * On an episode likely from this month (before the change to Gill Sans), a contestant calls B C M O in the Bonus Round, but the chyron briefly displays the first letter as V by mistake. This Bonus Round (BLUE JAY) was seen on June 7, 2013.

February 1993 :
 * The weeks of February 8-22 are the Red Letter Sweepstakes. During these weeks, the Round 3 puzzle has some red letters in it, which spell out a word when unscrambled. Once the puzzle is solved, the rest of the board is dimmed while the red letters remain lit. Home viewers may submit each day's word for a chance to enter a prize drawing, with three out of that week's five words correct in order to win, and entries must be received by March 15. Some other notes about this sweepstakes:
 * Over $1,000,000 in prizes is offered, including a $10,000 GM MasterCard as a grand prize to be awarded to 10 winners (Vanna can be seen holding a giant version of the card, with a GM car on a Wheel turntable and the light towers in the background), a 7-week Caribbean cruise aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines and a chance to audition for the show as a first prize (cruise departs May 23), a Bulova watch or clock as a second prize, and a Laguna Sportswear package as a third prize. Charlie plugs all these prizes before each Round 3.
 * Entries must be mailed to "Wheel of Fortune-(week #)"; P.O. Box 460213; St. Louis, Missouri; 63146.
 * Viewers requesting a list of rules and/or winners may send a self-addressed stamped envelope by March 15 to "Wheel of Fortune Rules" or "Winners List"; P.O. Box 460221; St. Louis, Missouri; 63146.
 * In addition to employees of Merv Griffin Enterprises, Sony Pictures, and King World; employees of Capital Cities/ABC are also ineligible, which include the following Wheel stations/ABC O&O's: WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KGO-TV San Francisco, WTVD-TV Raleigh/Durham (North Carolina), and KFSN-TV Fresno (California).
 * These weeks use the 1989 "Changing Keys" during the credits. In addition, the Wheel rugs and turntables are replaced by red stars and are all similar in appearance to "Wheel into the New Year" Week, and the credits are in red and white.
 * When these episodes rerun on GSN in the late 1990s, most references to the sweepstakes are edited out. At least one episode, February 26, leaves the rules intact.
 * On February 12:
 * The chyrons are in Helvetica, but noticeably less bold than usual.
 * In a departure from the usual practice of using longer puzzles in middle rounds, Round 3 is SUSPENDERS.
 * On February 25:
 * Three males play.
 * Contestant Gordon fills in the entire Round 1 puzzle BABY POWDER YOUR NOSE by himself.
 * The Round 3 puzzle CINDERELLA'S GLASS SLIPPER uses the second through fourth rows, even though it could fit on only the middle two.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 3.
 * When Round 3 is solved, Vanna forgets to turn the first A until after Pat points it out to her.
 * Unusually, Round 4 (LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE) is the longest puzzle.
 * During the Round 5 Speed-Up puzzle BUTTINSKY (Slang), the contestants repeatedly struggle with the answer over the last nine turns, of which seven occur with only vowels remaining. Pat eventually starts prompting the contestants to call vowels; Larry declines and gives an incorrect answer, Greg calls A, Gordon gives an incorrect answer, and Larry calls E. Finally, Greg calls U to fill in the puzzle entirely, mispronounces the answer, then gives the correct pronunciation immediately afterward. Oddly, a Season 13 press kit claims this was the longest round on the show at the time (at exactly three minutes from the reveal of the puzzle to Greg's correct answer, counting the Final Spin), although a round on a 1987 daytime episode ran for 4 minutes and 33 seconds, and a round in Season 12 took 5 minutes and 40 seconds.
 * The bonus puzzle GEM is a rare instance of a three-letter bonus puzzle and a very rare instance of E being the only vowel in a bonus puzzle.
 * By February 25: $25,000_Sign_in_Wheel_Credits_1993.png
 * The chyrons and credits change to Gill Sans.
 * The rules disclaimer and Pat and Vanna's wardrobe credits "wipe in".
 * On February 26:
 * Once again, three males play.
 * The Round 2 Prize is tickets to the Broadway musical Jelly's Last Jam, plus hotel and restaurant fare and a limousine ride.
 * Rounds 2-4 are Phrase.
 * The bonus puzzle FEBRUARY is inexplicably categorized as Thing instead of the more logical Event.
 * Greg retires with $43,245, having lost all three of his Bonus Rounds.
 * The sweepstakes rules are shown before a full credit roll, resulting in the entire 1989 "Changing Keys" playing and then looping back to the beginning.

March 1993 :
 * On an episode believed to be from the week of March 1, one of contestant Bob's spins in Round 3 just barely misses the Surprise; he hits the railing with his fist in frustration, unintentionally causing his arrow to click over to the Surprise. After what appears to be an edit, Pat rules that he has landed on the Surprise, which he then claims; however, he does not solve the puzzle.
 * On March 5:
 * The Round 2 Prize value is in Helvetica.
 * The Wheel rug is lacking its golden border.
 * The 1989 "Changing Keys" plays during the credits.
 * On March 11:
 * Round 3 is a Clue puzzle done in the style of what would later become the "three question marks" Fill In the Blank category, albeit without the question marks (BOOK CHEESE RIBBON, the answer being "blue").
 * Pat's son, Patrick, appears in the final segment.
 * On March 12, contestant Monte Sternfeld wins $76,451. He later appears on "Some of The Greats!" in February 1995.

April 1993 :
 * On April 1, the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo is changed to a gold-colored statue of a griffin in front of a cloudy background (the same one used for Columbia Pictures Television, TriStar Television, and later Columbia TriStar Television), with the Merv Griffin Enterprises text and Sony Pictures Entertainment Company byline all in the same Bank Gothic MD font as the aforementioned logos.
 * On April 2:
 * Three males play.
 * Two "bonus" categories are played: Fill In the Blank in Round 2, and Clue in Round 3. The latter is THERE ARE TWO DAILY DOUBLES IN THIS ROUND (Double Jeopardy!).
 * Round 4 is a Same Name puzzle with three "names".
 * The contestant's first Bonus Round letter, D, is mis-heard as G and put on the chyron as such. His second letter, G, is initially mis-heard by Pat as V until the contestant clarifies that he said D and G, and the chyron is corrected to match.
 * The 1989 "Changing Keys" plays during the credits.
 * April 5 is Teen Week.
 * On April 9:
 * Round 1 is the second of only two known instances of The Twenties.
 * Rounds 4 and 5 are Before & After.
 * For no apparent reason, the contestant window in the Bonus Round does not appear.
 * The 1989 "Changing Keys" plays during the credits.
 * Reruns air during the week of April 12.
 * On April 22:
 * Contestant Clare's occupation is never mentioned.
 * Round 1 is a Same Name with three "names".
 * Somewhat unusually, both Rounds 1 and 2 are very long puzzles.
 * On April 26:
 * Round 1 is the first known appearance of Artist/Song. The puzzle, HANDEL'S MESSIAH, matches the concept of the Composer/Song category used only once in Season 13.
 * Round 2 is a Same Name puzzle with three "names".
 * A contestant solves the Round 3 puzzle TOM & ROSEANNE ARNOLD with only the R's showing.
 * On April 27, six rounds are played.

May 1993 :
 * May 3 is Sports Stars Week. During this week:
 * The intro starts out with the walking $3,500 wedge "waving" its arm to reveal the logo, followed by a cut to the studio after the chant.
 * Charlie's intro is "They've set world records, captured pennants, and won medals! San Francisco 49ers' Steve Young, Philadelphia Eagles' Herschel Walker, Houston Oilers' Warren Moon, boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard, Olympic gold medalist Florence Griffith-Joyner, baseball great Steve Garvey, Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis, football hall-of-famer Dick Butkus, basketball hall-of-famer Bill Walton, baseball hall-of-famer Ernie Banks, hockey hall-of-famer Phil Esposito, and Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee! These superstars of sports face the Wheel challenge! Can they spin to win? We'll find out. But first, here are Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * For the first known time, the games use a three-round structure ($1,000/$3,500/$5,000), with only one round in the first segment. Also, the Friday Finals are used.
 * Each athlete is shown in the style of a sports trading card as they are introduced. After the introductions, there is a shot of a trophy that goes to the week's top winner.
 * As Pat mentions in his opening speech, the celebs are playing both for charity and themselves. This is only the second known instance of such a payout structure.
 * The 1989 "Changing Keys" plays during the credits.
 * The Wheel's automation starts up a second after the last fee plug cuts to the credits.
 * The credits themselves use the red and white colors from the Red Letter Sweepstakes. In addition, the eligibility disclaimer wipe is discontinued while the wardrobe plug wipe is retained.
 * On May 7:
 * The Prize is a trip to Palm Springs and a Geo Metro, worth $10,954. It is won.
 * Phil Esposito exclaims an obscenity after calling a repeated D on the Prize wedge in Round 2, although the obscenity is cut from the audio. Bill Walton hits the wedge immediately after.
 * Bill wins with only $500 from Round 1's Clue and the aforementioned Prize.
 * Neither Thing nor Phrase is used.
 * Oddly, "Changing Keys" starts playing as soon as Pat opens the bonus envelope.
 * In the final segment, Bill is presented with a trophy for being the week's highest winner.
 * The weeks of May 10 and 17 are taped at the Wang Center (now Citi Performing Arts Center’s Wang Theatre) in Boston.
 * May 17 is College Week, which uses a similar format to Season 6: there are four players for each school represented instead of three, and like Season 6 only one representative may be onstage for the main game (although whichever school wins has all four representatives available for the Bonus Round).
 * On May 19, the bonus puzzle STICK OF GUM uses three lines of the puzzle board.
 * On May 21:
 * Two "bonus" categories are played: Fill In the Blank in Round 2, and Clue in Round 3.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Lose A Turn.
 * Before the Bonus Round, Charlie plugs the hotel that accommodated staff and contestants, with "Nightwalk" used as a music bed.
 * On May 25:
 * The bonus puzzle NICE AND WARM uses three lines of the puzzle board.
 * Pat and Vanna read off the names of the 10 grand prize winners of the Red Letter Sweepstakes.
 * The 1989 theme plays in the credits.
 * On May 27:
 * The Surprise is the same $15,065 Geo Tracker from December 25, which is won.
 * In an unusual move, the value of the Round 2 Prize (a telescope) is silver with a "sparkling" effect.
 * Round 2 is a Same Name with three "names".
 * After the Round 3 puzzle WE CAN WORK IT OUT (Title), contestant Paulette is asked which group popularized the song; she does not provide the correct answer of The Beatles, which the audience then shouts out at Pat's request.
 * Contestant Laurie solves the bonus puzzle APRON despite getting no help from her extra letters.
 * As of the above week, cars may still be offered as Wheel Prizes or Surprises.

June 1993 : (season ends June 18)
 * June 14 is Second Honeymoon Week.

Season 11 (1993-94)
Season Changes :
 * Except for the removal of the "10th Anniversary" graphic and the addition of a closed-captioning bug, the opening animation is unchanged from last season. The higher-level shot of the set introduced in early 1993 is also retained.
 * Charlie's opening narration is slightly changed to begin with "From Hollywood, it's America's Game! A show the whole family can enjoy!" The rest is the same as it was on September 21, 1992.
 * For this season only, the 1989 "Changing Keys" is used on road shows as the opening and closing themes, and the 1992 version continues to be used as a bumper.
 * This is the final season produced by Merv Griffin Enterprises.
 * It is rumored that on an episode sometime this season, a contestant fails to solve a fully-revealed bonus puzzle due to being unable to properly pronounce it.
 * On an episode sometime this season, the Surprise is a $10,000+ travel trailer.
 * On another episode sometime this season (known to have been rerun in July 1995), AX is a bonus puzzle. This is certainly the shortest puzzle ever used on the show. Interestingly, this puzzle would also be used in the Sega CD adaption of the show.
 * On several episodes between now and June 1995, more than one "bonus" is available in the main game.

September 1993 : (season begins September 6)
 * September 6 is Teen Week, with the 1989 "Changing Keys" used during the credits.
 * On September 21:
 * A very unusual prize is offered in Round 2: a certified authentic autograph of Florence Nightingale with an engraving of her, valued at $1,250.
 * Following the Bonus Round, Vanna offers Pat some tomatoes and bread from her then-husband, George San Pietro.
 * A repeat of this episode from about 1995 uses the "Created by Merv Griffin" credit (no chyron, just Charlie's voice), then segues into the Columbia TriStar Television spiel used since February 1995.

October 1993 :
 * On October 4:
 * Round 3 is the first known appearance of a "new" Red-Letter Puzzle.
 * When the Super NES and Sega Genesis video games for Jeopardy! and Wheel are plugged by Charlie, the Jeopardy! game for Sega's Game Gear can be seen as well.
 * On October 5:
 * The opening uses a star wipe from the logo to studio.
 * Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
 * Round 2 is the first known appearance of Where Are We? Oddly, the High Rollers chimes are not used on this episode, but the puzzle-solve cue still sounds when the contestant identifies the place.
 * Rounds 3 and 4 are played entirely by the contestants who began them.
 * Round 4 (DARRYL STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM SUNDAE) is the last known instance of a puzzle in Round 4+ using all four rows of the board. Interestingly, four-row puzzles are also used in Rounds 1 and 3, resulting in the most known instances of four-row puzzles in a single game.
 * There is a tie after Round 5. Afterward, Pat asks Nancy Jones how break the tie, and she explains. Unlike in 1987, the tiebreaker round is played immediately, and the rest of the game proceeds as normal. Pat's comments seem to indicate that this is also the first tie since then.
 * Round 4 and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * Pat starts doing the tiebreaker Final Spin while the category is revealed. Also, the right-letter dings are accidentally used on the first turn.
 * Neither Bankrupt nor Lose A Turn is hit.
 * Contestant Jim fills in the bonus puzzle TOP-NOTCH completely.
 * Perhaps due to the tiebreaker, Pat and Vanna only say goodbye at the end.
 * Sometime this month, contestant Angela Thompson-Murphy retires with $60,693. She later appears on "Some of The Greats!" in February 1995.
 * All five Bonus Rounds are won the week of October 18.
 * October 25 is a New York-themed week taped at Studio 33.

November 1993 :
 * Sometime this month, contestant Maria Mason (notable for picking Pat up) retires with $76,421. She later appears on "Some of The Greats!" in February 1995.
 * November 1 is Cruise Week. During this week, footage is shown of the Red Letter Sweepstakes winners on the aforementioned cruise.
 * On November 12:
 * In honor of the show's 2,000th nighttime episode, the hosts of the Hungarian version congratulate Pat after Round 2, and the hosts of the Greek version congratulate him after Round 3.
 * There are two sets of repeated categories: Rounds 1, 2, and 5 are Phrase, Round 3 is People, and the Bonus Round is Person.
 * The Bonus Round cars are on rugs rather than turntables.
 * At the end of the episode, footage is shown of Vanna, Merv, and the King brothers at a press conference.
 * November 15 is the second My Favorite Teacher Week.
 * From around this point until the end of the season, Vanna starts wearing suits at least some of the time while pregnant with her son, Nicholas.

December 1993 :
 * Sometime this month, there is a rare instance of a bonus puzzle without RSTLNE in it: DUCK.
 * December 20 is Family Week, taped at Walt Disney World with the same rules as the December 1992 tournament. On all of the Walt Disney episodes:
 * Some footage includes Pat and Vanna doing some activities while at Walt Disney World; these would also be included in the 1994 shows later in the season.
 * Mannheim Steamroller's rendition of "Deck the Halls" plays during the intro in place of "Changing Keys".
 * Charlie's intro is "Join us for Family Week, as we celebrate the holidays at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida! 'Tis the season for sparkling lights, merriment and good cheer, Christmas caroling, fireworks, parades, and memorable moments! And now, your host and hostess: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!" Falling snowflakes are used as a "wiping" graphic.
 * As Charlie mentions each element in his intro, a scene from Walt Disney World is seen: a zoom-out to a huge Christmas tree with miniature multicolored lights; Lesly (in her first known appearance), Pat, and Vanna dancing with some reindeer in front of the Magic Kingdom (and the Sleeping Beauty/Cinderella castle); Mickey, Minnie, and Donald waving in front of a festively decorated Christmas cottage/house; a fireworks show at Pleasure Island as Pat and Lesly are leaving; a parade with large toy soldiers, giant alphabet blocks, dancing Christmas trees, and gingerbread men cookies; and Goofy having a good time with some kids.
 * The puzzle board has a wreath at the top and a tall toy soldier on each side.
 * Unlike most other road shows at this point, the 1992 "Changing Keys" is played as the bumper and closing theme.
 * The chyrons are displayed in red and green for the holidays.
 * The closing credits feature the 1992 logo scrolling up first before the actual credits start scrolling, all done over footage of various Christmas events at Walt Disney World that Pat, Vanna, and Lesly take part in. The credits themselves are in a white font similar to Helvetica; the positions are in a thin font, while the names are in a bold font.
 * Charlie's closing disclaimer is appended with "Production facilities provided by Disney/MGM Studios", which is accompanied with the Disney-MGM Studios logo.
 * On December 24:
 * "Nightwalk" plays while Charlie describes the Round 2 prize.
 * Both Prize values are in Helvetica, the Round 4 one using a taller variant than usual.
 * Round 1 and the Bonus Round are Thing, while Rounds 2 and 3 are Phrase.
 * Strangely, Round 2 is the only round in which any vowels are bought.
 * The Bonus Round cars, which are won, are topped with golden bows. The cars are a Chevrolet Lumina coupe and Cavalier convertible worth $40,190.
 * After the credits end, Pat and Vanna are in front of a large Christmas tree with presents underneath, as they wish everyone a Merry Christmas: Pat saying "Merry Christmas…" and Vanna completing it with "…from Wheel of Fortune!"
 * Reruns air during the week of December 27.

January 1994 :
 * Sometime this month (known to be before the 18th, with the second episode being a Friday), Raymond Taylor retires with $81,665. He later appears on "Some of The Greats!" in February 1995. Taylor becomes notorious for his eccentric behavior, which is compiled into a popular YouTube video; he eventually ends up receiving a ban from the show's studios after repeatedly trespassing.
 * On January 24:
 * Rounds 4, 5, and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * Contestant Lisa retires with $90,326.
 * On January 25:
 * Round 2 is the first known appearance of the "three question marks" Fill In the Blank category. Until at least March 1995, several of these puzzles use four question marks. Until about December 1994, both Fill In the Blank categories are used.
 * There are two sets of duplicate categories: Person in Rounds 1 and 3, Phrase in Round 4 and the Bonus Round.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt three times. His fourth attempt is $1,500.
 * Contestant Robert wins a historic document signed by Abraham Lincoln in the Bonus Round.
 * On January 28:
 * Contestant Phil retires with $81,357.
 * In the closing segment, a commercial is shown for the show's newsletter, Off Camera.
 * During the weeks of January 31-February 14, only one round is played in the first segment, with $3,500 as top dollar in Round 2 and $5,000 in Round 3. This is done on the week of January 31 so that the Gold Letter Sweepstakes can be promoted, and on the next two weeks to accommodate for the sweepstakes itself.

February 1994 :
 * The weeks of February 7 and 14 are the Gold Letter Sweepstakes. Each game has one puzzle with gold letters that, when unscrambled, spell the last name of an Academy Award winner. The grand prize is a Cadillac; other prizes include a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood, a Hammerman gold and emerald pendant, and a Daniel Mink watch.
 * On February 7:
 * Rounds 1, 3, and 4 are Phrase.
 * Contestant Jeannette fills in the bonus puzzle CABARET completely.
 * On February 10:
 * The Round 2 Prize is a $10,000 annuity, which is not won.
 * Against normal practice, Round 2 is a shorter puzzle (RUSH LIMBAUGH).
 * Rounds 1 and 3 are Phrase, while Round 5 and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * On February 16, the bonus puzzle HONEYMOON is categorized as Title instead of Event, most likely in reference to the 1959 film.
 * On February 18, the Round 2 Prize is an $11,635 trip to Australia, which is won.
 * The weeks of February 21 and 28 are taped at the James L. Knight Center in Miami.
 * On February 21, 22, and 23, contestant Alison Doherty wins $77,109, despite not making it to the Bonus Round on her third appearance. She later appears on "Some of The Greats!" in February 1995.

March 1994 :
 * On March 2 and 3, a Red-Letter puzzle is used in the Speed-Up for only the first two of five known times.
 * On March 3 and 4, two contestants in a row win the maingame with $11,500.
 * On March 11 (taped February 10):
 * Round 3 (NICKNAME FOR A LONDON POLICEMAN) is a rare instance of a Clue puzzle having more than one right answer (bobby or peeler).
 * The Round 4 Prize is a shopping spree at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota and A&S Plaza (now Manhattan Mall) in Manhattan, valued at $8,100.
 * Six rounds are played.
 * Contestant Robin leaves with a two-day total of $43,749. She later appears on "Some of The Greats!" in February 1995.
 * The bonus puzzle, AVOCADO, is a tie for the longest known bonus puzzle without RSTLNE in it. It is not solved.
 * The time's-up buzzer in the Bonus Round "stutters", creating a short third buzz before the usual sound.
 * On March 15, the Gold Letter Sweepstakes winners are announced.
 * On March 18, Rounds 1, 2, and 5 are Phrase.
 * On March 25, the 1989 "Changing Keys" plays during the credits.
 * Reruns air during the week of March 28.

April 1994 :
 * The weeks of April 4-18 are taped at Walt Disney World.
 * The intro of the Disney World shows is similar to the 4th intro of the Season 8 shows, with the alteration of the last few lines to include "Fun, fantasy, and fireworks! With lots of cash and fabulous prizes just waiting to be won!" The 1992 logo then flies up and settles at the center of the screen before the star wipe to the studio. In addition, the closing variation of the 1989 theme is used as an intro.
 * On some episodes, the bold-font 1989 logo (without the Wheel for the O in "OF") appears with Tinker Bell waving a wand to make the star wipe into the studio at the end of the intro, reminiscent of the show's last visits before Season 10.
 * The ending credits feature Pat and Vanna doing some activities while at Walt Disney World (examples include Vanna posing for the camera, Vanna buying popcorn, and Pat driving a motorboat), in addition to the usual Walt Disney World footage.
 * As was the case in December (and will be the case in May), Charlie's closing disclaimer is appended with "Production facilities provided by Disney/MGM Studios", which is accompanied with the Disney-MGM Studios logo.
 * From this point through February 1995, road shows begin using Helvetica chyrons, albeit somewhat less bold than the 1985-93 chyrons.
 * April 4 is Teen Week.
 * On April 7:
 * Nobody correctly identifies the missing word in Round 1's Fill In the Blank puzzle ? SESAME ? HOUSE ? FORUM (Open).
 * Rounds 2 and 3 are Phrase, and Round 5 and the Bonus Round are Thing.
 * On April 12:
 * Three males play.
 * Round 3 is the second known instance of an "old-style" Fill In the Blank having its question mark in the middle (THE ? ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC).
 * The Round 4 puzzle TWO OUT OF THREE AIN'T BAD is categorized as Slang instead of Title.
 * On April 13, contestant Eric retires undefeated.
 * On April 14:
 * Nobody gives a correct response to the question asked by the Clue puzzle CHEESE IN A GREEK SALAD (Feta).
 * A contestant solves the bonus puzzle SKIS despite getting no help from her extra letters.
 * On April 18, a contestant solves the bonus puzzle KEYHOLE despite getting no help from his extra letters.
 * On April 19, an $11,091 boat is won in the Bonus Round. This is the least expensive known Bonus Round prize to be offered after the retirement of shopping.
 * On April 21:
 * Round 4 is the third known instance of a Red-Letter Puzzle in a Speed-Up.
 * A contestant fails to solve the bonus puzzle NIFTY with only the F missing.
 * On April 22:
 * For the first known time, the chyrons are yellow with a black outline.
 * The contestant "window" in the Bonus Round does not appear until about two seconds after the timer starts.
 * On April 25, the Round 1 puzzle FIRE AND BRIMSTONE SERMON is solved by a contestant who happens to be a minister.
 * On April 26, the bonus puzzle TONIGHT is inexplicably categorized as Thing instead of Event.
 * On April 28, contestant Lynda retires with $81,832.
 * Between about January 28 and April 29, there are several instances of Round 4 being the longest puzzle, which is normally a very rare occurrence.

May 1994 :
 * The weeks of May 2 and 16 are taped at Walt Disney World.
 * May 2 is Music Stars Week, which has singers competing for charity under the Friday Finals, with a trophy for the week's top winner. The intro starts out with the chant as the show's logo forms, and the chant finishes just as the logo fills with light and star-wipes to the studio. The opening variation of the 1989 theme is used for the only time since its final use at the end of Season 9.
 * The logo for the week features a yellow two-row logo above the words "MUSIC STARS WEEK", with "WEEK" in a small pink rectangle below "STARS"; and features small thumbnails of the 10 participants in a box shape around the words. Charlie's intro for this week is "It's time to rock around the Wheel with these superstars of the musical world! In alphabetical order: James Brown, Lee Greenwood, Marilyn Horne, Gladys Knight, Tone Lōc, Little Richard, David Sanborn, Tanya Tucker, Tammy Wynette, and 'Weird Al' Yankovic! Now your host and hostess: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * In order of appearance, the guests are: Greenwood, Tone Lōc, and Sanborn on Monday; Yankovic, Wynette, and Knight on Tuesday; Sanborn again with Little Richard and Tucker on Wednesday; and Knight again with Brown and Horne on Thursday. Oddly, the Friday Finals consist of Greenwood, James Brown and Little Richard playing as a team, and Yankovic. Given that Sanborn and Knight play twice, it is likely that two other singers were originally planned but had to cancel at the last second. Al reveals in a 2014 interview on the Late Show with Seth Meyers that James had extreme difficulty understanding the game's rules during rehearsals, suggesting why he may have been paired with another celebrity on the Friday Finals.
 * As Pat and Vanna introduce each star, a clip plays of one of their most famous songs; notably, Al is introduced with a clip of "I Lost on Jeopardy".
 * Oddly, May 3 uses the conventional four-round structure, while all other games this week use the $1,000/$3,500/$5,000 three-round structure.
 * During this week, the letter choices in the Bonus Round are green.
 * As is the case in December and April, Charlie's closing disclaimer is appended with "Production facilities provided by Disney/MGM Studios", which is accompanied with the Disney-MGM Studios logo.
 * On May 2, there is a rare instance of a "bonus" category (specifically, Where Are We?) being used in a Speed-Up.
 * On May 3:
 * Al promotes his album Alapalooza after Round 1, and part of the music video for "Bedrock Anthem" is shown on a video screen at center stage.
 * Before Round 4, a clip of Gladys Knight singing "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" with Vince Gill is shown.
 * Al has only $2,800 before the Bonus Round.
 * After Al wins the Bonus Round, he jumps on Pat and gives him a bear hug. This is replayed in slow motion during the interviews on the 6th.
 * On May 6:
 * After solving the Round 1 puzzle, Al says "I'd like to buy the TV set for $500!", to which Pat replies "No, no. That's the old show, the old show. The ceramic duck is gone!"
 * After Lee wins Round 2, a clip of his "God Bless the USA" music video is shown before going to break.
 * Although a repeated T is called in Round 3, it is not acknowledged as such.
 * None of the puzzles have a T in them.
 * Marilyn reappears to help Lee Greenwood in the Bonus Round.
 * Lee and Marilyn fail to solve the bonus puzzle HUMOR, after which Pat inadvertently gives away the answer by saying that Marilyn showed "a little operatic humor" by guessing "bummer" after the buzzer. He then brings in Al, Little Richard, and James to help them end the week on a win. He asks them to provide more letters, but Al just says the answer. Pat starts to throw to commercial, but is told (presumably by Nancy) that the $25,000 will be split among the five stars' charities.
 * During the week of May 9, the Bonus Round prizes comprise four trips, three with vehicles included: a Texas trip with a Corvette, a Mexico trip with a van, a Canadian trip with a motorhome, and an Amazon cruise, plus the $25,000. Four are won.
 * On May 9, none of the three contestants can identify the person described by the Clue puzzle GERALD FORD'S VICE PRESIDENT (Nelson Rockefeller).
 * On May 10, contestant Bruce wins a 3-day total of $113,780 despite not making it to the Bonus Round on his third appearance.
 * On May 11:
 * All of the puzzles are unusually short, with Rounds 2, 4, and 6 each being only two words, and Round 5 only one; even more strangely, Round 1 is the longest puzzle (at only 20 letters).
 * Round 3, PITCHED A NO-HITTER, is categorized as Event instead of Phrase.
 * There are two duplicate categories: Rounds 2 and 6 are Person, while Round 5 is Thing and the Bonus Round is Things.
 * Six rounds are played.
 * Round 6 is CHARLIE O'DONNELL, and Charlie appears on-camera after it is solved.
 * On May 12:
 * Rounds 1 and 3 are Clue, the third known instance of a "bonus" category being repeated.
 * There is a rare instance of a bonus puzzle without RSTLNE in it. The puzzle, YO-YO, is solved.
 * Contestant Rick retires with $107,336.
 * On May 13, a Red-Letter Puzzle is used in the Speed-Up for the fourth known time.
 * May 16 is College Tournament Week.
 * On May 16, the Round 2 Prize is a document signed by Charles Darwin.
 * On May 17, nobody gives a correct response to the question asked by the Clue puzzle SOONERS' STATE (Oklahoma).
 * On May 18:
 * Rounds 1 and 4 are Before & After.
 * The Round 2 puzzle MTV'S BEAVIS & BUTT-HEAD is the only known puzzle on the trilon board to have an apostrophe, ampersand, and hyphen; contestant Jane solves it with only the T's and S's revealed.
 * None of the three contestants can identify the person described by the Clue puzzle PRESIDENT ELECTED TO FOUR TERMS (Franklin Roosevelt).
 * Neither Thing nor Phrase is used.
 * By May 20, Where Are We? sometimes uses four clues instead of three.
 * On May 24:
 * Contestant Eileen retires with $123,223. She sweeps the game and wins $25,000 in the Bonus Round.
 * The bonus puzzle TODAY is inexplicably categorized as Thing instead of Event.
 * On May 25, all three Prize wedges are won by all three players. Interestingly, all the prizes are trips; notably, the Round 4 one is a $10,150 trip to Poland.
 * On May 26, neither Thing nor Phrase is used.

June 1994 : (season ends June 17)
 * On June 3, the bonus puzzle BALL & CHAIN is the first known instance of an ampersand in the Bonus Round.
 * On June 6:
 * Contestant Kelly solves the Round 4 puzzle DR QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN with only the N's revealed.
 * Round 3 and the Bonus Round are Thing, while Round 5 is Things.
 * On June 7, Kelly retires with $141,198.
 * On June 8, nobody correctly identifies the missing word in the Fill In the Blank puzzle ? STATION ? WAGON ? WOMAN ? DOG (Police).
 * On June 9, neither Thing nor Phrase is used.
 * On June 10, the Round 4 puzzle CALL NINE ONE ONE has only three unique consonants.
 * Between June 9 and 13, Thing is not used for three consecutive episodes.
 * On June 15, contestant Jay sweeps the game and wins a trip to Boston and a boat in the Bonus Round.
 * On June 17:
 * Pat announces that it is the end of the season, and that there will be encore presentations during the Summer.
 * The Merv Griffin Enterprises logo and spiel are used for the final time, including repeats; however, weekend repeats of the show use the Columbia TriStar Television logo and spiel adopted the following season.

Season 12 (1994-95)
Season Changes :
 * "Changing Keys" is rearranged yet again, with a big-band orchestration and a very different melody. This new version is performed by Mort Lindsey's orchestra. A variant using the "big band" orchestration but the original melody plays between Pat and Vanna's sign-off and the end of the fee plugs.
 * Beginning with this season, there is a half-second pause between each word in the opening chant.
 * Charlie's intro is changed to "From Hollywood, it's the Wheel of Fortune! America's most popular game show! And now, the world's! Here they are, soaring into your lives: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * The intro starts with the logo in gold letters over a graphic of the Wheel, which has undergone a few layout changes: the lone Bankrupt is replaced by a purple $300, and the pink $200 from Rounds 3-4+ and the $3,500 swap places. In addition, the "U"'s bottom is flat, and the "O" in "of" is a normal-looking O instead of Wheel-shaped, like the two-row logo. As the letters fly towards the screen, the Wheel graphic rotates towards its side to reveal hand-drawn animations of Pat and Vanna "riding" the middle of it, with various America-related graphics in the background (which are all from their previous road shows, except Walt Disney World). The words "SPIN THE WHEEL", written in white letters a semicircle, spin around at the end of the "riding" graphic and wipe to a shot of Vanna blowing a kiss while the words "America's Game" appear in cursive on gold squares next to an animated Statue of Liberty lowering and raising her torch; the square with the S flips to show another America graphic (Miami). Afterward, "Millions Won!" appears in orange at the bottom as the "riding" graphic returns, with a money figure ranging from $5,000,000 to $9,000,000 flying by, which Pat and Vanna swipe to reveal frames of international versions of the show in the background. The Wheel graphic then tilts again as Charlie says "soaring into your lives", and finally, it explodes into graphics of Pat and Vanna parachuting with their hands extended, along with a circular, white wipe to a shot of center stage. 1994-95_Puzzleboard.jpg
 * The puzzle board's border is changed to a "spiky" style.
 * The turntables and rugs are removed.
 * Charlie no longer describes the Round 4 Prize unless it is won. As a result, the overhead shot at the start of Round 4 alternates between zooming in on the Round 4 Prize wedge or $5,000.
 * Columbia TriStar Television (owned by Sony) takes over production as part of Merv's "deal" he made in July that he would remain executive producer until 2000; thus Charlie's closing spiel is changed to "Wheel of Fortune is produced by..." (over copyright/title screen and drumroll) "...Columbia TriStar Television!" (accompanied by a slightly slower, rearranged version of the Columbia Pictures Television music), with the King World logo, music, and spiel playing out as usual.
 * This is the last season in which the show's logo appears in the credits.
 * Sometime this season, the shot of the $25,000 sign during wins is changed from it being lowered to an extreme close-up panning the length of the sign.
 * Many episodes this season use shots of the puzzle board from behind the contestants' backs during spins; these shots are unique to this season.
 * This season is the second of only three following Season 6 which does not have a College Week.
 * Promos for this season refer to Wheel as America's Game and feature Aretha Franklin.
 * Oddly, several Wheel Prizes this season are under $2,000; any known instances are noted.
 * On several episodes early in the season, "Nightwalk" is used as a prize cue.
 * On at least two episodes sometime this season, the Round 4 Prize are worth at least $10,000, but none are claimed. One known prize is a trip to Greece and the other is a necklace.
 * Very many games this season use puzzles that are abnormally short, have none of the five most common consonants, or both; combined with the introduction of Megaword, the continued frequency of Slang, and the disproportionately high usage of "bonus" categories, it is very likely that the show was making a short-lived attempt this season at raising the difficulty level.

September 1994 : (season begins September 5)
 * September 5 is Teen Week.
 * On September 5, the Round 2 Prize is a set of backpacks and a camera, worth $826. This is very likely the last Wheel prize under $1,000.
 * On September 6: $3,500_over_$150.png
 * The Round 1 puzzle YABBA-DABBA-DOO FAMILY is the longest known main-game puzzle with none of the five most common consonants. This record is known to have been tied on December 20, 2004.
 * $3,500 is accidentally placed over $150, thus putting in play the red $300 it normally occupies.
 * On September 7, contestant Paul sweeps the game but loses an annuity in the Bonus Round.
 * On September 14, Vanna shows off her newborn son, Nicholas (Niko).
 * On September 15:
 * For the first known time outside a road show, the category chyrons are yellow with a black outline.
 * Contestant Lesley sets a new one-round record of $45,000 in the Speed-Up.
 * On September 16:
 * Round 1 is the third known instance of an "old-style" Fill In the Blank having its question mark in the middle. The puzzle is HARRIET ? STOWE (with the question mark by itself on the second row), and none of the contestants correctly fill in the blank (Beecher).
 * Round 4 is the first known use of Events.
 * On September 19, Pat's Final Spin lands on Surprise.
 * On September 20:
 * Round 2 is the debut of Megaword; unlike other "bonus" categories, it does not use the High Rollers chimes.
 * Round 4 is Person, and the Bonus Round is People.
 * On September 22:
 * Round 1 is the fourth and last known instance of an "old-style" Fill In the Blank having its question mark in the middle (JACK BE ? JACK BE QUICK). This is also a very rare main-game puzzle with none of the five most common consonants in it. After the first four turns are all wrong letters, contestant Denise apparently figures out the answer on the fifth turn, as she calls off all the consonants in the puzzle (starting with C) and does not buy any vowels.
 * Kevin spins $5,000 three times in a row in Round 4; he ends up winning the game with $24,500, all claimed in this round.
 * The Round 5 Speed-Up puzzle BUSY AS A BEE has only three unique consonants; no letters are added until the eighth turn.
 * On September 23, contestant Kevin retires with $101,388.
 * On September 26:
 * Contestant Roger's nametag uses a larger, wider font than usual.
 * Surprise is accidentally placed on the tan $200 next to the top dollar in Round 1. This is corrected in Round 2.
 * On September 27:
 * Vanna is wearing a light blue jacket, but the category strips are teal.
 * For the first known time, a contestant fails to use a Megaword (HAPHAZARDLY) in a sentence.
 * In Round 4, the buzzer sounds on a correct letter.
 * On September 28:
 * The Surprise is a $1,090 Vuarnet men's watch. This is the least expensive known Surprise.
 * The Round 3 puzzle ? -A-DEE-DO-DAH ? UP ? CODE has four hyphens; even without counting the question marks, this puzzle is very likely a record for the most punctuation ever revealed in a puzzle on the trilon board. This is also a rare instance of a puzzle with none of the five most common consonants.

October 1994 :
 * On October 3, the puzzle-solve cue is changed to a "big band" style, using the same three notes but a faster tempo. A new cue is also introduced for giving the right answer to a "bonus" question.
 * On October 5:
 * Three males play.
 * Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
 * The Round 2 puzzle THE JUDGE & THE JURY oddly has the ampersand by itself on the second line.
 * On October 7:
 * The spikes on the puzzle board no longer blink.
 * The Round 1 puzzle BUSH HAMILTON BURNS & C SCOTT is inexplicably categorized as Clue, rather than using question marks and Fill In the Blank (the answer being "George").
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Lose a Turn. His second attempt lands on $5,000.
 * On October 11:
 * Bankrupt is hit six times in Round 3, tying the record for most known Bankrupts in a single round. Interestingly, no wrong letters are called during that round.
 * At the end of the show, Nancy Jones makes an off-camera appearance, telling Pat that nearly $7,000,000 was won last season.
 * On October 13:
 * Round 4's puzzle FALL FOLIAGE is a very rare main-game puzzle with only three unique consonants and none of the five most common ones.
 * In an extremely rare instance, RSTLNE reveals every consonant in the bonus puzzle (TIARA).
 * On October 14, Pat erroneously states that the Round 4 Prize is marked "Crystal" on the Wheel, which had been the Round 2 Prize. The actual Round 4 Prize is marked "Jewelry".
 * On October 18, the Round 2 puzzle WOODSTOCK NINETY-FOUR (Event) is followed by a question asking for the year in which the first Woodstock was held. The contestant provides the right answer of 1969.
 * On October 24:
 * Vanna wears a multicolored tie-dye blouse and purple leggings.
 * Surprise is accidentally placed on the red $300 in Round 1.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 1.
 * Contestant Danny retires with $53,092. He sweeps the game, but loses $25,000 in the Bonus Round.
 * On October 25, one of contestant Jacqueline's spins in Round 2 accidentally focuses on the yellow arrow instead of the blue one.
 * On October 27, for only the fifth known time, a Red-Letter Puzzle is used in a Speed-Up round (specifically, Round 4).
 * The week of October 31 is taped at the Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre at Fair Park in Dallas. During all of the Dallas episodes:
 * The closing variation of "Changing Keys" is used during the intro.
 * The contestant's Bonus Round letter choices are green.
 * The traditional Wheel logo is altered in three different styles, all with horseshoes in place of the dots, a lasso rope in place of the Wheel, and flames within the letters themselves: the first with a Texas Ranger badge in place of the "o" and a cactus in place of the "f", the second with a normal "of" but with a longhorn in place of the "o", and the third with a normal "of" with a cowboy hat on it. These logos are also seen on the copyright cards after the credits.
 * After the audience chant is done over a panoramic shot of the set, Charlie's intro for this week is: "Traveling to the State Fair of Texas, it's America's favorite game! Yes, Wheel of Fortune is on location again, and comes to you from the spectacular Starplex theater in Dallas, Texas! And now, here are Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * On October 31:
 * A contestant fails to solve the bonus puzzle AWARD with only the W missing.
 * Merv Griffin appears in the final segment, and jokes that he only seems to make cameos when the Bonus Round is lost.

November 1994 :
 * On November 2:
 * The Round 3 puzzle CLASSICAL JAZZ ROCK RAP & COUNTRY (Clue) has two blank spaces between JAZZ and ROCK.
 * Oddly, the cameras cut to a shot of some audience members mouthing the answer when Dan solves Round 3.
 * As Dan calls L in the Speed-Up (which is not in the puzzle), the camera briefly switches from the usual split-screen to a closeup shot of him, then pans over to contestant Keri calling her letter before returning to the usual shot. It is very likely that these turns had to be re-shot due to a technical error.
 * On November 3:
 * The Round 1 puzzle STOP EJECT PLAY REWIND & RECORD BUTTONS (Things) has two blank spaces between STOP and EJECT, and between PLAY and REWIND.
 * Round 3 is a Where Are We? puzzle with four clues.
 * The bonus puzzle, THE ALAMO, is only the third known use of Landmark in the Bonus Round.
 * On November 4:
 * Round 3 is the last known appearance of an "old-style" Fill In the Blank.
 * Contestant Bree accidentally calls N in the Bonus Round, and it is briefly placed on the chyron.
 * The weeks of November 7 and 14 are the Red, White & Blue Sweepstakes. Similar to the Red Letter Sweepstakes of Season 10 and the Gold Letter Sweepstakes of Season 11, each episode has a puzzle where some letters are red on top and blue on the bottom, which spell out the last name of a U.S. President when unscrambled. While the contest plugs are typically cut out of GSN reruns, at least one episode (November 15) is shown with the sweepstakes address intact. 200 winners of the contest receive a trip on the MS Windward (now the SuperStar Aquarius) and a chance to audition for the show.
 * On November 10:
 * The winning contestant has only $2,450 before the Bonus Round.
 * The bonus prize is a historic document signed by George Washington.
 * On November 11, nobody correctly identifies what is described by the Clue puzzle MOUNT RUSHMORE STATE (South Dakota).
 * On November 14:
 * The "bonus" for Round 2's Fill In the Blank puzzle ? EYES ? IN THE GRASS ? CHARMER (Snake) is thrown out after an audience member shouts out the answer. This does not affect the outcome.
 * The Bonus Round prize (which is won) is a painting worth $13,750. This is the last known Bonus Round prize to be under $15,000.
 * On November 15, no letters are revealed in the Round 1 puzzle BIG BROUHAHA until the seventh turn.
 * On November 18, the Round 2 prize is a $10,190 piano, which is won.
 * November 21 is Dallas Week from Fair Park, with the same changes as the week of October 31. Charlie's intro for this week is: "Traveling to the dynamic city of Dallas, Texas, it's America's favorite game!" He then pauses as Vanna says a line about their venue, and then continues, "Yes, the Big Wheel has rolled into the Big D, Dallas/Fort Worth, and comes to you from the Starplex theater! And now, the stars of Wheel of Fortune, Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * On November 21:
 * There are two returning champions: Teresa from November 18, and Bree from November 4.
 * Surprise is accidentally placed on the blue $500 in Rounds 1 and 2.
 * Rounds 2 and 4 are Things, while the Bonus Round is Thing.
 * Against normal practice at the time, Charlie reads copy for the Round 4 Prize.
 * Teresa retires with $103,240.
 * On November 22:
 * The only vowel bought in Round 1 is not in the puzzle; it is solved without either of its vowels revealed.
 * Round 2 is the first known appearance of The Nineties.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 2.
 * Rounds 1 and 5 are Before & After.
 * Contestant Denise spins $5,000 three times in a row in Round 4.
 * Denise's hands are visible in the shot of the board during the Bonus Round.
 * On November 24, Denise retires with $99,026, a seemingly-rare instance of two consecutive undefeated champions.
 * On November 25, at the end of the show, a dance performance is given by Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico.
 * On November 28:
 * Three females play.
 * Oddly, the applause machine is only used when the audience is clapping and when players spin the Wheel.
 * Round 1 is a Same Name puzzle with three "names".
 * The video for the Surprise shows Vanna walking with Fred Hayman. $10K_Wedge_1994.jpg
 * The $10,000 Wedge debuts in Round 3. It is initially placed on the Bankrupt between $600 and $500.
 * On November 29, a contestant sweeps the game but loses $25,000 in the Bonus Round.

December 1994 :
 * On December 5:
 * Three males play.
 * The applause machine is not used during prize descriptions.
 * The value for the Round 2 Prize has an "embossed" effect.
 * The numbers are enlarged on the $10,000 Wedge.
 * Round 3 has the longest known word to be concealed in a Red-Letter puzzle (PASSION, within the puzzle DON'T LOSE ANY SLEEP OVER IT).
 * Contestant Tom begins to hand in his Free Spin right before the Final Spin bells sound, but he is stopped by Pat. Pat asks Nancy whether Tom should still hand it in and call the first Speed-Up letter (while blue contestant John's arrow is blinking), and she tells him yes.
 * The bonus puzzle CHANGE OF HEART is the last known bonus puzzle to use more than two lines of the puzzle board. It is not known why this was done.
 * Rounds 2, 3, and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * On December 9:
 * For the first known time, three different "bonus" categories are played: the debut of Next Line Please in Round 1, Fill In the Blank in Round 3, and Megaword in Round 4.
 * In Round 1, no one correctly provides the next line to ARE THE STARS OUT TONIGHT ("I don't know if it's cloudy or bright").
 * Round 4 is also a rare instance of a "bonus" category being used in a Speed-Up. It is also the only known instance of a Megaword sentence not being accepted ("The contestants did not know what the word PROLIFERATION meant").
 * On December 14:
 * Rounds 1 and 4 are Phrase.
 * Round 3 is the second known appearance of The Nineties, and the last known use of that category until at least the early 2000s.
 * On December 15:
 * The value of the Surprise uses an "embossed" effect.
 * "Nightwalk" is used as the cue for the Round 2 prize. This is the last known time that "Nightwalk" is heard on the show.
 * The Round 4 prize is accidentally placed on $700.
 * After the bonus puzzle ZORRO (Fictional Character) is not solved, Pat sings the theme to the 1957 Zorro TV series while making a Z in the air with the bonus envelope.
 * On December 16:
 * Three females play.
 * In Round 2, a contestant incorrectly solves the fully-revealed Megaword puzzle PRISTINELY by mispronouncing it.
 * At least one of the Prize wedges has a shorter font.
 * December 19 is Family Week, played identically to the ones in 1992 and 1993.
 * On December 19:
 * Round 1 is the last known appearance of Nickname.
 * The Round 2 Prize is a pair of Yamaha motor scooters.
 * At the end of the episode, Pat and Vanna reveal a collage that they made for the top winner. It includes a replica of the $5,000 wedge, nametags reading Pat and Vanna, a $25,000 envelope, a Free Spin token, a red L, two logos, and a replica of a California license plate reading "WHEEL".
 * On December 20:
 * Once again, the Round 4 prize is accidentally placed on $700.
 * In the final segment, Vanna brings in Nicholas a second time.
 * On December 22:
 * In Round 2, the Megaword puzzle COPACETIC is a very rare main-game puzzle with only three unique consonants.
 * Round 2 also has a very rare instance of a contestant losing their turn with only vowels remaining; a team incorrectly solves with only the E missing, after which the next team solves for the house minimum. This is followed by only the second known instance of a contestant failing to use a Megaword in a sentence.
 * On December 23:
 * A family pair solves the Speed-Up puzzle CHRISTMAS WREATH with only the C revealed.
 * Each family pair gets a box of Perugina chocolates after the Speed-Up round.
 * In a very rare occurrence, RSTLNE reveals more than half of the bonus puzzle (FRASIER).
 * Reruns air during the week of December 26.

January 1995 :
 * A second set of reruns airs during the week of January 2.
 * On an episode sometime this month, footage is shown after the Bonus Round of Pat calling the winners of the Red, White & Blue Sweepstakes.
 * On January 9:
 * Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
 * The Surprise is erroneously placed on $800 in Rounds 1 and 2.
 * The Free Spin (on the blue $300) comes loose during Round 1, partially exposing the 3. It is secured before Round 2.
 * The contestant calls her vowel first in the Bonus Round, but against precedent, the chyron displays the vowel last.
 * The Bonus Round prize won is a $7,198 pair of motorcycles plus $10,000 cash.
 * On January 11, a contestant wins with only the Round 4 Prize (a $6,744 trip to Austria).
 * On January 12:
 * The $10,000 Wedge is accidentally placed over the Bankrupt between $900 and $500 in Rounds 3 and 4; this ends up affecting the game, as contestant Paula hits the center of the Bankrupt between $600 and $500.
 * The Round 3 puzzle I WANT TO BE ALONE (Quotation) is followed by a question asking for who is famous for saying it. Contestant Melanie does not provide the correct answer of Greta Garbo.
 * Contestant Chris solves the bonus puzzle RODEO despite getting no help from his extra letters.
 * On January 13, Rosanne Basile (the winner of a Vanna lookalike contest held by the show's newsletter) makes a cameo.
 * January 16 is Best Friends Week, with the Friday Finals. All the Wheel Prizes and Surprises are either trips or prizes that come in pairs.
 * On January 19, the bonus puzzle is JEOPARDY (Title).
 * On January 20:
 * Cedric and Quintan only spin once in the entire game, calling an incorrect letter in Round 3.
 * The Speed-Up puzzle, SYNCOPATED (Megaword), is a rare instance of a "bonus" category being used in a Speed-Up.
 * Kristi and Shawna sweep the game. In an unusual move, Pat lets them pick between the two remaining bonus prizes (two cars or two pianos) instead of using the W-H-E-E-L envelopes. They choose the cars, but do not win them.
 * On January 23, contestant Betty solves the bonus puzzle ROOF despite getting no help from her extra letters.
 * On January 24:
 * Vanna wears a suit.
 * The Round 2 puzzle ED SULLIVAN THEATER IN NEW YORK (Place) is followed by a question asking whose show tapes there. Contestant Richard gives the correct answer of David Letterman just after the buzzer, at which point Pat says that they will check the tape during the commercial break. Pat forgets to mention the outcome until after Richard's first letter call in Round 3 is revealed, at which point he confirms that the buzzer beat him.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on a Prize wedge.
 * On January 25:
 * Three males play.
 * Paul wins a $46,000+ home décor package including $1,000 cash in the Bonus Round, the cash part of which is modeled by Vanna holding several bundles of money.
 * On January 27:
 * Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
 * Round 3 is a "three question marks" Fill In the Blank with four question marks.
 * Contestant Paul retires with $122,075.
 * On January 31:
 * Rounds 2, 4, and 5 are Phrase.
 * The bonus prize is a Wurlitzer piano with $5,000 cash.

February 1995 :
 * On February 1:
 * Round 2 has a rare instance of a contestant losing their turn with only vowels remaining; with only the E missing from the puzzle EROTICISM, a contestant buys A.
 * The winning contestant accidentally calls E in the Bonus Round, and the E is briefly put on the chyron.
 * On February 3:
 * Three males play.
 * Round 3 is the last known Where Are We? puzzle to use four clues.
 * Vanna turns the B too far in the Bonus Round, causing the letter to slide partway off the trilon.
 * Contestant David says "the blah" among his Bonus Round guesses, stopping just shy of saying the full answer, THE BLAHS.
 * The weeks of February 6-27 are taped at Walt Disney World. During these weeks:
 * The original $10,000 Wedge with skinnier numbers is used, suggesting that these episodes were taped before or immediately after the week of November 28.
 * For reasons unknown, the Surprise wedge's letters do not have sparkles on them during these episodes.
 * These episodes have the 1994 logo zooming up and then wiping away vertically in the intro.
 * Each show opens with Vanna saying, "From Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida; it's Wheel of Fortune!" The logo zooms up as Charlie says the show's name; as the logo vertically wipes, he continues, "America's favorite show is on location at America's favorite theme park! And now, your host and hostess: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * The taping location disclaimer is updated to "Production Facilities Provided by Disney-MGM Studios", complete with the theme park's logo and Charlie's spiel.
 * February 6 is the last My Favorite Teacher Week. Teacher-themed weeks do not occur again until May 28, 2007.
 * On February 7:
 * The Round 2 Prize is a $1,499 camcorder.
 * Round 4 is the first known instance of Places.
 * On February 8:
 * Round 2 is the last known appearance of a Red-Letter Puzzle.
 * Contestants Alan and John sweep the game and win trips to Hawaii in the Bonus Round.
 * On either February 6 or 9, contestants Noah and Martin sweep the game and win a pair of cars in the Bonus Round.
 * On February 10:
 * Round 1 and the Bonus Round are Person, while Round 4 is People.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 2.
 * Neither Thing nor Phrase is used.
 * Contestants Luann and Rhonda perform a technical sweep, winning everything except the $500 bonus for the Clue (which goes to Alan and John).
 * In the Bonus Round, Pat lets Luann and Rhonda pick from the two remaining prizes (a New York trip or an annuity) instead of drawing from the envelopes. They pick the annuity and win it.
 * As of February 15, Fill In the Blank is still shown as just "Blank" on the chyron, and Vanna still turns the question marks as she does with any other punctuation marks.
 * On February 16:
 * The Round 1 puzzle TINA LANA TED & KATHLEEN is catgorized as Clue, instead of using four question marks and Fill In the Blank (the answer being "Turner").
 * Rounds 2 and 5 are Thing, while Round 4 and the Bonus Round are Phrase.
 * Surprise is erroneously placed on the blue $200.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt.
 * On February 17:
 * No vowels are bought in Round 1.
 * After the Round 1 puzzle FUNK & WAGNALLS (People), contestant Sandi is asked who they are, and she provides the correct answer of dictionary and encyclopedia publishers.
 * There are two sets of duplicate categories: Rounds 2 and 5 are Before & After, while Rounds 3 and 4 are Phrase.
 * Contestant Sandi retires with $91,748.
 * February 20 is "Some of the Greats!", with 11 past winners competing for charity. During the interviews, clips are shown from some contestants' prior episode(s). Some other notes about this week:
 * After the chant and vertical logo wipe, Charlie's intro is "Remember [players' names]? They're back, playing for charity, as we present Some of the Greats from Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida! And now, the stars of our show: Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * Contestants who finish with $0 are given $500 towards their charities.
 * The returning-champion rule remains in effect minus the three-day limit, which results in Kelly Vaught playing all five shows.
 * The only qualification appears to have been "zany, post-Season 6 nighttime", as totals range from about $39,000-$91,000 and the players consist of one each from Seasons 7-9, three from Season 10, and five from Season 11. Further, at least two (Robin and Nicole) did not retire undefeated.
 * On February 20:
 * The contestants are Raymond Taylor ($81,665 in January 1994), Kelly Vaught ($75,498 on December 18 and 28-29, 1992), and Carol Terrana ($76,403 on December 3-4 and 7, 1992). They are playing for the Motion Picture and Television Foundation, the Orange County Red Cross, and the Northern Illinois Hospice Association respectively.
 * Vanna's dress is red, but the category chyrons are magenta.
 * In Round 2, nobody correctly identifies what is described by the Clue puzzle CERVANTES' ROMANTIC IMPRACTICAL KNIGHT (Don Quixote).
 * On February 21, the new contestants are David ($71,534 in November 1990) and Monty Sternfeld ($76,451 in March 1993).
 * On February 22:
 * The new contestants are Robin ($43,749 on March 10-11, 1994) and Alison ($77,109 on February 21-23, 1994).
 * Round 1 and 4 both begin with three consecutive lost turns: Round 1 begins with a Lose A Turn followed by two incorrect letters, while Round 4 begins with a wrong letter, Bankrupt, and another wrong letter.
 * 10 wrong letters are called in both Rounds 3 and 4.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 4.
 * On February 23:
 * The new contestants are Maria Mason ($76,421 in November 1993) and Nicole ($91,530 on October 27 and 30-31, 1989).
 * After the Round 4 puzzle OF CABBAGES AND KINGS (Quotation), Kelly is asked for the source of the quotation, and he does not provide the correct response of Alice in Wonderland.
 * There a very rare instance of a bonus puzzle without RSTLNE in it. The puzzle, VOODOO, is not solved.
 * On February 24:
 * The new contestants are Gary ($39,400 in March 1992) and Angela Thompson-Murphy ($60,693 in October 1993).
 * Nobody gives a correct response to the Clue puzzle FOUND ON A WALL OR ON YOUR TEETH (Plaque). Angela and Gary both give their answers in the form of a question like Jeopardy!
 * In Round 3, with only the C missing from the puzzle INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE BY ANNE RICE, Angie hesitates on whether or not to spin again; she ultimately decides to spin, hits Bankrupt, and slumps over the railing, after which Kelly pats her to "console" her. After Gary calls D, Kelly calls the missing C and solves the puzzle in a Dracula voice, then pretends to bite Pat's neck during the throw to commercial.
 * For the second consecutive show, there is a bonus puzzle without RSTLNE in it: COWBOY, which is also not solved.
 * In the Bonus Round, Angie calls her vowel before her third consonant, but against precedent the chyron displays the vowel last and leaves a gap for the third consonant.
 * By February 24, Charlie's closing spiel is changed to begin with "Created by Merv Griffin", and a separate chyron credit with said text is made to reflect this change.
 * On February 27:
 * There is an undisclosed error with contestant Dan's spin when he calls Q in Round 1; what exactly happened is unknown, since the camera stays focused on the puzzle during the turn.
 * Seven consecutive turns are lost in Round 1 (six wrong letters and a Bankrupt).
 * Charlie appears on-camera in the final segment.

March 1995 :
 * On March 1:
 * Contestant Renae offers "Being on Wheel of Fortune is a bombastic experience." as the sentence for her Megaword, BOMBASTIC. This results in a quip from Nancy Jones (in her last known appearance), who says "If she really feels that way!"
 * Renae retires with $28,000, having lost all three Bonus Rounds. This is the lowest known total for an undefeated champion.
 * On March 6:
 * Three males play.
 * Contestant Alan retires with $103,275. This is the only known instance of three consecutive undefeated champions.
 * On March 8:
 * Rounds 1 and 3 are Before & After.
 * Vanna's dress is light blue, but the category chyrons are teal.
 * On March 9, the Round 2 Prize is accidentally placed on the blue $500 between $700 and $800.
 * On March 10:
 * All of the puzzles are unusually short, with Round 4 (TROPICAL RAIN FOREST) being the longest at only 17 letters.
 * Six rounds are played, with two sets of duplicate categories: Place in Round 4 and the Bonus Round, and Things in Rounds 5 and 6.
 * Round 6 is an extremely short answer of GLOVES.
 * Contestant Doreen retires with $113,559.
 * On March 13, the winning contestant has only $2,300 before the Bonus Round.
 * On March 15, the Megaword puzzle OXIDIZED is a very rare main-game puzzle with only three unique consonants and none of the five most common ones. It takes the contestants 11 spins to reveal any letters in the puzzle; 21 turns are lost in total, including three Bankrupts and an incorrect vowel. Every consonant is called except J, and the round lasts 5 minutes and 40 seconds (from the reveal of the puzzle to the end of the contestant's Megaword sentence).
 * On March 16:
 * Contestant Patty hits Bankrupt in Round 1 and asks if she can keep the Free Spin. She then tries to spin again, but Pat quickly stops her and tells her that she "can't have it both ways", asking her if she was trying to scam him.
 * In Round 4, Pat mis-hears a contestant's call of A as E, but corrects himself and tells the contestant that there are four A's in the puzzle. He then corrects himself again when the buzzer sounds, as the puzzle actually has four E's but no A's.
 * On March 17:
 * Unusually, both Rounds 4 (LEPRECHAUN) and 5 (CHUCK IT) are extremely short puzzles.
 * The buzzer does not sound on an incorrect letter in Round 5.
 * Contestant Joe retires with $63,845.
 * On March 21, nobody correctly identifies what is described by the Clue puzzle PRESIDENT ON TWENTY-DOLLAR BILL (Andrew Jackson).
 * On March 22, Vanna is wearing blue, but the category chyrons are purple.
 * On March 23, three males play.
 * On March 24:
 * Contestant Lucille solves the Round 2 puzzle JOHN TRAVOLTA IN PULP FICTION with only the N's and R revealed.
 * The Speed-Up puzzle, SCRAM, is a tie for the shortest known puzzle ever used in the main game. It is not known why so many games this month have extremely short puzzles, although it is possible that the ones in final rounds were originally loaded in as bonus puzzles until it was realized that enough time remained for another round.
 * Rounds 1, 3, and 5 are completely filled in before being solved.
 * Contestant Gene wins by $50.
 * Gene's letter choices reveal the bonus puzzle LOCKER completely.
 * On March 28:
 * The Round 2 prize is a $1,184 set of Oneida Crystal stemware.
 * Interestingly, the place described by the Where Are We? puzzle is Africa, which was also described by a puzzle in that category on October 5.
 * The bonus prize is a home theater system, whose TV displays the opening segment while Charlie describes it.
 * On March 29:
 * For what is likely the only time, the main game consists solely of "bonus" categories: Clue in Rounds 1 and 4, Megaword in Round 2, and Fill In the Blank in Round 3. This is the last known instance of a specific "bonus" category being used twice in one game, a rare instance of one being used in a Speed-Up, and the second (and last) known time that three are used.
 * Round 3 is also the last known instance of a "three question marks" Fill In the Blank using four question marks.
 * On March 30:
 * Three males play.
 * The Speed-Up puzzle REVERBERATION (Megaword) is one of the few known instances of a "bonus" category being used in a Speed-Up.
 * On March 31, a contestant solves the bonus puzzle WAY OFF BASE with only the O, S, and E showing.
 * All five Bonus Rounds are won on the week of March 27, part of a winning streak comprising at least nine days.

April 1995 :
 * On April 4, contestant Herb retires with over $118,000.
 * On April 6:
 * Two bonuses are played: Round 1 is Megaword, and Round 3 is I CAME I SAW I CONQUERED (Quotation) followed by Charlie asking for the person famous for that quotation; contestant Richard provides the correct answer of Julius Caesar.
 * No vowels are bought in Round 3.
 * After Richard solves the Round 3 puzzle, Pat accidentally knocks a water glass onto him.
 * On April 7: FullPuzzleBoardShot4795.png
 * Three males play.
 * Round 1 is the last known appearance of Megaword.
 * Contestant Lou wins by $50.
 * Pat and Vanna do their chat from the puzzle board, and Vanna uses the bonus puzzle to show how the trilons work.
 * April 10 is Teen Week, using the Friday Finals.
 * On April 10:
 * Charlie's opening spiel is shortened to remove "the" before the show's title and "soaring into your lives" before Pat and Vanna's intro; "Here they are" is now said in a more dramatic fashion.
 * The Round 2 Prize is a $1,499 AT&T computer, which is shown running a 1994 Windows video game adaptation when Charlie describes it.
 * Reruns air during the week of April 17.

May 1995 :
 * May 1 is Celebrity Award Winners week. The games are Richard Karn, Deidre Hall, and Louis Gossett Jr. on Monday; Paul Rodriguez, Chelsi Smith, and Jeffrey Tambor on Tuesday; LL Cool J, Garry Marshall, and Jess Walton on Wednesday; Kimberlin Brown, Janet Evans, and Al Michaels on Thursday; and Dave Barry, Justine Micelli, and Rita Moreno on Friday. During this week:
 * During the intro, all 15 stars are listed off in alphabetical order over the softer closing mix of the theme. Pat and Vanna then introduce each day's players as they walk onstage.
 * The $1,000/$3,500/$5,000 round structure is used.
 * On May 1: Free_Spin_on_$1,000.png
 * Free Spin is inexplicably placed on $1,000; Deidre wins despite calling three N's on the token in Round 1.
 * The Round 3 puzzle is not shown, nor do the category chimes sound, until after the first spin begins.
 * On May 2:
 * Pat and Paul briefly discuss the series finale of The Pat Sajak Show, which Paul guest-hosted.
 * In Round 3, Chelsi decides to solve the puzzle, but Pat convinces her to spin instead. She hits Lose A Turn.
 * Following Round 3, a clip is shown from Paul's version of The Newlywed Game (1988-89).
 * On May 3:
 * Jess accidentally asks for a 4 in Round 1. She corrects herself and says F, which is in the puzzle.
 * Jess also calls her vowel (O) first in the Bonus Round, but against precedent, the chyron displays the vowel last. Following a call of G, she has difficulty making her last two choices, likely because there are no other consonants in the puzzle (NOSTALGIA); after she picks C, Pat eventually suggests M.
 * On May 10 or 11 (Patrick/Russ/Kathleen), Pat accidentally goes straight to the bonus puzzle before the contestant picks an envelope. Vanna turns the RSTLNE letters while the camera is still focused on Pat.
 * From possibly the above week, there is a rare instance of a bonus puzzle without RSTLNE in it. The puzzle, PUPPY, is solved. Armed forces.png
 * The weeks of May 15 and 22 are taped on the hangar deck of the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is docked in Norfolk, Virginia at the time.
 * The intro for these episodes shows Pat and Vanna standing in front of the ship. Pat says, "We're at the naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, about to board the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower for some very special shows." Vanna then says "Please join us as we celebrate Armed Forces Week right here on...", followed by everyone on-ship doing the "Wheel! Of! Fortune!" chant. Afterward, a marching band rendition of the original "Changing Keys" melody plays over footage of the Navy, with a flag background. The logo for the week then appears, followed by a timpani roll as Pat and Vanna are lowered onto the ship's deck. Charlie introduces them as "Here they are, Pat Sajak and Vanna White!"
 * Interestingly, the applause machine is not used.
 * Unlike all other road shows since at least the Disney episodes in April 1994, the chyrons are in Gill Sans. Memorial day.png
 * Several shots of the board appear to be done with hand-held cameras very close to the blue contestant's arrow, as the shots are shaky and lack the chyron.
 * May 15 is Armed Forces Week, with the Friday Finals.
 * On May 15:
 * The trilons containing the first M and W in the Round 1 puzzle MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND are crooked until those letters are revealed.
 * The Round 2 prize is a $2,500 Service Merchandise gift certificate. Strangely, its wedge only uses "G.C." in large letters in the top half of the wedge.
 * On Billy's first spin in Round 2, his flipper barely passes $750 to land on Bankrupt, but he is still credited with a $750 spin. This mistake is never realized.
 * Round 2 also has a rare instance of a contestant losing their turn with only vowels remaining: with only the U and I missing from PORTRAIT ON THE U S DIME, Billy buys the I but is obviously unsure of the answer. Even though he has more than enough money to buy the U, he instead attempts to solve, but gets as far as THE before stopping. Against normal practice at the time, the buzzer sounds on his incomplete answer. While the next contestant (Arrah) solves for the house minimum, none of the three players identify the person described by the puzzle (Franklin Roosevelt).
 * A siren sounds shortly into Round 3. Billy's decision to buy a vowel is obviously hindered, and Pat sarcastically thanks the siren after the vowel is purchased.
 * Billy solves the bonus puzzle GAME PLAN despite getting no help from his extra letters.
 * On May 19:
 * Vanna wears a suit.
 * The bonus puzzle GUY is an extremely rare three-letter answer without RSTLNE in it. It is not solved, and the audience boos after the puzzle is revealed.
 * During the week of May 22, the intro begins with an outside shot of Vanna saying, "Welcome to beautiful historic Norfolk, Virginia, for a very special week on..." followed by all of the contestants shouting "Wheel! Of!" and a group of children shouting "Fortune!" A unique piece of music plays over footage of Norfolk, before Pat and Vanna are lowered onto the deck in the same fashion as the previous week.
 * On May 25, the Round 2 Prize is a pair of Klein mountain bikes.
 * By May 25, Fill In the Blank's name is now shown in full on the chyron, and the question marks are already turned when the puzzle is revealed. Norfolk25000.jpeg
 * Sometime this week, the $25,000 is won in the Bonus Round. Since there is no ceiling that could house the $25,000 sign, a hexagonal graphic is used instead.
 * On May 30:
 * Vanna wears a sleeveless shirt and pants.
 * Round 4 (SHANGRI-LA) is the first known appearance of Fictional Place, although Pat's comments imply that it is not the first appearance of the category. According to one recollection, the category was present as early as 1985, although this has not yet been verified.
 * Pat's Final Spin lands on Lose A Turn.
 * The chyron for contestant Steve's two-day total after the Bonus Round reads $52,592 instead of his actual total, $51,592.
 * In the final segment, Charlie appears on-camera when Pat and Vanna ask him whether the stated two-day total or the total on the chyron was correct.
 * On May 31, Steve solves the bonus puzzle GENIUS despite getting no help from his extra letters.

June 1995 : (season ends June 23)
 * On June 1, the bonus puzzle is an extremely rare three-letter answer without RSTLNE in it: HUG, which is not solved.
 * On June 9:
 * Two "bonuses" are played: Fill In the Blank in Round 2, and Clue in Round 3.
 * Nobody correctly identifies what is described by the Clue puzzle THE YEAR DISNEYLAND OPENED (1955).
 * Contestant Dave fails to solve the bonus puzzle MENU with only the U missing.
 * June 12 is Alaskan Cruise Week. During this week:
 * In the intro, Vanna states the week's theme from Taku Glacier. A unique piece of piano and string music then plays over footage of the staff vacationing in Juneau, with the words "Alaskan Cruise Week" appearing. "Alaskan" is in a golden cursive font, and "Cruise Week" in a blue serif font.
 * The bumpers are footage of Alaska with the "Alaskan Cruise Week" logo.
 * All of the contestants, except for June 9's champion, are winners of the Red, White & Blue Sweepstakes.
 * Vanna models all of the prizes in Alaska, often with other members of the staff.
 * On June 12:
 * The first two spins of Round 1 are both Bankrupt; oddly, the "ooh" applause machine track begins to sound on both, but switches to the "aww" partway through.
 * The Round 2 Prize is a $1,500 gift certificate for Cabela's, with which a pair of boots may be purchased.
 * In both Rounds 2 and 3, Pat forgets to ask contestant Anna if she wants to use her Free Spin.
 * Round 4 (SUPERMODEL ELLE MACPHERSON) is the longest puzzle.
 * A Prize is added for Round 4, despite it going to Speed-Up after only three turns; it is also accidentally placed on the pink $200.
 * Contestant Yvette tries to call two letters in the Speed-Up.
 * The Surprise is the same pair of Klein bicycles that was previously used as the Round 2 Prize on May 25.
 * Contestant Dave sweeps the game and wins a fishing boat in the Bonus Round.
 * "Buzzword" is used when Charlie describes the fishing boat, a rare instance of that cue being used for something other than a car.
 * None of the puzzles have a T in them.
 * In the final segment, Vanna shows footage of a trip that the crew took to Juneau.
 * On June 14, Harry Friedman is announced as the new producer, replacing Nancy Jones. Strangely, Nancy is not mentioned in any contemporary articles or an October 2007 interview with Friedman about his hiring.
 * On June 16:
 * The Round 2 Prize is the same as it was on Monday; this is the last known Wheel Prize to be under $2,000.
 * Oddly, neither Thing nor Phrase is used in the maingame.
 * June 19 is Teen Week, using the Friday Finals.
 * On an episode this week, the Surprise is a $12,000+ trip to the Virgin Islands.
 * On June 19:
 * Three females play.
 * Two contestants in a row call N in Round 1.
 * The Round 2 Prize is accidentally placed on the pink $200, and the Round 4 Prize on the red $300 (where the Round 2 Prize should be).
 * At least two spins are mis-identified, neither affecting the game. The first, from Erin in Round 2, is identified as $800 despite barely passing it for $750; although her score is never corrected, she would have won regardless. Pat later identifies one of Jennifer's spins in Round 4 as having landed on $5,000 despite it actually landing on $300, but the letter she calls on that turn is not in the puzzle.
 * On June 21:
 * Three females play.
 * Slang makes its last known appearance.
 * In Round 2, nobody correctly identifies what is described by the Clue puzzle KRAMER'S FIRST NAME ON SEINFELD (Cosmo).
 * The first six turns of Speed-Up are all wrong letters; overall, 10 wrong letters (one of which is a vowel) are called.
 * On June 22, Harry appears on-camera at the end of the show.
 * On June 23:
 * It is the last episode taped at CBS Television City's Studio 33.
 * In Round 2, nobody correctly identifies what is described by the Clue puzzle BIBLE'S FIRST SIBLING RIVALRY (Cain and Abel).