ME AT WHEEL OF FORTUNE: The venerable game show shot fifteen episodes over three days at Seattle’s Washingotn State Convention and Trade Center. (The show was there previously in 1995; in between came that little World Trade Organization conference you might have read about.)
(The 30 total Wheel shows shot in Seattle over these two visits account for 29.5 more episodes than Frasier ever shot here, and 30 more than Dark Angel did.)
I’d neglected to write in for tix. But the will-call desk provided me with an unused VIP ticket, which meant I got to sit in an aisle seat only 10 rows back of the puzzle board (a relatively privileged spot among the nearly 2,000 seats).
As has been the show’s recent norm, it built a very elaborate set, complete with a 12-foot neon-lit Space Needle, representations of the Pacific Science Center, the Pike Place Market, and real Seatown skyscrapers, and a little monorail wheeling back and forth throughout the shows.
They also didn’t skimp on the technical element. There were five regular studio cameras, two Steadicams, and three crane cameras (all Sony, of course), plus an elaborate studio-audience lighting rig.
As they’d done in the show’s ‘95 visit, the University of Washington marching band and cheerleaders performed throughout the shows and breaks.
(Game show trivia note #1: Former Win, Lose, or Draw host Robb Weller is often credited with having invented the “Wave” cheer when he was on the UW cheer squad.)
Wheel announcer Charlie O’Donnell looked every bit the distinguished aging lounge singer in his blue blazer and white hair and goatee. His audience warm-up act was smooth, understated, and thoroughly professional. He told a few pleasant jokes, chitchatted with KOMO-TV news personalities, and got the audience’s energy level up with some well-timed calls for applause (supposedly to be used as “sweetener” over any edits).
(Game show trivia note #2: Noting that he’d been an announcer on the original American Bandstand, O’Donnell asked everyone to watch for the forthcoming NBC family-nostalgia show American Dreams, in which O’Donnell will be impersonated by Match Game ‘99 host Michael Burger.)
The shows I saw were episodes #4 and #5 of College Week, with fresh-faced, perky, campus-logo-sweatshirt-clad undergrads—four from the UW, one from Washington State, one from Western Washington U. About five minutes before the shows’ openings, the players taped their screeching “Hi! I’m __!” proclamations, which were then edited into the shows themselves. (Presumably this was done so, if one of the players had trouble remembering her own name, she could do a retake without stopping the momentum of the main program.)
Then at 7:30 (an hour after the hall’s doors opened and three hours after some spectators started lining up), O’Donnell crooned: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Wheel of Fortune episode R-3467, recorded on eight-ten-oh-two, for airing on eleven-fourteen-oh-two.” Five seconds later, the big-screen monitors burst forth with a quick-cut montage of your standard touristy Seattle shots (fish throwing, coffee, microbrew beer taps, Safeco Field, and the UW campus). A UW cheerleader introduced the stars of the show, who made their usual entrance and went straight into the business at hand.
Ms. White, I’m proud to say, is just-as-lovely-in-person and an inspiration to all us 44-year-olds. Mr. Sajak’s role on the show has been reduced to that of a hard-nosed boss, pushing the proceedings to keep up with the sped-up pace instituted to accommodate additional commercials and local-news promos. Each show contained three “toss-up” games, three regular games, one “final spin” game, and a bonus round, plus a full compliment of prize and promotional-consideration plugs and Vanna-travelogue spots before the breaks. The stars addressed the studio audience twice per episode—during the first break and after the end. No, they didn’t say anything memorable.
There was just enough time between the two shows to run to the restrooms (no, I couldn’t resist the urge to shout “I’ll take a P, Pat!” along the way) while O’Donnell answered audience questions. (I didn’t get to ask whatever happened to the dreaded used-letter board.)
Then everything happened a second time. As for game-play spoilers, I’ll simply tell you that a couple of huge jackpots were squandered on wrong letter choices, and one episode concluded with the winning of a Nissan SUV.
For reasons known only to the producers, the first two commercial breaks on each show went by in almost “real time.” But there were long tape stopdowns for the third and fourth breaks (before and after the stars’ very brief closing remarks).
Shortly after 9 p.m., the last episode ended. O’Donnell thanked the audience and advised them to drive safely. As almost 2,000 people exited the huge room as briskly as almost 2,000 people could, a PA announcer called for the crew to be back and ready to work by 10:30 the following morning.
Just before the four flights of escalators back down to Pike Street, a horde of perky temp workers shoved WOF mouse pads and American Airlines packaged-tour promo brochures at any spectator willing to receive them. I’ve got four of the mouse pads now. Even though I’m only using a laptop these days.
posted by clark 9:26 PM
