Pat's Chat with Vanna: Time for us to travel in different directions, [she always chuckles] see ya soon.
Welcome, everybody, to Wheel of Fortune! It's our...
SEASON PREMIERE!
That means we're giving away tons of cash, cars, trips, and gifts! And to celebrate business, entertainment, cuisine, and pop culture, we're having a "Grand Opening" (the appropriate theme for this week is always in quotation marks)! Let's get this show on the road! (By the way - BTW for short - Pat, Vanna, and Jim will explain how everything works this week, even on the extra episode.)
I'd say we start out with the ever popular Toss-Up, eh?
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_ _ _ _
SHOW BIZ
Ding!
A P _ L A _ _ _
_ _ G _
SHOW BIZ
Lisa gets the APPLAUSE SIGN for solving this first puzzle and winning $1,000!
Donny: $0
Lisa: $1,000
Mike: $0
Let's meet our first contestants of the season.
Lisa Steenburg: A preschool teacher from Harbor Point, IN
Mike Noval: A singer/actor from Los Angeles, CA
Donny Freeman: A business consultant from Birmingham, AL
Another Toss-Up, I guess. Let's go!
_ _ _ _ / _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
PHRASE
Ding!
_ E L _ / T H _
_ R _ T H
PHRASE
Lisa knows how to TELL THE TRUTH, so she's tripled up!
Donny: $0
Lisa: $3,000
Mike: $0
Our first featured prize is a very nice trip to Barcelona worth $8,500!
And we start this first round with the Jackpot wedge and a good ol' puzzle.
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FOOD & DRINK
Usually, there's a category wipe (an icon), but for this stage, there is none.
Lisa
$300 - 1 R
BANKRUPT near $600 ($300 gone)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ R
FOOD & DRINK
Mike
BANKRUPT near $2500
Donny
$500 - No S
[NULL CYCLE]
Lisa
$500 - 2 N's
4 E's! Exclamation points will come after something really good, and I'll always make these comments in every recap. Maybe every recap
$300 - 1 C
WILD CARD (WILD for short) - 1 Y
$500 - 3 P's
No more consonants!
Solve attempt...
Current Bank: $2,550 + WILD
C _ Y E N N E
P E P P E R
FOOD & DRINK
Lisa solves CAYENNE PEPPER.
AIRED WRONG LETTER: S (Donny)
AIRED BANKRUPTS: Lisa ($300), Mike ($0)
AIRED UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $7,100
Donny: $0
Lisa: $5,550 + WILD
Mike: $0
Let's start our first minigame...2nd Guess Bonus Round! This one's from February 23, 2009:
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_ _ _ _ _
PLACE
RSTLNE:
_ _ E R _
_ _ _ S E
PLACE
CDMIK are useless.
Lisa...still solves OPERA HOUSE!
Donny: 0
Lisa: 1
Mike: 0
I think we've got a good player tonight! And that puzzle was in a MILLION DOLLAR BONUS ROUND, but $45,000 was lost there instead.
Some could win $10,000 or drop to zero with the Mystery wedges!
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_ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _
THING
Mike
$300 - 1 T
$300 - 1 R
2 E's
2 A's
FREE PLAY (FP for short) - No O
$300 - 2 L's
$400 - 1 G
[NULL CYCLE]
$600 - 1 V
[YET ANOTHER NULL CYCLE]
Barcelona - 1 B!
$350 - 1 D
$600 - 2 F's
No more consonants again!
Solve attempt...
Current Bank: $3,250 + Barcelona
T R A V E L
D _ F F L E / B A G
THING
(SEMI-)DOMINATION (perfect round) and PRIZE WIN! Mike solves TRAVEL DUFFLE BAG for the vacation!
AIRED WRONG LETTER: O (Mike on FP)
Donny: $0
Lisa: $5,550 + WILD
Mike: $11,750
How about another minigame? This one's called Most Frequent.
_ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
PHRASE
And Mike, our leader, will start (the letters called are in the contestants' colors).
Consonants: No S, 2 N's, No R, No T, No L, No M, 2 C's, 1 V, 1 Y
Vowels: 2 A's, 1 O, No I
There's a tie between Donny and Mike with 4 letters each...but the puzzle's completely filled in. So yeah, this Tiebreaker is pointless.
Letters Called: No B, No D
Donny: 4
Lisa: 1
Mike: 4
Mike's our leader, so he'll solve! By the way, blue indicates a tie.
N O
V A C A N C Y
PHRASE
Mike merely reads off NO VACANCY.
Donny: 0
Lisa: 1
Mike: 1
Next round has a big puzzle.
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_ _ _ _ / & / _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ _ _
_ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _
CLASSIC TV
I can see why it's so big, it's this season's first...
PRIZE PUZZLE!
Donny
ONE MILLION (MDW - Million Dollar Wedge - for short) - 2 T's! Uh-oh!
$400 - 3 L's
5 E's!
$350 - 2 D's
2 A's
$3500 - 4 N's! That was a close call (he almost BANKRUPTED)!
$500 - 4 S's!
Solve attempt...
Current Bank: $17,400 + ONE MILLION
S _ E L L E _
L _ N _ / & / T E D
D A N S _ N / S T A _
_ N / _ _ E E _ S
CLASSIC TV
BIG DOMINATION (major perfect round) "#2"! Donny knows SHELLEY LONG & TED DANSON STAR IN "CHEERS" for a $5,500 trip to Boston! Total that round: a whopping $22,900! And we know what else he has...
Donny: $22,900 + MDW
Lisa: $5,550 + WILD
Mike: $11,750
There were 2 R's and 2 H's (I'll be keeping track of multiples left behind), but that's definitely a moot point now. And "big domination" occurs when $15,000+ is won in a round!
Our 3rd and final minigame tonight is High/Low.
Donny: BANKRUPT near $600 --> $0
Lisa: $3500
Mike: $900
It's high, so Lisa will guess this puzzle.
A B A N _ _ N _ D
_ _ R E H O _ _ _
PLACE
Lisa knows it's ABANDONED WAREHOUSE.
Donny: 0
Lisa: 2
Mike: 1
And Lisa's your new Minigame Champ! Good job! Green indicates a winner, while red indicates a shutout (left empty-handed).
Another Toss-Up is on its way...
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ / &
_ _ _ _ _
LIVING THINGS
Ding!
_ _ G E O _ _ / &
D O _ E S
LIVING THINGS
Lisa sweeps the Toss-Ups with PIGEONS & DOVES.
Donny: $22,900 + MDW
Lisa: $8,550 + WILD
Mike: $11,750
Round 4 has just been delivered to us!
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AROUND THE HOUSE
Lisa
BANKRUPT between (btw.) $600/$900 (no WILD tonight)
Mike
$700 - No S
Donny
$600 - 1 T
Current Bank: $600
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_ _ _ _ T _ _ _ _
AROUND THE HOUSE
Ding 4x!
That means time is running short. Pat spins $500 (the former 1/2-CAR), so consonants are worth $1,500.
Picks: No R, 4 N's!
_ _ _ N N _ _
N _ _ _ T _ _ _ N
AROUND THE HOUSE
Lisa solves FLANNEL NIGHTGOWN for $6,000.
WRONG LETTER (before the Final Spin, FS for short): S (Mike)
WRONG LETTER (after the FS): R (Donny)
BANKRUPT (always before the FS): Lisa (WILD)
Donny: $22,900 + MDW!
Lisa: $14,550
Mike: $11,750
Great job by everyone winning 5-figures ($10,000+)! A shame Lisa didn't win. There were 2 L's and 2 G's remaining, but hey, it's a Final Spin.
Maingame (pre-Bonus Round) Winnings: $49,200!
Aired Bankrupt Trash: $300 + WILD
A MILLION DOLLAR BONUS ROUND on the premiere! Wow. Donny could win a $55,000 Sports Car if he doesn't win the million. He lands on the potentially lucky 1st A in AMERICA'S.
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_ _ _ _
THING
RSTLNE:
_ E _ _ E _
_ _ _ N
THING
DGYO:
_ E _ D E D
G O _ N
THING
He nails BEADED GOWN (wow, another gown puzzle?) for...
...$35,000 (Jim: "Transfer these funds"...)! Final total: $57,900!
My rating (out of 10): 8
To learn about the prizes I won and why I gave the episode the rating it has (+ some other stuff), read my comments!
TAPING ORDER
ReplyDeleteGrand Opening 3
CONTESTANT BASIS
5, 4, 1
SEDAN COLORS
White 3x
NULL CYCLES (letters mentioned are wrong letters)
Round 1
Lisa's T on the green $300
Mike's BANKRUPT near $300
Donny's L on the WILD
ACTUAL UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $7,400
Round 2, #1
Mike's LOSE A TURN
Donny's M on the orange $300
Lisa's N on the yellow $500
Round 2, #2
Mike's SECOND LOSE A TURN...wow.
Donny's BANKRUPT btw. $3500/$300
Lisa's S on the red $900
LIST OF PRIZES WON
Hollywood concept (minigame)
$5,500 Boston
$8,500 Barcelona
White long-sleeved sweater with a black vest (minigame)
Yellow glasses and a black mustache (minigame)
$45,000 Hollywood (my pick)
I also won a black stuffed jacket from a game that got cut off at the Prize Puzzle.
RECAP
Great season premiere! Everyone left with over $10,000 and a Million Dollar Bonus Round came right along with it! I found it crazy that Donny only needed that Prize Puzzle to win.