RECAP EXAMPLE: Thursday, September 6

Jim: And now, here are the stars of our show...Pat Sajak and Vanna White!
Pat to Vanna: Time for us to travel in different directions, [chuckles] see ya soon.

We've given away a lot this week, but how about more? It's Day 4 of our "Grand Opening".

There's a Toss-Up in the air, so let's catch it before it slips away!
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
PROPER NAME

Ding!

T E D
_ _ N S _ N

Didn't we just have a puzzle with this man on the premiere? Anyway, Marlow knows it's TED DANSON.

Jeff: $0
Alyssa: $0
Marlow: $1,000

Tonight's players...
Marlow Mason: A singer from Madison, WI
Jeff Martinez: A marathon runner and trivia buff from Glendale, CA
Alyssa Stevenson: An amateur surfer from Maui, HI

We've got another Toss-Up on our hands...
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
PHRASE

Ding!

S H E E _
_ U C K
PHRASE

Good for Jeff - this could've very well been a stumper, but he does solve SHEER LUCK just in time.

Jeff: $2,000
Alyssa: $0
Marlow: $1,000

Tonight's featured trip is a tour of the Grand Canyon. It's worth $6,000!

And we've got a Jackpot wedge on the wheel, as we look for some sort of puzzle.
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
PLACE

Jeff
$500 - No T

Alyssa
FREE PLAY - 1 A
1/2-CAR ($450) - 2 N's
No E
Current Bank: $750 + 1/2-CAR

_ _ N _ N _
_ A _ _
PLACE

Marlow
JACKPOT - 2 L's!
Solve attempt...
Current Bank: $2,000

_ _ N _ N _
_ A L L
PLACE

JACKPOT WIN! Marlow isn't sure, but he's right with DINING HALL for an $8,000 Jackpot! Total that round: $9,000!

WRONG LETTERS: T (Jeff), E (Alyssa)

Jeff: $2,000
Alyssa: $0
Marlow: $10,000

Why don't we get a minigame going? It's called 2nd Guess Bonus Round. It's from November 22, 2006:
_ _ / _ / _ _ _ _
PHRASE

RSTLNE:
_ N / _ / _ _ _ _
PHRASE

MHDA:
_ N / A / H _ _ _
PHRASE

Jeff, our trivia buff...gets it IN A HUFF.

Jeff: 1
Alyssa: 0
Marlow: 0

The Saturn Sky (a car) was lost here.

We have a double-decker Mystery here: what will you do when you land on it?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
FOOD & DRINK

Alyssa
Same 1/2-CAR - 1 S
ONE MILLION - No T...Ouch.
Current Bank: $500 + 1/2-CAR

_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ S
FOOD & DRINK

Marlow
MYSTERY near LaT - 2 R's
Flips it...BANKRUPT

_ R _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ R S
FOOD & DRINK

Jeff
LOSE A TURN

Alyssa
4 E's!
MDW's right side ($250 gone)...Ugh.

_ R E _ _ E _
_ _ _ _ _ E _
_ _ _ _ E R S
FOOD & DRINK

Marlow
FREE PLAY - 2 I's
$300 - 1 F
1 A
No more vowels!
$3500 - 2 C's!
Same darn BANKRUPT ($7,050 gone)

_ R E A _ E _
C _ I C _ E _
F I _ _ E R S
FOOD & DRINK

Jeff
1/2-CAR ($500) - 1 B
WILD - 1 H
$500 - 1 G
You-know-what near $3500 ($1,000 + WILD + 1/2-CAR out the door)...Wow.

B R E A _ E _
C H I C _ E _
F I _ G E R S
FOOD & DRINK

Alyssa
Guess which right side?

Marlow
$600 - 1 K
$500 - 2 N's
$450 - 2 D's
A complete board!
Much-needed solve attempt...
Current Bank: $2,500

B R E A D E D
C H I C K E N
F I N G E R S
FOOD & DRINK

Marlow finally gets this HORRIBLE round over with by reading off BREADED CHICKEN FINGERS.

WRONG LETTER: T (Alyssa)
BANKRUPTS: Marlow ($0, via the MW), Alyssa ($250 + 1/2-CAR), Marlow again ($7,050), Jeff ($1,000 + WILD + 1/2-CAR), Alyssa again ($0)
LOSE A TURN: Jeff ($0)

Jeff: $2,000
Alyssa: $0
Marlow: $12,500

I'm sure we can do a whole lot better next round.

With that awful round behind us, we've got a minigame to play - Most Frequent.
_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
OCCUPATION

Let's start with Marlow.

Consonants: 1 R, 1 S, No T, No N, 1 L, No C, No D, No M, 1 P
Vowels: 2 O's, 1 E, No A

There's a TIE btw. Jeff and Marlow, at 3 letters apiece. Tiebreaker time!

Letters Called: 2 B's, 1 H

Jeff: 5
Alyssa: 1
Marlow: 4

B O O _
P _ B L _ S H E R
OCCUPATION

Jeff solves BOOK PUBLISHER.

Jeff: 2
Alyssa: 0
Marlow: 0

Looks like our trivia buff is hitting the high notes in the minigames!

Let's have a nice party in Round 3:
_ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
TITLE

It's gonna be one heck of a party now!
PRIZE PUZZLE!

Marlow
$550 - 2 T's
$300 - 3 H's
5 E's!
$800 - 3 S's
1 A
Solve attempt...
Current Bank: $3,900

T H E
A _ _ E _ T _ _ E S
_ _ / S H E _ _ _ _ _
H _ _ _ E S
TITLE

DOMINATION! Marlow solves THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) for a $9,500 trip to London! Total that round: $13,400!

Jeff: $2,000
Alyssa: $0
Marlow: $25,900

Marlow left off the R and L pairs, but that's a much better job there!

Our last minigame of the night, you may ask? High/Low.

Jeff: $450
Alyssa: $500
Marlow: $350

Vanna goes with the highest amount, so Alyssa may get some really good luck!

C E L E R _
_ I _ _
P _ A N U _
B _ T _ E _
FOOD & DRINK

Alyssa solves CELERY WITH PEANUT BUTTER!

Jeff: 2
Alyssa: 1
Marlow: 0

Despite his minigame sweep being spoiled, Jeff's still the Minigame Champ!

Let's see if Alyssa can really get some dough with this Toss-Up...
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
FUN & GAMES

Ding!

R _ _ _ R
R A _ _ I _ G
FUN & GAMES

...and she does with RIVER RAFTING! Woo-hoo!

Jeff: $2,000
Alyssa: $3,000
Marlow: $25,900

Round 4 is headin' our way...
_ _ _ _ _ _ ' _ / _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
MOVIE TITLE

Alyssa
BANKRUPT near $5000...Really?

Marlow
$300 - 2 S's
4 E's!
Current Bank: $350

_ _ _ _ E _ ' S / _ _ E
_ _ E _ _ E _ S
MOVIE TITLE

Ding 4x!
Let's have Pat give the wheel a Final Spin. He lands on $300, so consonants are worth $1,300. Remember, vowels = $0.

Letters: 2 R's, 1 T, 1 H, 2 A's

_ A R _ E _ ' S / T H E
A _ E _ _ E R S
MOVIE TITLE

Marlow seals his win with MARVEL'S "THE AVENGERS" for $2,950! Jeff and Alyssa left behind $1,300 each.

BANKRUPT: Alyssa ($0)

Jeff: $2,000
Alyssa: $3,000
Marlow: $28,850

There were 2 V's awaiting him, but smart of Marlow to call a vowel and defend his title.

Maingame Winnings: $33,850
Bankrupt Trash: $8,300 + WILD + 1/2-CAR + 1/2-CAR

The Sports Car is up for grabs, but Marlow could win a little more money for his wallet. He lands on the 2nd A in AMERICA'S.
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
ON THE MAP

RSTLNE:
S _ _ T _
_ _ E R _ _ _
ON THE MAP

CHMA:
S _ _ T H
A M E R _ C A
ON THE MAP

Of course he knew it like we did (and no wonder he landed where he did) - he nails SOUTH AMERICA for $40,000 ("cash advance")! Final total: $68,850!

My rating: 7.5 (Round 2 brought it down but Marlow did win the Jackpot)

And guess what? We're on the verge of a PERFECT BONUS ROUND WEEK (PBRW)! That's when 5 out of 5 Bonus Round wins occur, while a SHUTOUT occurs when 0 out of 5 wins occur.