Now this is more like it!
For $1299 I'll take the gigantic Nutcracker soldiers.
Reagan Survives Assassination Attempt...Olivia Newton-John Gets "Physical"...First Space Shuttle Launch
December 21, 1981...Look at This Glamorous Set...
With the exception of a few updates to the wheel, the show had not updated its set until this point. The 1981 set updates included a new 4-line puzzle board with an electric light border, replacing the comparatively drab, lightless 3-line puzzle board. The "podiums" of prizes were replaced by the famous turntable, which contained the 3 showcases of prizes contestants shopped for. And the contestant backdrops, which were originally green and matched the "unused letter" color found on the puzzle board, were replaced with bright red, yellow, and blue sunbursts.
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Now this is more like it! |
For $1299 I'll take the gigantic Nutcracker soldiers. |
Susan previewed this change on the episode airing December 18, 1981, saying the new puzzle board would allow for bigger puzzles and therefore "more money for you folks out there." The December 21, 1981 week of shows, in addition to being Chuck Woolery's last week on the air, were dubbed "Christmas in New York." The show was 7 years away from its actual trip to New York, so instead, contestants were flown in from New York to participate on the show. A snazzy special intro with Susan Stafford walking in the New York rain was also added.
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| Susan can turn a sad rainy day into fun. | Goodbye disco backdrops, hello bright sunbursts. |
December 25, 1981...Chuck Moves On
Worst career move in television history? Hardly. McLean Stevenson owns that honor, but one can't help but think what would have happened had Chuck stayed with the show 2 more years. Would Wheel have become the syndicated smash it did? Would Susan have stayed on longer (she was gone 10 months later)? Those questions will never be answered, but Chuck can't feel too badly for himself. He went on to host two long-running game shows in the 1980s and 1990s in Scrabble and Love Connection, and any game show fan would agree that he was half of what made Greed such a cult hit in 1999.
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| He's the man. | Susan pays tribute during the episode. |
Chuck left the show because of a dispute with Merv Griffin, who refused to offer him the salary he requested. Despite that, Chuck found time to thank Merv, along with many other staffers of the show, at the close of his last episode. The episode featured the last heartfelt moment between Chuck and Susan, perhaps the most dynamic pair of hosts ever seen on a game show. As a final Christmas present to Chuck, Susan bought the outgoing host a pair of goggles with windshield wipers on them to dry his tears.
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| (Sigh) | Nice glasses! |
December 28, 1981...Pat, Bonus Round Premiere
Pat Sajak, previously the weatherman for KNBC in Los Angeles, was selected as Chuck Woolery's replacement and entered the game show history books on December 28, 1981. Pat would be the first to tell you that his goals at the time never included hosting the most successful game show in American history. With Wheel doing only above average at the time, Pat imagined he'd host the show for a few years and move on to something bigger and better. It turned out that it was Wheel that got bigger and better.
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| Way better than that unpredictable L.A. weather, huh? | Pat's first spin o' the wheel. |
Pat's puckish behavior was evident even in this first episode, which was Teen Week. His performance included a few opening day jitters however. Game show fan David Hammett reflects that, later in his first week on the air, a contestant picked a vowel incorrectly, to which Pat replied, "Good try, why don't you spin again?" Naturally you then heard Nancy Jones off camera screaming at him that it was in fact the next player's turn. Perhaps the most unpleasant moment for Pat during his first show was the second shopping round, in which a contestant with $3,000 opted to not pick the expensive hot tub in the showcase and instead purchased the other 14 prizes in the showcase, which led to a 2 1/2 minute marathon voice over for announcer Jack Clark.
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| Here's that fancy new puzzle board. | This hot tub wasn't won. |
Also of note is that this episode was the official premiere of the show's bonus round. Prior to this point, a bonus round had been played during the show in its short-lived hour-long format in 1975. The original bonus round rules (in place until 1988) allowed the contestant to pick 5 consonants and a vowel. By 1984 contestants were picking R, S, T, L, N and E pretty consistently, but in the early years, a C or D would often be substituted for one of the more common consonants. Also, in the first week of the bonus round, players played from the contestant podiums, rather than directly in front of the board.
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| Which one is not the teenager? | Note that he's playing from the contestant podiums...and picked an H! |
The first bonus round puzzle was FROSTY THE SNOWMAN, and featured classic Susan board behavior, including frantic gesturing at the uncovered letters.
