Oh Terry. What could have been.
Irony, thy name is Wheel.
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Unknown, 1985...The Agony of Defeat
Undoubtedly one of the most painful moments in Wheel of Fortune's history occurred in 1985, when contestant Terry missed out on an enormous jackpot. The puzzle was THE THRILL OF VICTORY AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT. Terry had an amazing ability to land on the $5,000 space and did so 5 times in the round, racking up a total of $62,400 in the process. With only the Ls, V, and C unpicked, Terry spun the wheel again, completely stumped by the puzzle. She finally guessed an S, to the groans and shock of the audience. Her opponent Niki took one spin and breathlessly solved the puzzle for a mere $1,100, wiping out Terry's big win. Pat was sure to point out the irony of the puzzle's title after the exciting round.
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Oh Terry. What could have been. |
Irony, thy name is Wheel. |
Wheel fans were left without what would have made for an extremely interesting shopping experience. Terry could have easily purchased every prize on the turntable, or several of the expensive bonus prizes, but it was not to be. In an interesting (and sad note), Pat spun $5,000 on the wheel for the speed-up round following the "Agony" round, and Terry racked up another $10,000 that she was not able to cash in on.
September, 1985...Chuck's Truck
Not much else of note happened in 1985, so I felt like transcribing an interesting moment from a daytime show from that year. Contestant Chuck solved DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE in the speed-up round, winning $8,000 after Pat spun the top dollar of $2,000. Since there wasn't time to do a full shopping round, Chuck was presented with a not-so-difficult choice. Take an $8,000 Gucci gift certificate (perfect for any man), or buy a conveniently-priced $7,800 truck. Chuck made the wise choice of buying the truck.
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You know it's the daytime show when a washer and dryer are plopped in the middle of the stage. |
Here's Chuck's truck. |
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| We're using the computerized logo by this point. | Pat's $2000 spin guided Chuck to victory. |
