Wheel of Fortune (2)

Hosts
Ernie Sigley (1981–1984) John Burgess (1984–1996) Tony Barber (1996) Rob Elliott (1997–2003) Steve Oemcke (2004–2005) Larry Emdur (2006) Tim Campbell (MDWOF/2008)
Co-Hosts
Adriana Xenides (1981–1996, 1997–1999) Kerrie Friend (1996–1997) Sophie Falkiner (1999–2005) Lauara Csortan (2006) Kelly Landry (MDWOF/2008)
Fill-In Co-Hosts
Kerrie Friend (1996–1997) Terasa Livingstone (1996) Cecillia Yates (1996) Sonia Kruger (1998) Tania Zaetta (1996,1999) Mel Symons (2003)
Announcers
Steve Curtis (1981–1983) John Deeks (1984–1995, 1997–2006) David Day (1996) Ron E. Sparks (1996) Simon Diaz (MDWOF/2008)
Broadcast
Seven Network: 21 July 1981 – 28 July 2006 Nine Network: 26 May 2008 – 27 June 2008
Packagers
Grundy Organization (1981–2006) Fremantlemedia Australia (2008)

Wheel of Fortune (and later Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune) Based on the American format of the same name (except the latter, with the words "Million Dollar" in the 2008 Nine Network remake) is one of the most popular and formerly long-running game shows of all time where three contestants spin a wheel and guess letters to solve a "Hangman"-typed puzzle and win prizes.

An earlier unrelated show also titled Wheel of Fortune had been broadcast on the Nine Network. That version had been developed by Reg Grundy as a radio game show before it transferred to television in 1959.

History

In 1981, the Grundy Organisation purchased the rights to Merv Griffin's American game show Wheel of Fortune and created a faithful reproduction of the American series, as they had done with many other game shows. The new show began airing on the Seven Network on 21 July 1981, and was produced at the studios of ADS-7 in Adelaide. The show's production moved to SAS-7 when ADS and SAS swapped network affiliations and channel frequencies at the end of 1987.

In 1996, as part of an attempted major revamp with the remaining of the show's famous theme music and sounds, the program relocated from Adelaide to Seven flagship ATN-7 in Sydney. Along with a new set, new music, faster game format and modified rules, John Burgess was sacked from his twelve-year stint as host and replaced by Tony Barber. By the time that Burgess' final episode went to air it had become common knowledge that the show had relocated and that changes would occur. However, Burgess' final words referred only to the show's relocation, thus suggesting that he was at the time oblivious to his sacking.

The following Monday after Burgess' final episode, Tony Barber began as host despite much controversy. Beside the fact that viewers did not appreciate the fact that Burgess was sacked without a chance to say goodbye on air, viewers had difficulty accepting the new rules, faster pace and Barber's energetic hosting style. Additionally, Burgess had made media appearances saying how he had been badly treated and only found out about his sacking accidentally when a Grundy executive had to cancel a golf date with him because he was needed at the studios to continue work on the new format. The ratings for the first two nights appeared promising to begin with but plummeted badly from then on. Some ground was regained after Seven and Grundy's in an embarrassing about-face reinstated as much of the old rules as possible after the first five weeks. It regained further ground presumably due to audience curiosity when Adriana Xenides took sick leave in November 1996, but neither move was enough to return it to a credible position as far as ratings were concerned. A 5pm nationwide newscast that replaced Family Feud on 1 July, also proved fatal for Wheel and the network. On 27 November 1996, the Seven Network issued a press releases in which Barber announced his resignation from the show. In his 2001 memoir Who Am I, Barber later explained that he was removed from the position by the network and was offered future projects with the network in exchange for agreeing to the press release. The future projects however never came to pass. Burgess has claimed (also backed up by Barber in his memoir) on many occasions that he was offered the job back with a heavy pay raise and declined, but the Seven Network denied this story. In any event, Burgess was quickly given a contract by the Nine Network to host the game show Catch Phrase (later retitled Burgo's Catch Phrase) that would be Wheel of Fortune’s rival for a few more years.

Adriana Xenides, who had been the show's co-hostess and letter-turner since its premiere, fell sick — ultimately suffering from depression and what she called a "physical breakdown".

Barber appeared at the start of the 1997 series premiere to introduce and hand the show over to Rob Elliott with former Perfect Match hostess Kerrie Friend replacing Xenides for the next seven months.

On 18 June 2006, the Seven Network announced that they had stopped broadcasting of the program with the last episode airing on 28 July, just one week after celebrating 25 years on Australian television. The final episode was filmed on 23 June at Channel 7's Epping studios. One of the contestants on the final episode was Edith Bliss, former field reporter for Simon Townsend's Wonder World, who won the game and effectively became the show's final, undefeated champion. From the Monday following the final episode, M*A*S*H reruns returned to the timeslot. Following the finale, Seven also aired 20 unaired episodes from 2005 at the 10am timeslot. These were hosted by 2004 host Steve Oemcke, and clearly produced before it was decided to rest the show in 2005.

2008 revival: "Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune"

In May 2008, the Nine Network revived the show in a revamped form known as Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune, hosted by former Home and Away actor Tim Campbell, with Kelly Landry as co-host, and airing from GTV-9 in Melbourne. The biggest changes in this version included the possibility to win a new grand prize of $1 million, alongside an increased standard top prize of $200,000, and players actually playing for the cash they won.

To win the said grand prize, the contestant had to earn the Million Dollar Wedge (a two-pegged wedge, sandwiched between two one-peg Bankrupts) and solve the puzzle in the first round. Then, the contestant had to play the entire game without hitting Bankrupt during any portion of the remainder of the game, win the game, and reach the Million Dollar space on the Golden Wheel, and win the Bonus Round, in order to win the prize.

Despite an initial report stating that Burgess and Xenides disliked the show, calling it "dry", Xenides gave positive feedback stating that it was "refreshing" and she loved the "…very cool colours… and the opportunity of winning a million dollars, that's excellent." She also stated that John was "probably misrepresented."

Ratings for the new series were expected to top now-rival Deal or No Deal, and to lead-in to the 6:00 news. However, there were low ratings, peaking at 700,000 viewers on the first night. From then, viewership went on a decline, and by the end of its short run, Wheel had on average 450,000 viewers a night, compared to the almost-1,000,000 watchers for Deal. Due to this steep ratings decline, the series was cancelled on 27 June 2008, after only five weeks on air.

Gameplay

Main Game

Before the taping began, the players would draw numbers to determine their positions on stage. Play proceeded from left to right from the viewer's perspective: from the red player to yellow, then to blue, then back to red. The red player would have the first spin in Round 1, the yellow player would have the first spin in Round 2 and the blue/green player would have the first spin in Round 3. From 1999 to 2003 when the format consisted of four rounds plus the major prize round, the red player would take the first spin in Round 4.

From July 1996 until 1998, the host would ask a trivia question and the contestant who buzzed in with the correct answer would have the first spin. During this time the red podium was reserved for the carry-over champion as there was an opportunity for any contestant to have the first spin. The process used during this period was a form of continuous play. For example: If the red player buzzed in to start Round 1, but the yellow player solved the puzzle the blue player would have the first spin in Round 2.

From 2004 to 2006, the flip-up puzzle was used to determine who would be in control. If the yellow player buzzed in with the correct answer, then the yellow player would have the first spin for Round 1, the blue player would have the first spin in Round 2 and the red player would have the first spin in Round 3. Another flip-up puzzle would be used to determine who would be in control for round 4. Like the July 1996–1998 era, the red podium was reserved for the carry-over champion.

Spinning the Wheel

The wheel had 96 pegs with 24 spaces that were each four pegs wide. These spaces represented cash values (in multiples of 5 instead of 50 in the American version), including one silver coloured “Top Dollar” wedge, prizes and penalty spaces, three strategic elements for use in the game. The wheel also featured two additional spaces that were specific to particular rounds of the game (see below).

A player who did not land on a penalty space would ask for a consonant. If it was not in the puzzle, play proceeded to the next player. If the letter appeared in the puzzle, the hostess would reveal all instances of the letter and the player would receive either cash or a prize. Unlike the American version however, the amount of money won was a flat rate and not multiplied by the number of instances of the letter, the only exception was when a red letter appeared in the puzzle that, upon being called, resulted in the amount the player landing on being doubled. Calling a letter that had already been called resulted in the loss of one's turn. A "used letter board" was positioned off screen for the contestants to see to aid in their guesses. All descriptions of players being credited with cash or prizes in the remainder of this article assume that the player called a consonant which appeared in the puzzle. A player who landed on a value was credited with that amount.

"Top Dollar" values

1981-1985: $240 – $460 – $1200
1985-1990: $360 – $690 – $1800
1990-1994: $400 – $750 – $2000 (first used on Episode #2,000)
1995-2000: ($)500 – ($)1000 – ($)2000 (From 15 July 1996 until October 1996 and again from 1999–2000, 1,000 was used in rounds 2 and 3, while 2,000 was used in round 4)
2000-2008: 750 – 1500 - 2500 (Like the previous amounts, 1500 was used in rounds 2 and 3)

From July 1996, although still referred to as dollars, the amounts on the wheel effectively were points which determined a player's score.

Buying a vowel

A player who had sufficient banked cash during the current round could choose to buy a vowel prior to spinning the Wheel. The cost of the vowel, ($)50, was deducted from the player's score and all instances of the requested vowel in the puzzle were revealed, if any. The player's score was reduced by ($)50 regardless if the vowel was in the puzzle or the number of times the vowel appeared. If the purchased vowel was not in the puzzle, the player lost his or her turn in addition to the aforementioned cost. Multiple vowels could be purchased until either the supply of vowels was exhausted or the player's bank fell below ($)50. At that time, the player had to spin the wheel or try to solve the puzzle.

Special Features

Flip-Up Puzzles - Introduced in 2004, these gave control of the wheel to whoever solved the puzzle, but did not add any money to the contestant's score. The Flip-Up before the second round was a Prize Puzzle, awarding a prize related to the puzzle. On Million Dollar Wheel Of Fortune it was called Toss Up because the show opened with the contestant becoming the first to spin and for launching into next round. Prize Puzzle was called Cash Up because of a chance to win $500 after guessing the puzzle.
Free Spin - Available only in the first round, the Free Spin wedge allowed a contestant to continue his or her turn in the event of solving a puzzle incorrectly, selecting a letter that is not in the puzzle, or landing on Bankrupt or Lose a Turn. From July 1996, the Free Spin wedge was replaced with a dollar space with a golden token placed at the top of the said wedge with black "Free Spin" text, meaning a contestant would both receive a Free Spin token and select a letter in the puzzle for that dollar value. The Free Spin was awarded in any case whether a letter was put on the board or not.
Bankrupt - The black Bankrupt space ended a player's turn and resulted the loss of all money earned. Any money that was secured by solving a puzzle was immune to Bankrupt (except from 1996 to 1998, when securing money was not an option after the show's 1996 revamp). From 1981 to 1996, the Bankrupt space would appear once in Round 1, and twice in Rounds 2 and 3. From July 1996 onwards, the number of Bankrupt spaces in Round 2 (and Round 3 with the second Bankrupt appearing in round 4 for a brief period in 1996) was reduced to one. When the four-round format was re-introduced in 1999, an additional Bankrupt was added to the existing Round 2 template for use in round 3, thus making it one Bankrupt space each in Rounds 1 and 2, and two each in Rounds 3 and 4.
Lose a Turn - Terminated a contestant's turn, but did not result in any loss of score. The Australian format was also one of the few formats to employ multiple Lose a Turn spaces on a single template with a second Lose a Turn space appearing in Round 3 (or Round 4 from July to October 1996 and 1999 to 2006).
Red Mystery Letter - From 1993 to July 1996, and again from 1997 to 2006, a consonant that appeared in red on the puzzle board doubled the money awarded for choosing that letter.
Surprise Wedge – Introduced in 1995, the Surprise wedge gave a chance for a contestant to win a major prize during the main game. To win the prize, contestants would have to correctly guess a consonant in the puzzle and then correctly solve that round's puzzle. The wedge returned for some time in 2001 and returned on August 12, 2002 until the end of that year and returned in mid-2006. In 2008, only the first round featured the Surprise wedge.
Goodie - Used from July 1995 to July 1996, this automatically awarded a pre-determined prize to the first person who landed on it for the night. This did not rely upon the contestant correctly guessing a letter, it was awarded for the spin. The concept was revived in October 1996 with the introduction of the Top Dollar Prize.
Bonus Wedge - Introduced in 1994 and lasting through 2002, landing on this space and correctly guessing a letter resulted in the contestant winning the bonus prize. Originally a golden wedge with black text, the 1996 revamp saw it turn into a silver token with blue text at the top of a wedge. It was later replaced at the beginning of the 1997 season by a full blue wedge saying "BONUS" in glittery text. Bonus would always be added to the wheel at the start of the second round.
Top Dollar Prize - Worked in the same way as the Goodie wedge. During the later months of the Barber era in 1996, the first person to spin up any "top dollar" amount during the course of the night was awarded a small prize. Like the Goodie wedge, it was awarded for the spin, and did not rely upon the contestant correctly guessing a letter. Prizes ranged from CD's, videotapes, concert tickets, small packages (CD and concert ticket for example) and the electronic Wheel of Fortune game which was new at the time.
Bonus Puzzle - Introduced in 1995, the Bonus Puzzle concept was embedded with puzzles that fell into the categories of Clue, Blank, and later Where Are We and True Or False. The contestant who solved the puzzle on the board was then given the chance to solve the Bonus puzzle. A successful solve resulted in a bonus of $200 awarded to the player's score.
Mystery Wedge (Space) – From 2003 to 2008, Round 2 would feature two 500 spaces marked with a stylized question mark placed on the wheel. If a player landed on one of these mystery wedges and correctly guessed a letter in the puzzle, said contestant could either opt to have the 500 added to his or her score, or 'flip' the mystery wedge. One mystery wedge contained a Bankrupt; the other contained a prize that would be awarded if the contestant solved the puzzle. After one mystery wedge had been flipped, the remaining wedge only served as a 500 space.
Car Wedge - used from 2000 to August 9, 2002, this was a rather convoluted feature that seldom (if ever) had any outcome. A contestant would need to spin the "car" wedge marked with the car make (Proton, Daewoo, etc.), correctly guess a letter in the puzzle, remove the wedge from the wheel, keep it in his or her possession and solve the puzzle without spinning up Bankrupt. The same contestant would then need to complete the same steps with a second Car token marked with the car model in a later puzzle in order to win the car.
Million Dollar Wedge - Introduced in the 2008 revival, the space contained a $1,000,000 space surrounded by two small Bankrupts. If a player landed on and acquired it, solved that puzzle, did not hit any Bankrupts for the remainder of the game, and subsequently won the game, a $1,000,000 prize wedge would be added to the bonus round wheel.

Solving a puzzle

From 1981 to 1996, money earned in each round was used to shop for prizes. Any remaining cash also counted towards the player's final score. When this was removed in July 1996, contestants were given a set prize upon solving a puzzle. By the end of the year upon solving a puzzle, contestants could choose one of three prizes offered to them. This would continue until 2004 when it was reduced to two prizes. On Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune, solving a puzzle allowed that player to bank any cash accumulated up to that point.

Speed-Up Round (Final Spin)

At some point, when time was running short, a bell would ring off camera to indicate the Final Spin of the Wheel. The host would spin the Wheel and all remaining consonants in the puzzle were worth the value of the spin. The player in control had his/her arrow determine the round's value. The players would take turns calling one letter each. A vowel could also be called at no cost. If the called letter appeared in the puzzle, the player had five seconds after the hostess stopped moving to try to solve the puzzle. If a player had a Free Spin, he/she could still use it to keep her turn in the speed-up round. Unlike the previous rounds, contestants could give multiple guesses within the time limit. On several episodes, there was more than one speed-up round.

Iif a penalty space was hit the host would spins again, not affecting any scores if a Bankrupt was hit. If a prize space was hit, the first player to call a letter would receive the wedge, along the value underneath it, and had to be the one who solved the puzzle in order to win it. The value under the prize wedge became the value for the rest of the round. However, if the final spin landed on the Car Wedge, it was out of play and nobody would get the wedge, and the host just removed it from the wheel to reveal its value for the rest of the round.

Winning the Game

The person with the most money/points at the end of Round 4 (Round 3 before 1996) won the game. Unlike the U.S. version, the winning player did not have to solve any puzzles. On the contrary, challengers who did not solve any puzzles and did not have the highest total at the end of the game were given only consolation prizes regardless of their score.

Bonus Round: The Golden Wheel

The contestant was given two consonants and one vowel to start with, but the contestant could earn an additional consonant for every ($)2,000 scored in the main game. Theoretically, enough money ([$]38,000) could be earned so as to call every consonant. The winning contestant then had 10 seconds to solve the puzzle and win the prize. Originally, they had 10 seconds to think over the puzzle, and then had to immediately solve in order to win the major prize. If a champ was unable to solve the puzzle in the bonus round, that score was carried over to the next episode; once a major prize was won, the value is reset back to zero. By 1984, the winning contestant spun a Golden Wheel which now has major prizes on it, including a new car. The prize that the Major Prize wheel landed on was the one that was played for.

The bonus round sometimes tweaked its format. In some episodes, the contestant got common letters on the board, such as R, S, T, L or N, and E, and providing more consonants and a vowel. On the 20th Anniversary week in 2001, the contestant was given two vowels.

At the start of its inception in 1987, there were two brownish-silver car wedges on the Major Prize Wheel. On the 1,500th episode in 1988, the number of car wedges was increased to three. On a few occasions, they had a temporary jackpot system in which the number of car wedges were increased by one each day it was not won. The car never, however, regularly appeared on the wheel more than three times.

On 15 July 1996, the Golden Wheel was replaced with a selection of five envelopes. About five weeks later due to lack of public support, the Golden Wheel returned and the number of car wedges decreased to two (featuring a Hyundai Elantra Sportswagon).

From 2000 to 2004, a new element was added to the Golden Wheel: a new jackpot system, coupled with the car (most of which were from Proton and Daewoo), starting at $2,000 and increasing $100 every night it was unclaimed, was installed. There were two "Jackpot" slivers on one of the "Car" wedges, and the player had to land on it, then solve the puzzle to win both the cash and the car. The highest jackpot won was $25,000 (added to the car, a combined prize of almost $50,000). This, and the $5,000 prize on show 5,000 (see below), was one of only two cash prizes offered on the show.

From 2004 to 2006, The Golden Wheel saw the amount of car wedges decreased to two when it featured a Renault and finally three with a Mitsubishi to the closing of its run on the Seven Network.

In 2008, the standard top prize increased to $200,000, and an additional space for the prize was added to the wheel for every night it was not won. A top prize of $1,000,000 could also be added to the wheel if a player acquired the Million Dollar Wedge in the main game.

Celebrity weeks

Occasionally celebrities would play for home viewers, with those viewers earning the prizes and total of the amounts their winning celebrity spun during the game in actual cash. At the end of the week, all those winning home viewers were entered in a drawing to win a car.

There was also a brief Saturday Night series airing in 1990 and 1991 called Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.

The 5,000th episode

On 21 March 2006, "Wheel of Fortune" celebrated a major milestone, as its 5,000th episode went to air on the Seven Network. An extra element was added to the special show: the chance to win $5,000 in cash. Two yellow "$5,000" wedges were added to the Round 1 wheel. A third was added to Round 2's wheel. If a contestant was to spin it up and select a correct letter, they would have 5,000 added to their score, but to win the actual money, they had to solve the puzzle (in the same way as the Surprise and Mystery Wedges). In Round 2, one of the contestants did spin up the "$5,000" wedge and the Surprise Wedge and solved the puzzle, winning over $10,000 in cash and prizes for that round. The other $5,000 wedges were removed for Round 3.

Champions

Record-breaking champions included:

Donovan Newton, $63,110 August 1996 (during the Tony Barber era)
Dell Edwards, $68,000 12 July 2001 (amount unknown, rounded off)
Moita Lindgren, $72,917 August 24 & 27, 2001 (mathematical mistake)
Carl, $215,015 2008

At the time of going to air, champion Luke Seager (2004) was the 4th biggest winner of all time, and the second longest champion in terms of nights on air represented. Luke credited his longevity on the wheel (10 nights) to the fact that most newcomers to the show did not comprehend the importance of controlling the wheel. His reign as champion still rates amongst the highest ratings period the program has ever enjoyed.

Presenters

Wheel of Fortune in Australia had many hosts, hostesses and announcers through its long history. They included:

Hosts

Ernie Sigley (July 1981 - June 1984)
John Burgess (June 1984 - July 1996)
Tony Barber (July - December 1996)
Rob Elliott (January 1997 - December 2003)
Steve Oemcke (January 2004 - December 2005)
Larry Emdur (January 2006 - July 2006)
Tim Campbell (May 2008 - June 2008)

Hostesses

Adriana Xenides (July 1981 - November 1996, July 1997 - June 1999)
Kerrie Friend (January 1997 - July 1997)
Sophie Falkiner (July 1999 - December 2005, as a long-term replacement for Xenides)
Laura Csortan (January 2006 - July 2006)
Kelly Landry (May 2008 - June 2008)

Announcers

Steve Curtis (July 1981 - December 1982)
John Dean (January 1983 - December 1985)
John Deeks (January 1986 - December 1995, January 1997 - July 2006)
David Day (January - July 1996)
Ron E. Sparks (July 1996 - December 1996)
Simon Diaz (May - June 2008)

Fill-in hostesses

Kerrie Friend (November 1996, one week; 1997, seven months)
Terasa Livingstone (November 1996, one week)
Cecilia Yates (December 1996, one week)
Bridget Adams (December 1996, one week)
Sonia Kruger (1998, two weeks)
Tania Zaetta (December 1996, one week; 1999, two weeks)
Mel Symons (2003, two weeks)

Board Games

Various board games were manufactured and released by two different toy companies.

John Sands/Croner era

John Sands made the first edition in 1987 while Croner made three more editions afterwards. The first three editions featured John Burgess and Adriana Xenides on the cover while Tony Barber and Adriana appeared on a revised 3rd edition cover. In 1997, a fourth and final edition featuring Rob Elliott on the cover was released. (NOTE: Tony Barber's edition was technically the "4th edition" of the board game, even though the box lists "3rd edition".)

Crown & Andrews era

Crown & Andrews made two editions in 2002 and 2004. The first edition featured Rob Elliot, while its second and final edition featured Steve Oemcke. Both editions featured co-host Sophie Falkiner on the cover of the box. (NOTE: According to the 2nd edition box cover it features over "104 New Puzzles".)

Changes to the show

July 1981 – First episode. The studio was identical to the American version at that time.
1984 – Red, yellow, and green sunbursts were installed behind the contestants. The puzzleboard was later slightly remodified in colour.
June 1984 – John Burgess replaces Ernie Sigley as host.
Late 1992 – The sunburst backdrops were replaced with cones and the green backdrop became turquoise. A new colour scheme for the wheel was introduced.
June 1994 – John Burgess celebrated his 10th anniversary as host. The set background changed from blue to yellow.
1995 – The theme music was updated, and a brand new logo was devised. The set background colour changed back to blue. Also, during this time, the category waws now shown on screen replacing the top trilon on the puzzleboard.
29 January 1996 – The 1996 season premiere commenced with a new puzzleboard consisting of an extra row added to the existing three rows of trilons. John Burgess had shaved the moustache, and David Day became the new announcer following John Deeks' departure to host Family Feud.
15 July 1996 – The show changed its location to Sydney with Tony Barber replacing John Burgess as host as well as a new set with the wheel on an incline. The turquoise backdrop became blue. The Golden Wheel was replaced with envelopes. The format changed to four rounds plus the bonus round. New theme music was introduced. Ron E Sparks replaced David Day as announcer. The bonus round was played in front of the wheel instead of behind the wheel from the yellow podium (This would continue once the wheel was spun following the re-introduction of the Golden Wheel).
19 August 1996 – There were minor changes to the new set. The Golden Wheel and the former theme music returned. The attempt was made to have both themes co-exist together with a derivative of the new theme music used to introduce the new contestants each night. The sound effects associated with the former theme music also returned. The on-screen visuals also underwent minor changes around early-September, bringing with it an on-screen timer in the bonus round.
October 1996 – Following the Family Week special, the format changed from four rounds back to the original three. The Bonus Prize/First Round Top Dollar concept was introduced, and the prize-shop was reintroduced where contestants would choose a prize out of the selection of three offered to them upon solving a puzzle. The co-existence of both themes ceased in favour of the reintroduced theme music and associated sound effects.
18 November 1996 – Kerrie Friend became the first fill-in hostess in the show's history when Adriana Xenides took a sick leave.
6 January 1997 – Rob Elliott replaced Tony Barber as host. Kerrie Friend returned to the puzzleboard as a long-term replacement for Adriana Xenides until July. John Deeks returned to the booth as announcer.
1999 – A new set was created for the show, with new graphics and a new puzzleboard. The format was changed back to four rounds plus the bonus round and the Surprise wedge returned to the wheel.
May 1999 – Sophie Falkiner replaced Adriana Xenides as hostess. Later that year, the Surprise wedge was removed from the wheel until 2002.
Late February 2000 – The CAR wedge was introduced on the wheel beginning its run with The Proton Wedge. The top values were tweaked to 750, 1500, and 2500 respectively. A cash jackpot started being used, starting at $2000, rising by $100 every night until it was won (highest ever won was $25,000) (similar to Sale of the Century)
June 2000 – The 4,000th episode was shown on 13 June. Four car wedges were introduced on the Golden Wheel.
2003 – The Bonus, Surprise, and "car" wedges were removed. The Mystery Round was introduced along with the Mystery Wedges.
May 2003 – The set background changed to purple. The show's logo was changed. The bonus round was played in front of the video wall next to the puzzle board instead of in front of the Wheel.
9 February 2004 – Steve Oemcke replaced Rob Elliott as host. The puzzleboard was revamped, with electronic screens replacing the trilons. Flip Ups and Prize Puzzles were introduced. The score displays were revamped, with eggcrate display replacing the seven-segment display. Timeslot changed from 5:30pm back to 5:00pm as part of the Wheel and Deal hour, with Deal Or No Deal taking the previous Wheel slot.
Late 2005 – Larry Emdur and Laura Csortan replaced Steve Oemcke and Sophie Falkiner as host and hostess after it was announced by Sunrise hosts David Koch & Melissa Doyle.
30 January 2006 – The show returned to air after a year's hiatus. The whole set was revamped with the remaining of the letters' font, the theme music and the wheel. The show moved to Pyrmont from Epping's studios. The puzzleboard was given a major change, with a blue border that changed colour, and featured light animation. LG flat screen plasmas replaced the Contestant Trapezoid backdrops that animated during events on the show, such as landing on Bankrupt, bell sound, or solving the puzzle. The Surprise wedge also returned to the wheel.
March 2006 – The show celebrated its 5,000th episode with multiple chances to win $5,000.
July 2006 – The show celebrated 25 years on Australia television on 21 July, and ended its run on the Seven Network a week later on 28 July. 20 unaired episodes were aired featuring Steve Oemcke, Sophie Falkiner and the old set (see the 2004 section) from 2005, before it was shelved.
May 2008 – Wheel of Fortune was picked up by the Nine Network now known as Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune and hosted by Tim Campbell. The show ran only five weeks on air due to low ratings and negative reviews, including one where Burgess and Xenides had an argument about why they both disliked the show. Despite the low ratings, the format (with one modification in that the Million Dollar Wedge is available in Rounds 1, 2, and 3, instead of just the first) was adopted in the United States for the ensuing season in September, where three players (as of May 2015) have won the million dollar bonus.

Trivia

This is the second-longest running version of Wheel of Fortune, after the American version.

This is also the longest running game show in Australia, beating Sale of the Century by four years.

Music

Main (1981-1995) – "Roda Impian" by Jack Grimsley
Main (1995 – July 1996, then August 1996 – 2004 and 2006) - Updated version of "Roda Impian" by Jack Grimsley"
Main (July 1996) – Unknown
Main (2008) – Unknown

Additional Page

Wheel of Fortune/Gallery

Inventor

Based on the American game show of the same name by Merv Griffin

References

Links

The Australian 'Wheel of Fortune' page (via Internet Archive)
Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune site (via Internet Archive)