Inventing the wheel

Long long ago in a galaxy far far away, Pat and Vanna didn't host Wheel of Fortune. A couple folks named Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford did. Those ancient episodes have mostly vanished, but a handful survive and several have made their way to YouTube. I spent a few hours last night watching them. The differences from today's show were immediately apparent.

This 1975-81 NBC daytime version was much more of a shopping game, as game show mavens know all too well. The result was a significantly slower pace. Contestants spent their winnings and a lot of time on all that lovely merchandise, and Charlie O'Donnell read reams of advertising copy which also slowed things down. The show was lucky to get through three puzzles in an episode.

Things clunked along so slowly that Chuck often had to interrupt a puzzle for commercials. The contestants would turn their backs to the board during such breaks, which looks pretty funny today. In 1981 Chuck left the show - Woolery leaves Wheel, as game show fans often joke about old news - in the genre's most famous salary dispute. That paved the way for a weather guy named Sajak to take over.

Susan Stafford departed in 1982 and Vanna soon won the permanent (as in forever) job. While some older-is-better folks pine for the old Wheel with the long shopping interludes, I like the current show with its much brisker pace and many more puzzles. And contestants don't have to turn their backs to the board during commercials any more.