Wheel Of Fortune Shows A Historic And Hilarious Moment During The Final Spin
A Wheel of Fortune contestant did the final spin four times, despite the fact that the last spin is called the "final spin."
If you were a 90s kid, then you know that watching Wheel of Fortune was all but prescribed by doctors along with antibiotics, plenty of water, and bed rest. And if you were really up on Wheel of Fortune, or any game show for that matter, you certainly know that in order to maintain a high level of entertainment value, certain edits have been made in post-production for the sake of continuity and timing. However, a recent segment from the popular game show was left unedited, and we saw a contestant give not one, but four final spins, according to The Sun.
This is a very rare occurrence on Wheel of Fortune, however. The final spin is supposed to be just that- a final spin. But when Dane, the contestant, kept landing on “lose a turn” or “bankruptcy” wedges for the final round, Pat Sajak stated that Dane had to land on a money wedge for the final round to work. Normally this kind of cash kerfuffle is edited out in post-production, but we got to see multiple “final” spins for the first time since 1999.
And it was a hilarious exchange in which Sajak feigned irritation over Dane’s inability to land on a money wedge. He even shouted, “would you spin the darn thing again?” a number of times at the Wheel of Fortune contestant, which was met with jovial whooping and hollering from the live studio audience.
But this is a common practice, and Pat Sajak even explained why on his Twitter last year. Don’t worry, because this is far from foul trickery, and you’re not being bamboozled; it’s simply just a part of show business. It’s just a little bit of studio magic that’s needed to stick to the format of Wheel of Fortune, and having the right run-time for each segment on the show before ad breaks.
Normally, it makes sense to just cut out the losing spins, but in this case, it just seemed like Sajak, the contestants, and the Wheel of Fortune audience simply wanted to have some fun with this one. It is a game show, after all!
In other words, sometimes it’s just fun to pull the curtain back a little bit and see what goes into making your favorite game show. And in a way, the Wheel of Fortune incident is no different than when an actor does multiple takes for a sitcom to make sure their delivery is on point, and then the blooper reel rolls during the credits. What makes its way to your TV screen as the final product often never sees the light of day outside of the production studio, but it’s always refreshing to see what’s really going on during a taping.
Wheel of Fortune has been a game show staple since 1975, and Pat Sajak has been at the helm as its host since 1981. At this point, he’s seen everything, and even recently tried to bodyslam a contestant! This is the kind of energy and enthusiasm that we all adore about Sajak, and it’s why he’s seen 19 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host, and taken home three wins throughout his career.
So next time you or your kids are home sick, keep your eyes peeled, because you never know when you’ll be surprised by an epically hilarious Wheel of Fortune plot twist.
