Wheel of Fortune - 1983-1989 - Theme Song. Topics televisiontunes.com, archiveteam, theme music. Addeddate 2019-02-08 05:35:43 Identifier tvtunes31914 Scanner. Wheel of Fortune (1983– ) Episode Guide. Wheel Around the World 5 8 May 2009 176. Weekend Getaways 1 11 May 2009 177. Weekend Getaways 2 12 May 2009 178.
| Wheel of Fortune (1983) | |
| Premiere | September 19, 1983 |
| Airs | check local listings |
| Creator | Merv Griffin |
| Host | Pat Sajak and Vanna White |
| Provider | Syndication |
| Style | 30-minute game show |
| Company | Merv Griffin Enterprises(1983-1994), Columbia TriStar Television(1994-2002), Sony Pictures Television(2002- ) |
| Distributor | King World(1983-2007)CBS Television Distribution(2007-2020) CBS Media Ventures(2021- ) |
| Seasons | 36 |
| Episodes | 7,000 (as of May 10, 2019) |
| Status | Currently airing season 36 Renewed through season 40 (2022-2023) |
| Origin | USA |
| Official Site | Wheel of Fortune |
Wheel of Fortune is the second and current incarnation of the popular game showWheel of Fortune. This version airs in syndication and is hosted by Pat Sajak, who was also one of the hosts on the original daytime version.
The nighttime Wheel was the first game show in syndication to be stripped as a five-night-a-week series during prime time access* (7 PM and 7:30 PM Eastern). It quickly became the top rated syndicated program on TV and it has held that position since. Sometime later, repeats from previous seasons were offered on Saturday evenings.
Game play was identical to the daytime show (which ended in 1991). Over the last ten years, a new wrinkle was added: the contestant to spin first was decided from who is the first to solve a toss-up puzzle. Also, the prize to be played for in the bonus round was determined by spinning a small wheel with small folded placards hiding the prize. A $1 million wedge was added to the big wheel. Whoever lands on it and is top winner at the end (provided no 'Bankrupts' are hit before then) vies for the $1 million in the bonus round. The contestant must land on the $1 million on the small wheel in order to play for it.
Other wrinkles had been the Jackpot round, in which a pot starts at $5000 and increases with the money values the Wheel stops on with the player solving the puzzle winning the jackpot provided he/she land on the Jackpot wedge. The most current is the Express, which upon being landed lets the contestant continue to select consonants for $1000 a pop until the puzzle is solved, with any missed letter causing him/her to bankrupt.
Longtime announcer Charlie O'Donnell died November 1, 2010. Wheel had guest announcers like Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert and Jim Thornton. Jim Thornton was named Wheel's permanent announcer on June 13, 2011.
NOTE: *Other syndicated game shows were five-day-a-week strips but were not intended for prime time access unless a station scheduled it for that time frame on their own accord.
Seasons
| Season | Premiere | Finale | # | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syndication | ||||||
| Season One | September 19, 1983 | June 15, 1984 | 195 | |||
| Season Two | September 10, 1984 | June 7, 1985 | 195 | |||
| Season Three | September 9, 1985 | June 6, 1986 | 195 | |||
| Season Four | September 8, 1986 | June 19, 1987 | 195 | |||
| Season Five | September 14, 1987 | June 10, 1988 | 195 | |||
| Season Six | September 5, 1988 | June 16, 1989 | 195 | |||
| Season Seven | September 4, 1989 | June 1, 1990 | 195 | |||
| Season Eight | September 3, 1990 | June 14, 1991 | 195 | |||
| Season Nine | September 2, 1991 | June 12, 1992 | 195 | |||
| Season Ten | September 7, 1992 | June 18, 1993 | 195 | |||
| Season Eleven | September 6, 1993 | June 17, 1994 | 195 | |||
| Season Twelve | September 5, 1994 | June 23, 1995 | 195 | |||
| Season Thirteen | September 4, 1995 | July 19, 1996 | 195 | |||
| Season Fourteen | September 2, 1996 | June 13, 1997 | 195 | |||
| Season Fifteen | September 1, 1997 | June 12, 1998 | 195 | |||
| Season Sixteen | September 7, 1998 | June 4, 1999 | 195 | |||
| Season Seventeen | September 6, 1999 | June 2, 2000 | 195 | |||
| Season Eighteen | September 4, 2000 | June 1, 2001 | 195 | |||
| Season Nineteen | September 3, 2001 | May 31, 2002 | 195 | |||
| Season Twenty | September 2, 2002 | May 30, 2003 | 195 | |||
| Season Twenty-One | September 8, 2003 | June 4, 2004 | 195 | |||
| Season Twenty-Two | September 6, 2004 | June 3, 2005 | 195 | |||
| Season Twenty-Three | September 12, 2005 | June 9, 2006 | 195 | |||
| Season Twenty-Four | September 11, 2006 | June 8, 2007 | 195 | |||
| Season Twenty-Five | September 10, 2007 | June 6, 2008 | 195 | |||
| Season Twenty-Six | September 8, 2008 | July 17, 2009 | 195 | |||
| Season Twenty-Seven | September 14, 2009 | June 11, 2010 | 195 | |||
| Season Twenty-Eight | September 13, 2010 | June 10, 2011 | 195 | |||
| Season Twenty-Nine | September 19, 2011 | June 15, 2012 | 195 | |||
| Season Thirty | September 17, 2012 | June 14, 2013 | 195 | |||
| Season Thirty-One | September 16, 2013 | June 13, 2014 | 195 | |||
| Season Thirty-Two | September 15, 2014 | June 12, 2015 | 195 | |||
| Season Thirty-Three | September 14, 2015 | June 10, 2016 | 195 | |||
| Season Thirty-Four | September 12, 2016 | — | 195 | |||
| Season Thirty-Five | September 11, 2017 | — | — | |||
| Season Thirty-Six | September 10, 2018 | — | — | |||
| Season Thirty-Seven | 2019 | — | — | |||
| Season Thirty-Eight | 2020 | — | — | |||
| Season Thirty-Nine | 2021 | — | — | |||
| Season Forty | 2022 | — | — | |||
In Depth
- At a Glance: Additional information about the series
DVD Releases
There are no DVD releases for this show.
External Sites
The Wheel of Fortune or Rota Fortunae has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media[edit]
Art[edit]
- The Wheel of Fortune, 1883 painting by Edward Burne-Jones
Games[edit]
- Big Six wheel, a casino game also known as the Wheel of Fortune
- Wheel of Fortune video games, based on the game show franchise
Literature[edit]
- The Wheel of Fortune (novel), a 1984 novel by the English author Susan Howatch
- The Wheel of Fortune, a 1795 play by the British writer Richard Cumberland
Music[edit]
- Wheel of Fortune, an album by Susan Raye
- 'Wheel of Fortune' (1951 song), originally performed by Johnny Hartman
- 'Wheels of Fortune' (song), a song first released by the Doobie Brothers
Racing[edit]
- Wheel of Fortune (horse), a British racehorse
Film[edit]
- Wheels of Fortune (film), a 2020 film
Television[edit]
Game shows[edit]
- Wheel of Fortune (American game show) (1975–present), an American game show created by Merv Griffin
- International versions of Wheel of Fortune, based on the American version:
- La Ruota Della Fortuna, Italian game show
- International versions of Wheel of Fortune, based on the American version:
- Wheel of Fortune (1952 game show), a 1952–1953 American game show that aired on CBS that is unrelated to the later 1975 American game show
Episodes[edit]
Wheel Fortune Tv Game Show
- 'Wheel of Fortune', series episode of The A-Team (season 4)
- 'The Wheel of Fortune', third episode of the 1965 Doctor Who serial The Crusade
- 'Wheel of Fortune', series episode of The Dead Zone
- 'Wheels of Fortune', series episode of Frasier (season 9)
Wheel Of Fortune 1983 Episodes
Places[edit]
- Wheel of Fortune (house), listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Kent County, Delaware
- Wheel of Fortune, United States Virgin Islands, a settlement on the island of Saint Croix