Wheel of Fortune timeline (network)/1991

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January 1991

• For the last time, Wheel does not air on January 1 due to the Tournament of Roses parade.

• On January 11 (Brenna/Jim/Sonja):
  • The show airs on CBS for the last time.
  • After Bob enters, he notices the audience doing the Wave. He laughs and mentions this, afterward quipping that "I feel like Pedro Guerrero all of a sudden."
  • Rounds 3 and 5 are Before & After.
  • In Round 5, Jim tries to buy a vowel after claiming a Prize wedge, but Bob stops him as he has no money. He loses the Prize to Bankrupt on the next turn.
  • Afterward, the Speed-Up bells sound just as Sonja begins to spin. She is allowed to complete her turn, after which the bells sound again and Bob does the Final Spin.
  • The bonus puzzle KING OF THE ROAD uses three lines of the puzzle board, a practice almost entirely abandoned after mid-1989.
  • Bob and Vanna only have time to sign off.
  • For the last time, the credits include "Recorded at CBS Television City in Hollywood, California".
  • After the credits finish scrolling, the picture zooms back to reveal a gray background, at which point it flips over to reveal the Merv Griffin Enterprises logo just as Charlie's spiel begins.

• On January 14:
  • The show moves back to NBC's daytime schedule, replacing Let's Make A Deal, but continues to tape at Television City. Unlike the move to CBS, the January 11 winner is held over. The return to NBC results in several changes:
    1. The CBS episode tally is discarded in favor of a new three-digit counter prefaced by "#DT".
    2. Charlie's intro is changed to "From Hollywood, the famous Wheel is spinning, spinning, spinning, and the players will be winning, winning, winning! Because there's lots of cash and some fabulous prizes just waiting to be won on Wheel of Fortune! With our host, Bob Goen, and our hostess, Vanna White!" Bob gives a short greeting after Charlie says his name.
    3. The opening is slightly altered to superimpose the logo over a shot of the day's contestants. The logo itself settles to the bottom of the screen when it finishes forming, and rises back up to zoom back out.
    4. The first prize is now added in Round 1, so the three-prize scenario could occur in Round 3.
    5. If a prize is claimed, its value now appears on a chyron.
    6. Except for the cash, Bonus Round prizes are increased to the $10,000 range.
    7. The fee plugs are either eliminated or moved to after the third segment. The only end-of-show plug that continues is promotion of Wheel merchandise (all based on the nighttime show). As the credits begin, the Wheel can be seen slowly starting its automation. During any sweepstakes episodes (see below), the credits begin with a disclaimer about the sweepstakes (phone number, mail-in address, and addresses for both rules and winner's lists) followed by either an aforementioned merchandise plug or the credits. The third segment fee plug is usually for a door prize but often a parting gift plug.
    8. If a fee plug occurs after the third segment, the graphic flips up for the camera at the beginning and then flips over at the end (similar to a book page) to a shot of the audience; during this shot, a stacked non-logo puzzle board-style "Wheel of Fortune" text on a rolling Rounds 1-2 template with Free Spin disc and Prize wedge (also seen on some nighttime Walt Disney World shows) scrolls across the bottom of the screen.
    9. The sponsor list is back as one, and, as per NBC's game show tradition, the disclaimer is changed to "The following companies have paid a fee and/or furnished merchandise to the production company for promoting their products."
  • In a fairly unusual occurrence, the Prize wedges remaining on the Wheel are removed before Round 5 so Bob can make the Final Spin.
  • After the closing plug, the sponsor list is shown as the camera zooms out from the center of the spinning Wheel, almost to the point where it can be seen in its entirety (a shot very similar to the classic host and hostess sign-off in the 1970s-80s).

• Sometime after the return to NBC, according to one recollection, GUM is a bonus puzzle. This is both the first known instance of a three-letter bonus puzzle and a bonus puzzle without RSTLNE in it.

• On an episode sometime between January 16 and early February (Edward/Diana/Patrick), Patrick calls a letter on a Prize wedge and asks to solve immediately afterward. Bob reminds him to pick up the Prize wedge; Patrick does, after which he solves the puzzle.
• By the above episode, the prize value chyron begins flashing if a contestant claims it.
• Lonni/Kimberly/Martha also airs sometime between January 16 and early February.
• As of the above episode, the intro is still the same as it was on January 14.

February 1991

• February 11 is the last Couples Week.

• February 25-March 25 is the Cashpot Sweepstakes, where home viewers enter to solve each day's Cashpot puzzle: a partially-filled puzzle is shown after Round 1 with category as the Bonus Round timer plays, followed by the double-buzz; viewers then have until 10:00 AM Eastern the following day to call 900-436-5000 ($2.00 per minute, average call 2 minutes) to solve the puzzle, using their touch-tone phone keys to fill in the letters; viewers may enter twice per puzzle, but busy signals do not count toward this. Some other notes about the Sweepstakes:
  • There is a no-cost mail-in alternate method of entering, which is to send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Wheel's "Cash Pot" Alternate Entry Control; P.O. Box 34985; Omaha, Nebraska; 68134. Envelopes must be received by April 10 for alternate entry calls on April 19.
  • Viewers requesting a list of rules and/or winners may send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: "Rules" and/or "Winners": Wheel's Cash Pot; P.O. Box 662; Sayreville, New Jersey; 08871.
  • For the first three weeks, five winners each day receive $1,000 in cash, for a total of $25,000 each week.
  • The $1,000 award, $25,000 total, and phone number use the "classic" money graphic font that had been dropped from daytime in July 1989.
  • The deadline for Friday puzzles is 10:00 AM the following Monday.
  • All callers receive a booklet containing over $5 in discount coupons on six well-known products from the Thomas J. Lipton company; Charlie plugs one of these products after Bob mentions this. Vermont and Washington State residents may omit return postage. Viewers must allow 6-8 weeks for the Thomas J. Lipton product coupons to be mailed.
  • Proceeds from the calls will be donated by NBC to a charity of its choice.
  • Only one round is played in the first segment, and some games only go to three rounds.
  • Upon coming back from the final break, Charlie gives the answer to the previous episode's Cashpot puzzle. The puzzle board's trilons are all showing their green mosaic tile side; the set is quiet and only Bob is present, reminding viewers about the sweepstakes before he signs off.
• The February 26 show is Episode #DT032.
• The Cashpot puzzle for February 28 is HARD AS NAILS, as announced by Charlie on the next show.

March 1991

• The known Cashpot puzzles this month are:
  • March 8: HIGH AND MIGHTY
  • March 11: PEP TALK
  • March 15 (possibly): I Q TEST; a Chicago Tribune picture dated March 17 has this puzzle with the Cashpot phone number and cost.
  • March 18: CHEESE PIZZA
  • March 19: NO TRESPASSING
  • March 20: RED AS A BEET
  • March 21: PINCH HITTER
• On March 1 (Jeff/Russ/Steve), Russ appears to mispronounce the Round 1 puzzle KINDERGARTEN COP by forgetting the first R, but this is never noticed.

• By March 11 (Jennifer/Trei/Whitney), the opening is slightly altered to remove the superimposed Wheel logo from the shot of the day's contestants.
• On March 11:
  • There is no closeup of the Round 3 Prize, and its value does not use a comma.
  • No letters are added to the Speed-Up puzzle SIX-SHOOTER for twelve turns in a row; the cycle includes 11 wrong letters and a repeated E. Altogether, thirteen wrong letters and one repeat are called in the round.
  • Trei accidentally calls E in the Bonus Round, but unlike most other accidental RSTLNE calls in the Bonus Round, it does not appear on the chyron. Instead, the chyron does not even display his third consonant (P) until after he chooses A as his vowel.
  • All of the puzzles are abnormally short, with Round 1 being the longest at only 17 letters.
• For the week of March 18 (the final Cashpot week), the number of winners per day is doubled to 10; as a result, the total cash payout is doubled to $50,000 (also signified by the aforementioned money graphic). This is the last known use of the "large" (five- or six-digit) money graphics on the daytime show.

• On March 19 (John/Glenn/Elaine):
  • The Prize wedges move between rounds: Round 1's prize (artwork) starts on the pink $250, then moves to the yellow $200 for Rounds 2-3; Round 2's prize (a ring) starts on the purple $100 and moves to the blue $100 for Round 3, with that round's prize (a spa) taking the purple $100.
  • For the second known time, Augustus provides Bob's wardrobe.
• On March 21 (Rosie/Dave/Mary):
  • In Round 2, all three contestants give answers that are initially ruled incorrect for the bonus question to the Clue puzzle SINGING GROUP OR STATE, for which the intended answer is Alabama. However, during the commercial break, the third contestant's (Rosie's) guess of Kansas is determined to be acceptable, and she is given the $250 bonus before the start of Round 3. This is the first of only two known instances of an answer being overturned on a "bonus" category.
  • After the March 20 Cashpot answer is announced, Vanna is next to Bob on-set as they chat about the 21st being the first day of Spring and how the proverb "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb" came about. Bob then reads off some of the sweepstakes winners and reminds the viewers about the day's puzzle before he and Vanna sign off.
  • For the third known time, Augustus provides Bob's wardrobe.
• On March 25, the final Cashpot puzzle answer and its winners are announced.

• Possibly after the Cashpot Sweepstakes, the show holds a Phone Wheel of Fortune game through March 31. Viewers call in anytime during the week and play a game over the phone much like the Cashpot, by calling 900-454-8101 and trying to solve five puzzles in the fastest time. Winners receive $500 in cash, with all callers receiving a Super Family Savings Book containing more than $500 in discount coupons. Unlike the Cashpot, the cost is $1.95 per minute and the average call is 5 minutes.
  • At least one commercial is done for this contest, which results in the final time the "Wheel! Of! Fortune!" chant is used with an overhead shot of the spinning Wheel (in this case, the Round 1 layout with no Free Spin and no logo covering the Wheel), and possibly the last use of the shot itself. The camera zooms into the green center as the Phone Wheel of Fortune logo appears, similar to the opening transition used from the 1974 pilots through at least May 20, 1976.

• On an episode from the week of March 25 (Rick/Cindy/Maureen):
  • The category chyrons are blue, although Vanna is wearing red.
  • Rounds 1-3 all have apostrophes.
  • There are two sets of repeated categories: Thing in Round 1 and the Bonus Round, Phrase in Rounds 2 and 3.
  • There is no closeup of the Round 3 or Round 4 prizes. Additionally, the Round 4 prize value does not use a comma.
  • During Round 4, thirteen turns are lost, six of which are consecutive.
  • Bob's Final Spin lands on Bankrupt; his second attempt lands on Lose a Turn. His third attempt lands on $100.
  • Cindy solves Round 4 for $100, but her score is not altered. This would imply the house minimum was removed at some point, or that it had dropped to $100.
• On the episode immediately following the above (Neil/Maureen/Bob):
  • At the top of the show, Goen mentions "it's Easter Week here on Wheel of Fortune", in reference to Vanna's Easter-themed dress.
  • Rounds 1, 2, and 4 are Phrase.
  • There is no closeup of the Round 3 or Round 4 prizes.
• As of the above episode, Bob still does the opening spin.

April 1991

• As of about mid-April, the Bonus Round chevron backdrops still look the same as they did on July 17, 1989.

May 1991

• According to a contemporary magazine article, the show does another play-by-phone contest this month.
• By May 6, the Bonus Round chevron backdrops add lights which flash during the opening, bonus prize descriptions, and credits. Probably at the same time, and definitely by the 23rd, Bob stops doing the opening spin entirely.
• May 6 is Mothers Week, with contestants playing with their mothers. During this week:
  • The mothers are given a rose at some point before the interviews.
  • Bob refers to each team by their last name.
  • Each mother receives a basket of chocolates from Paron Chocolatier, which is plugged by Charlie at the beginning of the final segment.
• On May 6 (Jean & Stephanie/Josh & Joanne/Brendan & Arlene):
  • Bob does not do the opening spin, although that may be because of the number of players being interviewed.
  • The value of the Round 1 Prize zooms in.
  • In Round 1, the buzzer accidentally sounds on a correct letter, and then sounds again on a used letter, to which Bob reminds everyone about the Used Letter Board.
  • The Prize value chyron is not used when the yellow team picks up the Prize wedge in Round 1.
  • In what appears to be a rarity for this era, the Round 2 Prize is worth less than the one added for Round 1.
  • In a very rare occurrence, a Wheel Prize includes food: specifically, the Round 3 Prize is a dining set with Archway cookies.
  • Following Round 3, Charlie plugs the door prize.
  • The remaining Prize wedges are removed before Round 4, which begins as a Speed-Up.
  • The car, which is played for in the Bonus Round and won, has three camera angles shown during its description: two on top and one on the bottom, though the top two seem to be identical.
  • During the final segment, the chevron lights do not flash, the car turntable is not active as Bob and Vanna are with the winners, and the Wheel's automation starts about a couple of seconds after the sponsor list appears.

• On May 23 (Sherrie/Joyce/Suanne):
  • Vanna wears a shirt and pants.
  • Only Thing(s) and Phrase are used: Round 1 and the Bonus Round are Thing, Round 4 is Things, and Rounds 2 and 3 are Phrase.
  • There are three Prizes on the Wheel in Round 3; one is claimed, and is replaced by a fourth Prize in Round 4.
  • The cameras switch to the over-the-Wheel shot too soon, catching it in mid-spin.
  • During the closing disclaimer, the day's champion can be seen walking in to join Bob and Vanna.
• On May 24 (Tracye/Suanne/Mary Lu), all Prize wedges are removed before Round 5, which begins as a Speed-Up.
• On May 24 and 27, Bob plugs the Summer Vacation Bonanza Sweepstakes (see below). The latter is the last known use of the "classic" money graphic, which interestingly has a large shadow effect.

• On May 27 (Suanne/Steve/Danette):
  • In honor of Memorial Day, Vanna wears a dress with a stars-and-stripes design.
  • The remaining Prize wedges are not removed before the Final Spin, but are absent from the Wheel during the credits.
  • The contestant's Bonus Round letters are displayed in light green. This is either a fluke or a short-lived alteration; see below.
  • For the fourth and final known time, Augustus provides Bob's wardrobe.

June 1991

• Wheel does not air on June 7 due to the Men's Singles Semifinals Round of the 1991 French Open.
• June 3-July 1 is the Summer Vacation Bonanza Sweepstakes, played much like the Cashpot and Phone Wheel of Fortune. Like the Cashpot, average calls are 2 minutes and cost $2.00 per minute, and the game is played the same way (see rules, above). Each puzzle awards a vacation and five $1,000 cash prizes, with destinations including the Bahamas, Hawaii, Mexico, and Walt Disney World (Orlando, Florida); each vacation includes airfare and $500 spending cash. Some other notes about the Sweepstakes:
  • All callers receive Summer Bonanza coupons, with discounts for various hotels.
  • The phone number is changed to 900-436-4000. The address for rules and/or winners is changed to "Rules" and/or "Winners": Wheel's Summer Vacation Bonanza; P.O. Box 678; Sayreville, New Jersey, 08871.

• On June 21 (Gitta/Cheyenne/Ed):
  • The Round 2 puzzle FIRST FOUR BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT is the first known instance of Clue requiring multiple correct answers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). When that answer appears on the chyron, it requires two rows.
  • Bob's Final Spin lands on Lose a Turn.
  • Cheyenne retires with $26,870. She sweeps the game and wins a Toyota in the Bonus Round.
  • The contestant's Bonus Round letters appear to be displayed in black.

July 1991

• Alternate entry request envelopes for the above sweepstakes are accepted through July 8. The week of July 15 is used for alternate entry calls.

• For a period around mid-July, the show holds a Wheel of Fortune by Phone game. Viewers can call 1-900-370-5123 anytime during the week and play a game over the phone much like the above contests. This version is an instant-win game, with $100 awardes for solving seven puzzles (the rules limiting winners to one per household per day and five per household per month). All callers receive $10 worth of national brand coupons, and each call is put into a sweepstakes drawing (held January 31, 1992) for an all-expense-paid trip for two to Merv's Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas. As with Phone Wheel of Fortune, the cost is $1.95 per minute and the average call is 5 minutes.
  • At least one commercial is done for this contest, which includes a shot of Bob in front of the puzzle board (reading WHEEL OF FORTUNE BY PHONE) and the last use of an overhead shot of the spinning Wheel (in this case, the Round 1 layout with no Free Spin and no logo covering the Wheel).
• It is possible, but by no means certain, that some changes made for Seasons 8 of the nighttime version are implemented in July or August.

August 1991

• By the end of this month, Book/Author is almost certainly used at least once.

• August 5 is the last daytime Teen Week, the last daytime use of the Friday Finals format, and the last themed week of the daytime series.
• On August 9 (Staci/Shawn/Sharon):
  • The Bonus Round chevron backdrops are not present, their place taken by low-level clouds. It is not known whether this was a permanent change, as they were still present through at least part of June.
  • Bob mentions that the finalists each won a car in their respective Bonus Round.
  • The Round 1 prize is a $1,000 Service Merchandise gift certificate for sporting goods, whose wedge says "SHOP". It is claimed and won.
  • The remaining Prize wedges are removed for the Final Spin.
  • Shawn wins $11,802 in the main game.
  • Shawn's letters (displayed in black) fill in the bonus puzzle SNACK BAR completely. He leaves with a grand total of $30,910, including the $5,000 from this Bonus Round.
  • Before the credits, the Wheel can be heard slowly starting its automation; towards the end, there is a wide shot of the set.

• August 30 is the last first-run episode, although according to one recollection it is not mentioned on-air.
• Repeats air from September 2-20, including at least one show from the Summer Vacation Bonanza Sweepstakes (which is not edited to remove references to the contest). The last airing of daytime Wheel is a repeat of the June 21 episode.